Prosecutor: State should handle retrial in bridge deaths

     (AP) – St. Louis' prosecutor has asked a judge to appoint state
prosecutors to the retrial of a man once condemned for his alleged role in the
deaths of two sisters pushed from an abandoned Mississippi River bridge.
     The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Jennifer Joyce's chief prosecutor
argued Wednesday to Circuit Judge Rex Burlison that Joyce's office has limited
resources. Rachel Smith also said state prosecutors have the necessary
experience and knowledge of Reginald Clemons' case to take over.
     Burlison deferred a decision.
     Clemons was among four men convicted in the 1991 deaths of 20-year-old Julie
Kerry and her 19-year-old sister, Robin.
     Smith has objected to Clemons' requests for more time to prepare for the
retrial.
     The Missouri Supreme Court late last year overturned Clemons' 1993 conviction.