Last week, The Daily Texan Editorial Board endorsed Rick Reed for Travis County District Attorney. Yesterday, one of their regular columnists wrote a long article entitled, “Rick Reed best choice for district attorney“.

The only candidate who has come out against the death penalty is Reed, and his adamant anti-death penalty platform would bring fundamental change from the status quo, pro-death penalty campaigns of the other three candidates. Reed is by far the most progressive candidate in this race.

Reed’s view on the death penalty is not the only thing that sets him apart. He supports expanding the use of drug courts to divert more people charged with drug possession into treatment, freeing up more prosecutors for other crimes. He has promised to work closely with the Innocence Project to investigate cases of possible wrongful convictions, as has been done recently by the Dallas County DA. Reed wants to decentralize decision-making in the office, giving front-line prosecutors more discretion over their cases. Most importantly, he spearheaded the money-laundering case against former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and he told the Texas Observer that he was the only person within the DA’s office pushing for an indictment against Delay, while Lehmberg opposed prosecuting the powerful politician.

The colunm also criticizes Gary Cobb for being the most pro death penalty candidate in the race and for his handling of the LaCresha Murray Case.

Cobb has made the strongest pro-death penalty statements, having said that “some people didn’t deserve to keep living.”

Cobb also came under fire when he used a coerced confession to convict Lacresha Murray, an 11-year-old girl charged with capital murder in 1996. Cobb was the lead prosecutor in her case, which was later thrown out by a Republican appeals court after receiving national coverage on “60 Minutes” questioning the reasoning for charging someone so young with a capital crime.

At last night’s DA forum sponsored by the Cat Mountain Homeowners Association and Austin Neighborhoods Council, Cobb once again came across as the most pro-death penalty candidate. At one point he bragged about having been endorsed by Rusty Hubbarth of the pro-death penalty advocacy group Justice For All. Hubbarth often appears on TV whenever the media needs a Texan to argue in favor of the death penalty. He was in favor of giving the death penalty to Andrea Yates, even though Andrea’s husband opposed doing so. Hubbarth also favored expanding the death penalty to people who do not even kill anyone in Jessica’s Law cases.

Off the Kuff has a quote by Hubbarth from a committee hearing at the Texas Legislature:

JFA representative Rusty Hubbarth, testifying to Texas legislators last year on a proposal for a moratorium on executions, was asked by one lawmaker, “Rusty, you’re not in favor of executing innocent people, are you?”

“Not this week,” Hubbarth joked.

The humor was probably lost on two men in attendance that day. Randall Adams and Kerry Cook had collectively spent more than a decade in prison for crimes they didn’t commit — they’d both come within hours of execution.

Gary Cobb would do well to disassociate himself from the likes of Rusty Hubbarth.

Visit Rick Reed’s Website

The Austin American-Statesman endorsed George W. Bush for president on October 10, 2004. Bush went on to lose Travis County 56 percent to 42 percent. Once again, the Statesman is showing how out of touch it is with progressive Austin voters by saying the Statesman Editorial Board could not endorse Rick Reed for Travis County District Attorney because of his rejection of the death penalty.

Instead, the Statesman is endorsing the most pro-death penalty candidate in the race and the one who was the lead prosecutor who charged an 11 year old girl with capital murder, only to see his conviction of her overturned because he allowed a coerced interrogation statement to be used in the trial even though it was obtained without her being able to have either a lawyer or her parents present and even though she did not even understand what the word “homicide” meant.

Rick Reed is standing up for Austin values. He is standing up for us. He stood up for us when he pushed to indict Tom Delay for using corporate money to influence the outcome of elections. He is standing up for us by rejecting the death penalty.

Rick Reed has shown that when the chips are down, Austin can count on him to stand up and fight for them and their progressive values.

The Statesman backed the right wing candidate in the November 2004 presidential election and they are backing another pro-death penalty conservative for Travis County DA, but the people of Travis County can reject their conservative advice on March 4, just like they rejected their endorsment of George W Bush in 2004.

The Nation magazine has an article praising the campaign of “Rick Reed in Texas” for Travis County District Attorney.

Excerpt:

Among the field of former colleagues, one candidate, Rick Reed, stands out as “the most progressive candidate in a race with three other candidates who all support the death penalty” according to the Texas Moratorium Network in its endorsement of Reed, who has come out against capital punishment. He also calls for a moratorium on current death sentences.

Beyond Reed’s brave disavowal of capital punishment in Texas, which leads the nation in state executions, the longtime criminal prosecutor supports the increased use of drug courts and an increased diversion of drug possession cases into treatment programs rather than incarceration; he has vowed to continue with the prosecution of former House Majority Leader TomDeLay, whom Reed had a major role in building a case against, and he has committed to working with the Innocence Project to exonerate wrongfully convicted prisoners.

Reed first worked at the Dallas County District Attorney’s office. For twelve years, he assisted legendary District Attorneys Henry Wade and John Vance. In 1999, his career brought him to Travis County, where Ronnie Earle quickly assigned him to the office’s Public Integrity Unit, in which capacity Reed had the responsibility of investigating and prosecuting public officials statewide. This is where Tom DeLay met the man determined to hold him accountable.

Click here to find out more about Reed, and if you like what you see, click here to support his campaign.

If you would like to help Rick Reed become the most progressive District Attorney in the history of Travis County, you can help by making calls to voters in Travis County telling them why you are supporting Rick Reed.

Go to texas.onlinephonebanking.com to get started.

Scroll down the list of candidates and click on “Rick Reed”. Then enter your name, email and zipcode and you’ll immediately be able to select any precinct to call in Travis County! A screen will then appear with your first voter to call.

Take some time to review that page before making your first call; after a couple of calls we guarantee you’ll get the swing of it. Be yourself and go off the suggested script, if necessary, to convey why you believe voters should cast votes for Rick Reed (For instance, he is the most progressive candidate in the DA race. He would not seek the death penalty in Travis County, instead using life without parole. He has proven that he can stand up to powerful politicians with the Public Integrity Unit).

Visit Rick’s website for more information on him.