thanks Betsy! the fact that the man was able to actually speak to the crowd amazes me.

to clarify, i believe the death sentence of mumia-abu jamal has been either commuted or indefinitely stayed.

We should all be given the right to a fair trial without being led by corrupt lawyers, prosecutors and high officials that only wnat to prove they can do this and if one person is the scapegoat, so be it. Especially if he is a minority. If you cut a person in every race creed or color, they all bleed the same, RED. Wake up people becasue we are in the days of the end. So while we are judging others, know this, you are being judged as well.I feel deep in my heart that the trial was a travesty and you know who you are, the guilty person that did commit the crime. May everyday of your life be spent in agony while the death of this young man eats away at you. For Nells Moss to liken Marlin as Charles Manson was a really stupid thing to say. CHarles Manson knowingly committed murder and was in trouble with the law all of his life. MArlin never was. To Nels Moss I say you are similar to the Cryptkeeperl devious, sneaky and will use someone else's bad luck to gain his fame. The facts were there and the trial was unfair, you just couldn't read between the lines
or you just cannot read. Just the facts sir, just the facts. This is exactly why I vote selectively, not stupidly and It definately was not for MATT BLUNT. THANK YOU

Charlotte,

You have to excuse me for this. I DO NOT mean to make this personal attack against you or your viewpoint. You're entitled to your viewpoint, even if it appears to me to be as judgmental as you are saying we all are when it comes to the "due process" of law in relation to Marlin Gray.

Scrutinize the politicians --- YES!

However, on your point about the mayors or governors having a persons fate in their hands: C'mon now. Governors and Mayors are ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE and are sworn to uphold the duty of their office. Even if you did not vote for that person, they are the holder of the office. When a governor reviews the judicial case or piece of legislation in front of them, they are doing EXACTLY WHAT THE CONSTITUTION asks of them. The governor is charged with doing things in a very specific way as mandated by the constitution or legislation forces him or her to do.

When the governor reviews a case and does not set a verdict aside or issue a pardon --- well, just read what all it has already gone through BEFORE it returns to his desk. First, the case is investigated. The determination that a trial is necessary is only after evidence is uncovered by the investigators and reviewed by literally dozens of people, including the DEFENSE COUNCIL. After the case starts, the PEOPLE issue a verdict from hearing the evidence and reviewing the FACTS. Also, by the time it gets to the governor's desk, the judge has reviewed the verdict. After that, when the appeals process is underway, another court rules, meaning another court has re-read the papers and the entire set of documents that was seen in the first place. It may go all the way to the state supreme court, where it is reviewed by the highest judicial officials in the state. These people will look at the merits of the papers filed to put it before them. They'll look at some of these cases if they think there is even a small problem with the case.

All this before it goes back to the governor.

Often times the courts see SOMETHING that is wrong and overturns a conviction or sets aside the verdict and orders a new trial. But not in Marlin Gray's case. There was nothing to overturn. THE EVIDENCE showed he was not only there, but was one of the main perpetrators of the crimes for which he was accused.

Let me point out something simple that has come up in MANY documents associated with Marlin Gray's case. He lied. THIS IS A FACT.

MARLIN GRAY lied to everyone in order to save his own life --- and it did not work.

Marlin Gray lied to his family, his friends, complete strangers, and mostly to the people who were uncovering the evidence in the case where he BRUTALLY RAPED, ROBBED and MURDERED two young women along with three others.

THE FACTS.

You wrote: "The facts were there and the trial was unfair, you just couldn't read between the lines or you just cannot read."

As someone who can read and can readbetweenthelines very well, I take offense.

THE FACTS are:

Marlin Gray told different versions of his story several different times including in the court. Others involved in the case told the facts about what happened and it was different from what Marlin Gray said. There are a lot of different people who testified with the same stories. Would you have me believe that all these others (some were just witnesses because of the stories told them by Marlin and the other three involved in this case) who said he was there, showing the two women and their male cousin how to go down into the underside of the Chain of Rocks Bridge, who said he was one of the rapists of these two young women, who either told police or the court that he was not simply "smoking marijuana at the car" --- are you seriously expecting me to believe HIS DIFFERENT STORIES were all the truth?????!!!!????

THAT IS UNBELIEVABLE!

Really. Would you say that EVERYONE ELSE was lying, and that Marlin Gray was telling the truth to the end?

I don't mean to say his life and death means nothing. No. Far from that. Marlin Gray's death serves to remind others (who may hear what you have to say about the justice system being rigged or whatever you would call it) that the justice system will send you to your death if you commit a brutal crime.

That message is pretty easy to understand: Do the time (or the quick end of your time through the death penalty) if you do the crime.

==========

Remember this: We live in a free country. That doesn't mean we are free to kill someone. That doesn't mean we are free to rape someone. That doesn't mean we are free to rob someone. God issued commandments which included somethings about murdering, raping, robbing.

PLEASE vote for whomever you want to see elected to office. Selectivity is a GOOD thing.

This free country is called a democracy by some and a republic by others. But by whatever brand it is called, it REMAINS A FREE COUNTRY with a better lifestyle than so many other places.

Since you may have all the rights of an American citizen, feel free to move to another country at any time if the United States does not measure up to your expectations.

Are you kidding me? No where in this article does it state any type of reference to what this man did to these young girls and their cousin. How dare you run a one sided article, but then again, that's the media at it's best. The true victims in this case are Robin,Julie, and Tom. So Marlin Gray got to speak to the crowd? All his victims got to do was beg for their lives and scream for help. Shame on you
Angela Johnson
Ft.Campbell,Ky

Angela -
with all due respect, there is an article directly down from the execution one that has all the details. the details are unclear to most and no one seems to have a full understanding of what happened on that bridge that day. this short article was only intended to let people know that marlin gray was executed and that there was a vigil for him that night.

if you would have read the previous article to it, you would have easily seen why. In fact, it says it clearly right there on the main page.

It is SO easy for you to sit there and say 'the only victims are Robin, Julie and Tom'... HAVE YOU EVEN READ THE CASE HISTORY AND ALL THE STATEMENTS, AS I HAVE??? Tom Cummins came running back to the group of men stating there had 'been an accident' and he accidentally knocked one sister off and the event took on from there!!
Tom Cummins FAILED a Lie Detector Test AND hcnaged his story, REPEATEDLY!! He was the prime suspect and only got away with his crime because he too had been beaten by the Officers and was given £150k to keep quiet about it and testify agaginst the other men so that he and the Police both won!! Him by not going to jail and them by not being outed for their violence and having men to call Ofeenders!! It was proven the Defendants were subjected to Violence during interrogation and forced to confess to these crimes under duress!! If you ACTUALLY sit there for a few days and read through all the case history, I am pretty sure you will EAT YOUR WORDS!!
So you know what? DON'T MAKE JUDGEMENTS ON THINGS YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT!!

And yes i have read the case history and i know very well the facts of this case. Yes Tom Cummins did change his story and failed the lie detector test. What you all dont know is that the reason he failed the lie detector test, was because it was given to him after he just experienced a traumatic event and more importantly after he had been awake for more than 36 straight hours. Lie detectors, are not supposed to be given to people under these extreme measures, beacuse of the fact that the whole thing depends on how calm the person is. If a person that just watched his cousins murdered and raped and had just been thrown off a bridge was given a lie detector test after being innterogated for many hours, it is impossible to calm your body fully. That is the reason, that before Tom was given the test, the officer told him to relax for a minutes because that was the only way it would work. And also, Tom NEVER said that he pushed one of his cousins off the bridge, the police came up with that to get him to confess! They told him that they thought that was what happened, he never said that at all! And i seriously doubt that if any of your daughters, neices, or sister had been through what Julie and Robin were through the night they were brutally raped and murdered, you would all not be sitting here deffending a murderer. If this happened to someone in your family, you wouldnt be so sympathetic to the men that took the lives of your your family members. And Tom by the way, was a firefighter, and a paramedic who saved peoples lives! How dare you all try to make him out to be a monster while he made it his career to help people. You should all think about Julie, Robin, and Toms familys and what they had to go through, losing their young, bright daughters to such horrible men.

I see why you remained anonymous, you are too much of a coward to stand behind what you say. It's a tragedy that those two girls died but what the media and the victim's family did not want anyone to know was that the murder would not have happened if they did not promote and ophold incest. Yeah I said it! Tom and Julie had an illicit sexual relationship that resulted in a pregnancy that was later aborted. Tom went on that bridge that night with the intent of having sex one last time with his COUSIN! When his plans fell through he reacted just as a perverted, sick, demented, and inbred person would--he got mad and couldn't handle the rejection. As long as there are ignorant people like you who feel the need to speak on things that they know nothing about there will be a whole lot of senseless murders. The only true innocent people of this tragedy were Marlin and Robin. Robin died because her own sister couldn't control her lust for her cousin. Marlin died because it made more sense to convict a BLACK man for the murder of 2 WHITE girls than to convict the true suspect--THOMAS CUMMINS.

ok,i am sorry, but i dont agree with that, me and my cousin are close, but were arnt incest and having sex. so what you are saying is that just because they are close, they were having sex and when tom was refused, he got mad an pushed them off? im sorry, but i cant believe that, they were just close to each other like me n my cousin and got cought in a bad situation that resualted in death. tom didnt kill his cousins, those men did. and how would you know if Julie was pregnant?

I can understand being opposed to the death penalty,but that does not make the accused innocent.Many of you opposed to the execution of Marlin Gray,for some reason,also assume him to be innocent and from what I have observed that does not appear to be the case.

I don't believe in the death penalty,but this guy looked guilty as sin.

Did the heartless basterd show any simpathy to those poor girls he raped and murdered ???Why don't you put your self in their shoes for a moment, instead of all this bleeding heart bull schit...The basterd had it coming... this is simply the system at it's finest ,he deserved to die...May he burn in hell!!

Now if they'll just kill Mumia, we can stop listening to him whine too.

Shall I add fuel to this fire? Marlin was a good friend of mine. I was the primary legal investigator for Marlin starting on April 6, 1991 and ending on October 26, 2005 when the State of Missouri executed an innocent man.
I have been reading these negative comments and I see words like "what I heard" or "it seemed to me" or "what I observed" or "that does not appear". I'm sorry but this really pisses me off. I attended his arraignment, his preliminary hearing, his trial, his prison cell(s), his execution and his funeral/burial.
I happened upon this site to see what drivel people have been spewing forth (excluding those who actually act like they have some sense here. But there is one I do have to reply to....
TO: ANGELA JOHNSON in Fort Campbell, KY >>
"What this man did to these young girls and their cousin"...First of all, this man is named Marlin Gray. Secondly, he professed his innocence from day one. Thirdly, the State of Missouri, all eyewitness(es), forensics, lab tests, physical evidence and alibi witness(es) stipulate he was never on the bridge at any time during or after the tragic incident. Robin Kerry is still mysteriously missing. The body they found in the slough down in Caruthersville, MO 3 weeks later and 275 miles downstream was never forensically (DNA or dental records) proven to be that of either one of the sisters. There was no evidence of any rape or other trauma on the body (The ME stated: There is little to no decomposition on the body and no visible marks of trauma that would befit a body who has traveled this far down the river.". And its because of one-sided media circus articles is how this whole drama has unfolded to fool many other narrow-minded and very uninformed people such as yourselves.
"So Marlin Gray got to speak to the crowd? All his victims got to do was beg for their lives and scream for help">>> Hmm...since I investigated this case thoroughly I do not remember seeing your name on any eyewitness list, nor do I know of you being a psychic who can prove such an allegation. Begging for their lives or screaming for help is pure and simply your own one-sided delusional perception of what you think might have happened. Unless you were there on the bridge, you neither have the right nor the authority to make such a broad and sweeping statement. Thank you...

...And now to dear old "KRACKER:
Using the term "heartless bastard" shows your corroborative narrow-mindedness (not to mention poor spelling). "Those poor girls" >> did you know them? Nope, didn't think so. Another bleeding heart little whiny boy. And...once again, there was never ever any crime of "murder" or "rape" proven either by forensic and/or physical evidence of any kind before, during or after this incident. That is simply you joining the other narrow-minded people in passing judgement without knowing all of the facts of this case. "Why don't you put your self in their shoes for a moment, instead of all this bleeding heart bull schit" >> look who is the "bleeding heart" here...Unless you sit on the railing of that bridge 90 feet above the surface of the Mississippi in pitch-black night with the wind howling around you, then you can tell me about being in their shoes. And the rest of your dribble, that can simply be discounted as some other bitter ex-con who hasn't passed his anger management course yet.

To JustMe, do YOU know the facts in this case? You claim others don't but do YOU? There is no DNA evidence proving rape because one body was found 3 weeks later very decomposed and the other was never found. And since we're on the subject of not knowing facts especially about things of which there are no proof then I guess you'll have to stop you're persecution of Tom Cummins. There is credible evidence about the guilt of "you're friend" (get some new friends, preferably not murderers), Marlin Grey, whereas your evidence accusing Cummins of anything is ludicrous and immaterial. You and your followers are grasping at straws and it's obvious to everyone including the courts. All of you will have your days of judgement as Grey did. Good luck, you'll need it.

To JustMe, do YOU know the facts in this case? You claim others don't but do YOU? There is no DNA evidence proving rape because one body was found 3 weeks later very decomposed and the other was never found. And since we're on the subject of not knowing facts especially about things of which there are no proof then I guess you'll have to stop you're persecution of Tom Cummins. There is credible evidence about the guilt of "you're friend" (get some new friends, preferably not murderers), Marlin Grey, whereas your evidence accusing Cummins of anything is ludicrous and immaterial. You and your followers are grasping at straws and it's obvious to everyone including the courts. All of you will have your days of judgement as Grey did. Good luck, you'll need it.

To: THE WATCHER
The death penalty in and of itself is cruel and unusual punishment. If you do not think so, then be shackled in a 10'X 13' bulletproof glass-enclosed cage with no privacy, the lights on 24/7, two male guards watching you 24/7, limited no-contact visits with any friends or family, and the whole time know that that black door 15 feet in front of your direct vision is also the door to the execution chamber in where about 4 days you are going to be forced to lie on a gurney and have your life abruptly halted permanently by a group of male strangers and there is nothing you can say about it. I don't assume Marlin to be innocent, I can prove it as well as others can, too. "From what you have observed it does not appear (that he's innocent) to be the case" begs me to ask the question, "What exactly have you 'observed' that would motivate you to make such a statement? Were you there on the bridge? Did you investigate the case at all? Have you reviewed all his case file like I have in-depth? You have only observed what the media has put out there, but they do not know nor would they want to know the truth behind this whole story...the facts would blow you away...there are skeletons in the closets of the Kerry and Cummins family that would definitely change your mind. But keep the faith...your time will come some day and you'll hope people will fight for your innocence, as well.



rlin Gray,for some reason,also assume him to be innocent and from what I have observed that does not appear to be the case.

I don't believe in the death penalty,but this guy looked guilty as sin.

You're an idiot! Are you actually accusing a victim of assault of trying to have sex with his cousin? First of all, it is common for guys to keep condoms in their wallets. He could have had it in there before he even visited his family. Also, how do you know he didn't want Robin along? Were you there? And I don't care if he was a muscular fireman, he probably didn't fight because he knew he stood no chance against 4 males, three of them, large black men. I can't stand these people so caught up in killers' rights they don't even recognize victims' rights. Where was Julie and Robin's clemency. As a woman in this world it's scary to think some guy could come up and murder me and there will be people like you saying it's ok. You disgust me.

To: CHARLOTTE CALMES and TORI: All I can say to the both of you is BRAVO! You truly are in touch with the truer aspect of this whole situation. As far as the racial aspect is concerned...here you have a young man who is purportedly to be a strong, physically conditioned paramedic-fireman and he's going to supposedly let a 15 year old boy (Daniel Winfrey) half his size pin him to the floor of the bridge? I don't think so. I'm sorry but Tom Cummins is not only hiding the truth about what happened up on that bridge on April 4, 1991, but he is also preventing the world from knowing his culpability and participation in the alleged deaths of his cousins, Julie and Robin Kerry.
On that Friday night, after enjoying an evening with your cousins, why would you feel the need to sneak behind your daddy's back, after everyone's asleep, to be alone with Julie? When you asked your dad if you could go out later, he told you "no", and you said, "Well I guess I better call Julie, then". What were you planning anyways. And, if the girls wanting you to see their poetry so badly on that bridge, why not do it when you had first gotten there in the beginning of the week? Why wait until the night before you're supposed to leave to go back to your home in Gaithersburg, Maryland to allegely look at some unidentified poem (by Julie Kerry) on a cold, moonless dark night around midnight on a condemned bridge (with "NO TRESPASSING" signs all around)...WITHOUT TAKING A FLASHLIGHT?". Why did you encourage your cousin, Julie, to sneak out of the house after everyone went to sleep, if you were so innocent in all of this? Why were you bummed out when you realized Robin had come along when Julie picked you up at the bottom of your block (where you were staying with your grandparents)? But most incredible question of all...Why have a condom in your wallet (when the wallet was found on the bridge)?
Ladies and gentlemen, it is amazing that a tall, husky and athletic male 19 years of age and a well-conditioned fireman would be humanly-able to "jump" from a bridge down 90 feet, hit the water with an impact of 100 mph (calculated) into 14 feet of dark, contaminated river water, travel close to 200 yards over alot of floating timber, very dangerous and rapid whirlpools, eddies...across large rocks (stretching from Illinois-Missouri bank) in 45-50 degree water, pitch dark (no moon), barge traffic, several hidden jetties and gravel bars, spend about 40-60 minutes in cold water with your heavy clothes on, then somehow make it to a bank that is about 6-10 feet deep of Mississippi black mud (like quicksand) and protected by a 5-6 foot inclined embankment of sharp pieces of timber, brush and other seriously-dangerous materials, crawl through 100-200 feet of dense and tangled brush for another 20-30 minutes or so, walk about 100 feet to the side of the road and flag down a trucker...and only be wet from the waist down, with your upper-half torso be completely dry, your hair all neatly combed and the only visible mark on you is a scratch on your face? You must be superman. First of all, if you had truly jumped like you pretend, the impact would have broken every bone in your body. Your body would have then been mangled after traveling through all the large rocks/concrete blocks that stretch across the width of the water in a 10-15 knot current (pretty fast). Hypothermia would have set in within 5-7 minutes under those conditions (the water was about 45 degrees) and the ambient (surrounding) air temperature was about 50 degrees, and you would have drowned anyways. Or, you would have been trapped in the mud if even you had made it that far. All of that, and still you were sitting upright in the ambulance, no visible signs of any serious trauma (shaking uncontrollably, etc.)? Absolutely amazing...ahh but more questions still need to be answered...now does everyone think Tom Cummins is as innocent as he portrays himself to be?

you are so full of it you can even believe i yourself, just so you know "since you where there" that bridge is not 90 feet tall, is 50 feet tall; the body was very decomposed not intact, (water does that to the human body after a while) and robin's body wasn't found not because she wasn't thrown into the river, but because the CURRENT ussually has enough power and speed to take you far in no time, obviously you should change jobs

To Just Me : amazing your way off base ...not to mention what you wrote doesn't warrnet even one read much less poating the same thing 5 times in a row ...You must have really impressed yourself .. I am sticking to my guns, the basterd was guilty as sin , if he were innocent the jury would not have convicted him..YOUR IN DENIAL..To reiderate may he burn in hell..Hope you enjoyed the funeral ..Have a nice day ...

"Shall I add fuel to this fire? Marlin was a good friend of mine. I was the primary legal investigator for Marlin starting on April 6, 1991 and ending on October 26, 2005" quoting just me. Well I guess you didn't do a very good job of proving his inosence,or he would not have been found GUILTY ..So it's your fault then I suppose?? Remind me not to hire you if i ever get in trouble..Are you going to put that on your resume???

to Kracker: I think it's very telling, and fairly sad, that you can read what "Just Me" wrote and have the reaction you do. It is pretty clear that YOU are the one who is in denial. If you have SO MUCH confidence in the "justice" system that you believe it to be infallible, there really isnt any point in arguing with you. In reality, i suspect you believe the justice system to be infallible only when poor blacks are convicted of something.

Your naivety is a real shame, and when coupled with your adolescent vitriol (not to mention sloppy spelling) it creates a dangerous mix of denial and irresponsibility. You would rather cheer the death of a man whose guilt is largely in question, than take a long hard look at the cruel facts of the real world.

the more i read about this case, the more obvious it becomes to me that Marlin Gray was innocent of the crimes he is accused of, that Tom Cummins is hiding something. It speaks volumes, Kracker, that you seem too cowardly to abandon your preconceptions about something and be open to the possibility that you are WRONG, even when the life of an innocent man has been taken.

No objective, unbiased observer could look at the case against Gray and conclude that he is guilty beyond reasonable doubt. It's scientifically impossible to do so as a truely unbiased, disinterested observer. Clearly the jury was biased in some way, almost certainly, that bias was racism.

I think it's disgraceful that, in 2005, so many people would rather execute an innocent man that admit that vicious, pervasive, systemic racism still exists in the USA. To ALL parties of whom this is true: ALL of you are intellectual cowards. Shame on you.

I'm sorry, Just Me, but the Chain of Rocks Bridge is not 90 feet above the water surface of the Mississippi even in the dry season. Where did you get that measurement? It's a fallacy.

or are we supposed to take your word for it?

bridges.midwestplaces.com/mo/st-louis-city/chain-of-rocks/

i don't see Just Me making any rebuttal...hmmm...

no one knows!

all of the people arguing here are twisting things to suit their own politicized conclusions. no wonder no one can get justice. agendas can be deadly, it seems. loosely-defined ideology did not save marlin gray, although genuine legal efforts helped him.

what is the distance of between the bridge and the river? who was on the bridge the night? who killed who?

who cares? it's too much fun to throw mud and grandstand to let people know i'm a bigtime anarchist/postmodern right-wingers/pacifist/fascist/etc.

Mind if I add my little rant to your discussion? Oh, forget the "little" part, I'm going to go off:

I surfed across the story of Marlin Gray's execution and somehow the story sounded strangely familiar to me... Sure enough, it was the same case referred to in the July 04 Reader's Digest.

It was actually a pretty emotional book excerpt that told the story of a young man (Tom Cummins) who survived the brutal attack that took the lives of his two cousins (Robin and Julie Kerry). The story takes a tragic twist as our young hero / victim finds himself the primary suspect in the deaths of the two girls he loved so dearly...

But you know, after spending the day digging through as much information as I could possibly find, it's painfully obvious to me that there's another side of this story that didn't get such sympathetic treatment in the press. It's a tragic story alright, but this story isn't anywhere near as cut and dried as the Reader's Digest version had led me to believe.

If you haven't already familiarized yourself with this case, a good place to start would be reading Marlin Gray's Application for Executive Clemency (www.umsl.edu/~phillips/dp/GrayM.doc). Yeah, I know - our prisons are full of "innocent" people (I've got a short stint as a prison guard under my belt, I know they're all "innocent"). But how can you read that document without saying to yourself that something just ain't right here? At the very least, when a man is sentenced to die and raises so many substantiated doubts, don't be owe it to him (and to ourselves) to at least consider the questions raised before we end his life?

And if you keep searching, the questions just keep piling up... There's just so much wrong with this case, I don't even know where to start!

1) The standard of "beyond reasonable doubt" was not met. Not even close. My God, the only thing that was proven beyond a reasonable doubt was that Mr. Gray was not on the bridge when the deaths occurred.

2) The standards for a First Degree Murder conviction were not met. No intent was even suggested.

3) The case presented by the prosecution does not even place Gray at the crime scene (on the bridge). Labeling Gray the "ringleader" of the bunch is a stretch, but comparing his involvement to Charles Manson is ludicrous. Not only is it a weak case, it's a case that doesn't really implicate Gray in anything that remotely resembles First Degree Murder.

4) The prosecution (and more specifically, Nels Moss) needs to be held accountable for the charges of procedural and ethical misconduct. I think the charges have been substantiated enough to at least warrant an investigation... But for Christ's sake, if that's how the justice system works down there and they all think that's okay, remind me to stay out of Missouri!

5) Tom Cummins' story simply doesn't add up. I guess that shouldn't come as a surprise because he's changed the story at least three times... But the story about his heroic plunge and desperate fight for survival in the cold, swift currents... That story goes against the physical evidence, eyewitness accounts after the fact, the laws of science and basic common sense... I can't escape the conclusion that this story needs to be seriously scrutinized. And nowhere in any of his stories does he mention the existence of a weapon! But he offered no resistance because he was afraid they'd shoot him? I guess if I was fighting for my life, you'd at least need to show me that you really had a gun before I'd take my chances jumping in the river. But that's because I'm only human and I know that even if the fall didn't mess me up, I'd only last about 7 minutes at most in the 45 degree water...

6) And while we're talking about the stories that Tom tells, what about his initial confession? While he would later recant it, I found that story to be both believable and consistent with the facts of the case.

7) Okay, somebody might need to help me with this one... I'm not a lawyer and I have no idea how this works, but it doesn't make sense to me... How can Daniel Winfrey (the 15 year old) cut a deal to testify against the other three, provide that testimony, and then plead guilty to charges that directly contradict what he just testified about? Something there doesn't make sense to me...

(doesn't this guy ever shut up?)

I support the death penalty and I guess you could call me a skinhead white male. Actually the term "skinhead" is not my own, but somehow every white male that shaves his head has to deal with racial stereotypes as well... Kind of ironic that way, isn't it?

But I think we just executed an innocent man. That's certainly what the facts in this case seem to indicate. Is it possible that the police already had the person responsible (Tom Cummins) and totally screwed up their case against him when they roughed him up? I don't know whether Mr. Cummins is responsible for the deaths or not... Since his three different stories all contradict each other, two of them have got to be lies. I would think he'd have some explaining to do, but I guess you don't have to explain much once the case against falls apart. Is it possible that after blowing the case, the prosecution was put in a position where they'd better get somebody convicted just to save their own skin? Is that why they paid Tom Cummins $150,000 to keep his claims of how the police interrogated him going to court? After all, airing those claims in public would only substantiate Gray's claims of the same treatment and bring to light Cummins' claims should have been provided to Gray's defense in the discovery phase. It sure works out better to just pay that man a chunk of money and make the whole issue go away...

And as much as I hate to even think this is possible... was race the deciding factor? Is there a reason that the white kid got the plea bargain and the black kids got sentenced to die? Would a white defendant get railroaded by the legal system like this?

Well, I hope I stirred up some emotions... That's the sad thing about the world we live in, you know? We can see something absolutely horrible, and all agree that it's horrible, but then we just shake our heads and go on with our lives.

But hell, what do I know... I'm just an unemployed white guy and I obviously have too much time on my hands if I'm going to spend all day worrying about something that I already know I can't do anything about...

My heart goes out to Marlin Gray, Julie Kerry and Robin Kerry - may you all rest in peace.

nice comments

if you read reader's digest, you might also want to be aware that it's part of the mighty wurlitzer dispensing disinfo & propaganda to the masses, shaping thinkable thought

Heidenry, John. Theirs Was the Kingdom: Lila and DeWitt Wallace and the Story of the Reader's Digest. New York: W.W. Norton, 1993. 701 pages.
www.namebase.org/sources/UH.html

<blockquote>

The Digest empire, particularly through its Washington bureau, was a major outlet for Cold War propaganda and had significant connections to the U.S. intelligence community. Author John Heidenry does an excellent job of ferreting out these connections, even though this accounts for less than one-sixth of the book.

[Ralph McGehee, CIABASE, January 1995 Update Report says that this book "portrays the close relationship between the CIA and the Reader's Digest." It "names individuals, publications and books authored as part of the CIA's propaganda."]


</blockquote>


AMERICAN DREAMERS:
The Wallaces and Reader's Digest: An Insider's Story
archive.salon.com/sneaks/sneakpeeks961113.html

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Readers who have instinctively disliked Reader's Digest will have their worst suspicions confirmed in "American Dreamers," a new book from former Digest managing editor Peter Canning. Among other things, Canning details how, in the 1940s and 50s, the State Department and CIA fed content to the Digest and helped its international editions thrive. He also notes the magazine's numerous pro-Vietnam War editorials, and the way Nixon speeches found their way into the magazine under the byline "The Editors."

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from Manufacturing Consent
by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky
www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Herman%20/Manufac_Consent_Prop_Model.html

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The mass media themselves also provide "experts" who regularly echo the official view. John Barron and Claire Sterling are household names as authorities on the KGB and terrorism because the Reader's Digest has funded, published, and publicized their work;

...

Propaganda campaigns may be instituted either by the government or by one or more of the top media firms...The campaigns to publicize the crimes of Pol Pot and the alleged KGB plot to assassinate the pope were initiated by the Reader's Digest, with strong follow-up support from NBC-TV, the New York Times, and other major media companies. Some propaganda campaigns are jointly initiated by government and media; all of them require the collaboration of the mass media...For stories that are useful, the process will get under way with a series of government leaks, press conferences, white papers, etc., or with one or more of the mass media starting the ball rolling with such articles as Barron and Paul's "Murder of a Gentle Land" (Cambodia), or Claire Sterling's "The Plot to Kill the Pope," both in the Reader's Digest. If the other major media like the story, they will follow it up with their own versions, and the matter quickly becomes newsworthy by familiarity. If the articles are written in an assured and convincing style, are subject to no criticisms or alternative interpretations in the mass media, and command support by authority figures, the propaganda themes quickly become established as true even without real evidence. This tends to close out dissenting views even more comprehensively, as they would now conflict with an already established popular belief. This in turn opens up further opportunities for still more inflated claims, as these can be made without fear of serious repercussions.

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Reader's Digest... Oh yes, you could start another thread on that rag. Not that this has anything to do with the murder case, but how I came to read that story is a story in itself.

At some point, I "won" trial subscriptions to three magazines. I took my free issues and cancelled all three, but Reader's Digest kept coming. They kept sending me the notices that my subscription was about to expire, but of course I'd let it expire... and they'd automatically renew it! That was over five years ago, and I've moved five times since then - it's still coming! And to be honest, it was a fluke that I even read the story about these murders because I think I've only unwrapped maybe five issues, the rest went directly from the mailbox to the trash.

I don't know if they do this to boost up their subscription numbers or what, but be warned: a "free trial subscription" to Reader's Digest is a lifetime commitment to some really bad reading.

ok, lets humor you, if there was not enough reasonable dout in the case, how come gray's girlfriend held in her hands tom cummin's watch, or better yet how did the watch ended up in gray's friend house after he and his girlfriend went there to do some laundry, are you stupid or you're just playing dumb?

To Watcher - With all due respect sir, you really don't seem to have much more than an opinion to go on and I find you position rather confusing.

In a previous post you said "I don't believe in the death penalty, but this guy looked guilty as sin". I on the other hand do support the death penalty, but not when there's sufficient doubt to one's guilt. If you have truly looked into this case as I (and obviously many others) have, I'd be most curious to know what you've found that is so compelling. Obviously you know something that we don't, something that dispels all of the questions raised, and something convincing enough to turn someone opposed to the death penalty into a supporter (in one case at least). I'd really like to know what it is exactly, because apparently you've found compelling answers where I've only been able to find more questions.

I would be honored to take you up on your "reality check" offer.

And don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying that Marlin Gray is innocent. I don't know. My main concern, in fact it's probably my only concern in this case, is that nothing was conclusively proven that would constitute the definition of first degree murder. For Christ's sake, they built a much stronger case against O.J. Simpson and he's out "looking for the real killer" on golf courses.

But again, if you've truly researched this case and have come to the conclusion that Marlin Gray is guilty of first degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt, perhaps you'd like to share with us the information you've found that compels you to feel that way?

Or maybe it's just easier to call the people who don't agree with you "dysfunctional"... You didn't do well in debate class, did you?

Ever notice how black people are always "innocent"? How "racism" is always to blame?

I know it's "racist", but Marlin Gray is a double rapist/murderer. He is dead now, and it saddens me to think that he died quickly and peacefully, unlike his victims.

To Watcher - With all due respect sir, you really don't seem to have much more than an opinion to go on and I find you position rather confusing.

In a previous post you said "I don't believe in the death penalty, but this guy looked guilty as sin". I on the other hand do support the death penalty, but not when there's sufficient doubt to one's guilt. If you have truly looked into this case as I (and obviously many others) have, I'd be most curious to know what you've found that is so compelling. Obviously you know something that we don't, something that dispels all of the questions raised, and something convincing enough to turn someone opposed to the death penalty into a supporter (in one case at least). I'd really like to know what it is exactly, because apparently you've found compelling answers where I've only been able to find more questions.

I would be honored to take you up on your "reality check" offer.

And don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying that Marlin Gray is innocent. I don't know. My main concern, in fact it's probably my only concern in this case, is that nothing was conclusively proven that would constitute the definition of first degree murder. For Christ's sake, they built a much stronger case against O.J. Simpson and he's out "looking for the real killer" on golf courses.

But again, if you've truly researched this case and have come to the conclusion that Marlin Gray is guilty of first degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt, perhaps you'd like to share with us the information you've found that compels you to feel that way?

Or maybe it's just easier to call the people who don't agree with you "dysfunctional"... You didn't do well in debate class, did you?

Purple,the primary focus of my comments were silising'wi(How about Zambian One?),who I believe is a host for Indymedia and it seemed as if you were getting drawn into his/her paranoid melodramatic statements which is typical of his/her statements on all topics,not just Marlin Gray.

In terms of Mr.Gray,He confessed to Police that he did rape one of the Kerry Girls and made incriminating statments to his girlfriend at the time.I know Mr.Gray said that the confession was coerced,but I don't see any evidence to prove that.I am sure that it does happen on rare occassion,but I would stress the word rare and I am not one of those people that think minorities can't get a fair deal from the cops,I myself am bi-racial.

To me Marlin Gray still looks guilty,but I just don't believe in State executions.Just because you don't believe someone should be executed doesn't mean you think they are innocent or should not be incarcirated or punished.

docs.indymedia.org/pub/Global/ImcEssayCollection/In_Times_of_Netwar_v0-9.pdf

Hey silsing'wi,The link you posted is not valid.

Thank God he's dead!

An armed citizenry would go a long way toward stopping the activities of subhumans like Gray and his accomplices. I'm proud to live in a state that recognizes the law-abiding citizen's right to concealed carry of handguns.

Reggie was sentenced to death for the 1991 murder of two young women who drowned after plunging from the Chain of Rocks Bridge into the Mississippi River. He was among a group of four young men (all teens except one) who encountered the victims and their cousin, Thomas Cummins on the Chain of Rocks Bridge. Even though the prosecutors conceded that Reggie neither pushed the women nor planned the crime, he was convicted on the theory that he was an accomplice. There was no physical evidence linking Reggie to the crime for which he received the death penalty, no fingerprints, no DNA, and no hair or fiber samples.

The police first arrested Thomas Cummins for the crime. Cummins told the police that he had jumped from the bridge into the Mississippi River. But, Cummins had no injuries and his hair was clean, dry and neatly combed. The police and the Coast Guard doubted Cummins’s story. The jump from the bridge to the river was 80 feet, and he would have landed in freezing water. Cummins failed a lie detector test and told police that the two women had fallen from the bridge as a result of an altercation that began after he made a sexual advance on one of them. The police arrested and charged Cummins with the murder of his cousins.Reggie was beaten by the police and coerced into making a false statement. He was denied an attorney. At Reggie’s arraignment, Judge Michael David noted that Reggie had suffered physical injury while in custody. The prosecutorial misconduct in Reggie’s case was so severe that the prosecutor was held in criminal contempt of court and fined for his conduct.

A Federal Judge vacated Reggie’s death sentence in 2002 and noted that Nels Moss (Prosecutor) actions were abusive and brutish. However, the 8th Circuit Court overturned the Federal Judges ruling. And Reggie was put back on death row and now faces an execution date being set by the state of Missouri.

Marlin Gray, one of the Chain of Rocks co-defendants, was executed on October 27, 2005, at 12:07 AM, by the State of Missouri.

For additional information about Reggie’s story and how you can help prevent another unjustified execution, visit his web site at www.justiceforreggie.com or contact Reggie’s mother at,

Vera Thomas (Reggie’s mother)
Justicefor Reggie
PO Box 210311
St. Louis, MO 63121
(314) 531-2422
Vjust123@sbcglobal.net

To LAM
Get a damn life you dumb ass! As a woman I do not promote the rape of anyone! However, that bastard Thomas Cummins knows the truth, and his father (who paid for Julie's abortion might I add) knows the truth. His father even told the police during the interrogation that his son was a habitual liar. Damn I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Marlin, Julie, and Robin are dead plain and simple. Shut the hell up! Since you feel so much for Thomas "Lying-Rapist-Pervert" Cummins, why don't you go find his punk ass and ask him why he had so many sleepless nights leading up to Marlin's execution? I know why--GUILT.

The truth...

Two females were raped and murdered.

One male was forced to jump from a bridge into the Mississippi river, with the intent and expectation that he too would die.

One juvenile and two adults were found guilty of these crimes, based on their own confessions, the testimony of the surviving victim, and the testimony of the 4th perpetrator who plead guilty.

One of the adults was executed, the other will be executed soon. One of the juveniles who admitted to raping the women will serve life without parole.

The other juvenile, who all perpetrators agreed did not rape or kill anyone but who did help restrain the victims and assisted the others in their actions was sentenced to 33 years on a plea bargain.

It doesn't matter whether or not the victims were lovers. It does not matter whether or not they were related. It does not matter whether or not the victims were white, black, tan, olive, or fuscia.

What matters is that they had a right to be safe and they had the right to life. They had that right forcefully and maliciously removed from them.

Because of that... the perpetrators rights to life... and rights to enjoy life in a free society have been removed.

Justice was done.

unless you are a very close friend with julie, tom, or a nurse at the hospital were julie had the abortions (which i assume you are none of the above) i think you should stop watching soap operas and watch real life news, not everyone who is close to someone the oposit sex ( friend, cousin, brother, etc) have to have sex, maybe in your sick little world, but dont you think that if they planned on having sex they would have gone there alone? or to a motel since they were older than 18?! duh, get your nose out of uselee magazines and star thinking on real facts.

What the HELL is wrong with you morons?!?!?!?This sick fuck deserves to die for what he did to 2 women and 1 man! So do his bastard accomplices! Learn the facts before you try to spew out anything about "justice". Quit with that "Oh, they're racists!" bullshit! If anything, these were 3 BLACK men who killed 2 WHITE women, and attempted to kill another WHITE man!!! So who are the racists? Why aren't you calling THEM racist? The fact is, these four losers are BAD PEOPLE who did BAD THINGS and they deserve the hell that God will be putting them into. Think people! God Bless Julie, Robin, and Tom for all they were put through by these so called "men"

he should have been killed by the death penalty because he did that to those girls and the death penalty is a very good thing to have to keep people in line if you ask me all of those guys should have been killed.

Great!, burn in hell.

this is absolutely crazy! people actually think this man was innocent. justice was served is all i have to say.

you play you pay. every one knows the rules. if you don't want to die DON'T KILL!!! clear enough?

You kill innocent people u die. You dont kill you dont die. Its very simple.

The look in that man's eyes when he was lying to all those people saying that he didn't do it just brought tears to my eyes.

i think if they would start killing these bastards instead of feeding them and housing them and using our tax money to do so that the crime rate would start decreasing and the economy would be much better! Do the crime, and pay thats the way it should be. Of course, I do believe that they should make 110% sure that the person is guilty first.

The guy admitted he raped 2 girls and then smoked some pot. He was a piece of garbage and deserves to be in the ground where he is now. End of story.