Wednesday, March 1, 2006′
They’ve got the wrong guy’
Kinky Friedman testifies for man convicted of 1980 killings, denounces thedeath penalty
By DALE LEZONC
Houston Chronicle
Dressed in black but missing his signature cigar, gubernatorial candidate Richard “Kinky” Friedman waved to jurors Tuesday as he walked to the witness stand to testify on behalf of twice-convicted capital murderer Max Alexander Soffar.
Friedman, who is running as an independent, testified for only a few minutes as he told the jury that Soffar is “an innocent man.”
Soffar was convicted last week in the 1980 slayings of three people at a northwest Houston bowling alley. The jury is expected to hear final arguments today and begin considering whether Soffar, who spent more than two decades on death row before his first conviction for the slayings was overturned, deserves to return there or receive a life sentence.
‘A really strange thing’
Friedman, a musician and author, testified that he has known Soffar sincevisiting him in prison about two years ago while writing an article for Texas Monthly magazine. Friedman said he also wrote him letters and spoke with him by telephone.
“I didn’t know what to expect, meeting someone in prison,” he said. “What I found was really a strange thing. I found an innocent man.”
He said Soffar has a “high form” of innocence — “a kindness” similar to what soldiers experience after combat.
On cross-examination by prosecutor Lyn McClellan, Friedman acknowledged he and Soffar have met twice, in prison visiting rooms where they were separated by a partition.
His testimony failed to impress family members of those who died in the July 13, 1980, robbery.
Shot in the head and killed were Arden Alane Felsher, 17, Stephen Allen Sims, 25, and Tommy Lee Temple, 17. A fourth victim, Gregory George Garner, also was shot in the head and lost an eye but survived and testified in this trial.
“It’s impossible to develop a friendship behind Plexiglas while a man is on death row,” Felsher’s sister, Jackie Bryant, said outside the courtroom. “I’m appalled by (Friedman’s) actions.”
Defense attorneys said they called Friedman to testify because of his friendship with Soffar. In numerous publications, Friedman has maintained that Soffar, 50, isinnocent. He mentions Soffar’s case in his 2005 novel, Ten Little New Yorkers.
Jurors’ views of Friedman’s political aspirations could influence the verdict, said jury consultant Nona Dodson. If they think he is a viable candidate, they will take his testimony seriously, she said, but if they don’t think he is a serious contender, they’ll discount what he says.
“Defense attorneys would not call Friedman if they did not trust the jury to listen to him,” Dodson said.
Outside the courtroom after he testified, Friedman, holding a cigar, said he sympathizes with the victims and their families. He said he became convinced of Soffar’s innocence, however, after reviewing records about his case for the magazine article.
“They’ve got the wrong guy,” he said. “That’s what I know. That’s what I believe.”
Against the death penalty
Though he told an Internet interviewer last year that he did not oppose the death penalty, Friedman said Tuesday that he has changed his position andwill campaign against capital punishment.
“The (criminal justice) system is not perfect,” he said. “Until it’s perfect, let’s do away with the death penalty.”
Prosecutors called several victims’ relatives to testify about how the deaths still haunt them.
“It’s hard, even 25 years later, because you never get over the pain,” said Brenda Moebius, Stephen Sims’ widow.
Bryant wept as she recalled the last time she saw her sister.
“It’s unbelievable that somebody could look at her beautiful face and pull the trigger,” she said.
Bryant and other victims’ relatives said after court adjourned that a death sentence would be justice for Soffar.
“The closure won’t come until he’s executed,” Moebius said.- – – – -dale.lezon@chron.com