Trial and Appeals
Daniel Winfrey, who was 15 years old at the time, confessed to the murder in the presence of police and his parents. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and forcible rape and testified against the other three in their trials. He received a 30-year sentence. He testified that Clemons and Richardson were the ones who had pushed the two girls. Winfrey was the only white member of the convicted group, which has been raised as a criticism since he was the main prosecution witness.
Winfrey was granted parole in the summer of 2007; when released, he had served 15 years.
Clemons was sentenced to death and still is on death row.
Richardson was also given a death sentence, however, it was commuted to life in prison by the Supreme Court of Missouri on October 28, 2003. The court cited his sentencing by a judge rather than a jury to be in violation of Apprendi v. New Jersey (a case which was decided long after the imposition of sentence). Richardson had been the focus of strenuous efforts by death penalty opponents due to his alleged mental deficiencies and because of his youth at the time of the murders, even though his own psychologist and his mother testified that he "know the difference between right and wrong." In 2005, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that executions of persons who committed their crimes as juveniles were unconstitutional.
Read more about this topic: Marlin Gray
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