Death penalty opponents speak out in favor of bill
Proponents for ending the death penalty in Texas spoke out Tuesday insupport of a bill that would limit the reach of the punishment. StateRepresentative Harold Dutton of Northeast Houston wants to limit who canbe sentenced to die for a crime. His concern centers around the Texas Lawof Parties which allows the courts to sentence someone to the deathpenalty even when they don't kill another person or intend to kill anotherperson.
Dutton says under this rule at least 12 people -- possibly as many as 20-- have been executed.
"Somewhere in the 80's we had a person who was given the death penalty whodidn't kill the person and had no intention to kill but they were on deathrow. The person who actually did the killing had actually been releasedfrom prison. That is absolutely unacceptable," Dutton said.
Several family members spoke out in favor of the bill, including thefamily of Kenneth Foster who was set to die for a shooting death committedby another man. He was within days of being executed when a judge decidedhe shouldn't be put to death.
People in favor of the Law of Parties argue criminals that don't kill canbe just as responsible for not stopping a death.
Dutton's bill is currently in committee. It is unclear if there is enoughsupport for it to pass.
(source: KVUE News)
Legislator proposes bill to halt the death penalty for those in murderers’ companyRepresentative hopes proposal will eventually end capital punishmentMatt StephensDaily Texan StaffOn August 30, 2007, Gov. Rick Perry commited death row inmate Kenneth Foster Jr. to life imprisonment. Foster had been on death row for 10 years for the August 1996 murder of Michael LaHood Jr., a crime he did not commit.“I don’t think he should be there now,” said his father, Kenneth Foster Sr. “He should be out here with his family.”Foster was charged with the murder under the Texas Law of Parties, which convicts anyone in the murderer’s party as if he or she had committed the crime.Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, presented a bill Tuesday that would end death penalty sentences under the Law of Parties.Foster’s grandfather, Lawrence Foster, said his grandson had no intent to commit murder and no idea that his friend, Mauricio Brown, had intended to murder LaHood.While driving with two other friends, Brown spotted LaHood’s girlfriend and asked Foster to stop the car. Despite Foster’s best efforts, Brown left the car and approached the woman. At some point in the conversation, LaHood approached the two and during a fight, Brown drew a firearm and killed LaHood. Foster’s grandfather said his grandson did not know Brown was carrying a gun and that he did not see the shot fired.The other two men in the vehicle, Dwayne Dillard and Julius Steen, faced lighter sentences, because they assisted police in the investigation of Foster and Brown.“The court said he should have anticipated what he was going to do,” Lawrence said. “But can you anticipate what I’m going to do when I leave here today?”Dutton said there have been at least 12 people executed under the Law of Parties and possibly as many as 20. He said he has seen cases in which a convicted murderer had been released from prison while members of his party were still on death row.Twenty-five other states have the Law of Parties, but Texas is the only state that allows the death penalty for defendants convicted under the Law of Parties.“Nobody knows that you could just be along for the ride and be executed by the death penalty,” Dutton said. “Today, we’re asking the whole Legislature to do what they did for Kenneth Foster.”Dutton said that legislation has passed each session since he became a representative in 1985 that narrowed laws involving the death penalty in Texas. Dutton said that he hopes the death penalty will be abolished in Texas in the future and he believes the state has turned the corner.“People are starting to understand the difference between factually innocent and legally guilty,” he said. “Just because a jury found them guilty and they were arrested for a crime didn’t mean they did anything.”Dutton said there are many other problems with the death penalty in Texas, including poor crime labs, prosecutors who withhold evidence and inadequate judges.“These are problems that beg people to get involved,” he said.
What the Death Penalty Has Done To Me
By Christy Armell
August 30th, 2007 will forever be engraved in my mind. This is the day that the state of Texas was going to execute my friend Kenneth Foster. I remember going to bed the night before, with Kenneth’s letters right beside me thinking I may never get another letter from him. How could this be happening? How could this country that I live in want kill someone that I cared for? I remember waking up that morning in tears. I paced the floors, calling people, emailing, screaming the injustice that was going to take place that very day. I reached out to anyone who would listen to me. I held my 13 year old daughter tight, somehow helping me feel closer to my friend. My daughter looked at me and told me everything will be ok. As she dressed for school, she vowed to fast in protest of the state sanctioned murder of my friend. Seems her silent protest may have helped save Kenny’s life.
I don’t remember anything else Adam Axel said to me when he phoned me mid morning on August 30th, 2007 except that Kenny’s sentence had been commuted. I screamed so loud my neighbors came by to see if I was ok. Answering the door in tears of joy, I responded my friend will live, my friend will live. August 30th, 2007 turned out to be one of the happiest days of my life.
I actually stumbled upon Kenny’s case while researching the death penalty for a class. I am a Criminal Justice student. I decided to write to him in prison. Those letters have continued to this day. I had known, before I met Kenny, that I opposed the death penalty, I just never was able to really vocally say so. Kenny helped me to see that my voice could be and should be heard. I have not stopped using my voice since then.
I really began getting more involved, writing to inmates, and speaking to their families and other activists. I became aware of the pain, the tears, and the cries of help that each case warranted. We were talking about people’s lives. Guilt or innocence never really mattered. This country is killing people in the name of justice. I don’t call that justice, I call that revenge.
I became more involved with the death penalty in Texas. My focus remains there today. Texas is the killing capital of the world, when it comes to executions. With over 400 executions in Texas since the death penalty became legal again in 1976, there seems to be a real joy of applying a death sentence to people; even people who have never killed another. Texas has an arcane law called the Law of Parties. The Law of Parties was never meant to be used in capital cases. However, that has changed and men and women are being sent to their deaths for never killing anyone. The Law of Parties basically states that a person should “anticipate” that a murder will occur. How can anyone anticipate such a thing? Men and women are sitting in prison, convicted under LOP who had no knowledge that a murder would occur, did not conspire to commit a murder, and did not participate it the crime at all. How can Texas justify this? Kenneth Foster was charged under LOP, and his life was spared. Will others?
I have been to Texas. The moment I crossed the border into that state, I could smell the death in the air. Why? Why the death penalty is still considered an appropriate form of punishment? Over 100 men and women have been exonerated from death row in recent years, with valid proof of innocence. This is enough to tell me that the system is flawed. The death penalty is irreversible. I do not want the blood of an innocent person on my hands. And neither should Texas, or the United States.
While I came into this struggle on a victory of Kenny’s life being saved, I knew that it would not last. However, I was never prepared to lose a friend to state sanctioned murder. Karl Chamberlain was killed by Texas in June 2008. Karl had this amazing smile that would melt your heart. His words did the same. Karl was prepared to die, and was also very remorseful for the crime that he committed. He told me once not to feel sorry for him, but to continue the fight. I go over those words in my mind everyday. The day of Karl’s execution will also be forever etched in my mind. June 11th, 2008. The day Texas killed my friend. I frantically was on the phone to people in Texas who were outside the gates of the killing chamber in Huntsville Texas. I was also on the phone with Joey, a pen pal of mine who was just released from Texas Department of Corrections. I had grown to love Joey very much, and I called on him to watch the news there and to tell me anything that was being said about Karl. I was in tears and completely distraught.
When the news came down that Karl had indeed been executed all I could do was cry and wonder when will it stop? When will this country stop creating more victims? I certainly was a victim that day, as well as all of Karl’s family and friends. We lost someone we loved. I closed down the computer, turned off the phone and thought of Karl, and his mother, who was protesting outside of Huntsville while her son was being murdered just feet away from her.
The next day, I received a letter from Karl. It was the usual upbeat letter, telling me to press forward, to fight for those who others have forgotten or just chose not to hear. Karl was looking down on me, as he is today. The sadness will remain from losing Karl, but the fight will continue. I fight for Kenny who lived, and I fight for Karl who died. I fight for the mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and children who love unconditionally. I fight for what the death penalty has done to me, and what it may one day do to you.
