Francis Newton

[CCADP]

on Monday 4th July the dutch newsprogramm "2 vandaag" showed a 15 minute
documentary about Francis Newton on texas Deathrow.
An interview with Francis and a short view on her case learned us the tragedy of
her situation.
It is very rare the dutch tv shows anything about the death penalty in the US so
i hope this will open more Dutch eyes to learn more about , or do something
against it.

[CCADP]

USA (Texas): Death penalty / Legal concern: Frances Elaine Newton (f), black, aged 38
PUBLIC AI Index: AMR 51/163/2004
19 November 2004

UA 313/04 Death penalty / Legal concern

USA (Texas) Frances Elaine Newton (f), black, aged 38

Frances Newton is scheduled to be executed in Texas on 1 December 2004. She was
convicted in October 1988 of the murder of her husband and two children in
April 1987.

Frances Newton, convicted on circumstantial evidence, maintains that she did
not kill her husband and children. Her current lawyers, who have only recently
taken the case, are appealing for a 120-day reprieve of execution in order to
be able to properly investigate her claim, an investigation they say has not
been carried out to date because of the inadequacy of her prior legal
representation.

On 7 April 1987, a police officer responding to a report of a possible shooting
in a Houston apartment complex found 21-year-old Frances Newton in her
apartment with her cousin, Sondra Nelms. Also in the apartment were the bodies
of Frances Newton’s husband, Adrian Newton, her seven-year-old son, Alton, and
21-month-old daughter, Farrah. All three victims had been shot.

At the trial, Sondra Nelms testified that on the night of the shootings Frances
Newton had placed a bag in another house shortly before the two of them went to
the Newton’s apartment where they found the bodies. The bag was later found to
contain a gun, and testimony at the trial indicated that it was the murder
weapon. An expert testified that the lower front part of Frances Newton’s skirt
contained nitrites, consistent with a gun having been fired close to it. An
insurance agent testified that in March 1987 Frances Newton had purchased a
life insurance policy on herself, her husband and her daughter.

The petition for a 120-day reprieve argues that the testimony of the state’s
trial witnesses, taken together, suggests that either Frances Newton was not in
the apartment at the time of the shooting, or that if she was she would have
had, at most, 20 minutes to shoot her husband and children, clean herself up,
compose herself, and leave the apartment to go to her cousin’s home. There was
no blood found on Frances Newton’s clothing, hands, or car, despite the fact
that the victims had been shot at close range. No gunpowder residue was found
on her hands or sweater. There was also no evidence that someone had undertaken
a cleanup at the apartment.

Frances Newton was prosecuted in Harris County, where the city of Houston is
located. In March 2003, an independent audit of the Houston Police Department
(HPD) crime laboratory revealed serious defects in the lab’s DNA analysis
section, including poorly trained staff relying on outdated scientific
techniques. Several cases suggest that the lab’s problems extended beyond its
DNA section, for example into its ballistics expertise. (see Dead wrong: The
case of Nanon Williams, child offender facing execution on flawed evidence,
web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR510022004). The ballistics evidence
central to the Newton case was processed at the HPD. On 21 October 2004, a
judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said that there should be "a
moratorium on all executions in cases where convictions were based on evidence
from the HPD crime lab until the reliability of the evidence has been
verified". A Texas Senator and the Houston police chief have made similar calls.

At the trial, forensic experts testified that the nitrites found on Frances
Newton’s skirt could have come from fertilizer. During the day of the murder,
Farrah Newton had stayed with her uncle while her mother was at work. The uncle
had a large garden, which could account for the transfer of fertilizer
particles to the lower front side of Frances Newton’s skirt. Her lawyers argue
that a 120-day reprieve could be used to conduct further forensic testing to
establish whether in fact the gun was the murder weapon or the nitrites on the
skirt were derived from a source other than gunpowder residue.

According to the reprieve petition, Adrian Newton was a drug user and drug
seller and there is evidence that some sort of trouble in this regard was
brewing before the murder. This was the reason Frances Newton gave for removing
the gun she had found in their apartment. However, the police apparently did
not investigate the possibility that the murders were drug-related.

Sondra Nelms, who was with Frances Newton immediately after she was supposed to
have shot her husband and children, has signed an affidavit expanding on her
trial testimony. She describes Frances Newton’s shock and horror at finding the
bodies (a reaction confirmed by the police at the scene) and concludes that "I
know in my heart that after watching the reaction of Frances upon discovering
her husband and children, there is absolutely no way she had any involvement in
their deaths."

Texas accounts for 336 of the 944 executions carried out in the USA since 1977,
81 of whom were prosecuted in Harris County. Amnesty International opposes the
death penalty in all cases, regardless of guilt or innocence. Since 1973, 117
people have been released from US death rows after evidence of their innocence
emerged. Others have gone to their deaths despite serious doubts about their
guilt.





AI Index: AMR 51/163/2004 19 November 2004

[CCADP]

Frances Newton: Faith on Death Row
By Terry Meeuswen and Zsa Zsa Palagyi
The 700 Club



CBN.com – “I have to tell anyone who thinks just because they’ve become a new Christian that everything is going to go smoothly that it’s not.”

Frances Newton knows this from experience. She’s a Christian who’s been on death row since 1988.

The state of Texas convicted Frances for murdering her husband Adrian and children Alton and Farah. Allegedly, Frances killed her family so she could collect a $100,000 life insurance payment.

Frances says she didn’t commit the crime, and to this day, she maintains her innocence.

According to Frances, she had poor representation at her trial and at every stage of her appeal. She was scheduled to be executed on December 1, 2004. But two hours before her appointed death, she was granted a 120-day reprieve. That reprieve is over March 31st.

The inconclusive evidence, lack of proper representation, and questionable circumstances surrounding Frances’s conviction leave a lot of holes in her case. Despite all of her disappointments, Frances remains calm and even hopeful. All because she chooses to place her trust in Christ.

Terry Meeuwsen: Where were you at spiritually when you first came in 17 years ago?

Frances Newton: I had accepted the Lord into my life probably six months prior to all of this, and I had been in church all my life. But I was just in church. You need a relationship with Jesus, and I had never heard that before. So when my mom told me about that, I said, "Okay, let me try this." And so I did.

Terry: When you came into this setting, you had a lot of alone time in a way that you probably didn’t have when you were on the outside. How did God provide for you here?

Frances: When I got here, there was already an established chaplaincy program going on that was alive. I came into an environment that was already grounded spiritually, so that helped me a lot.

Terry: I know from the very beginning that you have always declared your innocence. How have you kept your heart from being bitter? Seventeen years is a long time.

Frances: Yes, but I’ve prayed that I wouldn’t become bitter, that I wouldn’t remain angry, that I would just give all of it to God and let Him handle it. There have been moments where I felt myself going that way, and I have people around me who will help me... The Holy Spirit reminds me too.

Terry: When you’re alone, how do you occupy your thoughts positively?

Frances: I put the Word of God in my heart, and I’ll sing songs. I’ll quote Scripture. I’ll remember stories of the Bible, and I’ll try to think of those things. I just finished reading Joseph, a man of integrity and forgiveness by Chuck Swindoll. I was so moved by his story, because here he was, had been sold in slavery, put in prison, yet he had no bitterness in him. When I can read that, I pray, "Lord, help me not to have bitterness."

Terry: That’s my favorite Bible story, Joseph. I often wonder if Joseph recognized it when it was happening to him, but God was changing his character. You certainly have been in an intense place of God working in your heart and in your life. How do you think God’s changed your character?

Frances: I think He’s made me stronger. I come from a huge family. I am used to taking orders and being told what to do and not having an opinion, but I think that what I’ve gone through made me really sensitive to other people. I hope that I’m able to help people when they’re going through things, even if it’s just to listen.

Terry: How do you keep from getting caught up in looking back on what might have been or in how things could have been handled differently or changed in this situation?

Frances: Again, it’s been through the grace of God that I’ve done it, but also knowing that nothing that I could have done or couldn’t have done could have changed the situation.

Terry: In a situation where you feel like you’re battling for your life, have you ever had a chance to grieve for your family?

Frances: I don’t know if that process is ever complete. My son would be 25 this year.

Terry: That’s hard to believe, isn’t it?

Frances: Yes, it is.

Terry: And how old was he when he died?

Frances: Seven years old.

Terry: I know that there are a lot of people who have prayed and walked through this with you and a lot of people who are still praying for you. You came within a couple of hours of execution. How did you prepare yourself for that? That’s a place of total surrender, Frances.

Frances: It is, and I thought, Lord, if it is today, I’m going to be glad to be with You. As Christians, that’s our goal. We talk about heaven, and we sing about heaven. Now I might be going to heaven right now. It’s like our faith. Is our faith going to stay strong just when things are going okay, but when we have struggles and things are bad… what about our faith then? If our faith is strong and our faith is what we say it is, it’s going to be strong even in the bad times. It may weaken a little, and I have been weak at times, but it’s there and because God is in it, He makes Himself strong. He keeps us strong.

Terry: Have you ever had days where it’s been hard for you to grab hold of that truth that God has not forgotten?

Frances: There have been days where I’ve often wondered, When are You going to show up? But, no, I’ve never felt like He’s forgotten me.

Terry: What was it like for you when you were getting ready to take that last walk into the room where you would be executed and the warden came and said, "There’s been a stay." Was it almost hard to grasp that?

Frances: It wasn’t. I had such a peace, and it wasn’t me. It was God in me. In fact, I thought it was going to go until 6 o’clock.

Terry: Really? Wow. There might be someone who’s watching right now whose life might be in a mess, whether it’s of their own making or just life circumstances. It happens. And they’re just having a hard time hanging on. What would you say to them?

Frances: Immerse yourself in the Word of God and what He has to say and get your eyes and your emotions, as hard as that might be, get them off the situation and turn to Him.

Terry: When asked what His name was, God gave the term, “I Am”… tell them that I Am because He is everything that we need. What attributes of God have meant the most to you while you’ve been in here?

Frances: His constancy. He is so consistent. That has meant the most to me because in the environment, so much changes all the time. If you allow yourself to get bothered by the change, then you’re not stable. But God is so stable, and if you keep yourself in Him, that stability is going to come off on you, too.

Terry: How do you want people to pray for you?

Frances: Pray that I would keep my focus on the Lord, no matter what.


Message Board: What do you think about the death penalty? Is it moral or is it murder?

[CCADP]

Don't Let Frances Newton Die
By Political Affairs


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Related stories: Human Rights
Frances Newton
December 1, 2004

From National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

The state of Texas is scheduled to execute Frances Newton on Dec. 1 for the April 1987 murders of her husband, Adrian Newton and children Alton and Farah Newton in Harris County. If executed, Newton would be the first African American woman Texas has put to death since the state resumed executions in 1982.

Newton's case embodies the core problems with the death penalty in the United States in general and in Texas in particular. Her trial counsel was egregiously incompetent, she has a strong innocence claim and her conviction rested in large part on the results of ballistics testing conducted by the now-discredited Houston Police Department's crime lab.

Furthermore, Newton has been denied effective representation at every stage of her appeal and consequently, her case has never been thoroughly or independently investigated. In fact, on the very day her trial began, her attorney, Ron Mock, admitted that he could not provide the name of a single witness with whom he had spoken. Mock is well known in Texas death penalty circles; he has had more clients sent to death row than any other lawyer. Many of his former clients already have been executed and he is no longer assigned death penalty cases because of his astonishingly abysmal record as an attorney.

Newton, who was 21 at the time of the crime, took out a life insurance policy on her husband, herself, and her daughter less than a month before the crimes were committed. This action led many to believe she killed the victims in order to collect life insurance benefits. Newton also was reportedly having marital problems with her husband which the state further concluded to be evidence against her. However, as Newton's current attorneys have pointed out, there is a complex and overwhelming array of facts and circumstances that call into question the integrity and accuracy of her conviction.

First, Newton was convicted of killing her seven-year old son Alton Newton although he was not covered by a life insurance policy. The state was not able to provide a viable motive for his death. She also allegedly killed her 20-month old daughter for an additional $50,000 in insurance benefits. While a problematic marital situation may serve as motive for Newton's husband's murder, the killing of her two children is still speculative and largely unexplained by the state.

Second, the Houston Police Department's crime lab, which conducted ballistics testing on the weapon the state believes was used in the murder, is now widely regarded as extraordinarily unreliable. Without the crime lab's ballistics report, it is extremely doubtful that Newton's case would even have gone to trial, much less resulted in a capital murder conviction and death sentence.

Third, the state presented conflicting evidence regarding the timing of the murders and the likelihood Newton was home at the time they took place. Based on what the state presented, it is highly possible that another individual could have been at the residence at the time of the shooting. The state's evidence does not exclude this possibility in any way.

Fourth, the state has not investigated the possibility that another suspect or suspects may have been involved in the murders. Police were in possession of information that Adrian Newton was known to be a drug dealer and was in debt to a supplier. Despite this information, apparently police never investigated the possibility that the deaths were drug-related.

Fifth, the only other physical evidence in the case was the presence of nitrates found on the lower part of the dress Newton was wearing. However, while the state argued that the presence of nitrates indicated gun powder residue, other possible sources include fertilizer and cosmetics. It has been established that Newton's toddler was exposed to fertilizer earlier that day. Furthermore, Newton's hands were tested for gunpowder residue the evening of the murders; none was found, despite the fact that gunpowder residue cannot be washed away or quickly removed from skin after a gun has been fired.

Newton's clemency team is taking the unusual step of not asking the Board of Pardons and Paroles to recommend clemency in Newton's case, but rather to recommend to Gov. Perry a 120-day reprieve so that more investigation can be conducted.

To say that the evidence in her case is lacking and her prior representation shoddy would consist of understatement. Francis Newton needs more time for additional ballistics testing to be conducted this time, by credible authorities.

Please take a moment to write the Board of Pardons and Paroles asking them not to execute Newton and to grant, at minimum, a 120-day reprieve so that her counsel may conduct a proper investigation. We also ask that you write Gov. Perry asking him to grant for a 30-day stay.

CLICK HERE to find out how..

[catskillz]

admin said:

on Monday 4th July the dutch newsprogramm "2 vandaag" showed a 15 minute
documentary about Francis Newton on texas Deathrow.
An interview with Francis and a short view on her case learned us the tragedy of
her situation.
It is very rare the dutch tv shows anything about the death penalty in the US so
i hope this will open more Dutch eyes to learn more about , or do something
against it.

Steam:

rtsp://streams.omroep.nl/tv/tros/2vandaag/bb.20050704-1.rm

[mikebook]

I had thought they were supposed to do some evidence tests or something with her...Did that work out?

[moni]

mikebook said:

I had thought they were supposed to do some evidence tests or something with her...Did that work out?

Yea they did and it still showed she was the one who pulled the trigger. That is why they gave her a new exectuion date since the tests did not exonerate her.

[Maggie]

moni said:

mikebook said:

I had thought they were supposed to do some evidence tests or something with her...Did that work out?

Yea they did and it still showed she was the one who pulled the trigger. That is why they gave her a new exectuion date since the tests did not exonerate her.

Is there an updated article you could post about this?

TIA

[moni]

I hope this helps!!


Houston woman gets another date for execution
The attorney for Frances Newton says he will try to
exonerate her
By DALE LEZON
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

A Houston woman on death row who was temporarily
spared by Gov. Rick Perry moments before her execution
last year faces another execution date.
ADVERTISEMENT

State District Judge Jim Wallace on Thursday scheduled
Frances Newton to die by injection Sept. 14, said
David Dow, one of her attorneys and founder of the
Texas Innocence Network.

Newton was convicted of shooting to death her husband
and their two young children in 1987. Prosecutors said
she killed them to collect $100,000 in insurance
money. Newton said she thinks they were killed by a
drug dealer she knew only as Charlie to whom her
husband owed money.

Dow said he plans to attempt to exonerate Newton
before she is executed. He said he hopes to test
bloody carpet from the crime scene.

"There are other things we can do, and we plan on
doing them," he said.

Dow said Newton, 40, remains confident she will be
proven innocent.

"She's obviously disappointed that a date has been
set, but she is still hopeful that the truth will come
out," he said.

Hours before her scheduled execution Dec. 1, Perry
granted Newton a 120-day reprieve to give her
attorneys time to investigate questions about the
evidence used to convict her.

They wanted to retest ballistics evidence and a skirt
she wore the night her family was killed.

Retesting of bullets from the crime scene matched a
gun prosecutors say was the murder weapon and which
was linked to Newton.

Wallace denied defense requests to test the skirt.

Tests on the skirt before Newton's 1988 trial showed
nitrates on her dress, which can be caused by exposure
to gunfire.

Newton has maintained that her dress was soiled with
garden manure, which may have caused similar test
results.

New technology can distinguish between evidence of
gunfire and garden manure, but prosecutors said the
1988 procedure was a "destructive test" that
eliminated any chemical evidence, rendering additional
tests inconclusive.

Prosecutors have also said the skirt was stored with
other evidence from the crime scene and contaminated
by it.

The 120-day reprieve expired at the end of March, and
the Harris County District Attorney's Office requested
a new execution date be set, Dow said.

Another of Newton's attorneys, John LaGrappe, said he
may file a federal appeal "alleging prosecutorial
misconduct in the way that the dress was handled."

[Maggie]

Why did they refuse to test the skirt?

This is LIFE and DEATH...... she should have EVERY possible right to PROVE her innocence.....

The fact that the Innocence Project has taken her case speaks volumes to me....

So no- I am not convinced they "proved" she was the shooter......

Any other info would be appreciated.... thanks!