Derrick Johnson was executed April 30, 2009 in Texas. He was the 198th person executed under current Texas Governor Rick Perry. He was the 437th person executed in Texas since 1982. The 200th execution under Perry is currently scheduled for June 2.

Watch video on YouTube of Vigil.

From the Austin American-Statesman

The execution of a convicted Dallas killer proceeded as scheduled Thursday despite reports that a new test showed Derrick Lamone Johnson may have been mentally disabled.

In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court banned the execution of anyone with mental disabilities.

Controversy surfaced after a group of lawmakers, angered that the state Board of Pardons and Paroles initially confirmed Johnson’s execution without reviewing the medical test information, asked Gov. Rick Perry to delay the execution.

Perry declined, and Johnson was executed as scheduled shortly after 6 p.m. — soon after the U.S. Supreme Court refused Johnson’s last-minute appeals.

At 6:23 p.m., he was declared dead in the death chamber at Huntsville. Johnson, 28, a 10th-grade dropout, was convicted in the 1999 slaying of LaTausha Curry, who was kidnapped, beaten, suffocated and robbed of $10.

Lawmakers vowed to continue asking questions about how the case was handled. They also said they might try to amend one of several pending clemency bills to prevent such issues in the future.

“There is no reason why the State of Texas should rush to execute this man before it can be confirmed whether or not he is mentally retarded,” said Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston.

Turner and Reps. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, and Terri Hodge, D-Dallas, petitioned the parole board late Wednesday for a second vote based on the new medical exam results just received in the case. Thompson and Hodge said the board voted before lunch Wednesday to deny a reprieve, even though they had been advised that Johnson’s new attorney, who joined the case in early April, was rushing to submit new test results about Johnson’s mental capacity.

Alison Brock is the Chief of Staff for Texas State Rep. Sylvester Turner. She and Turner worked to stop the execution of Derrick Johnson, including convincing the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to take a second vote on whether to grant Johnson a stay of execution. Johnson was executed on April 30, 2009, shortly after this video was taken.

Link to Video

We sent an email out today to more than 10,000 people urging them to call the governor. Keep calling Governor Perry at 512-463-1782 to get him to stop today’s execution

From the Austin American-Statesman:

The scheduled execution tonight of a convicted Dallas killer has erupted in controversy after reports that a new test shows Derrick Lamone Johnson may be mentally retarded.

The U.S. Supreme Court has banned the execution of anyone who is mentally retarded.

Angered by a decision of the state Board of Pardons and Paroles to confirm the execution of Johnson without reviewing the medical test information, then to stick with that vote in a second vote today, a group of lawmakers this afternoon asked Gov. Rick Perry to stop the execution slated for 6 p.m. tonight.

“It’s amazing to me how callous this system can be,” said state Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen. “After a cursory review of the file, they vote to hang ‘em high no matter what the new information shows.”

Just as upset are Reps. Senfronia Thompson and Sylvester Turner, both D-Houston, and Terri Hodge, D-Dallas, who petitioned the parole board late Wednesday for a second vote based on the new medical test just received in the case.

“There is no reason why the State of Texas should rush to execute this man, before it can be confirmed whether or nothe is mentally retarded,” Turner said. “The parole board appears hell bent on sticking with their decision in favor of execution … It makes no sense.”

Johnson, 28, a 10th-grade dropout, was convicted in the 1999 slaying LaTausha Curry, who was kidnaped, beaten, suffocated and robbed of $10.

Thompson and Hodge said the parole board voted before lunch Wednesday to deny a reprieve, even though they had been advised that Johnson’s new attorney — who just joined the case in early April — was rushing to gather and submit new test results about his mental capacity.

“The test showed he is mildly retarded, in the low 70s,” Thompson said.

Hodge said the attorney got the information to the parole board at 12:38 p.m., after the deadline. While the board initially declined to review its decision, intense lobbying from Thompson, Turner and Hodge brought a review this morning.

In a letter to the lawmakers, Board Chair Rissie Owens said the seven-member board reconsidered a request from Johnson’s attorney for a 180-day reprieve — and decided against it.

“We’ve been through this before with Judge (Sharon) Keller (presiding judge of the state Court of Criminal Appeals) closing the doors at 5 p.m. and not allowing new information to be considered,” Hodge said. “It looks like the parole board tried the same thing … and now is just sticking with it’s earlier decision.

“We should do everything we can to consider all evidence, even new evidence, in these cases before we put someone to death,” she said. “When you talk about the ultimate penalty, we shouldn’t rush, even when it’s the last minute.”

Bruce Anton, Johnson’s attorney, and Owens could not immediately be reached for comment.

A spokesperson for Perry’s office was checking to see whether they had received a request for a stay of execution for Johnson. Perry has the authority to delay the execution, even if the parole board has recommended otherwise.

Last night at around 11 PM, we received a call from one of our sources at the Texas capitol regarding the person set for execution TODAY, April 30, in Texas. We were told that the lawyer for Derrick Johnson presented a report by a doctor to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles that Johnson has mental retardation, but the BPP voted to deny him a stay of execution.

Johnson’s lawyer is taking the request for a stay to federal court, but in the meantime we have been asked to urge people to call Rissie Owens, chair of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, and urge her to hold another vote on Johnson’s case and issue a 180 day stay of execution to determine whether Johnson has mental retardation.

International and US law prohibits the execution of people with mental retardation. Johnson is scheduled to be executed TODAY. Our source at the capitol says that several legislators have also spoken with Risse Owens urging her to allow the board to vote again and issue a stay of execution, including State Rep. Terri Hodge, Rep. Senfronia Thompson and Rep. Lon Burnam.

Rissie Owens’ Phone Number in Austin at the BPP is (512) 406-5852

Call Governor Perry and urge him to issue a stay of execution so that Johnson’s mental retardation claim can be evaluated. Gov Perry’s phone number is 512-463-1782.

At this point, making phone calls is the most effective way to get the message to Owens and Perry.

We gained more than 100 votes today, so we are moving up in the race to win the Jenzabar Social Media Leadership Award contest for $3,000. We have already passed a couple of other groups.

Forward this to your friends and let’s bring this money to Texas to use against the death penalty in the state where on June 2 the governor will be in office for the 200th execution since he became governor.

Visit the site www.protest200executions.com to learn more about planned protests of the 200th execution.

Several Texas anti-death penalty groups are jointly entered in the Jenzabar Social Media Leadership Award contest for $3,000. The winner is the entry that gets the most people to comment on their entry by May 8, so to “vote”, you leave a comment on the blog post of their nomination. They deserve to win because they have used social media tools very effectively to jointly mobilize against the Texas death penalty.

Go here to vote by leaving a comment on the nomination page for our entry.

The cooperating groups are Texas Moratorium Network, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, the Austin chapter of Campaign to End the Death Penalty, Texas Students Against the Death Penalty, Kids Against the Death Penalty, Students Against the Death Penalty and the Texas Death Penalty Education and Resource Center. They have a cause on Facebook called Abolish the Death Penalty in Texas. Each organization brings unique skills and experiences to the cause.

This alliance is a great example of how small organizations can have a remarkable impact way out of proportion to their funding by using social media tools to work together.

These grassroots groups work against the death penalty in the state that has executed more people than any other state. Texas has executed 436 people since 1982. The second place state has executed 103.

Monday, members of the groups were at the Texas capitol from 9:30 to 1 AM meeting with legislators about HB 2267 to end the death penalty under the Law of Parties, talking to the media and testifying at the hearing on the Sharon Keller impeachment resolution. In 2007, Texas Moratorium Network used online social media tools to gather around 1,900 signatures on a judicial complaint against Keller. Here is a video of a news report on Austin TV Monday night.

While at the capitol, they updated supporters online by posting to their blog, using Twitter and uploading video to Facebook and YouTube, all good examples of using social media tools to affect change and build a movement, and a good reason they should win the Social Media Leadership Award. Vote for them at the link below.

Go to the page and scroll down to the comment form. There are four fields, name, email, website (you can leave that blank or put in your own personal website or a website you like), and a text field for a comment.

Their entry is called “Texas Friends and Allies Against the Death Penalty“

From the entry:

This alliance is a great example of how small organizations can have a remarkable impact way out of proportion to their funding by using social media tools to work together.

Texas is a challenging political environment in which to work against the death penalty, but these groups have found a way to make significant progress against the death penalty by working together both offline and online using social media tools for education, outreach and grassroots organizing.

If you think these groups have been doing a good job using online social activism tools, especially considering that they are all-volunteer organizations, please vote for them in The Jenzabar Foundation Social Media Leadership Award by leaving a comment on their entry.