We received copies of a DVD of a documentary on Johnny Garrett. We plan to tell the Capital Punishment Subcommittee about this case at the hearing on the moratorium bill Thursday, April 2, at 8 AM in room E2.016 in the Texas Capitol in Austin.

Jesse Quackenbush, the director, spoke at a rally on our 2005 Lobby Day Against the Death Penalty at the Texas capitol.

http://www.thelastworddocumentary.com

The Last Word

Director, Jesse Quackenbush Narrator, Tom Kane Composer, Peter Davison 90 Minutes SYNOPSIS The inevitable story of failure which every American anticipated but hoped would never have to be told. This documentary takes the “Innocent Man on Texas Death Row” tale to a dark corner feared by all – – proving that an innocent man has been executed by the State. A clash between good and evil strikes up on the High Plains of Texas when Johnny Frank Garrett, a 17 year old retarded boy is arrested, convicted and ultimately executed for the Halloween night rape, mutilation and murder of Sister Tadea Benz. The 76 year old nun was attacked while she slept in her room at the St. Francis Convent in Amarillo, Texas. Garrett claimed his innocence from the time of his arrest until his dying breath. Sixteen years after Garrett’s execution new evidence rose up from the cold case grave of the Amarillo Police Department proving they executed the wrong man! During interviews with key players the case of Johnny Frank Garrett unfolds like a recipe for executing the innocent. A death penalty obsessed District Attorney and his lap-dog medical examiner, ladder climbing cops, bloodthirsty media, enraged and fearful jurors, incompetent defense lawyers, politicized judges, witchhunting religious zealots and an ironfisted Governor with national ambitions meld together as perfect ingredients for a plate of government sponsored murder. In Garrett’s final statement he professed his innocence one last time but did so in a voice driven by hate and vengeance. In his chilling conclusion Garrett promised those responsible for his murder that someday he would have the last word and they would pay for what they had done. For most of Garrett’s enemies “someday” happened long ago. Regardless of faith, for or against the death penalty, liberal or conservative The Last Word compels viewers to feel not only the collective pain our societal conscience suffers for executing the innocent but also the individual fear of not knowing what margins of error our judges, jurors and executioners will find acceptable tomorrow.

We received the below email response to an inquiry to the Texas Forensic Science Commission on the status of the investigation into the cases of Todd Willingham and Ernest Willis. Willingham was executed in 2004 in Texas, but many fire experts have concluded that the arson fire that he was convicted of was actually an accidentlay fire, which would mean Texas executed an innocent person. Ernest Willis was exonerated and released from Texas death row in 2004 after authorities cleared him of setting an arson fire in another case.

The deadline for Dr. Beyler to complete his investigation is June 1st. At that time, the Commission may provide a brief update. However, the Commission intends to develop their own report based on Dr. Beyler’s recommendations/conclusions. The timeline for the Commission to release such report has not been decided.

Leigh M. Tomlin
Texas Forensic Science Commission

Below is an excerpt from a February 7, 2009 article by Sue Russell on the issue:

In America, while suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty, frequently fires are not presumed accidental until proved to be arson. All fires necessitate an extra investigative step — an independent, science-based determination of arson to first ascertain that a crime even took place.

Civil cases often bifurcate issues of liability and damages, making the jury’s first task to determine if a fire was intentionally set. Criminal arson cases seem to cry out for the same approach, given that a determination of arson alone can never definitively tie a person to a crime scene or unequivocally reveal a perpetrator’s identity.

Yet any serious proposal for a similar system would be met, Lentini surmised, with “universal screaming and gnashing of teeth,” and allegations that criminals were being allowed to slip through the net.

Gnashing teeth notwithstanding, the need for reform is critical. Lentini cites figures of 75,000 suspicious fires every year — “That’s 75,000 chances to get it wrong,” as he told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

According to a 2002 Bureau of Justice Statistics report, in just half the states in the U.S., more than 5,000 people are in prison for arson crimes. Arson is the only crime for which someone can receive the death penalty based on the testimony of an expert witness whose education ended with high school. And although no one spoken to for this article would hazard a specific estimate of how many innocents are imprisoned on arson convictions, answers ranged from “dozens to hundreds” to “tons.”

If ever a case embodied the disastrous consequences of the obsolete beliefs about fires, it is Cameron Todd Willingham’s. The Texan was convicted in 1991 of the arson murders of his three children, all under age 3. In 2004, Willingham’s appellate lawyer — Walter Reaves — commissioned a review by chemist Gerald Hurst, a key player in the fire investigation wars. Hurst’s powerful report debunked all 20 so-called “arson indicators” used to convict Willingham. He was executed anyway.

While it’s too late for Willingham, the New York Innocence Project was galvanized to create an Arson Review Committee corralling five top experts, including Lentini and veteran investigator Douglas Carpenter, to compare Willingham’s case to that of Ernest Willis, a fellow Texan convicted on similar evidence of setting a fire that killed two sleeping women in a house he was staying in. After 17 years in prison and only months after Willingham’s execution, Willis was exonerated and released.

The Arson Review Committee’s 2006 report echoed Hurst in discrediting all the “arson indicators” found by deputy state fire marshal Manuel Vasquez at the Willingham fire. Patterns Vasquez attributed to ignitable liquid or accelerant, it concluded, could not be used to distinguish arson from an accidental fire.

The report is now under review by the Texas Forensic Science Commission, whose chair, Sam Bassett, told Miller-McCune.com that it has voted to hire an expert to lead them in their investigation. The commission is charged by statute with conducting investigations. If they concur with all the other experts, they could make recommendations for further review or even for system reform.

“I believe it would be within our purview to comment upon any broader issues such as the possibility of misconduct or professional negligence in other cases,” Bassett wrote in an e-mail. “However, that is dependent first upon our finding that misconduct or professional negligence occurred in the Willis/Willingham case. Until we receive feedback from our expert, the Commission will remain neutral on this issue and there will be no further comment until such time as we issue our report.”
The possibility of misconduct and professional negligence?

“Boy, there’s a political football for you,” Hurst said skeptically, imagining the ramifications of an official admission that an innocent man was executed.

Carpenter is more optimistic. “I’d certainly hope something tangible comes from the process,” he said. “I think they’re taking it seriously.”

Yet Reaves, the attorney, worries that the commission’s very review could do more harm than good: “I just have a hard time envisioning a state sponsored commission coming down and saying, ‘Oops, we killed a guy that we shouldn’t have killed.” He predicted that it will conclude — wrongly — that Willingham was an isolated incident, or a problem that has been remedied and won’t happen again.

The AP is reporting that there are new complaints filed against Sharon Keller. If the Travis County Attorney charges her with a crime, then she will be automatically suspended from office. She will also be automatically suspended if the Texas House impeaches her.

A liberal watchdog group filed ethics and criminal complaints Tuesday against Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller after reports that she did not disclose nearly $2 million in real estate holdings.

Texans for Public Justice filed the complaints in Austin against Keller, a Republican, with the Texas Ethics Commission and Travis County attorney’s office.

Keller is already facing misconduct charges from the state Judicial Conduct Commission for failing to keep her office open late the night Michael Wayne Richard was executed. His lawyers have said that prevented them from filing an appeal. Keller has said that attorneys for Richard, who raped and murdered a woman in 1986, had other options to appeal.

The latest complaints come after The Dallas Morning News reported that Keller’s routine annual financial disclosures did not include the property.

Keller’s attorney, Chip Babcock, did not immediately return a telephone message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Although seperate from the misconduct charge, Keller’s financial disclosure are relevant in that case. She has argued that the misconduct charges violate her constitutional right to counsel because the state refuses to allow Babcock to represent her at taxpayer expense and paying for her defense herself would be financially ruinous.

Babcock has said he’s willing to represent Keller for almost nothing, but that the ethics commission has not clarified whether that was an ethics violation.

A sworn statement Keller filed with the Texas Ethics Commission last year did not disclose her ownership interest in seven residential and commercial properties in Dallas and Tarrant counties. The newspaper said those properties are valued at roughly $1.9 million.

Among Keller’s unlisted properties are two Dallas homes valued together at just over $1 million. Keller is listed as sole owner under Sharon Batjer, her married name. She divorced in 1982. Another omission is commercial land next to Keller’s Drive-In, a landmark Dallas hamburger restaurant operated since 1965 by the judge’s father, Jack.

Keller’s ethics commission filing listed income of more than $275,000, including her annual salary of $152,500. County tax records valued properties she did claim, including her Austin home, at roughly $1 million.

Failing to file comply with personal financial disclosure laws can bring fines up to $10,000. County Attorney David Escamilla could also seek Class B misdemeanor charges that carry up to six months in jail and $2,000 in fines.

Texans for Public Justice Director Craig McDoncal said Keller is hiding her assets while asking taxpayers to pay her legal bills.

“Unlike many of the defendants who have appeared before her, Keller can afford to hire a top-notch attorney,” McDonald said.

Keller has been on the court since 1994.

Please call the Chair of the House Committee on the Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence, Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, and urge him to hold a hearing on Lon Burnam’s resolution (HR 480) to create a committee to determine if Sharon Keller should be impeached. 512-463-0672. Email Hunter on his website form.

Rep Todd Hunter
Capitol Address
Room E2.808, Capitol Extension
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 463-0672

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is reporting that Burnam spoke with Hunter on Monday about holding a hearing. Now, Hunter should hear from us. Impeach Sharon Keller

From the Star-Telegram:

News that Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller has been seeking state legal aid while failing to disclose nearly $2 million in real estate holdings creates an even greater need for the Legislature to hold impeachment hearings, state Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, said Monday.

Keller has said that it would be “financially ruinous” to pay lawyers to fight misconduct charges that could get her removed from the bench.

A sworn statement Keller filed with the Texas Ethics Commission last year did not abide by legal requirements that she disclose her ownership interest in seven residential and commercial properties in Dallas and Tarrant counties, The Dallas Morning News reported Monday.

The newspaper said those properties are valued at roughly $1.9 million.

Burnam filed a resolution in February to begin impeachment proceedings based on Keller’s refusal to keep her office open after hours to allow a last-minute appeal from a Death Row inmate who was executed several hours later.

“The nature of those charges means, if anything, we may have to amend the resolution,” Burnam said.

Burnam’s resolution has been referred to the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee. Burnam said he spoke Monday with the committee chairman, Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, about the need to hold a hearing on his resolution immediately. A call to Hunter was not returned Monday.

The State Commission on Judicial Conduct is also planning trial-like proceedings against Keller. Burnam said there is not widespread confidence in the commission’s ability to address the charges against Keller quickly or fairly.

“I think those legal proceedings were a charade to stretch her out through her re-election,” Burnam said. “I think they’re going to slap her on the wrist, and she needs to leave office.”

Among Keller’s unlisted properties are two Dallas homes valued together at just over $1 million. Keller is listed as sole owner under Sharon Batjer, her married name. She divorced in 1982. Another omission is commercial land next to Keller’s Drive-In, a landmark Dallas hamburger restaurant operated since 1965 by the judge’s father, Jack.

Keller’s ethics commission filing listed income of more than $275,000, including her annual salary of $152,500. County tax records valued properties she did claim, including her Austin home, at roughly $1 million. Keller’s attorney, Chip Babcock, did not return a call Monday.

Andrew Wheat, research director of Texans for Public Justice, the Austin-based group that monitors officeholder finances, decried Keller’s omissions as an “extremely outrageous” betrayal of the public trust.

Keller, a Republican who has been on the court since 1994, filed a 12-page response last week to the charges. She faulted the executed inmate’s attorneys for not finding other means for after-hours appeals. She said they could have tried to contact the other eight judges on the bench or the court’s general counsel.

This report includes material from The Associated Press.

This may be the final straw that forces Sharon Keller, the discredited presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, to resign, but we hope not. We are looking forward to her public trial to expose the inner workings of the CCA.

According to an AP report in the Austin American-Statesman:

The highest criminal court judge in Texas failed to disclose nearly $2 million in real estate holdings and claimed it would be “financially ruinous” to pay lawyers to fight misconduct charges that could get her removed from the bench.

Sharon Keller, presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, is seeking dismissal of charges by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct that she violated her duties in a death penalty case.

The commission says Keller cast “public discredit on the judiciary” for not keeping court offices open after 5 p.m. on the night in 2007 that Michael Wayne Richard was executed. The commission said the closing prevented Richard’s lawyers from filing a late appeal that might have saved him from lethal injection a few hours later. Richard raped and murdered a Houston-area woman in 1986.

A sworn statement Keller filed with the Texas Ethics Commission last year did not abide by legal requirements that she disclose her ownership interest in seven residential and commercial properties in Dallas and Tarrant counties, The Dallas Morning News reported Monday. The newspaper said the value of those properties was estimated at $1.9 million.

Among Keller’s unlisted properties are two Dallas homes valued together at a little more than $1 million. Keller is listed as sole owner under Sharon Batjer, her married name. She divorced in 1982. Another omission is commercial land next to Keller’s Drive-In, a landmark Dallas hamburger restaurant operated since 1965 by the judge’s father, Jack.

Keller’s filing to the ethics commission listed income of more than $275,000, including her $152,500 salary. County tax records estimated the value of properties she did claim, including her Austin home, at $1 million.

Keller has denied wrongdoing in the Richard case.

When contacted by The Associated Press about the real estate holdings, Keller’s office referred comment to her attorney, Chip Babcock, who didn’t immediately return a call.

The judge has argued that the misconduct charges violate her constitutional right to counsel because the state refuses to allow Babcock to represent her at taxpayer expense. Babcock said he’s willing to represent Keller for almost nothing, but he told the newspaper that the state ethics commission would not clarify whether that was an ethics violation.

Babcock said he had been unaware of the real estate holdings until he was contacted by the Morning News, but said her assets shouldn’t affect their position that Keller is entitled to financial relief for her legal help.

Watchdog groups disagreed. Andrew Wheat, research director of Texans for Public Justice, an Austin-based group that monitors officeholder finances, denounced Keller’s omissions as an “extremely outrageous” betrayal of the public trust.

“Is this an insane amount of carelessness year after year, in which case should this person be our highest criminal judge?” he said. “Is it willful hiding of assets, in which case that person probably isn’t fit to be our top criminal judge? I don’t know.”

Keller, a Republican who has been on the court since 1994, filed a 12-page response last week to the charges in the misconduct case. She faulted Richard’s attorneys for not finding other means for after-hours appeals. She said they could have tried to contact the other eight judges on the bench or the court’s general counsel.