CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the death sentence of William Glenn Rogers, who was convicted in 2000 of the kidnapping, rape and murder of a Clarksville child.
The convictions still stand, the court said. The judges from the Sixth Circuit Court said that in the sentencing phase, where the court questioned a fair result.
This case derives from a man introducing himself in 1996 to a group of children at a mud puddle in Montgomery County, where he identified as an undercover police officer. A few days later, the man appeared at the house of one child — Jackie Beard, 9. When she went to go pick blackberries. Beard's mother couldn't find her. A neighbor told Beard's mother that he saw a car matching the man's description leaving the area. Police later identified that man as Rogers.
Hunters later found her body in the woods near Land Between the Lakes. Her clothing and shoes were near her remains. Tests later indicated sperm heads were on the inside crotch area of her shorts. A jury later convicted him of first-degree felony murder, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of rape of a child and two counts of criminal impersonation.
Back in 2008, NewsChannel 5 interviewed Rogers from death row. Rogers said then that he believed DNA evidence would render him free. DNA from the trial showed inconclusive results.
"I just hope the DNA test go deep enough to find out, you know, separate these two or three samples they said they've got that are mixed up," Rogers said in 2008. "The reason it was inconclusive to begin with, which would prove it's not mine. I just want to prove I didn't do this, I don't want to die with a bad name."
In 2008, a judge stayed his execution. Gov. Bill Lee has currently halted all executions in Tennessee after drugs in the Oscar Smith case
A lower court will now decide if the death penalty should be upheld.
While the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals didn't make a decision on guilt, it could reintroduce the opportunity for a new trial.
