SUB-HEADING: “We are asking for a 60-day reprieve because we believe that such a simple act could avert a profound evil: The execution of an innocent man,” Sanchez wrote to Gov. Stitt.
GIST: "Oklahoma death row prisoner Anthony Castillo Sanchez, who is scheduled for execution on Sept. 21, received a “small victory” this week after a district judge granted him access to evidence in his case.
He’s asking the Governor to grant him a 60-day stay so that his legal counsel can review the evidence.
Sanchez faces a lethal injection execution after he was convicted of first-degree murder and rape of 21-year-old University of Oklahoma dance student Jewell “Juli Busken.
For decades Sanchez has maintained his innocence, but multiple appeals have been denied.
In April, he appealed again.
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals rejected his claim that his father confessed to the murder before committing suicide.
In August, Sanchez asked a district court to order his former legal counsel to turn over 51 boxes of evidence in his case to his new counsel.
Yet, U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton refused to turn them over.
On September 8, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals weighed in, asking the judge to reconsider his decision. Judge Heaton reversed his decision on Wednesday, allowing the evidence to be turned over to Sanchez’ new legal counsel.
Despite doubts, supporters of death row prisoner Anthony Sanchez march on
Meanwhile, Judge Heaton made clear his doubt in Sanchez’ innocence when he denied the request to delay the execution for 60 days.
“Petitioner’s argument is entirely speculative — that he might be able to identify some new issue once his new counsel looks through the case materials,” the judge wrote.
Nevertheless, the quickly-approaching execution date hasn’t stopped supporters of Sanchez from rallying behind him.
Enacting a week of action, the anti-death group Death Penalty Action submitted a letter from Sanchez to Governor Stitt on Wednesday, after leading a 120-mile march to the Oklahoma State Capitol.
“We have new evidence coming in daily; We have new lawyers that are just getting familiar with the case,” Sanchez wrote to Gov. Stitt. “We are asking for a 60-day reprieve because we believe that such a simple act could avert a profound evil: The execution of an innocent man.”
To read the full letter, click here.
Spiritual advisor says race plays a role, executions violate tribal sovereignty
After waiving his right to a clemency hearing, and in a state that has become a leader in executions, the chance of Anthony Sanchez being spared from a state-sanctioned killing remains low.
Yet supporters of his innocence and groups opposed to the death penalty continue to fight for his life.
Although Judge Heaton already denied Sanchez’ request for a stay, Gov. Stitt has the executive authority to grant it himself.
Back in February, Anthony Sanchez’ spiritual advisor Rev. Jeff Hood told The Black Wall Street Times he believes race plays a role in his case.
“This case is one in which you have this man coming from a Choctaw and Hispanic background who is accused of killing a beautiful white ballerina, University of Oklahoma student, and it’s a situation where I feel like he was railroaded,” Hood said.
A recent study from Death Penalty Information Center that analyzed 9,700 death sentences found they continue to be arbitrary and racially biased.
Notably, in Oklahoma, state prosecutors are more likely to call for the death penalty in a crime where the victim is white and less likely to call for it in when the victim is an ethnic minority, according to a 2017 report from the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.
Rev. Hood also drew attention to the fact that the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, where executions take place, sits on Choctaw land.
“It is a fundamental violation of Tribal sovereignty for these executions to be taking place on Choctaw land,” Rev. Hood told The Black Wall St. Times.
The entire story can be read at:
https://theblackwallsttimes.com/2023/09/14/anthony-sanchez-death-row-prisoner-gets-access-to-evidence/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. 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;
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/47049136857587929
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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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-1234880143/
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