[WCADP-list] EXECUTION ALERT: Nationwide, 4 Men Scheduled to Die in October

Wed Oct 5 12:37:59 PDT 2005

We begin the month of October with news that four men are scheduled to die
in Texas and Ohio.  Please take the time to contact the appropriate people
to demand that these men be spared.

1. Ronald Ray Howard, scheduled to die in Texas on 10/6/2005

2. Luis Ramirez, scheduled to die in Texas on 10/20/2005

3. William James Williams, Jr., scheduled to die in Ohio on 10/25/2005

4. Pedro Solis Sosa, scheduled to die in Texas on 10/25/2005

1. October 6, 2005; Ronald Ray Howard - TEXAS

Ronald Ray Howard, a black man, faces execution on Oct. 6, 2005 for the
murder of Department of Public Safety Trooper Bill Davidson, a 43-year-old
white man, during a traffic stop on April 11, 1992.  Ronald Howard was 18
years old at the time of the crime and driving a stolen car when Davidson
stopped him.  In an unpremeditated panic Howard shot Davidson.  Ronald Ray
Howard has continually expressed his deep regret.

On appeal, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Howard's rehearing
request.  In a dissenting opinion Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Justice
Overstreet held that two of the state-stricken jurors were not challengeable
for cause.  Perhaps if these two legitimate jurors had been allowed to
remain on the jury, Howard's trial would have ended differently.

Thirteen years on death row has changed Ronald Howard.  He not only has
continued to regret his own crime, but has also joined in the struggle to
help other at-risk youth to not follow down his path.  Howard's own ghetto
upbringing allows him to connect with other at-risk youth.  In his 13 years
on death row Howard has used this fact to help other young people to not
travel the path that he did.  Additionally, Howard has spent his time on
death row becoming a more educated Christian man.  Howard has earned the
respect of wardens and prison guards, some of whom have come to him for
advice or aide.  Howard also currently lacks legal representation.

The death of Officer Davidson is tragic.  However the death of Ronald Ray
Howard will not bring Davidson back.  Allowing Howard to live also will
allow him to continue his work in preventing similar fates for other at risk
youth.  Please contact Gov. Rick Perry and the Texas Board of Pardons and
Parole to ask that Ronald Ray Howard's execution be stopped.

Texas Governor Rick Perry

E-Mail:   <http://www.governor.state.tx.us/contact>
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:   <http://www.statesman.com/> www.statesman.com 

Phone:  (512) 445-3667

Fax:  (512) 445-3679

Houston Chronicle

E-mail:   <http://www.chron.com/> www.chron.com 

Phone:  (713) 220-7491

Fax:  (713) 220-6806

Dallas Morning News

E-Mail:   <http://www.dallasnews.com/> www.dallasnews.com 

Phone:  (214) 977-8494

Fax:  (972) 263-0456

2. Oct. 20, 2005; Luis Ramirez - TEXAS

On Oct. 20, 2005 Luis Ramirez, a Hispanic man, will be executed for hiring
Edward Bell to kill 19-year-old Nemicio Nandin, another Hispanic man, on
April 8, 1998.  Ramirez's conviction is largely based on the testimony of
Tim Hoogstra who claims that Bell informed him of the murder and of
Ramirez's role in the murder.  Nandin was dating Ramirez's ex-wife, Dawn
Holquin, at the time of the murder.   

Ramirez's attempts to appeal his conviction and sentence have been halted by
the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA).  Under
the AEDPA, Ramirez must obtain a Certificate of Appealability in order to
appeal a denial of his habeas petition.  Federal courts are required by the
AEDPA to give deference to the lower court in considering habeas petitions.
Additionally, under the AEDPA Ramirez must prove to the Fifth Circuit Court
of Appeals that the lower court's ruling was unreasonable.  Effectively, the
AEDPA requires that Ramirez prove to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that
the lower court, to which the United States Court of Appeals is required to
give deference, ruled unreasonably.  Naturally, Ramirez has been unable to
overcome this burden of proof.

Ramirez also has been denied the opportunity to confront Edward Bell in
person, although Bell's out-of-court statements to Hoogstra, implicating
Ramirez in the murder, were admitted in court.  This denial violates
Ramirez's Sixth Amendment right to confront his accuser.

Finally, a potential alibi witness for Ramirez was not heard at trial.
Ramirez contends that this constitutes a failure on the part of his
court-appointed trial counsel.  Ramirez holds that he informed Rios of the
existence of a possible alibi.  Unfortunately such a contention becomes a
question of Ramirez's word versus his trial lawyer's.  Under Texas law the
state court may choose to disbelieve Ramirez without any further proof than
his former attorney's claim of competence.

(Contact information for Texas is above.)

3. Oct. 25, 2005; William James Williams, Jr. - OHIO

William James Williams Jr., a black man, faces execution on Oct. 25, 2005
for the deaths of Alfonda Madison Sr., Eric Howard, Theodore Wynn Jr., and
William Dent in the home of Madison and Howard on the morning of Sept. 2,
1991.  Williams's girlfriend, Jessica Cherry, her brother, Dominic Cherry,
and his friend, Broderick Boone, all testified to their involvement in the
deaths.  The three were tried as juveniles in exchange for their testimony
against Williams.

Williams raised a number of issues during his appeal to the Supreme Court of
Ohio that he believed should lead to a new trial.  Although the majority
disagreed with Williams' contentions, Justice Moyer wrote a compelling
dissent that was joined by Justice Pfeifer.  According to Moyer "the trial
court failed to adequately protect appellant Williams's constitutional right
to be tried before an impartial jury."  Moyer states "Vigilance is required
to protect the integrity of the jury from infirmities that may sap and
undermine it.  Such infirmity is present in the composition of the jury that
sentenced Williams to death.  I would therefore vacate the conviction and
sentence and grant Williams a new trial."

The transcript of the prospective-juror-questioning clearly shows evidence
that the seated jurors may not have been impartial.  John Gombaski, later
excused as a prospective juror, raised concerns that other prospective
jurors were concealing possible prejudice.  Gombaski explained that he was
prejudiced by what he heard and believes that others also heard what he did.
Additionally, Gombaski admitted to telling two other jurors what he heard.
The trial judge erred by not further investigating Gombaski's statement.

Furthermore, the questioning of the prospective jurors plainly confirms
Williams's contention that he was not protected from juror bias in favor of
the death penalty.  Juror Eddleman was seated on the jury regardless of her
repeated statements that if parole was a possibility she would automatically
"go with the death sentence."  In Williams's case the choices of sentences
were in fact various lengths of life sentences, all including the
possibility of parole, or death.  Undoubtedly Eddleman was biased in favor
of the death penalty in this case. 

Because William James Williams Jr. was not tried by an impartial jury
capable of sentencing him according to the law he certainly should not be
executed.  As Moyer points out in his dissent "This case represents a test
for the criminal justice system."  If Williams is executed, considering the
problems with his trial, the criminal justice system will have failed the
test.

Ohio Governor Bob Taft

E-Mail:   <http://governor.ohio.gov/contactinfopage.asp>
http://governor.ohio.gov/contactinfopage.asp 

Phone:  (614) 466-3555

Ohio Parole Board

Phone:  (614) 752-1200

4. Oct. 25, 2005; Pedro Solis Sosa - TEXAS

Pedro Solis Sosa, a Hispanic man, faces execution on Oct. 25, 2005 in Texas.
Sosa was convicted and sentenced to death for the Nov. 4, 1983 shooting
death of 55-year-old Ollie F. Childress Jr., a white man and a Wilson County
deputy sheriff.  According to authorities, Sosa and his nephew abducted
Officer Childress and had him get into the trunk of his own patrol car.  The
two then reportedly drove Childress' patrol car to a local bank, robbed that
bank, and then returned to where their own car was parked.  It is then that
Sosa is said to have shot Officer Childress before getting back in his own
car to leave the scene.

Pedro Solis Sosa has no prior criminal record.  Also none of the
fingerprints at the bank or in the patrol car match Sosa's.  Additionally,
though Sosa did sign a confession, in light of his limited education and his
incomplete command of the English language, there is question as to his
ability to understand what he was signing. 

The death penalty is an arbitrary, but final punishment.  When mistakes are
made there is no bringing the deceased back to life.  Because the justice
system is run by human beings and is therefore not 100 percent accurate, we
cannot allow state-sanctioned executions to continue.  Furthermore,
statistics relating to the deterrence effect of the death penalty are
inconclusive at best.  Instead, by condoning the death penalty as a
legitimate form of punishment, the government may actually be encouraging
society's desensitization thereby increasing other instances of violence.
Finally, executing Pedro Sosa will not bring Officer Childress back to life.

(Contact information for Texas is above.)

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www.abolishdeathpenalty.org <http://www.abolishdeathpenalty.org/> 

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