Exonerees Leading March to Abolish the Death Penalty

Death row exonerees Gary Drinkard, Ron Keine and Shujaa Graham leading the 2010 March to Abolish the Death Penalty. marchforabolition.org
Upcoming Executions

Upcoming Executions

Click for a list of upcoming scheduled executions in Texas.
Innocence

Innocence

The death penalty puts innocent people at risk of execution.
Todd Willingham

Todd Willingham

Todd Willingham was wrongfully executed under Governor Rick Perry on February 17, 2004.

Hearing on Moratorium, Abolition and Law of Parties Tuesday March 29 Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee

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The Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence has set a hearing for Tuesday March 29, 2011 on several death penalty related bills, including a moratorium on executions (HB 1641), abolition of the death penalty (HB 852 and HB 819), and prohibiting death sentences in Law of Parties cases (HB 855 and HB 2511).

Please make plans to attend the meeting and sign in to show your support for bills that would stop executions in Texas. The meeting will be held in room 120 of the John H. Reagan Building at 105 W. 15th Street in Austin in the capitol complex (map). We have created a Facebook event page for the committee hearing. Post the event page to your Facebook profile and invite your friends to the meeting, so we get more people to attend the meeting.

Call the members of the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee and urge them to vote in favor of a moratorium on executions, as well as the other bills that you favor.

Chair: Pete Gallego (Democrat, District 74 – Alpine)   (512) 463-0566  
Email form  http://tinyurl.com/petegallego

Vice Chair: Will Hartnett (Republican, District 114 – Dallas)  (512) 463-0576  
Email form  http://tinyurl.com/willhartnett

Jose Aliseda (Republican, District 35 – Beeville)   (512) 463-0645   
Email form   http://tinyurl.com/josealiseda

Cindy Burkett (Republican, District101 – Mesquite)  (512) 463-0464  
Email form  http://tinyurl.com/cindyburkett

Stefani Carter (Republican,District 102 – Dallas)   (512) 463-0454  
Email form  http://tinyurl.com/stefanicarter

Wayne Christian (Republican,District 9 – Center)  (512) 463-0556  
Email form  http://tinyurl.com/waynechristian

Yvonne Davis (Democrat, District 111 – Dallas)   (512) 463-0598  
Email form  http://tinyurl.com/yvonnedavis

Eddie Rodriguez (Democrat, District 51 – Austin)   (512) 463-0674   
Email form  http://tinyurl.com/repeddierodriguez

Bill Zedler (Republican,District 96 – Arlington)   (512) 463-0374   
Email form  http://tinyurl.com/billzedler

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
COMMITTEE: Criminal Jurisprudence

TIME and DATE: Upon final adjourn./recess
Tuesday, March 29, 2011

PLACE: JHR 120
CHAIR: Rep. Pete Gallego

HB 819 Farrar | et al.
Relating to abolishing the death penalty.

HB 852 Dutton
Relating to abolishing the death penalty.

HB 3400 Walle
Relating to certain sentencing procedures in a capital case.

HB 1670 Coleman
Relating to the applicability of the death penalty to a capital offense committed by a person with mental retardation.

HB 1646 Gallego
Relating to representation of certain applicants for writs of habeas corpus in cases involving the death penalty.

HB 2511 Dutton
Relating to the joint or separate prosecution of a capital felony charged against two or more defendants and the extent of a defendant’s criminal responsibility for the conduct of a coconspirator in capital felony cases.

HB 566 Christian
Relating to the murder of certain individuals protected under a court order as a capital offense.

HB 1641 Dutton
Relating to the creation of a commission to study capital punishment in Texas and to a moratorium on executions.

HB 1973 Lucio III
Relating to the admissibility of certain statements in the prosecution of murder or capital murder.

HB 689 Dutton
Relating to the admissibility of certain evidence in capital cases in which the state seeks the death penalty.

HB 543 Dutton
Relating to the admissibility of certain confessions in capital cases.

HB 2337 Gallego
Relating to the admissibility in a court proceeding of certain statements.

HB 488 Dutton
Relating to standards for judicial review of certain writs of habeas corpus in capital cases.

HB 1113 Raymond
Relating to the sentencing hearing or deferred adjudication hearing and conditions of community supervision for defendants convicted of certain offenses involving controlled substances.

HB 855 Dutton
Relating to the extent of a defendant’s criminal responsibility for the conduct of a coconspirator in certain felony cases.

HB 2856 Gallego
Relating to criminal asset forfeiture, the disposition of proceeds and property from criminal asset forfeiture, and accountability for that disposition; providing civil penalties.

HB 2822 Coleman
Relating to the penalty for and certain other civil consequences of engaging in disorderly conduct for a lewd or unlawful purpose.

HB 2662 Hochberg
Relating to child abduction.

HB 748 Menendez
Relating to a criminal defendant’s incompetency to stand trial, to certain related time credits, and to the maximum period allowed for restoration of the defendant to competency.

HB 3375 Murphy
Relating to certain evidence in a prosecution of fraud or theft involving Medicaid or Medicare benefits.

HB 1029 Carter
Relating to the conditions of release on bond for certain defendants charged with the offense of burglary.

HB 1918 Larson
Relating to the appointment of counsel to represent an indigent defendant in a capital case and to the reimbursement of certain expenses incurred by appointed counsel.

HB 2374 Gallego
Relating to the taking of children into custody by certain law enforcement officers.

HB 3526 Davis, Yvonne
Relating to requiring certain victim information to be attached to certain arrest warrants.

HB 1205 Turner | et al.
Relating to the establishment of certain time credits through which a defendant’s period of community supervision is reduced.

HB 3346 Burnam
Relating to certain information available to the public on a central database containing information about sex offenders.

HB 168 Raymond
Relating to the requirements of a bail bond.

HB 2200 Miles
Relating to the joint or separate prosecution of a capital felony charged against two or more defendants.

HB 777 Gonzalez, Naomi | et al.
Relating to court costs imposed on conviction and deposited to the courthouse security fund.

HB 809 Darby
Relating to the use of certain fees collected for pretrial intervention programs offered in a county. However, you can always browse around here to find more information on legal advice. 

HB 17 Riddle | et al.
Relating to the creation of the offense of criminal trespass by an illegal alien and to certain procedures for arresting illegal aliens for committing that criminal offense.

HB 1043 Christian | et al.
Relating to creating an offense for engaging in certain conduct relating to cockfighting and to the criminal and civil consequences of committing that offense.

Video of Texas House Passing Resolution Honoring Death Row Exonerees on the "Day of Innocence"

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A couple of months ago, Texas Moratorium Network asked Rep Dutton if he would introduce a resolution honoring the death row exonerees who would be in Austin on the “Day of Innocence” and statewide Lobby Day Against the Death Penalty on March 16. He agreed and here is the video of the resolution passing last Wednesday. Click here to watch the video of the resolution being passed by Texas House of Representatives on the “Day of Innocence”

82R12583 MMS-D
By: Dutton H.R. No. 829

R E S O L U T I O N
       WHEREAS, Six former death row inmates who have been
exonerated of the crime for which they were convicted are visiting
the State Capitol on March 16, 2011, the Day of Innocence, in
support of a moratorium on executions and other related measures;
and
       WHEREAS, These men are among the 138 individuals who have
been released from death row since 1973, either because their
convictions were overturned and they then won acquittal at retrial
or had the charges against them dropped, or because they were given
an absolute pardon by the governor based on new evidence of their
innocence; their lives forever changed by their wrongful
conviction, these six individuals are now working to reform the
criminal justice system; and
       WHEREAS, Convicted of murder in Texas in 1981, Clarence
Brandley was just weeks away from his scheduled execution when
evidence of coerced testimony and blatant racism in his first two
trials prompted the FBI to intervene; three years later, the
charges against him were dismissed; Mr. Brandley subsequently
married, apprenticed as an electrician, and became a Baptist
minister; his life became the subject of a book, White Lies, and a
cable TV movie, Whitewash: The Clarence Brandley Story; and
       WHEREAS, Sentenced to death in Louisiana in 1987, Albert
Burrell was 17 days away from execution in 1996 when his attorneys
won a stay; the attorney general’s office dismissed the charges
against him in 2000, citing “a total lack of credible evidence,” and
later DNA analysis reinforced that assessment; Albert Burrell
currently lives and works in Center; and
       WHEREAS, Gary Drinkard was convicted in Alabama in 1995; in
2000, the state supreme court ordered a retrial on the basis of
prosecutorial misconduct, and the following year a second jury
found him innocent; Mr. Drinkard’s case was subsequently presented
to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to illustrate the critical
need that those facing the death penalty have for competent legal
representation; and
       WHEREAS, Framed for murder, Shujaa Graham was sentenced in
California in 1976; the state supreme court overturned his
conviction because the district attorney had systematically
excluded African American jurors in his first trial; Mr. Graham was
ultimately acquitted in 1981, and since then he has played a leading
role in the anti-death penalty and human rights movements; and
       WHEREAS, Ron Keine was sentenced to death in New Mexico in
1974 after a witness, under intense pressure from prosecutors,
fabricated a story about his guilt; the following year, the real
killer turned himself in, and a new trial for Mr. Keine and his
codefendants was eventually ordered; before the trial could be
held, though, a judge threw out the murder indictment on the grounds
that ballistic tests conclusively linked the confessed killer to
the murder weapon; freed in 1976, Mr. Keine now owns a business in
Michigan and is a leader in the campaign to abolish the death
penalty; and
       WHEREAS, Anthony Graves of Brenham was arrested in 1992 and
convicted in Texas in 1994, primarily on the testimony of one
witness who later recanted his story; the Fifth Circuit Court of
Appeals ultimately overturned Mr. Graves’s conviction in 2006, and
he was then sent to the Burleson County jail to await his new trial,
which would be four years in coming; during that time, he was kept
in solitary confinement; finally, in 2010, 18 years after Mr.
Graves was first imprisoned, a special prosecutor determined that
no case against him had ever existed, and the charges against him
were dropped; and
       WHEREAS, There is no way to restore to these men the years
they have lost, or to compensate them for the mental and emotional
anguish they have suffered; notwithstanding the immeasurable pain
they have endured, however, they have found the resilience to take a
terrible ordeal and channel their response into constructive
endeavor; their strength and purposefulness are a testament to
their remarkable spirit and a continuing inspiration to countless
fellow citizens; now, therefore, be it
       RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
Legislature hereby honor Clarence Brandley, Albert Burrell, Gary
Drinkard, Shujaa Graham, Ron Keine, and Anthony Graves for their
tenacity in the pursuit of justice and for their significant
contributions to the debate over an issue of paramount public
concern; and, be it further
       RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared
for these gentlemen as an expression of high regard by the Texas
House of Representatives.

Death Penalty Related Legislation Filed in 2011 Texas Legislative Session

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The filing deadline for legislation in the 2011 Regular Session of the Texas Legislature has passed. Below are the death penalty related proposals filed in the Texas House and Senate and their status as of March 21, 2011. 


Legislature: 82(R) – 2011 

 

Click for options HB 488 Author: Dutton
Last Action:  02/17/2011 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to standards for judicial review of certain writs of habeas corpus in capital cases.


Click for options HB 543 Author: Dutton
Last Action:  02/18/2011 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the admissibility of certain confessions in capital cases.


Click for options HB 566 Author: Christian
Last Action:  02/18/2011 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the murder of certain individuals protected under a court order as a capital offense.


Click for options HB 689 Author: Dutton
Last Action:  02/21/2011 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the admissibility of certain evidence in capital cases in which the state seeks the death penalty.


Click for options HB 819 Author: Farrar | et al.
Last Action:  02/23/2011 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to abolishing the death penalty.


Click for options HB 852 Author: Dutton
Last Action:  02/24/2011 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to abolishing the death penalty.


Click for options HB 855 Author: Dutton
Last Action:  02/24/2011 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the extent of a defendant’s criminal responsibility for the conduct of a coconspirator in certain felony cases.


Click for options HB 1065 Author: Riddle | et al.
Last Action:  02/28/2011 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the murder of a child as a capital offense.


Click for options HB 1641 Author: Dutton
Last Action:  03/03/2011 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the creation of a commission to study capital punishment in Texas and to a moratorium on executions.


Click for options HB 1646 Author: Gallego
Last Action:  03/03/2011 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to representation of certain applicants for writs of habeas corpus in cases involving the death penalty.


Click for options HB 1670 Author: Coleman
Last Action:  03/03/2011 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the applicability of the death penalty to a capital offense committed by a person with mental retardation.


Click for options HB 1918 Author: Larson
Last Action:  03/07/2011 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the appointment of counsel to represent an indigent defendant in a capital case and to the reimbursement of certain expenses incurred by appointed counsel.


Click for options HB 2200 Author: Miles
Last Action:  03/10/2011 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the joint or separate prosecution of a capital felony charged against two or more defendants.


Click for options HB 2511 Author: Dutton
Last Action:  03/14/2011 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the joint or separate prosecution of a capital felony charged against two or more defendants and the extent of a defendant’s criminal responsibility for the conduct of a coconspirator in capital felony cases.


Click for options HB 3323 Author: McClendon
Last Action:  03/18/2011 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the standards for attorneys representing indigent defendants in capital cases.


Click for options HB 3400 Author: Walle
Last Action:  03/18/2011 H Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to certain sentencing procedures in a capital case.


Click for options HB 3762 Author: Marquez
Last Action:  03/11/2011 H Filed
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to creating a transparent and deliberative process by which execution procedures are determined.


Click for options HJR 97 Author: Naishtat
Last Action:  03/22/2011 H Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Proposing a constitutional amendment relating to a moratorium on the execution of persons convicted of capital offenses.


Click for options SB 377 Author: Huffman | et al.
Last Action:  03/22/2011 S Scheduled for public hearing on . . .
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the murder of a child as a capital offense.


Click for options SB 973 Author: Hinojosa
Last Action:  03/08/2011 S Referred to Criminal Justice
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the reformation of the sentences of juveniles convicted of capital felonies after being transferred to criminal court.


Click for options SB 1028 Author: Harris
Last Action:  03/16/2011 S Referred to Criminal Justice
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the appointment of counsel to represent an indigent defendant in a capital case and to the reimbursement of certain expenses incurred by appointed counsel.


Click for options SB 1078 Author: Ellis
Last Action:  03/16/2011 S Referred to Criminal Justice
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to representation of certain applicants for writs of habeas corpus in cases involving the death penalty.


Click for options SB 1079 Author: Ellis
Last Action:  03/16/2011 S Referred to Criminal Justice
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the applicability of the death penalty to a capital offense committed by a person with mental retardation.


Click for options SB 1308 Author: Seliger
Last Action:  03/16/2011 S Referred to Jurisprudence
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the standards for attorneys representing indigent defendants in capital cases.


Click for options SB 1688 Author: Ellis
Last Action:  03/11/2011 S Filed
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the authority of the governor to grant one or more reprieves in a capital case.

Click for options SB 1832 Author: Ellis
Last Action:  03/11/2011 S Filed
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to notice to inmates and their attorneys of lethal substance or substances to be used in lethal injection.


Click for options SB 1835 Author: Ellis
Last Action:  03/11/2011 S Filed
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Relating to the creation of a commission to investigate and prevent wrongful convictions.


Click for options SJR 44 Author: Ellis
Last Action:  03/11/2011 S Filed
Caption Version: Introduced
Caption: Proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the governor to grant one or more reprieves in a capital case.
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