Texas Insists on Executing a Man the State Admits is Innocent

[The Lorax]

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/actnow?bid=4&pid=221949

[Guest LadyC]

i'm all for death penalties if dna evidence proves a person is guilty. but texas (and i'm a native texan, by the way) has a nasty judicial habit of keeping people on death row that were wrongly convicted, because they refuse to hear new evidence or allow a new trial. darlie routier is another victim of the texas jucicial system. i'm sure she'll eventually get the needle also, and it's a total travesty.

[Axxman]

Excuse me?!?!?! Is this some kinda joke? This guy is the driver of a car in which he and his friends drove around doing drugs and committed two armed robberies. They then drive to a persons house at which one of his friends attempts to rob another person...and the victim is murdered. I'm supposed to feel sorry for this guy.

Society is lucky that more people weren't murdered that night...and we are equally lucky that this guy will no longer be a threat to society as of Aug 30th.

[georgesbluegirl]

Excuse me?!?!?! Is this some kinda joke? This guy is the driver of a car in which he and his friends drove around doing drugs and committed two armed robberies. They then drive to a persons house at which one of his friends attempts to rob another person...and the victim is murdered. I'm supposed to feel sorry for this guy.

Society is lucky that more people weren't murdered that night...and we are equally lucky that this guy will no longer be a threat to society as of Aug 30th.

You don't have to feel sorry that he is being punished, but the fact remains that he is being sentenced to death not having committed a murder. Obviously, if Foster was involved in the situation and crimes, he deserves serious jail time. But he is being punished - killed - for the actions of another, implying that he was somehow responsible for the murderous decisions of another adult.

Look, I don't make it a secret that I'm against the death penalty. But it seems to me that if you support the use of capital punishment, you have to justify its use by advocating applying it in a reasonable, unilateral, and somewhat sparing way. It also seems like this is exactly the kind of thing that you'd want to cry foul over.

[The Lorax]

Excuse me?!?!?! Is this some kinda joke?

No, it's not a joke that people want to see justice served.

Sure, this is a probably a real bad guy we're talking about here. So try him, convict him, and sentence him for the bad things he actually DID. Is there something wrong with that, Axxman?

[TheoMike]

Excuse me?!?!?! Is this some kinda joke? This guy is the driver of a car in which he and his friends drove around doing drugs and committed two armed robberies. They then drive to a persons house at which one of his friends attempts to rob another person...and the victim is murdered. I'm supposed to feel sorry for this guy.

Society is lucky that more people weren't murdered that night...and we are equally lucky that this guy will no longer be a threat to society as of Aug 30th.

I don't disagree with your sentiments. Foster was charged under Texas' "Law of Parties" law, fairly, and he has had every opportunity have his case appealed and those appeals were overturned. I for one am tired of hearing "Texas is about murder an innocent man." Foster is not innocent. He drove the car, and was in the car less than 100 yards away from where the murder was committed and did nothing to intervene. He is most certainly a party to that murder, whether he was directly involved or not. If the purpose of the death penalty is to "send a message" and to discourage would-be criminals, then this should do it. We should respect the law, pray for his family and his eternal soul.

[Guest LadyC]

mike, i agree that he deserves to be sentenced for his involvement, but it doesn't appear that he actively conspired to commit the murder or that he was actively involved in pulling the trigger. yep, he deserves the maximum penalty that texas law allows for the extent his involvement, but unless things have changed, that does not include lethal injection.

i'm not even sure if it would include a life without parole sentence, although i think it probably should.

of course, i didn't read very carefully when i was going over that article.... i was under the impression that he'd been convicted of the crime itself, not under a law of parties. i'm not even sure what a law of parties is.... all i know of under texas law is conspiracy charges, in which more than one person actively plots the death of another.

[ted]

mike, i agree that he deserves to be sentenced for his involvement, but it doesn't appear that he actively conspired to commit the murder or that he was actively involved in pulling the trigger. yep, he deserves the maximum penalty that texas law allows for the extent his involvement, but unless things have changed, that does not include lethal injection.

i'm not even sure if it would include a life without parole sentence, although i think it probably should.

Actually, Texas law does allow for the death penalty to be imposed for the crimes he committed now. Basically, Texas says: "If y'all were a part of the crime, we will punish you the same as the other guy...".

It's that 'guilt by association' thing that has people upset. Legally, he's toast.

t.

[TheoMike]

mike, i agree that he deserves to be sentenced for his involvement, but it doesn't appear that he actively conspired to commit the murder or that he was actively involved in pulling the trigger. yep, he deserves the maximum penalty that texas law allows for the extent his involvement, but unless things have changed, that does not include lethal injection.

i'm not even sure if it would include a life without parole sentence, although i think it probably should.

Actually, Texas law does allow for the death penalty to be imposed for the crimes he committed now. Basically, Texas says: "If y'all were a part of the crime, we will punish you the same as the other guy...".

It's that 'guilt by association' thing that has people upset. Legally, he's toast.

t.

Yes, that's what the Law of Parties says. That's why I say he was fairly convicted under that law. There is no travesty of justice here.

[The Lorax]

The Law of Parties IS the travesty of justice. If someone is an accomplice to murder, convict them for it. Every state outside Texas has the common sense to do this.