Death penalty foes march on MLK Day

“Clarence Brandley!” boomed over the loud-speaker system, and the crowds lining the downtown sidewalks answered, “Pay him now!” The Texas Death Penalty Abolition movement honored Clarence Brandley in the 34th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade Jan. 16 in downtown Houston, sponsored by The Black Heritage Society.

Brandley, who is known and loved by African Americans as well as activists of all nationalities around Texas, was exonerated off Texas death row exactly 22 years ago. But he is still fighting for compensation from the state of Texas for the 10 long years that were stolen from him.

Abolitionists and progressive activists, along with their children, formed a spirited contingent in one of the largest MLK parades in the country. They not only demanded an end to the racist and anti-poor death penalty, but also demanded compensation for Brandley. Brandley and his brother, the Rev. Ozell Brandley, rode in the back of a pickup truck covered with signs about Clarence’s struggle with Texas.

As children tossed candy to the crowds, activists distributed thousands of leaflets about Clarence Brandley and the death penalty, as well as leaflets about political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. In 1995, after five years of struggling to find and keep a job, Brandley went to Philadelphia to support Abu-Jamal when he had an execution date. Brandley says he was glad to contribute to another innocent man getting a stay of execution, just as others had done for him.

Today Brandley works with Witness To Innocence, an organization made up solely of people who have been exonerated off death row. (In the U.S., 130 people have been exonerated.) Brandley is fighting to abolish the death penalty in Texas. He says he will never forget his time on death row and will continue to fight for those he left behind.

— Report & photo by Gloria Rubac