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Activists Call on President Biden to End the Federal Death Penalty Before Leaving Office

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A conversation with Death Penalty Action Co-founder and Executive Director Abe Bonowitz. Now that Joe Biden is a lame duck president, activists are holding him accountable to make good on his promise to end the federal death penalty during his remaining six months as president. Biden’s election campaign in 2020 had pledged to end the federal death penalty and incentivize the remaining 27 states that still allow executions to do the same. While he made history as the first president in the United States to openly oppose the death penalty, there has been no movement to actually end federal executions during his nearly four years in office.

Texas Gives Kosoul Chanthakoummane New Execution Date of August 17, 2022

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Texas plans to execute Kosoul Chanthakoummane at 6 pm local time, on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, at the Huntsville State Penitentiary in Huntsville. 41-year-old Kosoul is convicted of murdering 40-year-old Sarah Ann Walker on July 8, 2006, in Mckinney, Texas. For the last 14 years, Kosoul has been on Texas’ death row.

Kosoul spent time in juvenile facilities growing up for robbery. He also attacked a friend, causing 6 fractured ribs and a concussion, in addition to other injuries. Kosoul was previously convicted of aggravated robbery and kidnapping in North Carolina, and after serving his sentence, he was paroled to Texas to live with relatives. At the time of Sarah’s murder, Kosoul was wanted for a parole violation. While in Texas, Kosoul worked as a deliveryman and a warehouseman.

On July 8, 2006, Mamie Sharpless, a real estate agent, received a call from a man claiming to be “Chan Lee” who had just moved to Texas from North Carolina. He wanted to look at a townhouse in the Craig Ranch neighborhood of McKinney, Texas. Mamie agreed to meet with the man between 11:30 am and noon later that day.

Mamie and her husband arrived at the meeting place and waited for “Chan” to arrive. A short time later, a man in a white Ford Mustang drove by and parked in front of a model home. The couple approached the car and asked the man if he was Chan, which he denied.

According to testimony at Kosoul Chanthakoummane’s trial, the man in the vehicle was Chanthakoummane. Chan never showed up.

While Mamie was showing the townhome to another potential buyer, Mamie’s husband observed Sarah Walker, another real estate agent, arrive. After Mamie finished her showing, she and her husband went to Sarah’s model home. They entered around 1:10 pm and found it “ransacked,” with a large pool of blood in the dining room and a trail of blood to the kitchen, where they found Sarah’s body.

An autopsy determined Sarah had been struck over the head several times as she attempted to defend herself. The attack was powerful enough to break her nose and fracture her teeth. Sarah received 33 stab wounds, 10 of which penetrated vital organs. Sarah also had a bite mark on her neck and she was robbed of a new Rolex watch and a ring.

DNA showed that some of the blood at the crime scene belonged to Chanthakoummane, who claimed that “old cuts” on his hands “from work” was the cause. Chanthakoummane told police he had broken down in front of the model home and entered to get a drink of water, but was unable to turn on the faucet. A dentist matched the bite mark on Sarah’s neck to Chanthakoummane’s bite, although another expert rejected that conclusion.

Kosoul Chanthakoummane’s execution has been rescheduled to August 17, 2022, per the Texas Department of Criminal Justice online execution calendar. No reason for the change of date has been given, however, several Texas executions have been stayed in recent weeks due to concerns over violation of religious rights. Currently, the chosen spiritual advisor of an inmate is allowed in the execution chamber, but they may not touch the inmate during the execution process. Inmates have filed appeals arguing that this violates their religious rights. The Supreme Court of the United States is scheduled to hear arguments in the case later this year.

Please pray for peace and healing for the family of Sarah Walker. Please pray for strength for the family of Kosoul. Pray that if Kosoul should not be executed for any reason, evidence is presented before his execution. Please pray that Kosoul may come to find peace through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Source: theforgivenessfoundation.org, Staff, July 20, 2022





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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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