Austinites Protest the Resumption of Texas Executions:

"STOP THE EXECUTION OF KARL CHAMBERLAIN"

Austin, TX – June 10, 2008 – Members of the Campaign to END the Death Penalty and opponents of Capital Punishment will rally in downtown Austin Wednesday, June 11 to protest the execution of Karl Chamberlain and the resumption of executions in Texas after an eight-month hiatus. Demonstrators will gather at 5:30 PM at the south-side steps of the Texas State Capitol Building at 11th and Congress Avenue.

Between September 2007 and May 2008 there were no executions in the United States while the Supreme Court deliberated over the current method of lethal injection raised in Kentucky by Baze v. Rees. On April 16, 2008 the United States Supreme Court ruled to uphold the Kentucky lethal injection protocol, thus allowing states to proceed with scheduled executions. Texas intends to carry out the execution of Karl Chamberlain on June 11.

Chamberlain is the second of a dozen executions scheduled in Texas since the Supreme Court decision in April. Derrick Sonnier was granted a stay just 90 minutes before he was scheduled to die the previous week on June 3rd. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the surprise stay, after Sonnier's lawyers filed an appeal challenging the legality of the state's execution procedures.

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Sponsored by Campaign to END the Death Penalty

Endorsed by Campus Progress, International Socialist Organization, Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, Texas Moratorium Network,

and Texas Students Against the Death Penalty