Law of Parties all over again: Death row inmate hopes for Perry's intervention

Robert Lee Thompson (pictured) didn't fire the shot that killed a Houston convenience store clerk; his accomplice did. But barring Gov. Rick Perry's intervention, Thompson will be the one headed to the Texas death chamber next month while the accomplice serves a life sentence.

Thompson, 34, and Sammy Butler, 32, were tried for capital murder for the Dec. 5, 1996 stickup of a Braeswood Boulevard convenience store in which clerk Mansoor Rahim was killed. Under Texas' law of parties, all participants in a such cases are eligible for the death penalty, regardless of who did the actual killing.

Thus, Thompson, who wounded but did not kill another employee, was convicted and sentenced to die. But prosecutors failed to prove Butler intended to kill his victim, leading to a noncapital conviction and a life sentence for the triggerman. Butler will be eligible for parole in 2036.

Thompson's lawyer Patrick McCann calls the situation “egregious,” and describes the case as a “legal Catch-22 that could only happen in Harris County.”

Rebuffed by a series of appeals courts, McCann on Monday turned to the state's pardons and paroles board in a near-last-minute bid to save his client from a Nov. 19 execution.

In a six-page petition, the lawyer asks the board to recommend that Perry issue a 180-day reprieve or commute the sentence to life in prison. It's a long shot, McCann knows. The pardons board rarely advocates clemency and the governor almost never grants it.

In the petition, McCann likens Thompson's case to that of San Antonio robber Kenneth Foster — the only capital murder case in which Perry voluntarily commuted a death sentence to life in prison.

Three hours before the scheduled execution in August 2007, Perry spared Foster's life, expressing concern that trials for Foster and his accomplice had been held simultaneously. Foster had been a getaway driver in the 1996 robbery in which his accomplice killed a store employee.

The trials for Thompson and Butler were not held simultaneously, McCann conceded, but Thompson was tried first — and that was just as unfair, he contended.

Turning to the pardons board is an indication that McCann believes Thompson is running out of options. Similar arguments gained no traction with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Since January 2001, more than 200 Texas killers have been executed. In more than 120 instances, the pardons board rejected killers' petitions. Given the slim chance board members will act favorably on a petition, many condemned killers don't bother asking.

“I'm always hopeful when it's a law of parties case and my client hasn't killed,” McCann said. “I'll admit the odds are against us, but if Gov. Perry has shown one thing, it's that he's receptive to hearing law of parties cases.”

Thompson, interviewed recently on death row, said his case “shows why the death penalty in Texas is corrupt. They're trying to justify capital murder. Where is the capital murder?”

Trial testimony revealed Thompson shot store clerk Mubarakali Meredia four times but did not kill him. After the clerk opened the cash drawer, Thompson placed his pistol to Meredia's neck and pulled the trigger a fifth time. The weapon was out of bullets. Thompson then clubbed Meredia with his pistol.

The shot that killed Rahim, Meredia's cousin, was fired by Butler as the robbers fled the parking lot.

Prosecutors on Monday said they have not seen Thompson's clemency petition.

In the punishment phase of Thompson's trial, prosecutors called witnesses who testified that he had participated in at least seven other robberies.

Source: Houston Chronicle, Oct. 27, 2009

Comments

Singapore executes three drug mules over two days

Singapore hanged three people for drug offences last week, bringing the total number of executions to 17 this year - the highest since 2003. These come a week before a constitutional challenge against the death penalty for drug offences is due to be heard. Singapore has some of the world's harshest anti-drug laws, which it says are a necessary deterrent to drug crime, a major issue elsewhere in South East Asia. Anyone convicted of trafficking - which includes selling, giving, transporting or administering - more than 15g of diamorphine, 30g of cocaine, 250g of methamphetamine and 500g of cannabis in Singapore will be handed the death sentence.

Florida | After nearly 50 years on death row, Tommy Zeigler seeks final chance at freedom

The Winter Garden Police chief was at a party on Christmas Eve 1975 when he received a phone call from his friend Tommy Zeigler, the owner of a furniture store on Dillard Street. “I’ve been shot, please hurry,” Zeigler told the chief as he struggled for breath. When police arrived at the store, Zeigler, 30, managed to unlock the door and then collapsed “with a gaping bullet hole through his lower abdomen,” court records show. In the store, detectives found a gruesome, bloody crime scene and several guns. Four other people — Zeigler’s wife, his in-laws and a laborer — lay dead.

Louisiana death row inmate freed after nearly 30 years as overturned conviction upends case

A Louisiana man who spent nearly 30 years on death row walked out of prison Wednesday after a judge overturned his conviction and granted him bail. Jimmie Duncan, now in his 60s, was sentenced to death in 1998 for the alleged rape and drowning of his girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter, Haley Oliveaux — a case long clouded by disputed forensic testimony. His release comes months after a state judge ruled that the evidence prosecutors used to secure the conviction was unreliable and rooted in discredited bite-mark analysis.

Oklahoma board recommends clemency for inmate set to be executed next week

A voting board in Oklahoma decided Wednesday to recommend clemency for Tremane Wood, a death row inmate who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next week at the state penitentiary in McAlester. Wood, 46, faces execution for his conviction in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker, at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year's Eve, court records show. The recommendation was decided in a 3-2 vote by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, consisting of five members appointed by either the governor or the state's top judicial official, according to CBS News affiliate KWTV. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt will consider the recommendation as he weighs whether to grant or deny Wood's clemency request, which would mean sparing him from execution and reducing his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Vietnam | Woman sentenced to death for poisoning 4 family members with cyanide

A woman in Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam was sentenced to death on Thursday for killing family members including two young children in a series of cyanide poisonings that shocked her community. The Dong Nai People's Court found 39-year-old Nguyen Thi Hong Bich guilty of murder and of illegally possessing and using toxic chemicals. Judges described her actions as "cold-blooded, inhumane and calculated," saying Bich exploited the trust of her victims and "destroyed every ethical bond within her family."

Afghanistan | Two Sons Of Executed Man Also Face Death Penalty, Says Taliban

The Taliban governor’s spokesperson in Khost said on Tuesday that two sons of a man executed earlier that day have also been sentenced to death. Their executions, he said, have been postponed because the heir of the victims is not currently in Afghanistan. Mostaghfer Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Khost, also released details of the charges against the man executed on Tuesday, identified as Mangal. He said Mangal was accused of killing members of a family.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers carry out public execution in sports stadium

The man had been convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including children, and was executed by one of their relatives, according to police. Afghanistan's Taliban authorities carried out the public execution of a man on Tuesday convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including several children, earlier this year. Tens of thousands of people attended the execution at a sports stadium in the eastern city of Khost, which the Supreme Court said was the eleventh since the Taliban seized power in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO forces.

Utah | Ralph Menzies dies on death row less than 3 months after his execution was called off

Judge was set to consider arguments in December about Menzies’ mental fitness Ralph Menzies, who spent more than 3 decades on Utah’s death row for the 1986 murder of Maurine Hunsaker, has died. Menzies, 67, died of “presumed natural causes at a local hospital” Wednesday afternoon, according to the Utah Department of Corrections. Matt Hunsaker, Maurine Hunsaker’s son, said Menzies’ death “was a complete surprise.” “First off, I’d say that I’m numb. And second off, I would say, grateful,” Hunsaker told Utah News Dispatch. “I’m grateful that my family does not have to endure this for the holidays.”

Iran carries out public hanging of "double-rapist"

Iran on Tuesday publicly executed a man after convicting him of raping two women in the northern province of Semnan. The execution was carried out in the town of Bastam after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, the judiciary's official outlet Mizan Online reported. Mizan cited the head of the provincial judiciary, Mohammad Akbari, as saying the ruling had been 'confirmed and enforced after precise review by the Supreme Court'. The provincial authority said the man had 'deceived two women and committed rape by force and coercion', adding that he used 'intimidation and threats' to instil fear of reputational harm in the victims.

Burkina Faso to bring back death penalty

Burkina Faso's military rulers will bring back the death penalty, which was abolished in 2018, the country's Council of Ministers announced on Thursday. "This draft penal code reinstates the death penalty for a number of offences, including high treason, acts of terrorism, acts of espionage, among others," stated the information service of the Burkinabe government. Burkina Faso last carried out an execution in 1988.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog