Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (18th District, Texas)
For Immediate Release; September 13, 2005
(Contact: Rebecca Gale - 202-225-3816)
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Demands Reprieve from Execution for Frances Newton
Frances Newton set to be executed Wednesday; Congresswoman Jackson Lee asks for reprieve based on evidence of multiple weapons found
Washington, DC - Today, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee reiterated her request to State judicial officials for a stay of execution in the case of Frances Newton, whose execution is scheduled for Wednesday. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday refused to stop the execution and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted 7-0 not to recommend that Governor Perry commute the sentence to life in prison. Newton was convicted for the murder on April 9, 1987 of her husband, Adrian Newton, 23, and their son, Alton, 7, and daughter, Farah, 2 for purpose of collecting life insurance policy proceeds for their deaths. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, member of the House Judiciary Committee, has been working with the Texas Innocence Network to get a favorable recommendation by the Board and expressed disappointment in the Board's recommendation. "The case of the prosecution was fraught with numerous and substantial discrepancies. Without additional time to conduct further investigation, there is a chance that an innocent woman will be executed," stated Congresswoman Jackson Lee.
"Considerable evidence exists to case doubt upon the guilt of Frances Newton. First, ballistics evidence used in the trial was processed by the Houston Police Department Crime Laboratory. We know from the vast accounts of erroneous prosecutions like Josiah Sutton and failed scientific analyses that its work is no longer credible or exclusively relied upon."
This morning, she discussed this decision and the impact that it, along with new federal legislation, will have on future capital cases in Texas in a press conference held at the Mickey Leland Federal Building [in Houston]. Regarding the relevance of federal legislation to the Newton case, Jackson Lee stated, "The provision that concerns Frances Newton the most is Title IV, which establishes rules for post-conviction DNA testing of Federal prison inmates and requires the preservation of biological evidence in Federal criminal cases while the defendant remains incarcerated. It provides incentive grants to States that adopt adequate procedures for providing post-conviction DNA testing and preserving biological evidence. Additionally, it authorizes funding to help States provide competent legal services for both the prosecution and the defense in death penalty cases and provides funds for post-conviction DNA testing."
The dollars that this legislation authorizes can be used to improve the function of Texas crime labs. We must diminish the number of erroneous prosecutions and executions, and we must have more accountability in the enforcement of the law. Hopefully, a reprieve will be granted today that will allow Frances Newton to prove her innocence so that the true perpetrator can be brought to justice," concluded Congresswoman Jackson Lee.
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