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