URGENT DEATH PENALTY CASES
My death warrant was signed for the sec-ond time by Gov. Tom
Ridge on Nov. 20, 1996. I am now on Phase II death watch in a segregated
cell, stripped of all possessions, and watched around the clock, one step
from the premeditated murder called lethal injection.
Gov. Ridge has been signing death warrants even though the prisoners have
had a petition for relief pending at one of the judicial courts. Because
the judicial process has been undermined and authorities are trying to cut
the time in half to file a petition, prisoners are forced to file without
adequate representation to oversee the proceedings. It is difficult for
them or any attorney to review the case, do research, make any necessary
investigations, and have everything put together to file an effective petition
in time. Even trying to acquire adequate counsel takes time because there
aren't enough competent attorneys to represent all the indigent prisoners
on death row. Many organizations who once represented indigent death row
prisoners have lost their funding and had to disband. The only organizations
left are stretching themselves thin trying to do the job.
Keep in mind that many of our rights were violated in the first place to
convict and sentence us. We need the support of the outside world. I and
many other death row prisoners are fighting each day to acquire legal rights
which are guaranteed in the Constitution. May God help us all.
-Harold C. Wilson, BC1712, 1040 E. Roy Furman Hwy., Waynesburg, PA 15370-8090
Save a child from the Death Penalty. Azikiwe Kambule, a 10th grade honor
student, moved with his parents from South Africa to Mississippi and desperately
wanted to "fit in." Being different it was hard for him, so he
befriended the wrong crowd and with these new "friends" got stuck
in the middle of a car-jacking. Tragically, a woman was shot. Though Azi
was not present when it happened, he told the police everything he knew.
Despite no criminal record, full cooperation, and basically a bystander,
Azi is being tried as an accomplice for capital murder. If convicted, he
faces death. In fact, the prosecutor bragged to a local paper Azi's trial
was moved to a predominantly white Mississippi county to increase chances
of a death sentence.
T
he U.S. is one of five countries (Pakistan, Yemen, Iraq and Saudi Arabia)
to continue the horrible practice of executing children and is by far the
leader. Two out of every three children condemned to death here are a racial
minority. To help NCADP help Azi and launch a campaign to end our shameful
execution of children, please send a contribution to NCADP, 918 F Street,
NW (Suite 601) Washington, DC 20004.
-Steven Hawkins, Exec Dir. NCADP
Roger Peter Buehl, at the age of 22, was sent to death row after being unjustly
convicted of a 1982 robbery-murder which occurred in a Villanova, Pennsylvania,
mansion. There was no confession, no evidence or testimony to place Roger
at the crime. The case against him was based entirely upon circumstantial
evidence and two prosecution witnesses testifying to buy their own release
from prison. Roger was sentenced to be executed in the electric chair. In
1992, evidence was uncovered proving that the prosecution procured false
testimony and concealed critical evidence, including the prosecution witnesses'
failed polygraph exam and prior contrary statements supporting Roger's innocence.
One of these prosecution witnesses recanted his trial testimony and revealed
the prosecution's manipulations and witness-tampering. However, prosecutors
and courts refuse to acknowledge that Roger is entitled to freedom from
the fraudulent conviction and death sentence.
Continuing his defense without any funding, Roger needs supporters and financial
assistance. Please help by sending donations to: Death Penalty Defense Fund,
c/o Schuylkill Friends Meeting, 37 North Whitehorse Road, Phoenixville,
PA 19460. This defense fund is registered as a charity.
For further information about Roger or his situation, feel free to write
to him: Roger Peter Buehl., AM-7936: SCI-Greene, Death Row, 1040 E. Roy
Furman Highway, Waynesburg, PA 15370-8090, USA.
CHARLES R. CRAWFORD, 30, is on death row in Mississippi, represented by
a court-appointed at-torney during his Direct Appeal phase. The key evidence
at his trial was two confessions supposedly given to FBI agents. There are
no tape recordings or video tapes of these alleged confessions and no written,
signed statement. If his appeal (filed November 21, 1996), is unsuccessful,
Charles is on his own. The state is not required to provide an attorney
once a defendant's Direct Appeal has been completed. Death Row inmates used
to receive assistance from Capital Resource Centers, but most of them, including
the one in Mississippi, were forced to shut down in 1995 when the federal
government took away their funding.
Several issues in Charles' case would entitle him to a new trial if they
were properly presented to the courts. Without an attorney, this is unlikely.
Your financial assistance would enable him to obtain an competent attorney,
hire an investigator and provide expert witnesses should he receive a new
trial. You could mean the difference whether Charles is eventually executed.
Any donations, small or large, can be made payable to The Charles R. Crawford
Defense Fund, and sent to J. L. Montgomery, Box 651 CR212, Walnut, MS 38683..
Write to: Charles R. Crawford, C/P #82068, 32-C Bldg., Parchman, MS 38738.
Feb-Mar-97
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