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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Six former death row inmates who have been |
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exonerated of the crime for which they were convicted are visiting |
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the State Capitol on March 16, 2011, the Day of Innocence, in |
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support of a moratorium on executions and other related measures; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, These men are among the 138 individuals who have |
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been released from death row since 1973, either because their |
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convictions were overturned and they then won acquittal at retrial |
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or had the charges against them dropped, or because they were given |
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an absolute pardon by the governor based on new evidence of their |
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innocence; their lives forever changed by their wrongful |
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conviction, these six individuals are now working to reform the |
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criminal justice system; and |
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WHEREAS, Convicted of murder in Texas in 1981, Clarence |
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Brandley was just weeks away from his scheduled execution when |
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evidence of coerced testimony and blatant racism in his first two |
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trials prompted the FBI to intervene; three years later, the |
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charges against him were dismissed; Mr. Brandley subsequently |
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married, apprenticed as an electrician, and became a Baptist |
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minister; his life became the subject of a book, White Lies, and a
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cable TV movie, Whitewash: The Clarence Brandley Story; and
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WHEREAS, Sentenced to death in Louisiana in 1987, Albert |
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Burrell was 17 days away from execution in 1996 when his attorneys |
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won a stay; the attorney general's office dismissed the charges |
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against him in 2000, citing "a total lack of credible evidence," and |
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later DNA analysis reinforced that assessment; Albert Burrell |
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currently lives and works in Center; and |
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WHEREAS, Gary Drinkard was convicted in Alabama in 1995; in |
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2000, the state supreme court ordered a retrial on the basis of |
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prosecutorial misconduct, and the following year a second jury |
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found him innocent; Mr. Drinkard's case was subsequently presented |
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to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to illustrate the critical |
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need that those facing the death penalty have for competent legal |
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representation; and |
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WHEREAS, Framed for murder, Shujaa Graham was sentenced in |
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California in 1976; the state supreme court overturned his |
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conviction because the district attorney had systematically |
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excluded African American jurors in his first trial; Mr. Graham was |
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ultimately acquitted in 1981, and since then he has played a leading |
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role in the anti-death penalty and human rights movements; and |
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WHEREAS, Ron Keine was sentenced to death in New Mexico in |
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1974 after a witness, under intense pressure from prosecutors, |
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fabricated a story about his guilt; the following year, the real |
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killer turned himself in, and a new trial for Mr. Keine and his |
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codefendants was eventually ordered; before the trial could be |
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held, though, a judge threw out the murder indictment on the grounds |
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that ballistic tests conclusively linked the confessed killer to |
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the murder weapon; freed in 1976, Mr. Keine now owns a business in |
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Michigan and is a leader in the campaign to abolish the death |
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penalty; and |
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WHEREAS, Anthony Graves of Brenham was arrested in 1992 and |
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convicted in Texas in 1994, primarily on the testimony of one |
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witness who later recanted his story; the Fifth Circuit Court of |
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Appeals ultimately overturned Mr. Graves's conviction in 2006, and |
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he was then sent to the Burleson County jail to await his new trial, |
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which would be four years in coming; during that time, he was kept |
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in solitary confinement; finally, in 2010, 18 years after Mr. |
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Graves was first imprisoned, a special prosecutor determined that |
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no case against him had ever existed, and the charges against him |
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were dropped; and |
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WHEREAS, There is no way to restore to these men the years |
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they have lost, or to compensate them for the mental and emotional |
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anguish they have suffered; notwithstanding the immeasurable pain |
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they have endured, however, they have found the resilience to take a |
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terrible ordeal and channel their response into constructive |
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endeavor; their strength and purposefulness are a testament to |
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their remarkable spirit and a continuing inspiration to countless |
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fellow citizens; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature hereby honor Clarence Brandley, Albert Burrell, Gary |
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Drinkard, Shujaa Graham, Ron Keine, and Anthony Graves for their |
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tenacity in the pursuit of justice and for their significant |
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contributions to the debate over an issue of paramount public |
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concern; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared |
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for these gentlemen as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives. |