I guess the state figures that they would rather have these inmates put to death to get rid of the cost of housing them. And not wait until this matter is finally cleared up. I think its pretty sad. Governor refuses to halt executions Despite turmoil at crime lab, Perry aide says present reviews sufficient By R.G. RATCLIFFE and ROMA KHANNA Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle NO MORATORIUM • Plea for moratorium: Senate Criminal Justice Chairman John Whitmire,D-Houston, joins others in calling for a moratorium on executions from Harris County until evidence from the Houston crimelab can be reviewed. • Request rejected: Gov. Rick Perry rejects the request, with aides saying safeguards are in place to keep the innocent from being executed. AUSTIN - With the hours ticking down on a convicted killer's life, Gov. Rick Perry rejected a call Monday from the chairman of the Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee for a moratorium on all executions from Harris County until evidence from the problem-plagued Houston police crime lab can be reviewed. Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, wanted Perry to halt executions until more than 280 boxes of Houston crime lab evidence can be searched to see if any inmates were wrongfully convicted. But Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt said the governor plans to continue looking at each inmate's case individually. Condemned killer Edward Green III, meanwhile, had his requests for a commutation to life or a 120-day reprieve rejected by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. His request for a stay until there is a review of evidence in his case was turned down by state District Judge George Godwin. Green's lawyer is not disputing his guilt in the case, but had hoped ballistic evidence might have shown Green deserved a lesser sentence. Green is scheduled to die today. Another inmate from Harris County, Peter Miniel, is scheduled for execution Wednesday. Miniel has dropped all of his appeals. Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt last month said he believes all executions from Houston should be delayed until evidence is examined in 8,000 cases handled by the crime lab. Whitmire used Hurtt's statement in a letter to Perry asking for the moratorium. Whitmire noted he supports the death penalty and voted to restore capital punishment in Texas in 1973. Whitmire said Texas will be hurt in the eyes of the nation if it executes killers without knowing for certain there is no evidence to clear them. "It's just unconscionable that we would have a system that would allow people to be taken to the execution chamber with the possibility that there are boxes of evidence related to their cases that have never been opened or reviewed," Whitmire said. Another letter seeking the moratorium was sent to Perry Monday by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, and by former Gov. Mark White, who was in office during several executions. Walt said Perry's existing procedure for reviewing death penalty cases is adequate without having to establish a moratorium. "The governor looks at each case individually," Walt said. "Is there a question about DNA? Is there a question on the evidence? Is there a question about innocence? These are all questions he's looking at anyway." She noted both Green and Miniel confessed to their crimes and that is "the strongest evidence." Green was sentenced to death for his role in the 1992 deaths of Edward Perry Haden, 72, and Helen O'Sullivan, 63, who were shot as they sat in a car at a stop sign in Houston. His lawyers argued it would be inappropriate to proceed with the execution until all evidence is reviewed for DNA, ballistics and toxicology reports. David Dow, of the Texas Innocence Network, who filed the motion for Green, noted that Godwin's ruling did not say why he denied the motion. "It is true that the judges in Harris County are hostile to claims raised late in the day by death row inmates, but the first opportunity we had to raise the claim was late in the day," Dow said. "I think it would be a scandal if he were executed and then, a year from now, when all of the evidence is cataloged, we find there was something relevant from his case," Dow said. HPD expects to be done with the review of evidence by June. Assistant District Attorney Roe Wilson noted that all of the evidence in Green's case is accounted for and that no DNA testing was performed. "When you look at the facts of this case ... he had confessed to the offense and his co-defendant testified against him," Wilson said. "No murder weapon was recovered so there were no real ballistics" presented at trial. Wilson also said there is no need to postpone scheduled executions because the district attorney's office has reviewed each death row case since crime lab problems first came to light in December 2002. "These cases are reviewed very carefully and again, none of these cases that are set (for execution) were cases where there was DNA testing done," Wilson said.
