Bid to impeach Texas judge in execution case Agence France-Presse

Published: Tuesday February 17, 2009





Print This Email This A Democratic lawmaker in Texas has introduced a bill to impeach a judge who sent a condemned man to his death rather than receive his last-minute appeal after office hours.



The bill, a copy of which was obtained by AFP on Tuesday, called for a special committee to consider impeaching appeals court judge Sharon Keller "for gross neglect of duty and conducting her official duties with willful disregard for human life."



The chain of events began September 25, 2007 when the US Supreme Court decided to take up the question of the legality of lethal injections.



That decision launched lawyers for Michael Richard, who was supposed to be executed at 6 pm by lethal injection, on a race against the clock to draw up an appeal and submit it before the court of criminal appeals closed at 5 pm.



With ten minutes to go before closing time, the lawyers called the court to ask for another 20 minutes but were refused.



Richard was the last man executed before the start of a seven-month moratorium.



"It's one thing for a banker to close shop at 5 o'clock sharp. But a public official who stands between a human being and the death chamber must be held to a higher standard," Texas lawmaker Lou Burnam was quoted as saying in introducing the impeachment bill.



Burnam acknowledged, however, that the bill has little chance of passing.



Keller was cleared by her peers in October after a legal battle with the condemned man's widow.



In the course of that inquiry, a judge who was on duty to receive after hours appeals on nights when executions are scheduled said she was sickened by Keller's unilateral decision.



LINK TO IMPEACH RESOLUTION





Get Raw exclusives as they break -- Email & mobile Email - Never spam:



