Upcoming Executions
Click for a list of upcoming scheduled executions in Texas.
Innocence
The death penalty puts innocent people at risk of execution.
Todd Willingham
Todd Willingham was wrongfully executed under Governor Rick Perry on February 17, 2004.

Ten people came to the Governor’s Mansion in Austin today to protest the execution of Clyde Smith, who became the 359th person executed by Texas since 1982. There were lots of people who drove by and honked or waved to show support for the people protesting the execution. Only one person was noticed giving the thumbs down sign. More than 100 people used TMN’s email system to send emails to Governor Perry protesting the execution. Smith dropped out of the ninth grade in Laurel, Miss.

The Houston Chronicle reports on the execution here.

HUNTSVILLE — Convicted killer Clyde Smith was executed today for the 1992 fatal shooting of a Houston cab driver during a robbery.

“I want to thank you all for being here and for your love and support,” Smith said to friends who watched from a nearby window.

Smith, who was executed for the 1992 death of cab driver David Jacobs, did not acknowledge the relatives of another slain cab driver who were present for the execution.

Seven minutes after the lethal drugs began to flow, he was pronounced dead at 6:17 p.m. CST.

His execution was the fourth this year in Texas and the second of three scheduled this month in the nation’s busiest capital punishment state.

Our sympathies go out to the family of Clyde Smith and to the families of David Jacobs and Victor Bilton, who were murdered by Smith.

Next on the execution schedule is Steven Staley, scheduled to be executed Feb. 23.


MTV is interested in covering Anti-Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break. Here is what one of their producers wrote about their plans: “When people think of Spring Break the vision of beaches, night clubs and drinking until you drop usually comes to mind. MTVU wants to put a new spin on the typical Spring Break stereotypes by showcasing college students from around the country with alternative plans. The new Spring Break trend has students using their time away from school for more meaningful purposes — whether volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, helping restore properties affected by Hurricane Katrina or protesting a cause they believe in. We want to showcase these unique Spring Breaks by following students on their adventures. We’ll not only shoot the events they’re partaking in but also get the back stories for why these students chose their plans, how they feel throughout the trip and what they come away from the trip with. It’s time to put the spotlight on students who are getting more than a great tan out of their Spring Break!”

If you are planning to come to Anti-Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break, you may end up on MTVU, which is MTV’s university channel. They want to cover a few of the students from beginning to end, in reality tv style.

Plans for other aspects of spring break are also firming up. There will be a bus trip to Huntsville on March 15. Former death house chaplain Rev Carroll Pickett is going to meet with the group at the Texas Prison Museum and talk to us about his experiences ministering to 95 people before their executions. He is now an outspoken opponent of the death penalty and the author of “Within These Walls : Memoirs of a Death House Chaplain“. During the executions, Rev Pickett often held onto the ankle of the person being executed in an effort to comfort them, so he was the last human touch many executed people felt.

After Rev. Pickett’s talk, we will head over to The Walls Unit (pictured below) to protest the execution of Tommie Hughes.

To register for spring break, visit Texas Students Against the Death Penalty.

This looks interesting. Art is a powerful medium for creating civic dialogue. You can read more about this play at the Hyde Park Theater website.

For Information:
Call Ken Webster at 300-3635 or email kenwebster@austin.rr.com

Hyde Park Theatre
Presents

The Southwest Premiere of

The Glory of Living
by Rebecca Gilman

Directed by
Ken Webster

Featuring
Kelsey Kling, Joey Hood, Ken Bradley, Monika Bustamante, Jude Hickey, Joel Citty, Andrea Skola, Jessie Tilton, and Heather Huggins

March 23- April 15, 2006
Thursdays-Saturdays at 8:00 PM

Hyde Park Theatre is proud to present the Southwest premiere of The Glory of Living by Rebecca Gilman. The Glory of Living is Gilman’s award-winning play that traces the journey of a teenage girl who runs away with an ex-convict, only to be drawn into a world of sex, lost innocence and murder. This powerful indictment of the death penalty was inspired by the Judith Neelley case in Georgia in the 1980’s.

We have been monitoring the number of communications received by Texas Governor Rick Perry regarding the last few executions. He receives both written correspondence and phone calls. Written correspondence includes letters, faxes and emails submitted either through the governor’s website or through outside websites or email lists such as Texas Moratorium Network’s, which uses Democracy in Action to allow people to email the governor. The number of phone calls may be underrepresentative of how many people try to call, since the phone lines are often busy. Also, petitions with multiple signers on each page are not included.

This information was obtained through requests submitted by Scott Cobb under the Texas Public Information Act.

12,201 people wrote Perry opposing the execution of Frances Newton last Sept. Ten people wrote him supporting the execution. Most recently, 2,627 people wrote opposing the execution of Jaime Elizalde on Jan 31. Nobody wrote Perry supporting Elizalde’s execution. For the execution of Marion Dudley on Jan 25, only 141 people communicated their opposition to the execution to Perry’s office and nobody wrote Perry supporting the execution.

Here is a pdf of all the information, broken down into communications from inside Texas, other U.S. states and outside the U.S and including both written correspondence and phone calls.

Below is the same information posted on one of those new web 2.0 spreadsheet sites called Num Sum.

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