On January 10, 2011 Missouri Governor Jeremiah Nixon granted clemency to Richard Clay, commuting his sentence to life without parole.  Mr. Clay was scheduled to be executed at 12:01 on January 12, 2011, despite overwhelming evidence that he is innocent and that his conviction and sentence were a result of prosecutorial misconduct by Kenny Hulshof.  Two courts have found that Hulshof’s misconduct resulted in wrongful convictions of innocent men.  Joshua Kezer was freed in 2008 after 14 years of wrongful incarceration and in December 2010, Dale Helmig finally walked out of prison a free man. 

Phillips Black Principal Jennifer Merrigan assisted Mr. Clay’s defense team in their clemency campaign, developing a video in support of clemency.