We held a press conference on the Law of Parties in Austin at the State Capitol today. Speakers included State Rep Harold Dutton, Lawrence Foster, Kenneth Foster Sr, Mary Ellen Felps, Scott Cobb and Steven Been (brother in-law of Jeff Wood).

In this video Dutton explains why he is pushing HB 304 to end the death penalty under the Law of Parties.

The reporter made a mistake in the report by saying that Kenneth Foster’s execution was stayed by a judge. It was actually commuted by Gov Perry. Jeff Wood’s execution was stayed by a judge in 2008, but he remains under a death sentence, even though he did not kill anyone. He was convicted under the Law of Parties.

The Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence is set to announce the chairs of the committee’s subcommittees at a a meeting tomorrow. We will be watching expectedly to see who will be the chair of the subcommittee on capital punishment, which we heard today would be one of the subcommittees.

COMMITTEE:
Criminal Jurisprudence

TIME & DATE:
2:00 PM or upon final adjourn./recess
Wednesday, February 25, 2009

PLACE:
E2.028

CHAIR:
Rep. Pete Gallego

Sharon Keller has filed and received approval for a 15-day extension to the time she needs to file a response to the charges of misconduct filed against her by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. She now has until March 24 to answer charges that she violated her judicial duties by declining to accept an after-hours appeal from a death row inmate in 2007.

Keller refused to grant a 20 minute extension to the lawyers of a man set for execution so that they could file an appeal on the day he was executed, but now she wants an extension to file her response.

This is real news. It is not from The Onion or the Daily Show. It really happened. How long before Saturday Night Live does a skit on Keller.

Already today, Austin’s humor columnist John Kelso devoted his column to Keller’s antics.

Hey, maybe “American Idol” was on that night, and Keller wanted to make sure none of the folks in the office missed it. And you know how backed up traffic gets on MoPac.

On the other hand, it was a Tuesday, and as far I know there is no such thing as Tuesday Night Football.

Anyway, on the morning in question, Sept. 25, 2007, the thinking was that courts across the country would wait until the Supreme Court decided on the lethal injection question before proceeding with more executions.

Keller, however, apparently had a pretty tight schedule. So that afternoon she left work early to meet a repairman at her house.

That might seem a bit callous under the circumstances, but we all know how hard it is to get some of these Mister Fixit types to come back later. Meanwhile, Richard’s lawyers, who wanted to file that stay, were having computer problems. So, according to the ethics charges against Keller, around 4:45 — 15 minutes before quittin’ time at the appeals court — Richard’s lawyers asked the court clerk’s office to stay open a few minutes late to accept the request.

Ed Marty, the appeals court’s general counsel, got on the phone to relay the request to Keller. Marty says he told Keller that Richard’s lawyers “wanted the court to stay open late.” Keller says Marty asked only about keeping the clerk’s office open past 5 p.m. And that she said, “No.” The clerks, you see, went home on schedule every day at quittin’ time.

No sense inconveniencing the help just ’cause some inmate’s about to get offed, right?

Capitol Annex is reporting that some of the other judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals “want Presiding Justice Sharon Keller to resign in order to halt proceedings brought by the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct.

The proceedings would force the justices to testify on activities surrounding the execution of death row inmate Micahel Richard.”

Reporting from an unrevealed source “closely connected with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals”, Capitol Annex says that

several justices are not eager to take part in a trial proceeding as part of the Commission on Judicial Conduct complaint against Keller because it would result in further revealing the content of private meetings and closed door activities–many of which were revealed in the publicly distributed notice of formal proceedings, much to the chagrin of judges and longtime court employees. Each of the court’s other eight justices would most likely be called as witnesses. Without question, Justice Cheryl Johnson would be a key witness for the TCJC.

Capitol Annex then says that one judge is “worried that increased publicity could force U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to launch an investigation into whether or not Michael Richard’s’ civil rights were violated–further exposing the court and the justices to a level of public examination they are unaccustomed to.”

Perhaps it is time for someone to ask the Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County District Attorney’s Office to look in to Keller’s actions as well.

State Rep Alma Allen today signed on as a co-author of HR 480, the Resolution filed by Rep. Lon Burnam to create a Special Committee on Impeachment to consider the impeachment of Judge Sharon Keller of the Court of Criminal Appeals for gross neglect of duty and conducting her official duties with willful disregard for human life.