Texas To Execute Jeffrey Wood Even Though He Didn't Kill Anyone

[OriZ 3,157]

A man is about to be executed over a robbery that ended in a shopkeeper's death - even though he did not witness the shooting.

Jeffrey Wood, who is said to have the IQ of a child, is due to be given the lethal injection in Texas on 24 August.

He was sentenced under the state's so-called law of parties, under which anyone involved in a criminal plot that ends in death is equally responsible, regardless of their involvement or intent.

His crime goes back to January 1996 when he was the driver of a getaway car parked at a shop attached to a petrol station in the city of Kerrville.

His friend, Daniel Reneau, went inside to rob a safe.

At the pair's trial, the court was told Reneau had intended the robbery to be without violence - but the shop assistant was shot in the head when he refused to comply.

A jail cell on death row in a Texas prison

Wood, the court heard, had no idea Reneau was carrying a gun and rushed inside the shop when he heard the shot to see what had happened.

He then helped Reneau remove a video surveillance recorder before the pair fled with the safe and a cash box.

They were quickly identified and arrested the next day. Reneau was executed in 2002.

The defence lawyers representing Wood, who turns 43 on Friday, say he barely knew Reneau and could not have anticipated the shooting.

They are calling for a halt to the execution or at least a reprieve.

Wood's defence lawyer Kate Black said: "I have never seen an execution in the United States with this low of a level of culpability as Mr Wood has.

"I think that this case is a really strong example of the problem with the law of parties and I think that the (Texas) Court of Criminal Appeals will take that very seriously."

On a website set up to support Wood, his daughter Paige wrote: "Jeffery Wood only has one child and that is me!!!

"I have been deprived because of somebody else's crime. Should I continue to be punished?

"Please do not kill him... He did not kill anybody. He is a kind, gentle man and I need him! If you kill him... you are killing me!!!!!!!"

Several dozen church leaders have also written to Texas Governor Greg Abbott urging clemency.

Texas executes more people than any other state in the US.

http://news.sky.com/story/texas-to-execute-jeffrey-wood-even-though-he-didnt-kill-anyone-10541505

[CarlosAndSveta 808]

Speaking as a Native Texan, Texas has some f'ed up laws.

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

I wonder why Obama didn't give this guy a reprieve? Seems his case would qualify for one. I'm sure if someone brought it to his attention, he would act on it quickly.

Edited August 19, 2016 by ROYGBP

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

After the guy was killed he helped remove the video etc. Yup the big sleep is called for

[OriZ 3,157]

A little bit more/different info in this one:

Jeff Wood is scheduled to be executed by the state of Texas next week, despite the fact that he never killed anyone. Even prosecutors acknowledge that.

Essentially, Wood "is on death row for robbery," as his sister put it.

On Jan. 2, 1996, Wood was sitting in his truck outside a Kerrville convenience store when his friend Daniel Reneau went in to steal a safe. When the clerk, Kriss Keeran, didn't comply, Reneau fatally shot him. After the shooting, Wood joined Reneau in the store; they removed the safe and security footage before fleeing.

Reneau confessed to the crime and was convicted of capital murder in 1997; he was executed in 2002. Wood faces the same fate Wednesday. Prosecutors argued that Wood knew Reneau would kill Keeran if the clerk didn't cooperate with the robbery and was therefore also liable for the murder. However, testimony in Reneau's trial claimed that Wood had told Reneau to leave his gun at home and saw him put it down.

Texas' law of parties allows an accomplice to be charged for a crime he neither committed nor had intent to commit if that crime "should have been anticipated." This newspaper generally has no qualms with ensuring that accomplices pay for a crime they help plan and carry out. However, as applied to capital punishment, we do.

Wood, who has an IQ around 80 and has previously been ruled incompetent in court, is certainly not innocent — it's clear he helped plan the robbery and removed security footage after the murder occurred. But that is not the same thing as deserving to die.

Supporters of the death penalty argue that it is the appropriate punishment for "the worst of the worst." It's difficult to see how that category includes people like Wood, who did not pull the trigger nor had any intention of doing so.

Cases like this reinforce our belief that state-sanctioned killings are arbitrary. That's one reason this board has been calling for an end to the death penalty since 2007. Writ large, we are unable to support a punishment that is so unfairly applied, nor one that could result in the execution of an innocent person.

The law of parties is a particularly egregious facet of Texas' capital punishment system. Texas is among only five states in the nation that actively pursue such state felony murder statutes. The state has no business executing defendants who were involved in a crime but did not personally take a life.

Today, family members and supporters plan to hand-deliver a "save Jeff Wood" petition with thousands of signatures to Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, who will determine Wood's fate: We hope the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommends clemency and Abbott commutes Wood's sentence.

The state of Texas should not execute a man for a crime he did not commit.

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20160818-texas-should-halt-execution-of-a-man-who-never-killed-anyone.ece

Someone should remind Texas we are in the 21st century.

After the guy was killed he helped remove the video etc. Yup the big sleep is called for

Dude has an IQ of 80. He didn't kill anybody. Cut him some slack.

[Rob L 3,811]

I wonder why Obama didn't give this guy a reprieve? Seems his case would qualify for one. I'm sure if someone brought it to his attention, he would act on it quickly.

It is not a federal crime or jurisdiction. This needs to come from the Texas Governor unless the courts intervene.

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

A little bit more/different info in this one:

Jeff Wood is scheduled to be executed by the state of Texas next week, despite the fact that he never killed anyone. Even prosecutors acknowledge that.

Essentially, Wood "is on death row for robbery," as his sister put it.

On Jan. 2, 1996, Wood was sitting in his truck outside a Kerrville convenience store when his friend Daniel Reneau went in to steal a safe. When the clerk, Kriss Keeran, didn't comply, Reneau fatally shot him. After the shooting, Wood joined Reneau in the store; they removed the safe and security footage before fleeing.

Reneau confessed to the crime and was convicted of capital murder in 1997; he was executed in 2002. Wood faces the same fate Wednesday. Prosecutors argued that Wood knew Reneau would kill Keeran if the clerk didn't cooperate with the robbery and was therefore also liable for the murder. However, testimony in Reneau's trial claimed that Wood had told Reneau to leave his gun at home and saw him put it down.

Texas' law of parties allows an accomplice to be charged for a crime he neither committed nor had intent to commit if that crime "should have been anticipated." This newspaper generally has no qualms with ensuring that accomplices pay for a crime they help plan and carry out. However, as applied to capital punishment, we do.

Wood, who has an IQ around 80 and has previously been ruled incompetent in court, is certainly not innocent it's clear he helped plan the robbery and removed security footage after the murder occurred. But that is not the same thing as deserving to die.

Supporters of the death penalty argue that it is the appropriate punishment for "the worst of the worst." It's difficult to see how that category includes people like Wood, who did not pull the trigger nor had any intention of doing so.

Cases like this reinforce our belief that state-sanctioned killings are arbitrary. That's one reason this board has been calling for an end to the death penalty since 2007. Writ large, we are unable to support a punishment that is so unfairly applied, nor one that could result in the execution of an innocent person.

The law of parties is a particularly egregious facet of Texas' capital punishment system. Texas is among only five states in the nation that actively pursue such state felony murder statutes. The state has no business executing defendants who were involved in a crime but did not personally take a life.

Today, family members and supporters plan to hand-deliver a "save Jeff Wood" petition with thousands of signatures to Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, who will determine Wood's fate: We hope the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommends clemency and Abbott commutes Wood's sentence.

The state of Texas should not execute a man for a crime he did not commit.

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20160818-texas-should-halt-execution-of-a-man-who-never-killed-anyone.ece

Someone should remind Texas we are in the 21st century.

Dude has an IQ of 80. He didn't kill anybody. Cut him some slack.

This total anti death penalty propaganda. Dude helped him Rob a store .BS he didn't know he had a gun. He went in with the dead body present and helped him carry the safe out. I wish Killary would way in from strictly a legal point of view

[Rob L 3,811]

This total anti death penalty propaganda. Dude helped him Rob a store .BS he didn't know he had a gun. He went in with the dead body present and helped him carry the safe out. I wish Killary would way in from strictly a legal point of view

Lets pull our bitcoin together and pay our resident legal eagle for an opinion.

[OriZ 3,157]

It's not a legal question, Texas has a law that allows it. It's much more of a moral issue. A basically almost retard helped a man rob a store. How responsible could he have been for his actions? Would you execute a juvenile? And he didn't even pull the trigger. There is absolutely no way that in any modern country or state this man should be executed.

[Rob L 3,811]

It's not a legal question, Texas has a law that allows it. It's much more of a moral issue. A basically almost retard helped a man rob a store. How responsible could he have been for his actions? Would you execute a juvenile? And he didn't even pull the trigger. There is absolutely no way that in any modern country or state this man should be executed.

Bingo "almost any modern state" and then you have Texas

[OriZ 3,157]

Bingo "almost any modern state" and then you have Texas

Wouldn't be the first time they execute mentally retarded or intellectually disabled people, either:

Robert Ladd - http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/sick-rationale-allows-texas-execute-another-mentally-disabled-man

Marvin Wilson - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/07/marvin-wilson-execution-texas_n_1753968.html

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/08/wils-a08.html

Andre Thomas(currently still on death row) - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/02/texas-execution-mentally-ill-history-scott-panetti

Oliver Cruz - http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/node/659

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

My almost-legal opinion that will stand up in absolutely no court of law will be delivered later this evening.

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

My almost-legal opinion that will stand up in absolutely no court of law will be delivered later this evening.

Thank you

[Rob L 3,811]

My almost-legal opinion that will stand up in absolutely no court of law will be delivered later this evening.

Thank you

Can I go to dinner or are we waiting ? We are having sparkly goeduck.

Edited August 20, 2016 by Rob L

[Jacque67 7,328]

I wanna have brunch.....