Feb. 4
TEXASstay of impending execution
Execution halted days before Fort Worth man was set to dieTilon Carter, 37,
received a stay Friday afternoon from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. His
execution was set for Tuesday.
For the 2nd time this week, a Texas execution has been stopped days before the
man was set to die.
Tilon Carter, 37, received a stay Friday afternoon from the Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals. His execution was set for Tuesday.
Carter was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for the 2004
death of 89-year-old James Tomlin in his Fort Worth home. Carter and LaKeitha
Allen broke into Tomlin's home, bound him with duct tape and robbed him,
according to court records.
Carter has maintained that he never meant for Tomlin to die, that he tied him
up and left with the money. But a medical examiner ruled Tomlin died from being
smothered, as well as from being tied up and left in a dangerous position.
The stay comes after Carter's attorney filed a late petition requesting a stay
of execution on a technicality: the trial court was a day late in notifying the
Office of Capital and Forensic Writs that an execution date had been set.
"This is fairly technical thing, but they did technically violate the law,"
said Robin Norris, Carter's attorney.
According to the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, if the trial court fails to
notify the convict's lawyer and the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs that
an execution date was set within 2 business days of setting it, the court must
reset the execution date. In Carter's case, it took 3 days.
The trial court had rejected Carter's request to reset the execution date,
stating that even though it took 1 day more than was required, the execution
was still more than 140 days away, longer than the 90 days required between
setting an execution date and the actual execution. The Court of Criminal
Appeals issued a stay pending its resolution of the issue.
"This is the 1st case I know of that has actually gone to the Court of Criminal
Appeals on this question," Norris said. "Most of the convicting courts that
have been asked in the past to reset an execution date on the grounds that the
Office of Capital and Forensics Writs was not notified in a timely matter have
just reset the execution on request. But they didn't do that here."
The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office could not be reached for comment
on the case.
The stay was the 2nd in Texas this week. On Tuesday, a federal district court
in Corpus Christi stopped the execution of John Ramirez, which was set for
Thursday. The state has executed 2 people this year.
(source: The Texas Tribune)
***
Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present22
Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982present-540
Abbott#scheduled execution date-nameTx. #
23-March 7--Rolando Ruiz--541
24-March 14-James Bigby---542
25-April 12-Paul Storey---543
26-June 28--Steven Long---544
27-July 19-Kosoul Chanthakoummane---545
(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)
Why some Texas legislators want to limit the death penalty
1 death sentence in Texas has prompted some legislators to rethink the state's
broad qualifications for the death penalty.
Jeff Wood, 43, was convicted for the 1996 murder of Kriss Keeran. Wood was
sitting in a truck outside a convenience store in Kerrville, Texas when his
friend Daniel Reneau entered the store to steal the safe. Reneau shot and
killed Keeran, who was working there as a clerk.
Wood was convicted of murder under Texas' "law of parties" statute that says
those who are responsible for a crime that results in death are equally
responsible as the killer even if they did not directly commit the murder, the
Texas Tribune reports.
The convict was scheduled to be executed in August 2016, but the Texas Court of
Criminal Appeals stayed his execution just 6 days before the event.
At the time, the Texas Catholic Conference said the stay "prevents a gross
miscarriage of justice."
"The public outcry against this execution illustrates broad agreement on the
injustice and basic unfairness of the Texas law of parties," the conference
said Aug. 19.
A trial court is reviewing Wood's case. State Rep. Terry Canales, a Democrat,
is sponsoring House Bill 316 to end death sentences for those convicted of
capital murder under the law of parties.
"We've got to start somewhere when it comes to reforming the death penalty, and
there's no better place to start than the law of parties," Rep. Canales said,
according to the Texas Tribune.
Republican State Rep. Jeff Leach plans, a death penalty proponent, opposes
using the law of parties to secure a death sentence. He was involved in Wood's
case.
