TCADP January 2015 Alert
In this edition:
Scheduled executions: State’s drug supply dwindling as legal challenges continue
TCADP 2015 Annual Conference: Register now for this important statewide gathering
In case you missed it: Outgoing Maryland Governor commutes death sentences
Upcoming events: TCADP seeks volunteers for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebrations
Year-end fundraising campaign: Thank you for your generous support for TCADP!
Scheduled executions
The State of Texas is scheduled to execute three people this month:
- On January 21, Arnold Prieto is scheduled to be executed for the 1993 robbery and murders of Rudolfo and Virginia Rodriguez and Paula Moran, a family friend, at the home of the San Antonio couple. Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez were relatives of Prieto’s two companions, brothers Guadalupe and Jessie Hernandez.
- On January 28, Garcia White is scheduled to be put to death for the 1989 stabbing deaths of Bonita Edwards and her 16-year-old twin daughters, Annette and Bernette, in their Houston home. He was convicted in 1996.
- On January 29, Robert Ladd is scheduled to be executed for the 1996 murder of Vicki Ann Garner in Tyler (Smith County).
Attend a vigil in your community on the day of these executions. Information and updates on these cases will be available on our website and through Facebook and Twitter.
Although at least 10 additional executions are scheduled to take place in Texas by the end of May, records obtained from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) last month revealed the state has only enough pentobarbital – the sole drug used in lethal injections here – for the first five executions of the year. According to TDCJ spokesperson Jason Clark, the department “continues to explore all options including the continued use of Pentobarbital or an alternate drug(s) in the lethal injection process.”
Further complicating matters, on December 11, 2014, State District Judge Darlene Byrne granted summary judgment in favor of three attorneys who filed a lawsuit last year seeking to force TDCJ to disclose the name of the drug supplier under the Texas Public Information Act. Judge Byrne ruled that the name of the compounding pharmacy supplying lethal injection drugs for Texas executions must be released because it is public information. TDCJ is appealing the ruling.
TCADP 2015 Annual Conference
Register now for the TCADP 2015 Annual Conference, which will take place in downtown Austin on Saturday, February 21st. Take advantage of our pre-registration rates of $55 for TCADP members, $60 for non-members, and $25 for students. Rates will increase again after February 13th.
Our 2015 Keynote Speaker Tim Cole is a former district attorney with more than 20 years of experience in the courtroom. He was elected to four terms as 97th District Attorney (Archer, Clay & Montague Counties; 1993 to 2006) and served as assistant district attorney in the 271st District (Wise, Jack Counties; 2010-2014). He also served as Counsel to Governor Clements in 1990 and General Counsel for the Texas District and County Attorneys Association from 1988 to 1990.
The morning panel discussion will feature attorneys Jen Moreno and Brian Stull and will address these issues:
- lethal injection challenges in Texas;
- conservative concerns about the death penalty; and
- public outcry about the innocent on death row.
Learn more about the conference, including details on our award winners, hotel information, and sponsorship opportunities. Are you part of an organization or group that would like to share information about your work with conference participants? Sign up to be a conference vendor or place an ad in our program.
In case you missed it
On December 31, 2014, outgoing Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley announced his decision to commute the sentences of the four men still on death row in that state. While Maryland abolished the death penalty in 2013, the law applied only to new cases. In re-sentencing the condemned men to life without parole, O’Malley said that leaving their death sentences in place would “not serve the public good of the people of Maryland — present or future.”
In an editorial, the New York Times called the Governor’s action “a mark of how quickly the death penalty debate in America has shifted.”
Thank Governor O’Malley for finishing the job of repeal through this action sponsored by Equal Justice USA.
Upcoming Events
We invite your participation in these events taking place in communities throughout Texas on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 19, 2015:
- In Austin, TCADP will sponsor a booth at the 21st Annual MLK Community Celebration
at Huston-Tillotson University; the festival will take place immediately following the March until 3 PM. Contact Kristin at khoule@tcadp.org if you would like to help with our booth. - TCADP members in Houston will assemble at 9 AM at the corner of Hamilton and Chartres in downtown Houston and will march in the MLK Day parade, which starts at 10 AM.
- In San Antonio, which hosts one of the largest MLK commemorations in the country, TCADP will sponsor an information booth at Pittman-Sullivan Park, 1101 Iowa St., starting at noon. Contact Kristin at khoule@tcadp.org if you would like to help TCADP Member Casey Magnuson, who is leading our activities that day.
Stay tuned for announcements about our bi-monthly luncheons in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston, among other upcoming events.
End-of-Year Fundraising Update
TCADP is immensely grateful to everyone who donated to our organization in 2014. Responses to our year-end appeal topped all previous records and exceeded our goal of raising $20,000 in December! We invite you to take your support to the next level by becoming a TCADP Partner for Justice or a Sustaining Member. Thank you!