On December 22, attor­neys for John Green filed a brief with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ask­ing that a pre-tri­al hear­ing con­cern­ing the con­sti­tu­tion­al­i­ty of the state’s death penal­ty be allowed to con­tin­ue. An ami­cus brief in sup­port of con­tin­u­ing the hear­ing was also filed by for­mer gov­er­nors, leg­is­la­tors, for­mer judges and pros­e­cu­tors, vic­tim fam­i­ly mem­bers and freed death row inmates, all of whom shared a con­cern over the risk of wrong­ful exe­cu­tions in Texas. The brief stat­ed, “[U]nless Texas address­es the proven caus­es of wrong­ful con­vic­tions, includ­ing eye­wit­ness misiden­ti­fi­ca­tion, faulty foren­sics, unre­li­able infor­mant evi­dence, among oth­er doc­u­ment­ed fac­tors, the state runs the grave risk of exe­cut­ing an inno­cent per­son.” The sig­na­to­ries includ­ed: three for­mer gov­er­nors, includ­ing Gov. Mark White (TX), Gov. Parris Glendening (MD) and Gov. Joe Kernan (IN); for­mer Dallas Assistant District Attorney James A. Fry; leg­is­la­tors, includ­ing Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis; and death row exonerees includ­ing Anthony Graves, who was freed from Texas’ death row in October after new evi­dence proved his innocence.

The Court of Criminal Appeals tem­porar­i­ly halt­ed the hear­ing, which began on Dec. 6, after 2 days of tes­ti­mo­ny. Harris County pros­e­cu­tors had elect­ed to remain silent dur­ing the hear­ing, but request­ed that the hear­ing be stopped. Evidence had been pre­sent­ed about the risks of exe­cut­ing the inno­cent and about prob­lems with eye­wit­ness iden­ti­fi­ca­tion and infor­mant evi­dence, exact­ly the kind of evi­dence like­ly to be used against Green for a 2008 rob­bery and murder. 

(“Hearing on Texas death penal­ty stopped by court,” Associated Press, December 7, 2010; press release con­cern­ing the ami­cus fil­ing, Dec. 22, 2010). Read the Amicus Brief of promi­nent indi­vid­u­als. See Innocence.

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