[WCADP-list] EXECUTION ALERT: Texas sets 12/1 to execute woman with strong claims of innocence.

Tue Nov 23 10:45:11 PST 2004

We must act quickly:  Even though examiners on the scene the night these
grizzly murders occurred concluded that Francis Newton had not fired a shot,
subsequent mishandling of evidence by the Houston Police Department was used
to engineer a penalty of death.  Gov. Perry must halt the notorious Texas
death machinery so that Ms. Newton's claims can be examined.  The few
minutes you take today can help save this woman's life!

Texas:  Francis Newton, Scheduled to die December 1

Texas Governor Rick Perry
 <http://www.governor.state.tx.us/contact/contact_email.htm>
www.governor.state.tx.us/contact/contact_email.htm
Phone:  (512) 4632000
Fax:  (512) 463-1849

Pardons and Paroles
Phone:  (512) 406-5852
Fax:  (512) 467-0945

Austin America-Statesman
Email:   <mailto:letters at statesman.com> letters at statesman.com
Phone:  (512) 445-3667
Fax:  (512) 445-3679

Houston Chronicle
Email:  <mailto:hci at chron.com> hci at chron.com  
Phone:  (713) 220-7491
Fax:  (713) 220-6806

Dallas Morning News
Email:   <mailto:letterstoeditor at dallasnews.com>
letterstoeditor at dallasnews.com
Phone:  (214) 977-8494
Fax:  (972) 263-0456

PRESS RELEASE

NCADP URGES TEXAS OFFICIALS TO HALT DEC. 1 EXECUTION

NCADP URGES TEXAS OFFICIALS TO HALT DEC. 1 EXECUTION; SAYS COURTS MUST
REVIEW STRONG CLAIM OF INNOCENCE 

Frances Newton, out of Harris County, would be first African American woman
to be executed in modern Texas history 

Nov. 18, 2004 - The state of Texas is prepared to carry out the first
execution of an African American woman in modern state history, despite
resounding questions of whether she is guilty and whether she received a
fair trial. 

Frances Newton faces execution Dec. 1 for the murder of her husband, Adrian
Newton, and her children, Alton and Farah Newton in Harris County. Forensic
evidence used to convict Newton is highly questionable and tests at the
crime scene concluded that the Newton had not fired a weapon the night her
husband and children were shot to death. 

Newton's case embodies the core problems with the death penalty in Texas,
said Diann Rust-Tierney, executive director of the National Coalition to
Abolish the Death Penalty. Her trial counsel was egregiously incompetent,
she has a strong innocence claim and her conviction rested in large part on
the results of ballistics testing conducted by the now-discredited Houston
Police Department's crime lab. 

Newton joins a growing list of people on death row from Harris County who
have raised questions about forensic testing used in their convictions. This
list includes: 

*****Nanon Williams. Williams was convicted and sentenced to death despite
the fact that a Houston Police Department firearms examiner misidentified
the type of gun used in the commission of a murder. Williams did not own the
type of gun that was used. 

*****Johnnie Bernal. A HPD firearms examiner deviated from professional
norms of ballistics examination by firing 25 test-fires rather than the
customary two or three, and even applied a solution to the barrel of the gun
mid-test in an effort to obtain a ballistics match. 

*****Anibal Rousseau. Rousseau was sentenced to death despite the fact that
a file, located by Rousseau's habeas counsel 12 years after Rousseau arrived
on death row, revealed exculpatory ballistics evidence in the possession of
HPD and the Harris County district attorney's office. 

NCADP and its Texas affiliate, the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death
Penalty, joined Newton's legal team in calling for a 120-day stay of
execution so that evidence of her innocence may be pursued. Such evidence
would include additional forensic tests as well as gathering information
from other people who might be tied to the crime. 

Rust-Tierney noted that Newton's hands were tested the evening of the
murders for the existence of gunpowder residue. This test, called an atomic
absorption test, was conducted just hours after the shootings and found that
there was no gunpowder residue present. Newton's lawyers argue that even if
Newton had washed her hands after the crime, it would have been impossible
to remove all gunpowder residue. 

Note to reporters, editors and producers: To receive a copy of Newton's
39-page clemency application, please email David Elliot at delliot at ncadp.org

Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun once wrote that the execution of a
person who can show he is innocent comes perilously close to simple murder,
Rust-Tierney said. Frances Newton has never had the opportunity to
demonstrate she is innocent, not for a lack of facts but for lack of a fair
and objective forum. All we want is an opportunity for her state her case,
backed by competent counsel and a thorough investigation. 

Texas has carried out 23 executions thus far this year, and 336 since it
resumed capital punishment in 1982. This represents almost 36 percent of the
total executions carried out in the United States since executions were
allowed to resume in 1976.

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The Washington Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
P. O. Box 3045
Seattle, WA 98114
(206) 622-8952
www.abolishdeathpenalty.org <http://www.abolishdeathpenalty.org/> 

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