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1999 The Texas Death Penalty
Chapters:
Introduction
The generality of a Law inflicting punishment is one
thing, but what is being done in its practical application, verses the Theory in
Books, lead to quite different conclusions here in Texas. The law as it is
written sways far from the tree of justice here in Texas, but then too, this is
the Great State of Texas. This is the state that joined the Union with its own
stipulations… such as they would retain their own Habeas Corpus Reform Laws
(Habeas Corpus Laws) and a few other minor things. This is the only state in
America that still today, 150 years later, has those same stipulations intact to
this very day. If I may add, this was a time in which the civil war had been
recently won by the North, who happens to oppose Slavery, whereas the State of
Texas declared itself "Confederacy" and therefore they lost, so when
they went to the table of negotiations, they weren't very happy and wanted many
things their way. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the World of Old Southern
Notations and Biblical Justice, as we men and women here on Death Row in Texas
have come to know and experience it. Social History
One can be definite and absolute, that Capital
Punishment has a Great place in this State's history. This said justice only
serves to reflect the violent climate associated with this Texas justice. In 1924, Texas moved up a step, in their ways and means
of punishment, by setting up a brand new electric chair at the Walls Unit in
Huntsville, which in the very same place where the lethal injection takes place.
The old method was an administration of Justice, usually done by a group on the
County level and that punishment was hanging, usually done within hours after
the verdict. No appeals… not nothing except a swift death. Between 1924 and
1964, when the last electrocution occurred before the long decade Moratorium,
Texas put 506 men on death row and they executed 361 of those said men. This was
40 years in which the death penalty was active and for 361 men to be put to
death, that averages about 9-1/4 per year, which is relatively low for this
state. Still whether high or low, no life should be diminished in the name of
Capital Punishment. One can only imagine the Judicial Process what these people
went through back then. Here we live in a modern society and advanced technology
and we get various Appellate Reviews after a Capital Conviction. Those people
didn't get that back then, as we done today in the 90's, but then too, this is
Texas and no other State in the United States of America has Habeas Law as we
do. Thus, this enables Texas to do as they choose because the Federal Courts
hands are literally tied when it comes to challenging various constitutional
issues. Texas has been known to use the death penalty widely
against the Racial Minority's, the Young, the Impoverished and the Mentally
Retarded. Practically every victim is white. There was just one case in which a
White was sentenced to death for killing a Black and he died of cancer before
the State could administer what they call justice. Many men here on the Row are
young, mentally disabled, illiterate or below the line of literacy and come form
uneducated, impoverished ranks within our society. The post-Furman era is defined as a time after the
United States Supreme Court reviewed a case from Georgia, which challenged the
Constitutionality of the death penalty and its sentencing statutes. It is called
Furman-vs-Georgia. People, that one caste terminated the existing system of
capital punishment. That case closed the door for a while on the death penalty
in 1972. In 1973 Texas reconstructed their sentencing schemes and enacted its
first post-Furman death penalty statute. The constitutionality of that new
statute passed the Supreme Court and Texas' death row back again, grew at a rate
of 25 men annually. In 1990, the size of Texas death row had surpassed 300. It
would have been much higher of it had not been for a series of death penalty
cases strictly from Texas in the mid 1980's that jammed the Judicial Docket's of
the Supreme Court. So it had no other choice but to invalidate well over 100
death row cases from Texas. This state has made certain as to not ever over load
the highest court in America again, with what the Supreme Court Justice called
frivolous cases which didn't warrant the death penalty. These men were never
freed, and in fact, were eventually given life terms in prison. The first post-Furman execution did not occur until
December 1982 and the man was Charlie Brooks. At the entrance of the Walls Unit,
stood a huge crowd, reveling and cheering as they were in attendance at a major
sporting event. This man was set to be the first man to receive the newly
installed lethal injection system. They said it was less painful and more
humane. I beg to differ, because who has lived to tell of the effects regarding
the pain involved, if there exists any at all ??? There are actual
documentations that give clear evidence of Botched Executions with severe
complications to the inmate before death actually occurs. In the two decades following the Furman, Texans have
increasingly favored the death penalty more and more as time rolled on. It has
become an increasingly favored tool for politicians seeking either re-election
or election into office. The former Governor of Texas, Mark White in his bid for
re-election, used a televised ad campaign of himself walking down a hallway that
had its walls adorned with, what was classified as trophies, but in all
actually, they were large pictures of men executed by the State of Texas… sick
and low tactics, just to get elected to a Public Office. Rene Haas, in her bid
to get onto the Texas Supreme Court, stated in her ad campaign that she strongly
supported the death penalty and will handle those cases accordingly when they
come before her. People, the Texas Supreme Court does not, in any shape, form or
fashion, review any criminal matters. They "only" review "Civil
Matters". The Texas Criminal Court of Appeals is the one that reviews death
penalty cases. She blatantly lied to the public and they accepted it, because
she supports the death penalty. She was a lawyer first, then a District Judge,
and she knows very well the difference between the two courts. The problem is
that the public has such a great obsession for having the death penalty, that
very often, other Individuals, like this woman see the death penalty as nothing
more than an opportunity to grab a few votes from death penalty supporting
voters and lie to them at the same time, even on National Television. Legal History
The first death penalty case to be reviewed under the
new sentencing statutes, was Jurek-vs-State. The Criminal Court of Appeals
upheld the Constitutionality of the statute in this case and by a vote of 3-2,
voted to turn down this inmates appeal, which challenged the statute. This, my
friends, was the beginning of a turbulent times for Texas death row inmates.
Judge Truman Roberts argued that the statutes employed an overly vague
terminology and did not permit jurors to dispense "Mercy", while
viewing Mitigating Evidences. The Texas Statute does not in any given way;
explicitly speak of mitigating circumstances in its guidelines, thus enabling
jurors to frame an unfavourable opinion of the defendant in their minds.
Mitigation evidence is very crucial in trial because it is done in the
punishment phase of the trial. To make it to be punishment phase, one must be
found guilty first hand. If there is not a defence that includes Mitigating
evidence, then it leaves open a gate for a clear death sentence. Mitigating
evidence is so crucial because it gives the jury a chance to view the character
of the defendant. It considers everything from the time of his birth to high
school, church and any social activities. It considers the fact as to whether
the defendant was abused as a child, and psychological factors. It reviews the
defendant's culpability of the crime and his mental competence at the time of
the alleged incident, but if these crucial things aren't in fact put into
evidence, no one will ever know that Inmate John Doe's family beat him as a
child. John Doe never knew his father, his mother often neglected John Doe for
weeks at a time. John Doe had to learn to steal at an early age, just to eat;
These, my friends, are real mitigating factors and they go even farther than
what I've just mentioned; There are men who's inner minds and soul are forever
scarred with actual accounts of such abuse when they were a child, right here
where I live. Some are too worse to mention, but the fact is this… it exists
and since it's proven to exist, the we do Society not a favour by killing them. If we look deeper than the surface of the problem, we
will see the underlying problem, which is something could be wrong mentally. How
will we ever know unless we attempt to study or search for answers. Why does
Society have to kill a killer? If I'm not mistaken, that in turns makes Society
itself a killer. I say that because it's factual evidence that Capital
Punishment's stiffest penalty, does not serve as a deterrence. So therefore,
society weaves a web of cycle violence. They kill the killer and they kill and
kill again and what we have here Ladies and Gentlemen, is a full-scaled Cycle of
Violence. There is only one "Solution" to this problem, "Abolish
the death penalty World wide". In the late 1980's and the early 1990's, the Supreme
Court granted Certiorari in a series of Texas death penalty cases to decide as
to whether the Criminal Court of Appeals had interpreted the Texas death penalty
Statute in a manner that would permit juries to consider and give effect to all
types of Mitigating factors. That case, which was granted such, was
Franklin-vs-Lynaugh. It is nothing more than Jurek-vs-Texas, because Jurek was
the first to challenge the Statutes and when it was turned down, it was
re-challenged, but this time by Franklin, who was successful, whereas the
identical Writ was refused when presented by Jurek. Texas is quite known for its imbalanced judicial
decisions. Today, there may be issues that are granted for me, but tomorrow
those same issues will not be granted for Inmate John Doe. Its like a double
standard and it usually overtakes those who aren't afforded quality attorneys.
To engage into a Capital case, which is the most complex cases in the American
judicial system, one needs someone who is definitely going to fight for one's
rights. The Appellate part, takes and even more clever attorney, because he has
to dissect the entire case and put it back together. His job, if done
adequately, will leave no stone unturned in his quest to overturn the case. That
is what a good lawyer is all about. But everyone is not able to have that and
many must rely upon the Court Appointed Lawyers. This court appointed lawyers do
nothing more than help the prosecutor keep the Double Standard intact, because
they certainly do not help the defendant. If that were true, then many men and
women wouldn't be sitting in these cells fighting for our lives. In a 1993 case from Texas, which received International
condemnation, the United States Supreme Court granted a hearing on the case of
Herera-vs-Collins. The hearing was based on evidence discovered after the trial
had concluded and defendant had been sentenced to death and the fact as to
whether it’s cognizable on Federal Habeas Review. Chief Justice Rehnquist's
majority opinion, held that a federal habeas petition "may not" raise
such an "innocence claim" because States May constitutionally execute
a man who may in fact be innocent, so long as his "trial was fair" and
he was permitted to seek Clemency beforehand. People, Texas has one of the most
worse clemency programs in the United States. They don't even convene together
the 18 members. They simply cast their vote via telephone. They recently granted
their very first case of clemency to Henry Lee Lucas. But that was after much
scrutiny concerning them never actually meeting together as the law stated it
was supposed to do in death penalty cases. Justice Blackmun wrote a very harsh
dissent to the majority's opinion, that it was his belief that "it is
contrary to any standard of decency to execute someone who is actually
innocent". This is the same man that on February 22, 1994, announced to
America and the entire World that he, as he sat atop America's highest Court
"from this day forward, I shall no longer tinker with the machinery of
death. For some more than twenty years I have endeavored …. Along with the
majority of this court, to develop procedural and substantive rules that would
lead more than a mere appearance of fairness, to the death penalty endeavor.
Rather than continue to coddle this Courts delusion, that the desired
"level of fairness" has been achieved and the need for regulation
eviscerated, I feel morally and intellectually obligated simply to concede that
the death penalty experiment has "failed". The case at hand when
Justice expressed his views, happen to be a case fromTexas. What a strange
coincidence?? Aspects of Systematic Unfairness
When we speak of the death penalty being corrupt, we
are not just speaking only of the defence lawyers who do nothing in these
trials, or the elected officials who blatantly lie to the public, or the state
hanging judges and juries, or members of the Federal Courts who act as if their
hands really are tied, but when we speak about corruption, we are talking about
the entire system…. From top to bottom. Let's momentarily review the racial unfairness by the
numbers statistically. From 1974-1983, we learn that only 51% of all Texas
capital murders during those years involved white victims, yet 85 % of all death
sentences were for capital murder of whites. Incidentally, 23.4% of all Texas
capital murders involved black victims, but these such murders resulted in only
3.6% of all death sentences as of clinical studies done in 1993 by Professor
James Marquart. Dr Marquart's study goes on to revel remarkable
disparities. Statewide between 1974-1983, 12.8% of all capital murders, which
were black or white robbery-murders, and 8.9% were in fact black on black
robbery-murder. Not surprising, 18.2% of person's on Texas' death row, were
blacks who murdered whites during the course of robbery and 1.2% o Texas' death
row population for murder during the course of rape by a black man upon a white
female, is in fact 6.3%. While its opposition, blacks who kill blacks during the
course of rape and get the death sentence, is 0.4%. There is only one
identifiable case involving a white who killed a black in the course of rape,
but rather than charge him with rape, the re-worked his indictment to
robbery/murder, but testimony showed in open court that he forced this black
woman at gun point to perform lewd sexual acts, such as oral sodomy… all the
while, a pistol barrel is within centimeters of her forehead. He kidnapped he,
he then robbed her and finally, he sexually molested her at gunpoint. It's a
clear-cut pattern of minority-victim devaluation in Texas death penalty cases. In Batson-vs-Kentucky, Texas prosecutors continued to
use peremptory strikes in a racist manner, regardless to the correct manner,
which the Criminal Courts of Appeals had recently agreed to. The Batson case was
to make prosecutors "race neutral" and give explanations for striking
African Americans from being able to sit on the jury of a Capital trial. They
tend to think that African Americans, Jews, Hispanic's are more sympathetic to
"oppression" because of our oppressive past history. So therefore most
prosecutors attempt to do everything in their power to keep the minorities off
the jury panel, but Batson challenged this and won, thus most lower courts
followed the rules… except Texas. They evade it legally through the courts by
stating that they many not want to chose him because of his job, religious
preference or anything, except to be truthful and say its because of his skin
color. That violates the discrimination laws and Texas would never do that….
?? Its overt racism and they're getting away with it through deceptive legal
language, which they themselves write. Inflammatory tactics are very common among Texas
prosecutors in the middle of trial. For instance in the case of Kerry Max Cook,
who's victim was sexually mutilated. The prosecutor reminded the jury that the
victim's vagina had been cut off and never found. Without any basis of evidence
to the allegation, the prosecutor concluded that the defendant probably ate it.
In the case of Calvin Burdine a Gay homosexual in the free world, also became a
victim of inflammatory tactics. During his trial, the prosecutor reminded the
jury that Calvine Burdine was a confessed homosexual and sentencing him to life
in prison would be similar to sending him to a party. This is just a small
portion of the prosecutor's misconduct. Some of it is so juvenile that it could
humorous, if it were not for the fact that a life is at stake. Their colleagues
attach nicknames to them… such as the two leading female prosecutors in the
Attorney Generals office, who happened to be dubbed as "the Princess of
Death" and "Lady McDeath". The first being real name …. Leslie
Benitez and Paula Offenhauser and I must say they these two ladies’ went to
extremes to make sure that finality was reached… no matter who suffered the
consequences. These factual acts, which I have mentioned in this part, are only
just a few of many prosecutor misconducts. There is no governing of such an
office, even if evidence presented before the highest courts in America, because
they in fact wrote and lobbied for "immunity laws" to protect
themselves when they know that they blatantly messed up. Sort of like a safety
net, which they created. It’s easier for them to verbally apologize in open
court for a criminal act than it is for them to physically serve time for that
same criminal act. I call it a criminal act because it’s nothing but
"premeditated murder" in its highest form. They plan it, put it into
motion and then execute the defendant… planned murder. What I find difficult
is how can one say "I'm sorry" for the wrongfully execution your child
to a grieving Mother who believed in her child ??? There is no compensation in
the world that could alleviate the pain inflicted unjustly to her and the rest
of the defendant’s family. The misconduct does not just begin and end with the
prosecutors, but the judges have also joined center stage with their fellow
prosecutors. Many judges are former prosecutors, themselves before ascending to
the judicial bench. They too have engaged in unethical and conscience-shocking
behavior and Appellate Courts at both the Federal and State level have openly
displayed hostility toward the rights of Capital Defendants. Some judges have
intentionally set execution dates for certain holidays, the victims birthday and
one said judge, even signed a death warrant with a "smiley face". Of
all the cases in Texas involving judicial misconduct, none surpasses that of
judge William Harmon. Coincidentally this is the very same man that read me my
death sentence, the same trial judge who refused to release the appointed lawyer
from obligation in my case, the same judge …. The very same man. In the 1991 capital trial of Carl Buntion, Judge Harmon
stated to the defendant that "he was doing God's work, to see that he
(Buntion) was executed". He then proceeded to tape a picture of the Famous
Hanging Judge Roy Bean on the front of his Judicial Bench, whereas he imposed
his name (Harmon) over the name of Roy Bean. He created an escalated feud with
the defence attorneys and without justification, removed them from the case
twice. They were in fact trying to save the defendant's life and it's obvious
that it didn't suit judge Harmon too well. He followed one defence attorney to
his hotel room at 1.00 am and threatened retaliation, if the defence attorneys
filled any further motions to have him (Harmon) rescued from the case. He even
laughed visibly at a Minister, who was on the stand testifying that Mr. Buntion
was deeply religious. He repeatedly called the Justices on the Criminal Court of
Appeals "liberal bastards" and "idiots" because of their
decision making of the law, which required judge Harmon to allow certain
evidence into testimony, whereas judge Harmon really had no choice, so we better
understand his resentment towards Texas' Highest Criminal Appeals Court. The Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct, formally
reprimanded judge Harmon for his outrageous behavior, but Mr. Buntion received
the death sentence and should have automatically receive a completely new trial,
seeing as how the previous one was rigged and filled with obstructions of
justice. What we have here is a slap on the wrist of one person, who is in great
violation and the other, who receives the ultimate punishment… a death
sentence …, which is still intact to this very day. The mere veil of civility
is broken with the application of Capital punishment in ways previously
mentioned. Executing the Mentally Ill and Mentally
Retarded
Even in the view of many who support capital
punishment, Texas is by far the leader in applying the death penalty to those
who in fact should not doubt be exempt. Namely those who suffer from acute
mental disabilities. The majority of the Supreme Court has said that there
is nothing constitutionally troubling with the execution of a mentally ill
impaired prisoner. It is widely recognized that these executions are great
violations to the basic's of fundamental human rights. The only case to date
regarding execution of the mentally retarded is that of Johnny Paul Penry, who
was sentenced to death in 1981 for a rape/murder. Mr. Penry has repeatedly been
diagnosed with n I.Q. between 50 - 64. At the time of his offence, he was 22
years old , but he had the mental capacity of a six year old. He suffered severe
brain damage, possibly the results of repeated acts of physical child abuse. He
never made it beyond the barriers of the first grade and thus spent much of his
youth in various mental institutions and then… death row, where he still
resides today. The courts have refused to hear his challenges by his Court
appointed attorneys, who constantly bring up these mental challenges. They even
have been endorsed by the American Bar Association, who backed no executions of
the mentally ill, but never the less, the Courts, still refuse to hear any and
all oral or written arguments. I guess that they have applied the "eye for
an eye" so rigorously that they, themselves) have become blink. With mental retardation, there is simply no way to know
the number of persons sent to death row in the last two decades, who suffered
from acute mental illness at the exact time of their alleged offence. There is
no doubt that this number is larger than that, of the number of retarded
persons. If the effects of significant brain damage are included under the
rubric of mental illness, that number could also encompass the vast majority of
the 500 plus persons sentenced to death since 1973. Penry's case is not an exceptional one in Texas. People
there are countless dozens around me suffering from varying degrees of mental
retardation. I say that because the mental range is from moderately literate to
the illiterate. From the mentally insane to the mentally deranged. There are
only a handful of men, here, who are above the average IQ (70). I have seen the
insane set themselves on fire, when there was smoking sill allowed. I have seen
them allowed to live amongst fecal matter in their cells, not bathing for weeks
upon a time, but the system forgets them like most other people in Society. They
have the mentalities of children, yet Texas sees nothing troubling about
executing mentally retarded people. I myself have a problem with that because I
see it as being equivalent to that of taking a child out of day care and
executing them. I mean their mental status is both on the same level of
thinking. He or she is no more than a child trapped in a man or woman's body. I
am definitely not making any excuses for anyone on death row, but when we deal
with inmates of proven mental illnesses, why can't we get these people some help
and just maybe, we can rehabilitate a person and save lives at the same time. We set a man on the moon for the first time some twenty
plus years ago; we send multi-million dollars satellites into orbit aboard the
famed space shuttle, for the sake of high technological communications. We study
the planet Mars, but we cannot study the irrational behavior of a man diagnosed
with proven mental illnesses. We cannot guarantee a defendant the basic
fundamental and human rights in his or her own country called America, but we
can put a man on the mood. I often ask myself how can something so very simple
be so difficult. It's wrong to execute the mentally ill and the executions of
anyone, anywhere in this, our civilized world, is morally and principally wrong.
We cannot even conceive the notions of calling ourselves a civilized society,
when we kill the mentally disable, the minorities, the poor whites and the
native American Indians. No, I think barbaric is more fitting of Texas and any
other states that have the death penalty. Conclusion
It has been my objective to enlighten you about the
Texas Death Penalty with my facts and figures. At various places within this
article, I have given you my personal opinions as well as different aspects
ranging from my personal case history, to the varying degrees of the many wrongs
with the death penalty as I see it. My facts and figures a thoroughly researched
with all my figures coming from the National Coalition to Abolish the Death
Penalty's data bank. I thank you all for the time and effort in listening to
my voice, which decries nothing more than Justice. I thank you for your many
contributions, but most of all, I thank each of you for believing in me and my
cause for just and true liberation. This has been nightmare within itself. This
whole death penalty thing has been corrupted by factors such as racial and
socio-economic discrimination. It is totally dehumanizing and nothing more than
unabashed vengeance. I have looked at death from all angles so to speak. I have
sat here, helplessly as man of my friends were marched to death at an alarming
rate last year. I still see it at least once a month. Some guys get tired; some
just say they're ready to die… I don't know, but what I do know is that there
is a fire burning for the truth in my case. There is a fire that seeks to
reclaim my place in society one day. There is a fire that longs to embrace three
little girls that I had to leave behind eight years ago. There is a fire that
longs to hold the little old lady that I call Grandmother and has stood at my
side like the rock of Gibraltar throughout this ordeal. There is a fire to unite
with my many friends, one day there in the European Community and say to your
face… Thank you for saving my life. I would rather owe my life to the world
than to give it to Texas so easily. I need all the help I can get in this fight.
I need your prayers especially and I need your letters of support. Sometimes an
encouraging word can come at the time most needed. A few words of compassion can
be medicinal to a wounded spirit. I have a fiery, fighting spirit in me, but
sometimes I get tired, I get worried about paying a lawyer and there is no
greater fear which I endure than that of dying at the hands of Texas. There is
no dignity in death here and I fear not dying, because it's a bridge that we all
must embark upon one day. That is one of two things that are certain in this
world … death and taxes. I truly fear death without honor and most of all… Dignity. Once again, I thank you all for being attentive to me
and this situation here in Texas. It is my great hopes that after you have
listened to all I have stated in this article, that you will all see that the
death penalty only serves mistakes and injustice upon its citizens. It is my
hopes that you will look into your hearts and make a conscience commitment from
the heart, to join in the fight to abolish the death penalty. There lies a fire
within your heart also, that will speak up against wrongs of this world. I urge
you to please stand up, speak out and be heard. With many voices enjoined as
"one", one day we will be heard. Please, come, join the cause. With
enough said I bid each of you Peace, Love and a better understanding of those
things which we seem no to understand. Thank you for your time in hearing my
words which I write, because without them I merely a fraction of a man
desperately seeking relief from an oppressive situation. Thank you all and may
God bless you. I-Corinthians- chapter 13 verse 1-13 Sincerely,
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