Texas is set to execute Kenneth Mosley today, January 7, 2010. If the execution is not stopped, it will be the first Texas execution of 2010. Last year, Texas executed 24 people, by far more than any other U.S. state.

Call Texas Governor Rick Perry and let him know that you oppose the death penalty. 512-463-1782 or 512-463-2000. They keep a tally of callers for and against, so be part of the historical record against. If you are shy, you can just leave a voice mail at the 463-1782 number or write an email http://www.governor.state.tx.us/contact.

Below is a call to action from Amnesty International UK.

Amnesty International is calling for the execution of a man in the US state of Texas who may be brain-damaged to be stopped.

Kenneth Mosley, 51, faces execution by lethal injection in three days’ time (Thursday 7 January) unless Texas governor Rick Perry intervenes. Amnesty supporters are sending ‘urgent action’ appeals to Governor Perry and to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Mosley was sentenced to death in 1997 after being found guilty of the murder of a police officer called David Moore in an attempted bank robbery in the city of Garland, Texas.

At his trial Mosley testified that he had not intended to shoot Moore and there were conflicting eyewitness accounts as to whether the shooting appeared intentional. Meanwhile, the trial jury was told nothing about Mosley’s upbringing, which was marked by violent abuse from his father and exposure to toxic pesticides that may have seriously damaged his brain. Neither did the jury hear of his severe depression and a long history of cocaine and alcohol abuse as ‘self-medication’.

After his trial two psychologists concluded that Mosley suffered from frontal lobe dysfunction. Another psychologist said he had “generalised brain impairment as well as damage to specific areas in both the right and left sides of his brain.” The third expert said that the “primary cause” of his “neuro-cognitive deficits” was “his lengthy and varied exposures to toxic chemicals at a vulnerable developmental stage.”

Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said:

‘Executions are always cruel and unnecessary, but for Texas to put to death a man who might be brain-damaged would be utterly unforgivable.

‘Our thoughts are with the family of Officer Moore at this time but even those that support the death penalty ought to admit it’s totally wrong to execute a man like Kenneth Mosley.’

‘As with many other US capital cases, a jury has made a decision over Mosley’s fate without hearing the full story. Governor Rick Perry should, in all conscience, stop this execution.’

Death row in the USA: some key facts

Texas is one of 35 US states to retain the death penalty

The USA has seen a fall in the number of executions in recent years, but it still executes dozens of people every year – in 2009 there were 52 executions

Kenneth Mosely is one of 342 inmates (332 men, 10 women) on death row in Texas

Since 1976 the USA has executed 1,188 people

From 1973 to the present 139 people have been released from death row in the USA on the grounds of innocence (an average of approximately three exonerations per year)

Some 3,300 prisoners remain on death row in the USA.

Two stories dominated death penalty news in Texas in 2009, Todd Willingham and Sharon Keller. We will call it a tie for top Texas death penalty story in 2009, at least according to amount of media coverage. Well, the Willingham case received more media coverage, but we still call it a tie for top story.

Other important Texas death penalty stories of 2009 in no particular order were:

the 200th execution under Governor Rick Perry;

the fact that only nine people were sentenced to death in Texas in 2009;

the approval of the Law of Parties bill in the Texas House only for it to be killed in the Senate by a veto threat from Rick Perry;

the Charles Dean Hood case, in which the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that it was ok for the judge and prosecutor to sleep together without biasing the outcome of the trial enough to warrant a retrial;

the Texas Legislature passed and Rick Perry signed into law a bill to create a new capital writs office to handle indigent habeas appeals in death penalty cases;

all charges were dropped against Robert Springsteen and Michael Toney and both were released from prison after having been sentenced to death in Texas in 2001 (Springsteen) and 1999 (Toney).

Finally in October 2009, hundreds of people converged on the Texas capitol in Austin to call for abolition of the death penalty in Texas. The 10th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty included the delivery of a petition to Rick Perry signed by more than 6,000 people calling for a complete investigation into the case of Todd Willingham and a moratorium on executions. The march was the largest rally against the death penalty in Texas since 2000.

Three innocent, exonerated former death row prisoners were among the special guests at the Tenth Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty October 24, 2009 at 2 PM in Austin, Texas at the Texas Capitol on the South Steps at 11th and Congress. Also attending was the penpal of Todd Willingham, Elizabeth Gilbert, who first investigated his innocence. Plus, Todd’s last lawyer Walter Reaves.

One of the most moving moments of 2009 was when the mother of Reginald Blanton spoke at a rally at the Texas Capitol on Sept 26 pleading for Rick Perry to stay the execution of her son, who maintained his innocence from his arrest until his execution on October 27. Watch video of Blanton’s mother here, but be forewarned, if you have tears, prepare to shed them.

Todd Willingham – the Texas Forensic Science Commission received a report from Dr Craig Beyler, a national fire expert who examined the case of Todd Willingham and who wrote in his report that “a finding of arson could not be sustained” by a scientific analysis. The New Yorker published a 16,000-word article by David Grann that examined all the evidence in the Willingham case and found nothing that should have led to Willingham’s conviction and execution. Willingham was executed in 2004. Rick Perry raised the profile of the case even higher by replacing all of his appointees to the Texas Forensic Science Commission, including the chair. The new chair, prosecutor John Bradley, canceled a meeting at which the commission was scheduled to discuss the report by Dr Craig Beyler and shut down the commission’s proceedings. Rick Perry had effectively covered up the investigation of whether Texas had executed an innocent person until after the March 2010 primary election.

TMN appeared on CNN on October 2 and accused Perry of a cover-up.

Sharon Keller was charged with incompetence and misconduct by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct for saying ‘”we close at 5″, effectively blocking the submission of an appeal in 2007 by lawyers for Michael Richard on the day of his execution, and for breaking the execution day procedures of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. A resolution to impeach Keller was introduced in the Texas House of Representatives and given a hearing by the chair of the House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence.

Keller’s trial on the SCJC charges was held in San Antonio before a special master, Judge David Berchelmann, who by the end of the year had still not issued his findings.

TMN had submitted one of the complaints against Keller to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct in 2007. The TMN complaint was signed by about 1900 people. Watch video of CNN coverage of first day of trial, including our demonstration outside the courthouse.

Local San Antonio news coverage of the trial.

Death sentences decline, but Texas still leads U.S. in executions. Only nine people were sentenced to death in Texas in 2009. Harris County sent zero people to death row in 2009. In 2008, Harris County had also sent zero people to death row. 24 people were executed in Texas in 2009. Texas conducted almost 50 percent of all executions in the U.S. in 2009.

More than 200 executions under Rick Perry.

On June 2, 2009, the 200th person was executed in Texas since Rick Perry became governor in December 2000. TMN coordinated protests in Texas and cities in Canada and Europe, including Austin, Houston, Huntsville, Montreal, Brussels, Leipzig Germany, Albuquerque and Paris France.

Video of Dr. Jerry Williams, a SFA sociology professor is a speaker at the Walls Unit protest.

Williams’ sister was brutally murdered and her killer only spent 15 years in prison. He explains why he doesn’t believe in execution. “I hated him. I wanted to see him die. I wanted to see him suffer in prison. And I thought justice would be done only in the way, but what I realized over time was that my hate really diminished me. It damaged me and did nothing for him,” explained Williams.

Report from a Nacogdoches TV Station of a Delegation Headed to Huntsville to Protest 200th Execution Under Gov Rick Perry.

Protest held in Houston by Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement June 2, 2009 on the day of the 200th execution under Texas Governor Rick Perry.

The Law of Parties Bill

The Texas House passed a bill that would have banned executions of people convicted under the Law of Parties who did not actually kill anyone. Rep Hodge and Rep Dutton both filed Law of Parties bills in response to the cases of Kenneth Foster, Jeff Wood and other people who have been sentenced to death despite not having killed anyone. Prior to the start of the session, we had lobbied legislators looking for a sponsor for the Law of Parties bill, so we were happy when both Rep Dutton and Rep Hodge filed bills.

We held a press conference with Rep Dutton and Kenneth Foster’s and Jeff Wood’s family to explain the law of parties bill. Watch video of press conference TV coverage.

We held a lobby day in March during which we met with legislators about the Law of Parties bill. It was the largest lobby day against the death penalty ever held in Texas. We lobbied 90 legislative offices. People came from all over Texas to participate, including the father and grandfather of Kenneth Foster, and family members of Jeff Wood, Randy Halprin and several other families of people convicted under the Law of Parties. In addition to building support for the law of parties bill on the lobby day, we found additional legislative sponsors for a bill to abolish the death penalty and the moratorium bill.

We followed up in April with a second mini-lobby day after the law of parties bill had passed the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence. We lobbied for passage by the full House. Watch Rep Hodge urging people to call their legislators about her bill.

On May 2, there was a second rally for the law of parties bill. Watch video here.

On May 15, the bill passed the full Texas House and was renamed the “Kenneth Foster, Jr Act”. We live blogged and issued a press release. After passing the House, the bill died in the senate after Governor Rick Perry threatened to veto it.

The bill died in part because of false information given out by prosecutors such as Williamson County Attorney John Bradley, who said in the Austin American-Statesman: “To exempt all defendants in capital cases because they didn’t pull the trigger “is irrational. Under that reasoning, Hitler, Osama bin Laden and Charles Manson could never get the death penalty. You have to look at the facts of each case … whether their participation merits holding them culpable”.

HB 2267 said

(b) A defendant who is found guilty in a capital felony case
only as a party under Section 7.02(b), Penal Code, may not be
sentenced to death, and the state may not seek the death penalty in
any case in which the defendant’s liability is based solely on that
section.

People like Hitler, Manson and Osama bin Laden would not have been prosecuted under Section 7.02(b), but prosecutors used that scare tactic to help kill the bill.

Largest Anti-Death Penalty Rally in Texas Since 2000 Held in October 2009

Protesters march to call for an end to executions
Recent remarks by Perry fuel anti-death penalty rally.
By Joshunda Sanders
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, October 25, 2009

Death penalty opponents rally at Capitol
KXAN Austin
Supporters: Innocent put to death in 2004
Published : Saturday, 24 Oct 2009, 9:03 PM CDT

Hundreds Attend Death Penalty Rally at Texas State Capitol
KVUE, October 24, 2009

Hundreds March in Austin calling for a stop to the death penalty
CBS KEYE TV News
October 24, 2009

We have a winner in our drawing to win a phone call from Sister Helen Prejean.

Terri Been is the winner. She will soon be receiving a personal phone call from the Nobel Prize nominated internationally-known author and anti-death penalty and human rights advocate Sister Helen Prejean.

Terri wrote on Facebook, “Yeahhhhhhh!!!!! I won the phone call from Sister Helen Prejean! I can’t wait to speak with her!!!! Thanks to Scott Cobb of the Texas Moratorium Network for setting up the contest! What a once in a lifetime opportunity!!!!”

Terri’s brother, Jeff Wood, is on death row in Texas, convicted under the Law of Parties even though he never killed anyone. He was outside of a store sitting in a car while his companion went inside and robbed and murdered the clerk of the store. 

Thank you very much to Sister Helen for supporting Texas Moratorium Network’s efforts against the death penalty in Texas and for agreeing to take time out of her very busy schedule to speak to Terri on the phone!

We held the drawing primarily on the TMN Facebook page.

Justin DuClos of Massachusetts is the winner of the second place prize, a signed copy of the book Mortal Justice by Jeanette Popp and Wanda Evans. The book tells the story of the murder of Jeanette’s daughter Nancy and Jeanette’s long activism against the death penalty. Two men were wrongfully convicted of the murder and spent 12 years in prison for a crime they did not commit. When the real killer was discovered and convicted, Jeanette met with the killer in a jail in Austin Texas and told him that she did not want him to receive the death penalty.

You can learn more about Sister Helen Prejean on her websites.

http://www.sisterhelen.org

http://www.dmwplay.org

http://dmwplay.ning.com

http://www.moratoriumcampaign.org

• Death Penalty Discourse Network
• Follow Sister Helen on Twitter
• Prejean.org (her “official” site)

Kids Against the Death Penalty have been working hard on new videos that they have posted on YouTube. This is the kind of hard work that was the reason they were named the 2009 Youth Abolitionists of the Year.

Click here to watch their below video entitled “Remembering the Fallen: A Reflection of the 2009 Texas Executions” on YouTube.

Here is their video on Jeff Wood.

Here is their video on the Law of Parties.

Here is their video on Darlie Routier.

Two big Texas death penalty related stories in 2009 were the charges of misconduct against Judge Sharon Keller and passage through the Texas House of a bill to ban executions of non-killers convicted solely under the Law of Parties. This is part one of a look back at big stories of 2009. Coming up in Part Two of our look back at 2009: protesting 200 executions under Rick Perry, the Todd Willingham case and the largest anti-death penalty march and rally in Texas since 2000.

Sharon Keller – In February 2009, one day after the New York Times wrote an editorial about Keller, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct filed Notice of Formal Proceedings against Sharon Keller, presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

In 2007 Texas Moratorium Network was one of several groups that filed a judicial complaint against Sharon Keller. (We also created a website called www.sharonkiller.com.) Our complaint was co-signed by almost 1900 people. In 2007, we also talked to several legislators who also subsequently signed on to a complaint or filed their own complaints against Keller: Reps Dutton, Olivo, Coleman, Farrar and Burnam.

Last December (2008), TMN approached Rep Lon Burnam and asked him to file a resolution to impeach Keller. Today, the New York Times wrote an editorial supporting Burnam’s resolution.

Rep Burnam did file his impeachment resolution (Watch video) and the Texas House Committee on Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence took testimony on April 27, 2009 on Burnam’s resolution to impeach Sharon Keller.

No action was taken on the resolution, in part because the trial of Sharon Keller was scheduled for August, so the committee members wanted to let the SCJC process proceed.

Below is a video of TMN’s Hooman Hedayati testifying to the committee.

In August, the trial of Sharon Keller was held in San Antonio. We attended the trial and held a demonstration outside the courthouse on the first day. Our rally appeared in a story on CNN, which was our first of two appearances on CNN in 2009. The second came in October about Todd Willingham.

Judge Berchelmann, the special master who heard the testimony at the trial, has not yet submitted his findings to the State Commisssion on Judicial Conduct. He is expected to do so in 2010.

The Law of Parties Bill

The Texas House passed a bill that would have banned executions of people convicted under the Law of Parties who did not actually kill anyone. Rep Hodge and Rep Dutton both filed Law of Parties bills in response to the cases of Kenneth Foster, Jeff Wood and other people who have been sentenced to death despite not having killed anyone. Prior to the start of the session, we had lobbied legislators looking for a sponsor for the Law of Parties bill, so we were happy when both Rep Dutton and Rep Hodge filed bills.

We held a press conference with Rep Dutton and Kenneth Foster’s and Jeff Wood’s family to explain the law of parties bill. Watch video of press conference TV coverage.

We held a lobby day in March during which we met with legislators about the Law of Parties bill. It was the largest lobby day against the death penalty ever held in Texas. We lobbied 90 legislative offices. People came from all over Texas to participate, including the father and grandfather of Kenneth Foster, and family members of Jeff Wood, Randy Halprin and several other families of people convicted under the Law of Parties. In addition to building support for the law of parties bill on the lobby day, we found additional legislative sponsors for a bill to abolish the death penalty and the moratorium bill.

We followed up in April with a second mini-lobby day after the law of parties bill had passed the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence. We lobbied for passage by the full House. Watch Rep Hodge urging people to call their legislators about her bill.

On May 2, there was a second rally for the law of parties bill. Watch video here.

On May 15, the bill passed the full Texas House and was renamed the “Kenneth Foster, Jr Act”. We live blogged and issued a press release. After passing the House, the bill died in the senate after Governor Rick Perry threatened to veto it.

The bill died in part because of false information given out by prosecutors such as Williamson County Attorney John Bradley, who said in the Austin American-Statesman: “To exempt all defendants in capital cases because they didn’t pull the trigger “is irrational. Under that reasoning, Hitler, Osama bin Laden and Charles Manson could never get the death penalty. You have to look at the facts of each case … whether their participation merits holding them culpable”.

HB 2267 said

(b) A defendant who is found guilty in a capital felony case
only as a party under Section 7.02(b), Penal Code, may not be
sentenced to death, and the state may not seek the death penalty in
any case in which the defendant’s liability is based solely on that
section.

People like Hitler, Manson and Osama bin Laden would not have been prosecuted under Section 7.02(b), but prosecutors used that scare tactic to help kill the bill.

Coming up in Part Two of our look back at 2009: protesting 200 executions under Rick Perry, the Todd Willingham case and the largest anti-death penalty march and rally in Texas since 2000.