Execution Watch: Elroy Chester to Die June 12

Elroy Chester

HUNTSVILLE - Texas plans to put to death Elroy Chester III Wednesday. Execution Watch will provide live radio coverage and commentary on the state killing, Texas' 499th of the modern death-penalty era.

RADIO SHOW PREVIEW

EXECUTION WATCH

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

Wednesday, 12 June 2013, 6-7 PM Central Time

KPFT FM Houston 90.1 and Online...

http://executionwatch.org > Listen

Join the discussion on Facebook: Execution Watch

TEXAS PLANS TO EXECUTE:

ELROY CHESTER III, who pleaded guilty to shooting to death an off-duty firefighter in Port Arthur when he interrupted the burglary Chester was committing. Chester’s attorneys argued on appeal that he is ineligible for execution because he is mentally impaired, but a divided federal appeals court upheld the sentence. Chester's previous execution date of April 24, 2013, was delayed by the trial court in response to a motion he filed. Chester’s execution would be the 499th in Texas in the modern death-penalty era.

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: KATE BLACK, a Houston capital defense attorney who is representing death row prisoner Duane Buck. Her client was condemned after a prosecution witness testified that his blackness made him more dangerous. http://blacklawoffice.org

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 June 126, Texas plans to kill KIMBERLY McCARTHY.  If it does, Execution Watch will air.

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

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR & STUDIO ENGINEER: Otis Maclay.

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

Execution Watch: Jefferey Williams, May 15

Jefferey D. Williams

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - The Lone Star State is set to draw closer Wednesday to the ignoble distinction of having put to death 500 people in the modern era of the death penalty, far more than any other state. 

 

Texas plans to kill Jefferey D. Williams, whose execution would be No. 498. Unless Williams receives a stay, Execution Watch will broadcast live coverage and commentary on the state killing.

RADIO SHOW PREVIEW

EXECUTION WATCH

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

Wednesday, 15 May 2013, 6-7 PM Central Time

KPFT FM Houston 90.1 HD3 and Online...

http://executionwatch.org > Listen

Join the discussion on Facebook: Execution Watch

TEXAS PLANS TO EXECUTE:

JEFFEREY D. WILLIAMS, condemned in the 1999 shooting death of a plainclothes Houston police officer who was trying to arrest him for driving a stolen Lexus. Williams claimed he did not know the man was an officer, assumed he was being attacked, and shot the man in self defense. Williams’ execution would be the 498th in Texas in the modern death-penalty era..

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: RICHARD DIETER, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. His organization recently released a report, “The Clustering of the Death Penalty,” indicating that, while capital punishment is legal in 32 states, only a small percentage of counties actually use it. By far the most active in the United States, is Harris County.

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 June 12, Texas plans to kill ELROY CHESTER.  If it does, Execution Watch will air.

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

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR & STUDIO ENGINEER: Otis Maclay.

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

Execution Watch: Carroll Joe Parr, May 7, 2013

Carroll Joe Parr

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Carroll Joe Parr, whose childhood neglect and abuse were extreme even by death-row standards, is slated to be put to death Tuesday.

His would be the 497th Texas execution in the modern death-penalty era. No other state comes close for volume. Second-place Virginia has executed 110.

RADIO SHOW PREVIEW

EXECUTION WATCH

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

Tues, 7 May 2013, 6-7 PM Central Time

KPFT FM Houston 90.1 HD3 and Online...

http://executionwatch.org > Listen

Join the discussion on Facebook: Execution Watch

TEXAS PLANS TO EXECUTE:

CARROLL JOE PARR, grew up in poverty so extreme, he was often given baked dirt to eat. His sister once tried to kill him. Texas plans to execute Parr for the shooting death of a man in a drug deal outside a North Waco convenience store in 2003. Parr and his fall partner, Earl Whiteside, were accused of approaching two men sitting in a car, forcing them to the side of the building, and robbing and shooting them. One victim survived. Whiteside testified against Parr and received a 15-year sentence on a plea to aggravated robbery. Parr’s would be the 497th Texas execution in the modern death-penalty era.  

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: CARROLL JOE PARR, who gave Execution Watch a 20-minute interview six days before his scheduled execution. If Texas puts Parr to death, Execution Watch will broadcast his interview, unedited and in full. A video of the interview will air later on Houston MediaSource, www.hmstv.org.

Reporter, Outside the Death House, Huntsville: DR. DENNIS LONGMIRE, a professor in the College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville.

Reporter, Vigil, Houston: JENNIFER SIMMONS, member, Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, www.tcadp.org.

NEXT SCHEDULED EXECUTION

On May 14, Texas plans to kill JOHN QUINTANILLA JR.  If it does, Execution Watch will air.

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

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR & STUDIO ENGINEER: Otis Maclay.

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

Execution Watch: Richard Cobb, April 25

Richard Cobb

HUNTSVILLE - Texas is preparing to put to death Richard Cobb Thursday in what would be the state's 496th execution of the modern death-penalty era.

No other state has put more citizens to death. The closest, Virginia, has executed 110.

RADIO SHOW PREVIEW

EXECUTION WATCH

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

Thurs, 25 April 2013, 6-7 PM Central Time

KPFT FM Houston 90.1 in the Houston area and Online...

http://executionwatch.org > Listen

Join the discussion on Facebook: Execution Watch

TEXAS PLANS TO EXECUTE:

RICHARD COBB, one of two men condemned in a 2002 robbery-slaying in the small, East Texas town of Ruskin. He and Beunka Adams, who was executed April 26, 2012, were convicted of forcing three convenience-store workers into a car, driving them to a field, raping one of the women, and shooting all three with a shotgun. One worker, a mentally disabled man, died. The women survived by playing dead.  

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: SUSAN ORLANSKY. This Anchorage, Alaska, attorney has traveled back and forth to Texas for the past decade as part of her firm’s pro bono representation of death-row prisoner Elroy Chester, slated for execution June 12. www.fozenlaw.com.

Reporter, Outside the Death House, Huntsville: GLORIA RUBAC, member, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, 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 May 7, Texas plans to kill CARROLL JOE PARR.. If it does, Execution Watch will air.

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

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR & STUDIO ENGINEER: Otis Maclay.

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

Execution Watch: Ronnie Paul Threadgill 4/16

Ronnie Paul Threadgill

HUNTSVILLE - Texas is preparing to carry out its 495th execution of the modern era Tuesday, the date for Ronnie Paul Threadgill.

The Lone Star State is fast approaching its 500th execution. No other state is even close. Since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, second-place Virginia has executed 110.

RADIO SHOW PREVIEW

EXECUTION WATCH

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

Tues, 16 April 2013, 6-7 PM Central Time

KPFT FM Houston 90.1 and Online...

http://executionwatch.org > Listen

Join the discussion on Facebook: Execution Watch

TEXAS PLANS TO EXECUTE:

RONNIE PAUL THREADGILL, sentenced to death for a 2001 slaying outside a Navarro County nightclub in which a 17-year-old boy was fatally wounded when two shots were fired into a car. The U.S. Supreme Court declined in 2012 to review the case. Threadgill's appeal asserted that his lawyers should have negotiated for a felony murder charge instead of capital murder. His would be the 495th execution in Texas during the modern era, in which nearly 40 percent of all U.S. executions have been carried out by Texas.

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: ANTHONY GRAVES, wrongly imprisoned in 1992 for murders he didn't commit and freed just 2-1/2 years ago. He is now a professional motivational speaker, legal educator and lobbyist for bills to reduce wrongful convictions. www.anthonybelieves.com.

Reporter, Outside the Death House, Huntsville: GLORIA RUBAC, member, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, 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 24, Texas plans to kill ELROY CHESTER. If it does, Execution Watch will air.

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

STUDIO ENGINEERS: Doyle, Mike Lewis.

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

Star-Telegram: "I'm a 21st century abolitionist and I'm proud of it," Burnam declares

Nice news article about our Lobby Day Against the Death Penalty today from Dave Montgomery of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

AUSTIN -- With Texas moving closer to its 500th execution, Rep. Lon Burnam on Wednesday described himself as a "21st century abolitionist" and denounced the death penalty as "a gross example of institutionalized racism."

The Fort Worth Democrat joined other death penalty opponents in a "Day of Innocence" to promote legislation to repeal capital punishment. They acknowledged that they are overwhelmingly outnumbered in a state that leads the nation in executions but nevertheless vowed to keep on fighting.

"We are right and the people who are on the other side are wrong," Rep. Harold Dutton Jr., D-Houston, told about a dozen death penalty opponents in a legislative committee room. "Don't be discouraged...Today we have a new beginning."

Dutton filed his first anti-death penalty bill 10 years ago to stop what he called the "madness" of executions. "Every time I read in the paper that they executed somebody, I as a legislator take full responsibility," he said. "Everybody in the Legislature had a part in it because we didn't stop it."

Burnam, the senior member of Tarrant County's 11-member House delegation, drew applause as he told fellow death penalty opponents: "I'm a 21st Century abolitionist and I'm proud of it."

"There is no more gross example of institutionalized racism in this state today than in the death penalty," Burnam asserted, saying that prisoners put to death in Texas are overwhelmingly poor and "people of color."

Of the 287 inmates now on Death Row, according to the Texas Department of Corrections, 40 percent are black and 30 percent are Hispanic.

Texas has executed more than 490 inmates since 1976 and is nearing its 500th execution of a prisoner. Depending on appeals, that could come May 7 with the scheduled execution of Carroll Parr, convicted of killing a man in robbery outside a convenience store in McLennan County in 2003.

"We have executed in Texas almost 500 people," said Burnam, describing the upcoming threshold as "one of shame."

Clarence Brandley, a former Death Row inmate who was wrongly convicted in the rape and murder of a 16-year-old student in Conroe, also participated in the event, vowing to "do everything in my power" to overturn the death penalty.

In addition to seeking a ban on capital punishment, Texas death penalty opponents are seek to change Texas' "law of parties" doctrine under which people can be sentenced to death for assisting in a capital crime even though they didn't commit the murder.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/03/13/4681009/im-a-21st-century-abolitionist.html#storylink=cpy

2013 Statewide Texas Lobby Day Against the Death Penalty – March 13 in Austin at the Capitol

The 2013 Statewide Texas Lobby Day Against the Death Penalty is Wednesday, March 13, 2013. Special guests include death row exoneree Clarence Brandley. All Texas death row exonerees will be honored with a resolution by the Texas House of Representatives.

People from across Texas will come to the Capitol in Austin to advocate for a bill to abolish the death penalty in Texas and other reforms that would impact the Texas death penalty, including bills to protect innocent people from wrongful convictions, a moratorium on executions, a commission to study the death penalty system, a bill to require separate trials in death penalty cases and a bill that would prohibit death sentences for people convicted under the Law of Parties who do not kill anyone.
This will be a day we will always remember, a day when we stood side by side fighting against the death penalty with people who were wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death. Don’t be one of those people who one day “shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here” and fought with us on the Lobby Day Against the Death Penalty. Register now!

Below is the schedule for Lobby Day. Please register for Lobby Day, so that we know how many people are coming and so that we can schedule legislative appointments. In 2009 and 2011, our Lobby Day resulted in several legislators signing on to support the bills we lobbied for. We expect the same success in 2013. We have held a Lobby Day every session since 2003.

Register for the Lobby Day Against the Death Penalty. You can also just show up without registering, but if you register, then we know how many people are coming and we can plan appointments with legislators.

If you can not attend the Lobby Day, you can still help by making a donation (not tax-deductible). Also on March 13, even if you are not in Austin at the Lobby Day, you can participate in our Statewide Call-in Day to Abolish the Death Penalty. Find out who represents you, then call your Texas legislators and let them know your position on the death penalty and urge them to support the bills to repeal the death penalty, HB 164 by Harold Dutton and HB 1703 by Jessica Farrar. The bills are identical and we support both. Call the members of the Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence and urge them to schedule a hearing on the bills to abolish the death penalty. One of our goals of Lobby Day is to convince the committee to hold a hearing.

If you have questions, call or text Hooman Hedayati.

Schedule of the 2013 Statewide Texas Lobby Day Against the Death Penalty
9-11 AM: Meet and Greet with death row exoneree Clarence Brandley, followed by lobby training as people arrive for lobby day and beginning of office visits as people complete training. Room E2.018 in the Capitol.

11 – Noon: Visiting Legislative Offices to Lobby

Noon: Press Conference in the Speaker’s Committee Room (2W.6). Special guests include State Rep. Harold Dutton, author of a bill to abolish the death penalty in Texas and State Rep. Lon Burnam, co-author of the bill to abolish the death penalty, as well as Clarence Brandley, an innocent person who spent ten years on Texas death row for a crime he did not commit.

1 PM: Lunch at your own expense in the Capitol cafeteria.

2-4:30 More lobbying visits to legislative offices.

4:30 PM Meet in the Capitol cafeteria to share stories about what everyone learned during the legislative lobbying visits.

6:30 PM SXSW Film Festival screening of new documentary “An Unreal Dream” about the case of Michael Morton, an innocent person who spent 25 years in prison wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife. You will need to buy your own tickets, which will go on sale at the theater before the showing. Tickets are limited, so you may not get in if it sells out.

Lobby Day has been organized since 2003 by several organizations working together, the same ones who also organize the annual “March to Abolish the Death Penalty” each October: Texas Moratorium Network, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, Campaign to End the Death Penalty – Austin chapter, Texas Students Against the Death Penalty.

Organizations that would like to participate or co-sponsor the Lobby Day can email admin@texasmoratorium.org or call 512-961-6389.

Call the members of the Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence and urge them to schedule a hearing on the bills to abolish the death penalty.

Position	Member
Chair:	Rep. Abel Herrero  email (512) 463-0462
Vice Chair:	Rep. Stefani Carter email  (512) 463-0454
Members:	Rep. Lon Burnam   email   (512) 463-0740
	Rep. Terry Canales   email    (512) 463-0426
	Rep. Bryan Hughes    email    (512) 463-0271
	Rep. Jeff Leach      email    (512) 463-0544
	Rep. Joe Moody     email     (512) 463-0728
	Rep. Matt Schaefer   email   (512) 463-0584
	Rep. Steve Toth     email     (512) 463-0797