URGENT ACTION APPEAL
19 January 2006
UA 275/05 (This Urgent Action was originally issued 19
October 2005 and updated 2 November 2005)
Death Penalty
USA (Texas) Jaime Elizalde (m), Hispanic, aged 34
Jaime Elizalde is now scheduled to be executed on 31
January. His execution was previously scheduled for 2
November 2005, but postponed to allow time for him to
be questioned about statements he had made admitting
to the murder of another man, for which someone else
is serving a life sentence.
He was sentenced to death in 1994 for the murders of
two men. No physical evidence links him to the crimes,
and key evidence against him has been called into
question. The two men, Juan Guajardo and Marcos
Vasquez, were shot dead on 5 November 1994, outside a
bar in Houston, Texas where Jaime Elizalde and his
father had been drinking. Jaime Elizalde and his
father were both arrested and charged with the
murders. All charges against Jaime Elizalde's father
were eventually dropped and he was released after
spending over two years in custody.
According to a clemency petition presented in 2005, no
physical evidence was presented at trial linking Jaime
Elizalde to the crime. The prosecution relied solely
on the testimony of two eyewitnesses. One of these, in
his original statements to police, denied that he knew
anything about the murders, neither having seen them
take place nor knowing who was responsible, but later
stated at trial that he had seen Jaime Elizalde carry
out the shootings; the second eyewitness claimed to
have observed the murderer for 15 seconds, in the
dark, and only contacted the authorities to identify
Elizalde as the murderer some months after the
shootings.
The clemency petition also alleges that his trial and
state appeals lawyers failed to investigate his case
adequately. As a result, important evidence, including
eyewitness testimony, supporting claims that he was
innocent, discovered by attorneys presenting appeals
to the federal courts has never been considered on its
merits because it should have been raised earlier in
the legal process.
All these points will also be made in a new clemency
petition that Jaime Elizalde's attorneys are now
preparing, which will also include a claim that
Elizalde may be mentally retarded.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty
unconditionally. The United Nations Safeguards
Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of Those Facing
the Death Penalty prohibit the execution of anyone
whose guilt is not based on "clear and convincing
evidence leaving no room for an alternative
explanation of the facts". Serious miscarriages of
justice in capital cases have already occurred in the
USA. Since 1973, 121 people who had been sent to US
death rows have been released after they were found to
be innocent. Others have gone to their deaths despite
serious doubts about their guilt.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as
quickly as possible:
- expressing concern that Jaime Elizalde is scheduled
to be executed on 31 January 2006;
- expressing sympathy for the family and friends of
Juan Guajardo and Marcos Vaquez, and explaining that
you are not seeking to excuse the manner of their
deaths or to minimize the suffering caused;
- expressing concern at reports that no physical
evidence links Jaime Elizalde to the murders, that
testimony given at trial by one of the prosecution's
main eyewitnesses contradicted earlier statements he
gave to the police, and that Jaime Eilizalde's trial
and state appeals attorneys failed properly to
investigate important evidence which might have proved
his innocence and which, for purely procedural
reasons, has not been considered in any court;
- noting that Jaime Elizalde's clemency petition
includes a claim of possible mental retardation and
urging that this is properly considered;
- calling on the Board of Pardons and Paroles to
recommend that Governor Perry grant clemency to Jaime
Elizalde;
- calling on Governor Perry to grant clemency to Jaime
Elizalde;
- urging that at least a stay of execution be granted
to allow further investigation of the issues raised in
his clemency petition.
APPEALS TO:
Rissie Owens
Presiding Officer
Board of Pardons and Paroles
1300 11th St., Suite 520
P.O. Box 599
Huntsville, TX 77342-0599
Fax: 1 936 291 8367
Salutation: Dear Ms Owens
Governor Rick Perry
Office of the Governor
PO Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711-2428
Fax: 1 512 463 1849
Salutation: Dear Governor
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. All APPEALS MUST
ARRIVE BY 31 JANUARY.
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Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots
movement that promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact,
including contact information and stop action date (if
applicable). Thank you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: [email protected]
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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