Kerry To Bring His Faith Into THE WHITEHOUSE

[White knight]

Condemned killer awaits word from court, governor

Tucker is scheduled to die shortly after 6 p.m. CST (7 p.m. EST) Tuesday
· February 3, 1998

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (CNN) -- Condemned killer Karla Faye Tucker, who may have only hours to live, was waiting to hear on Tuesday if her life would be spared, at least temporarily.
Only the possibility of a last-minute stay by the Supreme Court, where an appeal is pending, or intervention by Texas Gov. George W. Bush stood between Tucker and the distinction of becoming the first woman executed in Texas since 1863. Tucker and an accomplice killed two people with a pickax in 1983, but she now says she is a born-again Christian who is not a threat to society. On Monday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected a plea to commute -- that is, change -- her sentence to life in prison, and a federal judge in Austin denied a request for a stay of execution.
Texas does not have a sentence of life without parole. If Tucker's sentence was reduced to life she would be eligible for parole in 2003. Bush could grant a one-time 30-day stay -- a delay of execution while her case is reconsidered -- but has said he won't make a decision until after the Supreme Court rules. Tucker's appeal centers on the state's commutation process.
Her lawyers contend it was unfair and unconstitutional because she didn't have a chance to personally plea for her life.
Preparing for execution
On Monday, in preparation for the execution, Tucker was taken from death row at a prison in Gatesville, in central Texas and flown to Huntsville, 80 miles north of Houston, where the state's executions are carried out. Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Larry Fitzgerald said she met throughout the day with family members and friends and would do so again for a few hours on Tuesday.
Tucker's family and her husband, Dana Brown, who met her in prison, where he worked as a minister to inmates, say she is calm and upbeat. They saw her Monday and may visit again Tuesday until about noon.
For her last meal, she requested a banana, a peach and a salad, with either Ranch or Italian dressing. Tucker also chose to be executed wearing the white prison uniform that has been her only wardrobe for more than 14 years.
Without intervention, Tucker was to be led to the death chamber and strapped on to a gurney at 6:01 p.m. CST (7:01 p.m. EST) Tuesday evening, given a few moments to make a final statement, then put to death by a lethal mix of chemicals injected into her arm.
She selected five people, the maximum allowed, to be witnesses to her death. They included her husband and Ronald Carlson, the brother of Deborah Thornton, one of her victims.
Carlson is opposed to her execution and all executions.
Mrs. Thornton's husband, Richard, and two stepchildren.

Even the convicts use relgion to get support.

 

[phadras]

Excuse me, phadras - I think you mean, "...to kill IT yet.".

gender that would mean it was something other than a "viable fetus".

 

[musicman]

gender that would mean it was something other than a "viable fetus".

Correctamundo. Endowing a blob of tissue with "personhood' identifies you as a hater, and a theocrat trying to force your agenda onto the U.S. Constitution. You are, therefore, dangerous.

 

[phadras]

Correctamundo. Endowing a blob of tissue with "personhood' identifies you as a hater, and a theocrat trying to force your agenda onto the U.S. Constitution. You are, therefore, dangerous.

..