Manuel’s Plea For Justice

Dear Concerned Citizen,

I am writing this plea for help from my cell on Texas Death Row. It is known worldwide that Texas executes more men and women than any other state. Texas politicians boast of their “tough on crime” stance and run their political campaigns around their Pro Death Penalty views. All Texas District Attorneys use “seeking the death penalty” as a tool in their quest to move up the political ladder. This political pressure to achieve convictions at any cost results in an over zealous prosecution of defendants who do not have the resources to hire professional, competent attorneys to fight erroneous charges. These prosecutors use tactics outside of lawful norms to persuade jurors to vote to convict and even sentence a person to death. This is what happened to me. Please read further to get a grasp of who I am and how I ended up on death row for a crime I did not commit.

I am no angel, but my faith is strong. I grew up in a volatile and dangerous environment and adapted to my surroundings to survive. I became involved in drugs at an early age and ended up incarcerated in the Texas prison system at a young age. I was not alone. My brother, cousins, and even my father are serving or have served time in Texas prisons. I admit I did some irresponsible things in my youth and that I deserved the punishment given me. I paid my debt to society and emerged into the same environment that resulted in my troubles before. Texas will not allow you to be a better citizen after you serve your sentence. I honestly tried. I earned my G.E.D. (high school equivalency test) and learned a welding trade. I thought all these positive accomplishments would help me upon my release. You soon learn that the strikes against you for your past determine your future. When applying for work, I would get a slap on the face once the employer saw I was an ex-convict. Once again I became just a number to potential employers. All they saw was a big “X” on my forehead due to my prison record. Not my skills or my education were considered, not to mention all the energy and hope I had to prove to everyone how hard a worker I am and how eager I was to have a new beginning. They saw the big “X” and turned me away.

         While in Texas’s prison system you adapt to survive. This, for me, meant my joining a gang – a family of my own. Any sign of weakness will result in your being ruined for life. I did not hide my affiliation with the prison gang. Once out in freedom, I became a target by the police due to my prison gang affiliation. The Texas prosecutor in my case used my gang affiliation to convict me of this crime I did not commit. Two people were attacked in this case, and one died. The surviving victim pointed to someone else, a co-defendant, “whose DNA was found under the victim’s fingernails”, as the person that killed the other victim. Texas gave THAT co-defendant a choice. “Face The Death Penalty” or give them Manual Vasquez. He was originally charged with capital murder, death qualified, and the prosecution for the State Of Texas agreed to give him “seven (7) years in prison if he would provide testimony, some believable story, so that I would be convicted. The Prosecution fed him information about me so his story would sound believable, BUT, he still messed up by testifying that he was arrested on a different day and at a different time and location. The jury still believed him.

The co-defendant gave at least three (3) statements where the story drastically changed to point at me as the guilty party. The surviving victim’s memory all of a sudden changed and became vague as to exactly what he saw. Texas wanted me, and Texas got me because I could not escape my past. I have the paperwork proving my assertions and that this is not some wild made up story. I am not a learned attorney, so I end up having to rely on help from other prisoners to “try to” get my story out to someone who can help me before it is too late. Writing this letter pleading for help is all I know to do. Other prisoners read my evidence and hear my explanation of what happened, and they explain the urgency for me to get help NOW.
            I know, out there somewhere, there are people who care and will fight this injustice, but I have never known how to seek and ask anyone’s help. I was brought up to keep such thoughts within me, even if my life is at stake, to not trust a helping hand, but I have come to realize I need to act now. Why should I sit here with this injustice, lies against me being swept under the rug, and hidden from those who may care, without fighting for justice in my case? The injustice needs to be brought to light, and my not being able to afford a competent attorney should not allow Texas to kill me for this crime I did not commit. The court appointed attorneys in Texas, at trial and on appeal will only do a perfunctory challenge to prove your innocence, and then on appeal will only try to achieve a life sentence, neglecting to even argue for a complete new trial. My time is running out quickly due to the Texas enacting laws designed to speed up a prisoner’s appeals in their haste to execute us as fast as possible. I need your help, or Texas will kill another innocent man, me.

            Please contact me as soon as possible at the addresses below. I need legal assistance, investigation assistance, and financial support for those services. Please look into you heart and help me, or direct me to someone that will before it’s too late and Texas kills me for this crime I did not commit. The proof is available. I just need help.

Respectfully submitted,

_____________

Manuel Vasquez

Prison Address:

Manuel Vasquez #999336
3872 FM 350 South
Livingston, Texas 77351

Defense Fund Address:

C/O Angie Chavarria
3205 W. French
San Antonio, TX 78228

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This page was last updated November 7, 2005 Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty
This page is maintained and updated by Dave Parkinson and Tracy Lamourie in Toronto, Canada