LETTER SENT TO THE GOVERNOR INVITING HIM TO ATTEND EXECUTION :
 

Livingston, August 16th, 2002

Dear Governor Perry,

As you know, is Texas going to kill my husband, Mr. Gary Wayne Etheridge, #000986, on August 20th, 2002, for a murder he did not commit.

You know all the facts about his case and that a DNA testing could clear Gary. You know that there are still so many unanswered questions in his case, but just in case justice will not be served next Tuesday and you sign the papers that will allow Texas to kill Mr. Etheridge I again like to invite you to witness his execution together with me. Since you used Mr. Etheridge‘s case as a stepping stone to further your own political career in 1998 it’s now time for you to have the courage of your convictions and stand up to your own words. I think it would be important to you to finally witness an execution since you already signed so many death warrants. It should be part of the job of all the people who help killing a convicted man. It should be the duty of a jury, prosecution, defense lawyers, judges as well as the Parole Board Members and you, the Governor of Texas, to witness an execution, to fully understand what you are doing in sentencing a human being to die.

It’s easy to have an opinion and to stand to this opinion, but not get involved with the man who’s going to die, to not talk to him, to not look behind and question if he got a fair trial, to not take the time to
see both sides of the story, is pretty sad and unjust. How could a trial be fair when the jury did not hear any mitigating circumstances ? How could a trial be fair when the defense lawyers only years after the
trial sign a written statement that says that they believed from day one that Mr. Etheridge was not alone at the crimce scene, because there was evidence at the scene that he was not alone.

What a pity that the jury never heard this statement, never heard that there was proof that Mr. Etheridge was not alone at the scene. What a shame that the State of Texas rather convict an innocent man only because back in 1990 he did not confess that his little brother Michael was with him at the crime scene and that his brother Mike is the killer. It’s a shame that they sentenced Mr. Etheridge to die only because he protected his little brother 12 years ago.

With this letter I respectfully invite you in the name of Mr. Gary Etheridge, in the name of the Canadian Coalition Against The Death Penalty and in my name, to witness the murder of Mr. Etheridge on August 20, 2002 after 6:00 PM.

Sincerely yours,
Claudia Schweiger-Etheridge

*******
Claudia originally extended this invitation to the Governor in a letter written in May.  She recieved no response.  Original invitation in May 2002:  http://ccadp.org/garyetheridge-lettertogov.htm

Click here for CCADPs press release on the invitation to Gov Perry:
http://www.ccadp.org/pressreleaseetheridge.htm

Click here for Gary Etheridge's CCADP homepage : http://ccadp.org/garyetheridge.htm
Click here for Gary Etheridge Official Page            http://www.garyetheridge.com/