|
James Reid was executed Sept. 9 at 9pm EST. We would like to express our deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones of both Mr. Reid and Ms. Annie Lester.
The state of Virginia is scheduled to execute James Reid, a black man, Sept. 9 for the 1996 murder of Annie Lester in Christianburg. According to his sister, Mr. Reid “suffered from serious health problems ranging from heart disease and lung cancer to epileptic seizures resulting from brain damage he sustained in a car wreck in 1968. All those factors triggered violent rages Reid could neither control nor remember.”
In the middle of a wine-induced black-out, Mr. Reid murdered Ms. Lester. Later he was found outside her house, covered in blood, looking for a ride home. Mr. Reid was not capable of pre-meditation, nor was he aware of what he had done; evidenced by his behavior after the crime.
Mr. Reid’s court-appointed attorneys were incompetent, following the familiar pattern of the majority of poor capital defendants. His attorneys persuaded him to waive his right to a jury and enter an “Alford plea,” which is a plea of no contest. An Alford plea makes no admission of guilt, but raises no defense. Once the prosecution had presented their case, and Mr. Reid’s attorneys realized that there was a lack of significant evidence, they tried to change his plea. This maneuver clearly indicates that they were ignorant of the complexities of the justice system, particularly in a capital murder case.
Affadavits filed by Mr. Reid and his sister state that his attorneys told them that “an Alford plea is ‘not a guilty plea’ and that it was the only way to keep Reid alive.”
His attorneys also failed to pursue an insanity defense or get a competency hearing. Mr. Reid has an IQ of 79, has been committed to state mental institutions several times, and suffers black-outs and dementia. These black-outs are particularly frequent when he has consumed alcohol, as he had the day of the murder. His brain damage from a car accident that left him in a coma for five days is well-documented, as is its contribution to his seizure disorder and alcoholism.
His attorneys presented no defense, instead placing Mr. Reid’s fate in the hands of Judge Ray Grubbs rather than a jury.
Elizabeth Semel, director of the American Bar Association’s Death Penalty Representation Project argues that the quality of court-appointed lawyers depends on three things: adequate compensation, adequate resources, and high standards to ensure quality.
”If you don’t have these three things you have a recipe for, at best, occasionally adequate and frequently abysmal representation. And that’s what you have in Virginia.”
Mr. Reid is being executed for what should not even be considered a capital crime. This was not premeditated murder. While it was a horrific crime, Mr. Reid, brain-damaged and suffering alcohol-induced dementia, did not plan the crime or attempt to cover it up. His lawyers did not even attempt a defense, nor was he properly assessed for his ability to stand trial.
Please write Gov. Mark Warner and urge him to commute the death sentence of Mr. Reid and declare a moratorium on executions
|
