-Caveat Lector- So because this woman was a lesbian and then the case was made she was also a whacko....she should not have been executed for murdering her "partner".....as the articles calls it. Must be a lot of stuff missing here - for instance how barbaric the crime was because it is said lesbians and homosexuals are supposedly oh so gentle? So becaue this woman was a pervert she should be given special treatment; had she been a black pervert she would have probably been given a medal for murdering her whatever lover. Saba ACLU Denounces Oklahoma Governor For Allowing Execution of Mentally Impaired Woman FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, January 12, 2001 OKLAHOMA CITY -- The American Civil Liberties Union today denounced Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating's refusal to grant a 30-day reprieve to Wanda Jean Allen, who was executed last night despite the fact that she was deprived of adequate legal representation. "It is shocking that the state of Oklahoma forced Allen's lawyer to investigate and defend her case her for only the $800 that her family could scrape together," said Diann Rust-Tierney, Director of the ACLU Capital Punishment Project. "That's not due process, as Governor Keating claims to endorse, that's another example of the unfairness of the death penalty." Wanda Jean Allen was sentenced to death for shooting her partner, Gloria Leathers, in a domestic dispute. Allen's lawyer, who had never tried a death penalty case before, lacked the resources to investigate or defend her case properly. Nevertheless, an Oklahoma Court forced Allen's lawyer to represent her at trial without assistance from the public defenders office or resources to properly investigate the case. Neither was Allen's lawyer made aware of state generated psychiatric reports that showed his client to be seriously mentally impaired. Because the lawyer was not aware this information existed, the jury never heard about Allen's mental impairments and other issues that might well have convinced them to choose a prison term over a death sentence. "Governor Keating has said that he understands his duty to ensure that defendants in capital cases in Oklahoma have due process," Rust-Tierney said. "But in this case, when the inexperience and failures of the lawyer are glaring, he looked the other way." Wanda Jean Allen's case has also garnered a great deal of attention in the lesbian and gay community because of concerns that bias against her sexual orientation may have played a part in her trial. Prosecutors referred repeatedly to Wanda Jean Allen's sexual orientation during her trial, relying on stereotypes about lesbians. "This is not over," said Joann Bell, Executive Director of the ACLU of Oklahoma. "There are serious problems in Oklahoma's death penalty system that will not be swept under the rug with this execution or the others scheduled to follow. Each time the Governor and the Board of Pardons and Parole refuse to do their jobs -- to provide a relief when lawyers fail miserably to defend their clients -- our argument for a moratorium on executions is strengthened." Four of the eight people scheduled for execution in Oklahoma during the next 30 days were denied adequate legal representation, Bell said. The four prisoners could not afford to hire lawyers, and those lawyers assigned to them by the state lacked the experience and financial resources to investigate their cases thoroughly. Five of the Oklahoma inmates scheduled to be killed this month are mentally ill, mentally retarded, and/or victims of childhood abuse. Copyright 2001, The American Civil Liberties Union <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
