PLEASE SEND THIS AS WIDELY AS YOU CAN!!!!!!

Amnesty International Media Advisory
For Immediate Release: Monday, May 18, 2009

HUNDREDS OF NEW YORKERS PROTEST IMPENDING EXECUTION ON GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION FOR GEORGIA INMATE TROY DAVIS
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Union Square Rally Is One of Dozens of Events That Amnesty International Members Will Hold Worldwide on May 19^th

Contact: Wende Gozan at 212-633-4247, wgozan@aiusa.org, or Thenjiwe McHarris at 646-696-6537.

(New York City) – Amnesty International activists, along with members of the New York NAACP, National Lawyers Guild, National Conference of Black Lawyers, Campaign to End the Death Penalty, New Yorkers for an Alternative to the Death Penalty,  M1 of the hip hop group Dead Prez, death-row exoneree Lawrence Hayes and Riverside Church Senior Minister Brad Braxton will protest the impending execution of Georgia death-row inmate Troy Anthony Davis on Amnesty International’s Global Day of Action on May 19^th.  

The rally will be held at Union Square, between 15^th and 16^th Streets, from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Emceed by Amnesty International USA’s Rosa Clemente, it is one of more than 100 events occurring in most every U.S. state and around the world that day.  At the event, Clemente will read a statement from author Alice Walker, and the event will include musical performances by Welfare Poets, Rebel Diaz, and Oscar-nominated group Impact.

Despite a strong case of innocence, to date Davis’ appeals have been denied at all levels of the government based on technicalities; most recently the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals denied Davis’ request for a new trial or evidentiary hearing.  Those who have spoken out against the execution include Bob Barr, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, William Sessions and Pope Benedict XVI.  Davis, whose stay of execution was lifted on May 16^th, has already been scheduled for execution three times -- once coming within an hour and a half of his death.

When Davis was convicted of murdering Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail, there was no physical evidence, such as a murder weapon, linking him to the case.   Following the conviction, seven out of nine original state witnesses recanted in sworn affidavits or changed their original testimonies, several citing police coercion.  Nine people have alleged that one of the original witnesses is the actual killer, but authorities have never followed up on the lead.
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WHAT:        Rally at Union Square; part of Amnesty International’s Global Day of Action for Georgia death-row inmate Troy Anthony Davis

WHO:        Hundreds of protestors and speakers from Amnesty International USA, New York NAACP, Campaign to End the Death Penalty, National Conference of Black Lawyers, New Yorkers for an Alternative to the Death Penalty, and National Lawyers’ Guild of New York, the Rev. Brad Braxton, senior minister of Riverside Church. Rosa Clemente, Amnesty International spokesperson and former Green Party vice presidential candidate, will emcee.  

WHEN:        Tuesday, May 19^th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

WHERE:        Union Square between 15^th Street and 16^th Street, NYC

For more information, please visit www.amnestyusa.org/troydavis

Sign the petition! http://www.thepetitionsite.com/17/investigate-the-injustice

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Law of Parties Bill Passes Texas House Committee



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http://stopexecutions.blogs... The Law of Parties bill today passed the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence. HB 2267 in the Texas Legislature would prohibit the state from seeking the...
http://stopexecutions.blogspot.com

The Law of Parties bill today passed the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence.

HB 2267 in the Texas Legislature would prohibit the state from seeking the death penalty for people in Law of Parties cases, which is a law that allows non-killers to be sentenced to death for the actions of another person. Kenneth Foster was sentenced to death under the Law of Parties before his death sentence was commuted to life in 2007 by Governor Perry.

Rep Hodge's bill was approved in the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence on April 21. It now goes to the Calendars Committee.

Scott Cobb recorded this video of Rep Hodge talking about HB 2267 about an hour after the bill was approved in committee.

We have a lot of work to do to get the bill passed by Calendars and through the entire House, but today's approval was a major victory. The victory was made possible by the efforts of many people, including Rep Hodge, Rep Dutton, their staffs, and the many people who attended the Lobby Day Against the Death Penalty on March 24 to visit legislators in person or called or emailed legislators urging them to pass the bill.

Special thanks go to all the family members of people on death row under the Law of Parties who came to Lobby Day or who testified in committee for the bill. This victory belongs to you!

Stay of Execution Granted for Troy Davis

Another 11th-hour stay for US death row inmate Troy Davis

2 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Troy Davis, a black American who has spent 17 years on death row for the murder of a white policeman, was Friday granted a stay of execution, three days before he was due to be put to death, court documents showed.

"Upon our thorough review of the record, we conclude that Davis has met the burden for a provisional stay of execution," said the decision taken by three judges sitting on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in the southern state of Georgia, a copy of which was sent to AFP.

Davis, 40, was scheduled to die Monday at 7 pm (2300 GMT) by lethal injection for the 1989 killing of 27-year-old white policeman Mark Allan MacPhail in Savannah, Georgia.

He has repeatedly claimed he did not kill McPhail and seven out of nine witnesses who gave evidence at his trial in 1991 have recanted or changed their testimony, which was the backbone of the prosecution's case in the absence of a murder weapon, fingerprints and DNA.

Other witnesses have since identified another man as the shooter -- a state's witness who testified against Davis.

The appeals court on Friday gave Davis' lawyers 15 days to file documents with the court, supporting defense claims that Davis is being wrongfully held in prison.

The court will then have 10 days to decide if the case of the long-time deathrow inmate should go back before a lower court, which could order a new trial.

Friday's stay of execution "means there will be more litigation, but not necessarily a new trial," which Davis, his lawyers and supporters have been pressing for, Sara Totonchi head of Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, told AFP.

The stay announced Friday was the third for Davis, who was originally sentenced to die in July last year, only to be granted a last-minute stay of execution then by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole.

Last month, the same parole board denied Davis clemency, putting him back on the path to execution.

Then, with less than two hours to go before he was due to die on September 23, the US Supreme Court granted him his second stay of execution.

"I can't imagine the emotional roller coaster Troy Davis is going through," Sara, who is also head of Davis' support committee, told AFP Friday.

Davis' case has triggered an international outcry as well as support rallies and petitions in Georgia.

A petition signed by 140,000 people was delivered to the Georgia parole board on Friday, hours before the stay of execution was announced.

The French presidency of the European Union, whose 27 member states oppose the use of capital punishment anywhere in the world, appealed Wednesday for Davis's death sentence to be commuted.

Former US president Jimmy Carter, Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu of South Africa and Pope Benedict XVI have also spoken out against the execution.

Rights group Amnesty International hailed the decision to grant Davis yet another stay of execution, but slammed the US judicial system for overlooking issues that could prove the inmate's innocence.

"Until this point, the compelling issues in this case have been virtually ignored, leaving Georgia vulnerable to the possibility of killing an innocent man," Amnesty International USA said in a statement.

Last month, Amnesty accused the state of Georgia of "trying to ram through" Davis' execution.

A pardon from the state would spare Davis' life.

Kenneth Foster speaks on behalf of Troy Davis

Fellow abolitionists, friends, family and supporters of Troy;


Attached and copied below is a letter of support for Troy Anthony Davis from Kenneth 'Haramia' Foster.  Kenneth speaks from the McConnell Unit in Beeville, Texas, where he is serving (and fighting) a 40-year sentence following last year's commutation off of Texas' Death Row.  His wishes are to circulate his words widely and to contribute what you can to the struggle for Troy Davis.


Kenneth Foster is Troy Davis!

In Solidarity- Laura Brady, CEDP Austin


October 18th, 2008


As the days from my commutation grow my rage does not lessen one bit as I continue to see the contradictions and nefariousness of this system.

 

Is it here today totally enraged about the news regarding my brother in the struggle Troy Davis.  No matter if we've never met nor spoke I know his struggle as clear as I know the lines that cross my hand.  His path has been my own, his pain is still mine and the fight we share is ongoing.

 

What the state has planned for October 27th is an abomination.  It's an abomination to anything sensible,moral or just.  And in truth.it's flat out sickening.  But, even more so it's a statement!  It's a statement that says the system doesn't care and is intent on ruling with the iron claw.  We are no more than rubbish to these politicians-expendable pawns in nothing more than a sadistic chess game called 'amerikan politics'.

 

What Troy Davis' scheduled state-sanctioned murder is is an alarm ringing loudly in our ears. It's one that's saying WAKE UP!!! In any other country around the globe when a government lines its people up and systematically kills them, they call it genocide (ESPECIALLY if you leave it to the voice of the amerikan government).  In amerika they call it Justice. What's wrong with this picture? Is it them.or is it really us?

 

For those that are missing this, this is a gauge. This is a test for what you will do in other similar circumstances.  Like whom you may ask?  Like Mumia Abu-Jamal who's in a similar situation.  And although not on deathrow, for people like Leonard Peltier and Sundiata Acoli.  It's a gauge for what you will do.  Do we, the people, still have the fire and drive and willingness of sacrifice to the levels needed?

 

You may not think Troy Davis is in the same boat as the above-mentioned political prisoners, but he's in the EXACT same boat, because when the state's actions are a political message against you, you have just been drafted into the political prisoner boat.  And YOU have been drafted into the political citizen boat, because when you can be targeted because of your views and oppressed because you express them then you have been politicalized.

 

The point it- we are in the same boat whether you recognize it or not.  Any of you could be on death row tomorrow if the wrong finger pointed at you and you'd be guilty until proven innocent- so says the law of this land.

 

What you do for Troy Davis needs to make a loud statement!  If we act hard from the beginning then these injustices won't be repeated.  This is what's meant by the philosophical saying- 'The first cut is the deepest!'

 

We have a VERY LONG way to go where we can give all death row inmates support like this.  We understand what people think and feel when dealing with ALL death row cases, but we must look at the bigger picture of what we open the door to and then what actually walks through that door.

 

If we can't save Troy Davis then we can't save ourselves.  And this is the truth!!!  Our lives are already dominated by the iron claw- look at the economy, gas prices, poverty rates, incarceration rates, rise in political corruption.  Why do we allow it?  WHY!?!?!?

 

Riseup and be heard, and if needed.rise up and be FELT (there is a difference).  Rise up for Troy Davis.  Rise up like it's your first and last fight, because when we do.the last will finally be first.  FIGHT!!!

 

In Struggle with Stiff Resistance

 

Kenneth 'Haramia' Foster


Kenneth Foster Jr.

1451768

McConnell Unit

3001 S. Emily Dr.

Beeville, TX 78102

"These are America's condemned, who bear a stigma far worse than 'prisoner.' These are America's death row residents: men and women who walk the razor's edge between half-life and certain death."—Mumia Abu-Jamal, Live From Death Row

This fall the CEDP is launching a national tour, "Live From Death Row," featuring the voices of death row prisoners, live from their prison cell. Death sentences de-humanize the condemned, justifying the state-sponsored murder of the poor, the innocent and people of color. Death rows isolate those sentenced to die, denying them human contact and hope for justice. In our "Live From Death Row" tour, the voices of death row prisoners will reach from behind the walls to share their stories of loss, injustice, struggle, and hope for an end to the death penalty. At a time when the national chorus against the death penalty continues to grow, these voices are critical for the movement on the outside.

The tour features death row prisoners speaking live over speaker-phone, including:

    * Pennsylvania death row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, author of numerous books, including My Life in the Party and Live From Death Row
    * John Booth-El, on death row in Maryland for 25 years, whose case was heard by the US Supreme Court in 1987
    * California death row prisoner Kevin Cooper who came within 3 1/2 hours of being executed before he won a stay of execution
    * Troy Davis, on death row in Georgia, who came within hours of execution last year
    * Former death row prisoner and torture victim Stanley Howard, still imprisoned in Illinois, and contributor to the New Abolitionist http://nodeathpenalty.org/content/new_abolitionist.php?issue_id=7&story_id=76
    * Renaldo Hudson, former Illinois death row prisoner, now sentenced to life without parole http://www.nodeathpenalty.org/newab023/renaldoHudson.html
    * Tennessee death row prisoner Timothy McKinney whose case was recently heard in the TN Criminal Court of Appeals http://www.petitiononline.com/j4mckinn/petition.htmlmckinney_homepage_photo_400


Other Tour speakers will include Martina Correia, sister of Troy Anthony Davis, Innocent on Georgia's Death Row; Barbara Becnel, who witnessed the execution of her long-time friend and collaborator California death row prisoner Stanley Tookie Williams; former death row prisoners Lawrence Hayes and Darby Tillis; Yusef Salaam, CEDP Board Member and exonerated in the Central Park jogger case; Derrel Myers, Board Member of the CEDP and Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights, and the father of murder victim JoJo White, and the New York based hip-hop collective, the Welfare Poets.

Endorsers: Amnesty International USA, Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights, Prison Radio, Stanley Tookie Williams Legacy Network, the Welfare Poets, Witness to Innocence

UPCOMING TOUR DATES:        

    * Critical Resistance 10 Conference - Sept. 27 - 2:00-3:30 PM

              Oakland, CA  

    Speakers include Barbara Becnel, longtime advocate, co-author and friend of Stanley Tookie Williams, who witnessed her friend's execution by the state of California in 2005, and CEDP Board member; Martina Correia, sister and advocate of Troy Davis, an innocent man on Georgia's death row; Bryan McCann, Texas activist with the CEDP; A death row prisoner at San Quentin, calling in live via telephone; moderator: Elizabeth Terzakis, longtime member of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty and Writing instructor at Canada College.

 http://www.criticalresistance.org/article.php?list=type&type=36

    * Chicago, IL   October 1, 2008

       Campaign to End the Death Penalty Annual Convention   

              Chicago, IL   November 8, 2008 - 7:30 PM

Speakers include Martina Correia, sister of Georgia death row prisoner Troy Davis; Darby Tillis, exonerated death row prisoner from Illinois; Darryl Cannon, former Illinois prisoner and police torture victim; Sandra Reed, mother of Texas death row prisoner Rodney Reed

 **For more information or to schedule a Tour stop in your city, please contact nyc@nodeathpenalty.org.

BREAKING NEWS: Board of Pardons and Parole Rules 6 to 1 for Clemency for Kenneth Foster, and Governor upholds the decision, giving Foster a sentence of life in prison!

Radio interview from Huntsville Prison with Philadelphia journalist Walidah Imarisha.

In this radio interview directly from Huntsville Prison, where Foster / KiNassor is being held, Philadelphia journalist Walidah Imarisha describes her visit with him this morning, and this unprecedented decision from the Board of Pardons and Parole. The interview was conducted (less than an hour ago) just before hearing that the governor has ruled in favor of the Board of Parole and Pardons' decision.

Just five minutes ago, I received the call from Imarisha telling me about the Governor's exciting decision. The interview was conducted just before hearing from the governor.

Listen to the interview with Imarisha:

http://www.abu-jamal-news.com/audio/walidahharamia.mp3

Taken from Counterpunch.org

Texas Wants to Kill Another Man, the Law be Damned

By RON JACOBS

So, it's the week of the Fourth of July-the date the United States celebrates its struggle for independence from England and its throne. Scooter Libby, who was convicted (in the place of more serious crimes and perpetrators) of lying to Congress about matters of state has just had his 30 month sentence commuted.

The reason for the July 4th date is because it was the date in 1776 that the Declaration of Independence was signed. Of course, this independence was really only for the southern white male planters and their northern counterparts, but the seed it planted has inspired men and women around the world to make the words of that declaration's preamble universal. Yet, we are still quite far from that goal, even here in the United States. Indeed, especially here in the United States. Poverty prevents millions from achieving their right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Hundreds of thousands of those denied these rights end up in prison not only lose the latter, but quite literally lose their liberty. Of those hundreds of thousands, hundreds have lost their lives because of the state's' insistence on their right to execute certain prisoners, most of them black and brown-skinned.

One of these men is Kenneth Foster, a young African-American resident of Texas who is facing execution at the end of August 2007. His case revolves around a very controversial law known as the "law of parties." In essence, this law imposes the death penalty on any body involved in a crime where a murder occurred, even if the accused was not involved in the murder or even aware that the killer intended to commit murder. If this law were applied to Scooter Libby's case, there's a good chance that Dick Cheney and Karl Rove would have also been convicted, even if they didn't know that Libby was going to lie to Congress.

Kenneth is also a founding member of the Death Row Inner-Communalist Vanguard Engagement, or DRIVE. Members of DRIVE have organized in the worst of circumstances to protest the awful living conditions on Texas' death row and against the death penalty in general. DRIVE is a first-of-its-kind social movement with a growing base of support in the U.S. and internationally. They have also created a politicized environment on death row in which condemned inmates are refusing to walk to their
executions, forcing guards to drag them instead. More information about DRIVE is available online at http://www.drivemovement.org

I ran into Marlene Martin of the Campaign to Abolish the Death Penalty in Chicago a couple of weeks ago and she told me about the case and gave me the name of Bryan McCann, who is an organizer of the campaign to prevent Foster's execution. Bryan has been a member of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty since 2005. His writing on the Texas death penalty has appeared in the Socialist Worker and New Abolitionist. He lives in Austin, Texas where he is a PhD student in Communication Studies. I contacted Bryan and we carried on the following exchange.

Hi, Bryan. I just finished reading the materials on Kenneth Foster's case sent to me by the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, along with some other news articles that I found on line. To help out the readers, can you answer a couple background questions. Who is Kenneth Foster? Can you summarize the state's case against Foster?

Kenneth Foster is a native of San Antonio, Texas. He has been on death row since 1997, sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of Michael LaHood, Jr. Kenneth did not shoot LaHood. This is not an innocence claim made solely by his supporters. The state of Texas will be the first to admit that Kenneth is factually innocent of murder. How is he still on death row? Texas's Law of Parties, the only legislation of its kind in a death penalty state, holds individuals criminally responsible for the offense of another if the prosecution can prove they actively promoted or assisted the commission of the offense or should have anticipated that it would have taken place.

On August 14, 1996, Kenneth Foster was driving a car carrying Mauriceo Brown, Dewayne Dillard, and Julius Steen. That night, Brown and Steen committed two armed robberies, at which point Kenneth asked Dillard to persuade them to stop. On the way home, Foster ended up behind a car carrying Michael LaHood, Jr. and his girlfriend, Mary Patrick. Concerned that Foster was deliberately following them, Patrick waved the car down in front of the LaHood residence. Brown exited the car, presumably to talk to Patrick and get her phone number. Dillard testified that no one anticipated violence, and that Brown took the gun without permission or knowledge of the other men. When Brown approached the woman, her boyfriend Michael LaHood appeared in the driveway. Brown and LaHood exchanged words, a shot was fired, and Michael LaHood lay dead. All of this transpired while the other three men remained in the car, 80 feet away from the scene of the crime, with the windows rolled up and radio turned on. After hearing the gunshots, Kenneth began to drive away, but Brown managed to get back in the car.

All of the above is well-corroborated by all four of the men on that evening. Brown admitted to shooting LaHood but insisted it was in self defense. However, the state tried Kenneth and Mauriceo together for capital murder, basing Kenneth's charges on the Law of Parties. They claimed that because two robberies had already taken place that night, he should have anticipated that Brown might have tried to rob LaHood and Patrick. Because he should have anticipated a robbery could have taken place, he also should have known a murder could possibly take place. This shaky logic, along with testimony from Steen (who later retracted part of his testimony), was enough to sentence both Brown (who was executed in 2006) and Kenneth to death.
What kind of legal representation did he have at trial?

Like the vast majority of death row inmates, Kenneth had a court-appointed attorney. This is largely due to the fact that the victim, Michael LaHood, Jr.'s father was a prominent San Antonio lawyer. This fact made it difficult for Kenneth's family to find an attorney willing to take the case. Kenneth's lawyers failed him on many counts, not least of all failing to interview Julius Steen during the original trial. In the sentencing phase, they failed to mention that both Kenneth's parents were drug addicts and his mother died of AIDS. This gave the jury little basis for sympathy. Also, Brown's attorney referred to his client as an "animal" and a "thug." Because the two men were tried together, this likely prejudiced Kenneth in the eyes of the jury.

Has the case been appealed? What were the results and reasons given?

With the exception of his subsequent writ of habeas corpus, Kenneth's appeals have been exhausted. In 2005, federal District Judge Royal Furgeson overturned Kenneth's death sentence on the grounds that it violated his Eighth Amendment rights. Furgeson ruled that the jury in the original trial was not asked to determine if Kenneth harbored any intent to kill Michael LaHood. As a result, Kenneth's case constituted a misapplication of the Law of Parties. However, Texas appealed the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and won. Since then, Kenneth has categorically lost all of his appeals

What is the "law of parties?" Has it ever been on the books in other states? I noted in the summary on the law that the Supreme Court that the " imposition of the death penalty on a person who aids and abets a felony in the course of which a murder is committed by others but who does not himself kill, attempt to kill, or intend to kill violates the 8th and 14th Amendments of the US Constitution." Can you provide the readers with a comprehensive history of this law and its interpretation in the courts?

The Law of Parties was adopted in 1974. It states that a person is equally responsible for the criminal conduct of another if "acting with intent to promote or assist the commission of the offense he solicits, encourages, directs, aids or attempts to aid the other persons to commit the offense" or "If, in the attempt to carry out a conspiracy to commit one felony, another felony is committed by one of the conspirators, all conspirators are guilty of the felony actually committed, though having no intent to commit it, if the offense was committed in furtherance of the unlawful purpose and was one that should have been anticipated as a result of the carrying out of the conspiracy." The U.S. Supreme Court has indeed ruled on laws of this nature, drawing the conclusion that you cite above in the 1982 Enmund v. Florida decision. However the court has not heard any cases from Texas related to this issue. The only other case related to policies such as the Law of Parties is the 1987 Tison v. Arizona decision in which the Justices upheld the death sentences of two brothers who aided their father in a deadly prison escape. The decision stated that ""knowingly engaging in criminal activities known to carry a grave risk of death represents a highly culpable mental state." They added that "We will not attempt to precisely delineate the particular types of conduct and states of mind warranting imposition of the death penalty. ... Rather, we simply hold that major participation in the felony ... combined with reckless indifference to human life is sufficient to satisfy the Enmund culpability requirement." Thus, the legal precedent on policies like the Law of Parties remains highly ambiguous.

Obviously, you feel that this law has been wrongly applied to Kenneth Foster. How and why?

There is very little basis for believing that Kenneth had any malicious intent toward Michael LaHood, Jr. Yes, he was driving the car that night and robberies took place. However, there is every reason to believe that Kenneth had no idea LaHood's life was in danger. There was also no conspiracy to rob him. He did not even know the gun had left the car. His jury, moreover, was only instructed to determine if he was associated with Brown and should have anticipated his actions. As Judge Furgeson pointed out in 2005, these instructions are not consistent with the intent of the Law of Parties. Kenneth is effectively facing an execution date for a failure of hindsight. As Kenneth's criminal lawyer, Keith Hampton, wrote in his federal appeal, "By employing the conspiracy liability statute, the state is able to make persons death-eligible on nothing greater than a negligence standard ­ that the defendant 'should have anticipated' that his conspirator would, in the course of any planned felony, intentionally kill another person." He added, "negligence is the least culpable mental state known to criminal law."

What about the justness of the law itself?

The Law of Parties is a pretty transparent attempt to optimize convictions. By placing such a low threshold of proof, under which someone can be sent to death for failing to anticipate the actions of another, prosecutors have a multitude of strategies they can enlist to negotiate plea bargains and send multiple people to prison or the death chamber. Sentences ultimately boil down to who chooses to cooperate with the state, rather than who actually committed the crime. For example, Irineo Montoya was executed in 1997 for restraining a man while Juan Fernando Villavicencio stabbed him. Villavicencio, on the other hand, was acquitted of the murder after key witnesses in both trials (relatives of Villavicencio) changed their testimonies. The Law of Parties shows the lie to the notion of the death penalty as something reserved for the "worst of the worst." Instead, it shows what a cynical political strategy the sanction actually is. Also, by asking jurors to determine if a defendant should have anticipated that a crime was going to take place, when that very jury obviously already knows that it has, the prosecution is asking individuals to make life and death decisions based on what seems logical in retrospect. It is a law that is ripe for abuse.

I noticed when reading the materials accompanying the case that Foster attempted to drive away after LaHood was shot. What does this mean to the case and how important is it to proving Foster's intent (or lack of intent)?

This important piece of information never came out at the original trial. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to have new evidence stand during appeals, as the defense must be able to demonstrate that something prevented them from acquiring the evidence in the first place. One of the jurors in Kenneth's original trial said that if he had known Kenneth tried to drive away, he would have voted for a different verdict.

When the trial judge told the jury that they could "find the defendant Kenneth Foster guilty of the offense of capital murder, though he may have had no intent to commit the offense," was the judge correct?

According to the Law of Parties, a defendant is responsible for another person's felony if it is committed in furtherance of a crime they were both responsible for. However, the jury should have been asked to determine if Kenneth was an active agent in a criminal conspiracy that he either knew would result in LaHood's death or should have anticipated would have ended in murder. Under the judge's instructions, the prosecution did not even have to meet this low threshold of proof.

Most everyone knows that Texas leads the United States in executions. Given Texas' reputation, how does the defense hope to prevent Kenneth's execution?

Texas will perform its 400th execution since 1982 in 2007. It is obviously a state out of control in its use of the death penalty. Because of this, there are many reasons to believe that Kenneth's odds are rather low. Furthermore, conventional wisdom dictates that little hope is left when an execution date is set. However, the death penalty is on the defensive in the United States in a way it has not been for years. Beginning with the 2003 death row commutations in Illinois, the nation as a whole has begun asking hard questions about capital punishment, especially regarding innocence and lethal injection. While Texas still manages to be the exception to the rule in its flagrant use of capital punishment, there are signs that the tide is turning here, as well. Recently, the Supreme Court decided against the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in three death penalty cases. Also, the CCA has been deciding in favor of death row defendants at an unusual rate. Over the past several years, the cases of Ruben Cantu, Carlos DeLuna, and Cameron Todd Willingham have emerged as instances in which innocent men were almost certainly put to death in Texas. The statewide anti-death penalty movement continues to grow in size and confidence. While it is hard to make definitive predictions about what will or will not happen on August 30 (Kenneth's scheduled execution date), I believe we have plenty of reasons to be hopeful. Texas is beginning to feel pressure where its use of the death penalty is concerned, and a case such as Kenneth's is certainly one that can fan the flames of public discontent and create enough political pressure to halt his execution.

You are a member of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty. Can you tell us about their work?

Formed in 1998, the Campaign to End the Death Penalty is a national grassroots anti-death penalty organization based in Chicago. We oppose the death penalty for five reasons: it is racist, it targets the poor, it condemns the innocent to die, it does not prevent crime, and it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. We organized in order to call attention to the broad systemic implications of the death penalty, insisting that it is inseparable from the unjust society in which it operates. Committed to putting those who experience the death penalty first-hand on the frontlines of this battle, we work closely with current and exonerated death row inmates, as well as their families. The Campaign was active in the movement that persuaded former Illinois Governor George Ryan to clear the state's death row in 2003. Our chapters have also played leading roles in the movements to save Gary Graham, Stan "Tookie" Williams, Vernon Evans, and Kevin Cooper. The Austin chapter is also working to win a new trial for Rodney Reed, an innocent man on who has been on Texas's death row since 1998. Our national website is http://www.nodeathpenalty.org.

What can people do to help prevent this execution?

Our experience teaches us that we cannot halt executions by appealing to the better intentions of men like Texas Governor Rick Perry. Rather, those who wield the power to execute individuals respond to political pressure. That is why we must build a vibrant and visible movement around the Kenneth Foster case. Those living in Texas should join the Save Kenneth Foster Campaign and help us as we plan a July 21 press conference, rally, and benefit concert in Austin. Those who are out of state can visit the Save Kenneth Foster Campaign blog at http://savekenneth.blogspot.com/ and download petitions, clemency letters, and case fact sheets. People can also learn more about Kenneth and his case at http://www.freekenneth.com. Fortunately, a number of activists form across the country are beginning to take notice of Kenneth's case. What we need is a broad base of awareness and action to put the spotlight squarely on Texas, a state that for too long has continued to execute individuals with impunity.