Mauro Morris Barraza, is scheduled to be exuecuted on the 29th at 6pm,He is 32 now and he was a juvenile at age 17 when he committed his crime. Tarrant county denied him of a stay, now all we have to hold on to is supreme court, or Gov. Rick Perry. It was a 6-3 ruling by the Texas court of criminal Appeals! I am sick over this, I have been friends w/Morris since first grade, and he has been on Death row for the last 12 years. I need to be strong for him because emotion is very hard for them inside to deal with, that don't see much of that inside, so I'm in a daze thinking of the right thing's for me to say to him when i'm there Tuesday. I prayer that he will still get a stay, but reality is starting to set in. I am open to any advice anyone might have to offer.

sad and dumbfounded
Alvarado:angry: :( :eek: :mad:

What!!! They rejected a stay. I cant believe this. No Juveniles are currently being executed becase of the upcoming decision that has to be made. What makes him any different from the other juveniles that received a stay. If they execute him, then this will really be a sad day for everyone and would be totally against everything we all have worked and hoped for. Be strong Alvarado, you both are in my thoughts. Damn this is such a mess...

So sorry to hear your story ......be "STRONG" for him and keep up the prayer and fight.
Let him know what is in your heart and remember that PTO IS HERE

Lets just pray he get a stay, they have been known to do that at the last minute. Keep us informed

As this article says the Texas courts couldn't give a stay if they wanted, his lawyers must go to the US supreme court for that, and that is what they are doing.

softie

June 25


TEXAS----impending juvenile execution

Texas court rejects death row appeal


Even though the U.S. Supreme Court plans to review whether teen-age
killers should be subject to the death penalty, Texas' top criminal court
on Thursday rejected a Tarrant County man's plea for a stay of execution
on grounds that he was 17 at the time of his crime.

The 6-3 ruling by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals means that Mauro
Morris Barraza, now 32, will face execution Tuesday in Huntsville unless
the U.S. Supreme Court or Gov. Rick Perry steps in.

"We are furiously preparing paperwork to overnight to the Supreme Court to
get this execution stayed," said Scott Schutte, a Chicago lawyer
representing the condemned man. "It seems to me that it would have made
sense for the Texas court to have stopped it, but then, I'm not a Texas
lawyer."

In a concurring opinion, Judge Cathy Cochran noted that early this year,
the Supreme Court halted the execution of a Missouri man who killed at age
17 while the justices decide whether subjecting a young killer to the
death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment prohibition of cruel and
unusual punishment.

But Cochran said the Texas court does have authority to stop the execution
based on how the high court might rule in the Missouri case.

"It is, therefore, appropriate that [Barraza] file his request for stay of
execution with the United States Supreme Court," Cochran wrote. "I agree
that we do not have statutory jurisdiction over [Barraza's future
appeals], and therefore, we do not have authority to grant his request for
a stay of execution."

In statements to police after his arrest, Barraza admitted that on June
14, 1989, he hit 73-year-old Vilorie Nelson of Haltom City with shrubbery
shears and beat her with his legs so he and an accomplice could steal her
jewelry at her home on Higgins Lane in southwest Haltom City.

Barraza also said he covered his victim's body with a tablecloth and drank
a soft drink from her refrigerator before leaving her home. During his
trial, prosecutors used DNA testing to show that Barraza had also sexually
assaulted Nelson.

Schutte said he expects the high court to stop Barraza's execution because
several other teen-age killers have won stays while the justices review
the matter.

(source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

I pray that the US supreme court does the right thing and allows this stay to take place. This has just given me a sickly feeling in the pit of my stomach.