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Stop Execution Based on False Info
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Progressive Portal
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Feb 18, 2006 17:55 PST
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JUDGE WHO PRESIDED OVER MICHAEL MORALES TRIAL
NOW SAYS DEATH SENTENCE WAS A MISTAKE
[From American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California
<http://www.aclunc.org>]
Michael Morales was sentenced to death for the 1981 rape and murder of
17-year old Terri Winchell. Morales had just turned 21 at the time of
the crime, and was under the influence of drugs and alcohol. He has
always accepted full responsibility for Winchell's death and expressed
deep remorse immediately.
At issue is the testimony of a jailhouse informant who claimed that
Morales bragged about the murder in conversational Spanish. That
provided prosecutors with the basis for the special circumstance that
made Morales subject to the death penalty.
But it was later learned that Morales doesn't speak Spanish.
For the first time in forty years, the judge who sentenced a man to die
has asked a governor to change that sentence to life without parole.
Judge Charles R. McGrath urged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to spare
Morales's life, but on Fri, 17 Feb 2006, news media reported that
Schwarzenegger had denied clemency.
In a bizarre twist, Judge Kenneth Starr, the Whitewater prosecutor and
prominent Republican who has been working to block Morales' execution,
was accused by prosecutors of providing phony affidavits opposing the
execution. The affidavits, collected by an investigator working for
Starr's team, were purportedly signed by jurors who voted to convict
Morales but later changed their views. However, prosecutors alleged that
several of the affidavits were phony and produced their own affidavits
from the same jurors denying having signed the statements submitted by
Starr. Starr subsequently withdrew all evidence gathered by the
investigator who provided the affidavits.
In denying clemency, Gov. Schwarzenegger said, "Morales's claim that he
is a changed man does not excuse the brutal murder and rape of Terri
Winchell." But "excusing" the crime is not at issue; the issue is that
it would not have qualified for the death penalty without the phony
evidence that it was a premeditated act.
Take Action
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1. Tell Gov. Schwarzenegger that his denial of clemency for Michael
Morales was a mistake based on incorrect reasoning, and that he should
reconsider:
https://ssl.capwiz.com/aclu-nc/issues/alert/?alertid=8440986&type=SW
En Espaņol:
https://ssl.capwiz.com/aclu-nc/issues/alert/?alertid=8477741
2. Urge Schwarzenegger and Lt. Governor Bustamente to implement a
moratorium on executions in California:
http://www.progressiveportal.org/letters/deathpenalty/
More Information
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Republican Kenneth Starr seeks clemency for Morales:
http://tinyurl.com/cdgf7
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denies clemency:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aYDLRwJH22mE&refer=us
Starr withdraws affidavits gathered by investigator:
http://fox40.trb.com/news/ktxl-021306morales,0,4750420.story
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