Posted on 10/06/2004 6:12:16 AM PDT by Michael Goldsberry
HUNTSVILLE, Texas - A convicted killer was executed even though the handling of his case by Houston's troubled police lab had been called into question by two state senators and the police chief himself.
Edward Green III, 30, was put to death Tuesday night despite his attorneys' pleas that evidence relevant to his double murder trial might be in some 280 recently discovered boxes that had been mislabeled and improperly stored.
Green's lawyers as well as the senators and the police chief had wanted all executions out of Harris County stayed pending review of the boxes. In Green's case, prosecutors said all evidence had been accounted for.
Gov. Rick Perry refused to impose a blanket moratorium on Harris County executions and rejected a 30-day reprieve for Green.
The U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) and Texas' high court also declined to block Green's execution, and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles twice refused clemency requests.
"The main evidence leading to Green's conviction is his own confession to these brutal and senseless murders," the governor said.
Green was convicted of fatally shooting Edward Haden, 72, and Helen O'Sullivan, 63, during a 1992 robbery.
Green's lawyers have questioned the reliability of ballistics evidence, but the Houston police lab controversy for the past two years has centered on the reliability of its DNA testing procedures.
The lab's DNA section has been closed since a 2002 audit revealed possible contamination of evidence, inadequate training for analysts and insufficient documentation.
DNA retesting has been ordered in about 400 other cases, including 17 of death-row inmates who have not been assigned execution dates.
Green made a final statement, apologizing to families of the victims.
"I do not come here with the intention to make myself out to be a person I am not," Green said in a brief final statement. "I never claimed to be the best person. ... I did the best I could with what I had."
I'm sure the Revemarend Jesse Jackson will have a statement.
That's nice. Don't see that much anymore.
After the legal system is done with them they usually come to believe their defense team's lies...ala, "Yeah, that's the ticket"
Somehow, this murderer on death row got a female guard to fall in love with him and they made a love-child while he was on death row!
So let me make sure I got this right.
His guilt/innocence is questioned because of some bungling idiots in a crime lab, yet the murdering scum makes apologies to the victims.
These are the victims who may not have been victims, since the crime lab screwed up some evidence, so, the murdering scum just wants to apologize and confess to something that someone did, since the crime lab screwed up something?
Wow, I need some more coffee.
Damn dimlibs make my head spin.
It's Kerry's fault.
Evidence that would have made Green out to be a liar when he confessed? Evidence that showed that the victims weren't really dead? Green should have been executed years ago.
As to the activities of the Houston Police Department and the Harris County prosecutors there are many questions that may never be answered. Falsified evidence, "misplaced" evidence, DNA "evidence" that had no scientific basis and many more questions. Not very likely that the Police Department and the District Attorney are going to be very vigorous in trying to uncover misconduct in areas of their mutual interest. Too many people have served long sentences because of false evidence and testimony. Unfortunately, now, there is a possibility that juries will be reluctanct to convict, even the guilty, with evidence presented by these agencies.
We have a rule in Texas that if you kill us we'll kill you back. Sounds right to me.
I know..I live in Texas and agree 100%.
As slow as most states are in executing criminals, I'm surprised he didn't get to see her graduate!
We'd kill em faster except for the bleedin-heart yankee pukes like Susan Sarandon who keep comin down here and stickin there cocaine filled noses in our business.
Term limits for government employees.
Term limits for government employees.
I think the anti-death-penalty lawyers were looking for a blanket moritorium on all executions in that county, because of uncertainty over evidence in general. The particulars of this case were not important to that proposed moritorium.
Don't hold back - tell us how you really feel....
12 years to execute the perp? Justice delayed is justice denied. At least, after 12 years, society is a safer place.
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