[Death Penalty Signs] Execution scheduled for Wed. 9/14

[Rich Woodward]

This Wednesday, 9/14, the State of Texas is scheduled to execute 
Frances Newton.  If you onw one of the "Execution Today" lawn signs, 
please post it all day.  There is a vigil scheduled in College 
Station at Protest Park, the corner of Texas Ave. and Walton from 
5:30-6:00.

As discussed in the information from NCADP below, there were a lot of 
problems with Ms. Newton's trial and she has a very strong innocense 
claim.  It would be particularly  tragic if the state puts her to 
death.  Please take the action indicated below.  There is hope that 
she might win an appeal at a higher court, in which case the vigil 
would be cancelled.  I will try to notify people in the event of a 
stay, but if you read the news first, pelase let me know.

Rich


Do not execute Frances Newton!

TEXAS

Sept. 14, 2005



The state of Texas is scheduled to execute Frances Newton on Sept. 
14th for the April 1987 murders of her husband, Adrian Newton and 
children Alton and Farah Newton in Harris County. If executed, Newton 
would be the first African-American woman Texas has put to death 
since the state resumed executions in 1982.

Newton's case embodies core problems with the death penalty in the 
United States in general and in Texas in particular. Her trial 
counsel was egregiously incompetent, she has a strong innocence claim 
and her conviction rested in large part on the results of ballistics 
testing conducted by the now-discredited Houston Police Department's 
crime lab.  

Furthermore, Newton has been denied effective representation at 
nearly every stage of her appeal and consequently, her case has never 
been thoroughly or independently investigated. In fact, on the very 
day her trial began, her attorney, Ron Mock, admitted that he could 
not provide the name of a single witness with whom he had spoken. 
Mock is well known in Texas death penalty circles; he has had more 
clients sent to death row than any other lawyer. Many of his former 
clients have been executed and he is no longer assigned death penalty 
cases because of his astonishingly abysmal record as an attorney.

Newton, who was 21 at the time of the crime, took out a life 
insurance policy on her husband, herself, and her daughter less than 
a month before the crimes were committed. This action led many to 
believe she killed the victims in order to collect life insurance 
benefits.  Newton also was reportedly having marital problems with 
her husband which the state further concluded to be evidence against 
her.  However, as Newton's current attorneys have pointed out, there 
is a complex and overwhelming array of facts and circumstances that 
call into question the integrity and accuracy of her conviction.

First, Newton was convicted of killing her seven-year old son Alton 
Newton although he was not covered by a life insurance policy. The 
state was not able to provide a viable motive for his death. She also 
allegedly killed her 20-month old daughter for an additional $50,000 
in insurance benefits. While a problematic marital situation may 
serve as motive for Newton's husband's murder, the killing of her two 
children is still speculative and largely unexplained by the state.

Second, the Houston Police Department's crime lab, which conducted 
ballistics testing on the weapon the state believes was used in the 
murder, is now widely regarded as extraordinarily unreliable. Without 
the crime lab's ballistics report, it is extremely doubtful that 
Newton's case would even have gone to trial, much less resulted in a 
capital murder conviction and death sentence.

Third, the state presented conflicting evidence regarding the timing 
of the murders and the likelihood Newton was home at the time they 
took place. Based on what the state presented, it is highly possible 
that another individual could have been at the residence at the time 
of the shooting. The state's evidence does not exclude this 
possibility in any way.

Fourth, the state has not investigated the possibility that another 
suspect or suspects may have been involved in the murders. Police 
were in possession of information that Adrian Newton was known to be 
a drug dealer and was in debt to a supplier. Despite this 
information, apparently police never investigated the possibility 
that the deaths were drug-related. 

Fifth, the only other physical evidence in the case was the presence 
of nitrates found on the lower part of the dress Newton was wearing. 
However, while the state argued that the presence of nitrates 
indicated gun powder residue, other possible sources include 
fertilizer and cosmetics. It has been established that Newton's 
toddler was exposed to fertilizer earlier that day. Furthermore, 
Newton's hands were tested for gunpowder residue the evening of the 
murders; none was found, despite the fact that gunpowder residue 
cannot be washed away or quickly removed from skin after a gun has 
been fired.

Newton was given a prior death sentence in December of 2004, however, 
Newton's clemency team took the unusual step of not asking the Board 
of Pardons and Paroles to recommend clemency in Newton's case, but 
rather recommended to Gov. Perry a 120-day reprieve so that more 
investigation can be conducted. They claimed that the evidence in her 
case was lacking and that her prior representation was shoddy. Gov. 
Perry agreed to the 120-day reprieve on the day of her Dec. 1 
execution date.  However, little has changed regarding the facts of 
the case and the state has set yet another execution date. 

Please write Gov. Perry and the Board of Pardons and Paroles and ask 
them to spare the life of Frances Newton. 

Also, support letters to Frances Newton can be sent to:
Frances Newton, #922
Mountain View Unit
2305 Ransom Road
Gatesville, TX 76528
--
Richard Woodward
www:  http://TCADP-BV.org  
e-mail:   r-woodward at TCADP-BV.org