For Immediate Release
February 29, 2008

Austin—Today, Kinky Friedman, renowned Texas author, musician, humorist, and former independent candidate for Texas Governor, announced his endorsement of Rick Reed for Travis County District Attorney.“

Rick Reed has impressed me with the candor and courage that he has exhibited, both while serving as an assistant district attorney and while campaigning for Travis County District Attorney.”

“Rick Reed was heavily involved in the investigation of the Tom DeLay case, and over the vehement objections of several other prosecutors involved in the investigation he was the only one with the courage to push the Travis County DA to present the case to the grand jury.”

“Rick Reed is the only candidate for Travis County District Attorney who has had the courage to stand up and candidly tell the voters of Travis County that, if elected, he will uniformly seek imprisonment for life without parole, rather than the death penalty, in all capital murder cases.”

“I am honored to have the endorsement of Kinky Friedman,” remarked Reed. “Kinky and I have both given considerable thought to this issue, he as a potential 2010 gubernatorial candidate, and I as a candidate for Travis County District Attorney.”

“We agree that now that Texas law provides the option of imprisonment for life without parole in capital murder cases, it no longer makes sense for the Travis County District Attorney to seek the death penalty in any case where that punishment is an option.”

“I don’t care about polls when it comes to the death penalty,” Kinky said. “It’s really holding Texas back from what it could become. Absolutely, it’s got to go, and the time has come for Travis County voters to elect a district attorney with the courage to stand up and say so.”

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For more information: Rick Reed, 512.351.1897

Rick Reed has the smarter, more progressive stance on the issue of capital punishment…

No doubt about it … heinous, horrific crimes occasionally take place in Travis County. When they do, Rick Reed understands and respects the pain felt by the victims’ friends and family members.

But Rick Reed also believes the procedure of strapping human beings to a table and injecting them with a chemical cocktail that anesthetizes them, paralyzes them and then sends them into cardiac arrest, is never an acceptable way for a civilized society to respond to the crimes those human beings committed.

Especially when we consider the fact that some of the persons strapped to that table may not have committed the crime for which they are being executed.

Rick Reed wants to make one thing very clear — under his leadership, the Travis County District Attorney’s office will not seek the death penalty in any case. Why not?

A more sensible alternative to capital punishment now exists
In 2005, the Texas State Legislature approved “Life without Parole” as a sentencing option in capital murder cases.

This option guarantees the safety of our citizens. It also eliminates the possibility of our executing an innocent person and saves the taxpayers the exorbitant costs associated with pursuing and carrying out the death penalty. Read More

Just because we have the right to pursue a lethal injection, does not mean it is the right thing to do.

Read more about Rick Reed’s smarter and more progressive stance on the issue of capital punishment.

Today’s Austin American-Statesman has a profile on Rick Reed: “Travis district attorney candidate Reed shakes up race: Longtime prosecutor invokes DeLay case, wouldn’t seek death penalty“.

Reed has pledged that if elected, he would never seek the death penalty. “I’ve never had a burning desire to kill another human being,” he said.

Reed has attacked fellow candidate Rosemary Lehmberg, the first assistant district attorney. He said that while he pushed District Attorney Ronnie Earle to present the case against then-U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, to a grand jury in 2005, Lehmberg advised Earle against it.

Most recently, the 52-year-old Reed said that as part of the same investigation — into the use of corporate money in the 2002 Texas elections — he advised Earle that a dismissal agreement struck with four corporate defendants in the case was unethical. He warned that it could lead to charges that prosecutors illegally coerced or extorted money that the businesses agreed to give to an educational program as part of the deal.

With the comments, Reed, who resigned as an assistant district attorney after speaking to reporters about the DeLay case, has emerged as the maverick in the field of contenders in the March 4 Democratic primary.

and

Sandy Leeds, a UT finance lecturer who in the early 1990s was a young prosecutor working under Reed in Dallas, said Reed stood out among lawyers for his integrity.

“Rick was a guy who I really respected,” Leeds said. “He wasn’t trying to put the most years on anyone that he could. He was trying to give them fair sentences.”

Rick Reed has the smarter, more progressive stance on how to reduce drug offenses in Travis County

Does Rick Reed believe Texas’s drug laws must be respected? Absolutely.

Does he think sending drug offenders to prison is the most effective — and efficient — use of your tax dollars? Absolutely not … especially when it is that person’s first drug-related offense … and no one else was harmed.

Reed’s smarter, more progressive solution? Direct many more non-violent drug offenders into the county’s existing S.H.O.R.T. (System of Healthy Options for Release and Transition) program. S.H.O.R.T. is a tough, no-nonsense drug-diversion court that has a strong track record at keeping drug offenders from repeating their crimes.

Why does Reed consider the S.H.O.R.T. program superior to incarceration?

1. Prison almost never solves the problem, while the S.H.O.R.T. program often does.

We all know that prison rarely reforms a criminal; in many cases, drug-offenders become more hardened and are back behind bars within a couple of years of their release.

In contrast, a recent evaluation of the S.H.O.R.T. program found its graduates are less likely to be arrested again than are those who don’t participate in the program or fail to complete it. In fact, S.H.O.R.T. graduates had no subsequent arrests for drug offenses. Read more

2. It costs taxpayers far less to send drug offenders through the S.H.O.R.T. program than to house them in a prison cell.

It costs taxpayers more than $11,000 a year to incarcerate a non-violent drug offender. But it costs only $3,500 to put that same person through the year-long S.H.O.R.T. program — and some of that cost is borne by the defendant.

And, S.H.O.R.T. saves thousands more per defendant per year because it eliminates the multiple court hearings, court-appointed counsel, police interviews, trials, etc. associated with convicting and incarcerating a defendant. Read more

As district attorney, Rick Reed will work to steer into the S.H.O.R.T. program every person arraigned for a drug offense who qualifies under the program’s guidelines.

The goal? Far fewer drug-related crimes in the long-term … and less taxpayer money wasted imprisoning people who — with a commitment to the program — stand a strong chance of once again becoming productive citizens.

Read more about Rick Read’s smarter and more progressive stance on how to reduce drug-related crimes in Texas.

Go ahead and cast your vote today!

You don’t have to wait until March 4 to say you want to see Rick Read’s smarter, more progressive perspective take the reins of the Travis County District Attorney’s office. Here’s where you can early vote and the hours those polling locations are open.

We are reprinting this from an email.

A message from Mike Farrell regarding the race for Travis County District Attorney in Texas

Yes, in Texas, prosecutors can pursue the death penalty for some types of crimes.

We can strap human beings to a table, inject them with a chemical cocktail that anesthetizes, paralyzes, and triggers cardiac arrest, resulting in what some would call a “humane death.”

Texas can hope new technologies won’t exonerate these men and women in the future. We can look the other way from all the inequities in death sentencing by race and economic class.

We can even punish people with lethal injection and feel justified that … well, at least we’re not hanging, electrocuting or standing them in front of a firing squad…

…but we don’t have to.

Just because you can do something in Texas doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.

Rick Reed is the only candidate for Travis County District Attorney who has pledged to halt the practice of seeking the death penalty.

Rick Reed is positioned to win this race and strike a major blow against the death penalty in Texas.

Only one thing stands in his way — getting this television ad on the air. Unfortunately, many Travis County voters will never hear Rick Reed’s message…

…unless we have your help. TAKE ACTION TODAY!

If 199 other opponents of the death penalty will join me and contribute just $100 to the Rick Reed campaign, we can purchase the television time we need to get our message in front of Travis County voters.

Go online now and make a secure contribution with a credit card. $100 is ideal, any amount will help.

Forward this message to others you know who care about this issue. Ask them to also help.

Because we can do something about the death penalty in Texas … and it’s the right thing to do.

Democrat Rick Reed for Travis County District Attorney
Political advertising authorized by Richard Dale Reed • 815-A Brazos, #313 • Austin, TX, 78701
Glenn H. “Pete” Steele, Jr., Treasurer • +1.800.277.3014 • Visit www.electrickreed.com

Unable to see the images and links in this message from Mike Farrell and the Rick Reed campaign?
You can also view it as a Web page at: http://www.electrickreed.com/updates/022408.htm