[Peace] Fwd: 7 Days to Save Jeff Wood From Execution; He is Innocent of Murder

Fri Aug 15 01:11:16 CDT 2008

----- Forwarded message from admin at texasmoratorium.org -----
    Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:37:07 -0400 (EDT)
    From: Texas Moratorium Network <admin at texasmoratorium.org>
Reply-To: admin at texasmoratorium.org
Subject: 7 Days to Save Jeff Wood From Execution; He is Innocent of Murder
      To: mcclure at iconnectto.net

Dear Don,

We have seven days to save the life of a man
who did not kill anyone. Jeff Wood is
scheduled for execution in Texas on August
21, despite the fact
that he did not kill anyone. If you have not
yet written Governor
Perry click
here to contact Governor Perry and the Board
of Pardons and Paroles 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpwR8UydY5s7aTKr_ULWw2pTQp60TRiNydfiSsZgdWAmyH58QThEhGPKYgMlEx0xBnBC3EmP2AVhjLvShR9RxeI3C51woq-81v7vj6jOl71Wp1H9hF3pCT2CcRSM2MaB4nPGdxixE8g4Zl5FaNMV3WnsAcFBLPQN7xze0165O70yew==).

If you have
already written them, we need you to pick up
the phone and leave the governor a message.
Call Governor Perry at (512) 463-2000.

This
Saturday,
August 16, there will be a rally for
Jeff Wood in Austin at noon. The rally is at
11th and Congress Avenue on the sidewalk in
front of the Texas Capitol.  Please join us
at the rally and show your support for
stopping this execution.

On Friday, we are
going to the Texas Board of Pardons and
Paroles with members of Jeff's family to turn
in the first online
petition that had almost 2,500 signers. If
you did not sign the first one, we have
created a new one for you to sign: Click
here to sign the petition for Jeff Wood. 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpxNBbmONTkKBahWqKFUxrd3x3hPP4yTs50MOyDCtgLuCbaTw0pjec07_HSIZgDAFG2egX0IoDiE4fYdD2ipEqoGfznvtU5GmKyhfZeXIQDqoTf5KUXpvTiGlyOK2JzB31cdO1hcOtx0nt7A9w84bmot95YXiguoMDc=)
You don't need to sign again if you signed
the first one.

Click
here to read the application for clemency
submitted by Jeff Wood's lawyers to the Board
of Pardons and Paroles 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpwcpK3Bb0j4m6NlBrS2prXw_7gCZgts2l48q7Nu1OZXHVHmP394ALg4lfenNBFAAiyxCuqSP3fQtqfypRCu7fV_Uo8W_vpcprQlOLPZ-I8b-LJp3NYjx3PLmIxmHXTjuMojUNwvuOqLo_0b1Emjh_HWNK9uw6Gh2X_w4ID1D5dlXjLZWKdXgSMDKzDcICImQW4=).

Please forward this email to your
friends and ask them to help us Save Jeff
Wood 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpzZHmaWiqqDv5EDUWjU-sWpuHh5x9uVK5wGXHw0wG_iyT1jfS1rMrXllzYHavD1Mn-05Za5AnuWawBqlqmWrXrpku7zhmph5fk=)!
----------------------------------------

Jordan Smith of the Austin Chronicle has a
new article on the case of Jeff
Wood. From "Defense
Lawyers Try to Halt Execution 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpzjnbyRhAoK1Qqtv14pZoNuMCl62aodBgbSTAHAhQUMdBok7s3_fHWJhqa_zjpvDmwbXVhxhKT75KJTwCMQbqP-KQyExak7dUpHzGxhpIdJgxJrseRK-NO_ibZ62dIwSfDA2jHc_6r0RKzyul4TJKMbSw6qSKdG2cjioONT0CW6BQ==)".

by Jordan Smith

Wood was sentenced to die for the 1996 murder
of his friend Kris Keeran, during a botched
robbery of a Kerrville Texaco station. Wood
did not fire the gun that killed Keeran and
wasn't inside the gas station when another
friend, Danny Reneau, fired the fatal shot
into Keeran's head. (Reneau was executed in
2002.) Nonetheless, according to the state,
Wood is responsible for Keeran's death and
should be executed. Wood was convicted under
the state's law of parties, a conspirator
liability statute that posits that if two or
more people plan to commit one crime but
another crime occurs, each person is equally
responsible for that crime, if it was
foreseeable. The state argues that Wood
hatched with Reneau the plan to rob the
Texaco, where their friend Keeran worked, on
Jan. 2, when a large amount of cash would
still be on hand because of holiday bank
closures. That Wood was neither in the store
when the killing began nor fired the fatal
shot did not mean he was not equally liable
for Keeran's murder, the prosecution argued.

But Wood's lawyers, Scott Sullivan and Jared
Tyler (with the Texas Defender Service),
argue that Wood did not plan to rob the store
and, in fact, had no idea Reneau planned to
do so - nor, they say, did Wood know Reneau
was carrying a gun. Indeed, it isn't clear
that Wood had any idea what Reneau would do,
although it does appear Wood was privy to a
plan hatched by Reneau and Texaco store
manager Bill Bunker to lift the post-holiday
cash. Wood's sister, Terri Been, says that
Keeran initially was in on the plan, but
ultimately, she says, Wood and Keeran pulled
out, followed by Bunker. As far as Wood knew,
she says, the previous talk of a robbery was
moot. "Mr. Wood undeniably shares
responsibility for what happened to Mr.
Keeran, and should be held accountable for
his reckless acts, but no man ever deserves
to die for another man's acts," Wood's
attorneys wrote in his petition to the board,
filed last week.

At Reneau's trial, the state argued that he
was responsible for Keeran's murder and
portrayed Wood as little more than a sap,
steamrolled by the villainous Reneau. But at
Wood's trial, prosecutors reversed their
strategy, arguing that Wood deserved to die
because he'd gotten Reneau to "do his dirty
work." But the idea of Wood as "mastermind"
baffles attorney Sullivan, who has
represented Wood since 1998. "I've watched
Jeff for ... nine years," he says. "This guy,
his mental capacities are not sufficient to
make him a mastermind." Wood was diagnosed
with learning disabilities as a child, and
school officials consistently categorized him
as emotionally stunted. He always sought
approval for his actions and, adds his
family, was easily influenced by others. He
was initially found incompetent to stand
trial because he was incapable of helping his
defenders. At the punishment phase of his
trial, Wood tried to fire his attorneys, a
request denied by the judge. Nonetheless, his
trial attorneys followed Wood's orders: Not
only did they withhold from the jury evidence
of his troubled youth, but they also failed
to cross-examine any state witnesses,
including the wildly speculative testimony of
Dr. James Grigson - derisively known by many,
including colleagues in the psychiatric
community, as "Dr. Death" for predictably
offering testimony in capital cases that a
defendant would pose a danger to society, one
of the questions a jury must decide in order
to impose a death sentence.

In Wood's case, Grigson testified the
defendant would pose a continuing threat to
society if sentenced to anything other than
death. That was clear to him, he said,
because Wood was a manipulative person who
failed to wear a disguise during the Texaco
robbery. "You have an individual that is a
user or manipulator of other people, and I'm
thinking particularly in terms of where
you're planning the robbery for two weeks,"
he testified, responding to a "hypothetical"
robbery-murder presented by prosecutors that
mirrored closely most of the facts of the
Keeran killing. "Surely, you would have
thought in terms of using a mask or a
disguise where you wouldn't have to kill
somebody, so this was a deliberate and
intentional act in terms of the clerk that
was going to be killed." (Wood's attorneys
assert in the clemency petition that Grigson
should not have been allowed to testify, in
part because of his 1995 ouster from the
American Psychiatric Association and Texas
Society of Psychiatric Physicians for
"flagrant ethical violations" - a fact the
jury did not know because neither of Wood's
attorneys conducted any cross-examination.)

Sullivan and Tyler argue now that executing
Wood for a murder he did not commit would
undermine Texas' entire death penalty scheme.
The U.S. Supreme Court, they note, has said,
"When the law punishes by death, it risks its
own sudden descent into brutality,
transgressing the constitutional commitment
to decency and restraint." If Wood is
executed, they write, "that risk will have
come to fruition, and we all will have taken
a descent into brutality unworthy of the
State of Texas."

The Board of Pardons and Paroles can vote
either to recommend or deny clemency for
Wood. If they vote to commute Wood's sentence
to life in prison, Gov. Rick Perry has the
power to accept or deny the recommendation. 
----------------------------------------

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Rally to Save Jeff Wood 
Saturday Aug 16 in Austin
A rally for Jeff Wood, who is waiting to die
on Texas Death Row with an execution date of
August 21st, 2008, will take place in Austin
on Saturday, August 16, in front of the Texas
Capitol on the sidewalk at 11th and Congress
Avenue. The rally starts at noon. At 12:20,
there will be a march down Congress Avenue to
6th Street and back to the Capitol. Speakers
will address the rally both at noon and again
when the participants return from marching
down Congress Avenue.

What: "Save Jeff Wood" rally to stop
the execution and urge clemency for Jeff Wood

Where: In front of The Capitol at 11th and
Congress, Austin, Texas

When: Noon on Saturday August 16

Speakers Include: Terri Been, sister
of Jeff Wood; Kristin Wood, wife of Jeff
Wood; Danny Wood, father of Jeff Wood;
Capital X with his new song for Jeff Wood; plus
representatives of Texas Moratorium Network,
Texas Students Against the Death Penalty,
Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement,
Campaign to End the Death Penalty and others.

Last summer, Governor Perry commuted the
death sentence of Kenneth Foster only hours
before he was scheduled for execution. The
Board of Pardons and Paroles had voted the
day before to recommend clemency for Foster,
who had been convicted under the "Law of
Parties" even though he did not kill anyone.
Many newspapers wrote editorials urging Perry
to commute Foster's death sentence.

Charles
Keeran, the father of Kris Keeran (the murder
victim), has said that he does not want Wood
executed and wants his sentence commuted to
life in prison.

"Mr. Wood undeniably shares responsibility
for what happened to Mr. Keeran, and should
be held accountable for his reckless acts,
but no man ever deserves to die for another
man's acts," Wood's attorneys wrote in his
petition to the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
The 22-page
petition can be read online by clicking here 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpwW77Kx0lR5W-e3Gp2mQijNLBw8cOXGhSPZ6LuGVxIEErFg_1cUYdO9V7IV3QgebAIkyd4H2YzwYz_U4a6TR2ek3XX8-NMT8_pQlfmZwhclp3ECWymay7d79hlMmhWZTJSUOkkUl81H_Sp1QlvHDTXX).

Everyone - including law enforcement and
prosecutors alike - agree that Jeffrey Wood
did not kill anyone during the January 2,
1996 incident for which he was sentenced to
death. The undisputed facts are that Kris
Keeran was shot and killed by Daniel Reneau.
During the episode, Jeffery Wood did not and
could not have known that Reneau would murder
Keeran. In fact, Wood was not even inside the
store at the time of the murder.

Daniel Reneau was convicted of the murder of
Kris Keeran and Reneau was executed on June
13, 2002. When the robbery took place on the
morning of January 2, 1996, Wood was under
the impression that Reneau was going in to
the store to get "road drinks and munchies."
Although it is true that Wood and Reneau had
talked about robbing the store at the behest
of the manager of the store, Wood backed out
of the idea. The robbery was supposed to take
place on the 1st, but after Wood backed out,
Reneau decided to go through with the robbery
on the 2nd on his own initiative and made the
decision to kill Kris Keeran on his own. Wood
had no idea that a murder or a even a robbery
was going to take place on the morning of the
2nd. Before Reneau and Wood left the house on
the morning of the 2nd, Wood told Daniel
Reneau to put the gun away, which he did in
front of Wood, but Reneau pulled the gun out
again when Wood went to the restroom.

At approximately 6:00 a.m. on Jan. 2, 1996,
while Jeff Wood waited outside, Daniel Reneau
entered the gas station with a gun and
pointed it at Kris Keeran, the clerk standing
behind the counter. Reneau ordered him to a
back room. When he did not move quickly
enough, Reneau fired one shot with a 22
caliber handgun that struck Keeran between
the eyes. Death was almost instantaneous.
Proceeding with the robbery, Reneau went into
the back office and took a safe. After
hearing the shot, Wood got out of the car to
see what was going on. He walked by the door
and looked through the glass. Then he went
inside, looked over the counter and ran to
the back, where Reneau was. Wood was then
ordered by Reneau at gunpoint to get the
surveillance video and to drive the getaway
car. Earlier, Reneau had threatened to kill
Wood's young daughter if anyone ever "ratted"
on Reneau, so with a gun pointed at him and a
man already having been shot, Wood complied
with Reneau's orders.

Additional facts:

* Wood suffers from severe mental, emotional
and learning disabilities. He was abused and
beaten severely and repeatedly as a child. He
is submissive to more dominant personalities
because of the abuse during his childhood.

* At arrest Wood was forced into
interrogation by the police and did not have
council present. Wood was kept awake the
entire time. He was refused sleep. He
eventually confessed saying it was a planned
robbery. He later revoked this statement.
Wood was found not mentally fit to stand
trial. He was admitted into a mental hospital
and a couple of weeks later was found 'trial
ready'.

* At trial, Wood was not satisfied with his
representation. Wood asked to represent
himself, but wasn't allowed to do so. The
judge found him not capable of representing
himself. The judge however, did not argue
when Wood, in his diminished mental capacity,
ordered his attorneys not to do anything
during the punishment phase of his trial. The
result was that Jeff had no witnesses during
the punishment phase of his trial on his
behalf. If his lawyers had been able to call
witnesses during the penalty phase, the jury
would have heard about Wood's mental problems
and his abusive childhood and may not have
sentenced him to death.

* The victim's father called the Governor of
Texas on the day of Daniel Reneau's execution
and urged the governor not to execute the
person who actually killed his son, Daniel
Reneau.

Visit the Save Jeff Wood website at www.savejeffwood.com 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpzZHmaWiqqDv5EDUWjU-sWpuHh5x9uVK5wGXHw0wG_iyT1jfS1rMrXllzYHavD1Mn-05Za5AnuWawBqlqmWrXrpku7zhmph5fk=)
for more information and to sign the petition
for Jeff Wood.

----------------------------------------

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Donate to Help Us Fight 
the Death Penalty in Texas
We will be protesting many executions in the
coming months, and we are working hard
to stop the execution of Jeff Wood. In
October, we are helping organize the 9th
Annual March to Stop Executions in Houston.

All of this activity has expenses, so please
help us by making a donation. You can send a check made out to Texas
Moratorium Network to:
3616 Far West Blvd,
Suite 117-251
Austin, Texas 78731

or you
can donate
online with a credit card by clicking
here 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpzEgIMpLn_Pi0Iv89OqhX_F0EHvk11GLZxYn4kZppaLqn91XI7SvrejfzMEBMtmHhR27NU9Hp0DcHPtW_S39nSwf3KM5BWPYDxIWCjc5JfWXMok-WChOSTBecdNY4nPqi-d7-0iKaK-13htzXHSop2-7mmXVr7-XthHumCkDuF-zDa7od0HGL52x495qXeTMxxAZtbkOFOyAlbWmZJERlb26QNHbxJg-hOdkhO6VsAGmDoMPqYf2OaSI-KLKP2-YPbdpG-4JDRRXEV6TCm7z_hwe38tAdTNW3SSBIp3Qv9bC_rqwJrsjgDPC6GAhrYX1GddjgMAypQw8qAHyM4m-gahJ1LNAZU9Iq5rgIUOFfsQUBkkBuVCmtM6KUw_X0A7Hf_6hgzEI_2VKbXY-kVfN9J124uXZ6KiM9s_WbBE5HT3IC8Mq5NENCW5).

<form
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Thank you!
----------------------------------------

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Letter From Texas 
Legislators to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles Urging 
Commutation of Jeff Wood's Death Sentence
Below is a letter from ten Texas legislators
(see
original 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpxE1uzz-aLNMa0LRerpln58gs0lExPgn4TRTffLeYxdKK_khxLhh8X43RlNylS8oIh7e5z_T9jPxtU0ElQ8ZlUAQzFf0e_kQx3Q8kbxwrcHc3G3hAl52I813f042wXNoc0sLrigEXlyyQ2Q84XvtWdXOENxg_ixg2vrGsGra2hAxyxI8H589uI871_PXSsTDlk=)) to the Texas Board of Pardons and 
Paroles
urging them to grant clemency to Jeff Wood.
In addition to this letter, other legislators
have told us that they have sent their own
letters, including Rep. Dora Olivo and Rep.
Mike Villareal. Texas House of Representatives

August 12, 2008

Ms. Rissie Owens

Chair

Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles

Members of the Texas Board of Pardons and
Paroles

Executive Clemency Section

8610 Shoal Creek Boulevard

Austin, Texas 78757

Dear Chairwoman Owens and Board Members:

We are writing to urge the Board to recommend
commuting Jeffrey Wood's death sentence to a
life sentence. Further, we hope that Governor
Peny would act favorably on such a
recommendation. As we are certain you are
aware, Mr. Wood is set to be executed on
August 21,2008.

Mr. Wood was convicted of capital murder
under the Texas Law of Parties. It appears
evident that he neither killed, nor
anticipated that Daniel Earl Reneau would
kill, Kris Keeran. He did not anticipate that
a murder would occur and was not in the store
when the murder took place. The shooter,
Danny Reneau, has already been executed for
this crime. When asked on death row to
identify the shooter, Reneau had a oneword
reply, "Me."

This case is similar to the case of Kenneth
Foster, whose death sentence under the Law of
Parties was commuted by Govemor Perry in 2007.

While Jeffrey Wood deserves to be imprisoned
for his participation in the robbery, he
should not be executed. We find the facts of
his case, as well as the application of the
Law of Parties, to be particularly bothersome.

The death penalty is supposed to be reserved
for the worst of the worst. It seems clear to
us that Jeffrey Wood is not a man for whom
the death penalty should be applied. We
respectfully request that clemency be granted.

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Rep. Elliott Naishtat

District 49

Rep. Donna Howard

District 48

Rep. Lon Burnam

District 90

Ruth Jones McClendon

District 120

Rep. Alma Allen

District 131

Rep. Eddie Rodriguez

District 51

Rep. Sylvester Tumer

District 139

Rep. Harold Dutton

District 142

Rep. Jessica Farrar

District 148

Rep. Mark Strama

District 50

cc: The Honorable Rick Perry
Governor of Texas
State Capitol 2S.1

----------------------------------------

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~National News Outlets 
Cover Jeff Wood Case
ABC News put a story on Jeff Wood on the
front page of their national website on
Friday, "Texas
Man Who Didn't Kill May Be Executed: Jeff
Wood Didn't Kill Kris Keeran, but He Is Set
to Be Executed for Keeran's Death 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpx204AD32x_kPWhGiwJtdGBVaXF2blbQyuA2l_MU-y6SINFyHzua7Kt4wyvDRjc07CmXakUsrR25QAyJlo4kad0yDDnwyLYOuSu2JdGaY626oKEhInGvlovWahdD2OT0_AMMvVbakcqTz9b1jTwqslB)".
----------------------------------------

Should
murder accomplices face execution? 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpwZFLvhzgleucif9t0N9VDHgYOTPJGR8Ifapz8yCamDgGe6a2C3rmxur46cCp15HtkqnWqkCvGQyWtEQhZhkU91NGH-Sqt3w9iZpFG4op_0KXNqopfFYPR6PkpFZmkPVhy9qm4nbGgFRjTaaLz15pRuIT-lctRsHn0=)
By John Gramlich, Stateline.org Staff
Writer

Excerpt:

In Texas, lawyers are
frantically trying to persuade the state
Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Rick
Perry (R) to spare Wood, who had no prior
criminal record. His legal team contends that
he has "emotional and psychological
impairments" that prevented him from
receiving a fair sentence, noting that he did
not challenge the death penalty during the
punishment phase of his trial.

Wood's lawyers also are comparing his case to
that of Kenneth Foster, another Texas murder
accomplice who was scheduled to be executed
last year. In that case, Perry took the
highly unusual step of commuting Foster's
sentence to life without parole, expressing
concern that Foster had been tried
simultaneously with his co-defendant, who
actually committed the murder. Scott Cobb, director of the anti-death
penalty Texas Moratorium Network and an
organizer of public rallies in support of
Wood and against the state's felony murder
rule, said he hopes authorities will spare
the inmate. He said he is encouraged because
Perry has proven to be "in tune with public
opinion, and he's aware that public opinion
doesn't support killing someone who has such
a diminished role as an accomplice."

Read the Complete Stateline Article - 
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpwZFLvhzgleucif9t0N9VDHgYOTPJGR8Ifapz8yCamDgGe6a2C3rmxur46cCp15HtkqnWqkCvGQyWtEQhZhkU91NGH-Sqt3w9iZpFG4op_0KXNqopfFYPR6PkpFZmkPVhy9qm4nbGgFRjTaaLz15pRuIT-lctRsHn0=

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Guardian in England 
Covers Jeff Wood
The Guardian in England has a column today
about Jeff Wood.

Death
and Texas
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpwRP7fymiNPckyhGABcunVRA42CGf5iK_XQc8GWovxiFRrK32Jm5GApwDHbRC59MAGA8k7XdUbc2xElkQX05_XQU4D5FwvZa7gjjUCRovMNyjKzeSpxf3A6m0CtcXj98smmGyrVNZAZ8raFGSAVoOOdi-l1C4VmIF5hVTipWCEQA_pksUVsSG82)Governor Rick Perry and 
his
state's flawed judicial system are now
executing convicts for crimes they did not
commit.

Despite the fact that the death penalty is
supposedly reserved for only the most heinous
crimes, Wood is sentenced to death for a
murder that prosecutors have never accused
him of committing - one that took place when
he wasn't even in the same building. Rather,
he was outside in a gas station parking lot,
waiting in a pick-up truck for his buddy,
Daniel Reneau, to come out of a road-side
store with drinks and snacks. Wood contends
that he didn't know Reneau was planning to
rob the store - a frequent hang-out spot for
the two of them - and that he also had no
idea Reneau was going to murder the store
clerk, Kris Keeran, a friend of both men.

Read the entire Guardian Article - 
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpwRP7fymiNPckyhGABcunVRA42CGf5iK_XQc8GWovxiFRrK32Jm5GApwDHbRC59MAGA8k7XdUbc2xElkQX05_XQU4D5FwvZa7gjjUCRovMNyjKzeSpxf3A6m0CtcXj98smmGyrVNZAZ8raFGSAVoOOdi-l1C4VmIF5hVTipWCEQA_pksUVsSG82

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Newspaper Report on Rally 
in San Antonio on Aug 2
The San Antonio Express News had an article
on the rally we had for Jeff in San Antonio
on Aug 2 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpx2fxn9MHR0dt_rg8uOxdvhiaK074p7IePsvHU_UE64f6gZ52pqc871hRxHdAfTaE_lnhD6pCIB8UYCx6mvlu-C-d6nxgZr_efNqk1z6YagbQQIVG85xHL4fYb_BNDu8T17fN8bEsYemSCbeC0cDI4kOlM1CRrQJks4QgnBAcp3lMwtdL-QnCunux4unTHmVdQ=). There were also four local 
TV
stations at the rally. This is a very good
article, since they included a statement from
Lawrence Foster and a statement from the
father of the victim that he opposes the
execution.

Excerpt:

On Saturday, about 20
people gathered in front of the Alamo to
rally for Wood's life, begging Perry for help.

Last August, Perry commuted a death sentence
to life in prison for inmate Kenneth Foster
Jr., also convicted under the law of parties
statute.

"Jeff's case is so much like Kenneth's case;
it is like a mirror image," Lawrence Foster,
grandfather of Kenneth Foster Jr., wrote in a
statement read at the rally. "I remember
thinking last summer that Texas had already
executed the killer and yet they wanted
Kenneth. It is the same for Jeff."

The cases are so similar that Norway native
Kristin Wood, 29, has found comfort and
support from the Foster camp, including from
Foster's wife, Tasha, a 24-year-old
Netherlands citizen.

Wood's relatives staged the rally with the
Texas Moratorium Network, which wants a
two-year moratorium on all death penalty
cases. A second rally for Wood is planned for
Aug. 16 in Austin.

Meanwhile, younger relatives have joined a
group called Kids Against the Death Penalty.

"I'm here because Jeff Wood is innocent and
on death row for a murder that he didn't
commit," said Gavin Been, 11, Wood's nephew.

According to the Texas Moratorium Network,
attorney Jared Tyler with the Texas Defender
Service is preparing a clemency package to
submit on Wood's behalf.

The victim's father, Charles Keeran, also
would like to see Wood live.

"The death penalty, to me, is the easy way
out," he said. "If you had to be down there
and get up every morning, as hot and humid as
it is, knowing that you are going to spend
the rest of your life locked up under those
conditions, that's punishment. That's what I
think my son would want for him."
----------------------------------------

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~More Letters of Support 
for Jeff to the Board and Governor
Bishop Aymond of the Austin Diocese has
written a letter to the board and the
governor urging clemency for Jeff Wood. So
has Sister Helen Prejean. Mike Farrell,
the actor and human rights activist has also
written. His
letter is here 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpzg-OXmKNNXV79dKnvTBnH11zL6VLYmFpzVl3MzIEuv7fWhpV71dIrDkxGj9ig8nb2dg3IK18D4_fLLeZt1_3vQLYhJjm84zeNIYmYBorpyeyfoyUirKMYDgap2DIma2G22vDud4ybugCoqspYJo2eVp8NYO4u7ecZkyesdA_-W5foEwIOO58GwvEkywuRBAMw=).

Former U.S. Attorney
General Ramsey Clark has also written a
letter, which
you can read here 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpzyOAk9D629te-gkY1k0HPqLU3fl7LKQaLb99PCiL65FCU_fX-VemQ1X0-z-E1Kg67oPdJY6z6l69vtY3JknkjL5M_st9S6rPuJw8nZmW0VUVGaDUIUvPbV97pS2n5TotNO_LezDlOBOeevKALGNrHoSnOzy-Ub9vtDD5pvGf3kXG5XfqM54pYGHnDycyR15WU=).
----------------------------------------

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Videos of Support for Jeff Wood
We created a
site on YouTube for videos supporting Jeff
Wood 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpyfebvwTXs3lpsRMiTuyqGyQoK7cChJHpc-oyNOCX2m2Jg5L97S7d8ITOA4NuUoTq5tFLuC96WppqQfI60JJZWOxIHJMeNXmyQUCUbQse6sqenCNSfwwMm0r1NA_nSZ25lVjuASWVc7LOe1Abl2RPR2). You can watch videos of the 
rally
in San Antonio, watch Jeff's mother 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpxcKw8pDaErs9nTPZ7EA3QPi3NV7dDPB03VFaDCGF6RE1EThQRixAWLFakofqnkOemoczD79FRxkql5uWOv8v31g2MBKVa37kNmI3YA4bwGxhCL1ZALWpslROOfNWPJpUs=)
and father 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpw3DAie1F-Y4v407e6b4Mn2QdklCenKIvgoGIQGleu1ndKRVEUGbpy4tD7TDGz9D4R4fWcjv50EGskuLG4qAZQHrKRhbkFLIxqVGXqwwpTpOFSUD7zCLqoxd_icQRw4d04=)
urging the Board to grant him clemency, see
his nephews,
nieces and their friends in Kids Against the Death Penalty 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpw-0mvS3seXIGSRmBtEQYcbKv9gNcVxAU4EzY4EaueZ5LyyR-iiTD-JC3FNmfwb6cTxNNPTbhXh09N8bfZuJ2VsoCis43yvlQCVEBTN2n58MYYE8-HfTHALamtcOPCDfQo=), 
and
watch a rap
video by Capital X that urges everyone to
call the governor 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpzbw_KJcJMJhw4EamD09DYJu6wbcpmf4EdauJaucncQMDkKgP7PTb00q_iBDfzNcqOy-evOMZCrcDKbAJ75inkROOvzn853mwnu4s4UxiVmPGI7Une9MS8wCN_VDEH6ol8=).

If you have a webcam, you can also upload
your own video to YouTube 
(http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpyfebvwTXs3lpsRMiTuyqGyQoK7cChJHpc-oyNOCX2m2Jg5L97S7d8ITOA4NuUoTq5tFLuC96WppqQfI60JJZWOxIHJMeNXmyQUCUbQse6sqenCNSfwwMm0r1NA_nSZ25lVjuASWVc7LOe1Abl2RPR2) urging 
the
Governor and Board to grant Jeff clemency.

Visit Our Website - 
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001oTHI1eyoVpzM339_ZhLUCxYs-qI_wtFQDVcioRujaEhRgmdLMnWmdvQY2Ua-0_wmgdsTG7I95Zyf51PEaY8-bUwsLr2HcRxGNpVB3_EtKpTl16bWywoZYg==

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sincerely,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Texas Moratorium Network

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~email: 
admin at texasmoratorium.orgphone: 512-302-6715web: 
http://www.texasmoratorium.org

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