On Guard

New Books at Lulu Press

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Witness to Murder by Tony Medina

Texas, I was INNOCENT by Gregory (Tony) Wright & Peter Bellamy - Also now available on Amazon.com & Amazon.co.uk

Texas, He was INNOCENT by Bente Hjortoej & Connie Wright

  

Gary Roland Welch was executed in Oklahoma on January 5th, 2012

The state of Oklahoma executed Gary Roland Welch on Thursday evening. He gave a short speech before the injection in which he thanked the inmates of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary's H unit for clanging on their cell doors before his execution - a tradition the inmates view as a sign of respect. May he rest in peace.

Paul Ezra Rhoades was executed in Idaho on November 18th, 2011

Paul Ezra Rhoades, 54, was declared dead at 9:15 a.m. at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution after being administered three separate drugs that make up the state’s new lethal injection protocol. The execution had been scheduled for 8 a.m. but was delayed by over an hour because of a review of a motion filed late Thursday in 4th District Court. Rhoades' body will be cremated and the remains given to his attorney, Oliver Loewy of the Federal Defender Services of Idaho, according to the Department of Correction. May he rest in peace.

 

CALL TIME ON THE DEATH PENALTY!

Below is an updated list of those at risk through December 2011 to January 2012. Please give them all your support. Also, please remember those asking for cards, letters and friendship.

Pending Executions: Updated Dec. 1st

December
6  Gary Haugen - Oregon - volunteer  -  Moratorium in Oregon by Governor John Kitzhaber
2012
January
5  Gary Welch - Oklahoma  - 
18 Charles Lorraine - Ohio  - 
26 Rodrigo Hernandez - Texas  -  

Guadalupe Esparza was executed in Texas on November 16th, 2011

Guadalupe Esparza was the 42nd person executed in the United States this year and the third this week. 

In a final statement to the family of Alyssa Vasquez,Esparza said, "I hope you will find peace in your heart, my sympathy goes out to you. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me. I don't know why all this happened."

46 year old Esparza then said "Jesus, take me home; take me away from this place" May he rest in peace.

Oba Chandler was executed in Florida on November 15th, 2011

Oba Chandler, 65, was pronounced dead at 4:25 p.m. at the state prison in Starke. His execution is the second under Gov. Rick Scott since he took office this year. Chandler didn't give a final statement, but a prison official later read a written statement from Chandler dated Tuesday noting: "You are killing a innocent man today. Oba Chandler,'" according to reports. May he rest in peace.

Reginald Brooks was executed in Ohio on November 15th, 2011

Reginald Brooks of East Cleveland was executed at 2:04 p.m. Tuesday. He declined to make a final statement and remained silent. At 66, Brooks is the oldest person put to death since Ohio resumed executions in 1999. Prosecutors acknowledged Brooks was mentally ill but disputed the notions that it caused the murders or made him incompetent. Defense attorneys argued that prosecutors withheld information that would have supported a mental health defense and led the court to rule differently. Former Judge Harry Hanna, one of the three on the panel, told the Ohio Parole Board he would not have voted for the death penalty if he'd had information from police reports that were provided to the defense more recently. May he rest in peace.

Anniversary of the death in Texas of Gregory Wright, Oct. 30, 2008

Please join with us on this day in remembering the life and death of Gregory Edward Wright, Tony to his family and friends. Greg was wrongfully convicted, and executed in Texas on October 30, 2008. Many tributes were made to him after a long International struggle to both prove his innocence and convince the courts of Texas and the USA to spare his life, and agree to either exoneration or a retrial. In spite of the written confession of the co-accused that Greg was innocent of all charges against him, a polygraph passed by Greg, dna evidence implicating the co-accused as the wearer of the jeans worn by the murderer, proof that junk science was used in fingerprint identification testimony, the withholding of vital evidence still not made available to the defence or to the court, and much more, last appeals to the 5th Circuit and Supreme Court were shamefully denied. The tributes can be read here: http://www.freegregwright.com

Frank Garcia was executed in Texas on October 27th, 2011

After a last appeal was turned down by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Frank Garcia was executed, the 12th person to die by lethal injection in Texas this year. Garcia prayed aloud at length in his final moments alive. "Thank you, Yahweh, thank you, Jesus Christ, hallelujah, amen, and thank you, warden," were his final words. May he rest in peace.

Christopher Thomas Johnson was executed in Alabama on October 20th, 2011

Christopher Thomas Johnson, 39, made the rare move of pleading guilty to capital murder in the 2005 death of 6-month-old Elias Ocean Johnson. He requested the death penalty, granted in 2007, and waived all appeals. Christopher's last words before being put to death by lethal injection were, "Game over," said Brian Corbett, spokesman for the Alabama Department of Corrections. May he rest in peace.

Manuel Valle was executed in Florida on September 28th, 2011

Manuel Valle, 61, was executed Wednesday night, despite a last-minute appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. Valle was pronounced dead by the doctor nearly 20 minutes after the start of the procedure. Asked if he had last words. “No, I don't,” Valle said.

Benetta Standly, director of the Northeast Florida region of the American Civil Liberties Union, said

“We oppose the death penalty, because we believe it's a violation of the Eighth Amendment of cruel and unusual punishment,” she said. “I'm here to stand with Floridians and say it's not the state's right to take a person's life.”  May he rest in peace.