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Court lifts stay of execution
for Etheridge
By Yvonne Mintz
The Facts Published July 10, 2002
ANGLETON ? Prosecutors
will ask a retired district court judge to set another execution date for
Gary Wayne Etheridge, now that the state appeals court has lifted a procedural
barrier.
The Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals has lifted the stay of execution it imposed days before Etheridge
was scheduled to die for the 1990 murder of Richwood teen-ager Christie
Chauviere, who was stabbed repeatedly and left for dead during a robbery
of her home.
The court vacated the
stay late last month, just after District Judge J. Ray Gayle III removed
himself from any further involvement in the Death Row inmate's case.
Etheridge had been scheduled
for lethal injection on June 27, but won a reprieve from the state appeals
court after his attorneys complained Gayle was biased because he had called
Etheridge a 'piece of trash' when he was sentenced to death almost 12 years
ago.
Gayle recused himself
and asked that another judge be assigned, in order to expedite Etheridge's
execution.
With Gayle off the case,
the appellate court removed its objection to the execution.
District Attor-ney Jeri
Yenne heard the news this week and said her office will request another
execution date. She could not estimate how long that could take.
Assistant District Attorney
David Bosserman said he will contact the attorney general's office to determine
available execution dates.
Retired District Judge
Ogden Bass, appointed after Gayle removed himself from the case, must sign
the order at least 31 days before an execution date.
Etheridge's attorney,
Jim Marcus, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Marcus has said he
will file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court on Etheridge's behalf.
That appeal will allege jurors deciding his fate should have heard evidence
of abuse Etheridge suffered as a child.
A jury chose death for
Etheridge after convicting him of the 1990 murder in Christie Chauviere's
death. Christie's mother Gail was stabbed repeatedly in the robbery attempt
that killed her daughter, but she survived to identify Etheridge as the
assailant. Gail Chauviere died three years ago from complications of injuries
suffered in the attack.
Last month's delay was
the second time Etheridge won a reprieve within days of execution. In November
2000, Etheridge was two days away from lethal injection when the state
Court of Criminal Appeals granted an indefinite stay, to allow time to
consider competency of an attorney who represented Etheridge at a critical
point in his appeal.
(source. The Facts)
Etheridge execution on hold
The state appeals court on Monday delayed Gary Wayne Etheridge's execution based on claims the judge who once called him a piece of trash should not have signed the execution order.
Etheridge was scheduled to die by lethal injection Thursday for the 1990 murder of Richwood teen-ager Christie Chauviere.
It is the 2nd time Etheridge has won a reprieve within days of a scheduled execution. The 1st was in November 2000.
The court stopped the execution this time based on an argument filed last week by Etheridge attorney Jim Marcus. The filing claims District Judge J. Ray Gayle III had no right to set the date because he had recused himself from part of the case before and had another defense recusal request pending.
The state Court of Criminal Appeals on Monday delayed the execution to have time to hear the argument. However, a footnote to the order explains that it does not prevent Gayle from "taking any appropriate action" to recuse himself.
Marcus claims Gayle is biased against Etheridge because when he accepted a jury's recommendation and sentenced Etheridge to death in 1990, Gayle called him "a piece of trash" and "blight on society."
Gayle later removed himself from hearing evidence in an appellate hearing but said that should not have prevented him from signing the death warrant.
Gayle would not say Monday whether he will recuse himself now, but said he will make a decision today.
If Gayle does remove himself from the case, the county's administrative judge would appoint another judge who would sign the death warrant.
"I believe its a technicality," said District Attorney Jeri Yenne.
Yenne said it is unclear how long it will take to set another execution date, but her office will request one soon.
Marcus said the court would have to remove the stay before another execution date could be set.
"This case is very clear-cut," said Marcus, who is with the non-profit Texas Defender Service. "Judge Gayle clearly didn't have any authority to do what he did."
Carolyn Barrett, Christie Chauviere's sister, was discouraged but not surprised at news the execution was delayed again. She would not lay odds on when another date will be set.
"It has taken us 2 years to get another one, so I really don't know," Barrett said." It questions your faith in the Texas justice system."
Barrett questions the importance of Gayle's comments after Etheridge's sentencing. Comments Etheridge made to Gail Chauviere as he left the courtroom that same day are more important, Barrett said.
"Gary looked at my mother and said 'We are all going to die someday,'" Barrett said. "I know because I was sitting at her right side holding her hand. My mother held his stare until he looked away and walked out."
"I think its very ironic that people will quote Judge Gayle and what Judge Gayle said and ignore what Gary said to my mother," Barrett said. "He can do and say what he wants and nobody cares."
Marcus notified Etheridge's mother that the execution was delayed, but he was not allowed to speak to Etheridge. Prison officials may have notified him, Marcus said.
"That would be the humane thing to do," Marcus said. "I know theres not a lot of sympathy for people on death row and their families but its very difficult for the Etheridge family to be put through this, as I'm sure it's very, very difficult for the victim's family."
Canceled execution dates are a consequence of premature scheduling, Marcus said. If judges waited until appeals had run their course to set execution dates, there would not be so many canceled dates, Marcus said.
"In 2000, Mr. Etheridge came within 2 days of being executed and this time he came within 3 days," Marcus said.
But Yenne said Etheridge has had 12 years worth of appeals. His case is a model for how safeguards in the legal system should work, Yenne said.
"The Gary Etheridge case should be a stellar example of due process," Yenne said. "When people complain and moan about the death penalty I want them to look at the Gary Etheridge case and see how many bites at the apple he has had."
"It would have been nice if Christie Chauviere had had as much due process as Gary Etheridge is afforded before he executed the death warrant on her," Yenne said.
In November 2000, Etheridge was 2 days away from lethal injection when the state Court of Criminal Appeals granted an indefinite stay, to allow time to consider competency of an attorney who represented Etheridge at a critical point in his appeal.
Earlier this year, the court removed the stay and, in May, Gayle set the execution date.
Since then, Etheridge attorneys unsuccessfully sued the Court of Criminal Appeals, accusing the court of violating the constitutional rights of condemned killers by appointing incompetent lawyers to handle their appeals.
Last week, Marcus wrote a letter asking Gov. Rick Perry to recuse himself from consideration of Etheridges pending clemency request. Marcus claims Perry could be biased since Etheridge was the focus of a 1998 political ad blasting Perry as soft on crime.
(source: The Facts)
CLEAT endorses Sharp for Lt. Governor
By DIRK FILLPOT Staff Writer
The Combined Law Enforcement
Associations of Texas encouraged raising the tone of the
lieutenant governor's
race to substantive issue discussion Tuesday in Abilene.
"In the beginning, it was CLEAT's great hope that this campaign would be different in some way," said Charley Wilkison, director of CLEAT. "We thought that the issues regarding police, law enforcement, criminal justice issues, public safety and police pay and benefits would have been pertinent issues for the voters to hear about."
CLEAT has endorsed Democrat candidate John Sharp in the race.
Amid the seesawing critical
ads about law enforcement, with prison doors slamming shut or
convicts contemplating
voting decisions, recent ads aren't a joke to Matthew Herden, a San
Antonio police officer
and member of CLEAT.
Herden referred to an inmate's parole that has been attributed to a vote Perry cast in 1987 while a state legislator.
"Less than six weeks after the time they released him out of prison, on July 4, at 4:30 in the morning, when most people are trying to think about celebrating independence, he crawled through the bedroom window of the home I was born in, murdered my mother in bed with a hunting knife, and stole a 19-inch color TV," Herden said.
"If he's going to say he's going to be tough on crime, and he crumbles on a simple bill from 1987, how will he hold up in 1998 and 1999?" Herden asked.
Ray Sullivan, spokesman
for Perry, said the vote Perry cast in 1987 strengthened the bill Sharp
supported in 1983.
"Mr. Perry put an ad out on radio that we asked him to take down on Oct. 9th because the ad, both radio and TV, has two pretend criminals saying that if they could, they would vote for John Sharp," Wilkison said.
The ad was paid for by the Associated Republicans of Texas, Sullivan said.
Kelly Fero, spokesman for Democratic candidate John Sharp said similar ads identified as paid for by Perry's campaign ran in smaller markets.
"To have Mr. Perry come back with an ad that puts the law enforcement officers, the hardworking men and women in blue who put their lives on the line every day, into the same pot with the criminals we chase, it's just an insult," Wilkison said.
"We want Mr. Perry to pull that ad and we want him to apologize because it lowers the bar for political rhetoric in this campaign," he said. "Let's talk about things that really are going to matter, things that are going to make someone want to vote for you or what you might do once you're in office."
Perry's campaign is equally interested in pulling an ad run by the Sharp campaign and encouraged the police association to reconsider its endorsement of Sharp.
"Given the fact that the
Sharp campaign is exploiting the tragic death of a 15 year-old girl,
CLEAT should consider
rescinding their support for John Sharp," said Ray Sullivan, spokesman
for Rick Perry, Sharp's opponent.
"Yesterday, we proved
... that John Sharp's ad that he's running now about inmate Gary Wayne
Etheridge is a bold-faced
lie," Sullivan said. "Sharp should be ashamed of himself and
apologize to Texas."
Fero said the ad to which Sullivan referred was a response to Perry's ad.
While both sides argue their positions, CLEAT believes their stance remains unrepresented.
"Let's get back to the
tone and tenor of the campaign," Wilkison said. "Let's talk about
information they can
use."
Gary Wayne Etheridge,
36, is on death row for the 1990 stabbing death of
15-year-old Christi Chauvierre.
Less than 2 months after
his parole in 1989, Etheridge broke into the
home of Gail Chauvierre,
for whom he worked, to steal money to buy drugs.
He sexually assaulted
Christi Chauvierre and stabbed both her and her
mother. Gail Chauvierre
survived the attack.
Democrat John Sharp, in
his failed bid for lieutenant governor, blamed
Republican Rick Perry
for Etheridge's early release from prison.
Sharp claimed Perry voted
for a prison-management law, under which
Etheridge collected extra
"good-time credit" allowing his early
release.
Etheridge was released
2 times on burglary charges and once for parole
violations from 1982-1989.
Actually, Etheridge won
his early release from a 1983 law that Sharp
supported. Etheridge's
crimes were committed before 1987, before a law
that Perry supported
went into effect.
Both Sharp and Perry are
former Texas Legislators. Sharp was state
comptroller and Perry
was state agriculture commissioner before they
faced off for the lieutenant
governor's job.
(source: Associated Press)
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