Letters should be addressed to Victor Rodriguez, with copies sent to Brett
Hornsby of the Executive Clemency Unit of the Texas Board of Pardons and
Paroles. Mr. Hornsby should distribute the letters to the other 17 members
of the Board. However, the names, addresses and telephone numbers for all of
the Board members are available at
http://www.abolition-now.com/tcadp/tbpp.html
Please send all letters urging commutation for Karla Faye Tucker so that
they will be received no later than February 2, 1998.
Letters can be emailed to save-karla@abolition-now.com. They will be printed
and hand delivered to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles Executive
Clemency Unit in Austin, Texas.
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Brett Hornsby
Executive Clemency Unit
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
P.O. Box 13401
Austin, TX 78711-3401
(512) 406-5852
FAX: (512) 467-0945
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Victor Rodriguez, Chair
San Antonio Office
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
420 South Main Avenue
San Antonio, TX 78204-1114
(210) 226-6862
FAX: (210) 226-1114
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Dear Mr. Rodriguez,
The news media has reported you saying that commutation of a death sentence
should be granted for only two reasons: actual innocence or a lack of due
process. If this is incorrect, then my request is simple: I ask that you
allow Karla Faye Tucker the opportunity to present her case for commutation
before the full Board of Pardons and Paroles in person. In delegating
authority, The People do not give their public servants the right to decide
what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know.
Justice cannot be served except in the clear light of day. All requests for
executive clemency in capital cases should be open and before the full
Board. Anything less is in irreconcilable conflict with the ideals of
fairness and equity.
If, however, you do feel that death sentences should only be commuted in
cases of actual innocence or lack of due process, then I take serious
objection. First and foremost, if there is actual innocence, then justice
can only be served by an immediate and full pardon. To continue to punish
someone who is innocent is reprehensible.
Regarding lack of due process, the United States Supreme Court ruled in
Herrera v. Collins (113 S.Ct. 853 (1993)) that state executive clemency
provides the historic remedy -- the "fail-safe" remedy -- for hearing of new
evidence. And Karla Faye Tucker has new evidence to present that could not
be heard by the courts. Clearly, it's not new evidence regarding her
innocence of the heinous and savage murders of Jerry Lynn Dean and Deborah
Ruth Thornton, but it's essential new evidence nonetheless.
Karla Faye Tucker has evidence that will prove against "whether there is a
probability that ... ÆsheÅ would commit acts of violence that would
constitute a continuing threat to society" -- a necessary and sufficient
test to demonstrate that execution is no longer just.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, in conjunction with the Governor
George W. Bush, has the obligation to provide the necessary checks and
balances against injustice that cannot be remedied by the courts alone. A
fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of representative
government holds to the principle that The People receive fair and equitable
treatment by the government as a matter of law and not at the whim and
sufferance of officials both high and low. Yet sufferance -- the passive
failure to intervene, to halt, to prohibit actions that are immoral,
unethical, or wrong -- is the exact description of the practices and
procedures of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles regarding executive
clemency.
Again, The People, in delegating authority, do not give their public
servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is
not good for them to know. Justice cannot be served except in the clear
light of day. All requests for executive clemency in capital cases should be
open and before the full Board.
Anything less is in irreconcilable conflict with the ideals of fairness and
equity. Anything less is in irreconcilable conflict with the ideals of
democracy. Anything less is in irreconcilable conflict with the ideals of
the United States of America.