Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles rejects clemency for Chris Young

Today, July 13, 2018, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, by a vote of xxx, rejected Christopher Anthony Young’s application for clemency.

Young faces execution by the State of Texas on Tuesday, July 17, 2018.

Earlier this year, the Board unanimously recommended clemency for Thomas Whitaker, a white man convicted of masterminding the murders of his mother and brother. His father, Kent, was also shot in the ambush but survived and forgave his son, pleading for his life.

Chris Young is African-American. The son of the man he killed opposes his execution.

Governor Abbott has the authority to grant a one-time, 30-day reprieve.

Statement from David Dow and Jeff Newberry, attorneys for Chris Young:

“We are devastated that the members of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles failed to recognize what we know to be true: The man the State of Texas seeks to execute – our client, Christopher Anthony Young – is not the same reckless young man who took the life of Hasmukh Patel in San Antonio on November 21, 2004.

Killing Chris on July 17, 2018 will not benefit anyone: not his two daughters and other family members who love him; not Mitesh Patel, the son of Hasmukh, who does not want Chris to be executed; and not the adolescents desperately in need of his mentorship.

The members of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles have ignored their moral imperative to consider all facets of this case – not just the crime but the way Chris Young has lived the last 12 years of his life on death row.

Since his conviction, Chris has educated himself, become grounded in his religion, actively parented his daughters, and mentored troubled young people beyond the prison walls. He is deeply remorseful for killing Mr. Patel, and he would like the opportunity to express his sorrow in person to Mitesh Patel. The Board’s rejection of clemency instead offers retribution, not restorative justice.

We call on Governor Abbott to use his authority to grant a one-time 30-day stay of execution so that Chris and Mitesh Patel have an opportunity to meet. Doing so will demonstrate the same spirit of mercy that Mr. Patel has so courageously shown.”

David Dow and Jeff Newberry, July 13, 2018

Attorneys David R. Dow and Jeff Newberry are available to answer questions about Mr. Young’s case. Contact Mr. Newberry at 713-743-6843 or jrnewber@central.uh.edu.

Source: tcadp, Kristin, July 13, 2018

⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

Idaho | Death row prisoners sue over state's new firing squad

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) – Days after Idaho made the switch to a firing squad for executions, two Idaho death row prisoners next in line to be put to death sued the state prison system, saying its director withheld information about how she settled on the specifics for carrying out the method. Attorneys for prisoners Thomas Creech and Gerald Pizzuto filed suit this week in state district court against Idaho Department of Correction Director Bree Derrick. In the filing, they called her approval of an updated standard operating procedure for the firing squad and lethal injection as a backup method “arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion and in excess of the statutory authority of the agency.”

Two Germans to be caned, jailed for Singapore train graffiti

"Singapore: Disneyland with the death penalty" A Singapore court sentenced two Germans to nine months in prison and three strokes of the cane on Thursday after they pleaded guilty to breaking into a depot and spray-painting graffiti on a commuter train carriage. Andreas Von Knorre, 22, and Elton Hinz, 21, both expressed remorse while being sentenced in the state courts of the island republic. “This is the darkest episode of my entire life,” said Von Knorre. “I want to apologise to the state of Singapore for the stupid act ... I’ve learnt my lesson and will never do it again.” Hinz added: “I promise I will never do it again. I want to apologise to you, and my family for the shame and situation I’ve put them into.” Both were dressed in prison uniform — a white T-shirt and brown trousers with the word “Prisoner” down the sides and on the back. They spoke to the court in English. Singapore sentences hundreds of prisoners to caning each year as part of a syst...

Florida death row inmate wants DeSantis to attend his pending execution

Dennis Michael Sochor is scheduled to be put to death Tuesday, the 29th person executed by the state in the past 19 months. Dennis Michael Sochor, convicted of strangling an 18-year-old woman he met at a New Year’s celebration in a Broward County bar 44 years ago, is scheduled to die by lethal injection Tuesday at Florida State Prison. His last wish? To have Gov. Ron DeSantis personally observe his execution up close and personal.

Florida | Former prison warden who oversaw executions urges corrections workers to not participate in them

Recently Florida carried out the execution of Dusty Spencer , a 74-year-old Marine veteran, for the murder of his wife, Karen, in 1992. It was the ninth Florida execution this year. For their own sake, I urge Florida’s corrections workers to refuse to carry out another one. Before you dismiss me as some soft lefty, you should know that I am an Air Force veteran. I voted for Ron DeSantis for governor twice—and for Donald Trump for president three times.

We Asked Ohio’s Death Row What They Think of Governor’s Death Penalty Reversal

Like Gov. Mike DeWine, most agreed the death penalty is broken and does not deter crime, but not always with the same reasoning. Some people on Ohio’s death row praised Gov. Mike DeWine for having the courage to come out against the death penalty. Others said actions speak louder than words, and they want the governor to commute their death sentences to life without the possibility of parole. But all agreed with the governor on one thing: Ohio’s death penalty law is broken. DeWine said long delays in carrying out executions undermine its intended function as a deterrent. Condemned prisoners resoundingly said that the possibility of being executed never stopped anyone from committing murder.

Florida | Double-murderer set for execution, sparking intense legal battle over age, declining health

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for the Pasco County execution of Dominick Occhicone, scheduled for July 28. Defense attorneys argue the 80-year-old double-murderer is too old and frail to be executed under the 8th Amendment. HOLIDAY, Fla. - Dominick Occhicone is scheduled to face execution on July 28 for the 1986 cold-blooded murders of his ex-girlfriend's parents in Pasco County, sparking an intense legal battle over his advanced age and failing health. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for Dominick Occhicone, who has spent nearly 40 years on death row, according to state records. The man is about to turn 81 and was convicted of killing Raymond and Martha Artzner at their home in Holiday. The warrant comes shortly after the state executed 74-year-old Dusty Ray Spencer last week. If the scheduled July 14 execution of 74-year-old Dennis Sochor proceeds, he will surpass Spencer as the oldest inmate executed in Florida since 1976. Court records show that Occhicone wen...

The history and evolution of the “last meal”

People everywhere have long been oddly fascinated by the last meals of those on death row, specifically wanting to know more about the last meal requests of notorious criminals, like convicted serial killers: Did these men request an elaborate meal, or did they opt for something nostalgic like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or an order of KFC ? Or, like Ted Bundy, did they refuse a last meal altogether? But instead of looking at the last meals of specific prisoners, perhaps the focus should be on how this practice got started in the first place and how it’s changed over time. The history of the “last meal” One of the most well-recognized “last meals” is the last supper shared by Jesus Christ and his disciples before his crucifixion, as depicted in the Bible. In fact, the ritual of a doomed person eating some special kind of final meal goes back even further to pre-Christian times. A faculty publication from the Mercer University School of Law titled “Cold (Comfort?) Food: A System...

UK | A Dead Woman’s Sentence Is Commuted to Life in Prison. Justice or Farce?

A Dead Woman’s Sentence Is Commuted to Life in Prison. Justice or Farce? On July 8, England’s Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, David Lammy, informed his colleagues in the House of Commons that King Charles had granted a conditional pardon to a woman who was executed on July 13, 1955. The beneficiary of the King’s posthumous mercy was Ruth Ellis, who, as a report in the Guardian notes , “was the last woman to be hanged in the United Kingdom.”

Oldest inmate set to be executed in Florida will face strict spending limit for final meal

An entire category of food is also off-limits for final meal requests in Florida Florida is currently preparing to execute its oldest inmate later today (July 14), a 74-year-old convicted murderer who has been on death row since the 1980s—but his final meal will be limited by a strict budget. Dennis Sochor is scheduled to be put to death later today, making history as the oldest inmate to ever be executed in the state. The criminal, who has been on death row for nearly 40 years, will be administered the lethal three-drug injection, with the process due to begin at around 6pm.

Iraq: German schoolgirl, 17, turned jihadi bride escapes death penalty and is jailed for six years

GERMAN Jihadi bride Linda Wenzel has been jailed for six years in Baghdad for her role as an Islamic enforcer with terror group ISIS. Wenzel, 17, who last year sobbed on TV “I have ruined my life,” could have faced the death penalty. German media reported that a German embassy representative in Iraq was in court yesterday to witness her sentencing. She received five years for joining IS and one year for entering Iraq illegally. Wenzel was found in the rubble of IS stronghold Mosul back in the summer of 2017. Charges were laid against her and three other German women captured with her. Schoolgirl Wenzel fled to Turkey then into Syria last year from her hometown of Pulsnitz in eastern Germany after being groomed online by a Chechen IS fighter who she married. He was killed in the savage fighting for Mosul while she was employed by the terror group enforcing the strict Islamic dress code on women in the city. She burst into tears after her capture and said s...

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog