Dear Sara,
Breaking news! The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has recommended that Robert Lee Thompson’s death sentence be commuted to life in prison. Thompson is scheduled to be executed by the State of Texas on Thursday, November 19, 2009. This is only the fourth such recommendation for clemency from the Board in cases where the inmate faced imminent execution.
Thompson’s lawyer successfully argued that he was not the triggerman in a December 1996 convenience store robbery-murder. His co-defendant, who was the actual killer of Mansoor Rahim, was tried separately and convicted on a lesser charge; he is serving a life sentence and will be eligible for parole.
Please call Governor Perry IMMEDIATELY! Urge him to follow the Board’s recommendation and commute Thompson’s sentence!
Office of the Governor
Citizen’s Opinion Hotline: 1-800-252-9600
Phone: (512) 463-2000
Fax: (512) 463-1849
Read more about the clemency recommendation in the Houston Chronicle.
Here’s more information about Thompson:
Robert Lee Thompson, 34, is scheduled to be executed on November 19, 2009. He and co-defendant Sammy Butler, 32, were tried for capital murder for the December 5, 1996 stickup of a Braeswood Boulevard convenience store in which clerk Mansoor Rahim was killed. Under Texas’ law of parties, all participants in such cases are eligible for the death penalty, regardless of who did the actual killing.
Thompson, who wounded but did not kill another employee, was convicted and sentenced to die. Prosecutors failed to prove Butler intended to kill his victim, however, leading to a non-capital conviction and a life sentence for the triggerman. Butler will be eligible for parole in 2036.
Please call Governor Perry as soon as possible and urge him to follow the Board’s recommendation by commuting Robert Thompson’s death sentence.
Thank you!