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| Texas prisoner dies of lethal injection after last-minute appeal fails | |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| There was no clear gunshot residue from the murder weapon on his hands and no blood from either victim on his body or clothes. Yet Terry Edwards has been put to death in Texas as the result of a conviction his attorneys argue was deeply flawed and potentially tainted with racial bias. | |
| After the federal fifth circuit appeals court denied his petition on Wednesday, Edwards’ final hope for a stay of execution and a fresh examination of his case rested with a last-day appeal to the US supreme court. | |
| But that failed and Edwards, 43, died of lethal injection at 10:17pm on Thursday at the state’s death chamber in Huntsville, said Texas department of criminal justice spokesman Jason Clark in a statement. | |
| “Yes, I made peace with God. I hope y’all make peace with this,” Edwards said before he was put to death, according to the statement released by Clark. | |
| The execution was the 540th in Texas since the supreme court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, the most of any state. | |
| Edwards was fired from his job at a Subway in suburban Dallas in 2002 for suspected theft of money. He returned a couple of weeks later with his cousin, Kirk. The sandwich shop was robbed and two employees were shot dead. | Edwards was fired from his job at a Subway in suburban Dallas in 2002 for suspected theft of money. He returned a couple of weeks later with his cousin, Kirk. The sandwich shop was robbed and two employees were shot dead. |
| Mickell Goodwin, 26, and the store manager, Tommy Walker, 34, died from close-range bullet wounds on 8 July 2002. A witness reported seeing Terry Edwards dumping a gun into a bin across the street. He was arrested soon afterwards and convicted in 2003. | Mickell Goodwin, 26, and the store manager, Tommy Walker, 34, died from close-range bullet wounds on 8 July 2002. A witness reported seeing Terry Edwards dumping a gun into a bin across the street. He was arrested soon afterwards and convicted in 2003. |
| Kirk Edwards pleaded guilty to robbery in exchange for a 25-year sentence with the possibility of parole. Terry, who in contrast to his cousin had no history of violence, according to his lawyers, received the death penalty. | |
| At trial the prosecution asserted that Terry Edwards pulled the trigger, telling the court that he went to Subway “with murder in mind, with greed in mind, with evil in his heart”. But in appeals his lawyers have claimed that he was not the killer and that his cousin is a more likely culprit. | At trial the prosecution asserted that Terry Edwards pulled the trigger, telling the court that he went to Subway “with murder in mind, with greed in mind, with evil in his heart”. But in appeals his lawyers have claimed that he was not the killer and that his cousin is a more likely culprit. |
| Under Texas’s “law of parties”, accomplices can be sentenced to death even if they do not personally commit murder. Texas has executed more people since 1976 than the next six states combined. Last year it put seven prisoners to death by lethal injection, while Georgia led the nation with nine. Edwards would be the second inmate executed by Texas this month. The state has seven more scheduled for later in the year. | Under Texas’s “law of parties”, accomplices can be sentenced to death even if they do not personally commit murder. Texas has executed more people since 1976 than the next six states combined. Last year it put seven prisoners to death by lethal injection, while Georgia led the nation with nine. Edwards would be the second inmate executed by Texas this month. The state has seven more scheduled for later in the year. |
| Edwards’ attorneys have also cast doubt on the fairness of the jury selection process. They said in a statement that prosecutors “removed all eligible African Americans from the jury pool of 3,000 citizens [143 of whom were questioned] and seated an all-white jury to decide the fate of an African American man charged with murdering two white people”. | Edwards’ attorneys have also cast doubt on the fairness of the jury selection process. They said in a statement that prosecutors “removed all eligible African Americans from the jury pool of 3,000 citizens [143 of whom were questioned] and seated an all-white jury to decide the fate of an African American man charged with murdering two white people”. |
| They say they have obtained a strike list that next to the names of 32 of the questioned potential jurors has a handwritten, encircled “B” that could stand for “black”. | They say they have obtained a strike list that next to the names of 32 of the questioned potential jurors has a handwritten, encircled “B” that could stand for “black”. |
| “When we saw the strike list with B’s next to potential jurors names we were stunned,” John Mills, one of the attorneys, said. | “When we saw the strike list with B’s next to potential jurors names we were stunned,” John Mills, one of the attorneys, said. |
| In May last year the supreme court ruled in a case known as Foster v Chatman that the conviction and death sentence of a black man convicted of killing a white woman in Georgia in 1986 was unconstitutional because of the way potential black jurors were excluded. In that case, prosecutors marked the names of possible black jurors with a “B” on lists. | In May last year the supreme court ruled in a case known as Foster v Chatman that the conviction and death sentence of a black man convicted of killing a white woman in Georgia in 1986 was unconstitutional because of the way potential black jurors were excluded. In that case, prosecutors marked the names of possible black jurors with a “B” on lists. |
| But in Edwards’ case, Mills said that they have been unable to obtain juror questionnaires. These would indicate jurors’ races and allow cross-referencing with the strike list, perhaps proving the theory that “B” means “black”. The questionnaires appear to have been lost. | But in Edwards’ case, Mills said that they have been unable to obtain juror questionnaires. These would indicate jurors’ races and allow cross-referencing with the strike list, perhaps proving the theory that “B” means “black”. The questionnaires appear to have been lost. |
| The 43-year-old’s current team raised a common claim in death penalty cases: inadequate counsel. | |
| The defence called as a witness a trace evidence analyst who ended up testifying on cross-examination that Terry Edwards could have removed two of the three chemical components typically found in gunshot residue from his hands, perhaps from sweating or wiping it off. But Edwards’ attorneys say a review they commissioned last year by a former FBI agent contradicts this, and argues: “The testing and evidence introduced at trial raises very serious questions of reliability.” | The defence called as a witness a trace evidence analyst who ended up testifying on cross-examination that Terry Edwards could have removed two of the three chemical components typically found in gunshot residue from his hands, perhaps from sweating or wiping it off. But Edwards’ attorneys say a review they commissioned last year by a former FBI agent contradicts this, and argues: “The testing and evidence introduced at trial raises very serious questions of reliability.” |
| Mills also said it looks as if the district attorney’s office has closed off access to the conviction integrity unit, a branch of the office that was set up in 2007 to review cases in the wake of a spate of wrongful convictions in the county. | Mills also said it looks as if the district attorney’s office has closed off access to the conviction integrity unit, a branch of the office that was set up in 2007 to review cases in the wake of a spate of wrongful convictions in the county. |
| “We’re concerned that the district attorney’s office is no longer interested in having the unit look at the case,” he said. A spokeswoman for the office did not respond to a request for comment but told the Dallas Morning News it was not true that the unit was ever assigned to the case or that communication was cut off. | “We’re concerned that the district attorney’s office is no longer interested in having the unit look at the case,” he said. A spokeswoman for the office did not respond to a request for comment but told the Dallas Morning News it was not true that the unit was ever assigned to the case or that communication was cut off. |
| Thomas D’Amore, the lead prosecutor on the case, denied any wrongdoing and said he did not attempt to strike black people from the jury. D’Amore said he is sure that the trial unfolded properly and that the correct verdict was reached: “There is no doubt, there is overwhelming evidence, he is guilty of capital murder.” | Thomas D’Amore, the lead prosecutor on the case, denied any wrongdoing and said he did not attempt to strike black people from the jury. D’Amore said he is sure that the trial unfolded properly and that the correct verdict was reached: “There is no doubt, there is overwhelming evidence, he is guilty of capital murder.” |