2012 ~ 2011 ~ 2010 ~ 2009 ~2008 ~ 2007 ~ 2006 ~ 2005 ~ 2004 ~ 2003 ~ 2002

Read about GRACE's development, from just a “scrappy little group of volunteers” working out of the crowded attic apartment above Danalynn's home, to the organization it is today.

December 2010

GRACE board member, Dick Burr, files a brief with Texas Criminal Court of Appeals asking that hearing be allowed to continue

On December 22, attorneys for John Green filed a brief with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals asking that a pre-trial hearing concerning the constitutionality of the state's death penalty be allowed to continue.  An amicus brief in support of continuing the hearing was also filed by former governors, legislators, former judges and prosecutors, victim family members and freed death row inmates, all of whom shared a concern over the risk of wrongful executions in Texas. [Death Penalty Information Center]

Click Here to read the full amicus brief.

December 2010

GRACE board member, Dick Burr has death penalty hearing stopped by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

The Court of Criminal Appeals temporarily halted the hearing, which began on Dec. 6, after 2 days of testimony.  Harris County prosecutors had elected to remain silent during the hearing, but requested that the hearing be stopped. Evidence had been presented about the risks of executing the innocent and about problems with eyewitness identification and informant evidence, exactly the kind of evidence likely to be used against Green for a 2008 robbery and murder. 

Read articles:

• Appeals court halts death penalty hearing [ABC – By Christine Dobbyn December 08, 2010]
• Stay in Texas case continues culture of silence around the death penalty [Death Penalty Focus - By James Brockway, Guest Blogger - December 8, 2010]
• Historic Death Penalty Hearing Halted [Fox News – By Kristin Kane- December 7, 2010]

November 2010

GRACE board member Clive Stafford Smith puts pressure on UK government not to export drugs used in lethal injection

GRACE board member Clive Stafford Smith, Director of Reprieve, has successfully campaigned for the UK to put stricter controls on the export of drugs that are used in executions in the US.  

Read these articles for more information:

• Vince Cable restricts export of drug used in US executions [guardian.co.uk – By Peter Walker - November 29, 2010]
• John Duty: human guinea pig in Oklahoma's cruel experiment [Guardian.co.uk – By Clive Stafford Smith - November 23, 2010]
• Death Penalty Drug Suit to Block US Execution? [Findlaw Blog - By Jason Beahm November 5, 2010]

December 2010

GRACE Board Member Dick Burr wins hearing on constitutionality of the death penalty in Texas

Texas District Judge Kevin Fine scheduled a hearing in a death penalty case to consider whether there is a substantial risk that Texas's death penalty laws could result in the execution of an innocent person. The hearing, expected to last two weeks, will likely include testimony from experts around the country. Casey Kiernan, one of the attorneys for the defendant, John Green, filed a pre-trial motion regarding the issue of innocence, which led to the hearing. [Death Penalty Information Center]

Click on the below media articles to find out more:

• Death penalty prosecutors in Texas to 'stand mute' during hearing [Washington Post - By Juan A. Lozano - December 6, 2010]
• Legal Challenge to the Death Penalty Begins in Texas [New York Times – By James C McKinley - December 6, 2010]
• Death penalty hearing begins in Harris County Courtroom [Houston Chronicle – By Brian Rogers - December  6, 2010]
• Prosecution stands mute at death penalty hearing [Houston Chronicle - By Juan A Lorenzo - December 6, 2010]
• Bold move by DA: DA tells her prosecutors to stay silent during judge's inquiry[Houston Chronicle – By Brian Rogers - December 6, 2010]
• Prosecutors Won't Take Part in Death- Penalty Hearing [Wall Street Journal December 6, 2010]
• A Texas Case Puts the Death Penalty on Trial [Time Magazine - By Nathan Thornburgh December 06, 2010]
• Texas death penalty hearing starts in Houston court [USA Today
• December 6, 2010]
• Texas judge to hold hearing on death penalty law [Washington Post December 5, 2010]
• Death penalty on trial: An examination of the flawed Texas capital punishment system is long overdue [Houston Chronicle - December 4, 2010]