Houston, TX - Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee will join the city's
African American leaders in calling upon Governor Rick Perry to halt the
execution of Frances Newton scheduled for Wednesday, September 14.
Newton's attorneys have appeals pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. On
Monday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals turned down her appeal, and
the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole has declined commuting her sentence
to life in prison.

The state of Texas is prepared to carry out the first execution of an
African American woman in modern state history, despite resounding
questions of whether she is guilty and whether she received a fair trial.

Newton maintains she is innocent of killing her husband and two children.
Questions surround her conviction. Her supporters maintain that evidence
not presented at trial, but now known to have existed, could have caused
an acquittal. Newton's trial attorney, Ron Mock, was not competent and can
no longer appear in death cases. A person of financial means would never
have been convicted and probably never even tried in such a case.

Rick Halperin, president of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death
Penalty, an NCADP affiliate, said Newton's case "embodies the core
problems with the death penalty in Texas."

Now in the wake of Katrina with its devastating exposure of the fate of
poor Americans caught in calamity, American officials can find the
understanding, courage and compassion to commute this death sentence.

Congresswoman Lee will read the American Bar Association's letter to
Governor Perry regarding Frances Newton. Joining her will be State
Senator Rodney Ellis, Minister Robert Muhammed, and SHAPE Center Director,
Deloyd Parker, who will urge Perry to responsibly use his authority and
persuasion. Also present will be the highly visible Committee to Free
Frances Newton (www.freefrances.org). Following a weekend teach-in,
members of the committee hung banners on Monday over US 59 during rush
hour and protested in front of the Harris County Criminal Justice Center.

Where: 1919 Smith, Mickey Leeland Federal Bldg
When: 11 A.M. Tuesday, September 13
Contact: Office of Sheila Jackson Lee
Tel: 713.655. 0050
Fax: 713.655.1612