 "Photo: Bryant Haertlein")
Death chambers were silent again Wednesday night, and could be for the remainder of the year as Texas inches closer to suspending executions by lethal injection.
Heliberto Chi was sentenced to death in 2002 for killing an Arlington store manager. Chi's attorneys filed complaints with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals saying the drugs used for lethal injection can cause the inmate intense pain, which resulted in Chi being granted a stay of execution on Tuesday night - one day before his scheduled execution.
Chi's stay gives prosecuting attorneys in Tarrant County, where he was tried, 30 days to issue a response to the claim of the injection process.
The U.S. Supreme Court blocked the execution of Carlton Turner Jr. last week while it decides whether or not lethal injection is a form of cruel and unusual punishment, and therefore banned by the U.S. Constitution.
Though no one person has the authority to set a moratorium on executions in Texas, experts say they believe the state is in one now.
"I think we effectively have a moratorium now until the Supreme Court decides on the Kentucky cases, which will be in about six to eight months," said Jordan Steiker, a UT law professor and expert on the death penalty. "I don't think Texas will carry out another execution until after the Supreme Court resolves the lethal injection issue."
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear testimonies from two death row inmates in Kentucky, who sued the state in 2004 claiming the lethal injection process is cruel and unusual. Chi's attorneys cited this case in their death penalty appeal this week.
Steiker said there can be repercussions from the Supreme Court's examination of the lethal injection procedure. He said it is possible the process of revisiting the protocol will bring broader issues about the death penalty to the forefront but thinks that is more likely in jurisdictions that have less of a track record in carrying out executions.
"I would be surprised if the lethal injection litigation causes Texas to revisit the death penalty," Steiker said. Case-by-case review Texas has executed 27 inmates this year and three more are scheduled to die through December.
The attorney general's office issued a statement saying the Supreme Court's decision on Turner's case will not halt Texas executions.
"State and federal courts will continue to address each scheduled execution on a case-by-case basis," the statement said.
Attorneys for each death row inmate have to file appeals to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals before their client's scheduled execution for the court to grant a stay of execution. Any mishap could cost a prisoner his or her life, like Michael Richards, who was executed two days before Turner's stay was granted on Sept. 27.
Richards' attorneys tried to submit an appeal to the court but were not able to do so due to a computer crash and the office closing at
5 p.m. The office chose not to accept appeals after business hours.
"Today we find out Judge Sharon Keller made that decision all by herself and she didn't consult with any of the other judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals," said Scott Cobb, president of the Texas Moratorium Network, a nonprofit, organization in support for suspending executions in Texas.
Cobb said one judge is assigned to handle late appeals on the nights of scheduled executions, and Cheryl Johnson was working the night Richards was executed. Keller didn't call Johnson to ask her if she would accept this late appeal, which resulted in what Cobb called an "unjust" execution.
"We're calling on Judge Sharon Keller to resign her office because when you're a judge you have to act with integrity and with the eye towards justice," Cobb said. "If you're not doing that, then you need to step down."
Cobb said he and the organization will file a complaint with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, which has the authority to remove a judge from office who is acting without integrity if she does not step down.
"We can't have a presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals that in a life and death case is going to close the office at 5 o'clock and allow someone to be executed - just on her own - without consulting any other judges," Cobb said.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals did not return phone calls from The Daily Texan. Perry: Nothing wrong with current system Gov. Rick Perry's office said they do not believe the criminal justice system has problems.
Perry agrees there is not any reason to put an end to the death penalty in Texas nor should Texans to be worried about the integrity of the criminal justice system, said Krista Moody, a spokeswoman for Perry.
The governor will continue to follow Texas law, which designates the death penalty for the most violent crimes, she said.
"Generally, Texans support the death penalty, as does the governor, and the decision to stay the execution of the few inmates and the high courts' decision to pick up the Kentucky case are decisions that directly affect those cases," Moody said. Stays not a total victory Death penalty opponents do not consider stays a victory, since decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.
"I'm reluctant to use the word victory, but I will say we are grateful the Supreme Court is considering the issue and that the states - and most already have - decided not to pursue executions until this issue is resolved," said Bob Van Steenberg, leader of the Austin chapter of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.
Van Steenberg said the questions people are asking themselves now are, is it possible to have a process in which humans are involved that does not have errors or to "humanely kill" someone? He said he believes both answers are no.
"Killing is violent. Killing another person is a violent act," Van Steenberg said.
The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty kicked off its year-long Music For Life Tour Wednesday night. The program focuses on getting people to talk about the death penalty and does so through music.
Austin musician Sara Hickman, local musicians and guest speakers will perform in 12 Texas cities, including Huntsville. One of the songs Hickman sang reached out to the mother of Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-Hui.
"I've been surprised by the amount of support I've received," Hickman said. "I think anyone who wants to have an opinion about the death penalty needs to be educated about it." Even the affected oppose Linda White spoke on behalf of Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation at Wednesday night's kick off. The organization is made up of family members of victims of homicide and executions who oppose the death penalty.
White's daughter was murdered and sexually assaulted by two 15-year-old boys almost 21 years ago. White and her husband consider it a blessing the boys were too young to be sentenced to death.
"Executions don't provide closure," White said. "It's a false myth the state does something to help you heal. Healing is an internal process - not an external one."
Killing someone adds an innocent family to the grieving circle, White said.
Experts and anti-death penalty supporters said they are not sure what the outcome of the Supreme Court's hearing on the Kentucky case will be and how it will affect Texas.
"I can't even venture outside the Supreme Court's ruling," Van Steenberg said. "It will be a 5-4 ruling - which direction, I don't know."
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