Execution Watch: Tommy Sells, April 3

Tommy Sells

HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- Tommy Sells is one of two death-row prisoners who prevailed recently in a lawsuit demanding that Texas prison officials disclose the source of the drugs used in lethal injections.

But the court decision has not stopped the wheels of death from turning. Sells is slated for execution Thursday.

RADIO SHOW PREVIEW

Execution Watch

Thursday, April 3, 2014, 6-7 PM Central Time

Unless a stay is issued, we'll broadcast live on:

KPFT FM Houston 90.1 and

Online, http://executionwatch.org > Listen

Updates on Facebook: Execution Watch

TEXAS PLANS TO EXECUTE:

TOMMY SELLS, condemned in the New Year’s Eve 1999 slaying of a teenage girl in Del  Rio in 1999. When Del Rio police questioned Sells about the killing, he took responsibility for it and dozens of slayings around the country. His appellate lawyers said detectives pressured him into making far-fetched assertions about being a serial killer. His attorneys also said counsel failed to represent Sells effectively, both at trial and early in the appeals process.

SHOW LINEUP

Host: RAY HILL, an ex-convict and activist who founded, and hosted for 30 years, The Prison Show on KPFT. His internet radio show airs Wednesdays, 2 PM CT, at hmsnetradio.org.

Legal Analyst: JIM SKELTON, a legal educator, retired attorney and native Texan who has seen capital trials as a prosecutor and a defense attorney. Also, Houston criminal defense attorneys SUSAN ASHLEY, LARRY DOUGLAS, MICHAEL GILLESPIE & JACK LEE.

Featured Interview: TOMMY SELLS, whose recent death-row interview with Execution Watch will be broadcast in full.

Reporter, Outside the Death House, Huntsville: GLORIA RUBAC, member, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, www.abolitionmovement.org.

Reporter, Vigil, Houston: DAVE ATWOOD, founder and former board member, Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, www.tcadp.org.

NEXT SCHEDULED EXECUTION

On April 9, Texas plans to kill Mexican national RAMIRO HERNANDEZ. If it does, Execution Watch will air.

PRODUCER: Elizabeth, eliza.tx.usa [at] gmail.com.

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Otis Maclay.

VIDEO PHOTOGRAPHER: Mark Pirtle.

THEME: By Victoria Panetti, SheMonster International, myspace.com/shemonster.

Execution Watch: Michael Yowell, October 9

A manacled Michael Yowell is escorted to court

By Execution Watch
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - A man with a history of mental illness is slated to be executed Wednesday over the objections of his appellate lawyers, who say he wouldn't have been convicted and sentenced to death if his trial attorneys had represented him properly.

Michael Yowell was condemned in the deaths of his parents and grandmother in Lubbock, Texas, in May 1998.

If the state follows through with its intention to execute Yowell, Execution Watch will broadcast live radio coverage and analysis, including a recently recorded interview with him, at 6 p.m. Central Time, streaming at http://executionwatch.org > Listen.

RADIO SHOW PREVIEW

EXECUTION WATCH

Unless a stay is issued, we'll broadcast live:

Wednesday, 9 October 2013, 6-7 PM Central Time

KPFT FM Houston 90.1 HD3 channel, and Online...

http://executionwatch.org > Listen

Updates and discussion on Facebook: Execution Watch

TEXAS PLANS TO EXECUTE:

MICHAEL YOWELL, convicted in a 1998 triple murder in Lubbock, in which Yowell's father, mother and grandmother died of injuries sustained before or during a fire at their home. Yowell's execution date has been delayed in the past, based on the contention that his trial lawyers did not provide effective representation. At the time of the slayings, Yowell had a history of mental illness.

SHOW LINEUP

Host: RAY HILL, an ex-convict and activist who founded -- and hosted for 30 years -- The Prison Show on KPFT. His internet radio show airs each Wednesday at 2 PM CT.: hmsnetradio.org.

Legal Analyst: JIM SKELTON, a legal educator, retired attorney and native Texan who has seen capital trials from both the prosecution and defense tables. Joining him will be Houston criminal defense attorneys SUSAN ASHLEY, LARRY DOUGLAS, MICHAEL GILLESPIE & JACK LEE.

Featured Interview: MICHAEL YOWELL, who accepted Execution Watch’s invitation to be interviewed, with the understanding that the audio recording would air unedited, in its entirety, and only in the event of his execution. The interview took place Aug. 28 on death row.

Reporter, Outside the Death House, Huntsville: GLORIA RUBAC, member, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, www.abolitionmovement.org.

Reporter, Vigil, Houston: DAVE ATWOOD, founder and former board member, Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, www.tcadp.org.

NEXT SCHEDULED EXECUTION

On Oct. 16, Texas plans to kill LARRY HATTEN. If it does, Execution Watch will air coverage.

PRODUCER: Elizabeth, eliza.tx.usa @gmail.com.

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Otis Maclay.

THEME:  By Victoria Panetti, SheMonster International, myspace.com/shemonster.

Execution Watch: Arturo Diaz, Sept. 26

Arturo Diaz talks with a KRGV TV reporter on death row.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - The Lone Star state, for the second time in as many weeks, plans Thursday to execute a poor Latino from the Rio Grande Valley.

KPFT-FM's Execution Watch will broadcast live coverage and commentary on the state killing of Arturo Diaz.

RADIO SHOW PREVIEW

EXECUTION WATCH

Unless a stay is issued, we'll broadcast live:

Thursday, 26 September 2013, 6-7 PM Central Time

KPFT FM Houston 90.1 and Online...

http://executionwatch.org > Listen

Updates and discussion on Facebook: Execution Watch

TEXAS PLANS TO EXECUTE:

ARTURO DIAZ, convicted in the stabbing death of a McAllen man during a 1999 robbery in which Diaz and another man reportedly went to an apartment seeking drugs. Diaz is set to become the 10th person executed for crimes in the Rio Grande Valley since 1982. Another 13 people are in Texas Death Row for crimes in the Valley. On appeal, the Las Milpas man said his trial lawyers failed to call relatives to testify about a childhood filled with poverty, neglect and violence. The courts rejected the argument, saying the attorneys were following Diaz’s instructions.

SHOW LINEUP

Host: RAY HILL, an ex-convict and activist who founded -- and hosted for 30 years -- The Prison Show on KPFT. His internet radio show airs each Wednesday at 2 PM CT.: hmsnetradio.org.

Legal Analyst: JIM SKELTON, a legal educator, retired attorney and native Texan who has seen capital trials from both the prosecution and defense tables. Joining him will be Houston criminal defense attorneys SUSAN ASHLEY, LARRY DOUGLAS, MICHAEL GILLESPIE & JACK LEE.

Featured Interview: JOE FLORES, a bilingual criminal defense lawyer based in Corpus Christi. His father was an 8th-grade dropout and community activist who overcame civil rights barriers to become a teacher at age 40.. Flores has defended clients in state court and before the federal bench in the Southern District of Texas, which stretches from Houston to the Rio Grande Valley. His parents’ successes, political activism and volunteer work on behalf of others inspired Joe at an early age to pursue his dreams, www.floreslawfirm.com.

Reporter, Outside the Death House, Huntsville: GLORIA RUBAC, member, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, www.abolitionmovement.org.

Reporter, Vigil, Houston: DAVE ATWOOD, founder and former board member, Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, www.tcadp.org.

NEXT SCHEDULED EXECUTION

On Oct. 9, Texas plans to kill MICHAEL YOWELL. If it does, Execution Watch will air coverage.

PRODUCER: Elizabeth, eliza.tx.usa @gmail.com.

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Otis Maclay.

THEME:  By Victoria Panetti, SheMonster International, myspace.com/shemonster.

Execution Watch: Robert Garza 9/19

Robert Garza and Family

By Execution Watch
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Texas is preparing to execute Robert Garza, convicted of having a secondary role in a pair of murders. If the state follows through with its plan, Execution Watch will broadcast live coverage and commentary, including a taped interview with Garza.

RADIO SHOW PREVIEW

EXECUTION WATCH

Thursday, 19 September 2013, 6-7 PM Central Time

KPFT FM Houston 90.1 and Online...

http://executionwatch.org > Listen

Updates and discussion on Facebook: Execution Watch

TEXAS PLANS TO EXECUTE:

ROBERT GARZA, condemned following his conviction on a pair of murder charges in the 2002 shooting deaths of four women in the Rio Grande Valley. Garza’s appeal was rejected in February 2013 by the U.S. Supreme Court. He reportedly told law enforcement he witnessed the shootings and knew of the plot to kill the women but did not fire a gun. A jury convicted him of capital murder under the Texas law of parties, which allows for a defendant to be considered just as responsible as the killer if he or she plays a secondary role.

SHOW LINEUP

Host: RAY HILL, an ex-convict and activist who founded -- and hosted for 30 years -- The Prison Show on KPFT. His internet radio show airs each Wednesday at 2 PM CT.: hmsnetradio.org.

Legal Analyst: JIM SKELTON, a legal educator, retired attorney and native Texan who has seen capital trials from both the prosecution and defense tables. Joining him will be Houston criminal defense attorneys SUSAN ASHLEY, LARRY DOUGLAS, MICHAEL GILLESPIE & JACK LEE.

Featured Interview: ROBERT GARZA, Execution Watch is scheduled to interview Garza Wednesday on death row. The complete, unedited interview will be broadcast..

Reporter, Outside the Death House, Huntsville: GLORIA RUBAC, member, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, www.abolitionmovement.org.

Reporter, Vigil, Houston: DAVE ATWOOD, founder and former board member, Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, www.tcadp.org.

NEXT SCHEDULED EXECUTION

On Sept. 26, Texas plans to kill ARTURO DIAZ. If it does, Execution Watch will air coverage.