michael richard executed by computer

Michael Richard: Executed by computer crash and a 5 p.m court closing time

Somebody should buy Texas Defender Service some new computers and a

heart for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

The New York Times:

The stay for the Texas execution was issued two days after the

court did not stop Texas from executing another inmate, Michael

Richard, leading to some confusion about its intentions.

Lawyers in the case on Tuesday said their appeal had been turned

down because of an unusual series of procedural problems.

Professor Dow said the computers crashed at the Texas Defender

Service in Houston while lawyers were rewriting his appeal to take

advantage of the high court's unexpected interest in lethal

injection.

Because of the resulting delay, the lawyers missed by 20 minutes

the 5 p.m. filing deadline at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

in Austin, where the appeal had to go first before moving to the

Supreme Court.

The Texas court refused their pleas to remain open for the extra

minutes. Because the lawyers missed that crucial step, Professor

Dow said, the Supreme Court had to turn down the appeal, and Mr.

Richard was executed.

The Austin AMERICAN-STATESMAN:

Why did the U.S. Supreme Court halt the execution of one Texas

inmate Thursday while allowing another prisoner, who presented the

same arguments against lethal injection, to die two days earlier?

Defense lawyers blamed the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which

refused requests to stay open after 5 p.m. Tuesday, stopping a key

appeal from being filed on behalf of Michael Richard. Richard,

convicted of raping and killing a Harris County mother of seven in

1986, was executed later that night.

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

(enlarge photo)

Michael Richard His appeal wasn't filed to court by 5 p.m.

"It's an inexcusable failure," said Andrea Keilen, executive

director of the Texas Defender Service, which represented Richard.

"To close at 5 when the execution is scheduled for 6 p.m.? We need

to have access to the courts."

Abel Acosta, chief deputy clerk for the court, said it is

longstanding policy for the court to close on time. "The clerk's

office consulted with the court, and we were advised that our hours

are 8 to 5," he said.

Keilen said the extra time was needed to respond to Tuesday

morning's news that the Supreme Court accepted a Kentucky case

challenging lethal injections as cruel and unusual punishment.

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