February Alert: Stay of Execution, Legislative Action Opportunity and More!
Scheduled Executions
February 28: Anthony Bartee
February 29: George Rivas
Respond to each execution by attending a vigil in your community. Learn more at http://tcadp.org/get-involved/stop-executions/
Donald Newbury was granted a stay by the U.S. Supreme Court. He had been scheduled to be executed tonight, February 1. Newbury was convicted of killing a police officer, Aubrey Hawkins, from Irving in 2000 when he escaped along with 6 other prisoners. Read more.
Take Action Today!
Action Opportunity: Contact Your State Legislators!
Yesterday, January 31, 2012, staff and members of TCADP hand-delivered a copy of the 2011 annual report, Texas Death Penalty Developments in 2011: The Year in Review, to every member of the Texas Legislature. Through this activity, our wonderful team of volunteers had a chance to speak with legislative staff members about their concerns about the death penalty and share information that demonstrates that Texas is moving away from its use.
The delivery of the annual report provides the perfect occasion for you to engage in dialogue with your state legislators! Please contact your legislators this week and urge them to read TCADP’s report on death penalty developments in 2011! (Talking points and a sample message are available at the link.)
News and Events
TCADP 2012 Annual Conference: Seizing the Momentum… Creating the Climate for Change
Saturday, February 18, 2012, University of the Incarnate Word Sky Room, San Antonio, Texas
The conference features multiple workshop sessions, a panel discussion on how the changing demographics in Texas will impact our efforts to abolish the death penalty, and networking opportunities with new and old friends. The annual awards ceremony will take place during the luncheon to celebrate those individuals who inspired us in 2011.
Registration for the 2012 TCADP Annual Conference is open. TCADP member, non-member, student, and early-bird rates are available. Prices go up after today, February 1, 2012.
Register online today! or Download the registration form and mail it in.
Download and share the conference flier.
There is still time to advertise in the program to promote your work, congratulate the award winners, and sponsor this annual event. Exhibitor tables are also available. Be in touch ASAP!
Can’t attend the conference but would like to honor this year’s award winners? Consider sponsoring a table at the awards ceremony with a special contribution of $120 or more. Sponsor a table and be listed in the conference program as an award winner sponsor!
The panel includes Jim Henson, the director of the Texas Politics Project, Michael Cline, a demographer from the Hobby School at Rice University, Luis Figueroa, a staff attorney with MALDEF, and Andres Gonzalez, a long-time political consultant. This discussion is very timely and relevant for anyone interested in the future of Texas politics. The panel discussion is one of multiple opportunities offered at the TCADP conference for learning and engagement. Don’t miss it!
All of the conference information, including award winners, is available online at http://tcadp.org/what-we-do/annual-conference/.
Job Opening: Texas After Violence Project Executive Director Search
The Texas After Violence Project seeks a nonprofit leader who can build on the organization’s rich history and move the organization into its next phase with insightful leadership, well-honed fundraising skills, thoughtful and effective communications, and a keen sense of operating a nonprofit organization. TAVP seeks an Executive Director who will maintain the organization’s strong commitment to achieving justice through oral history, attracting diverse leaders and participants, and serving as a resource to the community. Read more.
Houston: “Incendiary” to be Shown Tonight
Wednesday, February 1, 8:00pm
Please join the Houston Peace & Justice Center (HPJC) for a special screening of this film at the Regal Greenway Grand Palace Stadium on Wednesday, February 1st at 8 PM. Stick around afterwards for a discussion about the most recent developments in the Willingham case.
Dallas: Panel Discussion with Exonerees Anthony Graves and Clarence Brandley and Rev. Carroll Pickett, former death house chaplain
Thursday, February 2 Southern Methodist University 306 Dallas Hall, McCord Auditorium, 7:00-9:00pm Sponsored by Embrey Human Rights Program, 214-768-8347, Read Bios or Download FlierCalendar
February
1 Last chance to register for the annual conference at the early-bird rates! http://tcadp.org/what-we-do/annual-conference/
1 “Incendiary” Film Showing, Houston 8:00pm
2 Panel Discussion with Rev. Carroll Pickett, Anthony Graves and Clarence Brandley, SMU 7:00pm
4 Death Penalty workshop with Rev. Carroll Pickett, Our Lady of the Lake Library 1:30pm - FULL
5 Odessa Chapter Meeting, 4:00pm odessa@tcadp.org
15 Dallas Chapter Meeting, 7:00pm, dallas@tcadp.org
18 TCADP Annual Conference, San Antonio
20 El Paso Chapter Meeting, 7:00pm, elpaso@tcadp.org
28 Scheduled Execution: Anthony Bartee
29 Scheduled Execution: George Rivas
March
3 Amnesty International Texas State Conference, College Station
4 Odessa Chapter Meeting, 4:00pm, odessa@tcadp.org
7 Scheduled Execution: Keith Thurmond
19 El Paso Chapter Meeting, 7:00pm, elpaso@tcadp.org
21 Dallas Chapter Meeting, 7:00pm, dallas@tcadp.org
23-24 Lynching and the Death Penalty Symposium, UT School of Law
28 Scheduled Execution: Jesse Hernandez
For more information about these events or to volunteer, email info@tcadp.org.
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Anthony Graves spent 18 years in prison, including 12 years on the Texas death row, for a crime he did not commit. In October 2010 prosecutors dropped all charges against him and declared him innocent after conducting their own investigation of the case.
Clarence Brandley in 1981, while a janitor at a high school in Conroe, Texas, was wrongly convicted of the rape and murder of Cheryl Dee Ferguson, a 16 year-old student. Brandley was held for nine years on death row. After community outcry and lengthy legal proceedings, that eventually ended in the Supreme Court of the United States, Clarence Brandley was freed in 1990.
Rev. Carroll Pickett is a Presbyterian minister who spent 15 years as the death house Chaplain in Huntsville. He gave comfort to 95 men before they were put to death by lethal injection. Rev. Pickett is the author of the book Within These Walls: Memoirs of a Death House Chaplain and his story was featured in the documentary At the Death House Door. He is now a strong opponent of the death penalty and speaks of his observations about capital punishment and the world of prison society.


