DP in Texas
By Gloria Rubac
Houston
Published Jul 24, 2008 11:40 PM
“I’ve been stunned. I’ve been shocked. I’ve been deeply moved by what
I have heard today,” said U.S. Congressperson John Conyers after
hundreds of people crammed into Houston’s City Hall on July 18 to
give testimony at an Inquiry of Crime, Justice and Race in Harris
County. Conyers is chair of the House Judiciary Committee.
The inquiry was hosted by Texas Congressperson Sheila Jackson-Lee and
organized by her staff, along with the Coalition for Justice.
Preparations for the hearing began last winter after revelations of
shocking racist and sexist e-mails sent by the Harris County District
Attorney.
The hearing attracted community leaders, grassroots activists, and
dozens and dozens of victims of the criminal justice system. When the
City Council chambers could no longer hold the crowd, an overflow
room was set up with television monitors for those who kept arriving.
Joining Conyers and Jackson-Lee on the panel were Texas state
legislators and Houston City Council members.
Speaker after speaker condemned the criminal justice system for being
systemically racist and uninterested in true justice. Applause broke
out many times and signs were hoisted that read, “Houston, we have a
problem!” and “Time to clean house!”
Jose Saavedra cried as he told the panel how his mother died in the
county jail after being arrested for a minor traffic ticket. She was
diabetic and was refused the insulin she needed, he said. She had
also injured her knee in the jail and was denied treatment for that.
“There is a problem at the jail,” he stressed. “We could not get any
medical care for my mother. She told us they were not caring for her,
but we couldn’t get the jail to do anything. We are young and we have
lost our mother. And over a ticket?”
Long-time immigrant rights advocate Maria Jimenez spoke about a raid
in June by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a local rag
factory. Over a dozen people who had been arrested in the raid stood
up with her in the chambers. The workers, mostly women, attended the
hearing with their children.
Brothers Sean Ibarra and Erik Ibarra told how Harris County deputies
stormed into their home six years ago as Sean was taking photos of
deputies’ misconduct toward his neighbors. “They beat my brother and
almost beat my mother, pulled guns on my mother and brother, stole
evidence, stole my film, and filed false charges on us and arrested
us. We tried to have the sheriff investigate these deputies and he
did nothing. Six years later, they still work for the sheriff. They
have not even been investigated or disciplined,” said Sean Ibarra.
The brothers recently won a $1.7 million lawsuit against Harris County.
Stephanie Storey was engaged to Hernando Torres, one of two men shot
and killed by vigilante Joe Horn in November of 2007. “I want justice
for these men. They shouldn’t have been burglarizing the house, but
they never got to face a jury. Joe Horn was their judge, jury and
executioner. Horn took the law into his own hands. This is not right.
I want this case to be presented to another grand jury so they can
investigate the case,” she told the panel.
Invited speakers included Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins, the
first African American D.A. in the state of Texas. “We run our office
in Dallas with the goal of seeking justice, not convictions,” he told
the inquiry panel.
Over 20 innocent people have been released from prison since Watkins
took office in January of 2007. Many had served 15 to 25 years and
were exonerated after DNA evidence was examined. Watkins has told
prisoners convicted in Dallas County that, if they claim innocence,
his office will investigate. He has allowed the Innocence Project of
Texas to have space in the D.A.’s office and its volunteers work with
assistant district attornies to look into cases of innocence.
Many people left the three-hour hearing frustrated because they had
not been called to testify. Dozens turned in written reports of abuse
because time expired before they could speak. Relatives of those
locked in prison or executed submitted information on behalf of their
loved ones.
The mothers of Lonnie Johnson, executed on July 24, 2007, and Joseph
Nichols, executed on March 7, 2007, submitted information of
prosecutorial misconduct in the cases of their sons, who they both
said were innocent. Regina Schmahl Guidry submitted documentation on
the wrongful conviction of her husband, Howard Guidry, who is a
prisoners’ rights activist on Texas death row.
The Judiciary Committee staff will review statements and submitted
documents to determine if a full congressional hearing by the
committee should be held, Conyers said after the hearing.
http://www.workers.org/2008/us/houston_0731/
