PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I just signed. Over to you.
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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BACKGROUND: He received his death sentence in 1993 for killing an 82-year old man during a robbery when he was 18-years old. Here's what the jury was told about whether Wardlow would constitute a future danger to others in prison: The most chilling testimony for the state came from Royce Smithey, an investigator for a group that prosecutes felony crimes committed in Texas prisons. If the jury sentenced Wardlow to death, the investigator said, he would be “segregated” and “severely restricted” until he was executed. He would have limited access to prison employees whom he might harm. Solitary confinement on death row would punish Wardlow and protect prison employees from the continuing danger he represented, Smithey testified. But if the jury gave him a life sentence, he asserted, Wardlow would be released into the general prison population with other felony offenders. Recently, Frank G. Aubuchon, who was a correctional officer and an administrator with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) for more than 26 years, reviewed Smithey’s testimony at the request of Wardlow’s current lawyers. Aubuchon wrote, “Mr. Smithey’s multiple falsehoods served to mislead the jury into believing that TDCJ would be completely unprepared to imprison Mr. Wardlow in a secure environment unless he received a death sentence. Based on my decades of experience as a TDCJ corrections officer, administrator, and prison classifications expert, I can say that this is categorically false.”
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GIST: "Billy Wardlow, at this moment, has sat for up to 23 hours a day alone in a 6 x 8-foot cell with virtually no human contact or exposure to natural light and has been for 25 years. He is condemned to death on Texas Death Row awaiting his execution date which is scheduled for July 8th 2020.
Billy has done the right thing and admitted his wrongdoing the night the crime was committed but should he be put to death? Absolutely NOT! Were you the same person you are today, a quarter of a century ago? Have you matured, grown and changed for the better? Billy has!
There are so many mitigating factors as to why Billy should not only be out already but never be put to death in the name of justice! He was overly prosecuted and the wrongs that the state has made against him need to come to light so his sentence can be finally commuted and real justice served.
Under Texas law, if there is enough mitigating evidence at any time to warrant a life sentence without parole, that’s the sentence is supposed to be given. This has not happened in Billy's case. At the trial, a chance of a life sentence was stolen from him due to many mistaken assumptions as well as false testimony.
Under Texas law, if there is enough mitigating evidence at any time to warrant a life sentence without parole, that’s the sentence is supposed to be given. This has not happened in Billy's case. At the trial, a chance of a life sentence was stolen from him due to many mistaken assumptions as well as false testimony.
We are here to ask that you become a voice for Billy. Help save his life! Please sign this petition to ask Governor Greg Abbott, Texas Board of Parole and Pardons as well as the Supreme Court of The United States, to carefully consider looking at Billy's case and resentencing him fairly. Do what is right by showing mercy by giving him his chance at LIFE.
To learn more about Billy's case please take a look at this wonderful article by The American Scholar. https://theamericanscholar.org/this-man-should-not-be-executed
We, the undersigned, believe that Billy Wardlow's death warrant should be rescinded, that he be granted a new sentencing trial where the mitigating factors are openly looked at with unbiased eyes, and that the execution of Billy Wardlow not go forward under any circumstances."
The petition can be accessed for signature at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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