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Thomas
Miller-el | Bernard Baran
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Johnny Penry
un-Christian Justice
The interpretation of Christianity
as represented by the group in charge of the White House goes
well beyond "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."
Rather it sees a vengeful creator who allows mental torture and
gruesome execution of its transgressors, even if the violator
did not have the capacity to understand its violations. It allows
the rich to do what they want, to bend the commandments to accomodate
endless greed and to turn truth into hideous lies. It is a stupid
kind of fundamentalism, not that different from the extreme forms
of Judaism and Islam we see committing atrocities in the Middle
East.
The mindless -- or perhaps
reptilian mind -- which embraces such inhumanity is generally
uneducated or, at the very least, brainwashed into unreflective
reactions to problems more educated minds have offered solutions
over the past several centuries. All of the world's great religions
have, at their core, a version of what we call the golden rule
-- do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The challenge
to all of us who were fortunate enough to receive an education
is to persuade the societies where we hold citizenship to live
up to this ethic. --Sheila Steele, webmaster, October 19, 2002
The discussion around Johnny
Penry illustrates the challenge -- and how we are failing to
meet it.
Penry back on death row
By EMILY BANKS News Editor,
Polk County Enterprise, July 7, 2002
CONROE - "It's a good
feeling to win. It's hard to believe we've done it again. We've
gotten the death penalty again,"
Bruce Carpenter said. "My
family is grateful and so is the Moseley family." Late Wednesday,
a Montgomery County jury sentenced 46-year-old Johnny Paul Penry
to death by lethal injection for the Oct. 25, 1979 rape and murder
of Carpenter's wife, Pamela Moseley Carpenter.
This was the third jury to
give Penry the death penalty.
"I appreciate the jury
for coming out with the verdict they came out with," Carpenter
said, adding, "You have to have faith in the people. The
people on that jury are just like me and you. "Now we can
go on with our lives and remember Pam and know that she was cheated
out of life. She was very much a part of my life and we were
very much in love," Carpenter said.
Testimony began June 10 in
the nearly-23-year-old case in which Penry has twice been convicted
and sentenced to death for the 1979 rape and murder of Carpenter,
then 22, in her Livingston home. Penry's death sentence has twice
been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, most recently in June
2001 in a 6-3 ruling.
The court held that instructions
given by the judge in Penry's 1990 trial failed to give the jury
an adequate opportunity to consider circumstances such as his
alleged mental disabilities, violating the eighth amendment,
which prohibits cruel and un-usual punishment.
258th State District Judge
Elizabeth Coker moved the case to Montgomery County earlier this
year on a change of venue. De-fense attorneys alleged there had
been too much pre-trial publicity for Penry to receive a fair
trial in Polk County. A Conroe jury ruled on April 11 that Penry
was competent to stand trial.
Family pleased
with verdict
"I'm really happy that
he got the death penalty. Penry got what he deserves. Now we
just need to get him on that execution table," Carpenter
said. "I just hope this ruling will be upheld. The scary
part is waiting to see what the Supreme Court does, and if they
slap us in the face again," Carpenter said.
"I'm still angry with
the Supreme Court for keeping this case going on and on. We did
the same thing in '90 that we've done the last four weeks. It's
time to put a halt to this guy," Carpenter said.
"I think Joe Price was
excellent and Lee Hon was superb and I congratulate them. I really
appreciate all that they've done, and Bill Willis and Ron Dunnahoe
(the state's investigators)," Carpenter said. Rossi Moseley,
Pam's mother, agreed.
"We've received a lot
of support and we appreciate everyone's concern and their prayers,"
Moseley said.
"We're just hoping that
this will be the last one. We'll be happy when it's all over,"
she said.
Defense to
appeal
Will the defense appeal the
ruling?
"Naturally, you bet,"
Defense Attorney John Wright, of Huntsville, said. "Naturally,
it's disappointing," Wright said of the verdict. "We
had the wrong jury. We heard the wrong testimony. There should
have been a separate proceeding on mental retardation."
"Once she (the judge)
decided she was going to go forward, she had to make up the rules,"
Wright said. In a recent 6-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court banned
execution of the mentally retarded, calling it cruel and unusual
punishment. However, the high court offered no guidance as to
how the ruling should be carried out, other than to say it would
be left to the individual states.
The ruling came on June 20,
midway through the trial. Citing the federal order she was already
under, Coker continued with the trial.
Closing arguments
heard
"The effort we make today,
23 years later, pales in comparison to her effort that day,"
Polk County Assistant District Attorney Lee Hon said, as a photograph
of a smiling Pam was projected on the monitors in the courtroom.
Hon read an excerpt from Penry's confession in which Penry repeatedly
referred to Pam as a "chick" and said he was going
to her house to get "a piece." Hon said the confession
provides "a tremendous amount of insight" into Penry
and that "the callous way he describes her speaks volumes
about the kind of man he is." Calling him a full blown anti-social
personality disorder and a sexual predator, Hon said that Penry
is "a very high risk" and that it was "high time"
a jury "had the opportunity to put to bed whether or not
this man is mentally retarded."
Placing an autopsy photograph
of Pam on the courtroom monitors, Trinity County District Attorney
Joe Price asked the jury, "Can you imagine having a child
go through what Pam did and having to think about it every day
for the rest of your life?
"That man is not mentally
retarded. He's never been mentally retarded and he never will
be mentally retarded," Price said. "It's smoke and
mirrors. It's a myth that has been going on for 23 years and
it's a myth that has been perpetuated by the media.
"He's a faker, a manipulator,
a sadist and a sexual predator. He shows no remorse, except maybe
for himself. He's dangerous. He always will be and he'll never
change. He has left a wake of victims like a cruise ship,"
Price said.
"The death penalty is
not something I seek lightly, nor Lee Hon, nor John Holleman.
But there comes a time when you have to toe the line and seek
justice and that is the only justice out there," Price said.
"He (Penry) believes in
the death penalty. He gave this woman the death penalty. He believes
in cruel and unusual punish-ment. He gave her cruel and unusual
punishment," Price continued.
"It's time for justice
in this case. It's time for some small amount of closure that
these families can live with," Price said. "It is time
to bring this circus to an end."
Defense responds
Defense Attorney Julia Tarver,
of New York, said the death penalty in this particular case is
not the appropriate punishment, "not for a man with his
mental deficiencies, his history of child abuse and torture.
"Of course it was wrong.
It was very wrong and we know that. We do believe that Johnny
should be punished. But what you're here to decide is which of
two very severe punishments will be given," Tarver said.
"Even if you found some horrible things about the case,
there is some room for mercy. "Johnny Paul Penry has been
diagnosed mentally retarded since he was a young boy, long before
he could be accused of faking," Tarver said. "Johnny's
been given 10 tests, from ages 7 to 46. Every time, he's scored
in the mentally retarded stage. When does he do the best? When
he's on trial for his life," Tarver said. "Every score
is within four points and there's a five point margin of error.
You'd have to believe he's a genius to fake it that well. "Even
if you don't want to believe the IQ tests, even if you don't
believe the 27 professionals, you have to wonder about a 19-year-old
boy that can't play kickball with 9-year-olds," she said.
"There can't be any doubt in your mind that Johnny Penry
was mentally retarded in 1979 and is today."
Tarver said the most tragic
part of Penry's life is that he never got the love and support
he especially needed.
"Not only did Johnny have
a broken brain, but he had a mentally ill mother. She was the
Andrea Yates of her time, but a million times worse," Tarver
said, adding, "Unfortunately, in his case, nature and nurture
dealt Johnny a double-whammy."
Death
Penalty | Church
and State |
|
 Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell
Truth suppress'd, whether
by courts or crooks, will find an avenue to be told. Sheila Steele, injusticebusters.com
If you hold the mouth
of Truth, It will burst out its rib-cage. Somali proverb
Publisher : Sheila
Steele
Got something
to say about this or any other stories on this site? Go to injusticebustersblog Participate!
- injusticebusters
court advice :
- How
to walk yourself through the justice system
-
- Why
you should dump your preliminary hearing (written July 1998 and still valid)
-
- Sermonette: Sucked
in, Diegested and spit out by Saskatoon police (You will find links
to many more sermonettes in the sidebar on this page
Another target
of Dueck's malice: : Wilf Hathway
Our activism
contributed greatly to the good vibes which happened around the
civil trial.
Please participate
by posting your own photos and links of activism in your community.
Index
to the stories on this website
This is not
regularly updated so if you are looking for a particular story
and you have a name or keyword, please use the site search engine(at
the bottom of the page) which IS regularly updated
Index to Saskatoon Police stories
This is a pretty good scrapbook
for the 1998-2002 period.
The Terrible Story behind the Atif Rafay and
Sebastian Burns convictions: The RCMP's dishonorable coerced
confession
More coerced confessions
- Farand
Bear
- Gerry
Conlon
- Christine
LePage
- Clayton
Mentuck
- Bill
Sampson
- Gordon Strowbridge
- Marty
Tankleff
-
-
THOMAS MILLER-EL
Judges
Harold DeMoss Jr.
· Nominated
by former President Bush, 1991
· Bush's former personal attorney in Houston
Edith Jones
· Nominated
by President Reagan, 1985
· Former Houston lawyer and Texas Republican Party counsel
Robert Parker*
· Nominated
by President Clinton, 1994; retired 2002; former U.S. district
judge in East Texas
* On reconsideration, W. Eugene Davis replaced Parker.
ROBERT TENNARD
Judges
Fortunato Benavides
· Nominated
by President Clinton, 1994
· Former Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge and state
district court judge in McAllen
Jerry Smith
· Nominated
by President Reagan, 1987
· Former city attorney of Houston
James Dennis
· Nominated
by President Clinton, 1995
· Former Louisiana Supreme Court justice
JOHNNY PAUL PENRY
Judges
W. Eugene Davis
· Nominated
by President Reagan, 1983
· Former U.S. district judge in Louisiana
Emilio Garza
· Nominated
by former President Bush, 1991
· Former U.S. district court judge in San Antonio
James Dennis
· See his information
in Tennard's case.
Sources: Court and biographical
records
-
Canadians
who have been wrongfully convicted because of improper investigations
combined with zealous Crown
- Robert
Baltovich
- Michael
Burns
- Sebastian Burns
- Jason Dix
- Jim
Driskell
- Jody
Druken
- Randy
Druken
- Michel
Dumont
- Peter
Frumusa
- Walter
Gillespie and Robert Mailman
- Clayton
Johnson
- Yvonne
Johnson
- Herman
Kaglik
- Kulaveeringsam
"Kulam" Karthiresu
- Stephen
Leadbeater
- Donald
Marshall
- Chris
McCullough
- Michael
McTaggart
- Felix
Michaud
- David
Milgaard
- Guy Paul
Morin
- Shannon
Murrin
- Jamie
Nelson
- Greg
Parsons
- Benoit
Proulx
- Atif Rafay
- Louise
Reynolds
- Thomas
Sophonow
- Gary
Staples
- Steven
Truscott
- Joe
Warren
- Leon
Walchuk
-
- AIDWYC
- Innocence Project (Canada)
- Innocence Project (U.S.)
- Northwest Law Center on Wrongful Convictions
-
- NEW: Kirstin
Lobato
- Jeffrey
Scott Hornoff
- Willie
Upshaw
- Hurricane
Carter
- Guildford
4
- Birmingham
6
- Amirault
- Houston
- More U.S. wrongful convictions:
- Peter
Rose
- Clifford
St. Joseph
- John
Stoll
- Ludrate
Burton
- Albert
Johnson
- Stephen
Cowans
- Laurence
Adams
- Peter
Reilly
- Marty
Tankleff |
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