[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----TEXAS, VA., GA., USA

[Rick Halperin]

Jan. 17



TEXAS----book review

Grace and Justice on Death Row: The Race Against Time and Texas to Free an 
Innocent Man, Reviewed ---- The new book from Alexandria-based lawyer Brian W. 
Stolarz chronicles the long road to getting an innocent man off death row.


According to Amnesty International, the death penalty is not a deterrent to 
violent crimes, and it claims innocent lives. Its research shows that 140 
people have been released from death rows in the U.S. due to evidence of 
wrongful conviction since 1973, and the 14 states without capital punishment 
have homicide rates at or below the national rate. Harris County, Texas, leads 
the nation in death row executions, according to The Death Penalty Information 
Center, though capital punishment there is on the decline. Still, since 2010, 
99.5 % of U.S. counties sentenced fewer people to die than Harris County. 
Alexandria-based lawyer Brian W. Stolarz was part of the legal team that got 
the most recent death row inmate in Harris County, Alfred Dewayne Brown, 
exonerated. And his new book, Grace and Justice on Death Row, walks readers 
through a detailed account of the 2003 double homicide for which Brown was 
sentenced to die - even though he wasn't even present at the crime scene.

Stolarz, a self-avowed Catholic, shines a spotlight on the injustices that 
landed Brown in prison and nearly took his life, including witness harassment, 
prosecutorial misconduct, withheld evidence, a now-defunct Grand Jury selection 
system that reeked of conflicts, and the disturbingly low wages paid to lawyers 
who defend the poor.

The book begins with the events of the April 2003 shooting - offering a 
detailed account of Brown's crime-ridden neighborhood and some of its 
inhabitants trying to survive by working for minimum wage, robbing stores, and 
dealing drugs.

>From the beginning, it's clear Brown is innocent, but Stolarz takes the reader 
on an interesting and infuriating ride toward his incarceration. Brown's 
girlfriend says he was at her house at the time of the shooting, but she 
changes her story after the prosecution threatens her and locks her up on 
trumped-up perjury charges. Other supposed friends of Brown throw him under the 
bus for various reasons, including fear of their own incarceration and promises 
of reward money. Though Brown is ultimately determined to have mental 
disabilities, a supposed "expert" manipulates mental health assessment data to 
say what the prosecutors want to hear.

No spoilers here about how the case goes wrong and is eventually righted - 
Brown was held on death row until June 8, 2015 - but it's worth noting that 
Stolarz includes some chilling comments about capital punishment from the late 
Antonin Scalia, including this one: "One cannot have a system of criminal 
punishment without accepting the possibility that someone will be punished 
mistakenly. That is a truism, not a revelation."

But the book has its faults. It loses some steam when Stolarz writes about his 
own life, his Catholicism, and superfluous references to how horrible he's 
feeling during the years he works on the writ of habeas corpus - the process by 
which Brown is eventually exonerated. You sometimes get the impression that 
Brown's freedom is more about Stolarz than Brown, and the book suffers from too 
much self-congratulating.

There's also a dizzying telling and re-telling of what actually happened at the 
crime scene. It all gets a bit complicated and muddy, but this storytelling 
flaw doubles as a strength in light of the morass of a justice system that 
appears to be in place in Texas. If you get lost in the sequence of events - 
and the details surrounding the multiple miscarriages of justice - it's 
possible the witnesses, the families of the victims, and the jury were likewise 
mired in confusion and obfuscation.

Stolarz cites some star reportage by Lisa Falkenberg of the Houston Chronicle, 
who won a Pulitzer for her work on Brown's case. And the book's final plea to 
abolish the death penalty - or at least to establish reforms in all states that 
require DNA evidence linking the accused to the crime - seems like a 
no-brainer. Stolarz also makes a compelling argument for increased funding for 
attorneys who defend the poor, an improved social service system for death row 
exonerees, and disbarment and criminal investigation for prosecutors who 
deliberately withhold evidence in death row cases, as happened in Brown's case.

(source: washingtoncitypaper.com)






VIRGINIA----impending execution

Gov. McAuliffe declines clemency for Ricky Gray, who is set to be executed 
Wednesday


Governor Terry McAuliffe today declined to grant clemency for Ricky Gray, who 
will die by injection Wednesday night at the Greensville Correctional Center 
for the capital murders of 2 young sisters 11 years ago unless the U.S. Supreme 
Court steps in.

"I have decided not to intervene in this case. Mr. Gray was convicted in a fair 
and impartial trial, and a jury sentenced him to death in accordance with 
Virginia law. Federal and state appellate courts have extensively reviewed his 
case and denied his requested relief. Unless a court intervenes, the Department 
of Corrections will carry out the execution in accordance with the order of the 
sentencing court," said McAuliffe in a prepared statement.

The governor said, "It is the Governor's responsibility to ensure that the laws 
of the Commonwealth are properly carried out unless circumstances merit a stay 
or commutation of the sentence. After extensive review and deliberation, I have 
found no such circumstances. I will continue to pray for all of the individuals 
and families affected by these tragic and horrible crimes."

Gray's lawyers said Monday they intended to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gray and his nephew and accomplice Ray Dandridge, shook the city of Richmond in 
January 2006, murdering seven people in six days and setting off a police 
manhunt that ended with Gray's capture in a Philadelphia basement on Jan. 7.

The execution is set for 9 p.m. at the prison located in Jarratt, just off 
Interstate 95, and would be the 2st in Virginia since October 2015 when serial 
killer Alfredo Prieto was put to death by injection.

(source: Richmond Times-Dispatch)






GEORGIA:

Georgia conservatives want to 're-think' death penalty


A group of Georgia conservatives on Thursday will call for the state to 
re-examine the death penalty but thus far will stop short of calling for a end 
to state-sanctioned executions.

The group, calling itself Georgia Conservatives Concerned About the Death 
Penalty, will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. Thursday. The organization 
includes Rep. Brett Harrell, R-Snellville.

"I am skeptical of our government's ability to implement efficient and 
effective programs, and so a healthy skepticism of our state's death penalty is 
warranted," Harrell said in a statement. "Many individuals have been wrongly 
convicted and sentenced to die. Meanwhile, taxpayers are forced to pay for this 
risky government program, even though it costs far more than life without 
parole."

Group spokesman Jon Crane said Thursday's event "is the state of the process of 
educating people about the problems with the death penalty and to have a candid 
discussion from a conservative perspective."

There is not yet, he said, a call for repeal.

Georgia executed more prisoners in 2016 than any other state in the nation, 
although it's been nearly 3 years since a Georgia defendant was sentenced to 
death.

Other members of the group meeting Thursday include David Burge, former 5th 
District Republican Party chair, Richard Lorenc, chief operating officer of 
Foundations for Economic Freedom, Austin Paul, co-chair of the Mercer 
University College Republicans, Jennifer Maffessanti, chair of the Atlanta 
chapter of America's Future Foundation and Marc Hyden, national coordinator of 
Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty.

(source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution)






USA:

Activists Arrested at U.S. Supreme Court Calling for an End to the Death 
Penalty


IMAGES FROM THE ACTION AVAILABLE HERE - Permission granted: 
https://goo.gl/fzfT0P

40 years after the first execution of Gary Gilmore under contemporary laws, 18 
anti-death penalty activists were arrested at the U.S. Supreme Court on 
Tuesday. The group unfurled a 30-foot-long banner that read "STOP EXECUTIONS!" 
on the steps of the Court. On the sidewalk, a crowd of over 80 supporters 
observed the action, carrying 40 posters (1 for each year) with the names of 
the other 1442 men and women executed since 1977. They also carried roses in 2 
colors, a reminder that they are remembering both families of the murdered and 
families of the executed as they stand together saying, as one banner did, "We 
Remember the Victims, But Not With More Killing."

The group included several murder victim family members, a death row exoneree, 
family members of the incarcerated, pastors and religious leaders, and national 
leaders in the death penalty abolition movement. It was the largest act of 
civil disobedience against the death penalty in modern history.

One of the participants who was arrested was Randy Gardner, whose brother, like 
Gilmore, was executed in Utah by firing squad.

"My Brother Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed in 2010 by the same state and by 
the same method as Gilmore," Gardner stated. "I believed then, and I still 
believe now, that the death penalty is morally wrong. I never condoned what my 
brother did, but when the state executes someone, they create yet another 
family that is damaged and grieving. We don't have to kill to be safe from 
dangerous criminals and hold them accountable. It is time to abolish the death 
penalty."

Shane Claiborne, influential Christian author and activist, speaking of the 
significance of religious leaders, said this: "Sadly, the death penalty has 
succeeded in America not in spite of Christians but because of us. Over 80% of 
executions in the past 40 years have been in the Bible Belt. As a Christian, 
that is especially troubling because one of the tenants of our faith is this: 
No one is beyond redemption. Much of the Bible was written by murderers who 
were given a second chance. Moses. David. Paul. The Bible would be much shorter 
without grace. So it was a beautiful thing to stand alongside my fellow clergy 
and faith leaders ...
  And, if you go to jail, it's good to have a nun and a priest next to you. As 
we look at history, we are reminded that we've got good company among the holy 
troublemakers who have gone to jail for justice. Abortion is not the only 
pro-life issue."

Claiborne continues: "When we try to kill those who kill, we mirror, and 
legitimize, the cycle of violence. We can deal with violent crime without 
resorting to the violence we want to rid the world of. As faith leaders and 
clergy, we stand together, with families of the murdered and families of the 
executed, and say NO to all killing. Violence is the disease, not the cure."

Scott Langley, a death penalty abolition organizer from New York, said "The 
national tide has turned against the death penalty with more and more states, 
counties, and juries refusing to continue this barbaric practice. We acted 
today to call on this Court to recognize that standards of decency and human 
rights have evolved to the point that this has to end now."

Those arrested were Peter Armstrong (Washington, DC), Leroy Barber (Portland, 
OR), Abraham J. Bonowitz (Columbus, OH), SueZann Bosler (Miami, FL), Shawn 
Casselberry (Chicago, IL), Shane Claiborne (Philadelphia, PA), John Dear (Santa 
Fe, NM), Randy Gardner (Taylorsville, UT), Lisa Sharon Harper (Washington, DC), 
Derrick Jamison (Cincinnati, OH), Art Laffin (Washington, DC), Scott Langley 
(Ghent, NY), Michael McBride (Oakland, CA), Tom Muther (Topeka, KS), Doug 
Pagitt (Minneapolis, MN), Jack Payden-Travers (Lynchburg, VA), Sam R. Sheppard 
(Oakland, CA), and Kelton Tupper (Cheverly, MD).

Background: 40 years ago, on January 17, 1977, the State of Utah shot to death 
Gary Gilmore, who "volunteered" to be killed in revenge for his murder of Ben 
Bushnell and Max Jenson. This state-assisted suicide was the 1st execution 
under the Supreme Court's upholding of the death penalty in 1976. Since then, 
there have been 1442 more executions, with another scheduled on January 18 in 
Virginia. Nearly 3,000 prisoners are currently on death rows in 31 states.

The protest is organized by the Abolitionist Action Committee (AAC), an ad-hoc 
group of individuals committed to highly visible and effective public education 
for alternatives to the death penalty through nonviolent direct action. The AAC 
also organizes a 4 day fast and vigil on the Supreme Court sidewalk every June 
29 through July 2, and all are invited to participate.

Organizations endorsing/supporting this action include

Abolitionist Action Committee

Campaign for Nonviolence

Catholic Mobilizing Network

Center for Action and Contemplation

Consistent Life Network

Embrey Human Rights Program

Evangelicals for Social Action

Faith in Public Life

Journey of Hope ... From Violence to Healing

National Council of Churches

OPEN

People of Faith Against the Death Penalty

PICO Network LIVE FREE Campaign

RAW Tools

Red Letter Christians

Repairers of the Breach

Sojourners

We Stand With Love

Witness to Innocence

DONATE to support the action and those arrested. Funds needed for 
transportation, housing, legal support, court costs, etc. Pledge $40, $400 or 
whatever you can afford at www.SendASign.org.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/fastandvigil

Twitter: @AbolitionAAC

Web: http://www.abolition.org

Email: ac at abolition.org

Mail: P.O. Box 89, Ghent New York 12075, USA

(source: Abolition Action Committee)

****************

Death penalty protesters arrested outside Supreme Court


Police arrested more than a dozen death penalty protesters outside the Supreme 
Court Tuesday.

The Abolitionist Action Committee organizes protesters to engage in civil 
disobedience every 5 years on Jan. 17, marking the date of the 1st execution 
after the Supreme Court allowed the death penalty to resume in 1977. This year 
is the 40th anniversary of Gary Gilmore's execution by firing squad in Utah. 
Gilmore, who shot and killed 2 people reportedly without a motive, volunteered 
for the death penalty.

The protesters' arrests outside the court come as the death penalty is 
resurfacing as a contentious issue at the Supreme Court. A split decision from 
the Supreme Court last month allowed the execution of an Alabama man to proceed 
after multiple stays. Justice Stephen Breyer, who favored granting a stay to 
block the Alabama man's execution, then delivered a public call for the high 
court to "reconsider the constitutionality of the death penalty" in a dissent 
from the court's inaction on a death penalty case from Florida.

The high court has heard oral arguments in a death penalty case this term in 
Moore v. Texas, in which the justices will look to answer whether the execution 
of an inmate after an elongated period of incarceration violates the Eighth 
Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

Tuesday's arrests of anti-death penalty protesters also happened as the 
nation's capital braces for the arrival of thousands of protesters unhappy with 
President-elect Trump's looming inauguration. Protesters have made plans to 
disrupt the inauguration and spoil several inaugural balls beginning on 
Thursday.

(source: Washington Examiner)