AUSTIN -- The governor should halt executions of inmates from Harris County until the Houston Police Department can examine nearly 300 boxes of evidence that could be connected to death penalty cases, a state senator said today.
"It's just nuts, to sum it up, that we would not hold off on executions until we go through each and every piece of evidence to see if there's something that is even more convincing that the person we're fixing to execute did it, or perhaps we got the wrong person," said Sen. John Whitmire, a Houston Democrat.
Whitmire, who chairs the Senate Criminal Justice Committee and describes himself as a strong supporter of the death penalty, delivered a letter to Republican Gov. Rick Perry asking that he suspend Harris County executions until March 2005.
The governor's spokeswoman, Kathy Walt, said Perry at this point does not support calls for a moratorium on executions statewide or on cases from Harris County.
"The governor as a matter of routine goes through each case individually and will continue to do so," Walt said. In reviewing cases, he looks at whether there are questions about DNA evidence or innocence, she said.
Last week, Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt said inmates whose convictions rested on evidence analyzed at the Houston crime lab should not be executed until the work can be reviewed.
The lab has been at the center of controversy for two years. Its DNA section has been closed since a 2002 audit revealed possible contamination of evidence, inadequate training for analysts and insufficient documentation.
Since March 2003, the Harris County district attorney's office has been reviewing evidence processed by the DNA lab and ordered retests in approximately 400 cases. Last year it was determined that the 68 inmates already executed from Harris County had no DNA work performed by the troubled lab.
DNA retesting was ordered in the cases of 17 inmates on death row, and most of the tests returned so far are consistent with previous results, said Harris County Assistant District Attorney Roe Wilson. None of those 17 defendants has been assigned an execution date, she said.
Former Gov. Mark White and Houston state Sen. Rodney Ellis, both Democrats, joined Whitmire in writing letters to the governor Monday to ask for a delay of executions from Harris County, where Houston is the largest police agency the prosecutor's office works with.
"I don't think they appreciate how diligent we are in making sure that these executions proceed with good, solid evidence," said District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal.
None of the evidence in the 300 boxes is believed to be material from cases already set for execution, Rosenthal said.
Perry has not reviewed the cases of two Harris County inmates set for execution this week -- Edward Green III and Peter J. Miniel, his spokeswoman said. In those cases, there weren't questions arising out of DNA evidence, she said.
The Texas governor can issue a one-time 30-day reprieve for a death row inmate. Any other stay of execution from the governor must be based on a recommendation from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Whitmire said the parole board, which the governor appoints, could be involved in temporarily halting executions from Harris County but that Perry should be the leader on the matter.
"He is the chief executive officer of the state, sets the tone. I think we look to him for leadership and that's the reason I directed my letter to the governor," Whitmire said.
Whitmire cited the cases of Josiah Sutton and George Rodriguez as evidence of why executions out of Harris County should be postponed. Neither man was convicted of a capital crime.
Sutton was convicted in a 1998 rape case and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was freed on bond after more than four years in prison and was pardoned by Perry in May after the crime lab's DNA tests were discredited by new ones.
Rodriguez, who was convicted in 1987 before DNA testing began in Harris County, has spent 17 years in prison for a kidnapping and rape. Rosenthal said last week that Rodriguez was denied a fair trial because of flawed testimony from a Houston Police Department crime lab supervisor.
Rosenthal said he would not oppose efforts by attorneys for Rodriguez to free him on bond while they pursue a new trial or try to get his conviction overturned. A court hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday.