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August 28, 2002
Governor Rick Perry
c/o Bill Jones, General Counsel
Office of the Governor
PO Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711-2428
BY FAX: (512) 463-1932
Dear Governor Perry:
On behalf of more than 300,000 members
of Amnesty International USA, I
appeal to you to do everything in your
power to stop the execution of
Toronto Patterson (TDCJ#999178). The State
of Texas plans to execute Mr.
Patterson on August 28, 2002 for the murder
of Ollie Brown, whose body
was found along with that of her sister
Jennifer Brewer and their mother
Kimberly Brewer. I am deeply concerned
that Mr. Patterson was sentenced
to death for a murder committed when he
was only 17 years old, and that
doubts about his guilt remain.
International safeguards require that no
death sentence be carried out if
there is any "room for an alternative
explanation of the facts." When
first arrested, Toronto Patterson admitted
to being at the scene of the
crime, but not to the murder itself. An
aggressive interrogation
followed, during which Mr. Patterson allegedly
asked for a lawyer and for
the interrogation to be recorded. The
interrogating officer did not grant
either request. During the trial, the
jury was not allowed to hear
testimony that may have supported Mr.
Patterson's claim that his
confession was coerced and that he was
innocent of the crime.
The U.S. Supreme Court has stated that
"the chronological age of a minor
is itself a relevant mitigating factor."
Yet Mr. Patterson's attorneys
failed to present his age as a mitigating
issue. His lawyers also failed
to present substantial mitigating evidence
of Toronto Patterson's
childhood, including evidence of his early
exposure to drugs, alcohol,
and violence in the community and in his
own home, where his mother used
to beat him, sometimes using electric
cords and sticks. These issues have
been lost to federal review because of
the failings of his inexperienced
state-appointed appellate attorney.
If it proceeds, the execution of Toronto
Patterson would be the third
execution of a juvenile offender carried
out by the State of Texas this
summer. Your state alone accounts for
four out of six such executions
that have taken place worldwide since
2000. The execution of juvenile
offenders flagrantly violates international
law, which demands protection
for minors against the death penalty.
This prohibition, respected in
nearly every corner of the globe except
Texas, stems from a recognition
of a young person's immaturity, impulsiveness,
vulnerability to peer
pressure, and capacity to change.
As an international human rights organization,
Amnesty International
opposes the death penalty in all cases
without reservation. While we have
tremendous sympathy for the family and
friends of Ollie Brown, Jennifer
Brewer, and Kimberly Brewer, and we are
mindful of the pain and grief
experienced, we believe that the death
penalty only perpetuates the cycle
of violence.
Governor Perry, we implore you to put an
immediate end to this shameful
practice of executing juvenile offenders.
In the interest of the
reputation of your state, we call upon
you to do everything in your power
to prevent the execution of Toronto Patterson.
Sincerely,
William F. Schulz
Executive Director, Amnesty International
USA
(source: Amnesty International USA)
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