A teen-age, African-American suspect. White murder victims. No physical evidence. Recanted eyewitness testimony. A guilty verdict, a death sentence and much doubt. We've been down this road before with the execution of Troy Davis.

Reggie Clemons has been incarcerated 20 years. Two young women tragically lost their lives, but no one can be sure that Clemons was responsible for their deaths.

He has been sentenced to die for a crime he may not have committed.

Clemons was convicted as an accomplice to the murder of sisters Julie and Robin Kerry on April 4, 1991. The sisters met Clemons, Marlin Gray, Antonio Richardson and Daniel Winfrey on the Chain of Rocks Bridge, a popular hangout for teenagers. The girls were with their cousin, Thomas Cummins. The sisters were pushed or forced to jump from the bridge into the Mississippi River. Julie Kerry's body was found three weeks later. Robin Kerry's body never was found.

Cummins spoke to police early in the morning after the murders. He said the four men robbed him and his cousins, raped the girls and pushed the girls off the bridge and said he was forced to jump off the bridge. The police were suspicious of Cummins' story because he appeared dry, neatly combed and uninjured after supposedly jumping 80 feet to the river. The results of a lie detector test were recorded as "deceptive."

Cummins then confessed to the murders, saying he made a sexual advance toward Julie Kerry and, after an altercation, pushed her off the bridge. He said Robin Kerry either jumped to save her sister or was forced to jump. He was arrested but released when Richardson implicated himself, Clemons, Gray and Winfrey in the murders. The four men were arrested. A month later, charges against Cummins were dropped when he identified them in a lineup.

Cummins then accused Clemons, Gray, Richardson and Winfrey of the murders. To receive a lesser charge, Winfrey corroborated the story.

Clemons, Gray and Richardson were given death sentences for the murders. Gray and Clemons were sentenced by the state under the law of "accomplice liability." There has been no physical evidence, fingerprints, DNA or hair samples linking Clemons to the crime. 

Richardson's sentence was reduced to life in prison. Gray was executed in 2005. Winfrey, the lone white defendant, was paroled in 2007. Clemons, originally scheduled for execution in June 2009, received a stay from the U.S. Court of Appeals. The Missouri Supreme Court appointed Judge Michael Manners to review the case. The review, rescheduled several times, is set for March 5.

Manners can give Clemons a new trial, set a new execution date or recommend immediate release. Manners has been asked to consider evidence in cold storage at the police department's crime lab. Apparently, "the state has discovered three laboratory reports and certain physical evidence, including what is commonly referred to as a rape kit. The evidence had not been previously disclosed as part of the state's case against Mr. Clemons."

Clemons, Gray and Cummins independently lodged complaints of police brutality against the officers who interrogated them. Clemons said his head was slammed repeatedly against the walls of the interrogation room.  Officers denied the claims. Clemons says his request for a lawyer was denied and he repeatedly was beaten. He says he confessed because of the beatings. He denied any involvement in the Kerry sisters' fall from the bridge but admitted to participating in the rape of the sisters. That admission also may have been coerced.

A lawyer, counselor and Clemons' sister all said his face was swollen when they visited him after the confession; Clemons' family also noticed his face was swollen at arraignment. When the judge ordered Clemons to be examined in an emergency room, he was diagnosed with muscle pain, muscle inflammation and a swollen right cheek. 

The prosecutor's conduct at the trial was unprofessional, over-aggressive and abusive. The trial judge admonished the prosecutor several times for "improper questions, objections and comments."

Clemons' parents hired two lawyers: One was a bankruptcy and civil litigation attorney; the other was indefinitely suspended from the bar in 1999. Upon finding the legal team was not making the necessary preparations, a third lawyer was hired. This attorney confirmed "they had collected no evidence and had done no investigation with respect to possible mitigation" and that one of the lawyers "admitted to me he had not even read the police reports."

Under Missouri law, Clemons could be convicted as an accomplice to first-degree murder only if he "coolly deliberated" on the murder beforehand. When jurors were asked if they could consider the death penalty for Clemons, the prosecutor failed to mention the premeditation requirement.

Later reviews found at least one juror (and perhaps six) improperly excluded because the premeditation requirement was not mentioned. The Supreme Court has ruled that if even one juror has been improperly excluded from a death penalty case, the death sentence must be reversed. 

One possible juror had assisted the prosecutor in investigating the case, and his admitted feelings about Clemons' guilt may have tainted other jurors. Finally, six of the jurors heard other possible jurors (who were later dismissed) state they already had decided Clemons was guilty. These statements may have tainted some of the jurors.

Despite Cummins' confession and Winfrey's involvement the night of the murders, neither was sentenced as harshly as the three African-American men involved. The trial judge noted a disproportionate number of African-Americans were disqualified during jury selection. All but two of the jurors were white.

Last year, Georgia executed Troy Davis, a man many believed to be innocent of the crimes for which he was sentenced to death. Supporters proclaimed "I am Troy Davis." Who is Troy Davis? I am Troy Davis. The next Troy Davis? That man may well be sitting on Missouri's death row.

I also am Reggie Clemons.

Richard Stack, a native St. Louisan and Missouri Bar member since 1978, has served on the faculty of American University's School of Communication 21 years. Publication of his fourth book, "Grave Injustice: Unearthing Wrongful Executions," is scheduled later this year. Amnesty International provided information for this commentary.