Scheduled Execution - Mental Retardation at Issue

Texas is scheduled to execute Bobby Woods tonight in Huntsville.  It would be the state's 13th execution this year, the 418th Texas execution since 1982.

Attorneys for Woods have filed a motion to stay the execution to evaluate whether he has mental retardation.  In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to execute offenders with mental retardation because of their lessened culpability and the fact that a majority of states had enacted legislation to ban execution for those with mental retardation.  The case was Atkins v. Virginia.

The Hood County News noted the filing.

A capital punishment specialist is seeking a stay of execution for Bobby Wayne Woods, scheduled to die by lethal injection Thursday evening in Huntsville. Maurie Levin of the University of Texas' capital punishment center has again raised the issues of Woods' alleged mental retardation, as well as ineffective defense counsel during the appeals process, district attorney Rob Christian said.

"Killer facing execution says lawyer botched case," is the report by Chuck Lindell in today's Austin American-Statesman.

Child killer Bobby Wayne Woods should not be executed tonight because an incompetent appeals attorney botched attempts to prove that the death row inmate is mentally retarded, his lawyers claim in a new appeal.

Woods is asking the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for another chance to prove that he is mentally retarded, a condition that makes him ineligible for the death penalty under a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

In 2005, the state's highest criminal court rejected Woods' claim, citing prosecution evidence that Woods' IQ was not below 70 — one of the standards used to measure mental retardation.

But in an appeal filed late Tuesday, Woods blamed the court's ruling on Fort Worth attorney Richard Alley.  

Alley, Woods alleges, failed to challenge the prosecutors' IQ tests as antiquated, did not unearth an easy-to-find test showing Woods' IQ was 60 and did not collect crucial affidavits from friends and relatives about Wood's inability to fully communicate or take care of himself. The new filing has 10 such affidavits.

"Mr. Alley failed in all aspects to adequately represent Mr. Woods," the petition says.  

Alley was featured in a 2006 American-Statesman analysis of court-appointed lawyers for writs of habeas corpus, one of two appeals granted to death row inmates. The analysis found Alley copied large parts of his petitions from previous filings and from other appeals that cannot be considered in a habeas review. A federal court also reprimanded Alley for repeated unethical behavior and poor work on a death penalty appeal in 2002.

Shortly after the newspaper report, the Court of Criminal Appeals removed Alley from its list of lawyers eligible to handle habeas petitions.

Lindell wrote the American-Statesman's landmark series on poor attorney performance in state habeas representation, noted here and here, in October 2006.

"Man set to be executed in rape, murder of 11-year old," is the Dallas Morning News story by Debra Dennis

AFP has, "Texas to execute 10 men in one month," which references the Woods case.

"Even for Texas, this amount of execution in so short time is unusual," said Rick Halperin, president of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

It is not unusual for 16 executions to be on the calendar in Texas, as they currently are, through March 11. What is unusual is that ten of those will happen between October 20 and November 20.

Bobby Woods is scheduled to die Thursday, Eric Nenno on October 28, Gregory Wright the 30th, Elkie Taylor on November 6, George Whitaker on November 12, Denard Manns on November 13, Eric Cathey on November 18, Rogelio Cannady on November 19, Robert Hudson on November 20.

Execution dates are set by the judges who presided over juries that pronounced a death sentence, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice explained.

"The frequency with which executions are scheduled is dependent on when the judges from courts across the state set those dates," Michelle Lyons said.

"Because they act independently of one another, there are some months when a number of executions are scheduled and other months when there are few or none scheduled," as is the case in December, she added.

If Woods is executed it would be the fourth in Texas this month, with an additional two executions scheduled for October.  Six more executions are scheduled in Huntsville during the month of November. The state has the most active death chamber in the United States, by far, accounting for more than 37% of all the executions in America.

TDCJ maintains this list of scheduled executions. 

Texas is scheduled to execute Bobby Woods tonight in Huntsville.  It would be the state's 13th execution this year, the 418th Texas execution since 1982.

Attorneys for Woods have filed a motion to stay the execution to evaluate whether he has mental retardation.  In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to execute offenders with mental retardation because of their lessened culpability and the fact that a majority of states had enacted legislation to ban execution for those with mental retardation.  The case was Atkins v. Virginia.

The Hood County News noted the filing.

A capital punishment specialist is seeking a stay of execution for Bobby Wayne Woods, scheduled to die by lethal injection Thursday evening in Huntsville. Maurie Levin of the University of Texas' capital punishment center has again raised the issues of Woods' alleged mental retardation, as well as ineffective defense counsel during the appeals process, district attorney Rob Christian said.

"Killer facing execution says lawyer botched case," is the report by Chuck Lindell in today's Austin American-Statesman.

Child killer Bobby Wayne Woods should not be executed tonight because an incompetent appeals attorney botched attempts to prove that the death row inmate is mentally retarded, his lawyers claim in a new appeal.

Woods is asking the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for another chance to prove that he is mentally retarded, a condition that makes him ineligible for the death penalty under a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

In 2005, the state's highest criminal court rejected Woods' claim, citing prosecution evidence that Woods' IQ was not below 70 — one of the standards used to measure mental retardation.

But in an appeal filed late Tuesday, Woods blamed the court's ruling on Fort Worth attorney Richard Alley.  

Alley, Woods alleges, failed to challenge the prosecutors' IQ tests as antiquated, did not unearth an easy-to-find test showing Woods' IQ was 60 and did not collect crucial affidavits from friends and relatives about Wood's inability to fully communicate or take care of himself. The new filing has 10 such affidavits.

"Mr. Alley failed in all aspects to adequately represent Mr. Woods," the petition says.  

Alley was featured in a 2006 American-Statesman analysis of court-appointed lawyers for writs of habeas corpus, one of two appeals granted to death row inmates. The analysis found Alley copied large parts of his petitions from previous filings and from other appeals that cannot be considered in a habeas review. A federal court also reprimanded Alley for repeated unethical behavior and poor work on a death penalty appeal in 2002.

Shortly after the newspaper report, the Court of Criminal Appeals removed Alley from its list of lawyers eligible to handle habeas petitions.

Lindell wrote the American-Statesman's landmark series on poor attorney performance in state habeas representation, noted here and here, in October 2006.

"Man set to be executed in rape, murder of 11-year old," is the Dallas Morning News story by Debra Dennis

AFP has, "Texas to execute 10 men in one month," which references the Woods case.

"Even for Texas, this amount of execution in so short time is unusual," said Rick Halperin, president of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

It is not unusual for 16 executions to be on the calendar in Texas, as they currently are, through March 11. What is unusual is that ten of those will happen between October 20 and November 20.

Bobby Woods is scheduled to die Thursday, Eric Nenno on October 28, Gregory Wright the 30th, Elkie Taylor on November 6, George Whitaker on November 12, Denard Manns on November 13, Eric Cathey on November 18, Rogelio Cannady on November 19, Robert Hudson on November 20.

Execution dates are set by the judges who presided over juries that pronounced a death sentence, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice explained.

"The frequency with which executions are scheduled is dependent on when the judges from courts across the state set those dates," Michelle Lyons said.

"Because they act independently of one another, there are some months when a number of executions are scheduled and other months when there are few or none scheduled," as is the case in December, she added.

If Woods is executed it would be the fourth in Texas this month, with an additional two executions scheduled for October.  Six more executions are scheduled in Huntsville during the month of November. The state has the most active death chamber in the United States, by far, accounting for more than 37% of all the executions in America.

TDCJ maintains this list of scheduled executions. 

Texas is scheduled to execute Bobby Woods tonight in Huntsville.  It would be the state's 13th execution this year, the 418th Texas execution since 1982.

Attorneys for Woods have filed a motion to stay the execution to evaluate whether he has mental retardation.  In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to execute offenders with mental retardation because of their lessened culpability and the fact that a majority of states had enacted legislation to ban execution for those with mental retardation.  The case was Atkins v. Virginia.

The Hood County News noted the filing.

A capital punishment specialist is seeking a stay of execution for Bobby Wayne Woods, scheduled to die by lethal injection Thursday evening in Huntsville. Maurie Levin of the University of Texas' capital punishment center has again raised the issues of Woods' alleged mental retardation, as well as ineffective defense counsel during the appeals process, district attorney Rob Christian said.

"Killer facing execution says lawyer botched case," is the report by Chuck Lindell in today's Austin American-Statesman.

Child killer Bobby Wayne Woods should not be executed tonight because an incompetent appeals attorney botched attempts to prove that the death row inmate is mentally retarded, his lawyers claim in a new appeal.

Woods is asking the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for another chance to prove that he is mentally retarded, a condition that makes him ineligible for the death penalty under a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

In 2005, the state's highest criminal court rejected Woods' claim, citing prosecution evidence that Woods' IQ was not below 70 — one of the standards used to measure mental retardation.

But in an appeal filed late Tuesday, Woods blamed the court's ruling on Fort Worth attorney Richard Alley.  

Alley, Woods alleges, failed to challenge the prosecutors' IQ tests as antiquated, did not unearth an easy-to-find test showing Woods' IQ was 60 and did not collect crucial affidavits from friends and relatives about Wood's inability to fully communicate or take care of himself. The new filing has 10 such affidavits.

"Mr. Alley failed in all aspects to adequately represent Mr. Woods," the petition says.  

Alley was featured in a 2006 American-Statesman analysis of court-appointed lawyers for writs of habeas corpus, one of two appeals granted to death row inmates. The analysis found Alley copied large parts of his petitions from previous filings and from other appeals that cannot be considered in a habeas review. A federal court also reprimanded Alley for repeated unethical behavior and poor work on a death penalty appeal in 2002.

Shortly after the newspaper report, the Court of Criminal Appeals removed Alley from its list of lawyers eligible to handle habeas petitions.

Lindell wrote the American-Statesman's landmark series on poor attorney performance in state habeas representation, noted here and here, in October 2006.

"Man set to be executed in rape, murder of 11-year old," is the Dallas Morning News story by Debra Dennis

AFP has, "Texas to execute 10 men in one month," which references the Woods case.

"Even for Texas, this amount of execution in so short time is unusual," said Rick Halperin, president of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

It is not unusual for 16 executions to be on the calendar in Texas, as they currently are, through March 11. What is unusual is that ten of those will happen between October 20 and November 20.

Bobby Woods is scheduled to die Thursday, Eric Nenno on October 28, Gregory Wright the 30th, Elkie Taylor on November 6, George Whitaker on November 12, Denard Manns on November 13, Eric Cathey on November 18, Rogelio Cannady on November 19, Robert Hudson on November 20.

Execution dates are set by the judges who presided over juries that pronounced a death sentence, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice explained.

"The frequency with which executions are scheduled is dependent on when the judges from courts across the state set those dates," Michelle Lyons said.

"Because they act independently of one another, there are some months when a number of executions are scheduled and other months when there are few or none scheduled," as is the case in December, she added.

If Woods is executed it would be the fourth in Texas this month, with an additional two executions scheduled for October.  Six more executions are scheduled in Huntsville during the month of November. The state has the most active death chamber in the United States, by far, accounting for more than 37% of all the executions in America.

TDCJ maintains this list of scheduled executions. 

Texas is scheduled to execute Bobby Woods tonight in Huntsville.  It would be the state's 13th execution this year, the 418th Texas execution since 1982.

Attorneys for Woods have filed a motion to stay the execution to evaluate whether he has mental retardation.  In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to execute offenders with mental retardation because of their lessened culpability and the fact that a majority of states had enacted legislation to ban execution for those with mental retardation.  The case was Atkins v. Virginia.

The Hood County News noted the filing.

A capital punishment specialist is seeking a stay of execution for Bobby Wayne Woods, scheduled to die by lethal injection Thursday evening in Huntsville. Maurie Levin of the University of Texas' capital punishment center has again raised the issues of Woods' alleged mental retardation, as well as ineffective defense counsel during the appeals process, district attorney Rob Christian said.

"Killer facing execution says lawyer botched case," is the report by Chuck Lindell in today's Austin American-Statesman.

Child killer Bobby Wayne Woods should not be executed tonight because an incompetent appeals attorney botched attempts to prove that the death row inmate is mentally retarded, his lawyers claim in a new appeal.

Woods is asking the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for another chance to prove that he is mentally retarded, a condition that makes him ineligible for the death penalty under a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

In 2005, the state's highest criminal court rejected Woods' claim, citing prosecution evidence that Woods' IQ was not below 70 — one of the standards used to measure mental retardation.

But in an appeal filed late Tuesday, Woods blamed the court's ruling on Fort Worth attorney Richard Alley.  

Alley, Woods alleges, failed to challenge the prosecutors' IQ tests as antiquated, did not unearth an easy-to-find test showing Woods' IQ was 60 and did not collect crucial affidavits from friends and relatives about Wood's inability to fully communicate or take care of himself. The new filing has 10 such affidavits.

"Mr. Alley failed in all aspects to adequately represent Mr. Woods," the petition says.  

Alley was featured in a 2006 American-Statesman analysis of court-appointed lawyers for writs of habeas corpus, one of two appeals granted to death row inmates. The analysis found Alley copied large parts of his petitions from previous filings and from other appeals that cannot be considered in a habeas review. A federal court also reprimanded Alley for repeated unethical behavior and poor work on a death penalty appeal in 2002.

Shortly after the newspaper report, the Court of Criminal Appeals removed Alley from its list of lawyers eligible to handle habeas petitions.

Lindell wrote the American-Statesman's landmark series on poor attorney performance in state habeas representation, noted here and here, in October 2006.

"Man set to be executed in rape, murder of 11-year old," is the Dallas Morning News story by Debra Dennis

AFP has, "Texas to execute 10 men in one month," which references the Woods case.

"Even for Texas, this amount of execution in so short time is unusual," said Rick Halperin, president of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

It is not unusual for 16 executions to be on the calendar in Texas, as they currently are, through March 11. What is unusual is that ten of those will happen between October 20 and November 20.

Bobby Woods is scheduled to die Thursday, Eric Nenno on October 28, Gregory Wright the 30th, Elkie Taylor on November 6, George Whitaker on November 12, Denard Manns on November 13, Eric Cathey on November 18, Rogelio Cannady on November 19, Robert Hudson on November 20.

Execution dates are set by the judges who presided over juries that pronounced a death sentence, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice explained.

"The frequency with which executions are scheduled is dependent on when the judges from courts across the state set those dates," Michelle Lyons said.

"Because they act independently of one another, there are some months when a number of executions are scheduled and other months when there are few or none scheduled," as is the case in December, she added.

If Woods is executed it would be the fourth in Texas this month, with an additional two executions scheduled for October.  Six more executions are scheduled in Huntsville during the month of November. The state has the most active death chamber in the United States, by far, accounting for more than 37% of all the executions in America.

TDCJ maintains this list of scheduled executions.