Annual Conference

Gretchen Sween initially worked to highlight the flawed arguments used to justify the death penalty while teaching introductory philosophy classes to undergraduates. When she decided to change career paths, as a law student at the University of Texas School of Law, she became involved with the law school’s Capital Punishment Clinic and worked as a research assistant for Professor Jordan Steiker, an expert in death penalty jurisprudence. Thereafter, while practicing civil trial and appellate law at prestigious firms, she worked on numerous pro bono appeals in capital cases, including authoring amicus briefs in support of petitioners to the Supreme Court of the United States. She eventually took up the direct representation of an indigent individual, Raphael Holiday, litigating his right to obtain substitute counsel after being abandoned by counsel on the brink of an execution date. That experience changed the trajectory of her life. Since late 2015, she has been dedicated to defending indigent individuals in death penalty cases full time. She is based in Austin. 

Thea Posel is a clinical assistant professor at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work, a clinical instructor in the Capital Punishment Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law, and the JD/MSSW dual degree advisor for the School of Law. She has worked with capital defense teams in both Colorado and Texas, from pre-trial litigation preparation and consulting to state and federal post-conviction cases. Thea’s areas of interest include jury selection, jury decision-making, and mitigation investigation and presentation, and she works primarily on Texas state court advocacy and consulting at the capital trial, appellate, and habeas stages.

Pastor Jesse Rincones is the Executive Director of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas. In the spring of 2022, he became involved in the campaign to stop the execution of Melissa Lucio. Pastor Rincones joined other faith leaders in calling for clemency for Lucio. He also authored an opinion piece about the case, which was published by the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, and participated in a bilingual virtual press conference with Lucio’s attorneys that addressed the widespread support for clemency. Lucio received a stay from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals two days before her scheduled execution in April. 

Mark Gonzalez was elected district attorney of Nueces County in 2016. Prior to his election, he served as a criminal defense lawyer for eight years and was named 2011 Criminal Defense Lawyer of the Year by the Corpus Christi Bar Association. Gonzalez is a graduate of Texas A&M Corpus Christi and St. Mary’s University School of Law. 

After an execution date was set for John Ramirez in April 2022, DA Gonzalez petitioned the court to withdraw it, explaining that the motion for a date was made by an Assistant District Attorney without his knowledge. In his motion to withdraw the execution date, DA Gonzalez stated he “has the firm belief that the death penalty is unethical and should not be imposed on Mr. Ramirez or any other person while [he] occupies the office in question.” While his efforts to withdraw the date and stop the execution did not succeed, we commend DA Gonzalez for using his discretion as a DA to seek justice in Nueces County.

Brant Bingamon writes the column “Death Watch” for the Austin Chronicle, a media outlet with a long commitment to telling the stories of those sentenced to death in Texas. Brant exemplifies this commitment in his portrayal of the innate humanity of individuals facing execution by the State of Texas.