Dear Governor Perry,
I urge you to put aside politics for a couple hours this weekend and look into the life of Steven Woods, scheduled to be executed in your state on Tuesday after being wrongfully convicted and then confined 24 hours a day for the past nine years. It is my sincere hope that this issue will draw your serious attention and you will feel it necessary to intervene.
Woods has maintained his innocence since he was arrested, and he swears that he will do so until he dies.
Our country should not turn its back on its citizens' rights as they suffer in confinement for a decade, while paying for someone else's crimes. This is not a matter of abolition, but wrongful conviction. The evidence supporting Steven Woods' wrongful conviction is overwhelming. Provided below is more information that I hope will help you better understand Woods' case:
- In 2002, Steven Woods was convicted for shooting and killing a young couple in Denton County, Texas.
- Woods was 21 at the time and had no prior arrests or warrants.
- 3 months after Steven was wrongfully convicted/sentenced to death, 24 year old Marcus Rhodes took responsibility for knowingly and intentionally shooting and killing both of the murder victims, in a Denton County court.
- Rhodes didn't insinuate that Steven in any way, participated/plotted/played any role in the murders.
- There is NO physical evidence or confession that ties Steven Woods to the murder scene.
- No one has reported or testified to having eye-witnessed these murders.
- The murders were committed with Marcus Rhodes' own firearms. (Both registered under Rhodes' name)
- The firearms were found under Rhodes' bed when Police searched his parents' home.
- The weapons only had Rhodes' fingerprints on them.
- The victims' backpacks and their belongings were found in Rhodes' car a few days after the murders.
- The only "evidence" used against Woods were friends of Marcus Rhodes who took the stand, claiming that they heard Woods brag about the murder. This is called "hearsay" and is usually inadmissible in court.
- One "witness", a habitual heroin user & friend of Rhodes' was paid $1000 for his testimony.
-Another "witness" signed a sworn affidavit stating that her testimony was coerced with threats.
-The state tried to use DNA found on a latex glove to convict Woods. The jury was told that the DNA on the glove was Woods', but later in the trial Steven demanded that the glove be re-tested. The DNA did NOT match Woods'. The glove was stricken from the protocol by Denton County Judge, Lee Gabriels - so that Woods could not use it to prove his innocence in his appeals process.
- The prosecution accused Woods of numerous erroneous claims to which they had no basis. Example: The prosecution lied to the jury claiming that Woods (who they did not know was of Armenian heritage), was a "white supremacist".
-Rhodes, who confessed to killing the couple, also confessed to carrying out an additional murder in CA that occurred 2 months prior to the Denton murders. Steven did not participate in that murder, nor did he witness it or was he indicted in association with it.
-The actual murderer, Rhodes, got a punishment of life in prison with parole.
-Steven Woods was sentenced to death and will be executed on Sept. 13, 2011.
I beg of you, please intervene to help save the life of Steven Woods before it is too late.
Sincerely,
Impygirl
For more information go to www.texaskills.com