That's the headline of an article in today's Dallas Morning News about attorney Richard Franklin, who was Joseph Lave's attorney. LINK
Attorney Richard Franklin has defended 30 clients charged with capital crimes across more than three decades. Seven got the death penalty. Today, for the first time, one will die.
Mr. Franklin won't be there.
"I'm going to try to ignore it," he said.
Barring a last-minute reprieve, Joseph Lave will be administered a lethal injection about 6 this evening in Huntsville for his role in a double murder at a Richardson sporting goods store in 1992.
Carlton Turner, another of Mr. Franklin's clients, is scheduled to die Sept. 27 for shooting his father and mother in their Valley Ranch home in 1998.
Mr. Franklin is one of about 15 veteran attorneys who handle more than 90 percent of all the capital cases tried in North Texas. Several of his capital-crime defendants had their charges dismissed or reduced and some received lesser sentences.
Sometimes it's less about guilt than fairness in assessing punishment. Often, anything less than the death penalty is a victory.
"Most of them we're able to help somehow," Mr. Franklin said. "I believe in the death penalty, but not for my clients."
Five men from North Texas have been executed since October – James Clark, Christopher Swift and Gregory Summers from Denton County; and Charles Nealy and Robert Pereze from Dallas County.
Mr. Lave will be the first of Mr. Franklin's clients to be executed. Mr. Turner will be the second.
And:
Rick Harrison, former prosecutor and defense attorney and now district attorney of Kaufman County, was "second chair" with Mr. Franklin in the defense of Mr. Turner at trial.
And:
Mr. Harrison, who has tried about 40 capital cases as either a defense attorney or a prosecutor, said Mr. Turner will be the first of his clients to be executed.
"I'm for the death penalty," he said. "But now that we have life without parole, you're not going to see as many death penalty death penalty cases."
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