Frances Newton

Tonight, Frances Newton was executed in Texas for the murder of her family. She was the third woman, and first black woman executed in the state since the end of the Civil War. [Executed, not lynched, the other sickening American form of capital "justice" which destroyed so much in this country.]

Problem is, she very very likely was innocent. They said her motive was money- insurance money to the tuen of $100,000. They said she kileld her husband and two children in cold blood for blood money. Hours before she was put to death, the Texas Supreme Court denied her final appeals unanimously, clearing the path to her death.

Her case is complex; but she has staunchly maintained her innocence and her defense has been able to produce compelling evidence that raises doubts to the narrative of the prosecution. Coupled with a fiercely terrible public defender in the early days of her case, whose sad incompetence led to her initial conviction, and Newton faced the ugly side of a cold American justice system.

The President of the American Bar Association had written to Texas Gov. Perry to request a Stay of Execution. The mercy to prevent death, as is the trend among Texas Governors, fell upon deaf ears.

Longstanding ABA policy states the importance of providing all criminal defendants with qualified, competent counsel and protecting the innocent from wrongful execution. An abundance of caution should be exercised whenever there is doubt. Last December, you agreed to a 120 day delay of Ms. Newton's execution because you were persuaded that such doubt existed.

Some testing was impossible because the evidence had been contaminated. More testing has been requested and compelling new evidence has been discovered since December.

We are not in a position to comment on the merits of the new evidence. That is a role for officials in your state. But we believe that carrying out the execution of Francis Newton without a full review of this new evidence is inconsistent with principles of fundamental fairness and due process. Because reasonable doubt exists, we urge you to vacate her execution date so that the newly discovered evidence can be tested and properly evaluated by Texas courts.

Thank you for your consideration.

Respectfully yours,

Michael S. Greco
President
American Bar Association

She has passed on, hopefully to a higher place. In the wake of her death, she may well be proven innocent of the crimes; and her death may well have been sadly in vain. Yet another notch in the belt of the American Death Penalty...