The state of Texas is scheduled to execute 29-year-old David Aaron
Martinez, a Hispanic man July 28th for the July 27, 1997 slaying of
24-year-old Kiersa Paul, a white female in Travis County. Martinez was
21 when the crime was committed. He was charged with intentional murder
while committing a robbery and aggravated sexual assault.
Like many on death row, Martinez comes from a troubled background. His
attorneys said that he moved from Texas to Iowa and back to Texas,
living with one parent or the other. While Martinez lived in Austin
during his early to mid-teens, his father was "heavily involved" in
making sadomasochistic paraphernalia and was drug-addicted.. For some
time before his arrest, Martinez lived on the street. In his case file,
a March 1997 form from the Salvation Army lists him as homeless.
The death penalty is an arbitrary punishment that is more likely to be
distributed to those who come from poor upbringings and economic
backgrounds, and is less likely to be the punishment for those who
commit the worst crimes. This penalty also punishes those who are
convicted for killing whites more than any other race. In cases that
result in a death sentence, four out of every five murder victims are
white, despite the fact that blacks make up about 50 percent of this
country's murder victims.
Do not let the state of Texas carry out a punishment that is inherently
unequal. Please take a moment to write Governor Rick Perry and the Board
of Pardons and Paroles to recommend that Martinez's life be sparred.
Using the information above, please write a letter to the Board of
Pardons and Paroles asking them to recommend clemency for David to the
Governor, and a letter to the Governor, asking him to grant clemency and
commute this sentence to life. In your letter please express your
feelings of sympathy for the family members of Kiersa Paul, and
acknowlege the severity of the crime.
Contact information below.
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
Maria Ramirez, Clemency Administrator
Executive Clemency Section
P.O. Box 13401, Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
Fax (512) 467-0945
Honorable Rick Perry
Governor, State of Texas
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711-2428
(512) 463-1849 Fax
