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"Thou Shalt Not Kill"…. That is unless you are the state of Texas. State sanctioned killing is murder in the worst degree and murder that is inflicted on the poorest of the poor and the most disadvantaged. The blood thirsty rush to judgment on Derrick Frazier (Hasan Shakur) proves the state is more interested in keeping its execution schedules and murder dates than it is in truly practicing justice for all. "Texacutioners" have the worst record in this country of executing citizens with "hanging questions" and "loose ends" that could have made the difference in life and death. Death sentences in Texas are given almost exclusively to the poor and the state leads the nation in executions with 375 since 1982. There are serious indications of racial bias in the application of the death penalty in Texas. For instance, according to the 2000 census, African Americans are only 11.5 percent of the population of Texas, yet 40.5 percent of people on death row in Texas are African Americans. As a comparison, only 3.5 percent of all students enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin in the fall of 2004 were African Americans. The American Bar Association has concluded that administration of the death penalty is "a haphazard maze of unfair practices with no internal consistency". A blood thirsty state and unfair system also erodes trust in the criminal justice system that already suffers from the worst public relations image among African-Americans that the world has ever seen. The problem lies with poor public pretenders (defenders), racist DA’s and criminal court judges and a TDCJ system full of prison guards and administrators that don’t mind abusing power and participating in the legal lynching of Blacks and Hispanics. I am not saying every inmate on death row wears a halo, but to ignore cases where there are obvious questions is not only ungodly, but also corrupt and irresponsible.In Frazier’s case, there were obvious discretions, but all the state and family members could focus on was killing this Black young African-American male. Despite their "vampire" taste for bloodthirsty revenge, many facts were ignored that could have proved in this age of modern technology, DNA and forensics that he did not pull the trigger and kill those people. However, the facts were written and remain that Frazier’s case was mishandled and should have been reviewed more closely given the problems with his case. -Incompetent trial attorney(s) (attorney allegedly mentally ill- suspended after trial) -All-white jury -Forced confession -Lack of physical evidence -Questionable indictment -No mitigation evidence presented in punishment phase -Jurors and victims' family had contact during the trial Through it all, not Gov. Rick Perry, Attorney General Abbott or any Supreme Court of Appellate justice cared to review the case to make sure they had the right man. If he was white, Texas would have done everything possible to salvage a good White man. But since Frazier was Black… it was no big deal to Perry, TCDJ or the court justices. Texas will suffer a great judgment from Almighty God for its unwillingness to follow Biblical codes that set truth as the standard, honesty as the bar and forgiveness as the foundation when examining the decisions of life and death. The Texas Democratic Party endorsed a moratorium on executions in its 2004 and 2006 platforms. The Travis County Commissioners Court has also passed a resolution calling for a moratorium. Rep. Harold Dutton of Houston has introduced legislation to establish a moratorium on executions in every regular session of the Texas Legislature since 2001. When I look at Blind Lady Justice today….The scales are missing when it comes to Black people. There needs to be a moratorium on executions until Texas fixes its broken system. God is watching you "Texacutioners"… and you know what I mean.
You can email Darwin Campbell at news@aframnews.com |
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