In this alert:
News and Events
Calendar
Scheduled Executions
May 3 : Cary Kerr
June 1: Gayland Bradford
Respond to the scheduled execution by contacting the Governor, attending vigils and more. Please check tcadp.org for updates.
News and Events
Updates on the 82nd Texas Legislature
On April 26, 2011, the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee passed House Bill 1065 (the companion to Senate Bill 377) by a vote of 7-0. (SB 377 passed the Senate on March 30.) This legislation expands the scope of the death penalty by making the murder of a child who is less than 10 years of age a capital offense. TCADP abhor violent acts against children of any age. We opposes this bill because we believe it is wrong for the State of Texas to expand the reach of the death penalty at a time when Texans are turning away from its use, when victims’ family members are speaking out about the terrible toll the process takes on them, when new evidence of the flaws and failures of our capital punishment system continues to come to light, and when other states across the nation are moving away from it.
HB 1065 now heads to the Calendars Committee, which will decide whether/when to place it on the calendar for consideration by the full House of Representatives.
Take action!
Please call or email your State Representative to urge him/her to oppose HB 1065. Texas does not need to expand the scope of the death penalty – it needs to end it! To find your Representative, go to http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/Home.aspx and type in your address. This will provide you with the phone number for your legislator’s Capitol office. To send an email, type the Representative’s first name.last name@house.state.tx.us (for example, Jessica.farrar@house.state.tx.us).
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House Bill 819, the repeal bill, has been left pending in the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee (as have most death penalty-related bills). There are only 28 days left in the 82nd legislative session.
New Religious Voices on the Death Penalty in Texas
In recent weeks, two new voices have joined the chorus of religious leaders speaking out against the death penalty:
- Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of the San Antonio Archdiocese posted a column in response to Holy Week. Link.
- Roger Olson, professor of theology at George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University, responds to the Cameron Todd Willingham case and the work of the Texas Forensic Science Commission. Link.
To actively support TCADP’s Religious Outreach efforts, please be in touch with Vicki at info@tcadp.org.
Three Easy Ways to Support TCADP
Concerned citizens have always been the backbone of TCADP. If you have not yet become a member – or if your membership has lapsed – please take a moment to visit TCADP’s secure online donation form. This form features three easy options for showing your support for our cause:
1. Partner for Justice. Set up recurring donations to be repeated monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually and linked automatically to your credit card or checking account. This option allows you to spread out your gift over the course of a year and provides a steady source of support for TCADP
2. Sustaining Membership. Avoid the hassle of dues renewal notices by signing up for a Sustaining Membership at the Student, Individual, Household, or Organizational Level. This option will automatically renew your membership (through your credit card or checking account) each year on a date you choose.
3. Annual Membership. This traditional model will secure your membership for one year, at the level you choose.
Thank you for your commitment to ending to the death penalty in Texas! TCADP is a 501(c)(3) organization, and all contributions are tax-deductible.
San Antonio Meet and Greet
Bexar County Residents: We would like to invite you to a “Meet and Greet” on Wednesday, May 11 at 7pm, to learn more about TCADP’s latest initiative: The Bexar County Campaign to End the Use of the Death Penalty!
Who: Come meet our campaign partners, TCADP San Antonio chapter leaders and supporters, new allies and Bexar County Campaign organizers! Feel free to spread the word and bring a friend!
What: Meet and Greet with special guest speaker, Sam Millsap, the former district attorney of Bexar County. Come learn about our new initiative to end the use of the death penalty in Bexar County and how you can get involved! Light refreshments will be served. RSVP Today!
Houston Speaker and Tabling Training, May 24 6:30pm
This training aims to equip a cadre of local members to accompany our featured storytellers (murder victim family members, attorneys, exonorees, etc.) to presentations on the death penalty and to provide a bridge between the featured speaker’s story and TCADP’s organizational initiatives. We will also focus a portion of the workshop on tabling at events as an effective way to recruit new members. During this training you will learn…
- How to give a five-minute “pitch” on the state of the death penalty in Texas and ways to get involved with TCADP
- How to respond to frequently asked questions on the death penalty
- How to support the needs of featured storytellers
- How to make the most of speaking and tabling events
Please note: We encourage EVERYONE to attend this training, even if you are not interested in public speaking but would like to play a supporting role in events such as staffing an information table, collecting new names for the TCADP contact list, making sure the storytellers are comfortable, etc. It takes a whole team to make these outreach events a success! Learn More and RSVP Today
View CBS “48 Hours” Special on Anthony Graves
On Saturday, April 23, CBS “48 Hours” aired a special on Anthony Graves, the most recent death row exoneree from Texas. After spending 18 years in prison, 12 of which were on death row, he was found to be innocent by the Burleson County District Attorney and released from custody in October of 2010. Learn more about his case.
View the episode that has resulted in an outpouring of outrage against the injustice experienced by Anthony Graves.
Post your comment on the TCADP Blog.
TCADP is on Facebook
“Like TCADP” on Facebook today and receive daily status updates on breaking news and events. It is an easy way to stay in touch and up to date on what is happening across the state.
Share it with your friends to help grow our movement!
Calendar
May
1 Odessa Chapter Meeting, 4:00pm, odessa@tcadp.org
3 Scheduled Execution – Cary Kerr
3 Scheduled Execution – Cary Kerr
6-7 LULAC Conference, San Antonio*
7-8 TCADP Booth at Houston International Festival*
11 San Antonio Meet and Greet, RSVP Today
7-8 TCADP Booth at Houston International Festival*
11 San Antonio Meet and Greet, RSVP Today
16 El Paso Chapter Meeting, 6:00pm, elpaso@tcadp.org
18 Dallas Chapter Meeting, 7:00pm, dallas@tcadp.org
24 Houston Speaker and Tabling Training, More info and RSVP Today
29 – 1 Texas Annual Conference—UMC, Houston*
June
1 Scheduled Execution – Gayland Bradford
9-10 Southwest Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Corpus Christi*
11 PrideFest San Antonio*
15 Scheduled Execution – John Balentine
16 Scheduled Execution – Taylor Lee
16-18 Rio Grande Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, San Antonio*
21 Scheduled Execution – Milton Mathis
*Please contact info@tcadp.org, if you would like to help with these tabling opportunities.