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Arkansas Supreme Court Decision Allows New DNA Testing in Case of the ​“West Memphis Three,” Convicted of Killing Three Children in 1993

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On April 18, 2024, the Arkansas Supreme Court decided 4-3 to reverse a 2022 lower court decision and allow genetic testing of crime scene evidence from the 1993 killing of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis. The three men convicted in 1994 for the killings were released in 2011 after taking an Alford plea, in which they maintained their innocence but plead guilty to the crime, in exchange for 18 years’ time served and 10 years of a suspended sentence. 

Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles rejects clemency for Chris Young

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Christopher 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


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