[WCADP-list] EXECUTION ALERT: 5 Executions Scheduled in U.S. During August

[wcadp-list at lists.drizzle.com]

There are currently five executions scheduled around the country during the
month of August.  Information about each is provided below.  We encourage
you to join with abolitionists around the country and contact the governors,
parole boards, and others who have within their power the right to act with
mercy and save these men's lives.

1. Alabama:  George Selby, scheduled to die August 4
2. Texas:  Gary Lynn Sterling, scheduled to die August 10
3. Oklahoma:  Kenneth Turrentine, scheduled to die August 15
4. Texas:  Robert Alan Shields, scheduled to die August 23
5. Indiana:  Arthur Baird, scheduled to die August 31

 

 

1. Alabama:  George Selby, scheduled to die August 4
 

Governor Bob Riley
E-mail Form:  http://www.governor.state.al.us/contact/contact_form.aspx
Phone:  334-242-7100
Fax:  334-242-0937

Alabama Parole Board
E-Mail:  wsegrest at paroles.state.al.us
Phone:  334-242-8730
Fax:  334-242-8700

Birmingham News

E-Mail:  elard at bhamnews.com
Phone:  205-325-2444
Fax:  205-325-3345

Montgomery Advertiser

E-Mail:  khare at montgomeryadvertiser.com
Phone:  334-262-1611
Fax:  334-261-1597


(From the NCADP) - The state of Alabama is scheduled to execute 62-year-old
George Sibley, Jr., a white man, on Aug. 4, 2005 for the June 10, 1994
murder of an Opelika police officer, Roger Lamar Motley, in Lee County.
Sibley's common-law wife, Lynda Lyon Block, 54, died in the electric chair
for the same crime on May 10, 2002.

The couple was heading through Alabama from Florida when they stopped so
Block could use a payphone. While Block was on the phone a witness
reportedly saw Block's son in the car crying for help.  This witness called
Officer Motley to investigate the situation.  Officer Motley asked Sibley
for his driver's license. When Sibley indicated that he did not have a
driver's license, Officer Motley attempted to arrest him. Sibley, believing
that this arrest was unlawful, pulled a gun. Sibley and Block shot Officer
Motley. 

At trial, the forensic tests were inconclusive as to which gun fired the
fatal shot.  Sibley was unable to prove his claim that Motley had a history
of corruption as a police officer.  Block and Sibley were both found guilty
and sentenced to death.  They failed to file appeals.  After Block was
executed Sibley decided to pursue his appeals.  Sibley's scheduled execution
in November of that year was stopped two days before he was to die of lethal
injection, when he filed an appeal.

On appeal, Sibley chose to represent himself despite the extraordinarily
technical and complex legal issues involved in appealing a capital
conviction. 

In that appeal, Sibley claimed that Alabama's death penalty law is
unconstitutional because it allows the judge, not the jury, to make the
final decision on a death sentence.  A federal court dismissed the appeal,
saying Sibley missed deadlines for filing such a motion.  He failed to
properly file a timely application for his post conviction relief, therefore
being denied his habeas corpus review.  Sibley claimed that his execution
date was set when he still had one more day to make an appeal.

The death penalty does not deter crime nor does it create a more just
society.  It is more costly to administer than other alternatives and it
disproportionately affects people with fewer resources.  Please take a
moment to contact Gov. Bob Riley and the Alabama Board of Pardons and
Paroles and ask them to spare the life of George Sibley.

 

 

2. Texas:  Gary Lynn Sterling, scheduled to die August 10


Texas Governor Rick Perry
E-Mail:  http://www.governor.state.tx.us/contact
Phone:  (512) 463-2000
Fax:  (512) 463-1849

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

Austin American Statesman
E-Mail:  www.statesman.com
Phone:  (512) 445-3667
Fax:  (512) 445-3679

Houston Chronicle

E-mail:  www.chron.com
Phone:  (713) 220-7491
Fax:  (713) 220-6806

Dallas Morning News
E-Mail:  www.dallasnews.com
Phone:  (214) 977-8494

Fax:  (972) 263-0456
   

(From the NCADP) - The state of Texas is scheduled to execute 38-year-old
Gary Lynn Sterling, a black man, on Aug. 10, 2005 for the May 31, 1988
murder of 72-year-old John Wesley Carty, a white man, in Navarro County.

While in jail in Hill County, Texas, Sterling informed law enforcement
officials of the locations of two bodies in neighboring Navarro County.
After directing authorities to the bodies, Sterling produced a written
statement in which he admitted to the killings.  He was subsequently
arrested and charged with Carty's murder.  A jury found Sterling guilty of
capital murder in the death of Carty and decided that he should die for the
crime.

            Sterling possessed a strong ineffective assistance of counsel
claim.  During questioning of prospective jurors, one of Sterling's
attorneys, Robert Dunn, failed to inquire into the racial views of a
prospective juror that he knew to harbor prejudicial feelings towards
African-Americans. 

            Evidence of the prospective juror's racism is found in a
post-trial affidavit in which he used a highly inflammatory racial epithet
in reference to African-Americans.  Dunn possessed knowledge of the
prospective jurors' racism well before trial, for the two were long-time
acquaintances.  Yet Dunn neither asked the prospective juror about his
racial views nor took efforts to remove him from the jury pool.  The
unfortunate result of this inaction was that the prospective juror was
seated on the jury for Sterling's trial.  And there exists good chance that
he was not the only racist juror.  Dunn admits that he did not inquire into
the possible racial biases of any of the members of the jury pool.  The
presence of a racially prejudicial juror on Sterling's jury, and the
possible presence of others, might have impacted the verdict and sentence.

An additional point of concern in Sterling's trial is the court's decision
to appoint Dr. James Grigson to aid in Sterling's defense.  Sterling's
attorneys desired to have their client's mental state evaluated prior to
trial.  Therefore, they asked the court for access to a psychiatric expert.
The court appointed Dr. Grigson, a psychiatrist whose reputation for being
sympathetic to the prosecution in capital cases had become so notorious that
he had earned the nickname "Dr. Death."  Well aware of this dubious
reputation, Sterling's attorneys declined his assistance.  Had Sterling been
afforded a proper evaluation by an unbiased, psychiatric professional,
findings might have been yielded that would have reduced Sterling's degree
of culpability in Carty's murder.

The fairness of Sterling's trial is clearly in doubt.  Not only was Sterling
convicted and sentenced to death by a jury tainted with racial prejudice, he
was not provided access to an unbiased psychiatric evaluation.

            Please contact Gov. Rick Perry and request that he stop the
execution of Gary Lynn Sterling.

 

 

3. Oklahoma:  Kenneth Turrentine, scheduled to die August 15
  

Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry
E-Mail:  http://www.governor.state.ok.us/message.php
Phone:  (405) 521-2342
Fax:  (405) 521-3353
   

(From the NCADP) - The state of Oklahoma is scheduled to execute 52-year-old
Kenneth Eugene Turrentine, a black man, on Aug. 15, 2005 for the June 4,
1994 murder of his estranged girlfriend, Anita Richardson, her daughter,
22-year-old Tina Pennington and her child, 13-year-old Martise Richardson.
Turrentine also shot his sister, Avon Stevenson, in Green County. Turrentine
confessed to the murders in a 911 call and again to the police after they
had read him his Miranda warning.

The errors in Turrentine's trial included failure to give proper
instructions to the jury with regard to second-degree murder, prejudicial
victim impact testimony and a claim of ineffective assistance of trial
counsel.  Furthermore, evidence that Turrentine was abused as a child was
never brought to the attention of the jury.  

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals' jury instructions regarding
sentencing options were found to be prejudicial.  The court found that when
this type of instruction is given it has a "substantial and injurious
effect, or influence in determining the jury's verdict."  It found that it
would infect the entire trial so that the resulting conviction violates due
process.  However, this alone was not enough to overturn his conviction.

Another claim of Turrentine was that the trial court violated his rights by
excluding certain mitigating evidence from the sentencing stage of his
trial. Specifically, Turrentine contended that it should have allowed
testimony as to his diminished capacity at the time of the murders. Although
the trial court admitted similar evidence at the guilt stage of the trial,
it excluded this type of evidence from the sentencing stage. Mr. Turrentine
now claims that the exclusion of this mitigating evidence was improper
because sentencing courts may not refuse to consider, as a matter of law,
any relevant mitigating evidence. 

His final claim was ineffective assistance of counsel. He contended that
trial counsel failed to properly present evidence of his mental health.
They jury was not informed that Turrentine suffered from abuse as a child.
Had the jury been aware of this information, the mitigating evidence may
have outweighed the aggravating circumstances surrounding the crime.  

In short, Turrentine has not had a chance to prove he did not have a healthy
mental state at the time of the murders.  The jury instructions made it
impossible for him to be convicted of anything less than 1st degree murder.
Mitigating evidence that might have made the jury convict him of a lesser
charge was never presented.  Turrentine has not had the opportunity for a
jury of his peers to determine whether a death sentence is appropriate
considering all factors surrounding the case.   

Please contact Gov. Brad Henry and the Oklahoma Board of Pardons and Paroles
and ask them to stop the execution of Kenneth Turrentine.

 

 

4. Texas:  Robert Alan Shields, scheduled to die August 23
 

Texas Governor Rick Perry
E-Mail:  http://www.governor.state.tx.us/contact
Phone:  (512) 463-2000
Fax:  (512) 463-1849

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

Austin American Statesman

E-Mail:  www.statesman.com
Phone:  (512) 445-3667
Fax:  (512) 445-3679

Houston Chronicle

E-mail:  www.chron.com
Phone:  (713) 220-7491
Fax:  (713) 220-6806

Dallas Morning News

E-Mail:  www.dallasnews.com
Phone:  (214) 977-8494
Fax:  (972) 263-0456
 

(From the NCADP) - The state of Texas is scheduled to execute 30-year-old
Robert Alan Shields, a white man, for the Sept. 21, 1994 killing of
27-year-old Paula Stiner, a white female, in Galveston County.  Shields was
19 years old at the time of the crime. 

Shields broke into Stiner's house in the late afternoon.  He was later
caught by the police driving Stiner's car, and wearing clothes with her
blood on them.  He was convicted and sentenced to death in October of 1995.


Shields argued on appeal that he had ineffective assistance of counsel, and
that he was wrongly denied the chance to represent himself.  He also
maintained that the evidence showed that he was in the victim's home but did
not establish that he was the actual killer.  The court ruled against him on
these claims.

Like the majority of those on death row, Shields had few resources with
which to hire a good attorney.  It has been made clear that persons who are
executed in the United States are not always those who commit the "worst
crimes" but rather those who have the fewest resources.  

The death penalty is not a deterrent.  A Texas study determined in 1999 that
there was no relation between the number of executions and murder rates in
general.  The millions of dollars spent on capital punishment may be better
used for other community interests, such as schools, hospitals, public
safety and employment.

Please take a moment and contact the state of Texas requesting that they
spare the life of Robert Shields.

 

 

5. Indiana:  Arthur Baird, scheduled to die August 31
 

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels
E-Mail:   <http://www.in.gov/gov/contact.html> www.in.gov/gov/contact.html
Phone:  (317) 232-4567
Fax:  (317) 232-3443

Parole Board

Phone:  (317) 232-5737

Journal Gazette

E-mail:   <mailto:cklugman at jg.net> cklugman at jg.net
Phone:  (317) 686-0901

The News-Sentinel
E-mail:   <mailto:nsletters at news-sentinel.com> nsletters at news-sentinel.com
Phone:  (334) 262-1611
Fax:  (334) 261-1597
 

(From the NCADP) - The state of Indiana is scheduled to execute 59-year-old
Arthur P. Baird, Jr., a white man, on Aug. 31 for the Sept. 6, 1985 murders
of his parents, 78-year-old Kathryn and 68-year-old Arthur, and his pregnant
wife, 32-year-old Nadine in Montgomery County.  He was 39 years old when he
committed the murders.

There is evidence to support the claim that Baird was suffering from mental
illness at the time the crime was committed.   At trial, evidence was
introduced that Baird believed that the federal government was about to pay
him $1 million in return for his advice regarding the national debt.  In
reality, Baird was in debt and had just lost his job.  Baird maintains the
murders were a result of "irresistible impulse" spurred by mental illness.
His attorney, Sarah Nagy, has said Baird believes that a big, burly man was
moving his arms and forcing his participation in the crime. Before these
murders, Baird was a law-abiding citizen for 39 years.  There is new newly
discovered evidence that supports Baird's mental illness claim.  The source
of the new evidence was testimony at the post conviction hearing by clinical
psychologist Dr. Howard E. Wooden.  Dr. Wooden testified that at the time of
the murders Baird suffered from a "delusional disorder" accompanied by a
"psychotic reaction."

According to Wooden's diagnosis, Baird acted and functioned in accordance
with fanciful beliefs or delusions.  The content of Baird's illusory belief
system was threatened by a different tangible reality -- the failure of the
federal government to supply funds to purchase the new farm. He refused to
confront this reality and snapped, murdering his family -- the accompanying
psychotic reaction. Dr. Wooden said that at the time of the trial, such
delusional disorders were not available for firm independent diagnosis but
were considered mainly in conjunction with substance abuse.  Baird did not
assert that this evidence required a finding of not guilty by reason of
insanity. Rather, his contention is that if this diagnosis had been
available to present in the sentencing phase or on direct appeal, it would
have established Baird's inability to control his behavior and thus changed
the balance of weighing the mitigating and aggravating factors to determine
the appropriateness of a death sentence.

Next, Baird contended, the post conviction court erred in concluding that
Baird received a fair trial. He maintains four members of the jury were not
impartial because they had been exposed to information derived from media
accounts of plea negotiations that Baird had participated in before jury
selection.

His direct appeal was denied. Justice Robert D. Rucker sided with the
Indiana Court of Criminal Appeals but indicated he is open to hearing about
Baird's current mental state. The United States Supreme Court has never
addressed the question of executing people who kill due to an "irresistible
impulse" inspired by mental illness.  In short, Baird is a man with extreme
mental and emotional disturbance.  He has no criminal history.  Before these
murders, he was active in the church, employed, he provided for his family,
received an honorable discharge from the military, and was considered a
person of good character in the community.

There is strong evidence to support the claim that Baird's violent behavior
was induced by mental illness.  It is a grave human rights violation to
execute those persons suffering from mental illness.    

Please contact Gov. Mitch Daniels and the Indiana Board of Pardons and
Paroles and ask them to spare the life of Arthur P. Baird.

 

  
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