URGENT news from Texas! The Kamau Wilkerson case is busting wide open in Houston

Tue, 29 Feb 2000

today. This morning the Texas Death Penalty Aboliton Movement filed a formal complaint with the Texas Bar Association in Houston, charging attorney Troy McKinney with professional misconduct for refusing to file a Petition for Executive Clemency on behalf of his client, Kamau.

We held a news conference outside the State Bar, where Njeri Shakur spoke on behalf of the Abolition Movement and Greg Butterfield spoke for Millions for Mumia. The news conference was attended by the Houston Chronicle, the local CBS affiliate, the local news radio station, and Peoples Video Network.

The story is receiving major play in the media. McKinney has issued a statement denouncing us. Attached is the press release for the action and the statement of complaint.

Tonight there is an important organizers' meeting at our office. Tomorrow, March 1, we will be traveling to Huntsville to protest the execution of Odell Barnes, an innocent man who's appeal for a reprieve has been turned down by Gov. Bush. On Sunday, Minnie Bruce Pratt will be speaking at the local Lesbian & Gay Center on the connection between the l/g/b/t struggle and the death penalty struggle. And on Monday, Njeri has to appear in court on possible contempt charges.

Greg Butterfield -

Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement
C/o SHAPE Center, 3903
Almeda Road, Houston, TX 77004
Phone/Fax: (713) 861-3137
Email: AbolitionMovement@juno.com

Contact: Johnnie Stevens
or Attn: Assignment Editor Greg Butterfield (713) 521-0629
Gloria Rubac (713) 503-2633

DEATH PENALTY OPPONENTS WILL FILE COMPLAINT AGAINST ATTORNEY TROY MCKINNEY

McKinney refused to file clemency petition for death-row prisoner Ponchai "Kamau" Wilkerson

Presentation of complaint & news conference: Tues., Feb. 29, 11 a.m., State Bar of Texas, 1111 Fannin, Houston

On Tuesday, Feb. 29, at 11 a.m., members of the Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement will file a formal complaint against attorney Troy McKinney at the State Bar of Texas, Houston Regional Office, located at 1111 Fannin. A news conference will be held outside after the filing. The complaint targets McKinney’s refusal to file a Petition for Executive Clemency on behalf of his client, Ponchai "Kamau" Wilkerson, who faces a March 14 execution date.

"Troy McKinney refused to carry out his legal, professional and ethical obligations to his client, Kamau Wilkerson," stated Gloria Rubac of the Abolition Movement. "We are putting him and other attorneys like him on notice that we will challenge their complicity with the Texas killing machine. Gov. George W. Bush is responsible for executing the innocent, the abused, the mentally disabled, and foreign nationals denied their consular rights."

A Petition for Executive Clemency was presented to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles Feb. 22 by Wilkerson’s friends, supporters, and activists in the Abolition Movement, SHAPE Community Center, and the National Black United Front.

Wilkerson and a fellow death-row inmate, Howard Guidry, made headlines last week. They exposed the terrible conditions at the Terrell Unit in Livingston Feb. 21 by taking a prison guard hostage for 13 hours. The prisoners released the guard unharmed after a delegation of community leaders was allowed to meet with them and present their demands to prison officials. The Abolition Movement placed the blame for this incident squarely on Gov. Bush and TDCJ Director Wayne Scott, who ignored the demands of a 21-day prisoner hunger strike in January.

Wilkerson and Guidry called on Gov. Bush to immediately enact a moratorium on executions, explaining that capital punishment is reserved almost exclusively for people of color and the poor. They also demanded improvements in the barbaric living conditions forced upon the inmates by TDCJ. These conditions, including isolation and sensory deprivation, were declared unconstitutional by a federal court in 1999.

Wilkerson and Guidry are being held incommunicado. The Abolition Movement demands guarantees for their safety and no reprisals by prison authorities. They urge supporters to voice these demands to TDCJ Director Wayne Scott at (409) 294-2101.

Statement of Complaint Against Attorney Troy McKinney

Presented by the Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement on behalf of Ponchai Kamau Wilkerson

Attorney Troy McKinney, 1301 McKinney St., Houston, was appointed by the court to represent death-row prisoner Ponchai Kamau Wilkerson, #999011, during post-conviction appeals and procedures. Kamau Wilkerson was given an execution date of March 14, 2000.

On Feb. 22, the final day that Kamau Wilkerson could file a Petition for Executive Clemency with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, Troy McKinney informed the Abolition Movement that he refused to file for clemency on his client’s behalf.

At the 11th hour, Kamau Wilkerson’s friends and supporters in the Abolition Movement, SHAPE Community Center and the National Black United Front prepared and filed the clemency petition on his behalf. Despite these unusual circumstances, the Texas Board of Pardon and Paroles agreed to review the clemency petition.

As a court-appointed defense attorney for an indigent prisoner, Mr. McKinney is obliged to follow up every possible avenue for his client. This is doubly true when the life of a human being is at stake. We charge Troy McKinney with abdicating his legal, professional and ethical obligations to Kamau Wilkerson.

Troy McKinney’s conduct in this case also highlights the need for an immediate moratorium on executions in Texas. Far from being unusual, Troy McKinney’s dereliction of duty is typical of court-appointed defense attorneys in capital murder cases. It is impossible for a poor person or person of color to get a fair trial when burdened with this kind of misrepresentation.

Greg Butterfield theredguard@hotmail.com