Texas Death Penalty

A very moving description of a recent visit with Mumia Abu-Jamal who is now in general population

2012-02-09T16:34:00.000-08:00

By Johanna Fernandez.

Comrades, Brothers and Sisters:

Heidi Boghosian and I just returned from a very moving visit with Mumia. We visited yesterday, Thursday, February 2. This was Mumia's second contact visit in over 30 years, since his transfer to General Population last Friday, Jan 27. His first contact visit was with his wife, Wadiya, on Monday, January 30.
Unlike our previous visits to Death Row at SCI Greene and to solitary confinement at SCI Mahanoy, our visit yesterday took place in a large visitor's area, amidst numerous circles of families and spouses who were visiting other inmates. Compared to the intense and focused conversations we had had with Mumia in a small, isolated visiting cell on Death Row, behind sterile plexiglass, this exchange was more relaxed and informal and more unpredictably interactive with the people around us...it was more human. There were so many scenes of affection around us, of children jumping on top of and pulling at their fathers, of entire families talking intimately around small tables, of couples sitting and quietly holding each other, and of girlfriends and wives stealing a forbidden kiss from the men they were there to visit (kisses are only allowed at the start and at the end of visits). These scenes were touching and beautiful, and markedly different from the images of prisoners presented to us by those in power. Our collective work could benefit greatly from these humane, intimate images.
When we entered, we immediately saw Mumia standing across the room. We walked toward each other and he hugged both of us simultaneously. We were both stunned that he would embrace us so warmly and share his personal space so generously after so many years in isolation.
He looked young, and we told him as much. He responded, "Black don't crack!" We laughed.
He talked to us about the newness of every step he has taken since his release to general population a week ago. So much of what we take for granted daily is new to him, from the microwave in the visiting room to the tremor he felt when, for the first time in 30 years, he kissed his wife. As he said in his own words, "the only thing more drastically different than what I'm experiencing now would be freedom." He also noted that everyone in the room was watching him.
The experience of breaking bread with our friend and comrade was emotional. It was wonderful to be able to talk and share grilled cheese sandwiches, apple danishes, cookies and hot chocolate from the visiting room vending machines.
One of the highlights of the visit came with the opportunity to take a photo. This was one of the first such opportunities for Mumia in decades, and we had a ball! Primping the hair, making sure that we didn't have food in our teeth, and nervously getting ready for the big photo moment was such a laugh! And Mumia was openly tickled by every second of it.
When the time came to leave, we all hugged and were promptly instructed to line up against the wall and walk out with the other visitors. As we were exiting the prison, one sister pulled us aside and told us that she couldn't stop singing Kelly Clarkson's line "some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this." She shared that she and her parents had followed Mumia's case since 1981 and that she was overjoyed that Mumia was alive and in general population despite Pennsylvania's bloodthirsty pursuit of his execution. We told her that on April 24 we were going to launch the fight that would win Mumia's release: that on that day we were going to Occupy the Justice Department in Washington DC. She told us that because she recently survived cancer she now believed in possibility, and that since Mumia was now in general population she could see how we could win. She sent us off with the line from Laverne and Shirley's theme song - "never heard the word impossible!"- gave us her number, and asked us to sign her up for the fight.
We're still taking it all in. The journey has been humbling and humanizing, and we are re-energized and re-inspired!!
In the words of City Lights editor, Greg Ruggiero:"
"Long Term Goal: End Mass Incarceration.
Short Term Goal: Free Mumia Abu-Jamal!"
--Johanna Fernandez

Beccaria - A Poetry project in Philadelphia, PA

2012-02-03T12:17:00.000-08:00

About this project

Beccaria is a chapbook of poetry which brings awareness to the death penalty in Pennsylvania. The chapbook is a compilation of the art and poetry of murder victims' family members, current death row inmates and exonerated death row prisoners. The first printing of the chapbook was funded through a Leeway Art and Change Grant. This project is to fund the second printing and will be available for purchase and available for the first time to prison inmates by May 2012.

The Leeway Foundation site states the intention of the chapbook "is to make a powerful artistic statement that could potentially encourage those that read it to consider whether the death penalty truly serves the needs of victims or the community at large."
Read a review of Beccaria here

Beccaria contributers:
Delbert Tibbs, David Keaton, Mary DeWitt, Reginald Lewis, Jan Williams, Devon Williams, Elizabeth Johnson, Hasan Shakur, Aja Beech

Help Stop the Execution of Hart Turner

2012-02-01T12:10:00.001-08:00

For more information, please contact:
Jim Craig, Louisiana Capital Assistance Center
636 Baronne Street, New Orleans, LA 70113

(504) 558-9867 jimc@thejusticecenter.org

Contact the Governor:

The Hon. Phil Bryant

Governor of Mississippi

Phone: 601.359.3150

Camp.Murphy@governor.ms.gov

At the request of Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood, the MS Supreme Court has set the execution of Edwin Hart Turner for 6 pm on February 8. Hart is on death row for killing two men at a Mississippi gas station in 1995. He had no prior criminal history.

Just six weeks before the crime, Hart was released from a three-month stay at a mental institution after his second suicide attempt in five years. Upon release Hart felt “upbeat” and those around him were hopeful that he was finally recovering from the mental disturbances which had plagued him since childhood.

He wasn’t. Hart’s behavior grew increasingly bizarre and manic. He attributed his new energy to the Prozac prescribed by the hospital but said that he “could not sleep because his mind was going too fast” and that he “couldn’t think right” or “make a complete sentence in his head.” A few days before the crimes, Hart broke down and sobbed uncontrollably for hours – “shift[ing] back and forth many times from ‘I am not a bad person’ to ‘I am a bad person,’” before eventually falling asleep fully clothed, awaking the next morning with no memory of what happened.

Hart’s mental disturbance wasn’t surprising given his background. Though Hart was a “considerate and affectionate boy” who would “hug you when he saw you,” he was raised in an environment of abuse and trauma. His family tree was littered with mental illness – his grandmother and great-grandmother were each committed to the State Hospital at Whitfield on numerous occasions. Hart was raised by alcoholics who fought in his presence and threw furniture at each other constantly. Hart’s mother attempted suicide twice, and when Hart was twelve his father was killed in a dynamite explosion that his family has come to believe was actually suicide.

Hart’s own struggles with mental illness began early – his mother took Hart to the hospital on two occasions when Hart was fifteen, reporting that he was “acting funny,” and Hart told doctors he was having trouble sleeping and his generally good grades were falling. Throughout adolescence, Hart was repeatedly hospitalized for what was called “agitated depression.” At 18 Hart attempted to kill himself with a rifle. The barrel of the gun slipped enough to spare his life, but the bullet blasted through his face leaving him permanently disfigured. From then on, Hart wore a towel wrapped around his face to hide the scars, which he never removed, choosing even to leave the room to eat or drink rather than expose his face to his family.

Five years, and several unsuccessful treatments, later, Hart slit his wrists. He was hospitalized and treated for an impulse disorder. Hart was discharged then readmitted pursuant to court order, diagnosed as having a major depressive disorder and personality disorder, and prescribed Prozac. Hart’s Prozac dosage was quickly doubled. Then Hart was again released, reported “feeling so good,” and defied orders to attend outpatient appointments. His mania deepened. Hart acted erratic and impulsive, and even stripped off all his clothes (and his face-shrouding towel) and danced in a local bar. Six weeks after his release, Hart, who had no prior criminal history, shot and killed Everett Curry and Eddie Brooks, in an irrational and impulsive crime. Hart, dressed in his tell-tale face towel and thus immediately recognizable to the residents of his small Mississippi town, was well-off financially after his father’s death and had no particular reason to commit the robberies and homicides.
Hart was immediately arrested and tried for capital murder. The jury deciding Hart’s fate heard simply that he was depressed, that his depression was “well-controlled” at the time of the murders, so the killings could only be explained by the fact that Hart simply “lacked moral brakes.”

In the 17 years since Hart’s trial, legal technicalities have blocked the courts from taking evidence and squarely deciding the question of whether Hart suffered from a mental disorder which impacted his capacity for judgment and/or was able to control his conduct at the time of the crime. At the same time it scheduled Hart Turner for execution, the Supreme Court refused to order an official medical exam to determine his mental condition and report to the Court.

Numerous mental health experts have reviewed the case and have reached the conclusion that Hart was suffering from a severe mental disorder at the time of the crimes which would have impacted his moral and legal culpability. These experts agree that at the very minimum, Hart’s history demonstrates the need for a searching mental health review. They point to a laundry list of facts that merit further inquiry:

* Hart’s own documented history of mental disturbances, bizarre behavior leading up to the offense, and repeated hospitalizations throughout adolescence for impulsiveness, agitated depression, and suicidal thinking and actions.

* Hart’s family history of mental illness, including a grandmother and a great-grandmother who were institutionalized with diagnoses of schizophrenia, prevalent addiction in the family, and suicide attempts from both parents.

* Hart’s documented history indicative of traumatic brain injury, including being unresponsive and potentially anoxic at birth, hospital treatment on at least three occasions for head injuries, battles with substance abuse including gasoline huffing as a young teenager, a shotgun blast to the face and head, and an 18-point drop in performance IQ (from 108 to 90). At the time of his offense, neither PET scans nor fMRI were in wide use, or used on Hart.

* Hart’s exposure to traumatic events during childhood, including witnessing intense physical fights between his parents, his father’s horrifying death and his mother’s threats to beat him if he cried about it. Hart has never been evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder.

* Developments in the treatment of mental illness since 1995 which demonstrate the danger that anti-depressants (like Prozac) may actually compound mania when prescribed to individuals with bipolar disorder.

Without intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court or by the Governor of Mississippi, Hart Turner, a man suffering from a life-long, hereditary and crippling mental illness, will be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday, February 8, 2012. Please help!

Former Death Row prisoner Tim McKinney has a new trial date - April 9, 2012

2012-01-30T19:12:00.000-08:00

The struggle to stop the execution of Troy Davis last fall showed the brutal reality of innocent, African-American men on death rows across this country. Now we face yet another urgent case: the time is now to stand with Tim McKinney. Tim McKinney is an innocent man who was on Tennessee's death row for over a decade.

He is going to be re-tried for murder on April 9, 2012.

We are seeking help negotiating this new stage in Tim’s struggle for justice and would appreciate your advice and contribution. How can we PACK THE COURTS April 9^th?!

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Mr. McKinney is former prisoner of TN’s Death Row. This past year Tim was granted a new trial and he is now in the Memphis County jail awaiting an April 9, 2012 hearing. I have worked with Tim in cooperation with the Campaign to End the Death Penalty since 2002.

Our efforts include securing pro-bono counsel for his appeals process with the international law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell (read more at http://www.davispolk.com/pro-bono/practices/death-penalty/) and being featured at the CEDP annual conference on multiple occasions. We have put together a substantial website at www.timmckinney.org. The case is also featured on the Tennesseeans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty’s website at http://www.tennesseedeathpenalty.org/?page_id=156.

At this time we are reaching out to the TN community to get support in anticipation of a challenging process in the courts. Being granted a new trial is a huge victory but Tim has faced additional challenges in Memphis.

We kindly ask that you take the time to look over Tim’s case and consider how you or other TN activists and professionals might help our cause. Please let me know what I can do to assist you in joining our campaign. We know your time is valuable.

How can we PACK THE COURTS April 9^th?!

Thank you for your consideration,

Katharine Bawa Smith

Chairwoman

Timothy McKinney Innocence Committee

smith.katharine@gmail.com

(703) 336 3440

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I am inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words: "I do not think that God approves the death penalty for any crime, rape and murder included. Capital punishment is against the better judgment of modern criminology, and, above all, against the highest expression of love in the nature of God."

Execution Watch Jan. 26: Rodrigo Hernandez

2012-01-24T21:40:00.000-08:00

Rodrigo Hernandez

By Execution Watch

After a hiatus of more than two months, Texas will gear up its death machine Thursday for the state killing of Rodrigo Hernandez. Execution Watch will provide live coverage and commentary on KPFT FM-Houston, starting at 6 p.m. Central Time.

The show may be heard online at http:executionwatch.org > Listen.

It will be the first execution of 2012 in the busiest death chamber in America. Six other executions are on the calendar in Huntsville over the next three months.

Show Preview:

EXECUTION WATCH
"Unless a stay is issued, we'll broadcast ..."
Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, 6-7 PM CT
KPFT Houston 90.1 FM, HD-3
Listen online: www.executionwatch.org > Listen
*** Join the Execution Watch discussion on Facebook ***

TEXAS PLANS TO EXECUTE:
RODRIGO HERNANDEZ, 40, condemned following his 2004 conviction in the murder of a Frito-Lay saleswoman in San Antonio a decade earlier. The U.S. Supreme Court declined in 2010 to hear his appeal. Background at executionwatch.org > Backpage on Rodrigo Hernandez.

SHOW LINEUP
Host: MARLO BLUE is news anchor for KPFT, where she interviews major newsmakers and helms the live Local News broadcast each weekday at 4:00.

Legal Analyst: JIM SKELTON, a legal educator and retired attorney, the native Texan has seen capital trials from both the prosecution defense tables. Joining him, attorneys SUSAN ASHLEY and LARRY DOUGLAS.

Prof. Robert Bohm

Featured Interview: PROF. ROBERT BOHM is the author of the just-released fourth edition of DEATHQUEST, the first textbook dedicated to capital punishment. Prof. Bohm, who once worked as a corrections officer, teaches criminal justice at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Reporter, Death House, Huntsville: GLORIA RUBAC founder and leader, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, abolitionmovement.org.

Reporter, Vigil, Houston: DAVE ATWOOD, a founder of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, will report from the vigil the group sponsors in Houston, www.tcadp.org.

NEXT SCHEDULED EXECUTION
On Feb. 1, Texas plans to execute DONALD NEWBURY. We’ll broadcast the details, including any unresolved issues. Details: executionwatch.org

PRODUCER: Elizabeth, eliza.tx.usa @gmail.com.
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Otis, omaclay @gmail.com.
STUDIO ENGINEER: Doyle.
THEME: By Victoria Panetti, SheMonster International, myspace.com/shemonster.
WEB: http://executionwatch.org
FACEBOOK: Execution Watch
KPFT FM-Houston is a flagship station of the nonprofit Pacifica Network.

(END)

14 Arrested In Death Penalty Protest at Supreme Court

2012-01-19T14:16:00.000-08:00

Inside, the Supreme Court was hearing arguments in a dusty federal tax case. Outside, police were arresting 14 death penalty protesters who unfurled a 30-foot wide banner with the message "STOP EXECUTIONS!" on the Court's marble plaza. One by one this morning, the demonstrators were escorted or dragged away for violating the federal law (40 U.S.C. 6135) that forbids "processions or assemblages" on Supreme Court grounds.

The protest marked the 35th anniversary of the Utah execution by firing squad of Gary Gilmore, the first execution since the high court's reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. It was a repeat of a similar demonstration five years ago, and in between, numerous others -- from Princeton philosopher Cornel West to demonstrators dressed like Guantanamo detainees -- have been arrested in the same location.

The demonstrators assembled beforehand at the nearby United Methodist Building where they discussed what to expect when arrested, and held hands in prayer. Bethesda, Maryland solo practitioner Mark Goldstone, longtime lawyer for Court protesters, briefed the group on the legalities, and told them, as he put it later, "It's too bad you aren't corporations, because then you would have more First Amendment protections."

Shortly after 10 a.m., the protesters ambled over to the Court to begin a process that they knew would end in arrest. In a 1983 decision United States v. Grace, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a no-protest zone on Court property. It allowed demonstrations on the public sidewalk in front of the Court, so the protesters today probably knew they were breaking the law as soon as they walked onto the Court's marble plaza.

Court police were out in force in anticipation of the protest, but they allowed the demonstrators to enter the plaza and begin climbing the majestic steps, even though the steps are no longer used as an entrance. Suddenly, one of the group took the rolled-up banner out from under his coat and the demonstrators, now facing the street, unfurled the banner for all to see. Encouraged nearly 100 demonstrators on the sidewalk, they chanted "Abolition now!" and "They say death row, we say hell no!"

Court police watched intently, but did nothing to stop the protest or to confiscate the banner. After a few minutes, Court police chief Ross Swope came out from the Court building with a bullhorn to warn those holding the banner that they were in violation of the law and "will be arrested." After 10 more minutes of chants, the police started to move in with plastic handcuffs. The arrests came one at a time at one end of the banner. As each protester was taken away, those remaining spread out to keep the banner aloft. When only two protesters were left, they dropped it. As they were taken away, Court police folded up the banner neatly. After processing inside the Court building, the arrestees were expected to be detained overnight by D.C. police and arraigned on Wednesday.

Goldstone, a veteran observer of these demonstrations, said he was generally pleased with the conduct of the Court police. "They seemed very relaxed, and didn't prevent the demonstration from happening," Goldstone said, adding that he was impressed by their respectful handling of the banner. "They didn't just grab it away or treat it like an incendiary device."

Photograph: AP Photo/Evan Vucci

URGENT CASE UPDATE: Motion Denied for Rob Will. His case is now facing the 5th Circuit with NO lawyer

2012-01-19T14:12:00.000-08:00

The information below was posted on Rob Will's blog. He received word this week that his motion has been denied by a federal judge and that his case will now go to the Fifth Circuit. Rob's support team has sent a list of what you can do to help.

Rob Will is an innocent man on Texas death row. He has been an inspiring fighter for justice in the DRIVE movement, often facing physical abuse by prison guards for peaceful protesting the death penalty and prison conditions. Please take a minute to learn about his case, pass on information to others, and drop him a line of solidarity.

FREE ROB WILL!

Randi Jones Hensley

http://freerobwill.blogspot.com/2012/01/urgent-case-update-motion-denied-for_19.html

URGENT CASE UPDATE: Motion Denied for Rob Will. His case is now facing the 5th Circuit with NO lawyer.

It is with a very heavy heart and great sadness that I share with you the Judge issued a ruling in Rob Will's case last January 16, 2012 denying his motion and that leaves us headed to the Fifth Circuit. Robert Gene Will was wrongfully convicted of the murder of a Harris County Deputy in January 2002 and sentenced to death. Robert Will has proclaimed his innocence throughout and continues to do so from his cell on Death Row. Since his conviction a total of 5 new witnesses have come forward and provided sworn affidavits that state Robert Will is not the killer.

Robert's case has been plagued with problems as a result of the incompetent court-appointed attorneys, as well as the injustice of the Texas judicial system. His trial attorneys failed to investigate his case, went to trial unprepared and refused Robert the chance to actively participate in his own defense. His state habeas counsel was removed from the list of state approved appeals attorneys after he filed identical appeals for Robert Will and the "Railroad Serial Killer", Angel Maturino Resendiz. Neither appeal mentioned the defendants or their cases and both included incorrect conviction dates. Stephen Bright, president and senior councel of the Southern Center for Human Rights reffered to to Rob’s habeas counsel as "completely incompetent" and the subsequent acceptance of denial of the the Court of Criminal Appeals of Rob's appeal as an unjustified, unconcerned act. "But this poor quality of lawyering -Bright stated before the US House of Representatives- is so common in these courts that they just deny the appeals based on briefs that would not receive a passing grade in a first -year legal writing course." [September 22, 2009]

Rob's federal habeas attorney has also failed to present the available evidence of Robert's innocence. As the federal judge made it very clear in the denied motion Rob Will's case has errors of GRAVE PROPORTION in all its stages. To further add to the frustration, Rob's attorney filed a motion to withdraw as Rob's counsel which was granted by the court. That leaves us with NO attorney as Rob is facing the Fifth Circuit. Robert's case highlights the inadequacies and prejudices of the U.S justice system and in particular the injustice that the poorer members of American society receive.

The clock is ticking and Rob needs our help and support now more than ever. We'll be posting action in the following days, please take part in them! If you want to help, here are some things you can do for now:

SPREAD THE WORD about Rob, his website www.freerobwill.org, twitter @freerobwill1 and blog http://freerobwill.blogspot.com/ Let your friends and family know about Rob and what he is facing. Encourage them to read about his case and to befriend us on facebook www.facebook.com/freerobwill. You can also change your profile picture and use one of Rob's or of our campaign to create awareness.

Printable material like brochures and Rob's press kit in English, French and German ara available to download in Rob's website and here too You can also find them in ourFB albums here

We have also a youtube channel Lethal Injustice. Feel free to share those videos in English, French and German to spread the word about Rob.

If you haven't yet, "like" our NGO in Facebook Lethal Injustice.

Drop a line to Rob Will and show him your solidarity. If you have never written to Rob Will but would like to take the opportunity to send him a message of support the quickest way (especially since the mail room is holding incoming and outgoing mail) is through JPay. These are emails that can be printed and delivered to him. It is 44 cents per page but it would mean the world to Rob to hear words of solidarity and encouragement. Their website is www.jpay.com

If you can, consider giving a donation to help us find him effective representation IMMEDIATELY and continue with Rob's campaign. To help in our efforts to raise funds for his cause check out our web shop! There are solidarity items like the PERSEVERANCE unisex t-shirts with a bold graphic design. These are high quality 100% cotton shirts designed by Dennis Schröder from Supportershirt and printed by DirAction from Hamburg. And they come is all sizes! Or choose among the other items offered there.

We are organizing the next steps to follow and we'll let you know as soon as possible what we can do together. This is by no means the end. The fight goes on!

Thank you for your unwavering solidarity and support!

Rob Will's Support Team

Case for a Second Chance

2012-01-17T12:25:00.000-08:00

The case for a second chance
Socialist Worker
January 17, 2012

Marlene Martin of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty reports on the case of Robert Gattis--and what the fight to
save him says about the criminal justice system.

ROBERT GATTIS, who faces an execution date on Friday, January 20, has won the first pardons board recommendation
for clemency for a Delaware death row prisoner in the modern era of capital punishment. The state's Board of Pardons
voted 4-1 in favor of his death sentence being commuted to life without the possibility of parole.

Now, it is up to Gov. Jack Markell, a Democrat and former parole board member himself, whether Gattis lives or dies.

Gattis was convicted of killing his girlfriend, Shirley Slay, during a domestic dispute in 1990, and he was sentenced to
death in 1992. He has spent the last 20 years on death row. Gattis has never denied shooting Shirley, but he has
expressed remorse for his actions ever since.

The parole board's decision to recommend clemency was unexpected, and opponents of the death penalty are thrilled
to have won this important round in the fight to save Robert. They say they are confident Markell will do the right
thing, given the board's decision. Exonerated Illinois death row prisoner Darby Tillis traveled 20 hours to join efforts to
try to help save Robert. "I was just so elated to hear the words that he had won his clemency yesterday," Tillis said. "It
just opened up floods of joy in my heart."

Delaware's parole board has never once, in 16 previous capital cases that came before it, recommended clemency.
Barbara Lewis, Robert's mother, attended the clemency hearing. "I could tell the board was listening when they heard
people speak in support of Robert," she said. "But it was so hard to tell what they were thinking. I wasn't sure they
even cared."

Sandy Jones, an activist with the Delaware chapter of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty and a professor at
Rowan University, agreed. She said:

Quite honestly, I was bracing myself and Barbara for bad news. I didn't think the board would vote this way, even
though Robert is surely deserving of clemency. I think this shows the changing mood with respect to the death
penalty, as well as the persuasive clemency fight waged on Robert's behalf.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

DURING THE hearing before the board, Gattis' lawyers presented evidence that Robert had suffered systematic abuse
and neglect while he was growing up. Their clemency petition describes how Robert was sexually violated at a young
age by members of his own family, including being anally raped, and how his stepfather beat and humiliated him.
Mental health experts who examined Robert described his case as one of "catastrophic abuse and neglect."

As a result of this abuse, Robert began to show signs early on that he was suffering--he would bite himself and
sometimes lash out in a rage. As Wanda, Robert's sister, tearfully told the board:

I always believed if people really knew Robert and what he lived through and what it did to him, they would
understand...I was molested by my own family members, and it hasn't been anything easy to let go. For the love of my
brother, please understand that he deserves a second chance. Not only does he keep our family going, he's doing the
same thing inside of these prison walls, and he's making a difference."

The clemency petition draws out a broader point that needs to be remembered in more cases like these where guilt or
innocence is not in doubt, but an injustice is nevertheless taking place:

There is no excuse or justification for Mr. Gattis's crime. Yet the horrific sexual and physical abuse he suffered provides
insight into the impairment of the man who committed that crime.

In Delaware, we have recently learned, to our shock and sorrow, that undetected childhood sexual and physical abuse
is widespread. Our state has begun to provide services to victims and training to those who come into frequent contact
with our children. We do so because we now know that without intervention, the effects of prolonged childhood
sexual abuse are long-lasting, and profoundly disruptive of its victims' abilities to function in intimate relationships.

Robert Gattis never received any such intervention. He was at the mercy of his abusers from preschool to adolescence.
His many abusers included trusted family members who took advantage of him, while no on--not a parent, not a
teacher, not a doctor or clergy person--came to his aid. Much of this abuse occurred on our watch, as he passed
through our schools virtually unnoticed, without meaningful intervention.

Members of the board were clearly moved by the other arguments made for stopping the execution. For example, his
clemency petition goes through 17 cases very similar to Roberts--involving domestic violence and murder--yet in all of
the others, the defendant received a sentence less than death. "The sentencing disparity in these cases has become too
great and offends a moral sense of proportionality," the board wrote in issuing its decision.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WHILE IT is wonderful that the parole board has drawn the right conclusions--and Gov. Markell needs to, as well--you
can't help but wonder what impact this information would have had on the jury at his original trial, had they heard it.
But no jury or judge has ever heard about Robert's horrific history before. When it was first brought up in legal appeals
in 2006, the courts barred it from being presented on procedural grounds.

If the governor stops Robert's execution, his sentence will be commuted to life without the possibility of parole. This
would certainly be a victory over the death penalty, but it has to be asked why Robert shouldn't ever have a second
chance--especially in light of the evidence that has now seen the light of day that he never really had a first chance.

While the question of whether Robert should be freed isn't being discussed, it should be. Given the years he has spent
in prison--not to mention the horrific abuse he suffered before then--this would be the humane thing to do.

Another question that isn't being discussed in this case is the real way to combat domestic abuse, which is completely
bound up with the tragedy that sent him to death row.

Robert's early life of abuse--during which he never received any treatment--led him to attempt suicide, turn to alcohol
and act violently in relationships with those closest to him, including Shirley Slay. Certainly imposing the death penalty
or a life sentence on Robert will do nothing to stop similar types of crimes, because they originate in a society that
inflicts oppression and inequality on so many.

The only way to really stop crimes like these is to work for a society where the aim is for every child to be raised with
love and support--and if they are not, they have access to the kind of mental health and social work services they
need.

While the question of whether Robert (and so many other Roberts) should get a second chance isn't being considered,
it is something activists will need to keep in the forefront of our struggle for justice as we go forward.

"Robert would be wonderful on the outside," says Sandy Jones. "I've known him for eight years, and he is well-loved
and respected on death row. He is a tireless advocate for everyone else, not just himself, and that has won him so
much love and respect."

Robert's mother Barbara, who has stood by her son during his incarceration, had this message to send to Robert's
supporters:

I am so grateful to the efforts of the legal team and activists. It has been a united effort, and I want people to know
that this effort is appreciated. There are no words to express my love and gradiute for all the support, effort, prayers
and thoughts. I don't believe there will be any regrets. You've all opened the door of hope for a better tomorrow.

Delaware News Journal: Pardons Board Is Right to Recommend Clemency

2012-01-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

Today, for the first time in the paper's history, the Delaware News Journal has published an editorial in support of clemency in a death penalty case.

Delaware's Board of Pardons has recommended that condemned prisoner Robert Gattis be allowed to live. The decision came this weekend in a thoughtful, judicious recommendation to the governor.

Mr. Gattis was condemned to death in 1992 for the earlier murder of Shirley Slay. Execution is scheduled for Jan. 20. No one disputed his guilt in the matter. The only question is the severity of the original sentence.

The Board of Pardons' 4-to-1 decision came almost a week after Mr. Gattis appeared before the board to ask for the clemency recommendation. In addition to rarely recommending clemency, board decisions usually come much more quickly than this one did.

It was obvious from the members' questioning at the hearing, from the length of their deliberation and from their statement Sunday, they took seriously the questions about Mr. Gattis' sentence.

These issues included the history of severe physical and sexual abuse Mr. Gattis suffered as a child. That history did not come to light until long after his trial. The board also noted that the jury's recommendation of the death penalty was not unanimous. In addition, the board pointed out that the punishment meted out in similar crimes did not call for the death penalty. For all of that, the board recommended clemency.

The board members added the condition that Mr. Gattis drop his legal appeals. In other words, he should spend the rest of his life behind bars. That condition is appropriate.

We hope Gov. Jack Markell accepts the board's recommendation and spares Mr. Gattis' life.

Civil Disobedience Planned to Mark 35th Anniversary of Executions At U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC

2012-01-17T11:20:00.001-08:00

MEDIA ADVISORY CONTACT:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SCOTTLANGLEY

16 January 2012 518-249-8094 (mobile)

Civil Disobedience Planned to Mark 35th Anniversaryof Executions
At U.S. SupremeCourt in Washington, DC

9:45am Wednesday – Press briefing at the United Methodist Building, Location: 100Maryland Avenue, NE (next to U.S. Supreme Court)

WASHINGTON -- Thirty-five years after the execution of GaryGilmore, the first execution under contemporary laws, members of theAbolitionist Action Committee will stage a highly visual demonstration at theU.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, January 17.

Participants from Texas, South Carolina, Virginia, DC, Utah,Kansas and New York will peacefully and visibly call for an immediate cessationof all executions in the United States through civil disobedience and the riskof arrest.

One of the participants will be Randy Gardner, whosebrother, like Gilmore, was executed in Utah by firing squad. "My Brother Ronnie Lee Gardner wasexecuted June 18th 2010 by the same state, by the same method as Gilmore. I believed then, and I still believe now, that the death penalty is morallywrong. I'm here to help abolish thedeath penalty by protesting in any shape or form."

Thirty years ago, on January 17, 1977, the State of Utahshot to death Gary Gilmore, who "volunteered" to be killed in revengefor his murder of Ben Bushnell and Max Jenson. This state-assisted suicide was the first execution under the SupremeCourt’s upholding of the death penalty in 1976.

Since 1997, a total of 34 arrests have been made of deathpenalty abolitionists for unfurling banners that read "STOPEXECUTIONS!" on the stairs leading to the front doors of the U.S. SupremeCourt. January 17th, 2017 will be the nextinstallment of the every-five-year action.

To date there have been 1278 executions in the U.S. since1977, with others consecutively scheduled on January 18, 19 and 20 in Ohio,Kentucky and Delaware, respectively. Texas has seven executions scheduled this winter.

Despite the continued use of the death penalty, the tide isturning. “A year ago we saw Illinoisrepeal their death penalty. The year before that it was New Mexico. Beforethat, New Jersey and New York. We areseeing a dramatic decrease in both death sentences and executions nationwide,and we are winning. Now is the time toend this practice once and for all,” said Scott Langley, Abolitionist ActionCommittee organizer for the January 17th action.

The Abolitionist Action Committee is an ad-hoc group ofindividuals committed to highly visible and effective public education foralternatives to the death penalty through nonviolent direct action.

# # #

Coretta Scott King on the Death Penalty

2012-01-16T08:27:00.001-08:00

Coretta Scott King, the widow of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., died in 2006 at the age of 78. She is remembered for many brave and selfless acts, including her steady opposition to capital punishment. The widow of one of the nation's most famous murder victims frequently voiced her opposition to the death penalty with a very powerful argument.

"As one whose husband and mother-in-law have died the victims of murder and assassination, I stand firmly and unequivocally opposed to the death penalty for those convicted of capital offenses," she said. "An evil deed is not redeemed by an evil deed of retaliation. Justice is never advanced in the taking of a human life. Morality is never upheld by a legalized murder".

EXECUTION WATCH NAMES TOP 10 DEATH PENALTY STORIES OF 2011

2012-01-02T01:31:00.001-08:00

The mostsignificant death-penalty stories of 2011 have been named by Execution Watch, a news program onPacifica Radio Network’s KPFT FM 90.1 that broadcasts and streams live whenever Texas puts a prisoner todeath:

1. TroyDavis is executed in Georgiadespite lingering doubts about his guilt. The rush to execution was not as unusualas the broad international awareness of, and support for, Davis.

2. MumiaAbu-Jamal makes the metaphorically giant leap from Pennsylvania’sdeath row into general prison population after the Philadelphia district attorney announces itwill stop its 30-year effort to obtain a durable death penalty against him.

3. Texas executes Mexicannational Humberto Leal, flouting international law by refusing to give him anew hearing despite the failure by police to tell him at arrest that he may contactthe Mexican Consulate for legal help.

4. Illinois abolishes thedeath penalty, reducing the number of states with capital punishment to 34. Ina related story, Oregon’sgovernor says no executions will take place during his term but neithercommutes any death sentences nor stops prison officials from selling excessexecution drugs to other states.

5. TheEuropean Union escalates its activism against American use of the death penaltyby banning the export to the United States of barbiturates that could be used toin lethal-injection executions.

6. Thenumber of new death sentences in the United States reaches an historiclow of 78, the first time in more than three decades that fewer than 100 peoplewere condemned to death.

7. AnthonyGraves, exonerated from death row for a murder he did not commit, successfullysues the State of Texasfor compensation owed to him by law, accepting from the comptroller a check for$1.45 million.

8. TheTexas death penalty is declaredunconstitutional by State District Judge Teresa Hawthorne of Dallas, echoing Harris County District JudgeKevin Fine’s earlier ruling, made moot by a plea deal.

9. Thedeath penalty becomes part of the GOP primary race when Rick Perry elicitsapplause from a debate audience for presiding over more executions than anygovernor in history and disbelief from the media for declaring he has neverlost sleep over an execution.

10. Director WernerHerzog successfully releases INTO THE ABYSS, a gritty documentary describing fromseveral points of view a triple murder in Texas and its aftermath. Another documentaryinvolving capital punishment, INCENDIARY, premieres and wins an award at Austin’s South bySouthWest Film Festival.

Other stories in 2011 that Execution Watch designated as especially noteworthy include:

-- A district judge in Georgetowntakes under advisement a request for a special inquiry into alleged wrongdoingby the top prosecutor in a murder trial that put an innocent man behind barsfor 25 years. Michael Morton presented evidence that ex-district attorney KenAnderson knowingly withheld evidence that might have led to his acquittal.

-- The U.S. Supreme Court vacates a $14 million jury verdictagainst former New Orleans District Attorney Harry Connick Sr. for withholdingevidence that might have averted the wrongful conviction and near-execution of JohnThompson. A divided court said a prosecutor’s office cannot be held liable for amember’s illegal withholding of exculpatory evidence due to inadequate training.

-- The Texas Forensic Science Commission releases its final report on theTodd Willingham case, directing the Innocence Project of Texas to work with thestate fire marshall to review more than 700 arson cases for possible wrongfulconvictions based on outdated science.

-- Literary critics respond enthusiastically to thepublication of AUTHOBIOGRAPHY OF AN EXECUTION, a highly personal and humanisticmemoir by David Dow, litigation director of Texas Defender Service.

-- A Louisiana-based coalition of civic and religious groupscalled I Want to Serve launches a campaign to outlaw the exclusion from capitaljuries of people who oppose the death penalty.

Last chance to donate to WTI in 2011

2011-12-30T09:21:00.000-08:00

Dear Friend:

This year, Witness to Innocence should havewelcomed TroyDavis into our organization as the country’s newest death row exoneree. But instead, the state of Georgia executedhim for murder, despite strong evidence of his innocence.

2011 has been a year both ofdeep tragedy and great promise for the anti-death penalty movement.

In the Troy Davis era, theissue of innocence is on people’s minds when it comes to the growing oppositionto the death penalty—a barbaric system that is fraught with error, improprietyand racial bias, and discriminates against the poor. And innocent people surely have been put todeath. Since 1973, 139 innocent men andwomen survived death row, despite a system bent on killing them.

As the new executivedirector of WTI, I look forward to 2012 as a watershed year in the abolition ofthis dreaded American institution. Andexonerated former death row prisoners and their families will help lead theway.

Here are some of ouraccomplishments in 2011:

We forged new partnerships with the United MethodistChurch and progressive evangelicals, recognition of the importance of people offaith in our movement. Plus, WTIparticipated in the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) People of ColorConference, with Shujaa Graham and Kathy Spillman conducting a workshopcalled “Using Stories of the Exonerated to Teach Race, Class, and Justice Issues.”

Witness to Innocence supported death penaltyabolition efforts across the country. Onthe heels of our 2009 abolition victory in New Mexico—in which then-GovernorBill Richardson cited wrongful convictions and executing the innocent as his primaryreasons for repealing the death penalty—WTI exonerees were instrumental in the repealof the death penalty in Illinois.

WTI wasthe one group that honored Illinois' exonerees for the central role of theirsacrifices in ending the death penalty in that state. “As a state, we cannot tolerate the executionsof innocent people because such actions strike at the very legitimacy of agovernment,” said Illinois Gov. Patrick Quinn last March. “Since 1977, Illinois has seen 20 peopleexonerated from death row. Seven of those were exonerated since the moratoriumwas imposed in 2000. That is a record that should trouble us all. To say thatthis is unacceptable does not even begin to express the profound regret andshame we, as a society, must bear for these failures of justice,” he added.

Randy Steidl and Nate Fields werefeatured in the press during the Illinois repeal, and Randyalso traveled to Rome to join the Sant'Egidio Community for theceremonial lighting of the Colosseum to celebrate abolition in Illinois.

WTI member Derrick Jamison gave testimonybefore the Ohio House of Representatives in support of legislation that would replacea death sentence with life without parole as the state’s highest punishment.

Our exonerated death row survivors took theirpowerful message against the death penalty across TexasFreedom Ride in October. They alsoled the 12th Annual March to Abolishthe Death Penalty at the state capitol in Austin. Voiceof America, AustinAmerican Statesman, CorpusChristi Caller- Times, localaffiliates of the major networksand others were there to cover it.

Joining a chorus of lawmakers, judges andlawyers, 27 Witness to Innocence members wrote a letter to Texas Governor RickPerry urging him to halt the execution of HankSkinner to allow for DNA testing. Anappeals court granted the stay of execution. In September, WTI death row survivors signed a letter to the Georgia StateBoard of Paroles and Pardons on behalf of TroyDavis.

Recently, Witness to Innocence members havebeen all over the news, domestic and international, wit RayKrone on Anderson Cooper 360, RandySteidl on CNN and the TavisSmiley Show, ShujaaGraham on Al-Jazeera and DeutscheWelle, and Juan Meléndez, Delbert Tibbs, RonaldKeine, David Keaton and others featured in Spain’s ElPaís magazine. KirkBloodsworth and I wrote in the HuffingtonPost. And WTI has been featured inthe BBC, Voice of America, and on the NBC News website, theGrio,aswell.

In November, WTI members Kirk Bloodsworth,Shujaa Graham and Ray Krone were invited to speak at the Washington, DC andPhiladelphia premiere of master filmmaker Werner Herzog’s death penalty documentary,”Into the Abyss.”

Witness to Innocence is partnering with London-basedfilmmaker Will Francome (“In Prison My Whole Life”) onhis film project “One For Ten,” a series of films featuring ten individuals whohave been freed from death row.

WTI Compensation Committee members CherylNaill, Larry Yates and Nate Fields met with the Innocence Project and U.S.Department of Justice officials to discuss providing reentry assistance toexonerated prisoners, including death row survivors.

In the new year, WTIwill continue to work closely with state abolition groups to support theirefforts. We will be on the ground instates like California, Georgia, Maryland, Colorado and Florida.

We will continue andstrengthen our already robust outreach to communities of color and the HBCUs,to the faith community and murder victims’ families, and seek to make death rowexonerees whole by advocating for federal compensation.

And our members willcontinue to speak around the country about their experiences and change heartsand minds about the death penalty. Further,as a new member of the Paris-based World Coalition Against the Death Penalty,Witness to Innocence will expand its human rights advocacy on an internationalstage.

I encourage you to contribute to Witness to Innocenceand join a movement of people who are fighting to end capital punishment in theU.S.— because they know the evils of the system firsthand. Your contribution will allow us to further empowerour members to become effective leaders in the anti-death penalty movement; continueto work with abolition campaigns in key battleground states; build our coalitionacross the country, and reach new audiences. Click here to go to our website to makeyour generous tax-deductible donation and help abolish the death penalty. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Latest News by Justice4Hank

2011-12-28T09:57:00.001-08:00

December 28, 2011
While we wait...

We made it past November 9, 2011 and thanks to you ALL we feel stronger. Your support, individual and collective, gives us the energy to overcome this horrible roller coaster, so thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a stay of execution on Monday November 7th while we were visiting with Hank.

On November 21, 2011 Judge Emmert issued a second order denying the third motion for DNA testing. Hank's attorney are working on their brief that will be filed early next year.

It will most likely take several months for the CCA to rule on the issue. In the meantime, Hank's lead attorney, Rob Owen, who was court appointed to handle Hank's federal appeal, is working pro bono on the DNA issue. While we are very grateful for his time, we cannot expect him to cover the legal expenses he will incur.

So our next goal is to raise funds to cover his legal expenses. We are asking all of you who have supported Hank during these past months, and signed petitions on his behalf, to make a $10 donation to his defense fund in order to make a difference. Click here to donate online or visit the website for more options!

We truly appreciate the support to prepare the future for Hank's case, that will in turn help other cases in Texas and in the United-States.

To those of you who write to Hank, please make ensure to always include your postal address and e-mail address if you have one, otherwise he cannot reply to your letters.

Thank you all for your assistance!

Please continue to support Hank, SHARE this message!

European Commission Extends Control over Goods which could be used for Capital Punishment or Torture

2011-12-20T11:00:00.001-08:00

The European Commission decided today to extend the list of goods subject to export controls, to prevent their use for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. As of today, trade of certain anesthetics, such as sodium thiopental, which can be used in lethal injections, to countries that have not yet abolished the death penalty, will be tightly controlled. Furthermore, the scope of the European Union regulation has been enlarged to include other products such as spike batons that previously were not prohibited.

"I wish to underline that the European Union opposes the death penalty under all circumstances," said Catherine Ashton, High Representative for the Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission. "The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union states that no one shall be condemned to the death penalty, or executed. In this regard, the decision today contributes to the wider EU efforts to abolish death penalty worldwide. This is a first step in response to the calls of civil society organizations and the European Parliament to strengthen the EU legislation. It will be followed by a full review of the relevant regulation next year."

Background:

Council Regulation (EU) No 1236/2005 concerning trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment was adopted on June 27, 2005. It comprises an import and export ban for certain goods listed in Annex II and an export control regime for certain other goods listed in Annex III.

In March 2010, Amnesty International published a report asking for a number of amendments to this Regulation. The European Parliament repeated these requests in a resolution adopted on June 17, 2010. Since then, the Commission has examined possible ways to move forward in order to respond to these calls.

Today, the Commission adopted regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 1236/2005 concerning trade in certain goods which could be used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. As a result:

− exports of short and medium acting barbiturate anesthetic agents are subject to prior authorization by national authorities;

− imports and exports of spiked batons are prohibited;

− imports and exports of electric shock sleeves and cuffs are prohibited (electric shock belts were already banned before).

The Commission will carry out an in-depth review in 2012 which may result in a proposal for amendment of Regulation 1236/2005 to be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council. The lists of goods may be further amended in parallel, if other goods are identified as needing particular surveillance.

Today's decision will be published in the Official Journal of the EU on December 21.

WTI Exonerated Death Row Members and Staff Part of National Premier of Werner Herzog's "Into the Abyss"!

2011-11-17T11:48:00.001-08:00

Ray Krone, Shujaa Graham, and Kirk Bloodsworth will be leading discussions at special showings of Werner Herzog's new documentary, "Into the Abyss" on Friday, November 18, in Philadelphia and Washington, DC.

For more information click here.

Execution Watch: Guadalupe Esparza, 11/16

2011-11-14T22:59:00.000-08:00

By Elizabeth Stein
Producer, Execution Watch

Texas plans to carry out its 13th execution of 2011 Wednesday by putting to death Guadalupe Esparza of San Antonio.

Barring a stay, Execution Watch will broadcast details live on KPFT 90.1 HD-3, streaming at http://executionwatch.org.

RADIO PROGRAM PREVIEW
EXECUTION WATCH
Unless a stay is issued, we'll broadcast on ...
Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011, 6-7 PM CT
Houston: KPFT 90.1 FM, HD-3
Streaming worldwide: www.executionwatch.org > Listen
*** Join the Execution Watch discussion on Facebook ***

TEXAS PLANS TO EXECUTE:
GUADALUPE ESPARZA, 46, received his execution date three months ago from a San Antonio judge who ignored his attorney's request for a delay to prepare an appeal based on evidence that Esparza is mentally retarded and therefore ineligible for execution. A jury ordered Esparza put to death in 2001 following his conviction in the abduction, rape and strangulation of a 7-year-old girl. The victim's mother, Diana Berlanga, said she planned to witness Esparza's execution. More background: executionwatch.org > Backpage on Guadalupe Esparza.

SHOW LINEUP
Host: RAY HILL, an ex-convict and activist who founded, and hosted for 30 years, the Prison Show on KPFT. His new show may be heard every weekday on hmsnetradio.org at 2 p.m. CT.

Legal Analyst: JIM SKELTON, a legal educator and retired attorney, he’s a native Texan and iconoclast who has seen capital trials from both the prosecution table and the defense table. His scheduled guests are fellow attorneys SUSAN ASHLEY and LARRY DOUGLAS.

Featured Interview: DEATH ROW EXONEREE. One of the former death row prisoners who participated in the 12th annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty in Austin and in the Witness to Innocence Freedom Ride Tour that preceded it, http://witnesstoinnocence.org.

Reporter, Death House, Huntsville: GLORIA RUBAC founder and leader, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, abolitionmovement.org.

Reporter, Vigil, Houston: DAVE ATWOOD, a founder of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, will report from the execution vigil the group sponsors in Houston, www.tcadp.org.

NEXT SCHEDULED EXECUTION
On Jan. 26, Texas plans to execute RODRIGO HERNANDEZ. If so, we will broadcast the details. More at executionwatch.org

PRODUCER: Elizabeth Ann Stein, eliza.tx.usa @gmail.com.
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Otis Maclay, omaclay @gmail.com.
STUDIO ENGINEER: Doyle.
THEME: By Victoria Panetti, SheMonster International, myspace.com/shemonster.

Hank Skinner Receives Stay of Execution from Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

2011-11-07T18:55:00.001-08:00

Here’s the language from the court order:

This is a direct appeal of the trial court’s ruling on a motion for DNA testing filed in the 31st Judicial District Court of Gray County, Cause No. 5216, styled The State of Texas v. Henry Watkins Skinner. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. art. 64.05. Appellant’s execution is stayed pending the resolution of this appeal.
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 64, which provides for DNA testing, has undergone several changes since its creation, but those changes have never been reviewed in the particular context of this case. Because the DNA statute has changed, and because some of those changes were because of this case, we find that it would be prudent for this Court to take time to fully review the changes in the statute as they pertain to this case.
Furthermore, in denying the motion for DNA testing, the convicting court has failed to enter determinations under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 64.03. The convicting court shall enter an order containing the relevant Article 64.03 determinations within 15 days of the date of this order. That order shall then be included within a supplemental clerk’s record, which record shall be forwarded to this Court within 30 days of the date of this order.
IT IS SO ORDERED THIS THE 7th DAY OF NOVEMBER, 2011.

27 Wrongfully Convicted Urge Texas Gov. Perry to Allow DNA Test for Hank Skinner

2011-11-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

In a letter to Texas Governor Rick Perry, 27 exonerated ex-death row survivors—all members of the group Witness to Innocence— urged the governor to halt the execution of Hank Skinner and allow for DNA testing in his case. Skinner, who was sentenced to death for a 1995 triple murder, has a scheduled execution date of November 9.

“We, the undersigned, are alive today because some individual or small group of individuals decided that our insistent and persistent proclamations of innocence warranted one more look before we were sent to our death by execution. We are among the 138 individuals who have been legally exonerated and released from death rows in the United States since 1973, and some of us were exonerated because of DNA evidence,” the exonerees said in the letter. The group also reminded Perry that he signed SB 122 into law, a measure which is intended to ensure that DNA will be tested, if available, to prove someone’s innocence.

In a recent op-ed in the Huffington Post, Witness to Innocence member Kirk Bloodsworth, the first DNA exoneree in a capital conviction in the U.S., echoed these sentiments. “The only reason my name was cleared, and the right man brought to justice, is because prosecutors agreed to test the evidence. I am living proof that when scientific evidence is available, there is simply no excuse to refuse testing,” he said.

“Like Troy Davis in Georgia, there are some real questions regarding the Hank Skinner case. The state of Texas does not know whether Skinner committed the crime because they did not test his DNA,” said David A. Love, Executive Director of Witness to Innocence. “If Texas doesn’t want to risk killing a potentially innocent man, then Gov. Perry has no choice but to stop the execution and allow for the DNA test.”

If you would like to schedule an interview with Kirk Bloodsworth or Ray Krone, another DNA exoneree, contact Hooman Hedayati at 201-601-7231 or Kathy Spillman at 267-847-1482.
The mission of Witness to Innocence, the nation’s only organization founded by and for exonerated death row survivors, is to empower exonerated ex-death row prisoners and their family members to become effective leaders in the movement to abolish the death penalty.

Witness to Innocence Exoneree Letter for Hank Skinner

CEDP National Convention in Austin, TX

2011-10-30T19:26:00.001-07:00

The Prison System is the New Jim Crow
The CEDP"s 11th Annual Convention
November 11-13
At Ventana Del Soul
1834 East Oltorf, Austin, Texas

Register at: http://nodeathpenalty.org/2011-national-convention-registration

This November, the Campaign to End the Death Penalty is headed straight to the belly of the beast—Texas—for a weekend of struggle and organizing!

The murder of Troy Davis by the state of Georgia on September 21 horrified millions of people the world over—and has sparked a renewed national discussion of the death penalty in the United States. We will spend the weekend sharing our stories and experiences, working to build our forces and strategizing the next steps forward for our movement and our organization.

Speakers will include former prisoners, family members, activists, lawyers, scholars and others. They include:

Former prisoners: Lawrence Hayes, Jazz Hayden, Mark Clements and Darby Tillis.

Family members: Sandra Reed, Delia Perez Myers, Jeannine Scott, Terri Been, Barbara Lewis, Lawrence Foster Sr, Kenneth Foster Sr., and Sandrine Ageorges Skinner, Troy’s sister, Martina Correia will address the convention via telecom along with her son DeJaun Correia.

Activists: Jesse Muhammad, Jack Bryson, Jessica Escobar and Elizabeth Gilbert and many others.

The convention kicks off with a Friday evening event at the University of Texas, Southern Injustice: Fighting racism and the death penalty. The panel features Sandrine Ageorges Skinner (wife of Texas death row prisoner Hank Skinner, scheduled to be killed on November 9th), Jesse Muhammad (Activist and journalist with the Nation of Islam out of Houston) and Sandra Reed (mother of Texas death row prisoner Rodney Reed.)

Other sessions over the weekend include:

We ARE all TroyDavis: The struggle continues * The Prison System is the New Jim Crow *Prisoner Resistance: From Attica to DRIVE to Pelican Bay * Rick Perry, Cameron Todd Willingham and the scandal of the Texas deathpenalty * The Texas Law of Parties: What it is and why we need to fight it. * Not in our name: Howexecutions create victims on both sides.

For a full program schedule and to register, go to nodeathpenalty.org

Exonerated Death Row Survivors, Family Members, and Supporters Gather in Austin, TX

2011-10-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

Twenty exonerated death row survivors came from cities, towns, and farms across the United States and assembled in Austin, Texas from October 19th -23rd for the Witness to Innocence (WTI) 2011 Fall Gathering of members. The 20 exonerated death row survivors were joined by 14 family members/loved ones and 11 allies.

The WTI Gathering was made up of many interesting and inspiring components, including artistic expression, educational workshops, fellowship, peer support, personal sharing, organizational development, skills building, and political action. WTI selected Austin - the Capitol of Capital Punishment – to challenge the death penalty because Texas has earned an international reputation as a human rights based on its fervor for law-sanctioned killing.

WTI members led several hundred people in the 12th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty on Saturday, October 22nd.WTI also introduced Mr. David Love, WTI’s new Executive Director, to the members at the Gathering. David brings more than fifteen years of experience as a community organizer, editor, human rights activist, journalist, legal advocate, legislative staff person, and executive director to his leadership position with WTI. He was warmly welcomed by all the WTI members in Austin.

KXAN coverage of our gathering:

Execution Watch: Frank Garcia

2011-10-25T23:28:00.000-07:00

Frank Garcia is to be executed Thursday

By Elizabeth Ann Stein
Producer, Execution Watch

Dozens of San Antonio Police officers will travel by chartered bus Thursday to Huntsville, Texas, to stand outside the death house while Frank Garcia is put to death.

Execution Watch will provide live coverage and commentary of the case and the execution on KPFT FM 90.1 HD3 in Houston and over the internet at http://executionwatch.org starting at 6 p.m. Central Time.

TEXAS PLANS TO EXECUTE
FRANK GARCIA, who turned 39 Friday, was convicted in the shooting deaths of his wife and a San Antonio Police officer in 2001. Both were slain after the officer responded to a call about a domestic dispute at the couple’s home. More background: executionwatch.org > Backpage on Frank Garcia.

SHOW LINEUP
Host: RAY HILL, an ex-convict and activist who founded, and hosted for 30 years, the Prison Show on KPFT. His new show may be heard every weekday on hmsnetradio.org at 2 p.m. CT.

Legal Analyst: JIM SKELTON, a legal educator and retired attorney, he’s a native Texan and iconoclast who has seen capital trials from both the prosecution table and the defense table. His scheduled guests are fellow attorneys SUSAN ASHLEY and LARRY DOUGLAS.

Featured Interview: VICTORIA PANETTI. Sister of Texas death row prisoner Scott Panetti, she composed and performed Death by Texas, adopted by Execution Watch as its theme song. A case brought on behalf of her severely schizophrenic brother prompted a 2007 Supreme Court ruling, Panetti v. Quarterman, that raised the bar for executing mentally ill people.

Reporter, Death House, Huntsville: GLORIA RUBAC founder and leader, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, abolitionmovement.org.

Reporter, Vigil, Houston: TCADP, a member of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty will report from the execution vigil the group sponsors in Houston, www.tcadp.org.

BROADCAST DETAILS

Thursday's Execution Watch will be heard in Houston on KPFT's HD3 channel, instead of HD1, because of the ongoing fundraising campaign on HD1. The live internet stream at http://executionwatch.org will not be affected.

NEXT SCHEDULED EXECUTION
On Nov. 9, Texas plans to execute HENRY “HANK” SKINNER. A stay is likely, but we’re prepared to broadcast if need be. Details: executionwatch.org

PRODUCER: Elizabeth Ann Stein, eliza.tx.usa @gmail.com.
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Otis Maclay, omaclay @gmail.com.
STUDIO ENGINEER: Doyle.
THEME: By Victoria Panetti, SheMonster International, myspace.com/shemonster.

12th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty Saturday Oct 22 at the Texas Capitol in Austin

2011-10-21T12:05:00.001-07:00

The 12th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty is Saturday, October 22nd, 2011 at the Texas Capitol at 2 PM (on the north side of the capitol).

Special guests this year include 25 death row survivors who each spent many years on death row despite being innocent.

Before his execution,Todd Willingham told his parents,“Please don’t ever stop fighting to vindicate me.”

Before his execution,Troy Davis told his supporters in a letter,"There are so many more Troy Davises. This fight to end the death penalty is not won or lost through me but through our strength to move forward and save every innocent person in captivity around the globe. We need to dismantle this unjust system city by city,state by state and country by country."

Texas has executed 475 people since 1982 (as of Sept 23, 2011). Under current Texas Governor Rick Perry, 236 people have been executed, including some with a strong case of innocence. Twelve people have been exonerated while on death row in Texas, the most recent being Anthony Graves in 2010.Since 1976, there have been 138 death row exonerations in the United States.

“We will be urging all Texans to join us at the March to Abolish the Death Penalty on October 22 in Austin", said Ron Keine, formerly on death row in New Mexico.

“As they see what the death penalty really means, in my case and others, more and more Texans believe that Texas can do without the death penalty,” said exonerated death row survivor Clarence Brandley, from Conroe, Texas, who has been fighting for compensation from the state of Texas for over twenty years.

Each October since 2000, people from all walks of life and all parts of Texas, the U.S. and other countries have taken a day out of their year and gathered in Austin to raise their voices together and loudly express their opposition to the death penalty. The march is a coming together of activists, family members of people on death row, community leaders, exonerated former death row prisoners and all those calling for repeal of the Texas death penalty.

The annual march is organized as a joint project by several Texas anti-death penalty organizations: Texas Moratorium Network, the Austin chapter of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, the Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, Texas Students Against the Death Penalty, Witness to Innocence, Texas Civil Rights Project, International Socialist Organization, Amnesty International at The University of Texas, Texas Death Penalty Education and Resource Center and Kids Against the Death Penalty.

"‎They kill people at a record pace + many of them innocent" - Todd Willingham

2011-10-21T12:04:00.001-07:00

"‎They kill people at a record pace + many of them innocent. They do not care about Justice, only feeding the machine," Todd Willingham in a letter addressed "Dear Stacy" in April 2000.

If you think you don't have time to come to the 12th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty this Saturday, then think about what it must be like to be an innocent person on death row and how you wish people would stand up and fight for you. It is too late to save Todd Willingham, but you can save other innocent people who are still on death row. Attend the march!

Evidentiary Hearing Granted to Evaluate New Evidence Regarding the Actual Innocence of Robert Gene Will

2011-10-16T21:41:00.000-07:00

______________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 19, 2011

Contact Dawn Bremer

per proRobert Will

Phone 713-294-3649

Email: dawn.bremer@gmail.com

Join us: www.freerobwill.org

LIVINGSTON, TX –– On October 19, 2011 a limited evidentiary hearing willtake place for Robert Will who has resided on Death Row for 9 years. RobertWill has always maintained his innocence and instead declared another man shotDeputy Hill,the police officer Robert Will was sentenced to die for killing in 2002.

Now a new witness has joined the voices of three others who support RobertWill’s innocence claim and have provided affidavits to the courts. This witness will give testimony to the courts on October 19^ththat they saw the real killer shortly after the shooting with blood on him. The police never investigated the real shooterbecause he is the son of a police officer.

Dawn Bremer, the spokesperson for the Robert Will Defense Committee commentedon the importance of the developments in the case, “This hearing can open thedoor to letting the truth finally be brought to light and justice being servednot only for Mr. Will, but for Deputy Hill’s family by clearing an innocent manand putting the focus on the real murder.”

Robert Will’s case is not unique and is in fact very similar to TroyDavis’, the Death Row prisoner who was murdered by the state of Georgia on thenight of September 21, 2011. Davis also proclaimed his innocence until the veryend and hundreds of thousands of people rallied to his side, here in the UnitedStates and around the world. Seven of the nine original witnesses recantedtheir testimony and no actual evidence exits to tie Davis to the murder of thepolice officer he was convicted and sentenced to death for killing.

Since 1976 over 130 people have been exonerated from Death Row in theUnited States despite strict regulations around petitioning for new factualevidence to be reviewed by a jury and judge.

The family of Deputy Barry Hill was devastated by the loss of Mr. Hill. RobertWill’s family, a young son Robert Will hasn't seen since his incarceration in2000 should not have to suffer that same fate. Someone killed Deputy Hill onDecember 4^th, 2000. Robert Will is not that guy.

# # #

12th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty Saturday Oct 22 at the Texas Capitol in Austin

2011-10-12T07:59:00.001-07:00

A message from Sister Helen Prejean

2011-10-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

The following is Sister Helen Prejean's fundraising appeal for Witness to Innocence

DearFriends and Supporters of Witness to Innocence:

Overthe years I have been asked to write a hundred or more fundraising letters onbehalf of many worthy organizations and causes. I’ve said “yes” to many of these requests and “no” to a handful. To be truthful, sometimes writing such aletter is a joyous task… and sometimes it is a dutiful chore. When Terry Rumsey,the Interim Executive Director of Witness to Innocence, contacted me recently and asked me to write afew words and sign my name to a letter asking good folks to make a financialgift to Witness to Innocence, I actually thankedhim. Why? I was thankful thatTerry trusted me to find the right words that might inspire someone to write acheck – or click on a link on the WTI Web site – for a unique group that Icherish with all my heart.

Iadmit I feel something akin to a maternal instinct for an organization that wasborn within our Moratorium Campaign back in 2003 and operated under our fiscalsponsorship until 2009, when it spread its wings and became an independentorganization. Think of that, myfriends. An independent organizationcomposed of and led by exonerated death row survivors. These were innocent men (and one remarkablewoman) who were once branded as monsters, shackled, banished to isolationcells, and wrapped in the cloak of death. Now, some of them are board members, some are staff members, and all ofthem are proud members of a change-making organization that has earned therespect of people across the nation and around the world.

Itis not, however, based on a shred of sentimentality that I am asking you tomake a generous monetary gift to Witness to Innocence. This is a professional organization that isgetting the job done! Witness toInnocence played a decisive role in the recent campaigns that abolished thedeath penalty in New Mexico (2009) and in Illinois (2011). Both Governor Richardson of New Mexico andGovern Quinn of Illinois cited the moral weight of wrongful capital convictionsas the primary reasons why theysigned legislation abolishing the death penalty in their respective states. A recent nationalpoll revealed that the risk of executingan innocent person was the most convincing argument for abolishing the deathpenalty in the United States.

We need these brave souls who faced wrongful execution to continueto speak truth to power, and we need their organization to continue itswonderful job of assembling, inspiring, organizing, and supporting them to bethat powerful voice for truth in our society.

Please visit the Witness toInnocence Web site at www.witnesstoinnoce.org to make a donation online. All financial gifts are tax-deductible.

In closing, let me express my thanksto you for taking the time to readthis appeal and for sharing my passion for the amazing work of America’sexonerated death row survivors and Witness to Innocence.

Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ

Execution Watch: Todd Willingham Redux

2011-10-04T22:07:00.000-07:00

Cameron Todd Willingham, executed 2004

By Elizabeth Stein
Producer, Execution Watch

Execution Watch's first-ever special edition will air today, Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 6 p.m. Central Time on KPFT 90.1 FM Houston, with discussion and analysis of the Todd Willingham case.

The Willingham story is not over. We'll talk about why. We hope you'll join us.

The special edition of Execution Watch will broadcast live on the HD3 channel of KPFT FM 90.1 Houston and stream simultaneously on the internet, http://executionwatch.org > Listen.

Making the show a first for Execution Watch is that it will not involve live coverage of an execution. Instead, it will delve into the Willingham case, including the state's continued denial of culpability in the execution of an innocent person and the reluctance by officials to recognize and embrace the latest advances in arson investigation techniques.

In the studio will be Execution Watch Host Ray Hill; attorney Susan Ashley, who conceived and produced the special edition; Execution Watch Legal Analyst Jim Skelton, and criminal defense attorney Larry Douglas.

The show's esteemed guests will include Liz Gilbert, the playwright and educator who became immersed in Willingham's case after volunteering to be his pen pal and who kick-started the investigation into his conviction.

Also scheduled to be a guest on the show is Gerald Hurst, the widely respected arson expert who first brought to light the profound flaws of the original arson investigation.

(END)

Logo of Rick Perry and His Running Mate Todd Willingham

2011-10-04T14:57:00.001-07:00

Rick Perry has a running mate. His name is Todd Willingham.

Graphic by Patricia Turner for Texas Moratorium Network.

Screening of "Incendiary: The Willingham Case" Oct 5 to Benefit Charlie Baird for DA Campaign

2011-10-04T14:56:00.001-07:00

Texas Moratorium Network is hosting a screening on Wednesday October 5 at the Violet Crown Cinema in Austin of "Incendiary: the Willingham case" about the case of Todd Willingham. We are hosting it as a fundraiser to benefit the campaign of Charlie Baird for Travis County District Attorney. All proceeds go to the campaign of Charlie Baird. Get your tickets now, seating is limited. Charlie Baird needs your support in his race to bring Justice That Works to Austin and Travis County. To learn more about Charlie Baird visit his website www.charliebaird.com.

Please Join The Texas Moratorium Network as they host "Incendiary: A Night With The Filmmakers & Charlie Baird" benefiting the Charlie Baird for Travis County District Attorney Campaign. The evening begins with a reception at 5:30 and the movie beginning promptly at 7:00 p.m. Immediately upon conclusion of the film, the filmmakers and Charlie--who was interviewed for the film--will speak and answer questions.
Time:	Wednesday, October 5th 05:30 PM — Wednesday, October 5th 09:30 PM
Location:	Violet Crown Cinema 434 West 2nd Street Austin, TX 78701
More Info:	Please join the Texas Moratorium Network for a special screening of "Incendiary: The Willingham Case" benefiting the Charlie Baird for Travis County District Attorney Campaign. This award-winning film features an interview with Charlie Baird. The event begins with a reception with the filmmakers and Charlie at 5:30 p.m. followed by the film screening. Immediately after the screening, Charlie and the filmmakers will make a brief presentation and answer audience questions. Only 50 total movie tickets are available, so please get yours today. Please note that, because of limited space in the theater itself, some ticket options and sponsorship options are limited to the reception only.

Mourners Call For Abolishing Death Penalty at Funeral for Troy Davis in Georgia

2011-10-04T12:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend in Savannah, Georgia, Troy Anthony Davis was laid to rest. Davis was killed by lethal injection in Jackson, Georgia on Sept. 21 after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to stop his execution. The 2,000-seat Jonesville Baptist Church was filled to capacity for his funeral. While his body was being lowered into the burial ground, 23 doves were released. The first was symbolic of his spirit, and the remaining 22 represented each year Davis spent in prison. He was convicted of the 1989 killing of an off-duty police officer, Mark MacPhail. Since then, seven of the nine witnesses have recanted their testimony, and there was no physical evidence that tied Davis to the crime scene. Democracy Now! was in Savannah for the funeral and we play excerpts from the eulogies by Jason Ewart, Troy Davis’s attorney and an eyewitness to his execution; Ben Jealous, president of the NAACP; Larry Cox, president of Amnesty International USA; Lou DuBose, president of NAACP-Georgia; Lenda Sullivan-Russell, friend of Troy Davis; Rev. Raphael Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church; Antone’ De’Juan Davis-Correia, nephew of Troy Davis.

Troy Davis denied - From Texas to Georgia: Stop Executions!

2011-09-20T09:18:00.001-07:00

If you are outraged by the decision announced this morning by the Georgia Parole Board to deny clemency to Troy Davis and want to take a stand against executions in Texas, please come the Capitol this evening!

For a response to the Parole Boards decision and more information on Troy's case: http://nodeathpenalty.org/organizing-updates/september-20-2011-organizing-update/travesty-justice-troy-has-been-denied-clemenc

Keep contacting the authorities in Georgia and Texas - Here is a petition you can sign aimed at the Savannah DA: http://www.change.org/petitions/chatham-county-district-attorney-request-that-troy-davis-death-warrant-be-withdrawn

Express your disagreement and ask the Georgia Parole Board to reconsider: Call (404.656.5651), e-mail (Webmaster@pap.state.ga.us), and fax (404.651.8502

In Texas, call on Governor Rick Perry to stop the executions of Cleve Foster and Lawrence Brewer;

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNS DECISION TO DENY TROY DAVIS CLEMENCY, CALLING IT AN ‘OUTRAGEOUS AFFRONT TO JUSTICE’

2011-09-20T08:54:00.001-07:00

Amnesty International Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 19, 2011

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNS DECISION TO DENY TROY DAVIS CLEMENCY, CALLING IT
AN ‘OUTRAGEOUS AFFRONT TO JUSTICE’

Contact: Wende Gozan Brown at 347-526-5520, wgozan@aiusa.org
(Atlanta) – Following the announcement that the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency to death-row inmate Troy Anthony Davis, Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International AIUSA (AIUSA), released the following statement:
"It is unconscionable that the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has denied relief to Troy Davis. Allowing a man to be sent to death under an enormous cloud of doubt about his guilt is an outrageous affront to justice.

"In 2007 the Board vowed that no execution would go forward unless there was ‘no doubt’ about guilt, a vow that has now been rendered meaningless. To fail to re-examine the facts, including allegations about an alternate suspect, and allow this execution to go forward is an injustice to both the Davises and the MacPhails. Amnesty International urges the Board to reconsider its decision immediately, and for District Attorney Larry Chisolm to seek to vacate the death warrant. Should Troy Davis be executed, Georgia may well have executed an innocent man and in so doing discredited the justice system.
"The case against Davis unraveled long ago. Seven out of nine original state witnesses recanted or changed their original testimonies, some alleging police coercion. Ten people have pointed to one of the remaining witnesses as the actual killer. There is no murder weapon that links Davis to the crime. Any notion of physical evidence that demonstrates Davis’ guilt has been debunked."
Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom and dignity are denied.

# # #

For more information, please visit www.amnestyusa.org/troydavis .

(See attached file: Davis denial, FINAL, 9.19.2011.docx)

Back-to-back executions loom in Texas

2011-09-18T23:37:00.000-07:00

Cleve "Sarge" Foster, top, and Lawrence Brewer

By Elizabeth Stein
Producer, Execution Watch

Sarge Foster has cheated death for the third time this year. A spokesman for the U.S. Supreme Court said this afternoon that Foster was granted a stay of execution pending a hearing on his petition for a Writ of Certiorari -- a request that the High Court review the decision of a lower court.

Foster was slated to be put to death tonight, based on his conviction for participating in a crime in which another man has admitted killing a woman. The Supreme Court has granted Foster two other stays for execution dates set earlier this year.

Needless to say, Execution Watch is canceled for tonight. Unfortunately, we are still on for tomorrow, when Lawrence Brewer is slated to be put to death. More at http://executionwatch.org

HUNTSVILLE -- Texas plans back-to-back executions this week.

On Tuesday, the state intends to put to death Army veteran Cleve "Sarge" Foster, whose murder conviction and death sentence have been under attack. The following day, Lawrence Brewer is slated for execution in the dragging death of James Byrd in Jasper, Texas.

Barring a stay, Execution Watch will broadcast live coverage and analysis during the hour of each execution, 6 p.m. Central Time, on KPFT FM 90.1 Houston, streaming at http://executionwatch.org > Listen.

CLEVE “SARGE” FOSTER
A 47-year-old Army veteran, Foster faces his third execution date this year. He was convicted of participating in a 2002 crime in Tarrant County in which another man has admitted committing a murder. The U.S. Supreme Court granted Foster stays in January and April of this year. More background: executionwatch.org > Backpage on Cleve Foster.

SHOW LINEUP
Host: RAY HILL, an ex-convict and activist who founded, and hosted for 30 years, the Prison Show on KPFT. His new show may be heard every weekday on hmsnetradio.org at 2 p.m. CT.

Legal Analyst: JIM SKELTON, a legal educator and retired attorney, he’s a native Texan and iconoclast who has seen capital trials from both the prosecution table and the defense table. His guests may include fellow attorneys SUSAN ASHLEY and LARRY DOUGLAS.

Featured Interview: CLEVE “SARGE” FOSTER. At Foster’s invitation, volunteer staffers from Execution Watch went to death row in Livingston and recorded an interview with him. If Foster is executed, the entire unedited, 20-minute interview will air as the show’s featured interview.

Reporter, Death House, Huntsville: GLORIA RUBAC founder and leader, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, abolitionmovement.org.

Reporter, Vigil, Houston: DAVE ATWOOD, a board member and founder of Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, www.tcadp.org.

LAWRENCE RUSSELL BREWER
Age 43, Brewer is one of three white men convicted of chaining James Byrd, a 49-year-old black man, to the back of a pickup and dragging him to death on a country road near Jasper in 1998. One fall partner also received a death sentence; the other is serving life in prison. More Background: http://executionwatch.org > Backpage on Lawrence Brewer

SHOW LINEUP
RAY HILL, an ex-convict and activist who founded, and hosted for 30 years, the Prison Show on KPFT. His new show may be heard every weekday on hmsnetradio.org at 2 p.m. CT.

Legal Analyst: JIM SKELTON, a legal educator and retired attorney, he’s a native Texan and iconoclast who has seen capital trials from both the prosecution table and the defense table. He’ll be joined by fellow attorneys SUSAN ASHLEY and LARRY DOUGLAS.

Featured Interview: DENNIS LONGMIRE, professor of criminal justice, Sam Houston State University, will elucidate the high cost to taxpayers of the death penalty. In this case, the trials alone cost Jasper County a total of $1.02 million, leading to a 6.7 percent property-tax hike.

Reporter, Death House, Huntsville: GLORIA RUBAC founder and leader, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, abolitionmovement.org.

Reporter, Vigil, Houston: DAVE ATWOOD, a board member and founder of Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, www.tcadp.org.

NEXT SCHEDULED EXECUTION
On Oct. 27, Texas plans to execute FRANK GARCIA. If it does, Execution Watch will broadcast. Details: executionwatch.org.

PRODUCER: Elizabeth Stein, eliza.tx.usa @gmail.com
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Otis Maclay, omaclay @gmail.com.
STUDIO ENGINEER: Doyle.
INTERVIEW TAPING: Mark Pirtle.
THEME: By Victoria Panetti, SheMonster International, myspace.com/shemonster.

Execution Watch is on Facebook.

A Call To Action From Troy Davis!

2011-09-14T23:18:00.001-07:00

I just received this letter from Troy in the mail and wanted to share it with everybody in it’s entirety. At first I wondered why the penmanship was sort of scrawled. Then I read his note and I understood. He had to write it using the inside of a pen. They have taken everything from him except his eyeglasses. Yet his call to action is strong and mighty.

Marlene Martin
Campaign to End the Death Penalty (CEDP)
For more info on Troy and on the Global day of action go to our website at www.nodeathpenalty.org

Hello Marlene,
I received your letter. However they took all of my mail, address book and the only property I have is my eyeglasses. I’m writing with the filter of a pen because I’m not allowed the entire pen. With all these security rules they only allowed me to write down your address. I don’t remember everything you said in your letter but I wanted to thank you, your family and CEDP for everything.

It is time for action so please encourage everyone to reach out to politicians, ministers, and grassroots organizations to contact the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole and Governor to grant me relief and stop this scheduled execution. Get involved in this movement to put an end to the death penalty. Come to Georgia and take a stand for Justice. Let them know I’m blessed and my faith in God is stronger than ever. Now we have a chance to join together and be heard loud and clear that Georgia needs to stop this execution of an innocent man and end the death penalty all together.

Excuse my writing but its hard using the funnel only.

God bless you and keep up the great work you’re doing.

Sincerely

Troy Davis

Execution Watch: Duane Buck

2011-09-13T22:27:00.000-07:00

Duane Buck

By Elizabeth Stein

Producer, Execution Watch

Attorneys for Duane Buck are struggling to win a stay before his scheduled execution Thursday for a double homicide in Houston.

Buck's death sentence was unconstitutional, they say, because it was issued following testimony from a prosecution witness that Buck was more likely to commit future violence because he is black.

If a stay is not issued by Thursday at 6 p.m. Central Time, Execution Watch will provide live coverage and commentary.

RADIO PROGRAM PREVIEW
EXECUTION WATCH
Unless a stay is issued, we'll broadcast on ...
Sept. 15, 2011, 6-7 PM CT
Houston: KPFT 90.1 FM
Worldwide: www.executionwatch.org > Listen
*** Join the Execution Watch discussion on Facebook ***

TEXAS PLANS TO EXECUTE:
DUANE BUCK, 48, Condemned for the 1995 slayings of his ex-girlfriend and a male companion in Houston. His attorneys have made an 11th-hour attempt to obtain a stay, saying Buck is entitled to a new sentencing hearing because the one that put him on death row was tainted by racist testimony. An expert witness for the prosecution told the jury Buck was more likely to commit future violence because he is black. More background at executionwatch.org > Backpage on Duane Buck.

SHOW LINEUP
Host: RAY HILL, an ex-convict and activist who founded, and hosted for 30 years, the Prison Show on KPFT. His new show may be heard every weekday on hmsnetradio.org at 2 p.m. CT.

Legal Analyst: JIM SKELTON, a legal educator and retired attorney, he’s a native Texan and iconoclast who has seen capital trials from both the prosecution table and the defense table. His guests may include fellow attorneys SUSAN ASHLEY and LARRY DOUGLAS.

Featured Interview: MEGHAN RYAN, a law professor at Southern Methodist University, she writes and teaches about the place where criminal law intersects with procedure, torts and science. Her recent work has included the question of how to remedy wrongful execution.

Reporter, Death House, Huntsville: GLORIA RUBAC, founder and leader, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, abolitionmovement.org.

Reporter, Vigil, Houston: DAVE ATWOOD, a board member and founder of Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, www.tcadp.org.

NEXT SCHEDULED EXECUTION
On Tuesday, Texas plans to execute CLEVE FOSTER,. If it does, Execution Watch will provide coverage, including a taped interview with Foster. Details: executionwatch.org

PRODUCER: Elizabeth Ann Stein, eliza.tx.usa @gmail.com.
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Otis Maclay, omaclay @gmail.com.
STUDIO ENGINEER: Doyle.
THEME: By Victoria Panetti, SheMonster International, myspace.com/shemonster.

(END)

Prosecutor in Case Where Government Relied on Race Testimony at Trial Urges Texas Officials to Stop Duane Buck’s Execution

2011-09-12T10:05:00.001-07:00

For Immediate Release: Contacts: Kate Black, 303-818-0370

Monday, September 12, 2011 Laura Burstein, 202-626-6868

Prosecutor in Case Where Government Relied on Race Testimony at Trial Urges Texas Officials to Stop Duane Buck’s Execution

Houston, Texas, September 12, 2011 – Today, a former Harris County Assistant District Attorney who prosecuted Duane Buck is urging state officials to halt Mr. Buck’s execution next week because “[n]o individual should be executed without being afforded a fair trial, untainted by considerations of race.” Linda Geffin, who served as second-chair prosecutor in the State of Texas vs. Duane Buck in 1997, sent a letter this morning to Governor Rick Perry, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, Attorney General Greg Abbott, and Harris County District Attorney Patricia Lykos, urging them to intervene and stop Mr. Buck’s September 15 execution.

In her letter, Ms. Geffin says she “felt compelled to step forward” after reading about the clemency petition and a motion in federal court recognizing that former Attorney General John Cornyn had previously acknowledged the “improper injection of race in the sentencing hearing in Mr. Buck's case.”

On May 5, 1997, Mr. Buck was convicted of capital murder in Harris County for the July 1995 shooting deaths of Debra Gardner and Kenneth Butler. A third person, Phyllis Taylor, was also shot, but survived her wound. Ms. Taylor has forgiven Mr. Buck and does not want him executed.

During Mr. Buck’s trial, psychologist Walter Quijano testified, based on several factors, that he did not believe Mr. Buck would be dangerous in the future. On cross-examination, the prosecutor elicited improper testimony from Dr. Quijano that the fact that Mr. Buck was African-American increased the likelihood of his being dangerous in the future. The State urged the jury in its closing argument to rely on Dr. Quijano’s testimony. The jury did so, found that Mr. Buck would be a future danger, and he was sentenced to death.

After Mr. Buck’s trial, but while his case was pending on appeal, on June 9, 2000, in a highly-unusual move, then-Attorney General John Cornyn issued a press release calling for the retrial of six individuals who had been sentenced to death based on improper introduction of, and reliance on, race as a factor in sentencing. The Attorney General identified Mr. Buck’s case as one of those six cases, stated that Texas would not contest federal appeals in those six cases, and that if the attorneys for the six identified defendants raised claims challenging the government’s reliance on race at sentencing, the Attorney General would not object.

Then-Attorney General Cornyn first confessed error based on the government’s reliance on Dr. Quijano’s testimony in the case of Victor Saldaño. The Attorney General stated: “As I explained in a filing before the United States Supreme Court...it is inappropriate to allow race to be considered as a factor in our criminal justice system....[T]he United States Supreme Court agreed. The people of Texas want and deserve a system that affords the same fairness to everyone.”

Despite this concession, the improper racial testimony in Mr. Buck’s case has not been redressed. Mr. Buck is the only one of the six death row inmates identified by the Attorney General who was not granted an opportunity to have a colorblind sentencing.

The clemency petition, which was filed on August 31, asks the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor Perry to intervene. In it, attorneys for Mr. Buck state: “Five out of the six cases in which Attorney General John Cornyn conceded error resulted in new sentencing hearings. Mr. Buck has not received the same corrective process. The State of Texas cannot and should not tolerate an execution on the basis of an individual’s race, particularly where this State’s highest legal officer has acknowledged the error, not only in similarly situated cases, but in this case.”

Ms. Geffin’s letter concludes: “I now join Phyllis Taylor, the surviving victim, in asking for the intervention of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, Governor Rick Perry, Attorney General Greg Abbott and Harris County District Attorney Patricia Lykos. All of these parties should be motivated, as I am, to do everything within their power to ensure that our justice system is not tainted by unconstitutional considerations of race.”

Ms. Geffin’s letter is attached.

The clemency petition can be found at: http://scr.bi/rnZxax.

An interview with surviving victim Phyllis Taylor can be viewed at: http://bit.ly/pAKStG

For more information or comment, please contact:

Kate Black, Texas Defender Service, attorney for Duane Buck, 713-222-7788, kateblack@texasdefender.org

Laura Burstein, 202-626-6868, laura.burstein@ssd.com

Execution Watch: Steven Woods

2011-09-12T00:59:00.000-07:00

Steven woods

By Elizabeth Ann Stein

Producer, Execution Watch

Texas is poised to execute Steven Woods Tuesday despite pleas from Amnesty International, change.org and others to commute his sentence to life in prison.

A letter urging members of Amnesty International to take action cites "serious inconsistencies in prosecution theories," as well as the "inherent unfairness in an outcome where one defendant receives a death sentence and another, who pleaded guilty to personally shooting the two victims, receives a life sentence."

Unless a stay is issued, Execution Watch will provide coverage starting at 6 p.m. Central Time Tuesday, including a 20-minute interview with Woods taped last week for airing if and when his execution is carried out, on KPFT FM 90.1 Houston and at www.executionwatch.org > Listen. Updates and discussion will be on the Execution Watch Facebook page.

TEXAS PLANS TO EXECUTE:
STEVEN MICHAEL WOODS, 31, condemned for a double homicide outside Dallas. A co-defendant later admitted killing the couple, saying Woods was present but did not participate. The co-defendant got life in prison; Woods' death sentence was allowed to stand despite the co-defendant's admission. More background at executionwatch.org > Backpage on Steven Michael Woods..

SHOW LINEUP
Host: RAY HILL, an ex-convict and activist who founded, and hosted for 30 years, the Prison Show on KPFT. His new show may be heard every weekday on hmsnetradio.org at 2 p.m. CT.

Legal Analyst: JIM SKELTON, a legal educator and retired attorney, he’s a native Texan and iconoclast who has seen capital trials from both the prosecution table and the defense table. His guests may include fellow attorneys SUSAN ASHLEY and LARRY DOUGLAS.

Featured Interview: STEVEN MICHAEL WOODS. With Woods’ permission, volunteer staffers from Execution Watch went to death row and recorded an interview with him. If Woods is executed, the entire unedited, 20-minute interview will air as the featured interview.

Reporter, Death House, Huntsville: GLORIA RUBAC, founder and leader, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, abolitionmovement.org.

Reporter, Vigil, Houston: DAVE ATWOOD, a board member and founder of Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, www.tcadp.org.

NEXT SCHEDULED EXECUTION
On Thursday, Texas plans to execute DUANE BUCK, despite the racist testimony that helped send him to death row. If it does, Execution Watch will broadcast. Details: executionwatch.org

PRODUCER: Elizabeth Ann Stein, eliza.tx.usa @gmail.com.
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Otis Maclay, omaclay @gmail.com.
STUDIO ENGINEER: Luke Jones
THEME: By Victoria Panetti, SheMonster International, myspace.com/shemonster.
*** Execution Watch is on Facebook, where listeners are invited to join the discussion.***

Anthony Graves Responds to Clapping at GOP Debate in Approval of 234 Texas Executions

2011-09-10T00:50:00.003-07:00

Anthony Graves asks "How can you applaud death?" in response to members of the audience at the GOP debate clapping and cheering about the 234 executions conducted under Rick Perry. We need to show the nation a counter example to the clapping at the GOP debate, so please make plans to attend the 12th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty. Come clap for justice, not killing. On October 22nd in Austin, it is our turn to clap and cheer when as many as 20-25 death row exonerees urge us to end the death penalty.

Watch video of people clapping at GOP debate.

From ABC News:

Anthony Graves read in the newspaper about the crowd at the Republican presidential debate applauding the fact that Gov. Rick Perry had authorized 234 executions during his tenure.
“How can you applaud death?” Graves asked.

Graves is one of 12 death row inmates who have been exonerated in Texas since 1973. Five of those exonerations occurred while Rick Perry was governor, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a group that opposes capital punishment.

“The state of Texas has a very thoughtful, a very clear process in place in which when someone commits the most heinous of crimes against our citizens they get a fair hearing, they go through an appellate process, they go up to the Supreme Court if that’s required,” Perry said during the debate Wednesday.

Perry defended the use of the death penalty in his state and told the audience, “I think Americans understand justice.”

But Graves said his mother would not be one of those Americans. Graves spent 18 years in prison and 12 years on death row as a convicted murder. In 2010 his conviction was overturned and he was released.

“He should ask my mother about that, ” he says. “She lost her son for 18 years.”

Graves says he was stunned at the governor’s comments because he was exonerated less than a year ago. “I was exonerated from the very same system that he is boasting about. He’s a politician, but I’m an exoneree and I think I know more about the subject.”

Texas Death Penalty

A very moving description of a recent visit with Mumia Abu-Jamal who is now in general population

Beccaria - A Poetry project in Philadelphia, PA

About this project

Help Stop the Execution of Hart Turner

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Civil Disobedience Planned to Mark 35th Anniversaryof ExecutionsAt U.S. SupremeCourt in Washington, DC

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Last chance to donate to WTI in 2011

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December 28, 2011 While we wait...

European Commission Extends Control over Goods which could be used for Capital Punishment or Torture

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CEDP National Convention in Austin, TX

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A message from Sister Helen Prejean

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Logo of Rick Perry and His Running Mate Todd Willingham

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Troy Davis denied - From Texas to Georgia: Stop Executions!

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNS DECISION TO DENY TROY DAVIS CLEMENCY, CALLING IT AN ‘OUTRAGEOUS AFFRONT TO JUSTICE’

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A Call To Action From Troy Davis!

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Anthony Graves Responds to Clapping at GOP Debate in Approval of 234 Texas Executions

Civil Disobedience Planned to Mark 35th Anniversaryof Executions
At U.S. SupremeCourt in Washington, DC

December 28, 2011
While we wait...