-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">
</A> -Cui Bono?-
http://www.sacurrent.com/news_and_views/index.htm
There's no stopping 'Governor Death'
BY DAVID ATWOOD
Odell Barnes Jr. and the late Betty Lou Beets
A number of months ago, Minister Robert Muhammad, of the Nation of Islam in
Houston, stated that "the path to the White House goes through Huntsville,
Texas." At the time he said that, I wasn't sure he was right. Now I believe
that Minister Robert may have spoken prophetic words.
With the February 24 execution of Betty Lou Beets, 121 executions have been
carried out in Texas while George W. Bush has been governor. Bush's support
for executions appears to be unparalleled in modern history. One columnist
dubbed him "Governor Death."
Bush has supported executions no matter what the facts or circumstances might
be. It started in earnest, at least as far as media attention was concerned,
with the execution of Karla Faye Tucker on February 3, 1998 and hit a new low
with the execution of battered, great-grandmother Betty Lou Beets. Meanwhile,
there have been scores of executions including mentally-disabled people,
juvenile offenders, a disproportionate number of African Americans, citizens
of other countries, numerous rehabilitated people, and people with strong
claims of innocence. Just about all of these people have been poor.
Of course, Bush denies that an innocent person has ever been executed in
Texas. However, those of us who are close to the situation would challenge
him on that. We know of at least 10 people who have been released from Texas'
death row in recent years. We know of others who were executed despite strong
claims of innocence. And we know of people on death row at this time who are
very likely innocent. One of those persons is Odell Barnes Jr., who was
scheduled for execution on March 1. Barnes, 31, was convicted of the 1989
murder of his girlfriend. In 1991, he was sentenced to die by lethal
injection. In 1997, a new team of lawyers took his case and uncovered
evidence that they said showed Barnes was framed by police investigators.
Despite the lawyers' appeals, Texas judicial authorities have refused to
reopen the case. Europeans are outraged. Last week, French President Jacques
Chirac called former President Bush to plead for Barnes' life and a new
trial.
In the case of Betty Lou Beets, six national organizations and 31 state
coalitions who work to end domestic violence and provide support for battered
women asked Governor Bush to grant her a reprieve. According to the Houston
Chronicle, the governor's office received more than 2,000 phone calls
opposing Beets' execution and about 50 supporting it. Despite this outpouring
of support for her, Bush declined to intervene, saying that he was convinced
she was guilty. We are sorry to inform the governor that the question wasn't
guilt or innocence, but whether she had received a fair trial. Her inept and
apparently corrupt lawyer had failed to present evidence of Beets' abused and
battered life to the jury during the original trial.
Bush's decision to not intervene in Betty's case shows how ridiculous it is
for him to portray himself as "compassionate." Instead, his decision shows
him to be cruel or not too bright (or both).
A number of women who either supported the death penalty or were undecided on
the issue have commented that the execution of Betty Lou Beets has caused
them to rethink their position on this form of punishment (and I suspect on
George W. Bush's qualifications for governor or president). Many people
reacted the same way after the execution of born-again Karla Faye Tucker,
Canadian Standley Faulder, youthful Glen McGinnis, mentally-ill Larry
Robison, and probably innocent David Spence. This rethinking will occur again
if Odell Barnes Jr. is executed.
And I suspect that this "rethinking" will extend beyond the death penalty to
the White House. Does the United States really want someone in the White
House who has fully supported the execution of 121 people regardless of
circumstances; who has given Texas a reputation as the "death penalty capital
of the western world"; who has defended a corrupt and biased criminal justice
system; and who has allowed a battered great-grandmother to be executed?
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David Atwood is president of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death
Penalty. Email [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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