14 Executions Scheduled Over the Next Four Months
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
CONTACT: Kristin Houlé, Executive Director 512-441-1808 (office); 202-494-3578 (cell) https://tcadp.org/undefined/
(Austin, Texas) – The first U.S. execution of 2009 is scheduled to take place today in the state of Texas. Curtis Moore is set to be put to death for the 1996 murders of Roderick Moore, Latasha Boone, and Henry Truevillen in Tarrant County. Currently there are 14 executions scheduled to take place in Texas between now and April 7, including 6 in January alone. Among all other 35 death penalty states, only 10 executions have been scheduled for this same time period.
The inmates with execution dates were convicted and sentenced to death in 8 different counties; 4 inmates were convicted in Tarrant County and 3 in Bexar County.
“Once again the State of Texas is quick out of the starting gate in the race to execute,” said Kristin Houlé, Executive Director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (TCADP). “While other states are projected to carry out more executions than usual this year, none will even come close to overtaking Texas’ status as the most active – and most notorious – death penalty state.” In 2008, Texas accounted for just under half of the 37 executions that took place nationwide. Overall, it accounts for more than one third of the 1,136 executions that have occurred in the United States since 1977.
The accelerated pace of executions coincides with a time of increased public scrutiny and concern about the fairness and reliability of this ultimate form of punishment. According to TCADP, 11 people were sentenced to death in Texas in 2008, matching 2006 for the lowest number of new death sentences in more than 30 years. Nine people now have been exonerated from Texas’ death row due to evidence of their wrongful conviction.
This year, elected officials in numerous states are prepared to give serious consideration to abolishing the death penalty altogether. As the 81st Session of the Texas Legislature gets underway, TCADP urges lawmakers to take a hard look at this costly, broken government system and to support alternatives that protect society and punish the truly guilty.
Other Texas executions scheduled for January:
– January 21: Frank Moore
– January 22: Reginald Perkins
– January 27: Larry Swearingen
– January 28: Virgil Martinez
– January 29: Ricardo Ortiz
TCADP members will hold vigils on the evening of every execution in multiple locations throughout the state. See https://tcadp.org/index.php?page=vigils for a complete list of vigil sites.