Freedom for one, death for another

Good news first! Ryan Ferguson was released yesterday after serving nearly 10 years of a 40-year sentence for murder. Ferguson was accused of the beating death of Kent Heitholt. This case, like many other wrongly incarceration cases, was flawed from the beginning. Said Ferguson,“To get arrested and to get charged for a crime you didn’t commit is incredibly easy…but to get out of prison, it takes an army.”

Execution of Joseph Franklin
The execution date for Franklin is November 20. Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty will hold a vigil on Tuesday, November 19 from 8:00-9:00 pm at St. Xavier Church, Grand and Lindell Blvd. Voice your concerns about the use of the death penalty to Gov. Nixon at 573.751.3222.

Executions Stall as States Seek Different Drugs

From the New York Times:

“In Missouri, the availability of drugs and litigation have slowed the pace of executions. There have been two since 2009.

“We are going to continue to be affected by these pharmaceutical company decisions time and again, unless the death penalty states can find a pharmaceutical product that has some supply stability around it,” said Chris Koster, the attorney general in Missouri, which dropped plans to use the anesthetic propofol after the European Union threatened to limit exports of the drug if it was used in an execution.

The drug shortages and legal wrangling have led some officials to discuss older methods of execution. In July, Mr. Koster suggested that the state might want to bring back the gas chamber. Dustin McDaniel, the attorney general in Arkansas, which has struggled with its lethal-injection protocol, told lawmakers the state’s fallback method of execution was the electric chair.

Mr. Koster and Mr. McDaniel said they were not advocating the use of the gas chamber or the electric chair, but were talking about the possible legal alternatives to an increasingly problematic method for states.”

Executions Stall as States Seek Different Drugs

Campaign Update for Week of October 28

Special Master’s Last Word
The findings of Judge Michael Manners were shared in a previous posting but the short version is that Judge Manners concluded that important evidence was withheld from Reggie’s attorneys at trial. After the release of those findings in Reggie’s case, both his attorneys and the State of Missouri were given the opportunity to respond. The State took exception to the conclusions but Judge Manners stood firm. The case is slowly making its way back to the Missouri Supreme Court. We don’t expect any new developments this year but stay tuned—anything can happen. Judge Manners is now retired.

Reggie Griffin Exonerated
This is good news for Reggie, his family, his supporters and death penalty opponents. After 30 years of wrongful incarceration based upon a wrongful conviction, this is another case of prosecution gone wild. Some of you have already noted that the same prosecutor who argued for the State in the oral arguments for Reggie Clemons is the same as in the Griffin case—Stephen Hawke. Read a bit of Hawke’s response to the court while arguing against the Griffin case in the St. Louis American. This is what justice is up against in Missouri. http://tinyurl.com/mxen9xw

Missouri Schedules Execution
There was a lot of drama in the last couple of months due to the impending executions and the State’s desire to use propofol as the lethal injection drug. International pressure as well as pressure from medical associations forced the state of Missouri to abandon propofol as its drug of choice; Missouri would’ve have been the first state to use the drug in an execution. The state will now use pentobarbital as its singular drug as it moves to execute Joseph Franklin on November 20. We will keep you posted.

Reggie's birthday pics

The Justice for Reggie Campaign would like to thiank all those who made Reggie’s 42nd birthday very special. For those unable to attend, check out the photos on Facebook.