Stay of execution - Texas Young Democrats Platform

Apr. 24, 2006
MICHAEL GRACZYK
Associated Press
HOUSTON - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Monday halted the lethal injection of condemned inmate Derrick Frazier set for later this week to allow time to consider a new appeal.

Frazier was scheduled to die Thursday evening for the June 1997 fatal shootings of Betsy Nutt, 41, and her 15-year-old son, Cody, at their home on a ranch in Refugio County in South Texas. Frazier, set to
turn 29 on Friday, would have been the eighth Texas prisoner executed this year.

The Texas Young Democrats adopted a platform last weekend that contained this line:
7.10. We oppose state-sponsored capital punishment.

Read the whole platform.

Texas Young Democrats has been in existence since 1932. Texas Young Democrats brings together young democrats, inclusive of high school and college students, youth leaders, and young professionals to build a brighter future for all Texans. TYD is the state's premier organization that promotes political activism by young progressives to influence the political process and elect Democratic leaders throughout the state. We gather in local clubs, statewide executive committee meetings, and an annual convention in Austin to share insights, debate issues, develop leadership skills, and build lasting friendships with like-minded young people all across Texas.

TYD has a long tradition of electing its former members to office, and TYD alumni can be found at all levels of public service and in influential roles in many Texas communities. We boast lifetime members, such as Gov. Ann Richards, John Sharp, Garry Mauro, and Lena Guerrero. As a statewide organization, and chartered member of the Young Democrats of America and College Democrats of America, TYD provides opportunities for young people to meet fellow activists, work on campaigns and with local party officials, learn the ins and outs of politics, improve personal skills, and, yes, have fun.

The execution date of Hasan Shakur aka Derrick Frazier

MEDIA ALERT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Knut Erik Paulli

Phone: 011 474 819 792

Email: hrctexas@hotmail.com

Or

Debbie Harris

Email: dfrazier4045@hotmail.com

Phone: 778 229 6782

What: The execution date of Hasan Shakur aka Derrick Frazier

When: Thursday April 27, 2006

Where: Huntsville, Texas

How: Lethal Injection

The state of Texas wants to execute Mr. Frazier (Hasan Shakur) even though in Mr. Frazier case there are a lot of misconducts. Mr. Frazier was convicted murder and received a general verdict in October 1998. Defending Mr. Frazier was Stephen A Cihal, who was the lead defense attorney in the case, and assisting him was Elliot Costas. Mr. Cihal has had public reprimands, several probations, and has been suspended from practicing law several times. While defending Mr. Frazier; Cihal was being investigated by the Texas Bar Association. Shortly after Mr. Frazier’s conviction, Cihal was found guilty of misconduct.

Physical Findings in the Case:

A shoe print was found outside the neighbor ranch – the Lucich Ranch – from where the murders that Mr. Frazier was accused of having committed, took place. That shoe print was purported to belong to Mr. Frazier. Though it was similar to the shoes that Mr. Frazier was wearing; it was found to belong to a pair of shoes stolen from the Luchich ranch, and the shoes belonged to the owner, Ronald Lucich, as it was indeed his shoes. An owner’s manual for a Ford F-150 pickup, a car that belonged to one of the victims Mrs. Betsy Nutt, was found 50 miles away in Victoria; and on this manual was a left index and left middle fingerprint of Mr. Frazier. Mr. Frazier states the manual was in the back seat of the vehicle where he was sitting, with Mrs. Nutt in the driver’s seat conversing with him. Some of the possessions belonging to Ronald Lucich were found with Mr. Frazier at the time of his arrest. There was no direct physical evidence at the murder crime scene of Mr. Frazier. There was no physical evidence to directly link Mr. Frazier to any murder. There were however physical evidence to link Mr. Frazier to possession of stolen property from the neighbor residence – the Lucich ranch - but not to the murder of either Betsy or Cody Nutt.

The Case:

Mr. Frazier had an all white jury made up of eight women and four men. The verdict may have been different had there been actually a jury of Mr. Frazier’s peers as Mr. Frazier is Black. Mr. Frazier was offered a 30-year-sentence in exchange for confessing to killing one of the victims, Betsy Nutt. However; once Texas Ranger Oscar Rivera, had the information from Mr. Frazier, the deal was rescinded and changed to the death penalty at a hearing. Mr. Frazier by then had already given the said confession of murder of Betsy Nutt, without the presence of an attorney.

The Statement:

Mr. Frazier made a statement to Rivera regarding having an attorney present. When asked if he wanted an attorney present, Mr. Frazier stated that “IF I COULD AFFORD ONE I WOULD….” Rivera abruptly cut him off and continued to get the confession from Mr. Frazier - at the point with the 30 year deal still on the table. The jury got to view a videotaped confession during the trial, however they did not get to view the video in which Mr. Frazier asked for an attorney. Rivera knew exactly what Mr. Frazier meant when he stated “IF I COULD AFFORD ONE I WOULD…..” But, Rivera did not stop at that point and offer to get Mr. Frazier legal assistance. With capital murder cases, is not that breaking the law? Is that even called “JUSTICE” in America? Mr. Frazier was twenty (20) at the time of his arrest; so young and so scared. The ONLY evidence that puts Mr. Frazier at the crime scene is the videotaped confession which he was coerced into making. The jurors asked to watch the video tape a second time, and then after two hours of deliberating, they came back with a GENERAL VERDICT.

The Verdict:

The indictment against Mr. Frazier the jury was given had five different theories. The jury was instructed they DID NOT have to specify a theory, but could come back with a GENERAL VERDICT, and the jury did just that. When discussing this issue with a District Attorney; he informed the Derrick Frazier Support Committee that the state of Texas did away with general verdicts in the 70’s. He was very shocked to find Mr. Frazier having been convicted of a general verdict in the late 90’s.

If you are at all interested in publishing a story on Mr. Derrick Frazier, you can reach him several ways.

EMAILS:

Knut Erik Paulli – chairman of the Derrick Frazier Support Committee

hrctexas@hotmail.com

Debbie Harris – Board of the derrick Frazier Support Committee

Olife4045@hotmail.com

OR HIS ADDRESS:

Derrick Frazier 999284

Polunsky Unit – Death Row

3872 F.M 350 South

Livingston, Texas 77351

Thank you for your time and concern

Derrick Frazier support Committee

Cindy Sheehan signs TSADP's Abolition Petition

Cindy Sheehan and other antiwar activists including former Iraq war veterans, U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia and State Representative Burnman (Fort Worth) signed TSADP's Abolition petition during the forum on Iraq War at the University of Texas in Austin.

Inmate Scheduled for Execution May 12 Requests DNA Test to Demonstrate Innocence

Jerry Conner maintains his innocence of the murder of Minh Rogers and the rape and murder of Linda Rogers. A DNA test will likely show that Jerry Conner did not commit these crimes.

Jerry Conner is scheduled to be executed on May 12. He professes his innocence of the murders, armed robbery and the rape for which he was convicted and sentenced to die. The State’s theory was that only one person committed all these crimes. DNA results, if favorable, will conclusively answer the question of whether Mr. Conner is innocent of the rape of Linda Rogers, and consequently innocent of the murders and armed robbery.
For more information go to:
http://jerryconner.blogspot.com

Democracy in Action!

Thanks to all of TSADP members that emailed Kraft foods about the A1 Sauce commercial. In the commercial Kraft used someone who switched his prisoner number with someone on death row in order to get to eat a steak with A1 sauce. Here is the email I received from them today:

Hi Hooman,

Thank you for visiting http://www.kraftfoods.com/.
Thank you for taking the time to share your comments regarding our most
recent A1 commercial. This was an inadvertent oversight and we deeply
regret it. We are taking immediate steps to correct the situation and
ensure it doesn’t happen again. In fact, we are discontinuing the airing
of this particular commercial temporarily in order to revise it
appropriately.
The ad was not meant to reflect real events or people on death row; it was an
unfortunate oversight that we sincerely regret.
We’re sorry if we offended you in any way. Thanks again for bringing
this to our attention. If you haven’t done so already, please add our site to your favorites
and visit us again soon!
Jackie Malagon
Executive Representative

mtvU Spring break 2006

Here is the short version of the mtvU's Spring Break Video. They are also working on a 15 minute video that should up soon.

Click the photo to watch MTV's Video of Anti-Death Penalty Alternative Spring Break

You can also watch video of the bus trip to Huntsville at the google Videos.