| 82R12583 MMS-D | ||
| By: Dutton | H.R. No. 829 | |
| WHEREAS, Six former death row inmates who have been | ||
| exonerated of the crime for which they were convicted are visiting | ||
| the State Capitol on March 16, 2011, the Day of Innocence, in | ||
| support of a moratorium on executions and other related measures; | ||
| and | ||
| WHEREAS, These men are among the 138 individuals who have | ||
| been released from death row since 1973, either because their | ||
| convictions were overturned and they then won acquittal at retrial | ||
| or had the charges against them dropped, or because they were given | ||
| an absolute pardon by the governor based on new evidence of their | ||
| innocence; their lives forever changed by their wrongful | ||
| conviction, these six individuals are now working to reform the | ||
| criminal justice system; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Convicted of murder in Texas in 1981, Clarence | ||
| Brandley was just weeks away from his scheduled execution when | ||
| evidence of coerced testimony and blatant racism in his first two | ||
| trials prompted the FBI to intervene; three years later, the | ||
| charges against him were dismissed; Mr. Brandley subsequently | ||
| married, apprenticed as an electrician, and became a Baptist | ||
| minister; his life became the subject of a book, White Lies, and a | ||
| cable TV movie, Whitewash: The Clarence Brandley Story; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Sentenced to death in Louisiana in 1987, Albert | ||
| Burrell was 17 days away from execution in 1996 when his attorneys | ||
| won a stay; the attorney general’s office dismissed the charges | ||
| against him in 2000, citing “a total lack of credible evidence,” and | ||
| later DNA analysis reinforced that assessment; Albert Burrell | ||
| currently lives and works in Center; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Gary Drinkard was convicted in Alabama in 1995; in | ||
| 2000, the state supreme court ordered a retrial on the basis of | ||
| prosecutorial misconduct, and the following year a second jury | ||
| found him innocent; Mr. Drinkard’s case was subsequently presented | ||
| to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to illustrate the critical | ||
| need that those facing the death penalty have for competent legal | ||
| representation; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Framed for murder, Shujaa Graham was sentenced in | ||
| California in 1976; the state supreme court overturned his | ||
| conviction because the district attorney had systematically | ||
| excluded African American jurors in his first trial; Mr. Graham was | ||
| ultimately acquitted in 1981, and since then he has played a leading | ||
| role in the anti-death penalty and human rights movements; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Ron Keine was sentenced to death in New Mexico in | ||
| 1974 after a witness, under intense pressure from prosecutors, | ||
| fabricated a story about his guilt; the following year, the real | ||
| killer turned himself in, and a new trial for Mr. Keine and his | ||
| codefendants was eventually ordered; before the trial could be | ||
| held, though, a judge threw out the murder indictment on the grounds | ||
| that ballistic tests conclusively linked the confessed killer to | ||
| the murder weapon; freed in 1976, Mr. Keine now owns a business in | ||
| Michigan and is a leader in the campaign to abolish the death | ||
| penalty; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Anthony Graves of Brenham was arrested in 1992 and | ||
| convicted in Texas in 1994, primarily on the testimony of one | ||
| witness who later recanted his story; the Fifth Circuit Court of | ||
| Appeals ultimately overturned Mr. Graves’s conviction in 2006, and | ||
| he was then sent to the Burleson County jail to await his new trial, | ||
| which would be four years in coming; during that time, he was kept | ||
| in solitary confinement; finally, in 2010, 18 years after Mr. | ||
| Graves was first imprisoned, a special prosecutor determined that | ||
| no case against him had ever existed, and the charges against him | ||
| were dropped; and | ||
| WHEREAS, There is no way to restore to these men the years | ||
| they have lost, or to compensate them for the mental and emotional | ||
| anguish they have suffered; notwithstanding the immeasurable pain | ||
| they have endured, however, they have found the resilience to take a | ||
| terrible ordeal and channel their response into constructive | ||
| endeavor; their strength and purposefulness are a testament to | ||
| their remarkable spirit and a continuing inspiration to countless | ||
| fellow citizens; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby honor Clarence Brandley, Albert Burrell, Gary | ||
| Drinkard, Shujaa Graham, Ron Keine, and Anthony Graves for their | ||
| tenacity in the pursuit of justice and for their significant | ||
| contributions to the debate over an issue of paramount public | ||
| concern; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared | ||
| for these gentlemen as an expression of high regard by the Texas | ||
| House of Representatives. | ||
