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Activists Gather in Texas to Organize Towards Moratorium

Lois & Ken Robinson hold a photo of their mentally-ill son Larry during his execution at Huntsville, TX, on January 21.

Plagued with campaign trail questions about the moratorium in Illinois, and the likelihood that the innocent will be executed, Governor George Bush keeps insisting on the guilt of everyone he has executed. No wonder. Already this year, Texas has sent 13 people to its execution chamber, including 62-year old domestic violence victim Bettie Lou Beets. In the spirit of a “true reformer,” George Bush has executed 122 to date, proving himself to be a speedier, if not more compassionate, executioner.

The weekend of January 22-23, in the midst of a string of five executions, Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE) rallied people from across the state and country to Huntsville, home of Texas’ death row, to discuss “Strategies to Achieving a Moratorium.” The energy was electric.

Members of Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation spoke about stopping executions and fostering healing. Moratorium 2000 shared plans to deliver one million signatures urging a moratorium to the United Nations this December, specifically reaching out to students and the religious community. Moratorium Now! and the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (TCADP) announced their partnership to ignite a moratorium resolution drive throughout the state. Activists from other states shared their stories and strategies of public education and lobby efforts and talked about the importance of civil disobedience. The meeting was a celebration of the expanding movement to halt executions.

A major moratorium campaign is underway in Texas, building towards the passage of legislation to be introduced in 2001. The aim is to reach out to organizations and city councils throughout the state, urging them to adopt resolutions calling on state officials to halt executions. They hope to bring public attention to innocent people executed in Texas. “We really do see momentum growing for a moratorium in Texas already,” says Dave Atwood, President of the TCADP, which is spearheading the effort. “Most recently, Texas’ Catholic bishops have written to Governor Bush to ask for a moratorium on executions.”

To get involved, contact TCADP at 713-520-0300 or dpatwood@igc.apc.org. One day, we will see a moratorium on the killing in Texas!

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Moratorium Bill Introduced in House

Innocence Bill Introduced in Senate

Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. introduced HR 3623, “The Accuracy In Judicial Administration Act of 2000” (AJA), on February 10. The AJA would impose a minimum 7-year national moratorium on all U.S. executions until all inmates currently sitting on death row have an opportunity to explore potentially exculpatory DNA and similar evidence.

Since 1973, 86 death row prisoners nationwide have been found to be innocent – at least eight as a result of DNA evidence. These prisoners spent an average of seven years on death row before proving their innocence. Meanwhile, the time between the average capital conviction and execution is eight years. Given drastic new restrictions on prisoner appeals resulting from the Congress’ 1996 Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) and similar state legislation, this timeframe is only expected to shorten. Hence, the AJA sets a seven-year moratorium to insure that prisoners will not be executed before they have a chance to prove their innocence.

Representatives Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Bill Clay (D-MO), Tom Barrett (D-WI), and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) joined Congressman Jackson as original co-sponsors of HR 3623. The bill is currently in the hands of the House Judiciary Committee, which will determine whether or not to hold hearings.

Jackson represents the 2nd Congressional District of Illinois, home to the infamous “Ford Height Four” – four wrongly convicted young men, two of whom spent a decade on death row. Their innocence was discovered as a result of DNA testing.

“Innocence Protection Act” Introduced in Senate

On the other side of the U.S. Capitol, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced the “Innocence Protection Act” (IPA) on February 11. This legislation aims to reduce the risk of executing innocent persons by ensuring that state and federal prisoners have access to DNA testing. The bill also begins to remedy disparities in the administration of the death penalty that underlie the growing national call for a moratorium, including the inadequate legal counsel suffered by the vast majority of capital defendants.
DNA Evidence

DNA testing has only become commonplace in pre-trial investigations since 1994. It clearly helps prevent wrongful convictions. A 1996 Department of Justice report found that in approximately 20–30% of cases referred for DNA testing, the results excluded the primary suspect.

Many death row prisoners have never had access to DNA testing, either pre-trial or post-conviction. Yet, new techniques make it possible to analyze minute evidence samples previously untestable. Unlike all other evidence, DNA does not become less reliable over time. Only two states, New York and Illinois, have laws that provide for post-conviction DNA testing.

The first step in making this testing available to prisoners is to insure that biological evidence is preserved. Since 1992, the Innocence Project at the Cardozo School of Law has received thousands of letters from prisoners who claim that DNA testing could prove them innocent. In over 70% of these cases, where DNA testing might have demonstrated innocence, the evidence had been destroyed or lost. Further, in two-thirds of the cases where the evidence was found and DNA testing was conducted, the results exonerated the prisoner.

Leahy’s bill will prohibit the federal government from destroying any biological material in a criminal case while any person remains incarcerated in connection with that case, unless this prisoner is officially notified and given at least 90 days to request DNA testing. Further, states receiving federal grants for DNA related programs – totaling $50 million since 1994 – will be required to adopt adequate procedures for preserving biological material and making DNA testing available to their prisoners.

Additionally, the IPA would establish rules and procedures governing applications for DNA testing from federal prisoners. It also prohibits a state from denying prisoners’ requests for DNA testing that could exonerate them. Some states have refused DNA testing to prisoners with compelling questions of innocence, as in the case of Joseph O’Dell, executed in Virginia in 1997.

Competent Legal Counsel

The American Bar Association has concluded that the “decisions about who will live and who will die turn not on the nature of the offense the defendant is charged with committing, but rather on the nature of the legal representation the defendant receives.” It is on a state level that the vast majority of prisoners are sentenced to death. The IPA would require any state receiving federal criminal justice grants to establish and maintain an “effective system” for providing competent legal services to indigent defendants from pre-trial proceedings through the appeals process. This part of the bill is especially critical given that many death row prisoners currently have no lawyers to pursue their appeals.

The Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, in consultation with the ABA and others, would be charged with specifying the elements of an “effective system.” This system must include a centralized and independent authority for appointing lawyers in capital cases as well as adequate
compensation and reimbursement of these attorneys.

Historically, state prisoners could readily appeal their convictions and sentences in federal courts. But in 1996, Congress changed the law, requiring federal judges to basically assume that state court decisions were correct, except in rare cases. The IPA would override these 1996 barriers for capital prisoners in states which fail to provide adequate legal services. It also increases federal funds available to public agencies and non-profit organizations that provide legal representation in capital cases and encourages that the same lawyers handle both state and federal appeals.

Finally, the IPA increases the amount unjustly imprisoned people in the federal system can be awarded by the courts from $5,000 to $50,000 a year in non-death penalty cases and to $100,000 a year in death penalty cases. It also limits the ability of the federal government’s authority to impose the death penalty in jurisdictions that do not have the death penalty.

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Four Major Cities Urge Moratorium

With populations around one million people, Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco and Pittsburgh are the largest U.S. cities to date to call for a moratorium on executions. Each city’s action came within a month of Governor Ryan’s declaration of a moratorium in Illinois. Eight other local governments have also asked lawmakers to stop and take a closer look at the flaws in the death penalty’s application.

“I considered it our responsibility to speak out against the clear racial bias pervading our state’s death penalty system. The council was more than happy to pass the resolution. In fact it was unanimously approved,” says Dr. Norman Handy, a Baltimore City council member.

Philadelphia’s action came just two weeks before a 12-hour hearing in the state Senate on a pending two-year moratorium bill on February 22. Philadelphia County has sentenced 125 of the 226 people now on death row in Pennsylvania; nearly 90% of these Philadelphia prisoners are people of color. Statewide, over 90% of all death row prisoners could not afford their own attorney – a fact that helped convince the city council to urge a moratorium.

Similarly, the Maryland House of Delegates held hearings in February on a three-year moratorium bill just days after Baltimore City passed its resolution, underscoring racial disparity in death sentencing. Of the 17 inmates on Maryland’s death row, 71% are African American – one of the highest percentages in the country. Governor Glendening has earmarked state funds for a University of Maryland study of how race impacts capital prosecution, trials and sentencing.

Activists report the introduction of moratorium resolutions in countless cities and counties throughout the country. This action sends a clear message to legislatures that public understanding about the death penalty is shifting. Overall, 750 groups have joined the call nationwide, including bar associations, businesses, faith communities, labor groups, and others.

Other municipalities urging a moratorium include: New Haven, CT; Mt. Rainier and Takoma Park, MD; Charlottesville, VA; and Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham, and Orange County, NC.

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Clinton Urged to Declare Moratorium

Race of Defendants Approved for Federal Death Penalty Prosecution

On January 31 – the day Governor George Ryan announced a moratorium in Illinois – Senator Russ Feingold took to the Senate floor to urge President Clinton to impose a moratorium on federal executions. “The problems of inadequate representation, lack of access to DNA testing, police misconduct, racial bias and even simple errors are not unique to Illinois,” Feingold said. “These are problems that have plagued the administration of capital punishment around the country.”

Four other Senators – Dick Durbin, Edward Kennedy, Carl Levin and Robert Torricelli – joined Feingold on February 8 to ask the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold hearings on the death penalty.

Meanwhile, on February 10, the Justice Department announced it would conduct its own study on whether the federal death penalty is racially biased.

Since the reinstatement of the federal death penalty, 76% of the defendants approved for capital punishment were members of minority groups. Of the 188 defendants against whom the Attorney General has authorized seeking the death penalty, 45 have been white, 35 Hispanic, 10 Asian/Indian, and 98 African American. Currently, 74% of the 19 inmates under active federal death sentences are non-white.

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Illinois Governor Halts Executions

Governor Ryan

Governor George Ryan declared an indefinite moratorium on executions in Illinois on January 31. Calling the prospect of executing an innocent person “the ultimate nightmare,” Ryan declared, “Until I can be sure with moral certainty that no innocent man or woman is facing lethal injection, no one will meet that fate.”

Illinois has exonerated more death row prisoners (13) than it has executed (12) since it reinstated the death penalty in 1977. While his moratorium is in place, a 14-member commission will investigate just how these 13 innocent people ended up on death row.

Such action by a Republican governor took many in the moratorium movement by surprise, even people on the ground in Illinois. Just days before his announcement, hearings on moratorium legislation were held in the Illinois House.

Clearly, a shift in public thinking on the death penalty is creating the political space for Ryan – a self described “strong proponent of tough criminal penalties” – to take this historical first step. A 1999 poll of Illinois voters shows majority (55%) support for a moratorium. Further, a Chicago Tribune poll released in February found that support for the death penalty continues to decline. Only 58% support capital punishment, down from 76 % in August 1994 and 63% last year. Further, when life in prison without possibility of parole was presented as an option, 41% choose it and only 43% chose the death penalty.

Illinois’ numbers mirror a similar decline nationwide. A Gallup poll released in February shows that 66 % of U.S. citizens support capital punishment, down from 80% six years ago.

What Next?

Meanwhile, on March 2, the Illinois House voted 117 to 1 to ban the death penalty for the mentally retarded. Calvin Giles (D-Chicago), who introduced the bill, credited Ryan with “setting the tone” that allowed such overwhelming support. At least 11 of about 160 inmates now on Illinois’ death row have scored 75 or below on at least one IQ test . The legislation requires a prisoner to prove he or she was mentally retarded before the age of 18 but does not define metal retardation by a specific IQ level. If the bill passes the Senate and Ryan signs it, Illinois would become the 13th death penalty state to ban death sentences for mentally retarded defendants.

On March 10, Ryan released the names of those who will serve on his commission, including former Senator Paul Simon, lawyer-novelist Scott Turow, and a former president of the Chicago Bar Association. A former federal judge will chair the panel.

Faced with where to go from here, the Illinois Death Penalty Moratorium Committee has adjusted its plans to address the new state climate. They are now focusing on making Ryan’s commission fair and exhaustive and mobilizing Illinoisans to tell their governor that innocence is not the only problem with Illinois’ death penalty. Over half of the death sentences in the state are overturned on appeal. Prosecutorial misconduct, racial bias, and the substandard legal representation for poor defendants underlie the system that sends innocent people to death row.

Public education is essential to sustaining the moratorium and insuring that the Governor’s study is truly exhaustive study. The Committee is promoting educational speakers throughout the state. In addition, the Journey of Hope – From Violence to Healing, a speaking tour of murder victims family members, is planning a summer tour of Illinois.

The moratorium in Illinois is bound to ricochet across the country. Grassroots momentum is building in other states, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Missouri, Texas, Alabama and Maryland. To get involved, see “moratorium organizing contacts” call Equal Justice USA at 301-699-0042.

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How I Helped Texas Kill Billy Hughes

It is 6:00 pm, January 24, 2000, and I am walking across the open space between the “Justice” Building and the Walls Unit, Huntsville, Texas. Thirty State Troopers, in full uniform, stand at attention to my left. I have come to witness the execution of my friend, Billy Hughes, convicted of killing a police officer in 1976.

As I enter the viewing chamber I am truly shocked, despite the “training,” because it is barely the size of a closet and just as dark. There are no chairs, and we are literally pressed into a large picture window. Only two feet on the other side of it, all lit up on the gurney, is Billy. The killing apparatus is already hooked up to his arms and his hands are all covered in ace bandages so we won’t see his hands curl in death. Nothing nasty here! There is Billy, looking unusually cheerful, a microphone suspended over his head.

The stylishly suited warden is standing about a foot from Billy’s head, and the chaplain is by his feet, with one pudgy hand on Billy’s leg. I want to call out and ask Billy if he really wants this dude touching him, but, conveniently, Billy cannot hear me. The microphone only goes from him to the viewers. The warden asks him if he has anything to say, and in a strong voice, Billy answers, “Yes I do.” He then launches into an excellent statement about his innocence and the fact that he would gladly trade the last 24 years to bring back Officer Frederick, his own father, and his mother’s health. He encourages us to keep on fighting this madness. Then he adds, “Who would have thought 24 years ago that it would come to this moment, but if I am paying my debt to society, I am due a rebate and a refund.” Our sobbing stops and we almost laugh. Billy has kept his humor to the end.

The warden then takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes, and I think, “Wow, even he is touched by all this.” Wrong. It is the signal to start the poisons. Billy tries to give us a wink, but it is more of a grimace, and I see his eyes half close. The next poison, the one that collapses the lungs, is the most horrifying, because you actually see and hear them depress. Finally, there is the literal heart stopper. Each dose is independently lethal, so they actually kill him three times. The warden then starts looking at his watch to count off an interminable four minutes. Billy’s eyes are not really closed, so I keep waiting for him to pop up and say, “Hey, we were only kidding.” Instead, a rather dapper doctor comes in and brusquely examines Billy’s eyes and mouth for signs of life. Finally, he pronounces him dead and leaves. The door behind us opens, light flows into the viewing closet, and we are escorted out.

A month has passed. I can sleep again. The memory I carry forever is that this was cold-blooded, orchestrated murder. There is no passion, no immediacy, not even anger. It is cold. It is mean. It is without emotion. It is falsely cloaked in clean techniques and courteous protocol. I participated because I couldn’t say no to Billy, who needed his friends with him during his last moments. And so I joined Texas in the murder of Billy George Hughes.

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