NAACP calls for support on Clemons Clemency Campaign

COLUMBIA — The NAACP’s Clemency Campaign to stop the execution of death row inmate Reggie Clemons is calling on people to sign petitions on his behalf and to support efforts to end the Missouri death penalty.

Clemons, now 38, was sentenced to death along with three other men for a 1991 murder of two sisters in St. Louis.

The campaign said Clemons was beaten by police, denied an attorney and coerced into making a false statement. The NAACP is adding its efforts to several groups that have said Clemons is innocent.

Along with the call to petition, the NAACP endorsed several legislative efforts to alter death penalty law in Missouri:

• House Bill 1683 
• Senate Bill 591
• House Bill 1413
• House Bill 1415
• House Bill 1550

Missouri NAACP members held a press conference about Clemons on Saturday during the organization's quarterly meeting. They didn't answer questions.

The NAACP encourages supporters to write letters and e-mails to Gov. Jay Nixon on behalf of Clemons. Petitions for clemency can be signed online at http://justiceforreggie.com.