Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Responds to “Day of Blogging for Justice”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Responds to “Day of Blogging for Justice”

Office of the Governor
Attn: Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
P.O. Box 94004
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9004

RE: Pardon Mychal Bell & Free the Jena 6

Monday, July 30, 2007

Dear Governor Kathleen Blanco:

Please stop the prosecution of the Jena 6. Drop all charges and pardon Mychal Bell.

This is a classic case of racial injustice much like the Scottsboro boys. Do realize that these are children, high school students, who were caught up in a race tense situation. The Jena High School administration is the blame for allowing a white prank to go unpunished. The Jena police have acted as protectorates of white wrongdoers. The Jena district attorney’s office leveled some of the heaviest criminal offenses against six young black boys. Reading the sequence of events, you cannot help but realize that the “alleged” crimes were nothing more than a schoolyard fight, common to most high schools. But every high school does not take racial sides when administering punishment, as in the case of Jena, Louisiana.

The reputation of this great state is at stake.

Sincerely,
Eddie Griffin (BASG)

[Posted by Mary Mitchell on August 30, 2007 11:47 AM]

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco's statement re Jena 6

From Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco's press office:

“I have received hundreds of calls, letters and emails from citizens concerned about the situation involving the case of the high school students in Jena, La. As Governor, as a citizen of the State of Louisiana, and as a mother, without rushing to judgment, I condemn racism in any form, and I fully expect that those involved in this case, including all parties, will act with fairness and in complete good faith.

“I must clear up a widespread misunderstanding of my authority in this case. Our State Constitution provides for three Branches of State Government - Legislative, Executive, and Judicial - and the Constitution prohibits anyone in one branch from exercising the powers of anyone in another branch. This issue is currently a matter in the Judicial System, and should those involved in this case suffer any defects, it is their right to address them in that system through the appeals court.

“Again, the oversight regarding how this case was handled, from arrest to prosecution, lies within the Justice System. Therefore, I have consulted Attorney General Charles Foti and Donald Washington, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, regarding these events in Jena. As a result, General Foti has been and is in consultation with U.S. Attorney Washington and other members of the Justice System. Regardless of the outcome of this case, the Jena community has much healing ahead of it, and I urge all those citizens to come together for the common good of their community and their state. Our children deserve nothing less.”

[Posted by: Yolanda, August 30, 2007 02:57 PM]

It's ashame that we go through the things we do as African Americans. It's a shame the Jena 6 had to experience the torture they experienced. Where are our leaders? Yea. That letter sounds very nice. It's professional and for sure its POLITICALLY correct, but how can Gov. Blanco say that she expects ". . .that those involved in this case, including all parties, will act with fairness and in complete good faith."… If we leave Mychel Bell and the other young men's fate strictly in the hands of Blanco and Walters, we may as well do nothing. We need to write the congressman who represent that parish or ward in Jena, we need to petition the US Dept. of Justice and hell - tell Bush about it. Maybe if Condi whispers in his ear, he'll make a call to one of his good ole boys down in LA and they'll "act" like they care and do something like investigate the OBVIOUS miscarriage of Justice.

Eddie Griffin responds:

The Governor says:

Regardless of the outcome of this case, the Jena community has much healing ahead of it, and I urge all those citizens to come together for the common good of their community and their state. Our children deserve nothing less.

For the Common Good

The community of Jena can come together, as the Governor suggests. This is hindsight leadership that led to the Hurricane Katrina hysteria. Isn’t this the Queen of New Orleans who had a nervous breakdown and issued the order to “shoot to kill” all looters and scavengers during those hectic days. And, now she “urge” Jena to come together, but she does not lead in order to pull them together, as a community.

Much of this nonsense can cease with good leadership, a quality I hope the State of Louisiana will find in their next governor.

Governor Perry Grants Last-Minute Reprieve to Kenneth Foster

It still hasn't sunk in... that Kenneth Foster will live. In a last ditch appeal from supporters around to world to save Foster's life, along with recommendations from the Texas Pardons and Parole Board, Governor Rick Perry stayed the execution, which was scheduled for this evening, and commuted Foster's sentence to life... Read more

"After carefully considering the facts of this case, along with the recommendation from the Board of Pardons and Paroles, I believe the right and just decision is to commute Foster's sentence from the death penalty to life imprisonment," Perry said in a statement.

"I am concerned about Texas law that allowed capital murder defendants to be tried simultaneously and it is an issue I think the legislature should examine."

PRESS RELEASE: “Day of Blogging for Justice”, Thursday, August 30th

Pardons & Parole Vote to Spare Kenneth Foster, Jr., but Texas Governor still Undecided

8/30/2007 12:05:03 PM

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended Thursday that Gov. Rick Perry spare condemned prisoner Kenneth Foster from execution and commute his sentence to life... The vote from the seven-member board was 6-1.

(Read “Parole board votes to spare condemned killer”, Statesman, August 30, 2007)

The final decision is now in the hands of the Governor. As of this writing, the phone to the Governor’s office was ringing off the hook... some pro... some con.

Please add your voice to save Kenneth Foster, who is schedule to be executed TODAY.

PLEASE CALL NOW: Governor Rick Perry at 512-463-2000

Carter and Tutu Plead for the Life of Kenneth Foster, Jr.

Right: Kenneth Foster with his daughter, Nydesha Foster

As of this writing (8/29/2007 2:55 PM), the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles is still deliberating the fate of Kenneth Foster, Jr.

According to Keith Hampton, Foster’s lawyer, “We need four board members to be in favor of clemency in order for them to make the recommendation to the Governor. Then it is at the Governor's discretion whether to commute his sentence.”

My telephone interview with Keith Hampton was cut short when a call came in from Kenneth Foster, Sr., father of the condemned young man.

As a human rights advocate and a man of faith, I ask for your 11th Hour prayer for the life of Kenneth Foster, Jr., a young man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people.

Lord, have mercy on his soul and the soul of this nation.


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:
SAVE KENNETH FOSTER CAMPAIGN
Adam Axel (732) 796-5230
Dana Cloud (512) 731-1025
Keith Hampton (Foster’s lawyer) (512)-762-6170

Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu Announce Support For Kenneth Foster

August 27, 2007

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu Signs Amicus Brief
Supporting Kenneth Foster’s Supreme Court Petition;
President Jimmy Carter Asks Governor Perry to Spare Foster’s Life

Yesterday a Brief of Amicus Curiae on behalf of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu was filed at the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a Petition of Certiorari filed by Kenneth Foster’s criminal attorney Keith Hampton.

The Supreme Court is now poised to decide on Hampton’s cert petition for Foster on Wednesday, August 29. Hampton has basically asked the Court to intervene and fix the irreversible mistakes the lower courts have made in this case. Hampton’s petition argues that the Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) wrongly decided that Kenneth is death eligible when it dismissed the writ petition Hampton filed in the CCA at court on August 7 and asks the Supreme Court to invoke its own original jurisdiction and exercise its supervisory powers over the lower courts.

“The Archbishop’s support sends a very clear and strong signal to the Court and it’s incredible that someone with such international regard and moral authority has come forward for Kenneth,” Hampton commented. “I’m very encouraged.”

President Jimmy Carter also came out yesterday in support of Foster. He wrote a letter to Texas Governor Rick Perry asking Perry to spare Foster’s life.

Foster’s legal team and supporters hope that the support of such credible world leaders will influence the Governor and help win the four votes needed on the Board of Pardons and Paroles and the majority of the Supreme Court in Foster’s favor.

The Save Kenneth Foster Campaign, along with Foster’s legal team and thousands of people around the world, has petitioned the Governor and Board of Pardons and Paroles for clemency. The case has received considerable local, regional, and national media attention and public support for Foster has been pronounced.

Kenneth has been on Texas’ death row since 1997 for the shooting death of Michael LaHood, Jr. Foster did not shoot the gun that ended LaHood’s life, but was driving the car carrying the actual triggerman, Mauriceo Brown.

Foster was convicted and sentenced to death under the Law of Parties, which allows the state to seek convictions for those present at the scene of a crime as if they had committed it. Since Foster’s original trial, the other men in the car that night have testified that Foster had no idea LaHood would be shot.

If no relief is forthcoming from the state or the Court, Foster faces execution on August 30.

Former Bexar County District Attorney Letter in Support of Kenneth Foster

Source: "Adam Axel"
Subject: Sam Millsap Letter in Support of Kenneth Foster

August 27, 2007

Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
P. O. Box 13401
Austin, Texas 78711-3401

RE: Kenneth Foster

To the Honorable Members of the Board:

I am writing to urge you to recommend clemency in the Kenneth Foster case. I am no wild-eyed, pointy-headed liberal. I am the former elected Bexar County District Attorney (1983-1987); I am responsible for the prosecution of more than a few death penalty cases all of which produced convictions and executions.

Because you have been buried with letters from throughout the world, I will not rehash the facts and legal problems with the case in this letter; they are obvious. There is nothing I can say about the legal issues or evidence that you have not already heard ad nauseam.

Fortunately, I was no longer the Bexar County District Attorney when this horrible crime was committed. Had I been, there is every likelihood that I would have decided to seek the death penalty against Foster because I could have done so--and that would have been a mistake. With the benefit of 20 additional years of life experience, I now believe that no useful purpose is served and it is morally wrong to execute a person based on nothing more than the law of parties.

Is there no limit to our lust in this state for retribution? How many people must we execute for this crime before justice is served? Having already executed the shooter, what benefit results from the execution of someone who was simply nearby and had no idea that a murder would be committed? As the civilized world watches in amazement that a single American state has executed 400 people in the last 25 years, what does it say about us? if we're willing to execute someone who was in the car when this horrible crime was committed? Surely, there is a limit to what we are capable of in this state.

There are tough cases and there are easy cases. This is an easy case. If we can't say no to execution in a case like the Kenneth Foster case, there is no practical limit to our thirst for vengeance. I urge you to recommend that the Governor grant clemency in this case.

Sincerely yours,

Sam D. Millsap, Jr.

Fathers Roll Out in Numbers - Final Report

Field Report: By Eddie Griffin

Monday, August 27, 2007

The report from Paschal High School:
It looked more like Family Day Back to School, as parents rolled out in numbers, to take their little darlings back to school. Leading the way were the fathers.

The highly publicized Fathers March was first announced at a news conference reported in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (“Group campaigns to get fathers involved”, 08/25/07).

The Millions Fathers March was organized statewide as a Back-to-School Rally by UMOJA, a mentoring group allied throughout the school systems. To rally community to support the initiative, UMOJA issued a challenge to fathers in particular, to accompany their child back to school on Opening Day.

"We went around the whole city of Fort Worth passing out fliers," said UMOJA President Johnny Muhammad.

The event has been reported over the airways and across church pulpits. So far, the field reports show good turn-outs, especially among local African-American men.

PLEASE SHARE YOU DAY ONE OF SCHOOL EXPERIENCE WITH US.

Contact Eddie Griffin at evansavenue76104@yahoo.com.

UPDATED REPORT

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

We are thankful to UMOJA for issuing the challenge to fathers to accompany their children back to school on the first day. We are thankful to the hundreds of fathers and mothers who responded. The reports of the first day of school were very encouraging.

[Read “Parents tag along for first day” by Diane Smith, Star-Telegram]

Besides the fathers and mothers that we can always depend on to support their children’s education, there were “new” crop of fathers coming to school this year with their children. Here is a spot check of what we found.

Many of the fathers who participated in the Back-to-School March were alerted by radio about the campaign, heard about it in church, or read about it in the newspapers. Fathers estranged from their spouses responded. Absentee dads, live-in boyfriends, stepfathers, grandfathers, uncles, other male relatives and role model and surrogates and mentors- however imperfect the relationship, all stepped up to the plate. Many actually took time off from work.

At last, most everyone did their part in making the first day of school in Tarrant County a wonderful day. More surprising, however, was the response from parents to become more involved with their children’s education through the PTA and PTO.

Future Concerns

Somewhere, however, in the throng of back-to-schoolers, were children with no one to accompany them. I wonder how they might have felt and what possibly could their parents and guardians be feeling.

These are the cases to watch for signs of alienation.

Eddie Griffin Supports MILLION FATHERS MARCH

Plez asked:
"Why should the public school system care about the plight of education of Black children when the Black community doesn't care?"

Eddie Griffin saz:
Do you assume, as fact, that the Black community doesn't care? Here is a test for all brothers who think of themselves as men: Answer the Challenge below or be a punk.

MILLION FATHERS MARCH
STATEMENT OF SUPPORT: From Eddie Griffin (BASG)

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

I wish to express my support to UMOJA and the Million Man Movement for calling upon fathers of school children to become more visible in their role as leaders, in leading our children back to school on Opening Day.(In Texas , that day would be Monday, August 27th).

Founded in 1994, UMOJA (which means “Unity” in Swahili) was formed by a group of black men for the purpose of providing leadership, mentoring, and serve as role models for young black boys. The organization has grown in number and diversity.

UMOJA is now calling for men everywhere to come forth, show visible support for our children, by accompanying them to school on the first day.

Realizing the start of the school year is an anxious time for both student and parent. Is it safe? Is it peaceful? Can my children learn in this environment? Will my child be bullied? What about the gang bangers, the haters, and the saggers?

Fathers need to see with their own eyes the school environment they are putting their children into. Maybe the presence of men accompanying their children to their first class will have a leveling effect on the teaching environment. Not only does it open the door for a return visit to the school, when needed. But it offers school children a chance to see Real Men, true role models and real heroes.

Eddie Griffin has been a friend with UMOJA since first being introduced to it by the late Johnny Wimbrey, one of the most profound civic leaders in the City of Fort Worth , a peace-maker by nature. As a witness to the work of UMOJA, I have watched them do effective work with black boys in the school system and out in the streets. We are allies in the fight,

THEREFORE, I join with them to issue a National Call to Order to all men, fathers, and male mentors, to step forward as true soldiers to physically escort our children to school and insure that at least the first day of school will be a wonderful experience.

Sincerely,
Eddie Griffin

Hat Tip to Lilana Segura

An International Call to Alert!

SAVE KENNETH FOSTER!
By Liliana Segura

Kenneth Foster’s time is running out. After ten years on death row, the state of Texas is gearing up to kill him on August 30 for a murder he didn’t commit. Foster was convicted for the 1996 murder of Michael LaHood Jr., who was shot following a string of robberies, by a man named Mauriceo Brown. Brown admitted to the shooting and was executed by lethal injection last year. Now Foster faces the same fate. So, if Brown was the shooter, what did the 19-year-old Foster do to get a death sentence? He sat in his car, 80 feet away, unaware that a murder was taking place......

Read the entire article, originally printed in The Brooklyn Rail:

WHAT YOU CAN DO


Sign the petition Pressure Texas Governor Rick Perry urging him to stay Kenneth's execution and send a message to his office:

Governor Rick Perry
State Capitol
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711-2428
Telephone: 512-463-2000
Fax: (512) 463-1849
E-mail: www.governor.state.tx.us/contact


Support the struggle in Texas:
Donations can be made out as follows "To Save Kenneth Foster, Account number 831766.1" and sent to: Velocity Credit Union. P.O. Box 1089 Austin, TX 78767

Write to Kenneth:
Kenneth Foster Jr.#999232, Polunsky Unit, 3872 FM 350, South Livingston, TX 77351

For more information on Kenneth's case and the efforts to save him, visit Kenneth's website.

Articles written about his case have also appeared in The New York Times, Counterpunch, and the Austin Chronicle. For audio, listen to Free Speech Radio's report with clips from Kenneth and his father.