Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Hughes News: Your Turn to Help

I have done what is in my power to save Preston Hughes from a wrongful execution. My last act was to send a letter to Governor Perry, via his website, asking that he grant Preston Hughes a 30 day reprieve of execution to allow testing of critical DNA. Governor Perry has authority to do so.

There are many tragic aspects to this case. One of them is that the State of Texas claims to have the actual killer's DNA on a vaginal swab taken from Shandra Charles at the time of her autopsy. Somehow, in all this time, that DNA has never been compared to Mr. Hughes' DNA.

The details are explained in Mr. Hughes' Chapter 64 motion for DNA testing. That motion awaits a ruling from the trial court as the clock ticks down to Mr. Hughes' execution.

We have the means at our fingertips to insure that the person we are about to execute is indeed guilty of the crime for which is to die. Have we descended so far that we will not even compare the killer's DNA against prisoner's DNA?

For those who choose to help, I suggest that you phone the Governor's office or that you send him a letter via his web site. According to the Governor's web site, the phone number is (512) 463-2000. If you prefer to contact him via an online letter,
click "I am registering my opinion",
click "Select",
fill out the online form that will appear,
click "Send Message".
I will not post here what I wrote to Governor Perry. I assure you I was polite and respectful. I do not post here what I wrote because I want you to use your own words. It is important that you speak in your own words.

I ask that you not just contact Governor Perry yourself. I ask as well that you ask others to contact Governor Perry, and that they ask others, ad infinitum.

I thank you.

And now I wait.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your DNA motion did not show up on the court's online docket until very late last night. Now, it's gone.

tsj said...

Anon,
We're following up. Thanks for the tip.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for being an advocate for people whose voices go unheard. As a longtime lurker and fan, I felt compelled to thank you today. Yours is an important voice that I wish more people would hear. I am passing along the link to this post in hopes that more people will get involved.

tsj said...

Anon First,
Ward checked. It looks like the DNA motion is on the docket. Search for "APP MT FOR DNA TEST" or for "11/12/2012".

Rick.Bonin said...

TSJ, in my letter to Gov. Perry, I told him about the important things I have learned from you about Preston's case. I implored him to listen like I have, and told him the eyes of the world are on Texas and himself. Hope we get through to him.

tsj said...

Thank you Rick.

Unknown said...

I have just send a letter to Gov. Perry, so the worlds eyes is on Texas. Askt my friends to send a letter just like i did. A pray from Denmark.

Anonymous said...

I had not even heard of this case until last weekend through a friend's posting on facebook. I have since spent countless hours reading everything you have posted and the trial transcripts. I will send a message to Governor Perry also. I hope our prayers will be answered. Whatever the outcome, you should be proud of all the hard work that you have done to help free an innocent man. dgr

Anonymous said...

Maria - Have just sent the Governor a message, although for some reason I did not receive a "message sent" notification once I had done so. Either the message was not sent, or this is just how the Hovernor's website operates. Can anyone enlighten me?

Andy said...

Hey Maria. I sent a message and received a message sent notification. Not sure why you didn't receive one. Maybe try again.

Andy said...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/texas-executes-hernandez-for-2001-slaying-of-woman-abducted-from-san-antonio-bus-stop/2012/11/14/6460d72e-2ebe-11e2-b631-2aad9d9c73ac_story.html

Andy said...

My last comment is an article written yesterday about Ramon Hernandez who was executed yesterday. It mentions Preston.

Petra de Jong said...

@Anon 1:09 AM - Isn't the notification in your spam folder?

Sent a message the day before yesterday and another one -even more pressing (but polite!) yesterday. Hope it helps.

Anonymous said...

@ Petra - no it isn't, but nevermind, I will give it another go.

@Andy - thanks, just wanted to clarify that it was a malfunction.

Maria.

numol said...

if you’re calling Gov. Perry and are using a telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD), the Gov’s website suggests calling 711 to reach Relay Texas.

also, his fax number is (512) 463-1849

some online free faxing places:

http://www.gotfreefax.com (up to 2 a day for free)
http://faxzero.com (allegedly up to 2 a day for free but one of those sometimes causes an error)
http://www.myfax.com/free (only one a day for free)

Anonymous said...

Form letter, phone call, and fax sent.
Al

tsj said...

Thank you Al, and all the others.

tsj said...

And thank you, specifically, Maria as well. So that the other readers know, Al and Maria have provided valuable behind-the-scenes help.

Anonymous said...

Trial court denied DNA testing.

Anonymous said...

Seriously? The judge denied it? What is wrong with the judges in Texas??? dgr

Petra de Jong said...

How could they deny testing DNA which has never been tested?

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