SEPTEMBER 2004 EXECUTION ALERTS [NOTE---new execution date of Sept. 30, David Hocker, Alabama--volunteer] Scheduled Executions: Sept. 9: James Reid (VA): http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1 33 Sept. 21: Andrew Flores (TX) http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1 34 Sept. 22: Philip Workman (TN): http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1 32 Sept 28: Ricky Newman (AR): http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1 35 VIRGINIA James Reid September 09, 2004 Take Action at: http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1 33 The state of Virginia is scheduled to execute James Reid, a black man, Sept. 9 for the 1996 murder of Annie Lester in Christianburg. According to his sister, Mr. Reid "suffered from serious health problems ranging from heart disease and lung cancer to epileptic seizures resulting from brain damage he sustained in a car wreck in 1968. All those factors triggered violent rages Reid could neither control nor remember." In the middle of a wine-induced black-out, Mr. Reid murdered Ms. Lester. Later he was found outside her house, covered in blood, looking for a ride home. Mr. Reid was not capable of pre-meditation, nor was he aware of what he had done; evidenced by his behavior after the crime. Mr. Reid's court-appointed attorneys were incompetent, following the familiar pattern of the majority of poor capital defendants. His attorneys persuaded him to waive his right to a jury and enter an "Alford plea," which is a plea of no contest. An Alford plea makes no admission of guilt, but raises no defense. Once the prosecution had presented their case, and Mr. Reid's attorneys realized that there was a lack of significant evidence, they tried to change his plea. This maneuver clearly indicates that they were ignorant of the complexities of the justice system, particularly in a capital murder case. Affadavits filed by Mr. Reid and his sister state that his attorneys told them that "an Alford plea is 'not a guilty plea' and that it was the only way to keep Reid alive." His attorneys also failed to pursue an insanity defense or get a competency hearing. Mr. Reid has an IQ of 79, has been committed to state mental institutions several times, and suffers black-outs and dementia. These black-outs are particularly frequent when he has consumed alcohol, as he had the day of the murder. His brain damage from a car accident that left him in a coma for five days is well-documented, as is its contribution to his seizure disorder and alcoholism. His attorneys presented no defense, instead placing Mr. Reid's fate in the hands of Judge Ray Grubbs rather than a jury. Elizabeth Semel, director of the American Bar Association's Death Penalty Representation Project argues that the quality of court-appointed lawyers depends on three things: adequate compensation, adequate resources, and high standards to ensure quality. "If you don't have these three things you have a recipe for, at best, occasionally adequate and frequently abysmal representation. And that's what you have in Virginia." Mr. Reid is being executed for what should not even be considered a capital crime. This was not premeditated murder. While it was a horrific crime, Mr. Reid, brain-damaged and suffering alcohol-induced dementia, did not plan the crime or attempt to cover it up. His lawyers did not even attempt a defense, nor was he properly assessed for his ability to stand trial. Please write Gov. Mark Warner and urge him to commute the death sentence of Mr. Reid and declare a moratorium on executions. TEXAS Andrew Flores September 21, 2004 Take Action at: http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1 34 Andrew Flores, a Latino male, was convicted and sentenced to death for the July 26, 1993 murder and attempted robbery of Juan Moreno, a Latino grocery store clerk in Bexar County, Texas. Andrew was only 20 years old at the time of the crime. He was accompanied by Joseph Fritz, a long-time friend who was convicted to life imprisonment for his part in the murder. Like many people facing execution, Flores has a history of mental illness. A court psychiatrist examined Flores and diagnosed him with organic affective disorder and developmental mental disorder. The psychiatrist said this illness could cause rapid moods swings under stressful situations, which was something that close friends such as Fritz would have been aware of. Flores' appellate attorney argued that Flores received ineffective assistance of counsel during his trial. His trial lawyer failed to have an independent psychiatric evaluation conducted and failed to inform the jury of several mitigating factors. One such mitigating factor was evidence of Flores' long-term drug and alcohol abuse including his intoxication at the time of the offense. The appellate attorney also revealed evidence that Flores' was and physical abused during childhood and was additionally sexually victimized by a teacher. A juror at the trial has signed an affidavit stating that if she had known this mitigating evidence at the trial, she would have favored a life sentence and not capital punishment. Trial testimony revealed that Flores went to at least 3 different high schools before dropping out to help his mother make enough money to provide for their family. Fritz and Flores' stated that their motive for the robbery was to get rent money. Flores also has a young son. We should not be in the business of killing young adults born into poverty who were abused, neglected by their schools, their parents and the state. Please take a moment to urge Texas Gov. Perry to stop the execution of Andrew Flores! TENNESSEE Philip Workman September 22, 2004 Take Action at: http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1 32 The state of Tennessee is set to execute Philip Workman, a white man, on Sept. 22 in a case that raises a strong possibility of innocence. According to the prosecutors' theory of the crime, Workman robbed a Wendy's restaurant in Memphis, then shot and killed Ronald Oliver, a police officer who responded to the robbery. As Workman fled, shots were fired and Oliver died from a single bullet wound to the chest. Workman, who never denied his participation in the robbery, was convicted and sentenced to death. The key witness at Workman's trial was Harold Davis, who testified that he was standing 10 feet away and saw Workman shoot Oliver. Davis later recanted, saying he had lied on the stand. Moreover, the gun that is in Workman's possession could not have been used to kill Oliver because it was loaded with .45 caliber bullets. Such bullets expand once inside a person's body, leaving an exit wound that is significantly larger than the entry wound. However, experts at Workman's 2002 evidentiary hearing testified that the exit wound actually was smaller than the entry wound and the weapon in Workman's possession could not have caused Officer Oliver's fatal wound. The Tennessee Supreme Court heard and rejected Workman's latest appeal. However, dissenting Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Adolpho Birch issued a stinging counter-opinion, writing that, "Indeed, it is a bit out of the ordinary to record one's views concerning the denial of an application for review... but the gravity of this case and the strength of my conviction concerning this case drive my response.under any analysis, the newly-discovered proof that an 'eyewitness' no longer claimed to have seen Workman shoot the officer, and that the wound causing death was inconsistent with the type of wound which would have been caused by a bullet matching Workman's gun, mandates a conclusion that the evidence 'may have resulted in a different judgment. Such evidence renders the lower court's denial of coram nobis relief an abuse of discretion." In addition, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals noted that if a .45 caliber bullet had indeed gone through Oliver's body, the exit wound would no doubt have been larger than the entry wound, thus proving that Workman was not the shooter. And five of the jurors who found Workman guilty all were swayed strongly enough by the new testimony that they signed affidavits after trial stating that they would not have sentenced Workman to death had they heard all the evidence that eventually emerged following Workman's conviction. This is the fifth time an execution date has been set for Workman. A reprieve was granted for his last execution date in September 2003 because former Shelby County medical examiner O.C. Smith, who had done forensics in Workman's trial, was under investigation. Smith was indicted in February charged with faking his own abduction by supporters of Workman. If the government's case is true then by attaching a bomb to himself he put the lives of his fellow law enforcement officers at serious and imminent risk, and lied to federal law enforcement agents. On April 15 of this year, however, Governor Bredesen let the reprieve for Workman expire after receiving a report from the new state medical examiner, Bruce Levy, concluding a bullet from Workman's gun killed Oliver. Levy's conclusions, however, clearly exceed the bounds of his professional training and the scope of his office's responsibilities, which are matters of forensic science and the examination and evaluation of physical evidence. "Levy's conclusions hinged on the review of transcripts of testimony and making a determination of which witnesses were telling the truth and which were lying," the Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killing stated in an April 16 press release. Finally, pleas for clemency have come from both Oliver's daughter as well as the former prosecutor of Shelby County, where Workman was convicted and sentenced to death. The former prosecutor has donated his services as lead counsel for Workman's clemency bid. In light of these facts and the complete recantation of the key witness that helped sentence Workman to death, please urge Gov. Bredesen to commute Workman's sentence. ARKANSAS Ricky Newman September 28, 2004 Take Action at: http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1 35 Ricky Dale Newman, a white man, has dropped his appeals and faces a Sept. 28 execution date. He was convicted for the February 2001 murder of 46-year-old Marie Choulette at Lee Creek campsite in Van Buren, Arkansas. Newman's case involves issues of profound mental illness. When questioned about the murder by the police, Newman told them he was accompanied by several other people besides Choulette. He named his accomplices as "Psycho," "Snake," and "Copper." The police never found evidence of those three characters. Police reports during Newman's interrogation reveal mood swings, agitation. The reports also report that Newman claims to have black out sessions where he becomes "Seaco" and that he has no control over "Seaco's" actions. Newman admitted to Choulette's murder stating, "I drugged her up, I got her drunk and I killed her. Cut her from head to toe. I killed her more than once, I killed her until I got tired of killing her, until the passion of blood went away." During the course of the trial Newman proceeded to fire his public defender, waive all of his appeals including mental competency tests and requested an execution as soon as possible. Newman's execution, set for three months post-conviction, was stayed once due to a mandatory review of his case by the Arkansas Supreme Court. The court upheld his sentence, and this was the only appeal filed in the case. Last November Newman tried to waive further appeals; however the court deemed him incompetent due to psychotropic medications administered while in prison. Later Newman stopped taking his psychotropic medicine and the prosecution subsequently deemed Newman competent to waive counsel and request execution. Ricky's appellate lawyer, Linda Scribner, described Newman as having serious mental problems, perhaps even split-personality disorder. She noted that Newman was very disruptive during the trial with multiple outbursts including "Kill me, kill me, kill me," and consequently required gagging due to profanity yelled at the prosecution during their closing statements. Clearly, Ricky Newman suffers from severe mental illness. Please urge the immediate commutation and treatment of Ricky Dale Newman. Urge Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to stop this execution and actively oppose the execution of the mentally ill! (source: Sarah Wisely, Communications Assistant. National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty -- 202-543-9577 ext. 14)
