House Bill (HB) 2267, sponsored by Texas State Representative Terri Hodge (District 100 – Dallas), has passed the House Calendars Committee and was placed on the General State Calendar for this Friday, May 8 (though it is more likely that the bill will be heard by the full House of Representatives early next week). Please call and fax your Representative TODAY and ask him/her to vote yes on HB 2267 when it reaches the House floor.
Contact information for your Representative is available at http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/ (just type in your address).
HB 2267 calls for the separate prosecution of two or more defendants who have been charged with capital murder and states that a defendant who is found guilty in a capital murder case only as a party under Section 7.02(b) of the Texas Penal Code (the infamous “law of parties”) may not be sentenced to death, and the state may not seek the death penalty in any case in which the defendant’s liability is based solely on that section.
Here are some talking points to convey to your Representative:
– I understand that HB 2267 has passed the House Calendars Committee and was placed on the General State Calendar for this Friday, May 8.
– This bill calls for separate trials for defendants facing capital murder charges. It also would eliminate the death penalty as a sentencing option under the law of parties [Section 7.02(b) of the Texas Penal Code].
– Governor Rick Perry expressed particular concern about current Texas law, which allows capital murder defendants to be tried simultaneously, when he commuted the death sentence of Kenneth Foster in August 2007. He urged the legislature to examine this issue during interim committee meetings last year.
– Dozens of people have been sentenced to death in Texas for their role as accomplices, despite the fact that they did not participate directly in the murder for which they were convicted and, in many cases, were unaware of the intentions of their co-defendant(s).
– Please vote yes on HB 2267!
– Thank you for your time and consideration of this important life or death issue.
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Thank you for your support on this important legislation. If you have any questions about HB 2267, please contact the TCADP Office at 512-441-1808 or send an email to khoule@tcadp.org.
Sincerely,
Kristin Houlé
Executive Director, TCADP
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We want to hear from you! If you receive a response to your fax/call or learn anything about your Representative’s position on HB 2267 (or anything else related to the death penalty), please let us know. You can contact the TCADP Office at 512-441-1808 or send an email to khoule@tcadp.org.