Friends----I forward the following to the list
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2004 09:30:17 -0700
From: David Barron <[email protected]>
Please take a moment to read and hopefully sign a
request for clemency for Thomas C. Bowling, a
potentially innocent mentally retarded man on
Kentucky's death row who will draw a serious execution
date soon.
*****
> http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/849542885
*****The content of the petition is as follows:
Stop the Execution of Thomas Bowling-- a mentally
retarded innocent man on death row
Dear Governor Fletcher:
We, the undersigned,
respectfully request that you grant clemency to Thomas
C. Bowling, a mentally retarded death row inmate whose
case is marred by lingering doubt over his guilt.
Mr. Bowling suffered from intellectual and adaptive
disabilities that were beyond his control from early
in life. It was 18 months before he began to walk.
Toilet training was difficult. His parents had to lay
his clothes out for him and make sure he bathed.
Mr. Bowling also was a slow learner throughout school.
He had a low I.Q. and spent 3 years in the ninth
grade. He even failed health class three years in a
row. Yet, he tried in school and couldn't succeed. His
neighbors and teachers remember Mr. Bowling as a nice
child who just needed extra help and special
education. But, special education was not fully
developed at the time. As a result, Mr. Bowling fell
through the cracks.
We believe that Mr. Bowling's intellectual and
adaptive deficits make him less deserving of
execution. The death penalty is supposed to be
reserved for the worst of the worst. It is supposed to
serve the purpose of deterence and retribution.
Executing Mr. Bowling, a mentally retarded person with
significant intellectual deficits
serves no purpose and no longer should be permitted in
a civilized society such as ours.
Mentally retarded people are easily led as was Mr.
Bowling. They are more likely to be blamed for crimes.
They are more likely to be convicted for a crime they
did not commit. And, they are less likely to be able
to help in their own defense. They become "prey" for
the rest of society. That may be what happened to Mr.
Bowling. At the least, questions remain about his
guilt.
Bowling had no motive whatsoever to kill the Earleys
who were strangers to him. The only evidence linking
Bowling to the crime was his car, which was driven by
the gunman. At the time of the crime, Bowling was
drunk at an apartment frequented by drug dealers who
may have used his car when committing the murders.
Tina and Eddie Earley's murder coincided with "The
Bluegrass Conspiracy," a severely corrupt police
department involved in international drug trafficking
and murder. It is this police department that
investigated Mr. Bowling for murdering the Earleys.
The Earleys likely were killed because they had
provided police with information on one of the dealers
which had led to his arrest. The extent of the
Earleys' involvement with these drug dealers has never
been fully determined as members of the police
department were also involved with them and
intentionally protected them to avoid exposure.
No court has looked at the possibility that a drug
dealer committed the murders. No court has addressed
the connection with the "Bluegrass Conspiracy." No
court has addressed evidence that has been concealed
from Mr. Bowling. No court has addressed prosecutorial
misconduct in Mr. Bowling's case. No court has
addressed Mr. Bowling's potential innocence.
Across the country, 116 people have been freed from
death row in recent years because of their innocence.
Prosecutorial misconduct -including the withholding of
crucial evidence-has been one of the major factors in
these exonerations, according to the leading authority
on the issue, The Death Penalty Information Center.
We believe that no person should be executed without
having the opportunity to present evidence of his
innocence, and that no person should be executed when
there are doubts about his guilt. Mr. Bowling's case
presents such doubts. Therefore, we request that you
grant him clemency to ensure that Mr. Bowling does not
become the first innocent man put to death in this
country.
In addition, Kentucky has problems administering a
lethal injection. Evidence shows that the Commonwealth
fails to administer a sufficient quantity of
thiopental to induce unconsciousness. Kentucky
administers 2 grams of thiopental, which is the same
concentration that has proven to be extremely
problematic during Kentucky's execution of Edward Lee
Harper, and also in many North Carolina and South
Carolina executions.
Witnesses have reported that it took at least ten
minutes to find a vein in Edward Harper. When the
execution began, Edward Lee Harper's face turned
purple and puffy when he was executed in Kentucky in
1999. Toxicology reports prove that there was between
a 67% and 100% likelihood that he was conscious
throughout his execution.
In South Carolina, toxicology reports have revealed
that two inmates were conscious during their
execution, another had a 90% probability that he was
conscious during his execution while three others
inmates had approximately a 50% probability of being
conscious during their executions. The toxicology
studies preformed by the South Carolina Department of
Law Enforcement (SLED) Toxicology Section revealed
that, beginning in 1998, thiopental detected in the
blood of executed inmates dropped to alarmingly low
levels suggesting that inmates were conscious during
their execution causing them to experience the agony
of a chemically induced suffocation and heart attack.
These numbers show that since 1998, the South Carolina
Department of Corrections has botched almost one out
of every two executions it conducted. Similar results
have been documented in North Carolina, where at least
two inmates had a 100% probability of consciousness.
If a condemned inmate is conscious during a lethal
injection, the inmate will feel the excruciating pain
caused by the chemicals. The second drug, pavulon,
according to government experts in Georgia and Ohio,
is utilized to paralyze the condemned inmate's body so
that witnesses are unable to observe the condemned
inmate convulsing and shaking uncontrollably. While
pavulon paralyzes the body making it appear that the
inmate peacefully goes to sleep, in reality, the
opposite is occurring. Pavulon collapses the lungs and
other internal organs; thereby, causing the condemned
inmate to suffocate to death in the same manner as
someone sitting in a gas chamber or drowning. For this
reason, Pavulon has been found inhumane for the
euthanasia of animals in Kentucky, at least eighteen
other states, and by the American Veterinary Medical
Association.
We believe that executing a person using a chemical
that is banned in the euthanasia of animals is
barbaric and should not be tolerated. The possibility
that a condemned inmate could be consciously suffering
pain during the execution deserves further
investigation. Mr. Bowling's execution should not be
permitted until it can be guaranteed that Mr. Bowling
is not likely to suffer excruciating pain during his
death. It is bad enough to inflict such pain on a
guilty individual. But, it is even worse to inflict
excruciating pain on a mentally retarded person,
particularly one who may be innocent.
Our deepest sympathies go out to the families of Tina
and Eddie Earley. But, taking Mr. Bowling's life is
not the answer. He suffers from significant
intellectual deficits and susbstantial questions about
his guilt remain. Because of this, Mr. Bowling's
execution would be unjust.
We urge you to show mercy. We urge you to grant
clemency
=====
David M. Barron
Assistant Public Advocate
Department of Public Advocacy
Capital Post Conviction
100 Fair Oaks Lane, Suite 301
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
502-564-3948(office)
502-564-3949 (fax)
646-279-6902 (cell)
[email protected]
[email protected]
