In this edition:
Scheduled executions: Texas set to execute Garcia White tonight, October 1, 2024, unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes
The campaign to #SaveRoberson: Lawmakers visit Robert Roberson on death row; three ways you can help us stop the October 17 execution
TCADP 2025 Annual Conference: Nominate an individual or organization for one of our Annual Awards
TCADP Lobby Corps: Apply now to help us advance our legislative agenda
Upcoming events: Webinar on Shaken Baby Syndrome and Wrongful Conviction Day event on October 2; World Day Against the Death Penalty events in Dallas and Houston on October 10 and in San Antonio on October 12; TCADP Book Group on October 30
TCADP welcomes Fall 2024 Justice Fellow: Meet Esha Lohray
Partners for Justice: Support TCADP with your recurring monthly gift
Quote of the month
Last week, the United States reached a horrendous milestone: The 1,600th execution in the “modern” era of the death penalty. The Death Penalty Information Center notes that this comes despite public opinion polls showing growing concerns about the fairness and accuracy of the death penalty and declining support for its use. Texas accounts for an astonishing 590 of those executions – more than one-third of the total.
Texas has two more executions scheduled this month. Tonight, October 1, 2024, the State is set to put Garcia White to death. White was convicted and sentenced to death in Harris County in 1996 for the murders of 16-year-old twins Bernette and Annette Edwards in 1989. White also faced execution in 2015 but received a last-minute stay from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA).
The CCA denied relief to White in September after he raised multiple claims, including that evidence of his intellectual disability should render him ineligible for the death penalty. White has now filed a cert petition and motion for a stay of execution with the U.S. Supreme Court.
Harris County juries have sentenced nearly 300 people to death since 1974. In the 1990s, they routinely sent as many as 15 people to death row each year. Texas has executed 134 people who were convicted in Harris County, and more than one-third of the state’s death row population comes from that one county.
To date this year, there have been 18 executions nationwide, including four in Texas. Executions have occurred in seven other states: Alabama (four); Florida (one); Georgia (one); Missouri (three); Oklahoma (three); South Carolina (one); and Utah (one). Texas does not have any executions scheduled in 2024 after October but has two set already in 2025.
Texas lawmakers with Robert Roberson on September 27, 2024; Photo provided courtesy of the House Criminal Justice Reform Caucus
Robert Roberson continues to face the very real threat of becoming the first person executed in the United States based on the debunked and discredited Shaken Baby Syndrome hypothesis unless the courts or Governor Greg Abbott intervene. There is overwhelming new scientific and medical evidence that his chronically ill two-year-old daughter, Nikki, died of natural and accidental causes. Convicted in 2003, Roberson has spent more than 20 years on death row for a crime that never occurred. His execution is set for October 17, 2024.
An extraordinary visit from lawmakers
Roberson’s case has attracted widespread support, including from a bipartisan group of 86 members of the Texas House of Representatives who sent a letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. On Friday, September 27, 2024, six of those lawmakers visited Roberson at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston. Afterwards, State Representative Joe Moody said “I visited Robert Roberson on death row thinking I’d be sharing a message of hope with him, but it was very mutual. His deep faith, humor, and unshakable hope for the future despite a looming execution left me inspired. Justice must be done—clemency for Robert Roberson.”
Watch the legislators address the media outside the Polunsky Unit after their visit.
Where the case currently stands
-Roberson’s clemency petition, which included numerous letters of support, is pending with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor Abbott (the Board must recommend clemency for the Governor to grant it).
– Also pending is a motion to vacate his unlawful execution warrant because retired judge Deborah Oakes Evans, who issued the warrant, failed to follow the required statutory procedure for a retired judge to become eligible to accept assignments to preside over cases in lieu of elected judges.
Three things you can do to support the campaign to #SaveRoberson:
1. Add your name to the petition sponsored by the Innocence Project.
2. Share his story far and wide! Either repost from TCADP or the Innocence Project or use the templates provided in this social media toolkit.
3. Download a one-page flier about the case, post it on community bulletin boards and/or share it on college campuses, with your faith community, or in other group settings.
Thank you for using your voice to #SaveRoberson.
TCADP is accepting nominations for our annual Courage, Appreciation, and Media Awards. With these awards, we recognize outstanding individuals and organizations who have made significant and selfless contributions towards ending the death penalty in Texas (read about previous recipients). All award recipients will be honored during the TCADP 2025 Annual Conference, which will take place at the Thompson Conference Center in Austin, Texas on Saturday, February 22, 2025. Registration will open later this month. Stay tuned for more details about this informative and inspirational day of advocacy!
The deadline for submitting award nominations is October 18, 2024.
TCADP is recruiting a new class of Lobby Corps members. This dedicated group of volunteers works with our staff and board members to advance TCADP’s legislative agenda and build relationships with elected officials. We now seek to add 5 to 7 new members to our Lobby Corps ranks. Members must be able to visit the State Capitol in person during the next legislative session, which will run from January 14 to June 2, 2025.
Applications will be accepted until November 1, 2024.
Webinar: Shaken Baby Syndrome: Examining the Evidence in the Shadow of an Execution
On Wednesday, October 2, 2024,the Cato Institute will host “Shaken Baby Syndrome: Examining the Evidence in the Shadow of an Execution,” a virtual event featuring a panel of medical and forensic science experts who will examine the issue in depth. The event will take place from 9:00 to 10:00 AM Central Time. Register here.
Wrongful Conviction Day
Every year on October 2, cities around the world honor those who have been wrongfully convicted and spread awareness through their stories. This year, the University of North Texas Department of Criminal Justice is joining the House of Renewed Hope to host an event featuring judges, attorneys, and investigators who have worked on actual innocence cases, as well as four men who spent years in prison for crimes they didn’t commit. A series of panels will take place on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM in the University Union on the UNT campus in Denton. Details here.
World Day Against the Death Penalty
Join TCADP as we commemorate World Day Against the Death Penalty. This is a day to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty and raise awareness of the conditions and circumstances affecting people with death sentences. Events will take place in Dallas and Houston on October 10 and in San Antonio on October 12.
World Day events around Texas in 2023
Supporters in Houston will gather on Thursday, October 10, 2024, for “Voices of Change: Rethinking Capital Punishment.” Nan Tolson, Director of Texas Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, will share her perspective on this critical issue. There also will be a reflection on the lives lost to capital punishment and updates on Robert Roberson’s case. This event will take place from 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 600 Pecore St., Houston, TX 77009. Park behind the church off Redan Street.
In Dallas, there will be an Interfaith Prayer and Solidarity Vigil from 1:00 to 2:00 PM on Thursday, October 10, 2024, at the Lynching of William Taylor Landmark, 114 W Commerce St., Dallas TX 75208. We invite community members, faith leaders, and collective partners to stand in unity with those who are facing the death penalty, especially Robert Roberson. Come learn more about the death penalty and Roberson’s case. To register, contact TCADP Deputy Director Tiara Cooper at TCooper@tcadp.org.
On Saturday, October 12, 2024, join TCADP supporters in San Antonio for breakfast and a presentation by Donna Coltharp, an Assistant Federal Public Defender with the Capital Habeas Unit (CHU) of the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Texas. Prior to joining the CHU, Donna was on the faculty of St. Mary’s University School of Law. She will share what is involved with defending clients accused in capital murder cases. This event will take place from 8:30-10:00 a.m. in the conference room of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, 2718 West Woodlawn Avenue, San Antonio 78228. RSVP to Mardi Baron at mardibaron@gmail.com.
For more details on World Day events, visit the TCADP website.
TCADP Book Group
The TCADP Book Group meets every six to eight weeks on Zoom and reads a mix of fiction, non-fiction, and memoirs. Our next selection is Bringing Ben Home by Barbara Bradley Hagerty. We will discuss the book on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, at 7:00 PM CT. Register here.
TCADP welcomes Fall 2024 Justice Fellow
TCADP is delighted to welcome Esha Lohray as our Fall 2024 Justice Fellow. Esha is an incoming law student at Baylor Law originally from Dallas, Texas. She graduated from The University of Texas at Dallas in August 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Global Business and a minor in Political Science. A passionate advocate for justice reform and policy work, Esha was a Fall 2023 Archer Fellow, during which she worked for the U.S. House of Representatives, gaining invaluable policy-making experience.
Esha also has interned with the Innocence Project of Texas, contributing to efforts aimed at exonerating wrongfully committed individuals, and has worked at a family and immigration law firm. Additionally, she held a leadership position at her undergraduate campus as the Director of Outreach for Amnesty International University of Texas at Dallas and was a competitor on the semi-nationalist Mock Trial team. Esha is committed to ensuring fairness, empathy, and equality under the law. You can contact her at info@tcadp.org.
Partners for Justice: Support TCADP with your recurring monthly gift
Thanks to everyone who has joined the TCADP recurring donor program—Partners for Justice—since May! We’re still looking for 40 new Partners by World Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10, 2024.
If you value our work to stop the execution of Robert Roberson, the events we host around Texas, or the information we share about the death penalty, donate today!
Thank you for being part of the community that will end the death penalty in Texas.