ST. LOUIS • Reginald Clemons, facing a retrial next year on charges of raping and killing two sisters on the Chain of Rocks Bridge in 1991, will stay in the St. Louis city jail until trial.

St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison on Monday granted Clemons' request to be moved from the Potosi Correctional Center to the city jail.

Clemons, 44, was in court, wearing a dark suit and flanked by his public defenders, Charles Moreland and Heather Vodnansky. Prosecutors Rachel Smith and Beth Orwick appeared for the state.

Jury selection in Clemons' murder retrial is set for Feb. 23, with opening arguments expected Feb. 27. He also is charged with rape and robbery in the case, with a trial set for March 20. Under Missouri law in effect at the time of the crime, a first-degree murder charge must be tried separately.

Clemons has been fighting his death sentence for the murders of Julie Kerry, 20, and Robin Kerry, 19. In a 4-3 decision written by Chief Justice Patricia Breckenridge, the Missouri Supreme Court in November overturned his conviction and sent the case back to circuit court.