May 9 TEXAS: Fr. John Lasseigne on the Death Penalty (Nick Braune----Mid Valley Town Crier) Among the people I spoke with at the recent May Day labor rally in McAllen was Father John Lasseigne, the pastor of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in San Juan. I usually move our conversations to capital punishment, because I know the pastor is concerned about the issue, has a law degree from Loyola University in New Orleans, and over the years has made friends with two people on death row. Of course, I asked for an interview. Nick Braune: Executions have been stalled in Texas since last summer, as authorities were waiting for the nations Supreme Court to rule on execution practices in Kentucky. But just three weeks ago, the court issued its decision. Could you tell my readers about that decision? Fr. John Lasseigne: Yes. In the April case of Baze v. Rees, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Kentucky's lethal injection method. The method calls for 3 drugs: one to produce unconsciousness, a 2nd to paralyze muscles, and a third to cause cardiac arrest. Some 30 states use this same drug combination. A pair of Kentucky death row inmates challenged this procedure, presenting scientific evidence that the 1st drug sometimes fails to produce complete unconsciousness. The 3rd drug would then cause excruciating pain before eventually killing the convict. The inmates called for execution by a single, massive dose of barbiturates -- the same method used to euthanize animals. But the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that the constitution does not require Kentucky to change its execution method. I fully expected this outcome. Given the conservative bent of this Supreme Court, I did not think the justices would sympathize much with an argument that murderers deserve a less risky or less painful way to die. The case, however, did produce one surprise. Justice John Paul Stevens announced that he had finally come to the conclusion that the death penalty is always unconstitutional. By his declaration Stevens joins a very small group of justices who in Supreme Court history have shared that view. Braune: I expect executions will start up soon again in Texas. Why do we have so many more people on death row than other states? Fr. John: Here are some reasons. For years, Texas jury instructions set a low bar for death sentences. After finding the accused to be guilty, Texas juries had only to answer two additional questions: did the defendant act deliberately and was there a reasonable chance of him/her being dangerous in the future. After the jury answered yes to those 2 questions, the judge automatically imposed a death sentence. Neither judge nor jury ever answered the deeper question of whether the accused actually deserved to die. Mitigating evidence such as mental retardation had no relevance to the death decision. In the 1989 case of Penry v. Lynaugh, the Supreme Court found Texas death penalty sentencing guidelines to be unconstitutional -- but only after many hundreds of Texans had been sentenced under the flawed rule. The ruling in Penry was not retroactive. Even after Penry, Texas juries in capital cases still were given only 2 sentencing options: death or life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. Although poll after poll showed that juries wanted the option of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, that option became available only in 2005. Before then some juries felt compelled to give death sentences against their best instincts. There is another reason for so many people on death row: virtually all judges in Texas are elected. The last thing an elected judge wants is for a criminal who has appeared before his or her court to return to the streets and commit a well-publicized murder. Favoring the prosecution is an easy way for an elected judge to prevent that misfortune from happening. Braune: In presentations you have made on capital punishment, you spoke about eyewitness testimony and false confessions. Could you go over that again? Fr. John: Lawyers and psychologists know that eyewitness testimony is frequently unreliable. At times of emotional distress such as a crime, people's capacity to see accurately plummets. The passage of time takes another toll on their ability to remember. Eyewitnesses tend to use freely composed bits of "memory" to fill in the gaps. And as for confessions, defendants confess to crimes they did not commit for several reasons. They are subjected to brutal interrogations. The police feed them details of the crime to make their confessions believable. The defendants are told that if they confess they will make life easier for their loved ones who also may be facing serious charges. And the interrogations are not video-taped or even tape-recorded in most states, so the defense has little evidence to prove that the confession was coerced. Braune: Thank you, Father John Lasseigne, for your comments. (source: Texas Civil Rights Review) ************** Wrongly convicted gather at Texas Capitol to share stories One by one, nine wrongly convicted men stood up on the floor of the Texas Senate on Thursday to explain how innocent men ended up in prison and how to prevent it from happening again. "I'm here to tell you I lost everything. I am still hurting. I am still broken," said James Giles, who spent 10 years in prison for a rape he did not commit. "We can do better in the justice system. The system failed all of us." A week after a man who spent 27 years in prison became the 18th Dallas County man since 2001 to have his conviction tossed aside after DNA testing, state officials and men who lost years of their lives behind bars met in the Capitol to discuss what they said was Texas' "disturbing number of wrongful convictions." The event was billed as the nation's first "Summit on Wrongful Convictions." It brought together lawyers, police chiefs, judges and lawmakers, who sought to identify systemic problems that could be addressed through changes in law. Since 2001, DNA testing has cleared 33 Texans who spent a combined 427 years in prison, according to The Justice Project, a Washington, D.C.-based group. Eyewitness misidentification was a factor in 27 of those cases, easily the most common link. State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, said he will sponsor a bill during next year's legislative session that would mandate police departments use specific procedures when presenting live lineups or photo arrays to eyewitnesses. Several of the men who were wrongly convicted talked about how an incorrect identification by an eyewitness was a key factor in their false convictions. Perhaps the most notorious case of bad eyewitness ID came from James Waller, who was identified by a rape victim by his eyes and the sound of his voice. The rapist in that case was described as being 5-foot-8. Waller, who is 6-foot-4, spent 10 years in prison. Among the more intriguing reforms mentioned was a crime lab oversight group that would have the same sort of authority health inspectors wield at restaurants. Judge Barbara Hervey of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals referred to the idea as a pet project of hers, adding that Texas would be the 1st state in the nation to enact such a plan. Along the same lines was the idea of regional crime and DNA labs operated independently of police departments, a topic broached by Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt. That idea was also favored by state Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Cheryl Johnson, who acknowledged that crime labs run by police departments can present conflicts. Reforms in Dallas County also drew praise. Under District Attorney Craig Watkins, Dallas has begun a program in which law students, supervised by the Innocence Project of Texas, are reviewing hundreds of requests by inmates for post-conviction DNA testing. "It can be argued that Texas ... may have one of the worst criminal justice systems in this country," Watkins said. "We have to start where we have the most problems." Jeff Blackburn, the chief counsel for the Innocence Project of Texas, also suggested overhauling how the courts deal with writs filed by inmates. Blackburn pointed out that James Woodard, who was released last week, was labeled an abuser of the system after filing 6 writs and 2 requests for DNA testing. But the event's most powerful moments belonged to those who had been exonerated. Billy Smith talked about how he considered suicide once or twice a year during his 19-year prison stay for a rape he did not commit. Waller spoke of his wife, who was eight months pregnant, dying in a car accident on the way to one of his court hearings. "I'm 52 years old and I have no kids," Waller said. "Texas took that away from me." The applause was loudest when Giles tore up his sex offender registration card, something he had to carry for 15 years while he was on parole before getting exonerated. He ripped it up, he said, because he had a new card to carry: a voter registration card. "You talk about being afraid, being scared, being locked up, going to jail," Giles said. "That's a nightmare that sometimes you never overcome." (source: Associated Press) ******************** Exonerated inmates urge criminal justice changes in Texas When Billy Smith and James Giles were languishing in Texas prisons for crimes they knew they did not commit, they never dreamed that one day they would be standing in the state Senate chamber pleading for reforms. But Smith and Giles were among nine exonerated men who spoke Thursday at a forum called to examine underlying causes of Texas' wrongful convictions and what can be done to prevent them. "You have the power. You have the pen," Smith told the assembled legislators, judges, prosecutors and police chiefs. State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, who has sponsored criminal-justice overhaul measures for years only to often see them fail, called on Gov. Rick Perry and other state leaders to tackle the wrongful-conviction issue head-on. He specifically called on Perry, Attorney General Greg Abbott and Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson to establish an Innocence Commission to review and recommend changes. "It is time to put some muscle behind legislative initiatives and best practices that can be implemented without legislation," Ellis said. DNA testing has exonerated 33 Texas inmates. Those inmates spent more than 427 years combined in prison. About 100 people attended the round table organized by Ellis. Among them were Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judges Cheryl Johnson and Barbara Hervey, representing the state's highest criminal court. State Sen. John Whitmire, chairman of the powerful Criminal Justice Committee, also attended, saying that he gets 300 letters a month from inmates seeking help and that many of them have a valid complaint. The Houston Democrat said what "keeps him up at night" is that Harris County sends the most people to prison and to death row. "Nothing is more important than clearing the wrongfully convicted," he said. Sitting front and center in the chamber were the nine exonerated men. One at a time, they went to the lectern to tell how they were wrongfully convicted through prosecutorial misconduct, faulty eyewitness statements and ineffective legal representation. They begged the officials to find a way to return integrity to the court system. Smith is one of 17 men convicted in Dallas County who has since been exonerated. He spent more than 19 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of rape. His case was based wholly on witness identification. DNA testing led to his release in 2006. Smith said that while in prison he sometimes considered suicide. He now considers himself a victim. "It's going to happen again. Our legislature. Our district attorneys. Those in power are failing us," Smith said. Giles, also of Dallas County, was wrongfully convicted of a 1982 rape based on a faulty photo lineup and witness identification. He spent 10 years behind bars and had to register as a sex offender upon his release. A subsequent investigation revealed that the lead detective and prosecutor withheld evidence that would have cleared Giles. Giles and the other men said they have tried to move on with their lives. But it has been tough, they said. To show that he is trying to move on, Giles tore up his sex-offender registration card and waved his new voter registration card. "We should open up our minds to do the right thing," Giles said. "Don't worry about the next election." Among the changes discussed were creating guidelines for photo lineups, videotaping and recording interrogations, and requiring prosecutors to have an "open file policy" that releases evidence to defense attorneys. Hervey also suggested creating a roving lab that would spot-check and verify the work being done by the state's crime labs. All of these changes, however, will ultimately depend on the money available, she said. "There are so many things in the system that there is just not one fix," Hervey said. "It has to be a collective effort." PROPOSED CHANGES Here are a few criminal-justice bills that have been introduced in the Legislature but did not pass: Capital defender office -- Establish an office to handle all death row inmates' appeals. Innocence Commission -- Create a nine-member commission to evaluate wrongful-conviction cases to try to determine what went wrong. Eyewitness identification -- Establish guidelines for photo lineups, including not allowing the supervising case officer to attend. Taping interrogations -- Require law enforcement agencies to record video or audio of interrogations. Witness inducement -- Require law enforcement officials to report when witnesses have received payment or a reduced sentence in return for testimony. Open files -- Require district attorneys to release certain evidence to the defendant within 30 days of indictment. (source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram) *********************** 9 who were wrongfully convicted plead for reform-----Men cleared by DNA tests say state should create an innocence commission 9 wrongfully convicted men who spent a collective 148 years in Texas prisons met with a select group of prosecutors, judges and police chiefs in the Senate chamber Thursday to urge the state to establish a commission to investigate claims of innocence. "I'm crying out for mercy today for someone who may still be in prison," said James Curtis Giles, who served 10 years in prison for rape before DNA testing proved him innocent. State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, has been leading the effort to have an "innocence commission" formed in Texas. Ellis told the gathering that he has asked Gov. Rick Perry and other state leaders to establish such a commission but has not heard back from them. Perry's top criminal justice adviser, Mary Anne Wiley, said the governor shares Ellis' concerns on issues such as improving the legal defense for people on trial and separating control of crime laboratories from the control of police departments. But she said he does not want to create another layer of government in the criminal justice system. DNA testing in recent years has cleared 33 men of charges related to rape, kidnapping and murder. Most of those who spoke Thursday had been convicted in Dallas County, but others were from El Paso and Travis counties. They said their prosecutions occurred in part because of police and prosecutor misconduct and because of faulty eyewitness identification. Alejandro Hernandez said he spent 13 years in prison for murder based on a faulty police photo lineup. He said some innocent people could avoid conviction if a person not involved in the investigation handled photo lineups so they would not know which person was the suspect. Billy Smith fought for 5 years to have the DNA test that exonerated him and prompted his release from prison after serving 19 years of a life sentence for rape that was based solely on a bad eyewitness identification. He said the state needs to provide better compensation for people who have been wrongfully convicted. "I'm a victim. Make no mistake about that," Smith said. New York criminal defense lawyer Barry Scheck, who directs the Innocence Project that has represented many of those freed in Texas, said "enormous progress has been made" in Texas. Scheck praised Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt for making major improvements in the Houston crime lab. But Scheck said every police department in Texas needs to be improving its handling of eyewitness identifications as well as the collection of DNA evidence. Hurtt said the state should consider funding regional crime labs so that the police are not in charge of them and they can be run on a more professional and efficient basis. Hurtt said crime labs in this country are doing a good job if they can turn a DNA test around in three to 5 days. He said in the United Kingdom, the tests are done in three to five hours because of assembly line automation. Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins said efforts by his office to review innocence claims have restored confidence in the criminal justice system locally. Watkins said that several years ago drug dealers knew Dallas juries would not convict them because of a police evidence-planting scandal. Watkins said one of his prosecutors recently was worried he could not get a conviction in a murder case because of publicity surrounding the wrongful-conviction release of 27-year inmate James Lee Woodard. But he said the jury took only 5 minutes to convict because confidence in the Dallas criminal justice system has been restored. Jeff Blackburn of the Texas Innocence Project said it is not enough to talk about how problems can be avoided in the future, however. "For every exonerated up there (on the podium) there are probably 300 people in TDCJ (Texas Department of Criminal Justice) who are innocent and need to get out," Blackburn said. (source: Houston Chronicle)
[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS
Rick Halperin Fri, 9 May 2008 18:08:20 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin
- [Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS Rick Halperin