The Texas Democratic Party once again endorsed a moratorium on executions in Texas in the Party platform adopted at last weekend’s state convention. In addition to endorsing a moratorium on executions, the Resolutions Committee at the State Convention also passed a resolution in favor of abolishing the death penalty. The abolition resolution was not brought to the floor of the convention for a vote before the convention adjourned, so it will be referred to the State Democratic Executive Committee’s resolutions committee for further consideration. We will post more on the abolition resolution later.

The section in the party platform dealing with capital punishment was drafted by Scott Cobb, who was a member of the chair’s advisory committee on the platform.

From the 2008 TDP Platform:

Capital Punishment
When capital punishment is used, Texans must be assured that it is fairly administered. Texas Democrats extend our deepest sympathies to all victims of crime and especially to the families of murder victims, and we strongly support their rights. The Texas death penalty system has been severely criticized by religious leaders, appellate courts and major newspapers that have observed that the current system cannot ensure that innocent or undeserving defendants are not sentenced to death. Last year, the Dallas Morning News called for abolition of the death penalty in Texas.

In the modern era, Texas has executed over 400 people, far more than any other state in the nation. The frequency of executions and inadequacies in our criminal justice system increase the likelihoodthat an innocent person will be executed. The State of Texas may have already executed at least two innocent people, according to major newspaper investigations into the cases of Carlos DeLuna and Cameron Todd Willingham. Another inmate, Ernest Willis, was exonerated and released from exas Death Row in 2004 after 17 years of wrongful imprisonment. In order to promote public confidence in the fairness of the Texas criminal justice system, Texas Democrats support the establishment of a Texas Capital Punishment Commission to study the Texas death penalty system and a moratorium on executions pending action on the Commission’s findings.

Texas Democrats support the following specific reforms:
• establishing a statewide Office of Public Defenders for Capital Cases to ensure that every person accused of a capital crime has equal access to well-trained trial and appellate attorneys, regardless of income, race or the county of jurisdiction;
• allowing testing of any possibly exculpatory DNA evidence to ensure guilt or innocence before executions are carried out, and allowing testing of DNA evidence after an execution to determine if an innocent person has been executed;
• establishing procedures to determine before a trial takes place whether an accused has mental retardation, in order to be sure that Texas complies with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ban on executions of people with mental retardation;
• banning death sentences and executions for people with mental illness;
• requiring the Board of Pardons and Paroles to meet in person to discuss and vote on every case involving the death sentence; and
• restoring the power to the Governor to grant clemency in death penalty cases without a recommendation from the Board of Pardons and Paroles

Posted on June 13th, 2008 by admin
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“Democrats Against the Death Penalty Caucus” will meet at the Democratic State Convention in Austin at the Austin Convention Center in Room 8A, from 12:00-1:00pm on Friday, June 6, 2008.
This caucus was founded in 2004 and also met at the 2006 state convention.

Posted on April 28th, 2008 by admin
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Visit Rick Reed’s Website

Posted on February 23rd, 2008 by admin
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If you would like to help Rick Reed become the most progressive District Attorney in the history of Travis County, you can help by making calls to voters in Travis County telling them why you are supporting Rick Reed.

Go to texas.onlinephonebanking.com to get started.

Scroll down the list of candidates and click on “Rick Reed”. Then enter your name, email and zipcode and you’ll immediately be able to select any precinct to call in Travis County! A screen will then appear with your first voter to call.

Take some time to review that page before making your first call; after a couple of calls we guarantee you’ll get the swing of it. Be yourself and go off the suggested script, if necessary, to convey why you believe voters should cast votes for Rick Reed (For instance, he is the most progressive candidate in the DA race. He would not seek the death penalty in Travis County, instead using life without parole. He has proven that he can stand up to powerful politicians with the Public Integrity Unit).

Visit Rick’s website for more information on him.

Posted on February 20th, 2008 by admin
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Congratulations to Rick Reed for winning the endorsement of The Daily Texan for his campaign for Travis County District Attorney. We agree with the Texan that Reed “has proven to be the toughest candidate to handle” the Public Integrity Unit, which has the power to investigate state officials. We will all be able to sleep easy at night knowing Rick Reed is Texas’ watchdog over public officials who do wrong.

Rick Reed’s stance against the death penalty reflects the values that make Travis County the most progressive community in Texas.

If Rick Reed is elected, the people of Travis County will live in the first community in Texas where the death penalty is officially not an option. The day will eventually come when the death penalty will not be used anywhere in Texas. With Rick Reed’s election, the people of Travis County can say that the end of the Texas death penalty started in Travis County.

Posted on February 19th, 2008 by admin
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Political change is in the air.All indicators point to a record number of voters turning out when the Texas primaries are held next month.Texas Democrats are especially energized at the historic prospect of helping determine whether we will elect our first female President or our first African American President.

• Travis County Democrats will either support a “coronation” that cements the status quo into the chair of our county’s top prosecutor … or they will elect Rick Reed as Travis County’s next District Attorney.

• Travis County Democrats will either choose cozy political relationships and compromised objectivity in the Public Integrity Office … or they will elect Rick Reed as Travis County’s next District Attorney.

• Travis County Democrats will either opt to continue the barbaric practice of the death penalty … or they will elect Rick Reed as Travis County’s next District Attorney.

In the District Attorney’s race, only one candidate has the courage, judgment, experience and integrity needed for the job. Only one candidate has pledged to end death penalty prosecutions in Travis County.That candidate is Rick Reed.

Please take these steps to support Rick Reed’s campaign:

• Lend Rick your good name and endorse him.

• Make an online campaign contribution.

• Vote for Rick in the March 4 Democratic primary.

See early and mobile voting locations in Travis County

Posted on February 13th, 2008 by admin
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The room was packed for last night’s forum with the candidates for Travis County District Attorney, co-hosted by Texas Moratorium Network and the ACLU-TX Central Texas chapter.

Below is the media coverage, which largely focused on the candidates responses to the death penalty question. Three of the candidates gave pro death penalty answers, but one, Rick Reed, said he would not authorize the DA’s office to seek the death penalty if he is elected and would not ask for execution dates to be set for anyone from Travis County already on death row.

KUT has an audio report by Ben Philpott.

The Austin-American Statesman’s article, “4 Travis candidates lay out their views on death penalty” says in part:

Three of the four candidates for Travis County district attorney told a packed room of potential voters in East Austin on Monday that, if elected, they would continue to seek the death penalty for the worst killers.

Outgoing District Attorney Ronnie Earle’s assistants Gary Cobb and Rosemary Lehmberg, who are hoping to replace him, said that some people’s crimes are so heinous that the public’s safety is served by seeking their execution. Candidate Mindy Montford, another Earle assistant, said that because the death penalty is on the books in Texas, she must consider it if elected.

Candidate Rick Reed, who resigned from Earle’s office last week, said he would not seek the death penalty under any circumstances. Reed also said he wouldn’t seek death warrants for the five condemned killers already on death row from Travis County. Death warrants, issued by a trial court at a prosecutor’s request when the killer’s appeals have run out, set dates of execution.

“I believe it is a mistake … to seek the death penalty,” said Reed, citing his moral opposition and the cost of prosecuting such cases.

Keye, Channel 42, the local CBS affiliate, also reported on the event and has their video report online here.

Posted on February 5th, 2008 by admin
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The big news this past week in the campaign for Travis County District Attorney is that there is now one candidate in the race who publicly opposes the death penalty.

Rick Reed has said:

“I have decided to publicly support a moratorium on the death penalty in Travis County. If I am elected District Attorney of Travis County I will not authorize the office to seek the death penalty during my tenure.”

Rick Reed’s opposition to the death penalty makes him stand out as the most progressive candidate in a race with three other candidates who all support the death penalty. A stance against the death penalty in a race for District Attorney in Travis County is a perfect fit of issue, office and location.

The next district attorney can unilateraly end the use of the death penalty within Travis County by not seeking the death penalty and instead using life without parole as an alternative.

If Reed remains the only candidate in the race who will not seek the death penalty, then it is likely that one of the pro-death penalty candidates will miss the runoff because of their support for the death penalty.

A campaign is a two-way learning process. It is a way for the community to get to know the candidates and it is a way for the candidates to learn about the community. Most of the people who will vote in the Democratic primary in Travis County on March 4th either believe that the death penalty system in Texas is broken and should not be used until steps are taken to address the problems, or they oppose the death penalty on principle in all cases and believe it should be abolished. Either way, there is likely to be a large amount of support in Austin for candidates who take principled stands against the death penalty in a race where the winner has the power to unilaterally end the use of the death penalty within Travis County.

It is not too late for the other candidates to take postitions on the death penalty that reflect the values and priorities of the progressive community from which they are seeking votes. All the candidates for Travis County District Attorney should follow Rick Reed’s example and say that they will not seek the death penalty.

Posted on January 28th, 2008 by admin
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Texas Moratorium Network & ACLU-TX Central TX Chapter
invite all interested members of the community to a

PUBLIC FORUM with the
CANDIDATES for TRAVIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY

Monday, February 4th, 6pm at
Gene’s Po Boys
1209 E. 11th St. (at the Rosewood “Y”)
(parking behind building)

There are four candidates* running - all in the Democratic primary (no Republicans are running, so the winner of the Democratic primary on March 4 will be the next DA) - to replace Ronnie Earle, generally a well-received prosecutor, even a hero to some, especially for the Public Integrity Unit’s indictment of Tom Delay.

But there are some areas in which Earle and his office were lacking, including continuing to seek the death penalty instead of exclusively using life without parole as an alternative and believing police officers are categorically above the law by commonly withholding evidence from grand juries that would likely lead to their prosecution such as with APD’s Julie Schroeder (shooting death, Daniel Rocha) and Michael Olsen, who, despite videotaped evidence of wrongdoing in 2003 (excessive force, Jeffrey Thornton), was cleared and put back on the force just to again be cleared again after the shooting death of Kevin Brown last summer. (Both Schroeder and Olsen were fired nonetheless).

Come find out what the candidates believe the DA’s priorities should be in matters regarding criminal justice and public safety. This 90-minute forum will attempt to get the candidates on record on a range of important issues, including the death penalty, police misconduct, political corruption, juvenile justice, drug laws and other issues. During one segment of the forum, attendees will be given the opportunity to pose their own questions to the candidates. People may also send suggestions for questions to the contacts below.

*CANDIDATE WEBSITES:
http://www.garycobb4da.com
http://rosemarylehmberg.com
http://www.montfordforda.com
http://www.electrickreed.com

For event info contact: Scott Cobb scottcobb99@gmail.com 512-689-1544 or
Debbie Russell debmocracy@yahoo.com, 512-573-6194.

Posted on January 25th, 2008 by admin
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Everyone should head over to The Texas Observer and read their long article on the Travis County DA race: “Replacing Ronnie Earle: The Race to Become the Most Important Prosecutor in Texas”The article focuses on the Public Integrity Unit. Rick Reed comes out in the article looking like a real fighter within the DA’s office for the indictment against Tom Delay. In fact, according to the article, if it were not for Reed, there may not have even been an indictment against Delay.

In an interview, Reed publicly revealed bitter dissention that seized Earle’s office before the DeLay indictment. He says his colleagues, including Lehmberg, wilted at the prospect of seeking an indictment against one of the nation’s most powerful politicians. “Everyone felt the pressure. Different people reacted differently to it,” Reed said. “I was the only person pushing to present the case to the grand jury.”By fall 2005, the grand jury had already indicted two of DeLay’s associates from the controversial 2002 campaign-John Colyandro and Jim Ellis. Everyone in the DA’s office seemed to agree on the Ellis and Colyandro cases, Reed said, adding that much of the same convincing evidence also implicated DeLay.

“Yet when it came to Mr. DeLay, the suggestion was that he’s a very powerful man, therefore we ought to be more careful in making this decision, and we ought to be reluctant to do it because of the fact he’s so powerful,” Reed said. “The issue that motivated the argument was political: he’s a powerful man, and the sky’s going to fall if we present this to the grand jury. … I’ll tell you quite candidly, that offended me. It offended me then, and it offends me now. In the American judicial system, I think every person ought to be treated equally. Whether or not a person holds a political office just shouldn’t be a consideration.”

Reed said Lehmberg opposed seeking an indictment, as did several of the other prosecutors. He said he believes Lehmberg wouldn’t have indicted DeLay had she been DA at the time. Reed said he convinced Earle through a series of conversations and memos, besting the three other veteran prosecutors.

Posted on January 18th, 2008 by admin
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