CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A child rape and murder case that shocked Clarksville 26 years ago is coming back for new sentencing, after an appeals court found problems with the death sentence for William Glenn Rogers.

Rogers was found guilty of the 1996 kidnapping, rape and murder of 9-year-old Jacqueline “Jackie” Beard. He was sentenced to death.

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But on Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit issued an opinion that said, “Rogers’ counsel rendered ineffective assistance at the sentencing phase that makes us doubt whether this phase of the trial produced a fair result,” according to the 48-page document.

The court affirmed Rogers’ conviction, but it appears the sentencing is coming back for new court proceedings.

When contacted about the ruling Wednesday night, Montgomery County District Attorney General Robert Nash told Clarksville Now that his office is aware of the ruling.

“We are reviewing that order and its opinions,” Nash said. His office will then determine what the next steps should be.

Jackie’s disappearance

On July 3, 1996, Jackie Beard and her brother and cousin were playing near a mud puddle when Rogers approached them. He identified himself as “Tommy Robertson” and said he was an undercover police officer. He also told the girl’s mother, Jeannie Meyer, he was a police officer before he left in his car, according to court documents.

Five days later, on July 8, Rogers showed up at the Meyer home and said he had lost a key. Shortly after he left, Jackie went outside to pick blackberries. When she failed to return, her mother searched the area and then notified authorities.

Rogers, 34, at the time, was first questioned on July 11. He told police several stories, finally saying he had accidently run over the child. He signed a statement saying he put her in his car, drove to a bridge and threw her body in the Cumberland River, the court documents said.

Her skeletal remains and clothing were discovered four months later in a wooded area of Stewart County. Human semen stains and fibers consistent with carpet in Rogers’ house were discovered on the shorts she had been wearing the day she disappeared.

The court case

During a jury trial, Rogers was convicted of first degree premeditated murder, first degree felony murder in the perpetration of a kidnaping, first degree felony murder in the perpetration of a rape, especially aggravated kidnaping, rape of a child and two counts of criminal impersonation. The trial court merged the felony murder convictions with the premeditated murder conviction.

Rogers was sentenced to death for murder. He was additionally sentenced to 48 years in prison for the kidnaping and rape.