One to watch: commutation recommended in Texas
The Texas Board of Pardon and Paroles on Thursday recommended a commutation to a life sentence for Robert Thompson.
Thompson, 34, was sentenced to die in a law-of-parties case stemming from the December 1996 slaying of clerk Mansoor Rahim during a robbery at a Braeswood Boulevard convenience store. Thompson’s lawyer, Pat McCann, argued that the fatal shot was fired by his client’s accomplice, Sammy Butler. Under Texas’ law of parties, both robbers were eligible for the death penalty. But Butler, the gunman, was sentenced to life in prison.
The pardon board’s action marked the second time in two days that Houston killers received hope of escaping execution.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal granted a 90-day stay to Gerald Eldridge, 45, who was sentenced to die for the 1993 murder of his former girlfriend, Cynthia Bogany, and her 9-year-old daughter, Chirrisa. Eldridge’s lawyer argued that the killer might be seriously mentally ill and incompetent to be executed. Under Texas law, one must understand that he will be executed and why in order to legally be put to death.
After Wednesday’s initial victory before the pardons board, McCann acknowledged that he was “too scared to be optimistic.” Still, he noted the only time Perry commuted a death sentence also involved a law of parties case.
In August 2007, Perry spared the life of Kenneth Foster, who had been the driver in a series of San Antonio robberies. Foster was behind the wheel of the getaway car when one of his accomplices killed a man during an apparent traffic altercation.
In granting the commutation, Perry cited concerns that Foster and the triggerman had been tried simultaneously. Foster was three hours away from execution when the governor’s action was announced. He will be eligible for parole in 2037.
The pardons board has recommended only one other commutation during Perry’s tenure. In 2004, it suggested Perry commute the sentence of Kelsey Patterson, who had been sentenced to die for the 1992 murders of two people in Palestine. Perry rejected the board’s recommendation. Patterson was executed in May 2004.
November 19th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
This guy is no innocent bystander. He shot victims many times. A thug and murderer who deserves death…glad Perry didnt buy into it. Executed on 11-19.
November 29th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
I believe that both men should have been executed. It is not fair the driver got away from the death penalty. He is just as guilty as the triggerman was. He knew what was going on so that makes him guilty of taking a life as well.