NCADP - The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Richard Thornburg Jr., OK - April 18

Do Not Execute Richard Thornburg Jr!

Richard Thornburg Jr.

April 18, 2006

Oklahoma

Richard Alford Thornburg Jr. faces execution on April 18 for the murders of James Poteet, Terry Shepard, and Keith Smith. In September of 1996 Thornburg and three accomplices drove to the Grady County home of Marvin Matheson and abducted him. Next, they drove to Poteet’s home, where they held Poteet and three other men, Shepard, Smith, and Donnie Scott, at gunpoint. Thornburg gave Matheson a gun and told him to shoot Poteet, or Matheson himself would be killed. Matheson refused, at which point Thornburg shot Poteet in the side. Thornburg then told Matheson to shoot Scott, again threatening to kill Matheson if he refused. Matheson complied, shooting Scott in the chest. Thornburg and his accomplices then shot Terry Shepard and Kevin Smith, before setting fire to the house. Thornburg and his accomplices drove away with Matheson, while Scott, despite his gunshot wound, escaped the burning building and survived.

In his appeal to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, Thornburg cited several errors in the way the trial was conducted. In testimony, Matheson made reference to a polygraph interview he’d taken, a reference strictly forbidden in Oklahoma court proceedings. Furthermore, there were instances of hearsay evidence being used, prejudicial and irrelevant victim photographs being introduced, allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, and other things forbidden in a fair trial. However, because Thornburg’s attorney failed to object to any of this during the trial, the appellate court was all but powerless to grant relief on those grounds. Thornburg also claimed that his trial counsel had been ineffective. Considering his lawyer’s failure to object in the aforementioned situations, the appellate court agreed that Thornburg’s claim met the first of the two prongs for ineffective assistance of counsel: that his attorney’s performance was deficient. However, the court did not find evidence for the second prong, that Thornburg was unfairly prejudiced by the deficient performance. Bearing in mind the extreme incompetence of Thornburg’s attorney and the sheer number of errors to which he failed to object, it is not possible to say with certainty that Thornburg was not unfairly prejudiced.

Richard Thornburg did not receive a fair trial. Each time that Thornburg’s lawyer failed to object to impermissible behavior he not only hurt Thornburg’s chances for a fair trial, but for an effective appeal as well. We must not show approval of such a flawed and unjust trial by allowing this execution to go forward.

Please write to Gov. Brad Henry on behalf of Richard Thornburg!

February 09, 2010

Subject:

I wish to appeal to you on behalf of Richard Thornburg Jr., who is due to be executed on April 18. My sympathies go out to the family and loved ones of James Poteet, Terry Shepard, and Keith Smith, and I agree that this was a very tragic event that cannot go unpunished. However, the death penalty--which only serves to create more victims and perpetuate a cycle of violence--is not the right punishment for Thornburg. Regardless of Thornburg's guilt or innocence, he did not get a fair trial. In his appeals, Thornburg raised quite a few legitimate grounds for relief. However, because his attorney failed to object during the trial, the court was not permitted to examine the issues Thornburg raised. Consequently, such impermissible behavior as introducing irrelevant and prejudicial photographs, references to polygraph interviews, and prosecutorial misconduct went unchallenged in sending Thornburg to death row. Executing Richard Thornburg Jr. would violate the right to life as proclaimed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and constitute the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment. Please find it in your heart to spare the life of this human being. Thank you for your time and consideration in this important and urgent matter.
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