| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Three former death row inmates who have been |
|
|
exonerated of the crimes for which they were convicted are visiting |
|
|
the State Capitol on March 3, 2015, the Day of Innocence, in support |
|
|
of a moratorium on executions and other related measures; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, These individuals are among the 150 men and women in |
|
|
the United States who have been released from death row since 1973, |
|
|
either because their convictions were overturned and they won |
|
|
acquittal at retrial, because the charges against them were |
|
|
dropped, or because they were given an absolute pardon based on new |
|
|
evidence of their innocence; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Sentenced to death in Mississippi in 1990, Sabrina |
|
|
Butler appealed to the state supreme court and was granted a new |
|
|
trial in 1995; in addition to the introduction of new testimony that |
|
|
corroborated Ms. Butler's account of the incident, the medical |
|
|
examiner changed his ruling in the case, and she was acquitted; now |
|
|
married and the mother of three children, she recently published a |
|
|
memoir, The Sabrina Butler Story; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Gary Drinkard was convicted in Alabama in 1995; in |
|
|
2000, the state supreme court ordered a retrial on the basis of |
|
|
prosecutorial misconduct, and the following year a second jury |
|
|
found him innocent; his case was subsequently presented to the U.S. |
|
|
Senate Judiciary Committee to illustrate the critical need for |
|
|
competent legal representation for defendants facing the death |
|
|
penalty; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Framed for murder, Shujaa Graham was sentenced in |
|
|
California in 1976; the state supreme court overturned his |
|
|
conviction because the district attorney had systematically |
|
|
excluded African American jurors in his first trial; Mr. Graham was |
|
|
ultimately acquitted in 1981, and since then he has played a leading |
|
|
role in the anti-death penalty and human rights movements; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, There is no way to restore to these individuals the |
|
|
years they have lost, or to compensate them for the mental and |
|
|
emotional anguish they have suffered; despite the immeasurable pain |
|
|
they have endured, they have found the resilience to devote |
|
|
themselves to effecting reforms in the criminal justice system, and |
|
|
their efforts are a source of continuing inspiration to people |
|
|
throughout this nation and beyond; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby recognize March 3, 2015, as the Day of Innocence |
|
|
and honor Sabrina Butler, Gary Drinkard, and Shujaa Graham for |
|
|
their significant contributions to the debate over an issue of |
|
|
paramount public concern. |