Four death row inmates are scheduled to be executed in September. The first execution is scheduled for September 12th, with two the following week and one in the final week of the month. Those scheduled for execution include one man who suffers from severe depression among other mental illnesses and another who faced police beatings until he signed a confession.

Daryl Holton, who is scheduled to be executed by the state of Tennessee, suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and severe depression.

Farley Matchett claims he killed in self-defense but was beaten by police until he confessed to the crime, is scheduled to be executed by Texas on September 12th.

Read more about these and the other cases below -- and ACT!

Do Not Execute Daryl Holton!

Daryl Holton suffers from several mental illnesses, including severe depression. Several mental health experts testified at his trial that he has symptoms for other illnesses, such as schizoid personality disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from his service in the military during the First Gulf War. One psychologist even stated that the act of murdering his children may have been directly related to his depression.

Holton has stopped the appeals process, which is consistent with the actions of a person who suffers from severe depression and other mental illnesses.

ACT NOW by contacting Gov. Phil Bredesen requesting that he stop the execution of Daryl Holton!

Read More and Take Action at:
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=5107&t=


Do Not Execute Farley Matchett!

Convicted for killing a man during a dispute about money, Matchett maintains he was defending himself, and he confessed to the crime only because of police brutality he endured while in custody. Furthermore, his counsel may few objections during the trial, and allowed him to be incarcerated for 19 months prior to any trial ever beginning. His counsel also only called two witnesses during the punishment part of the trial and did not follow proper mitigation steps in order to defend his client properly.

The case of Farley Matchett demonstrates the use of the death penalty against the poor who cannot afford proper counsel.

ACT NOW by contacting Gov. Rick Perry requesting that Farley Matchett's execution be halted!

Read More and Take Action at:
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=5105


See and act on all current Execution Alerts at
http://www.ncadp.org/execution_alerts.html

September 12: Farley Matchett, TX
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=5105

September 19: Daryl Holton, TN
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=5107

September 20: Clarence Hill, FL
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=5111

September 25: Pedro Sosa, TX
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=5109

Classically Liberal
by "CLS"

05/04/06

On February 28, 1845 the Republic of Texas ceased to exist as a nation and became the State of Texas. Many Texans lament that. These day many Americans lament it as well. In recent political history Texas gave America Lyndon Baines Johnson and George Bush -- both big government advocates though, of the two, Johnson had more respect for the Constitution albeit very little. The other thing Texas is known for is a blood thirsty enjoyment of executing people. Texas puts to death more people than any other American state. Texas contains about 7.5% of the US population but is responsible more that one third of all judicial killings in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Bureaucrats and politicians in Texas absolutely refuse to acknowledge the possibility that government is inept and could be murdering innocent people. But one recent case of judicial murder in Texas has garnered some unwanted national publicity...

http://tinyurl.com/hp9e9


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

e - @ b o l i t i o n i s t

May 2006

Please forward and cross-post this message widely.

Seven Executions Scheduled in May

There are seven execution dates spread throughout the month of May, with four of them scheduled in Texas. The cases of two death row inmates scheduled for execution on May 17th raise serious concerns.

One of these is Sedley Alley, who is scheduled to be executed by the state of Tennessee on May 17th. There is substantial and reasonable doubt as to the credibility of Alley’s conviction and death sentence.

Another, Jermaine Herron, awaits execution on Texas' death row. Crucial to the prosecution’s case against Herron were the statements he made to police without an attorney present---even though he had explicitly requested one. This fact ties into a larger problem of ineffective assistance of council.

Read more about these and the other five cases below -- and ACT!

Do Not Execute Sedley Alley!

The state of Tennessee is scheduled to execute Sedley Alley despite serious concerns about the reliability of his conviction. Evidence withheld from the defense at trial indicates that police had Alley under surveillance at the time of the homicide. This evidence, which had been withheld for 20 years, seriously calls into question Alley’s guilt, since the police’s own records show that he was not present at the time of the victim’s death.

Physical evidence exists that could establish, once and for all, whether or not Alley is guilty or innocent. This evidence has never been tested for DNA evidence. The testing can be done quickly, with no cost to the state and no delay of the execution, should it, in fact, point to Alley as the killer. But the state has opposed all attempts to have this evidence tested.

Other problems likewise call the conviction into question. Under these circumstances, the burning question becomes, what are Shelby County and the state of Tennessee so afraid of that they would fight against a fair and just examination of all evidence?

ACT NOW by contacting Gov. Phil Bredesen requesting that he stop the execution of Sedley Alley!

Read More and Take Action at:
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3439


Do Not Execute Jermaine Herron!

Jermaine Herron, a black man, awaits execution on Texas’ death row. Crucial to the prosecution’s case against Herron were the statements he made to police after surrendering himself for arrest. What is troubling is that these statements were made without an attorney present even though Herron had explicitly requested one.

Although the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals admitted that the trial court had made an error by allowing Herron’s statements, they deemed the error “harmless” and refused to grant Herron relief. This begs the question of whether or not the jury would have arrived at the same verdict had the statement been excluded. While we will never know the answer to this question, this case illustrates that human fallibility is a reality in our criminal justice system.

ACT NOW by contacting Gov. Rick Perry and asking that Jermain Herron's execution be halted!

Read More and Take Action at:
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3438


See and act on all current Execution Alerts at

http://www.ncadp.org/execution_alerts.html

May 2: Joseph Clark, OH
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3434

May 4: Jackie Wilson, TX
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3435

May 12: Jerry Conner, NC
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3436

May 16: Derrick O'Brien, TX
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3437

May 17: Jermaine Herron, TX
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3438

May 17: Sedley Alley, TN
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3439

May 24: Jesus Aguilar, TX
http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/ncadp/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3440

http://www.counterpunch.org/jsmith04202006.html


Informant: Lew Rockwell

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/831757577

From: Cassandra M.