Update 041201: Gov Perry has granted a stay of execution. He had this to say:

After a lengthy review of the trial transcript, appellate court rulings and clemency proceedings, I see no evidence of innocence.

Y'know, I thought there was supposed to be a presumption of innocence, with the burden of proof being on the prosecution.

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Frances Newton is scheduled to be killed today by the State of Texas. After 17 years and despite incompetent state-appointed counsel at her original trial, questionable forensics, new testing methods which could shed light on key evidence and expanded evidence from a key witness, the state looks set to deny her request for a 120-day delay of execution. Atrios and Norbizness have details and Amnesty International has a one-click message you can send to the Governor and the Presiding Officer of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. Below is the letter I sent. (I stole the image from here.)

Dear Gov Perry/ PO Owens:

I am writing you to ask you to do everything in your power to commute the sentence of Frances Newton, prisoner number 922, and honor the 120-day minimum reprieve petition which would allow Ms. Newton’s claims to be properly investigated.

What is 120 days to Texas? To Frances Newton, it's life or death. A key witness' testimony has been expanded in support of her innocence, the prosecution is relying on the work of a crime lab which has failed at least one quality assurance audit (1), new testing methods exist which could shed light on key evidence regarding possible gunpowder residue (2) and there have been serious questions raised about the quality of cousel provided (2). In light of these issues, it is unthinkable that Texas should execute Ms Newton without allowing her an adequate opportunity to defend herself.

Ms Newton stands convicted of the 1987 murder of her husband and two children. The key witness at Ms. Newton’s trial, Sondra Nelms, has signed an affidavit expanding on her trial testimony to the effect that Ms Newton's distresss upon finding the bodies of her family convinced Ms Nelms that "there is absolutely no way she had any involvement in their deaths.”

Furthermore, there are serious concerns regarding the forensic evidence presented at the trial. The ballistics evidence that was found at the crime scene was analyzed by the Houston Police Department’s Harris County crime lab, a March 2003 audit of which exposed serious mistakes in the lab’s analysis and interpretation of DNA evidence, poor staff training, inadequate facilities and outdated scientific techniques. Ms Newton's attorneys have recently questioned the ballistics tests on the suspected murder weapon. Moreover, forensic experts stated at the trial that the nitrites found on Ms Newton’s skirt and which were initially suspected of coming from a gun could have come from fertilizer. On the day of the murder, Ms Newton had stayed with her uncle, whose large garden might well explain the nitrites found on her skirt. After all, court records show that tests conducted on Ms Newton's hands on that same night found no evidence that she had fired a gun. The 120-day reprieve could be used to conduct further forensic tests using new methods which can distinguish between gunpowder and fertilizer.

Finally, Ms Newton was represented throughout her trial by state-appointed attorney Ron Mock, who has been barred from accepting court-appointed capital cases since passage of the Fair Defense Act in 2001. His co-counsel has signed an affidavit stating that she and Mock provided ineffective legal assistance to Ms Newton.

Ms. Newton’s execution is scheduled for December 1, 2004. Please live up to the standards of your office: show a decent respect for human life, and for justice: grant clemency to Frances Elaine Newton and honor the 120-day reprieve of execution to allow for a proper investigation of her claim of innocence.

Sincerely, etc.

links:
1. New York Times
2. Houston Chronicle

P.S. signing up for action alerts from Amnesty might allow me to take more timely action in future. Please consider doing this also.