April 17
TEXAS----impending executions
2 Texas inmates set to die on same night
The nation's busiest death chamber could be administering a double dose of
lethal drugs on Wednesday with 2 condemned killers set to die then.
Douglas Roberts, 42, faces execution for the abduction and fatal stabbing
of a San Antonio man in Kendall County in May 1996.
Milton Mathis, 26, is scheduled to follow him to the death house gurney
for fatally shooting 2 men and seriously wounding a 15-year-old girl at a
reputed drug house in Fort Bend County 10 days before Christmas in 1998.
The double execution is unusual but not unprecedented for Texas, where 340
prisoners have been put to death since 1982 when the state resumed
carrying out the death penalty after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted its
prohibition.
Most recently, 2 prisoners were executed on Aug. 9, 2000. They were among
a record 40 prisoners put to death in the state that year. 2 executions on
the same day also were carried out in 1995 and 1997.
The practice earlier last century was much more common. Prison records
show at least 28 instances of multiple electrocutions in Texas, including
5 convicted killers executed Feb. 8, 1924, when the state for the 1st time
used the electric chair in Huntsville.
Execution dates are set by district court judges, who get guidance from
their district attorneys that appeals in capital cases have progressed to
a point where a death date can be set, said Jerry Strickland, a spokesman
for the Texas attorney general's office.
"We must follow the court's order," he said.
Roberts received his execution date before Mathis, meaning his lethal
injection should occur first. If the same procedures are followed as in
previous multiple executions, Mathis will follow him into the chamber
about an hour later.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Mike Viesca said a few
extra staff and an additional chaplain would be at the Walls Unit in
downtown Huntsville, where executions are carried out, to accommodate the
2nd prisoner.
Roberts admittedly was high on cocaine when he abducted Jerry Lewis Velez,
40, outside Velez's San Antonio apartment and ordered him at knifepoint to
drive out of town toward Boerne, some 30 miles to the northwest in Kendall
County. There, on a dirt road, the pair scuffled, Velez was stabbed and
then run over with his own car.
When his drug high wore off, Roberts called police from a pay phone in
Austin and confessed to the slaying.
"I was stoned out of my mind," Roberts said last week from death row. "I
killed the guy that they said I killed."
He asked his lawyers file no additional appeals after the Supreme Court
refused April 4 to review his case.
"I ain't saying I want to die," Roberts told The Associated Press. "I'm
saying I don't want to live in prison for the rest of my life... I don't
want to be 75 years old walking down the hallway of a prison with a
walker."
Mathis' lawyers contended conflicting IQ tests show he may be mentally
retarded, which would bar his execution, and that the discrepancies
haven't been reviewed fully by the courts.
"Somebody has either got to come to their senses in a hurry or there's
going to be a real bad result," attorney Winston Cochran said. "It's
disgraceful that they would not want this guy to have his case played out
according to the proper timetable."
"He's a violent individual," said Fred Felcman, the Fort Bend County
assistant district attorney who prosecuted Mathis. "He's very articulate.
They've raised some kind of things that he's mentally retarded. If he's
mentally retarded, you and I are.
"He's got a low IQ but he's very street savvy and very street smart."
At his trial, Mathis initially testified the wasn't at the Houston home
when the victims were killed. He later changed his story, saying he lied
because he was afraid. He said he shot the 3 victims - 2 fatally - and
stole the car of victim Travis Brown III, 24.
He said he shot Brown in self-defense. Daniel Hibbard, 31, who also was
killed, and Melanie Almaguer, the teenage girl left paralyzed by a bullet
to the face, were shot as he panicked, Mathis testified.
Then he set fire to the house and fled. 2 days later, he was arrested. At
the time, Mathis was on probation for aggravated robbery. He also had an
extensive juvenile record.
If both executions are carried out, they will be the 5th and 6th this year
in Texas. At least 4 more injections are scheduled for May.
(source: Associated Press)
****************************
Local DA says Senate bill will make it harder to issue death penalty
convictions
Getting death penalty convictions will be harder for prosecutors should a
bill the Texas Senate passed Thursday ending parole for convicted capital
murderers become law, Angelina County District Attorney Clyde Herrington
said Friday.
Current law allows juries to choose between the death penalty and life,
with the possibility of parole after 40 years.
Many prosecutors fear offering jurors the life without parole option means
they would tend to choose life rather than the death penalty.
The death penalty has its place, Herrington said.
"There are some people who commit crimes that are so horrible that it's
appropriate," Herrington said.
Angelina County has seen nearly 10 capital murder convictions in the last
20 years. Of those, two were death penalty convictions.
Willie Mack Modden's death penalty was commuted in April 2004 by the Court
of Criminal Appeals the first in Texas after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
executing retarded offenders unconstitutional in 2002.
The Supreme Court issued a stay of execution for Modden's conviction in
2002, hours before he was set to die.
Modden, described by his lawyers as "borderline retarded," was sentenced
to death in 1985 for the murder of Deborah Ann Fontenot Davenport during a
robbery in which he got about $80.
The 27-year-old mother of four was found in the early morning morning
hours at a gas station across from Memorial Health System of East Texas
with multiple stab wounds to the face and neck. The gas station has since
been torn down.
Modden is serving several life sentences, moving through them as he
reaches parole on each.
The 40-year parole option was signed into law in 1994. Before that,
capital murder offenders could be freed after 20 years, Herrington said.
The old law meant a prisoner who committed the crime near age 20 could be
out before age 40.
"That didn't offer a whole lot of protection to the public," Herrington
said.
David Lewis, a 39-year-old former carpenter with an 8th-grade education,
was sentenced to die for shooting Lufkin resident Myrtle Ruby to death on
Nov. 30, 1986, with a .22-caliber rifle.
Lewis shot Ruby when she confronted him after he broke into her house.
Lewis had already served a two-year prison sentence for a Brazoria County
burglary.
Like Modden, a mental retardation decision is pending on Lewis' case.
The life without parole bill, Senate Bill 60, will now head to the House
of Representatives after passing on a final 26-5 vote in the Senate.
The House convenes at 10 a.m. Monday in Austin.
(source: Lufkin Daily News)
***********************
Analysis: Texas looks at no-parole option
Texas would join most other death-penalty states in offering juries the
option of life-without-parole sentencing under a bill moving through the
Legislature for the first time in years.
Although some legislators believe it may slow the pace of executions in
the nation's busiest death houses, defense attorneys and death-penalty
opponents have mixed feelings about the amended bill that passed the Texas
Senate Thursday.
Sen. Eddie Lucio, the Brownsville Democrat who has championed the
legislation for years, had to reluctantly accept an amendment proposed by
a leading Republican that essentially eliminates parole as an option in
capital-murder cases.
Lucio wanted to add life without parole to the current options of death
and life with the possibility of parole after 40 years, but he had to
accept the amendment dropping life with parole in order to get the measure
through the Senate.
The senator said families of murder victims can "feel a sense of justice"
with the bill that was passed 25-6 and sent to the House, where it has a
good chance of passage, according to Republican leaders. GOP Gov. Rick
Perry has not said if he will sign or veto the measure if it reaches his
desk.
If the bill becomes law, Texas would join 36 other death-penalty states
where the life-without-parole option is available to juries. New Mexico is
the only other state where the option is not available to juries in such
cases.
Supporters of life without parole in Texas have argued that juries
sometimes go for the death penalty because they fear a particularly
vicious killer might get out of prison in 40 years if sentenced to life.
Currently, they have no other options.
Lucio said life with the possibility of parole in 40 years offers no
certainty to the families of murder victims that the offender will not
walk the streets again one day.
"Young offenders between the ages of 17 to 25 comprise one of the highest
crime demographics and yet, under current law, would be the ones most
likely to reach parole eligibility," he said.
Some believe the bill has received more attention in Texas this session
because the U.S. Supreme Court recently banned the execution of any person
who was 17 at the time of the crime.
The opposition to life without parole has come from some prosecutors who
feel it would undermine the death penalty, but support remains strong in
Texas, although a poll in November by Scripps-Howard found 78 percent
backed life without parole.
State Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, amended the bill because he said three
options would confuse juries, the Houston Chronicle reported. He also
wanted jurors to decide on future dangerousness and mitigating issues
before giving life without parole.
"I think this will help juries in a very tough decision that they have to
make in these cases, and I suspect if you pass this bill there will be
likely fewer executions in this state," he said.
Texas, which leads the nation in executions, carried out 23 in 2004 and 4
so far this year. The state has performed 340 executions since the death
penalty was restored in 1982.
Jim Marcus, the executive director of the Texas Defender Service, said it
was hard to tell what impact the bill might have on the number of
executions, but he was disappointed in the amendment that eliminated the
possibility of parole.
"I think it's unfortunate that the Legislature didn't trust the juries to
sort through the evidence to determine who should be given life without
parole and who should be given life with parole because each sentencing
determination in a capital case is based on individual considerations," he
said.
Rick Halperin, president of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death
Penalty, said a "non-death" option is always preferable because at least
the offender remains alive so issues can be pursued, but even life prison
sentences with no parole can bring human-rights violations.
"In the broader sense, the idea of having to secure a life without parole
option at the expense of life with parole is really a slap in the face to
the Texas jury system," he said. "I think it's terrible to indicate that
every defendant is beyond redemption and hence can never be let out."
Some people must be kept locked away from society, he said, but there are
those who can be rehabilitated and return to public life.
Lucio, the bill's sponsor, said that life without parole will now mean
certain punishment.
"With this bill, the state of Texas doesn't have to be concerned about
future Supreme Court rulings abolishing the death penalty, or about parole
hearings or early releases for capital murderers. It is final, definitive
and certain," he said.
Marcus lamented that it had taken so long to push the legislation this far
in the Legislature.
"It's unfortunate that for so long a few people on the extreme edge of the
criminal justice spectrum have blocked passage of this option because all
of the polling shows that the vast majority of Texans, while they favor
the death penalty in general, also would like to have the option of life
without parole," he said.
(source: United Press International)
***************************
District Attorney, lawyer want Davis removed from cases
District Attorney Bill Turner and a local private practice lawyer have
filed court documents responding to a Web site created by District Judge
Rick Davis that they said unfairly attacked their credibility.
In documents filed separately over the past 2 weeks, the 2 have asked for
Davis to be removed from a series of upcoming cases that have been
assigned to his courtroom.
Among them is a capital murder trial set to begin in early May in which
Turner has designated himself the lead prosecutor. It could be the first
trial the countys top prosecutor has argued in Davis courtroom since
filing a complaint in 2001 that led to the judge receiving a public
reprimand.
Davis said last month that he launched the Web site,
www.thetexasinquisition.com, in an attempt to change the law regarding the
way judges are investigated and disciplined (Eagle, March 6). Documents
contained on the site, however, accuse Turner of dishonesty and attorney
Laura Cass, a former prosecutor in his office, of racism.
"3 years ago the Judicial Conduct Commission and a Special Court of Review
evaluated Judge Davis conduct toward this office and concluded he had
conducted himself in a manner that questioned his impartiality," Turner
wrote in the recusal request. "On March of this year he repeated much of
the same conduct, this time with more intensity and stronger language.
"The public reprimand has obviously left Judge Davis with deeply rooted
resentment toward me and other participants in the review. ... He has
demonstrated that his mind is made up and that I am dishonest. These
conclusions are not justified, but nonetheless impact my ability to get a
fair trial."
Davis has decided not to voluntarily recuse himself from the cases.
Instead, he said Friday, he would like another judge to decide if he is
fit to hear them.
So far, a hearing date has not been announced by Second Region Presiding
Judge Olen Underwood, to whom the requests were forwarded. Calls to his
office were not returned Friday.
In the meantime, Davis said, he intends to conduct business as usual in
his courtroom.
"I want everyone to know theyre going to get fair treatment no matter who
they are - whether they were adverse to me politically or otherwise,"
Davis said. "I simply cannot take those things into account."
But thats not the way Laura Cass clients see the matter, she wrote in her
three recusal requests.
Since Davis Web site has been mentioned in the media, she has been
approached by one client who was worried Davis would reject his plea
agreement because of the animosity between the 2. Other clients have
expressed reservations as well, she said.
"Clearly he sees nothing wrong with his continued and completely unfounded
cruel mischaracterizations of me," she wrote, while describing his
behavior as obsessive. "There is no way, based on Judge Davis continued
pattern of behavior, that any of my clients can be assured an impartial
trial or hearing in his court."
Davis reprimand came after Cass complained to the State Commission on
Judicial Conduct that Davis had attempted to destroy her reputation in the
community. Among other things, he compared Cass to an Auschwitz camp guard
in a letter addressed to Turner, her boss.
A three-judge panel later appointed by the Texas Supreme Court to hear
Davis appeal of the reprimand upheld the state commissions decision. In
its judgment, the panel also vindicated Cass of any misconduct.
After Davis' re-election a year ago, the judge promised voters he had put
the reprimand behind him, Cass pointed out in her request. But the "latest
attack" through the Web site has the same potential impact on her
reputation as the comments he was originally punished for, she said.
In addition to the three current cases set in Davis courtroom, Cass has
asked that the judge be recused from all of her future cases as well.
"It is definitely causing problems for my practice and an unnecessary
distraction," she said in an interview Friday, adding that she felt the
motion to recuse was time-consuming but unfortunately needed.
Both she and Turner refused to comment on whether they have decided to
file another complaint with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct
regarding the Web site.
But the information on the Web site isnt new, Davis responded in a letter
to the presiding judge.
"Many of the details of these matters were put in the public domain about
3 years ago, but were not put there by my choosing," he wrote. "Most of
the factual content of the petition to the Legislature has already long
been in the public domain."
Since the original complaint was made by Turner and Cass, Davis estimated
Friday that he has presided over about 50 jury trials in which assistant
prosecutors working for Turner have worked in his courtroom.
He also has presided over bond-reduction hearings for brothers Chad and
Trey Davis, the subject of Turners capital murder prosecution set for next
month. During those cases, Judge Davis refused to reduce their bonds from
$1 million each, he pointed out in the letter to Underwood.
But that doesnt offer Turner any satisfaction. While he has assigned other
prosecutors to Davis' courtroom over the past three years, Turner said, he
has personally "stayed out of his court so that there would be as little
disruption to the criminal justice system as possible."
Turner also referred in the documents to Davis failed Court of Inquiry
request in 2003 in which the judge accused the district attorney of
committing 3 felonies. An outside judge later dismissed the accusations.
Turner wrote that he had hoped Davis resentment had subsided enough over
the years that he could eventually get a fair trial, but that doesnt seem
to be the case.
"There's a number of contested issues in every jury trial," Turner added
in an interview Friday, explaining that even though the jury determines
the verdict, the judge has input on crucial elements, such as jury
selection and what evidence attorneys can present. "These decisions can
have a huge impact on the outcome."
At this point, Turner said Friday, he is too invested in the upcoming
capital murder case to bring someone else in to replace him. For instance,
he spent the past week in Georgia, interviewing witnesses in preparation
for the trial.
Chad and Trey Davis, who are not related to the judge, are accused of
hiring gunmen from the Atlanta area to kill local rap producer Tommy
Andrade. Investigators believe Andrade stole about $50,000 in either drugs
or cash from the brothers.
"Our office really has no option but for me to be in the courtroom,"
Turner said.
(source: The Bryan-College Station Eagle)
**************************
Regional crime lab measure is DOA----House member says last-minute demands
by Hurtt killed his bill
A bill that would have created independent regional laboratories to
process DNA evidence from Houston and other cities will not be passed
during this session of the Texas Legislature.
The creation of the labs, which would have been free of influence from
local law enforcement agencies, was considered the most significant of
several proposed crime-lab reforms.
"The single-most important thing that can be done in order to improve the
quality of forensic evidence used at criminal trials is the one thing the
Legislature appears not to be doing," said David Dow, a University of
Houston Law School professor and a frequent critic of the Texas criminal
justice system.
State Rep. Kevin Bailey, D-Houston, sponsor of the bill, blamed its demise
on last-minute demands by Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt.
Bailey stopped just short of accusing Hurtt of intentionally sabotaging
the legislation.
"I don't know for sure, but it's certainly a possibility," Bailey said.
Hurtt however, denied having any intentions of killing the bill.
"The last thing I heard from (Bailey) was that we would be able to work
around any problems (in the bill)," Hurtt said. "I supported the bill, I
still support it, and I'm disappointed that it's dead."
The legislation would have created forensic DNA labs across Texas to be
used by law enforcement agencies, such as the Houston Police Department,
without their own accredited forensic facilities.
The labs would have been operated by the Texas Department of Public
Safety.
However, according to Bailey, during a committee meeting March 30, he was
given a copy of the chief's prepared remarks just minutes before testimony
was to begin.
Bailey said he learned that Hurtt's support for the legislation was
contingent on several conditions, including a reduced fee for HPD evidence
processed by the lab and a guaranteed turnaround time on evidence
analysis.
Concern about costs
Earlier in the session, Hurtt, along with the police chiefs of the 5 other
largest cities in Texas, had endorsed the proposal.
But Bailey now says he is not sure whether Hurtt and the city were ever
committed to funding the labs.
"That's how their lab problems started to begin with. They didn't want to
commit sufficient funds. And to some degree, I think that still exists,"
Bailey said.
Hurtt acknowledges he was concerned about the issue of turnaround time,
given the DPS's current six-month backlog in processing DNA evidence.
"But there was no issue about a guaranteed turnaround," Hurtt said. "We
wanted to discuss the issue of turnaround time."
As for the fees, Hurtt pointed out that some smaller law enforcement
agencies have their evidence processed by the DPS without charge.
"What we were concerned about was that everybody pay their share," Hurtt
said.
But Bailey maintained that Hurtt was more concerned about the costs to the
city.
"We were in a situation basically where the city wanted everybody else to
pay for the facility," Bailey said.
"I'm not convinced at this point that the city is willing or capable of
running a lab on their own," he said.
State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, confirmed that the regional DNA lab
bill is dead for this session.
He acknowledged that there was resistance to the legislation from some
rural law enforcement agencies but said those agencies may have to find a
way to contribute in the future.
"I mean, that's the breaks," said Whitmire, chairman of the Criminal
Justice Committee. "They need to come on board and pay the cost of doing
this."
Ongoing problems
The regional crime-lab bill was an outgrowth of the controversy that has
engulfed the Houston Police Department's lab for the past 2 1/2 years.
In December 2002, an outside audit found widespread quality-control
problems in the department's DNA division.
Irregularities were subsequently discovered in other lab divisions as
well.
The situation forced the retesting of DNA evidence in almost 400 criminal
convictions.
Problems also have been found with the quality of work in other forensic
labs in Texas, including some operated by the DPS.
So far, evidence-analysis errors by HPD and DPS have resulted in the
release of three men from state prisons.
In another attempt to remedy the statewide problem, Whitmire is sponsoring
a bill that would create the Texas Forensic Science Commission.
The commission would serve as an oversight board to certify and audit
crime labs around the state.
The bill is expected to pass the Senate early this week and then move on
for consideration by the House, where Whitmire sees little opposition to
it.
"I'm guardedly optimistic," Whitmire said. "I think people see the merits.
And it gets us an arm's length from law enforcement."
Accrediting the labs
The accreditation of forensic DNA labs in Texas is now the responsibility
of the DPS.
However, Whitmire says the commission will take over the DPS's
responsibility of ensuring that all forensic labs in the state are
accredited by September.
Dow said he supports the creation of the commission.
"The problem is that the commission is going to recommend an independent
crime lab," Dow said. "And I hope 2 years from now the Legislature listens
to them."
Meanwhile, HPD crime lab director Irma Rios said the department is on
schedule to have its own DNA division reopen by December.
(source: Houston Chronicle)
*********************
Great new day in Albany, now what about in Austin
In no state house has capital punishment been a nastier political pawn
than in the grotesquely pleasing high-Victorian pile of granite and brick
in Albany, N.Y. Clashes on the death penalty there have been historic and
regular.
Perhaps most famously, Gov. Mario Cuomo's repeated vetoing (12 times,
1983-94) of bills to restore the death penalty is believed to have played
a role in the Democrat's 1994 defeat by a pro-capital punishment
Republican, George Pataki, who is still in office and may seek a 4th term
next year.
Pataki promised to sign a capital punishment bill and did so in 1995, his
1st year in office.
But in a move that suggests the death penalty may no longer pack a
politically debilitating punch in the Empire State, an influential
committee of the New York State Assembly last week blocked further
consideration of a bill to reinstate the death penalty. The move came 10
months after the state's highest court struck down the misshapen core of
the old capital punishment law.
Life imprisonment without possibility of parole is now the maximum
sentence available in New York.
It's a heartening development.
"New York, the last one to bring it back, is now the first state to
effectively kill it," said Bob Liff, a spokesman for New Yorkers Against
the Death Penalty.
Shari Silberstein of Equal Justice USA said the New York action was
significant because "it is the first state to say affirmatively, 'We don't
want it any more.'"
The committee action followed a lengthy legislative study that resulted,
Silberstein said, in some former advocates of the death penalty saying,
"You know what, this didn't work."
That's demonstrably the case in New York. In the decade following the
restoration of capital punishment, the state spent more than $170 million
on administering death-penalty cases and no one was executed. Only 7
persons were sentenced to death, and, according to the legislative report,
the 1st 4 of those cases to reach the Court of Appeals were struck down.
Echoes of the New York action will, it's to be hoped, soon be heard in
some of the other 37 states that, along with such visionary regimes as
China, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Bangladesh, retain their medieval insistence
on execution.
Texas, of course, is the U.S. league leader, having put to death 340
inmates since capital punishment was resumed in 1976, almost 4 times as
many executions as the next most active state, Virginia.
The key to this slow but laudable progress seems to be the vastly expanded
role of DNA testing, which has increased public doubts about the death
penalty because of findings that some death row inmates did not commit the
crimes for which they were convicted and faced execution.
Death-penalty opponents may want to dismiss the New York development as
the work of liberal Democrats who control the State Assembly. They would
be very wrong. Leaders of two of the three committees that conducted the
massive study have a history of supporting capital punishment.
In fact, Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein, a Brooklyn Democrat who now
chairs the Assembly judiciary committee, entered state politics almost
three decades ago as an advocate of the death penalty, initially in a race
against the then-speaker who opposed capital punishment.
"There has been a very considerable move away" from support of capital
punishment, said sociologist Ned McGlynn of Siena College near Albany.
A Siena Research Institute poll taken in late February and early March
found that by 46-42 %, New Yorkers opposed re-enactment of the death
penalty. And, by an almost 2-to-1 margin (56-29 percent), they favored
life without parole as maximum punishment for the most heinous crimes.
10 to 15 years ago, McGlynn said, polling showed strong majority support
for the death penalty.
"With the electorate as split as it is, pro-death penalty advocates cannot
use public pressure to try to force through their view," said Joe Caruso,
who directed the Siena survey.
There are signs of hope for death penalty opponents in some unexpected
places.
There is a vibrant moratorium movement in North Carolina.
Just last week, the Judiciary Committee in the Alabama state senate voted
7-4 in favor of a 3-year moratorium on the death penalty.
The measure is not expected to make it all the way to final passage, but
state Sen. Roger Bedford, a Democrat, was quoted by the Associated Press
as saying he voted for the legislation to foster public discussion about
how the death penalty is administered.
"I don't think it is going to pass, but it will further the debate, and
that is positive for Alabama," Bedford said.
Such a debate would be more - way more - than positive for Texas.
(source: Houston Chronicle, Viewpoints ---- Cragg Hines is a Houston
Chronicle columnist based in Washington, D.C.)
********************************
A Mothers Plea
By Irene Rekitzke
Mother of Richard M. Cartwright a Texas Death Row Inmate
Mother's Day is on Sunday, May 8th this year. On Thursday, May 19th, the
best son a mother ever had is scheduled to be executed by the State of
Texas.
Let me tell you about Richard Cartwright, the man. Richard is a son and
a father, a brother and an uncle, a nephew and a cousin, a friend and an
advocate for the underdog. He is loyal and trustworthy, and would
literally give you the shirt off his own back, even if it were the only
shirt he owned.
As I write this, I am 36,000 feet above the ground, on the way to
Houston to visit my son at Polunsky unit, the infamous sensory
deprivation unit where death row has been housed now for the past 5
years. Today my 35 year old son is 35 days from his date with death.
This time I am scheduled for a special visit. For TDCJ, this means I am
allowed two, four hour visits, on two consecutive days. For me, it means
that this is likely the last private visit I will have with my son
before they execute him. As I write, my throat closes in, and try as I
might, a single tear escapes. I cannot afford to fall apart. I am his
mother, and right now, he needs me more than he has ever needed me in
his entire life. He needs me to fight for his life, and to fight for the
others on death row.
Yet what I really want to do is go into a dark corner somewhere, and
simply cry. I want to cry for the carefree, happy baby I brought home
from the hospital, for the beautiful blonde toddler that brightened my
life, for the average student that was always one of the most popular
kids in his class, for the talented hockey player that loved being on
the ice, and the young teenager that saw his family dissolve at 13, and
his beloved, charmed life come apart at the seams through a very bitter
divorce.
All of these make up my son. Today he is the father of an 8 year old,
beautiful blonde little girl with huge brown eyes. She has a smile that
lights up the room, a wonderful, sarcastic sense of humor, and a love of
life and her family. If the State of Texas has its way, she will never
feel her Dads hugs, have him attend her graduation, or have him walk
her down the aisle when she meets her Prince Charming. Instead, she will
have memories and beautiful pictures he drew for her. She will have
wonderful letters and cards he has sent her over the years. She will
know that she was the center of his life, and his passion. She is the
main reason he hasnt given up or given in, but continues to fight for
his freedom and his life.
I had the first of my two four visits yesterday. Last night, I went to
see Ricki, Rich's daughter. It seems that the stress of having her
father about to be executed has affected her. Once a model student,
except for talking too much, she is now experiencing behavioral problems
in school. Her mother says that she tried to stab another child with a
pencil. And now, in second grade, she got her first ever N (Not
Satisfactory) in behavior. It breaks my heart once again to see the far
reaching effects of the wrongful incarceration and probably execution of
my son.
While I do know it is not about me, I write this to share the pain of my
family. I am not the only one that is hurting. Richs daughter, sister,
nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends are in deep pain and
suffering every day. Rich does not deserve to die. Ricki does not
deserve to be deprived of her Dad. He was in the wrong place, at the
wrong time, with the wrong people. But he did NOT commit murder, he did
not inflict the terrible loss and pain on the victims family, and his
daughter does not deserve to know at the ripe old age of 8 that she will
grow up without her Dad.
I ask every mother, father, son and daughter to come together against
this barbaric practice called the death penalty. We need to let God
decide when and if men and women should die. Only his judgment is
perfect. As a mother, I can tell you that the pain, fear, and emotions I
feel are no different that the mother of a cancer victim feels as she
battles that enemy.
Let me ask, what do you know about the death penalty? Do you know that
one out of seven people sentenced to the death penalty have been found
innocent? Is that an acceptable percentage? Would it be acceptable if
your son or daughter was the one wrongly sentenced to die?
The following information is written from my point of view as the mother
of a death row inmate. Since my son is held in Texas, I have gained more
knowledge about the death penalty in that state than I ever wanted to
know. What I have learned is frightening. This fear is not only for my
son, but because the reality is that the State of Texas is executing
people more often than all the other states combined. Those executed in
Texas include the innocent, the retarded, and those without proper
representation, just to name a few. And none of the families deserve the
intense pain they have experienced, and continue to experience, as they
watch their loved ones be executed.
I brought my children up to respect teachers, people in authority,
police officers, and those in government. When my son went to trial, he
was offered a plea bargain. He refused, telling me that I am innocent
and I am not going to accept a guilty plea just to speed things up,
Mom. We both thought the truth would come out, and that would be that.
We were wrong, terribly wrong. My son now sits waiting for his date
with death, May 19th, as prescribed by the State of Texas.
Justice Sandra Day OConnor stated, If statistics are any indication,
the system may well be allowing some innocent defendants to be
executed. Does anyone disagree?
The Constitution Project, based at Georgetown University's Public Policy
Institute, reviewed the difficult legal and constitutional issues
associated with the death penalty. They assembled a study commission of
former prosecutors, judges, and other national figures active in the
legal community to review the state of the death penalty across the
nation. Some of their recommendations include the following:
The right to effective counsel. Do you assume that this is and always
has been the case? Not in Texas. A defendant in the State of Texas is
entitled to effective counsel only at their initial trial and on direct
appeal. After that, they are entitled to counsel, but it has been upheld
in court that counsel does not have to be effective.
In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Texas
authorities who claimed that a man received adequate representation from
a lawyer who slept through portions of his trial. Calvin Burdines 1984
conviction was eventually overturned because his public defender slept
through substantial portions of the trial and the sentencing phase. The
State of Texas did not feel that a death penalty attorney needed to stay
awake while representing his client. Fortunately for Calvin Burdine, the
United States Supreme Court did not agree.
During the entire time since my son was first arrested for this crime,
not once has any attorney assigned to him even requested funding for a
private investigator or expert witness. Had they requested, it would
have been granted. And maybe, we wouldnt be looking to May 19th with
such dread.
The pleading filed in the Supreme Court contained wonderful issues.
However, every single one of them was procedurally barred from
consideration because they were not raised at the State level.
Did you know that death penalty attorneys assigned to a capital case in
Texas get paid a flat amount for each of the filings at each level, but
if they file a successor writ, bringing new information into the case,
they are not paid, and their payment on the main filing is delayed until
the inmate moves to the next level. Now I ask, what do you think this
encourages attorneys to not do???
Expanding and Explaining a Life Sentence. As a member of the public,
until I was thrust into the death penalty arena, I had heard many
stories of criminals that committed crimes while out on parole. The
public has a general impression that no matter what sentence is handed
out, the inmate will be eligible for parole before the end of that
sentence. Life in Texas means the prisoner is not eligible for parole
for 40 years. But it is not required that anyone explain this to the
jury. In my sons case, even when the jury asked this question twice
during sentencing deliberation, they were told You have been given your
instructions. No further explanation was given to them.
Various statistical studies show a large percentage of people in favor
of the death penalty. It is my firm belief that they think the above
guarantees are already in place for all the accused. If the public were
educated about these facts and knew these guarantees were not in place,
their opinion would quickly change. My reason for writing this article
is to draw attention to this matter before someone elses son or
daughter is sitting in the cell my son will soon vacate forever. I want
to educate them about the death penalty so whether they are for it or
against it, they are educated and understand what it is all about and
how it is administered.
In his February 2005 State of the Union address, President Bush stated
Because one of the main sources of our national unity is our belief in
equal justice, we need to make sure Americans of all races and
backgrounds have confidence in the system that provides justice.
In America we must make doubly sure no person is held to account for a
crime he or she did not commit -- so we are dramatically expanding the
use of DNA evidence to prevent wrongful conviction.
Soon I will send to Congress a proposal to fund special training for
defense counsel in capital cases, because people on trial for their
lives must have competent lawyers by their side.
On President Bushs watch, during the year 2002, Ray Krone became the
100th person exonerated after being sentenced to death. He walked out of
prison in Arizona after DNA evidence clearly pointed to another suspect
for the murder that had put him on death row in 1992. New DNA testing
was available to dispel all doubts, and Krone was freed. Think about it
100 people that could have been executed in error. Think about the
pain, sacrifice, humiliation, and lives of those defendants and their
families. They can never get back the time they spent wrongly accused.
And then think about the wrongly accused still on death row, still
suffering.
As a mother, I can tell you that I suffer every day my son is there. The
pain is no different than if he had a terminal illness. The only
difference is the amount of support I receive. Within a very small,
enlightened community of death penalty opponents, I have tremendous
support. Outside that circle, there is very little compassion or
understanding. Try telling someone that you are going to visit your son
on death row, and wait for their reaction. Suddenly you are judged and
convicted of some unknown offense. You are treated differently. Most
likely, the subject of your son will never be raised again. Most people
do not offer to help or support you in any way. Even some family members
dont ask how you or your son are doing. It is a pain that I cannot
describe. My sons father has not written or visited him since he has
been on death row. He lives in Haladane Beach, Florida, with his new
wife and family, and pretends that Rich does not exist. Even when I
called him to let him know that Rich was given an execution date, he did
not respond.
What are the points of my son, Rich Cartwrights case that make it
different? Why should anyone step in and help save him from execution? I
will lay the reasons out for you:
1. During the penalty phase of Richs trial, the jury was not
specifically informed that a single juror could prevent a death
sentence. His jury also did not receive instructions on life in prison
and whether or not there was a possibility of parole. In Texas, the jury
is not legally entitled to information about alternative sentences.
2. Rich was convicted on the testimony of two co-defendants in the
crime. Both co-defendants were offered deals to testify against Rich.
One man received 20 years, and the other man received 50 years. The only
corroborating testimony came from the girlfriend of one of the
co-defendants. She married him shortly after Richs trial.
The two co-defendants were childhood friends and were together for three
days after Richs arrest before they were apprehended. After their
arrest, they were held in the same cell. This allowed them ample time to
solidify their stories.
The Commission on Capital Punishment which studied the Illinois capital
justice system because of the number of wrongful convictions there
stated in its 2002 report that "there are enough concerns about the
reliability of accomplice testimony that premising the death penalty on
such a foundation is extraordinarily unwise."
3. There was no physical evidence linking Rich to the crime. No
eyewitnesses placed him at the scene or saw him do it. The murder weapon
was never recovered or tested for DNA evidence.
4. An exhibit presented at Richs trial is a letter written by one of
the co-defendants, Kelly Overstreet. In the letter, he states, There is
a lot I cant explain about my life and my ways. I sometimes do things I
dont really mean to do, I usually do these things when I am high. I
have always hated faggots but I didnt mean to kill the little queen.
I was pretty high that night, and I guess my rage overcame my ass. I
guess that is what being a skinhead is all about.
Kelly Overstreet admits to the killing the victim, but he will
eventually get out of prison. My sons life is scheduled to end May
19th. Can anyone else see that something is really wrong with this
picture?
5. My son was absent from the court room because of medical reasons
during voir dire, or jury selection. Yet they continued to seat jurors
in his absence.
6. Finally, the attorneys assigned to defend have not been of the
highest caliber. One citation used in an appeal does not even apply
under Texas law. Richs most recent attorney has represented him for
over three years. When I asked him to copy the original trial
transcripts to send to a private investigator assisting Rich, he was not
even sure if he had them. Eventually he did realize he had them, but his
statement was indicative of the type of defense Rich has been receiving.
At a time where everything needs to be questioned to see what issues can
be raised to save my sons life, this attorney didnt even know if he
had the original trial transcripts! I was horrified and appalled.
Please consider the issues raised and help my son. Please consider the
issues raised and help all the inmates on death row in every state.
Please dont let my tears for my son fall in a garden of stone
monuments. As a mother, from the depth of my being, no matter what the
outcome, I am so very grateful for the help and support so many of you
have offered to both my son and to my family. A simple thank you is not
adequate, but I offer it anyway. Thank you very, very much.
If you would like to help my son and stop this execution, following are
some actions you can take.
Visit the following web sites and learn more about Richard Cartwright
and his case:
Rich's Home Page: http://www.deathrow.at/rmc/
Rich's Writings about Death Row: http://www.1prison.com/rcuncensored1.html
Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty Page:
http://www.ccadp.org/richardcartwright.htm
After reading about Rich, if you feel you would like to help save this
mans life, here are some next steps.
If you can only do one action item for Rich, sign the petition to stop
the execution of Richard Cartwright and share it with anyone you know
that may not want to see an innocent man executed. The petition is
located at: http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/Richard_Cartwright/
If you are willing to do more, please take the time to write letters of
protest to one or more of the following people. They are listed in order
of importance.
GOVERNOR AND FIRST LADY OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
Governor Rick Perry
Office of the Governor
P. O. Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711-2428
USA
If you would rather email the Governor, you can do so through this email
form: http://www.governor.state.tx.us/contact
Office of the Governor of Texas Main Switchboard: (512) 463-2000
Office of the Governor of Texas Fax: (512) 463-1849
Mrs. Anita Perry
c/o Office of the Governor of Texas
P. O. Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711-2428
USA
THE TEXAS BOARD OF PARDONS AND PAROLE. It is fine to send the same
letter to each member:
Rissie Owens, Board Presiding Officer
209 West 14th Street, Suite 500
Austin, Texas 78701
USA
Phone: (512) 936-6351
Fax: (512) 463-8120
Elvis Hightower, Board Member
1300 11th St., Suite 520
P.O. Box 599
Huntsville, TX 77342-0599
USA
936-291-2161 Telephone
936-291-8367 Fax
Jackie DeNoyelles, Board Member
1111 West Lacy St.
Palestine, TX 75801
USA
903-723-1068 Telephone
903-723-1441 Fax
Jose L. Aliseda, Board Member
420 S. Main
San Antonio, TX 78204
USA
210-226-6862 Telephone
210-226-1114 Fax
Charles Aycock, Board Member
5809 S. Western, Suite 237
Amarillo, TX 79110
USA
806-359-7656 Telephone
806-358-6455 Fax
Linda Garcia, Board Member
1212 N. Velasco, Suite 201
Angleton, TX 77515
USA
979-849-3031 Telephone
979-849-8741 Fax
Juanita Gonzalez, Board Member
3408 S. State Hwy. 36
Gatesville, TX 76528
USA
254-865-8870 Telephone
254-865-2629 Fax
STATE OF TEXAS SENATORS:
John Cornyn
517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington Dc 20510
USA
(202) 224-2934 Telephone
Web Form email: http://cornyn.senate.gov/contact/index.html
Hutchison, Kay
284 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington Dc 20510
USA
(202) 224-5922 Telephone
Web Form email: http://hutchison.senate.gov/e-mail.htm
PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES:
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
USA
Telephone: 202-456-1111
FAX: 202-456-2461
Email address: [email protected]
Mrs. Laura Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
USA
Telephone: 202-456-1111
FAX: 202-456-2461
