Texas Moratorium Network

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Protest the 200th Execution Under Texas Governor Rick Perry

On June 2, 2009, the 200th execution under Texas Governor Rick Perry is scheduled to take place. Since he became governor of Texas in December 2000, Perry has signed more execution orders than any other governor in U.S. history.

Terry Hankins is scheduled to be the 200th person executed under Rick Perry. If he or anyone scheduled before him receives a stay of execution, then the 200th person will be the next person on the list. We hope everyone receives a stay!

The Texas anti-death penalty community asks people around the world to focus your attention on Texas and join us in protesting the 200th execution carried out under Rick Perry. Altogether, Texas has executed 436 people since 1982, including 152 under former Texas Governor George W. Bush.

How you can protest the 200th execution under Texas Governor Rick Perry

Visit www.protest200executions.com for updates.

1) On the day of the 200th execution, call Governor Perry at 512-462-1782 and tell him your opinion on the death penalty. If you live in the U.S., you can use his the form on his website to email him. We suggest you both call him and email him. If you live outside the U.S., you can fax him at (512) 463-1849 or send him a
letter in the postal mail. We would like to hand deliver letters to him, so please send your letter to the address below and we will deliver it to Rick Perry: You can send us your letter to Perry for us to deliver whether you live in the U.S. or another country.

Texas Moratorium Network
3616 Far West Blvd, Suite 117, Box 251
Austin, Texas 7831

2) Attend a protest in your city either on the day of the 200th execution or sometime before. There are protests already planned. If a protest is not scheduled yet in your city, you can organize a protest. If you live outside the U.S.,
organize a protest at the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Send us a photo or video of your protest by email and we will post it on this website and on YouTube. Or you can upload your photos and videos yourself to our social networking site or directly to our group on YouTube. If your organization is planning a protest, please let us know so that we can list your protest on this site.

3) Sign the petition and add your name to the list of people who are raising their voices to protest the 200th execution under Texas Governor Rick Perry.

4) Donate a symbolic 200 cents towards helping us organize against the Texas death penalty.That is one penny for every execution under Rick Perry. We are asking everyone to donate $2, which is the equivalent of 200 pennies. You are welcome to donate more if you can afford it, but everyone can afford to
donate $2.

The artwork at the top of www.protest200executions.com is by German artist Jasmin Hilmer and represents the isolation of Texas in the world community. While most of the rest of the world, including all of Europe, have turned their backs on the use of capital punishment, Texas continues to execute people at a shocking rate.

This campaign is sponsored by Texas Moratorium Network, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, Campaign to End the Death Penalty - Austin, Students Against the Death Penalty, Texas Death Penalty Education and Resource Center, Abolish the Death Penalty Project on Amazee. If your organization would also like to be a sponsor, email us at admin@texasmoratorium.org or call 512-961-6389.

Tuesday March 24, 2009
Texas State Capitol
11th and Congress
Austin, Texas

People from across Texas came to Austin on Tuesday, March 24, for a Death Penalty Reform Lobby Day to speak with legislators about the injustice of the Texas death penalty system. Issues we discussed included the risk of executing an innocent person (HB788), the need for a moratorium on executions (HB 913, HJR 24), abolition of the death penalty (HB 297, HB 682), the Law of Parties (HB 304, HB 2267), and impeaching Sharon Keller (HR 480).

The Texas Legislature meets once every two years, so we conduct a lobby day during the time when they are in session. This year was the largest lobby day ever against the Texas Death Penalty. We held a training session in the morning from 10 AM to noon to discuss the bills and issues and to train people in how best to communicate with legislators. Two weeks ago we held a special training session in Houston, so the group of people who attended that session were able to start lobbying at 10 AM after leaving Houston at 7 in the morning to drive to Austin. There was also a group of people who drove all the way from the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas to come to Lobby Day, included in that group was the family of Humberto Garza and Robert Garza, both of whom are on death row in Texas. Members of the Garza family are in the picture below.

The main focus of the lobby day was to advocate for the bill that would end the death penalty for people convicted under the Law of Parties, which is the law that allows people to be sentenced to death even though they did not kill anyone. The families of Kenneth Foster and Jeff Wood were at Lobby Day and went to many legislative offices all day telling and retelling the stories of Kenneth and Jeff, two people who were sentenced to death even though they did not kill anyone. Kenneth's death sentence was commuted to life in prison in 2007, after a long campaign on his behalf by many of the groups and people who also organized lobby day. Jeff Wood remains on death row, but many people are still fighting and organizing to save his life. Jeff never killed anyone. He was sentenced to death under the law of parties because someone else killed someone.

The sponsor of the bill, State Representative Terri Hodge, met with us at 1 PM in the House Speaker's Committee Room. She gave us an inspiring speech and pledged to do everything in her power to work for this bill. She broke down in tears briefly telling us how emotionally affected she was by the testimony she heard from the family members of people convicted under the law of parties at last week's committee hearing.

You can watch the video of that hearing by clicking on this link, which will stream a video file to your computer. It is powerful stuff, so as Shakespeare wrote, "if you have tears, prepare to shed them now." The father of Kenneth Foster starts speaking at around minute 23. The girlfriend of Randy Halprin gives her moving testimony at around the one hour point. The sister of Jeff Wood, Terri Been, starts her powerful testimony at around minute 32. Terri does a wonderful job explaining to the committee the injustice of the Law of Parties.

In all we contacted 90 legislative offices on lobby day, the majority were in person visits by the people who came to lobby day, others were contacts by phone and email. We had many teams going to visit offices all day. We heard reports back from the teams that the receptions they got were overwhelmingly favorable. Based on the feedback we received, we believe that the bill to end the death penalty under the law of parties will receive a favorable vote in committee soon.

Lobby Day was Sponsored by: Texas Moratorium Network, Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, Campaign to End the Death Penalty - Austin Chapter, Texas Students Against the Death Penalty, Texas CURE, the Student Prison Caucus, the Eye & Tooth Project: Forum Theatre on the Death Penalty, Kids Against the Death Penalty, People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources (PODER) and the Friends Meeting of Austin.

Flyer for Lobby Day Against the Death Penalty March 24 Austin Texas

Members of the Subcommittee on Capital Punishment

Robert Miklos, Chair of Subcommittee on Capital Punishment
District 101 (Dallas County-part)
Email for for Miklos
Phone: 512-463-0464; FAX: 512-463-9295

Wayne Christian, District 09 (Shelby, Nacogdoches, San Augustine, Sabine, Jasper Counties)
Email for for Christian
Phone: 512-463-0556; FAX: 512-463-5896

Joseph Moody, District 78 (El Paso County-part)
Email for for Moody
Phone: 512-463-0728; FAX: 512-463-0397

Pete Gallego
Email for for Gallego
Phone: 512-463-0566; FAX: 512-263-9408

Terri Hodge (Sponsor of Law of Parties bill, so no need to contact her)

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June 2, 2009