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August 19, 2002
OMCT calls upon the Governor of Texas
to stay the execution of
Mr. Gary Wayne Etheridge and award
him clemency
The Honourable Rick Perry,
Governor of Texas
State Capitol
PO Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711
Fax: 00 1 512 463 1849 / 0039
Geneva, August 19th, 2002
Open Letter to Governor Rick Perry of the State of Texas
OMCT calls upon the Governor of Texas
to stay the execution of
Mr. Gary Wayne Etheridge and award
him clemency
The World Organisation Against Torture
(OMCT), the world's
largest coalition of non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) working in the
fight against torture, calls upon the
Governor of the State of Texas,
Mr Rick Perry, to stay the execution
of 38-year old Mr. Gary Wayne
Etheridge, which is scheduled for tomorrow,
August 20th, 2002. Mr. Etheridge
was sentenced to death in November
1990, for a murder committed in
February 1990. OMCT believes
there were irregularities during his trial,
including inadequate legal representation
and the failure to bring all
mitigating factors into account, which
demand that this execution be halted
and that he be given clemency.
According to the information received,
Mr. Gary Wayne Etheridge
was sentenced to death for the murder
of Christi Chauvierre, who was
sexually assaulted and stabbed to death
during the robbery of her home in
Brazoria County, Texas. Gail Chauvierre,
Christi's mother, was also
stabbed during the robbery and reportedly
died several years later, having
contracted Hepatitis C from blood
transfusions that she underwent as a
result of the wounding. Mr. Etheridge
claims that he did not murder Christi
Chauvierre, despite having confessed
to robbing and stabbing Gail Chauvierre.
Mr. Etheridge's legal representation
at his trial reportedly failed to make use of mitigating evidence that
was at it's disposal, which included the fact that he was the victim of
severe abuse in his childhood: he was physically abused by his father,
especially when the latter was drunk; he was frequently physically abused
and raped by an older brother, starting at the age of 8; his mother
suffered from mental illness and attempted suicide on several occasions,
including one which Mr. Etheridge witnessed. As a result of this, Mr. Etheridge
began taking drugs and committing crimes at the age of 12. He and his four
brothers have reportedly all spent time in prison during their lives. Mr.
Etheridge has attempted to commit suicide on at least 2 occasions, once
after having been raped while he was in prison. He did not receive treatment
for severe
depression following his release and
was heavily addicted to illegal drugs.
He was reportedly under the influence
of cocaine and heroin when the murder of Christi Chauvierre occurred.
In addition to the fact that Mr. Etheridge's
defence did not present this
mitigating evidence, they failed to
object to jury instructions which did
not allow for the mitigating effect
of such evidence to be taken into
account, despite the fact that they
were aware of a 1989 Supreme
Court ruling (case Penry v Lynaugh),
which had found that the absence
of such instructions to the jury was
anti-constitutional, eventually
leading to the persons in question
being granted new hearings in which
evidence was presented and the mitigating
effect of this evidence was
considered.
Despite this precedent, Mr. Etheridge
has not been afforded
hearings in which the mitigating evidence
could be considered.
Further to these failing by Mr. Etheridge's
trial lawyers, in
December 1996 he was appointed an inexperienced
lawyer for his state
appeals who had only graduated from
law school two years prior to being
assigned the case, had been licensed
to the Texas Bar in May 1995, and had
never filed a state or federal appeal
in any case, let alone one which
involved capital punishment. This lawyer
reportedly failed to challenge
the sentence handed down during
the trial in 1990, by not bringing to
light the failings of Mr. Etheridge's
trial lawyers outlined above,
leading to the Texas Court of Criminal
Appeals rejecting his appeal in April
1998. The case then moved to the federal
courts, which dismissed the
claim made by a new lawyer that Mr.
Etheridge had been badly represented by
his lawyers at the initial trial, as
the federal courts could not rule on this issue, as it had not been raised
before the state courts.
Mr. Etheridge therefore faces execution
on August 20th without
having had the possibility of having
mitigating evidence considered by a
jury, and having been ineffectively
represented during his trial and state
appeals. Such breaches of procedure
and the lack of sufficient judicial
safeguards mean that the death sentence
that has been handed down to him
results from a trial that is in violation
of internationally recognised fair
trial standards and guarantees.
OMCT recalls that it is strongly opposed
to the death penalty as
an extreme form of cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment and a
violation of the right to life, as
proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and other international
human rights instruments.
OMCT therefore calls on the Honourable
Mr. Rick Perry, Governor
of Texas, to immediately stop the execution
of Mr. Etheridge and ensure
that he is given clemency.
Thank you for your careful consideration in this matter.
Yours sincerely,
Eric Sottas--Director
Cc: Gerald Garrett, the Chairperson
of the Texas Board of Pardons
and Paroles
Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture
(OMCT)
World Organisation Against Torture
(OMCT)
Organización Mundial Contra
la Tortura (OMCT)
8 rue du Vieux-Billard
Case postale 21
CH-1211 Geneve 8
Suisse/Switzerland
Tel. : 0041 22 809 49 39
Fax : 0041 22 809 49 29
E-mail : omct@omct.org
http://www.omct.org
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