| | Sorry I changed my today's blog... be safe, Troy!
Troy Kunkle
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TEXAS
January 25, 2005
The state of Texas is scheduled to execute Troy Kunkle, a white man, Jan. 25 for the 1984 murder of Stephen Horton in Nueces County. Mr. Kunkle was 18 and two months old, had no criminal record, and was under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, and LSD at the time of the crime. Four other teenagers were involved in the crime. None of them received the death penalty. Tragically, Troy, a schizophrenic teenager who received no real guidance or counsel in making the most important decision of his life, turned down a plea bargain. The case proceeded to trial without any evaluation of Troy's mental health or his competency to make such a momentous decision.
Although Mr. Kunkle is schizophrenic with a family history of mental illness who was subjected to particularly shocking child abuse, no fact finder or court has ever considered whether this life history mitigates in favor of a life sentence.
Mr. Kunkle was physically and emotional abused by his father, including an incident where he was thrown against a wall so hard that his spleen was bruised. Both parents also suffered from mental illness. When Mr. Kunkle was a baby, his mother was committed to a mental hospital for attempting to choke him.
However, at the time, Texas law did not provide jurors with a mechanism for giving consideration to this mitigation, and Troy's lawyers never did the investigation necessary to present these facts to the jury. Recent interviews with the jurors indicate that this information would have saved Troy's life. When the U. S. Supreme Court forced Texas to change its laws and allow jurors a chance to spare the lives of defendants like Troy, Troy asked for a new trial where he could present this evidence to the jury. However in a cruelly ironic twist, the appellate courts refused to take his history into account because it was presented to them too late in the process.
Mr. Kunkle was young and had no criminal record. His actions were clearly impaired by drugs and alcohol. He had a truly horrific childhood, and suffers from mental illness. Above all, this evidence was never presented to a jury because he was tried under a statute later found unconstitutional, and has not received full consideration by the courts due to procedural technicalities.
This is precisely the circumstance, where important, valid evidence cannot be brought to the courts, when the clemency process is meant to serve as a safety net.
Hours before Kunkle's Nov. 18, 2004 execution date, the Fifth Circuit of the Supreme Court temporarily halted the execution. Then, on Dec. 13. the court declared that it lacked jurisdiction to uphold the stay. Justice Stevens concurred with the decision saying that he was "satisfied that the Texas court's determination was independently based on determination of state law." However Stevens continued, calling the result "regrettable because it seems plain that Kunkle's sentence imposed in violation of the Constitution."
This cannot be justice, and execution is clearly not the answer. Please contact Gov. Rick Perry and urge him to stop the execution of Troy Kunkle.
www.ncadp.org
TOO LATE! KUNKLE IS DEAD! I am praying for this man, who is more righteous than the governing President of the USA will ever be! Kunkle killed one person, and he always repented. Kunkle was 18 years old when he did wrong under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Now, 20 years later this man has been murdered by Texas Governor! That is Murder, Mr. Governor! MURDER!
The President of the United States killed thousands of people who were innocent inhabitants of Iraq.
IN MEMORY OF TROY KUNKLE a true and honest human being! May you rest in peace!
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| | Posted 1/26/2005 7:37 PM - 19 views - 6 comments
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