Texas: Stop the execution of Patrick Murphy

On November 13, 2019, the State of Texas is scheduled to execute Patrick Murphy for the death of Officer Aubrey Hawkins.

Hawkins was killed during the robbery of an Oshman’s sporting goods store in Irving in 2000. Although Murphy was on the other side of the building acting as a lookout when the shooting occurred, he was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 2003 under Texas’ law of parties, which holds a person criminally responsible for the actions of another if they are engaged in a conspiracy.

In December 2000, Murphy and 6 other inmates escaped from a maximum-security prison south of San Antonio, where he was serving a 50-year sentence for aggravated sexual assault with a deadly weapon.

George Rivas, the ringleader who plotted the escape of the “Texas 7”, admitted to shooting Officer Hawkins. 5 guns played a role in the murder. According to his attorneys, Murphy did not want to take part in the robbery of Oshman’s and was waiting in front of the store in a parked vehicle. After informing the other members of the “Texas 7” that Officer Hawkins had arrived on the scene, Murphy drove to a nearby apartment complex.

Rivas and 3 other men have been executed by the State of Texas; another member of the “Texas 7” took his own life to avoid capture. Murphy is the second to last person convicted of the murder of Officer Hawkins who remains on death row.

The other remaining member of this group, Randy Halprin, was scheduled to be executed on October 10, 2019 but received a stay from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in light of new evidence that his 2003 trial was tainted by the anti-Semitic bias of Dallas Judge Vickers Cunningham. Judge Cunningham also presided over the trial of Patrick Murphy.

This is the 2nd execution date Murphy has faced this year. At the eleventh hour, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed his March 28, 2019 execution based on his complaint of religious discrimination. Murphy’s request for a reasonable accommodation to have a Buddhist priest instead of a Christian chaplain in the execution chamber had been denied. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) noted that only its own staff, comprised of Christian and Muslim chaplains, were allowed to be present in the chamber.

5 days after the Court issued the stay, TDJC’s Correctional Institutions Division published a revised Execution Procedure in which it removed all chaplains from the execution chamber. TDCJ officials did not consult with the Governor, the Texas Legislature, or the Texas Board of Criminal Justice.

This summer, nearly 200 Texas faith leaders urged TDCJ to reconsider its policy. They observed that the right of condemned people to spiritual comfort at the moment of death is a longstanding and widely-recognized religious practice. Until April 2, 2019, the State of Texas had provided the right to comfort by a chaplain to 560 people in their last moments.

Murphy’s attorneys are asking the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute his sentence or, in the alternative, recommend the Governor issue a 90-day reprieve to give TDCJ an opportunity to amend its execution procedure to allow chaplains of all faiths in the execution chamber.

It is unconscionable that Patrick Murphy might be executed for a murder he did not commit, without the presence of a Buddhist monk to assist the free exercise of his religious practice.

Support clemency or a reprieve for Patrick Murphy

Please contact the Board and Governor Abbott to urge clemency or at least a 90-day reprieve for Patrick Murphy (TDCJ #999461, DOB 10/03/1961). You’ll find contact information and talking points below. Send appeals by November 8.

Talking points

- The murder of Officer Aubrey Hawkins was a terrible tragedy deserving of harsh punishment.

- Carrying out the execution of Patrick Murphy, who neither fired a shot at Officer Hawkins nor had any reason to know others would do so, constitutes excessive – not proportionate – punishment.

- It is unconscionable that Patrick Murphy might be executed for a murder he did not commit, without the presence of a Buddhist monk to assist the free exercise of his religious practice. This same right was afforded to hundreds of Christian inmates from December 7, 1982 to April 2, 2019. - TDCJ’s new execution procedure is hostile to religion and removes a small but vital form of human compassion in an otherwise dehumanizing process.

- Nearly 200 faith leaders across Texas have asked TDCJ to reconsider its decision to remove chaplains from the execution chamber. Religious liberty advocates nationwide have condemned the change in the execution procedure, as well.

- Patrick Murphy’s death sentence should be commuted to a lesser penalty. In the alternative, the Board should recommend the Governor issue a 90-day reprieve to give TDCJ officials an opportunity to amend the execution procedure so as to accommodate the rights of condemned prisoners and chaplains of all faith backgrounds.

Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles

Clemency Section

8610 Shoal Creek Boulevard

Austin, Texas 78758

Chairman: David Gutierrez

Fax (512) 467-0945

Email: bpp_clemency@tdcj.texas.gov

Governor Greg Abbott

Office of the Governor

P.O. Box 12428

Austin, Texas 78711-2428

Information and Referral Hotline: (800) 843-5789 [for Texas callers]

Citizen’s Opinion Hotline: (800) 252-9600 [for Texas callers]

Information and Referral and Opinion Hotline: (512) 463-1782 [for Austin, Texas and out-of-state callers]

Online Contact: https://gov.texas.gov/contact/

Spread the word! Forward this article to a friend.

Source: TCADP, Staff, October 30, 2019

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