Jan. 25
TEXAS----impending execution
Kunkle's 6th date for death is tonight
Condemned inmate Troy Kunkle is scheduled to die at 6 p.m. today for the
1984 shooting death of Corpus Christi resident Steven Wayne Horton.
This is the 6th time Kunkle, 38, has faced the death chamber during his 20
years in prison. The U.S. Supreme Court stayed his last execution on Nov.
18, with the news coming about half an hour after Kunkle was scheduled to
die at 6 p.m. It was the second time the high court stayed the execution
on the day Kunkle was set to die. The court lifted the most recent stay
last month.
Kunkle's attorneys have made an appeal to the Texas Board of Pardons and
Paroles for a 180-day reprieve and the commutation of his death sentence
to life in prison.
Members of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty will hold a
vigil at 6 p.m. at the Incarnate Word Convent at 2910 S. Alameda St. to
protest Kunkle's execution.
If the execution goes forward, Kunkle will be the 338th person on Texas'
death row to die by lethal injection, and the 2nd this year.
Kunkle's attorneys have argued the jury that sentenced him to death did
not have the opportunity to properly consider his history of drug and
alcohol abuse as mitigating evidence at trial. That evidence, they said,
could spare his life.
Kunkle, 18 at the time of the killing, and three friends were visiting
Corpus Christi from San Antonio on Aug. 12, 1984, when they decided to
look for someone to rob.
Horton, 31, was walking on Paul Jones Avenue when the group stopped and
offered him a ride home. Once he was in the car, one of the four put a gun
to Horton's head and demanded his wallet. Horton refused, and Kunkle shot
him in the back of the head with a .22-caliber pistol. Kunkle's girlfriend
then pushed Horton's body out of the car and took his wallet, which
contained $13, according to state reports.
After the killing, Kunkle reportedly recited lyrics from heavy metal band
Metallica's song "No Remorse," from the album "Kill 'em All," saying,
"Another day, another death, another sorrow, another breath." Later, he
reportedly said the killing was "beautiful," according to state reports.
Kunkle Timeline
July 18, 1989 Kunkle receives Aug. 23 execution date.
Aug. 16, 1989 Court of Criminal Appeals grants a stay of execution.
Aug. 26, 1993 Federal district court grants stay for 2nd execution date of
Sept. 1, 1993.
July 13, 2001 Federal district court stays the 3rd execution date of Aug.
1, 2001.
July 7, 2004 Kunkles 4th execution date; U.S. Supreme Court grants stay
hours before scheduled execution.
Nov. 18, 2004 Kunkles 5th execution date; U.S. Supreme Court stays the
execution about 30 minutes after his scheduled execution.
Jan. 25, 2005 Kunkles 6th execution date.
(source: Corpus Christi Caller-Times)
***************
Execution Appears Likely Tuesday For Texas Death Row Inmate
It appears likely a 38-year-old prison inmate from San Antonio who has
spent more than 1/2 of his life on death row will likely be executed
Tuesday evening for a 1984 slaying in Corpus Christi.
Appeals were still pending Tuesday for death row inmate Troy Kunkle, who
faces execution Tuesday evening for the 1984 shooting death of Stephen
Horton, 31, during a robbery in Corpus Christi.
The slaying gained notoriety because of the revelation that Kunkle quoted
lyrics from the song "No Remorse" by the heavy metal rock group Metallica
after the attack.
3 of Kunkle's companions received prison terms.
Kunkle was spared from the death chamber twice last year by court rulings
on the day he was scheduled to die.
The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week refused to halt the
punishment.
Other appeals are pending.
A defense lawyer told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that Kunkle is
remorseful for the crime.
His attorneys say Kunkle's history of alcohol and drug abuse wasn't
properly considered at trial.
Kunkle would be the 2nd death row inmate executed this year in Texas.
(source: KWTX News)
******************
S.A. Man Who Cited Metallica Lyrics Again Set To Die -- Kunkle Has Cheated
Death 5 Times
After the courts repeatedly put off executing the San Antonio man
convicted of killing his son, Nolan Horton gave up making plans to watch
Troy Kunkle be put to death.
"I'm trying to not let it bother me," Horton said of the scheduled Tuesday
night lethal injection for Kunkle at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice. "Every time I think it's going through it
doesn't, if I may say so, for stupid reasons."
So he'll stay at home in Corpus Christi with his wife Tuesday, "try to
just get busy," he says, while Texas prison officials prepare again for
Kunkle's punishment.
"I've completely lost all faith in the court system ... the appeals courts
in all these things," Horton said. "I don't understand it. I don't know
how some of these people got there. They just make stupid, crazy
decisions."
Attorneys were in the courts trying to block a 6th execution date for
Kunkle, convicted of the shooting death of Stephen Horton, a Corpus
Christi man, more than 20 years ago.
The 1984 slaying gained notoriety with disclosures Kunkle quoted the
lyrics of a song by the heavy metal rock group Metallica after Horton was
gunned down.
Twice last year, Kunkle was spared from the Texas death chamber by court
rulings on the day he was scheduled to die. The most recent halt came Nov.
18, when the U.S. Supreme Court stopped the execution about 40 minutes
after Kunkle could have been strapped to the death chamber gurney for
injection. "Ecstatic," Kunkle replied when asked to describe his feeling.
"Praise God."
His reaction was much different from the time of the Horton slaying.
According to testimony at his capital murder trial, after shooting Horton
in the head Kunkle chanted: "Another day, another death, another sorrow,
another breath" -- the refrain from the Metallica song "No Remorse" on the
album "Kill 'Em All."
In December, the Supreme Court lifted the order it issued the previous
month, although one justice, John Paul Stevens, wrote he believed the
sentence was imposed unconstitutionally. 2 days later, a judge in Corpus
Christi set Kunkle's new execution date.
Kunkle, 38, who has declined requests in recent weeks to speak with The
Associated Press, was 2 months past his 18th birthday when he was
arrested for Horton's slaying. He's spent more than 1/2 his life on death
row.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week refused to halt the
punishment. His attorneys Monday had new efforts in the state and federal
appeals courts.
Kunkle and several friends drove from their home in San Antonio to Corpus
Christi for a summer day at the beach. They were high on drugs and beer
and looking for someone to rob when they offered Horton, 31, a ride the
evening of Aug. 11, 1984.
Horton, whose body was pushed out of the car, also was robbed of his
wallet containing $13.
3 of Kunkle's companions received prison terms ranging from 30 years to
life.
Defense lawyers said Kunkle, born in Nuremberg, Germany, where his father
was stationed in the military, was raised in a troubled home and left
mentally scarred by parents who had been treated for depression. His
attorneys argued Kunkle's history of alcohol and drug abuse was not
properly considered as mitigating evidence at his trial.
Kunkle would be the 2nd inmate executed in Texas this year. Another
convicted killer, George Jones, was set to die Thursday for the abduction
and slaying of a Dallas man during a carjacking almost 12 years ago.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, however, gave him a reprieve so
claims that he is mentally retarded can be pursued, the Texas attorney
general's office said Tuesday. The Supreme Court has barred the execution
of mentally retarded people.
(source: Associated Press)
GEORGIA----impending execution
Condemned Killer Makes Appeal
Lawyers for a man set to executed for the 1992 murder of a teenager during
a robbery filed an appeal Tuesday with the Georgia Supreme Court.
The justices were expected to rule on the last-minute appeal of Timothy
Don Carr later Tuesday, according to a statement from the court.
Barring a successful appeal, Carr, 34, was to be executed Tuesday evening
at the state prison in Jackson for the stabbing and beating death of
17-year-old Keith Patrick Young.
The state parole board denied clemency for Carr following a hearing
Monday. Carr's execution would be Georgia's 1st in 2005 and 37th since the
U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1973.
Prosecutors say Carr, girlfriend Melissa Burgeson and two 16-year-olds
drove Young in his car to a remote area near Bolingbroke, about 65 miles
southeast of Atlanta, on Oct. 8, 1992. There, Burgeson told Carr to slash
Young's throat and beat him with a baseball bat.
Young was left on the side of the road to die before the couple fled to
Murfreesboro, Tenn., in the victim's Pontiac Grand Prix. It was there that
they were arrested following a high-speed chase.
Carr was convicted in 1994 and sentenced to death. Burgeson was given a
life sentence with the possibility of parole. The 2 16-year-olds were
tried in juvenile court.
(source: Associated Press)
***************
Friend testifies man admitted to slaying
Testimony in the trial of an El Paso man charged in the strangulation of a
woman more than two years ago began Monday in the 34th District Court.
The prosecution charges that Justen Grant Hall strangled Melanie Ruth
Billhartz, 29, on Oct. 28, 2002.
Defense lawyers for Hall, now 23, told the jury during opening statements
that the wrong man is on trial for capital murder. But a witness for the
prosecution said Hall admitted the killing to him.
Hall, who was released from jail after posting bond on an unrelated murder
charge when Billhartz was slain, could be sentenced to death if convicted.
The trial is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. today.
Charles McDonald, one of Hall's lawyers, said during opening statements
that a friend of Hall's killed Billhartz.
Her body was found by authorities in the desert near La Union, N.M., about
a month after she died. Police were led to the body by the man Hall's
defense lawyers said is the real killer.
Assistant District Attorney Bill Hicks told the jury that Hall strangled
Billhartz to prevent her from calling the police and reporting that she
was beaten up by her boyfriend, and possibly telling them about a drug lab
at a West Side house where the three would hang out.
Hicks said Billhartz threatened to call police while outside the home
where she had driven after the fight with her boyfriend.
Sometime that evening "Justen told everyone that he was going to kill
Melanie Billhartz," Hicks said during opening arguments.
Hicks told the jury that Hall strangled Billhartz with an electrical cord
he had taken from the house and then forced her boyfriend to help dispose
of the body.
The prosecution was supported by testimony from Chase Hale, a friend of
Hall's and of the victim. Hale testified that Hall told him that he had
killed Billhartz.
McDonald and Francisco F. Macias, who is also representing Hall,
challenged Hale and charged that he testified in hopes of getting special
treatment in a drug case in which he was convicted recently.
But Hale said prosecutors did not offer him any deal in exchange for his
testimony.
Hale told the jury he decided to offer his testimony because it is right
thing to do.
"I just wouldn't feel right knowing that I could have done something and
didn't," Hale said.
(source: El Paso Times)
*****************************
JUDGE PUTS GAG ORDER ON MURDER CASE
A state district judge ordered local attorneys, authorities and potential
witnesses Monday not to discuss a case that has gained national attention,
even before the suspect has been extradited back to Tyler or indicted for
the aggravated kidnapping and murder of a store clerk.
An extradition hearing for Johnny Lee Williams Jr., 24, is set for Tuesday
in Cochise County, Ariz., where the suspect is being held in connection
with the slaying of 19-year-old Megan Leann Holden. A judge is expected to
decide if and when Williams will be brought back to Smith County to face
the charges.
The Tyler Junior College student was found shot to death in a ditch near
Stanton on Friday morning. She was abducted in the Wal-Mart parking lot,
3820 Texas Highway 64 West, after she completed her night shift on
Wednesday.
An arrest warrant affidavit issued before Ms. Holden's body was found on
Friday states that Williams is wanted for aggravated kidnapping, a
1st-degree felony. It is the only document made public so far concerning
Smith County charges.
Williams could also face charges of capital murder since the crime spree
began in Tyler. Williams has not been indicted yet on any offense.
But 114th District Judge Cynthia Stevens Kent already issued a restrictive
and protective order on Monday, forbidding anyone involved in the case to
disseminate almost any information.
Because of the "pre-trial publicity which has already occurred in the
unindicted charged matter ... the court does find that it is necessary to
enter this restrictive order to protect and provide for a fair and
impartial trial if this matter results in a formal indictment and trial,"
the restrictive order states.
The order lists strict guidelines on what cannot take place in and out of
the courthouse regarding the case. It also severely limits what attorneys,
authorities and potential witnesses can talk about regarding the case.
Anyone who violates the order could be held in contempt of court and
ordered to serve six months in jail and pay a fine.
The order does not apply to any public records, court testimony or any
other information normally available through the Texas Public Information
Act.
Each felony case is assigned to one of the three state district judges in
Smith County based on the date of arrest.
It is not uncommon for state judges to issue the restrictive orders in
Smith County cases.
Judge Jack Skeen issued one last week in the upcoming capital murder trial
of Jamarcus Warren. He also issued an order last year in the capital
murder trial of Tracy Beatty, who was sentenced to the death penalty.
Judge Kent issued an order last year in the Deanna Laney capital murder
case, which also saw national attention.
But generally the gag orders are issued later in the cases, after suspects
have been indicted.
WARRANT
Some new information gleaned from court documents did surface today.
At about 3:45 a.m. Thursday, concerned parents contacted Tyler police and
reported Ms. Holden missing. The victim had called her sister, whom she
lived with in Chandler, a few minutes after she got off work near
midnight. She also called her boyfriend, also of Chandler, and told him
she was on her way to pick him up. But when she did not arrive, family
members became worried, according to an arrest affidavit signed by 241st
District Judge Jack Skeen Jr.
Tyler police Officer Gregg Roberts began looking for Ms. Holden and called
the Smith County Jail and local hospitals. Tyler police soon listed her as
a missing person after they viewed surveillance video at Wal-Mart that
shows Holden walking to her Ford pickup before Williams allegedly ran up
behind her, forced her into the vehicle and drove off with her, Roberts'
arrest affidavit states.
On Friday, they located Williams at a hospital in Willcox, Ariz., where he
was seeking aid for a gunshot wound he apparently suffered while trying to
rob a store clerk. Also found at the hospital was Ms. Holden's pickup.
Later Friday morning, passersby spotted Ms. Holden's body.
A witness who apparently saw Williams at Wal-Mart the night of the
kidnapping identified Williams out of a 6-person photo line-up and
described a tattoo on the suspect, the affidavit states.
Williams is being held on a $1 million bond in the Cochise County Jail.
It was not known whether Williams intended to contest being returned to
Texas.
Williams, who made an initial appearance Friday before a Cochise County
Justice Court judge in Willcox, also was charged with armed robbery in
Arizona.
A clerk at a convenience store at an RV park near Bowie shot Williams in
the shoulder Friday as he allegedly attempted a robbery.
(source: Tyler Morning Telegraph)
*****************
Villegas defense: Baby died from vitamin deficiency
Doctors testified on Monday in Esteban Villegas defense that his infant
son Alexander died not of child abuse but of rare vitamin deficiencies
complicated by a series of vaccine shots he received weeks before his
death.
Villegas, 27, of Alamo, is charged with capital murder in connection with
the death of his 10-week-old son. His trial, set in Judge Ed Aparicios
92nd state District court, began Jan. 18, and the jury is expected to
begin deliberating today.
Villegas was caring for Alexander on Nov. 12, 2003, when he told police he
found the child not breathing after a nap.
Doctors who treated Alexander at McAllen Medical Center and Driscoll
Childrens Hospital testified that the baby had been violently shaken and
struck with a blunt object, citing X-rays that showed fractures to the
babys skull, arms, ribs and legs. Other tests showed blood in deep layers
of the babys brain and eyes - signs they say are consistent with and
typical of shaken-baby syndrome.
But doctors hired by Villegas defense team testified the injuries
Alexander suffered can indicate other problems the doctors mistakenly
diagnosed as shaken-baby syndrome.
Dr. Jerry Bush, an Atlanta medical doctor with a degree in pharmacology,
studied Alexanders case for 10 months. He said antibiotics that Ana Moya
received during her pregnancy may have killed bacteria needed to produce
important minerals - particularly vitamins C and K - that strengthen
bones, tissues and blood vessels.
Ana Moya testified earlier she was sick often during her pregnancy and
experienced a difficult delivery with Alexander.
Vitamin deficiencies can lead to weak blood vessels and leave the
potential for internal bleeding - in the brain, eyes, lungs, and
gastrointestinal tract, Bush said.
Bush said serious vitamin C deficiency is known as acute infantile scurvy.
The disease commonly causes bleeding around the bones and black stools,
indicating blood in the stomach or intestines.
The bleeding around the bones could have been mistaken for fractures,
primarily in the back portion of the ribs, where other doctors claimed the
baby was squeezed. The only bones examined in Alexanders autopsy were in
his skull, not in his body, Bush said.
Pediatrician records show Ana Moya took Alexander to the pediatrician
reporting the baby was suffering from constipation. He was also anemic -
meaning his blood lacked sufficient iron.
Alexander received six vaccines two weeks before his father found him not
breathing. Bush said any sort of stress on a baby that is vitamin C
deficient could have further decreased the babys vitamin supply. Vaccines,
particularly more than one, also can cause negative reactions, such as
gastrointestinal problems, constipation, diarrhea, fever, and poor
feeding, he said.
Alexanders pediatrician, Dr. Jorge Kutugata, indicated some of those
symptoms when he saw the baby Nov. 4, 2003. Doctors records also revealed
the baby began to lose weight after he received the vaccines - slipping
from 11 pounds in October to 6.8 pounds Nov. 12.
Bush said baby Alexanders body was already vitamin C deficient at birth
and had brittle bones. Ana Moyas difficult delivery likely added stress to
his body.
Bush said Alexanders body likely experienced "endotoxin shock" that caused
his heart to stop working.
"Its my opinion, with a reasonable degree of medical certainty, given all
those vaccines at once, the baby was in such a compromised state that he
could not fight off that insult to his system and the endotoxins caused
leaking blood vessels, low blood pressure and ultimately cardiopulmonary
arrest," he said.
Under questioning by prosecuting Assistant District Attorney Andrew
Almaguer, Bush said he thought that if Alexander had been shaken, he would
have suffered neck injuries. He also said the signs associated to shaken
baby syndrome have not been proven.
Bush received $19,500 over a 10-month period to help in Villegas case, he
said.
A 2nd doctor hired by the defense also pointed to Alexanders weight loss
after the vaccines as significant.
"We see a baby that has been growing well, thriving well, after the
vaccines are administered the baby stops eating and the weight
dramatically drops. The baby now has a disease in my opinion," said Dr.
Ruben D. Martinez, an OBGYN in Harlingen.
Martinez said he disagreed with other doctors testimony that only forceful
shaking causes bleeding in babys eyeballs. He said a difficult delivery;
CPR or bleeding in the brain can cause the hemorrhages.
All the doctors who treated baby Alexander concurred on the diagnosis that
he had been abused, Almaguer pointed out.
Martinez said pediatricians are trained to protect children from child
abuse and have historically "taken a very aggressive view of shaken baby
syndrome." He said they prefer to err on the side of the child rather than
to risk overlooking possible abuse.
"All cases diagnosed as shaken baby syndrome were not due to the (baby
being) shaken," he said.
Infantile scurvy can manifest itself in the same symptoms and injuries
that Alexander sustained, he said.
Martinez said he believed Alexander died from "acute onset scurvy due to
the vaccine reactions."
Villegas wife and his mother-in-law testified Saturday they do not believe
Villegas abused the baby. Family members have attended the trial each day
to support Villegas. His attorney Fernando Mancias portrayed Villegas as a
loving father with no criminal record or past history of abuse. Several
times during the trial, Villegas appeared to cry as doctors testimony
detailed the babys injuries.
The defenses witnesses will continue testimony at 8:30 a.m. today.
(source: The Monitor)
******************
Inmates file many cases
Brandon Sample's prison nickname, "The Grim Reaper," is not as alarming as
it sounds.
Rather than transporting his victims to the afterworld, he merely sounds
the death knell for their misguided efforts at litigation.
Sample, who has "fallen in love" with civil law since his incarceration,
often tries to set other inmates straight when they want to sue on
frivolous or unfounded issues.
"I want to steer people in the right direction instead of letting them
travel the path of silliness," he said in an interview at the Low Security
Federal Correctional Facility in Beaumont.
They do not always appreciate his advice.
Hence the nickname.
Sample is in the 5th year of a 14-year sentence for fraud and money
laundering. The 24-year-old Houston resident now has several lawsuits
pending. Sample, like most inmates, files most of his suits pro se,
without an attorney.
"Anyone can do it - it's just a matter of applying yourself," Sample said
"But it takes a whole lot of initiative and it's a tremendous amount of
work."
The work hasn't dissuaded the hundreds of prisoners who have filed civil
lawsuits at the federal courthouse in Beaumont this year.
A recent check showed that of the 748 lawsuits logged in the binder in the
federal court clerk's office, 374 - exactly half - were identified as
being filed by prison inmates.
In 2003, prisoners filed 477 of 912 civil lawsuits
The 1996 Prison Litigation Reform Act prevents inmates from receiving
compensatory damages unless they prove they were physically injured. The
act also bars inmates who have had 3 pro se lawsuits dismissed from filing
again.
The act has done little to stem the flood of lawsuits flowing from both
state and federal prisons in the area. In 1995, prisoners filed about 54 %
of all civil lawsuits. In 2001 and 2002, the rate was 53 %, going down to
52 % in 2003.
Magistrate Judge Earl Hines said the high volume of inmate lawsuits can be
accounted for by the amount of time on prisoners' hands.
"That doesn't mean they file because of boredom or because they're up to
mischief," Hines said. "In that environment, every little thing takes on
monumental importance to them."
Ignorance of what constitutes legal grounds for a lawsuit adds to the
problem, Sample said. "A lot of people here abuse it because they don't
understand what they're doing. Everything is not a constitutional
violation - everything is not a violation of your rights."
The Beaumont courthouse of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern
District of Texas employs seven law clerks whose sole job is to process
inmate lawsuits. This costs taxpayers money, but it is important to uphold
the rights of even the lowliest members of society, Hines said.
"Yeah, sure, it's a problem. Anytime the courts are overwhelmed with
lawsuits of any subject it's a problem," Hines said. "But stop to think:
In this country we're committed to equal justice to all, rich or poor. ...
in a vacuum at least, these are the most precious, fundamental rights
we've got."
Inmate lawsuits are not often successful. In 21 years, Hines has tried
only three cases in which the inmate prevailed.
However, this is not because of inmates' lack of experience in the law, he
said.
"Having thought about their case day and night, they can be pretty
effective at getting their story told," he said.
Hines said some of the brighter inmates can operate on a level with "a
young, green assistant prosecutor."
A court-appointed lawyer might be assigned, depending on the complexity of
the case and the competence of the prisoner to litigate it. The
Constitution guarantees a citizen's right to an attorney only in cases
where his or her liberty is at stake.
Hines estimated about 85 percent of all inmate suits are dismissed for
lack of cause without even requiring an answer. Indeed, the lawsuits run
the gamut from valid to questionable to downright ridiculous.
Some lawsuits are not filed against the prisons or any of their employees.
One inmate in the Beaumont federal penitentiary who apparently is
attempting to conduct a business by mail is suing a national delivery
company, alleging a pattern of racketeering activity and mail fraud is
responsible for the loss of a package he attempted to ship.
The lawsuit claims "thousands and/or millions" in revenue were lost
because of the alleged loss of the package.
A wrongful dismissal lawsuit was filed by a prisoner against a local
restaurant where he worked before his incarceration.
The plaintiff claims when he was late to work because of car trouble, he
was put to work moving half-thawed meat from a broken freezer. He was
fired after he refused to do the work without gloves and other gear to
protect him from the slimy, ice-cold meat.
However, most inmate lawsuits appear to be complaints about prison
conditions, such allegations of lack of access to medical care, guard
brutality and wrongful seizure of property.
While Sample feels inmate lawsuits are looked at with distrust, he
nonetheless believes he will be treated fairly by the courts.
"I'm being treated very fairly by the court in Austin," Sample said of the
venue handling one of his lawsuits. "The judge has been very fair."
One of Sample's lawsuits is a matter of importance to all federal inmates:
He is suing the prison warden because of the way the Bureau of Prisons
calculates "good time" - that is, the credit given to inmates for good
behavior.
Prison policy grants 47 days per year good time, but Sample's lawsuit
claims U.S. law entitles inmates to 54 days per year.
Sample, who is one of many to have filed a lawsuit on this issue, is
receiving help from a legal assistance group on this lawsuit because it's
such a big issue and could affect so many people.
Bureau of Prisons policy bars comment on pending litigation, spokesman Jim
Premo said when asked for a response to Sample's allegations.
Inmates known as "writ writers" often help other inmates prepare their
cases.
Maximo Ibarra, 36, of Colombia is suing the prison to provide access to
the international law books he hopes will prove he was wrongly arrested.
"A man who know about the law, he tell me it's not right what they're
doing; he tried to help me."
Ibarra, whose English is heavily accented, said his prison job as an
orderly pays him about $15 per month - not enough for expensive law books.
Ibarra has tried to get help from inmate assistance groups but so far has
been unsuccessful.
He feels it is his duty to continue to fight for his cause for himself and
others in the same plight. And he is optimistic the judge will see things
his way.
"I have confidence of this justice," he said. "American justice - this is
the best justice in the world."
(source: The Beaumont Enterprise)
