Nation - Missouri Officials push for DNA testing on condemned man Four men were convicted of forcing victims to jump from bridge

By Heather Ratcliffe St. Louis Post-Dispatch ST. LOUIS (AP) -- No semen was found in the body of Julie Kerry in 1991, according to court documents that cast further doubt on the theory that new science can provide fresh insight in the case of a man on death row in the murders of Kerry and her sister. While DNA testing could offer identification possibilities not available 19 years ago, a forensics expert said Tuesday that the method of detecting semen in a tissue sample has not changed. Officials want to run a DNA analysis anyway, with one saying it could even hasten Reginald Clemons' execution. Clemons' supporters have held out hope that "rape kit" evidence the defense might not have seen at his trial could buoy his claim of innocence. Clemons was among four men convicted of murder by a jury that found they had forced the women and their male cousin to jump into the Mississippi River from the Chain of Rocks Bridge. Only the cousin survived. The body of Julie Kerry, 20, was found three weeks later, 297 miles downstream. The Missouri attorney general's office recently raised a question of whether the rape kit report was ever provided to the defense before trial, as required. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce said Friday that she can prove the defense had it as early as 1994 and that she has no reason to doubt that it was available prior to the trial in 1993. Its value is uncertain because Clemons, in a confession he later recanted, told police that he raped only the woman he identified from a picture as Robin Kerry, 19. Her body was never found. Officials have not said whether semen was found in Julie Kerry's body, but a motion filed in court Monday revealed that it was not. Tests to identify the presence of a bodily fluid haven't changed much since 1991, said Brian Hoey, the DNA technical leader for the Missouri Highway Patrol. "If a screen came back negative in 1991, I would presume that it would be the same today," he told a reporter. The attorney general's office and Joyce are seeking to have the material tested, although the defense is reported to be objecting. Clemons' lawyer has not responded to request for comment, and has not yet filed his position with the court. Stephen Hawke, an assistant attorney general, wrote in the motion: "Looking around the country, claims of untested DNA material are commonly used by capital offenders in an attempt to obtain a stay of execution." He continued, "Ordering testing to proceed should preempt petitioner's ability to claim an entitlement to a stay of execution." The court documents also revealed plans to test physical evidence from the pants of Marlin Gray, who was executed in 2005 for the murders. Included are a light-colored hair, which can be DNA tested against the Kerrys, and a semen stain, which suggests he lied when he told police he had no sexual activity with anyone that day. There was no explanation of the purpose, although prosecutors might argue that evidence that strengthens the case against Gray would also strengthen the case against Clemons. Published: Thu, Mar 25, 2010

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