All eyes on Texas governor as calls grow to halt execution
Source: Associated Press
Paul J. Weber, Associated Press
Updated 11:08 pm CST, Friday, November 8, 2019
Abbott has overseen the execution of nearly 50 prisoners while only once sparing a condemned man's life, after a victims' family asked him to do so.
But Abbott who has proudly referred to the death penalty as "Texas justice" has never confronted such intense pressure to halt a lethal injection like he is facing in the case of Rodney Reed, who is set to die this month for a 1996 killing despite new evidence that even a growing number of Republican legislators say raises serious questions about his guilt.
On Saturday, supporters of Reed are planning their biggest protest yet outside the governor's mansion, escalating a public campaign that now counts Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian and Oprah Winfrey among the celebrities who have urged Abbott to call off the Nov. 20 execution. So, too, has the European Union's ambassador to the U.S.
It's unclear if the public pressure is making any impression on Abbott, who was a law and order state attorney general before he was elected governor. Abbott hasn't spoken publicly about Reed's case. Even Republican lawmakers who are close to the governor and have lobbied his office in recent days and weeks for a reprieve say they're in the dark about his thinking.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/All-eyes-on-Texas-governor-as-calls-grow-to-halt-14822056.php
joshdawg
(2,638 posts)Jake Stern
(3,145 posts)What truly makes me want to retch are people who call themselves "progressive" and support the death penalty.
LiberalLovinLug
(14,154 posts)Skittles
(152,967 posts)he is a repuke hack
raccoon
(31,092 posts)Bart Whitaker, who arranged to have his parents and brother murdered, was the one whose death sentence Abbott commuted.
POSTED 4:34 PM, FEBRUARY 22, 2018, BY MIKE H., UPDATED AT 07:33AM, FEBRUARY 23, 2018
SUGAR LAND, Texas Within minutes of his scheduled execution Thursday evening, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott commuted the death sentence of convicted murder Thomas 'Bart' Whitaker of Sugar Land. The inmate will now serve life in prison without possibility of parole.
On Tuesday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles opened the door for Whitaker to be spared with its rare decision. The convict's father, Kent Whitaker, pleaded for his son's sentence to be commuted to life in prison.
Whitaker was convicted of a bizarre 2003 murder plot in which he masterminded the attack of his whole family his mother and brother being killed.
Despite being a victim of his son's horrific crime, Kent Whitaker forgave his son and asked officials to spare him.
His son was set to be executed at 6 p.m.
The governor had been burden with a heavy decision on whether to spare a man's while while also weighing the demands of justice rendered by a 12-member jury.
https://cw39.com/2018/02/22/sugar-land-killer-bart-whitaker-to-be-executed-tonight-unless-gov-abbott-intervenes/Mac
maximusveritas
(2,915 posts)I doubt most of the people supporting him really bother to look into the details.
There is DNA evidence tying him to multiple rapes, including this murder case.
His only defense is having some friends/family come up with lies for him to say he was in a relationship with these girls after he initially denied knowing them. So you'd have to believe he's the unluckiest man in the world to be having all these secret relationships with women who end up being raped by other people who have no DNA tying them to the case.