Online NewsHour: The execution of Gary Graham -- June 22, 2000



	TEXAS EXECUTION
June 22, 2000

The Texas pardons board voted today to allow the execution of convicted murderer Gary Graham, despite questions regarding the quality of Graham's defense during his trial. After this background report, legal experts discuss the case.

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April 19, 2000: Arguments heard by the Supreme Court on Miranda rights.
Feb. 4, 2000:
Why Illinois has temporarily halted all executions of death row inmates.
Jan. 14, 2000:
The youngest person ever convicted of murder receives his sentence.
Jan. 6, 2000:
Discussion on the validity of the Miranda Rights. protection.
Dec. 16, 1999:
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Jan. 23, 1998:
Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski changes his plea to avoid the death penalty
Jan. 7, 1998:
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MARGARET WARNER: In a case that has generated national controversy, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles announced this afternoon it would not intervene to stop the scheduled execution of death-row inmate Gary Graham.

Board denies pardon, reprieve

LARRY FITZGERALD, Spokesman, Texas Department of Criminal Justice: The members of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles have completed their consideration of the clemency petition of Gary Graham, also known as Shaka Shankofa. Following a full and careful review of the petition, a majority of the Board has decided not to recommend a 120-day reprieve, commutation of the death sentence to a lesser penalty, or a conditional pardon.
MARGARET WARNER: Graham was convicted of murder 19 years ago for the shooting death of 53-year-old Bobby Lambert during an apparent attempted robbery in the parking lot of this Houston supermarket. Though there was no physical evidence linking Graham to the crime, the jury found him guilty based on the testimony of one eyewitness who says she saw him through the windshield of her car that night. The witness says she's still convinced Graham is the man she saw.
BERNADINE SKILLERN, Eyewitness: (last week) I'm not that poor black woman they're sadly mistaken. I saw Mr. Graham shoot and kill Mr. Lambert on the parking lot in 1981. No one ever inferred to me that it was any one particular person. I promise you with my word it did not happen that way. I saw that young man walk up and shoot that man.

Defense lawyers never called two witnesses

Graham MARGARET WARNER: Yet two other witnesses, Sherian Etuk and Ronald Hubbard, both store employees at the time, said they saw the shooter too, and it was not Graham. But Graham's lawyer never called them to testify.
SHERIAN ETUK: (Monday) I gave my statement to the police within two days of the shooting. I never heard anything back, ever.
MARGARET WARNER: Accounts questioning the competence of Graham's trial lawyer, Ronald Mock, have drawn national attention to Graham's case. Graham's new lawyer, Richard Burr, explaines.
RICHARD BURR, Lawyer for Gray Graham: There were store employees who saw the shooter for 15 or 20 minutes over that long a period before the shooting happened who are absolutely certain that Gary Graham did not do this. That evidence was not heard because it was not investigated.
MARGARET WARNER: Last week, members of the New Black Panthers and the Nation of Islam took to the streets of Houston to protest the scheduled execution.
Protester SPOKESMAN: We believe this brother is innocent. We believe this brother committed no crime.
MAN SHOUTING: That's right!
SPOKESMAN: We believe this brother is just an innocent young black man who was too poor to afford an adequate and thorough defense.
MARGARET WARNER: This week, Texas Governor George W. Bush's presidential campaign events were disrupted by protesters demanding that he stay Graham's execution. But Bush said because Graham received a temporary reprieve from a previous governor, he didn't have the power to spare Graham's life unless the Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended it. Bush spoke about the case yesterday.
GOV. GEORGE W. BUSH: No case is an easy case. Obviously those that get a lot of public attention increase the degree of difficulty. I understand the emotions of the death penalty. I do. My job is to uphold the laws of the state of Texas. I'm going to do that.
lethal injection table MARGARET WARNER: During Bush's five years as governor, the state of Texas has carried out 134 executions, the most in the nation.