The Prisoners Defense Committee
405 W. Lubbock . San Antonio, TX 78204
The Prisoners Defense Committee
PURSUING EXECUTIONS RATHER THAN JUSTICE:
TEXAS KILLS AN INNOCENT MAN
Odell Barnes, Jr. was executed on March 1, 2000, despite strong claims of
innocence, including blood from the victim planted on his clothing. We
know the blood was planted because it had preservative from a test tube in
it. The Disrict Attorney denied there was any wrong doing in Odell's case.
What else would you expect?
Odell Barnes is the most recent tragic case to disprove George W.
Bush's assertion that an innocent man has never been executed on his watch.
Barnes' case is particularly disturbing because the facts of innocence
uncovered by his appeals lawyers were ignored by Bush, the Texas Board of
Pardons and Paroles, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the 5th Circuit
Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. It sort of makes you think
that the whole damn system isn't worth a dime. Certainly, Amnesty
International would agree with that assessment based on its 1998 report,
"The Death Penalty Process in Texas: Lethal Injustice."
Evidence of Barnes' innocence was virtualy ignored by the news media with
the exception of the Houston Press (kudos to Bob Burtman) and the European
press. The Houston Chronicle, a pro death penalty newspaper, did not
report anything about Barnes' case until AFTER the execution. Even then,
it conveniently quoted only the district attorney and made no mention of
the tainted blood evidence. So much for unbiased reporting!
What is really disturbing in Odell's case is not only his unjust death, but
also the fact that the real perpetrators of the crime are still out on the
steets. This is what happens when you pursue executions rather than
justice.
Dave Atwood, President
Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
March 7, 2000
- Return to Homepage
- Emergency Response Network, Bonnie Kerness and Anna Standing Deer
- Writings by Ronald Del Raine, Prison Activist
- Writings by Bonnie Kerness of the American Friends Service Committee (Prison Watch)
- Preface to Deceased Prisoner of War Bobby Gene Garcia's Poetry
- The Purple Prose and Poetry Pages by Anna Standing Deer
- Expressions of Sundiata Acoli, BLA Political Prisoner and Activist
- The Prisoners Defense Committee (San Antonio, Texas), John V. Martinez, Director
- Interview With John V. Martinez
- Texas Executes an Innocent Man
- Pamela Lynn Perillo, Death Row Inmate, Wins Her Appeal in the 5th Circuit Court
- Fidel Speaks on the Murder of Shaka Sankofa
- Poetry and Writing for Shaka Sankofa
- Issues Surrounding Mumia Abu-Jamal, Voice of the Voiceless
- Friends of Move Updates
- Writings by and about Standing Deer, Native American Political Prisoner and Spiritual Activist