2009 is the first year that the alternative spring break will be held outside Texas. It is being held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina March 17-21 and is being hosted by People of Faith Against the Death Penalty. Students interested in attending the 2009 alternative spring break should contact Hooman Hedayati at hooman(at)texasabolition.org or Emilie Haertsch at emilie(at)pfadp.org.

Resist, Inc has been a major funder of anti-death penalty work in Texas. It gave a grant to Texas Students Against the Death Penalty in 2006 and to Texas Moratorium Network in 2004, 2006 and 2008.

RESIST began in 1967 with a “call to resist illegitimate authority,” in support of draft resistance and in opposition to the Vietnam War. That history sustains us as our movement evolves and as our concerns broaden and deepen. We remember what it is like to move forward and beat the odds. As the funder of first resort for hundreds of organizations, RESIST’s small but timely grants and loans are made to grassroots groups engaged in activist organizing and educational work for social change. In fiscal year 2007, RESIST gave over $308,000 to 126 organizations across the country.

The Texas House of Representatives will have a new speaker for the 81st Texas Legislature that starts on January 13. We aren’t yet 100 percent sure who it will be until the votes are cast, but it won’t be Tom Craddick, who has been Speaker since 2003. The Austin American-Statesman reports that

Rep. Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, claimed Sunday night that he has the votes to be elected the next speaker of the Texas House and released a list of 85 supporters.

He is holding a press conference at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Capitol.

The vast majority of Straus’ 85 supporters are Democrats: 15 Republicans and 70 Democrats.

The Statesman is also reporting that Craddick has withdrawn from the race. He will likely throw his support to an alternative to Straus.

During the sessions when Tom Craddick was speaker there has been very little progress in criminal justice reform issues. Craddick became speaker in 2003.

There will be improved prospects for some decent criminal justice reform bills to pass if a new speaker is elected. The incoming Legislature will be split almost evenly with 76 Republicans and 74 Democrats.

It remains to be seen whether the new speaker will appoint a new chair of the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee. The current chair, Aaron Pena, was a supporter of Craddick and did his bidding last session by killing the Innocence Commission bill and not putting a lot of effort into other criminal justice reform issues, but Pena has abandoned Craddick and is listed as one of Straus’ 85 supporters.

We did our small part in the change in leadership. We created the TMN PAC last year in part to support people who would support new leadership for the Texas House.

Contact (512) 417-2241 cedpaustin@gmail.com

Another round of DNA testing and…

THE DNA EXONERATES ROB SPRINGSTEEN AND MICHAEL SCOTT!

Drop the charges in the Yogurt Shop Case!

Come to a Support Action and attend the Hearing!

Wednesday, January 7 at 1:00 pm 
Travis County Courthouse Plaza, off Lavaca between 10th and 11th.

Things are heating up in the Yogurt Shop case!  As many of you may know, long time CEDP member Jeannine Scott is fighting for her husband Michael Scott, who was wrongfully imprisoned for murder in this case.  Several years ago, 4 teenage girls were murdered in an Austin area yogurt shop.  8 years and dozens of false confessions later, 4 young men were indicted for the murders.  With no physical evidence, Robert Springsteen was sent to death row and Michael Scott given life.  Two other men were not even taken to trial.  The basis of the convictions were “confessions” from Mike and Robert, which have been shown to have been coerced  Although both men refused to testify against each other, each of their so-called confessions were used in the other’s trial as evidence.  It is on the basis of this misuse of the “confessions” that both men had their convictions thrown out and were granted new trials. 
Mike’s trial is now slated to begin in February.  Meanwhile, yet another round of DNA testing on crucial evidence from the crime scene has been shown not to match any of the men originally indicted.

Here is a good article outlining the recent developments:
http://www.keyetv.com/content/news/topnews/story/New-DNA-results-do-not-match-Yogurt-Shop-murder/MPT20ak8HUKM2mTmR9R3wQ.cspx

Below is a letter from supporters of Larry Swearingen, who is one of seven people in Texas scheduled for execution this month.

Dear Friends & fellow Abolitionists in the U.S.,

We’d like to ask for your help to save an innocent man’s life. Larry Swearingen is scheduled to be executed on January 27, 2009 by the State of Texas despite the fact that he didn’t kill anyone.

Larry is blessed by having very dear and loyal friends who helped and supported him all through the years, unfortunately most of them are in Overseas/Europe. We were able to support the attorneys and forensic experts by doing research, working to help discovering new evidence. Now at this stage Larry is in URGENT need for IMMEDIATE PUBLIC ATTENTION on his case, and needs support from you, concerned US citizens.

You can help by spreading the Petition link on the internet. Please send letters, e-mails, faxes or make phone calls to your local and national media, TV and radio stations. Raise your voice and express your displeasure and anger about the injustice taking place in this case. The media has to point a finger at this outrageous crime that the State of Texas plans to commit against a wrongly convicted man.

We oppose the death penalty unconditionally in all cases since it is an affront to human dignity. However, the execution of an innocent man is the ultimate catastrophe in a civilized country and society since it can happen to any of us.

The cases of Troy Davis in Georgia and Jeff Wood in Texas shown so far what is possible when people stand up, and we’re watching the development of these cases intently from Europe. Today we’re turning to you with our plea to please stand up and raise your voice for Larry Swearingen to stop the insanity of state sanctioned murder.

In Solidarity and gratitude,
Wiebke Swearingen & Erwann Doulin
on behalf of the Larry Swearingen Support Group

Petition: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/do-not-execute-larry-swearingen

E-Mail: info@larry-swearingen.com
Web: www.larry-swearingen.com
Please read what Dr. Glenn Larkin M.D. (Forensic Pathologist) has to say:

As the original forensic pathologist who reviewed Larry’s claim of innocence, I concluded from the evidence4 presented to me that Ms Trotter was not dead the about 25 days as concluded by Dr Carter. Now with three other forensic pathologist confirming mu opinion that Ms Trotter was not dead the “about 25 days” as Dr Carter originally testified to, and her affidavit agreeing with the 4 of us, there is uncontroversial, unrefuted absolute evidence of Larry’s innocence.

Furthermore, the charge of sexual assault, one of the aggravators, had to be dropped through a misdiagnosis by Dr Carter. She was honest enough to revise her opin ions in a new affidavit.

It is not usual for a forensic pathologist to crusade for a felon on appeal, but I would be shrinking from my responsibility as a human, a physician and a Christian if I remained silent and allowed Larry to be murdered by the state of Texas, and I will not be silent.

The execution of an innocent person is an obcene, immoral and illegal act , and the CCA’s refusal to consider Larry’s strong appeal on the grounds that it untimely has no legal, no moral and no other justification; indeed case law (Herrera v Collins) orders plenary review — bolstered by several of US Supreme Court decisions.

The explanation that the state offers to account for the blood samples under Ms Trotter’s finger nails is pure fantasy, as any forensic pathologist will conclude.

In order to expose this horrible nightmare, letters—letters in droves— have to be sent to Texas newspapers, TV stations and elsewhere. A duplication of the execution of To dd Cameron Willingham cannot be repeated. The honor of Texas is at stake.

G M Larkin MD
Charlotte NC

It could be a very good year in 2009 for the two people who remain in jail in the Yogurt Shop Case of Austin. The original convictions have already been overturned because of another issue. The two sides are preparing for new trials for both Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott. The Austin American-Statesman is reporting that the lawyer for one of the accused says that DNA evidence exonerates his client and he is demanding that he be released from custody.

New DNA test results from two of the four girls killed in the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders do not match either of the two men facing retrials in the deaths, a defense lawyer for one of the suspects said Wednesday.

Investigators have discovered DNA from unknown males in swabs taken from the bodies of sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, 15 and 17, respectively, said Joe James Sawyer, who represents defendant Robert Springsteen.

“I want my client out of jail,” said Sawyer, who argued that the tests exonerate Springsteen and the other defendant, Michael Scott.

The DNA from the victims also did not match that of two previous co-defendants, Sawyer said. Charges against Maurice Pierce and Forrest Welborn were dismissed.