Iowa Supreme Court affirms Stanley Liggins’ conviction in 1990 death of Rock Island girl

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed Stanley Liggins’ life sentence without parole for the death of 9-year-old Jennifer Lewis in 1990.

Among his arguments, Liggins argued his conviction should be tossed because of alleged juror misconduct, admission of a transcript testimony of a dead witness without a full opportunity for cross-examination and a violation of due process because his trial happened more than 30 years after Lewis’ was killed.

In its opinion, the Supreme Court agreed with prosecutors and wrote, “But even applying the more stringent de novo review standard, we agree with the State that the handling of the jury misconduct issue does not provide grounds for reversal. There may be situations when the district court has an obligation to inquire further into jury misconduct under Remmer, but not on the unique facts of this case.”

In April 2019, Liggins was found guilty of murdering Lewis.

Liggins was tried four times in the killing. Two convictions in the 1990s were subsequently overturned. The third trial ended with a hung jury in the fall of 2018.

According to court records, Lewis left her Rock Island home on Sept. 17, 1990. Her body was later found burning outside a Davenport school.

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