Howard Guidry perseveres after legal setback
By
Gloria Rubac
Houston
Published Jul 20, 2006 9:00 PM
July 17—“Before I
even got to the courtroom today, I was strip-searched twice in a matter of
minutes, attacked by a four-man swat team who forced me onto the floor of my
cell with knees in my back and on my neck and threatened to Taser me,” an
angry Howard Guidry told Workers World today.
“Because I was
shackled with my legs twisted and handcuffed with my arms twisted behind my
back, they had to dress me,” he continued. “Then they told me to put
on my shoes, but I couldn’t move my feet as the shackles were too tight. I
was told I didn’t need shoes. I went to court barefooted, without my
glasses, without my legal papers and wearing no underwear or
undershirt—only the neon yellow shirt and pants.
“I
couldn’t even see my supporters in the courtroom.”
From left, Sister Sandi, aka The Water Poet, and anti-death penalty activists Njeri Shakur, Regina Schmahl, Liz Lyon and Gloria Rubac gather in front of the Pyramid Shop in Houston as the Evening of Solidarity with Howard Guidry begins.
WW photo: Lucha Rodriguez
|
Today was
supposed to be a new beginning for Guidry in court. But after the degrading and
brutal treatment, there was a legal setback in court. Both of the pretrial
motions his defense attorneys filed were denied.
To make matters worse,
his lead attorney—Alvin Nunnery, who had been on the case for more than 10
years—had to withdraw as his lawyer in order to be able testify about a
conversation he had with a witness.
Death-penalty abolitionist Njeri
Shakur announced today: “We are planning a demonstration outside the
county jail to protest the racist treatment of Guidry. It is an outrage that
this innocent brother was mistreated by the sick people running the jail. Then
they take him to court barefooted and virtually blind. The Ken Lays and Jeff
Skillings don’t go to court without shoes and underwear. Neither should
our sisters and brothers.”
Guidry was arrested in 1995 when he was
18 years old. He reports that cops lied to him, telling him they were going to
put him on the fast track for an execution if he didn’t confess to a
murder he knew nothing about.
Racist injustice
After
assaulting him with the white supremacist “n” word, explaining how
lethal injections worked and berating Gui dry for hours—all the while
denying him his right to contact his attorney—the teenager was finally
tricked into signing a confession. The police told him that his lawyer had told
him to sign it.
Guidry was convicted of capital murder based on that
coerced confession.
In 2003, a federal district judge threw out the
confession and hearsay testimony that was used to convict Guidry. The judge
ordered the Houston trial court to release Guidry or retry him within 180 days.
The state appealed the ruling, but the Fifth Circuit upheld the order to
release or retry Guidry. And in March this year, after the Supreme Court refused
to review the case—essentially allowing the original federal district
judge’s decision to stand—the Houston trial court had 180 days to
release or retry the prisoner, and Guidry was moved off of death
row.
Howard Guidry thought that finally his decade of racist injustice was
coming to an end. Then he appeared in court today.
“Going into court
I had little faith that justice would be served. I was cautiously optimistic,
but knew our motions could be denied, even though there were no legal grounds
for doing so,” Guidry explained.
“I was already in a foul
mood going into the courtroom after the degrading treatment this morning, so it
wasn’t such a shock when the judge denied both motions. Beyond that the
only disappointing point for me was having lost my attorney, Alvin. He’s
been involved for ten years. I got lucky when he was originally appointed for
me,” Guidry said.
“This battle is a small setback, but the war
is just beginning. I appreciate all the support from the Houston community and
know we will prevail,” Guidry concluded.
‘My struggle is
far from over’
On the eve of his court appearance, July 16, an
“Evening of Solidarity with Howard Guidry” brought out a crowd of
activists and supporters to hear Guidry’s death row poetry, meet his
friends and get to know the person who had been railroaded to death row as a
very young man.
Gathered on benches and chairs in the backyard oasis of
The Pyramid Shop in the Third Ward of Houston, a multi-national crowd of
activists listened to Njeri Shakur speak of Howard Guidry, her friend and
comrade.
“Howard was so courageous on death row that he inspired
many young men to study revolutionary politics and stand up for their
rights,” Shakur stressed. “He helped form the group Panthers United
for Revolutionary Education. He and Kamau Wilkerson took a guard hostage in 2000
to call attention to the horrific conditions in their new super-max prison that
were driving the men to lose their minds. They did this not to hurt anyone, but
because of their love for their fellow prisoners.”
Liz Lyon, a young
college student from New Jersey who came to Houston to work against the death
penalty for the summer, has gotten to know Guidry through many visits to the
county jail. She gave a rundown of Howard’s legal situation, and her poem
about her new friendship with Guidry touched everyone.
Abolitionist Regina
Schmahl read Howard’s own words of greetings to the crowd: “The
struggle for my freedom is far from over. The stakes are high for the state of
Texas. My release would be a glaring representation of a system long broke and
irreparable. Too many people have already been executed for crimes they did not
commit. Other innocent people are sitting on death row awaiting execution right
now.
“We are fathers and brothers and sons, mothers and sisters and
daughters. Many are waiting, following cases like mine and praying for a
victory. If I win, a moratorium for everyone gains a little more momentum. We
are literally in a constant race with death,” Guidry wrote to his
supporters.
Texas has two executions scheduled this week, including
Mauriceo Brown. “We must not stop our work,” Angie Agapetus
explained. She said Mauriceo Brown’s mother “is devastated. The
judge denied DNA testing. I have space in my car for two more people to go to
Huntsville Wednes day to protest his execution,” she said about her
friend.
Brother Kenya Shabazz, from The Pyramid Shop, played revolutionary
music and drums and provided background for the highlight of the
evening—Guidry’s poetry read by two popular Houston poets, Sister
Sandria, aka The Water Poet, and Brother Zin.
People in the audience left
for home with their spirits visibly lifted by the warmth and camaraderie of the
evening and vowed to continue the struggle to free Guidry.
“By the
time they finished with their dramatic interpretation and rendition, everyone
present felt as if they knew a little of Howard’s soul,” said Lucha
Rodríguez.
“I didn’t know a lot about Howard when I
got here tonight, but now I am ready to stand up for him,” agreed Tony
Evans.
“The same oppressors that brought citizens from Africa and
sold them and lynched them are the same oppressors executing poor people today.
Howard’s poetry is beautiful. We need to get it published and distributed
out here. People need to read it and see who is inside the walls,” Lenwood
Johnson, longtime activist, concluded.
Solidarity messages can be sent to:
Howard Guidry SPN # 01446317, Harris County Jail, 701 N. San Jacinto St.,
Houston, TX 77002 or email to [email protected]. For more
information see: www.geocities.com/howardguidryjusticecomm.
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