Gregor y L. Wilson,
aged 53, Afroamerican, has been on death row for 23 years.
He was convicted in
1988 of the murder and kidnapping of a young girl, Deborah Pooley.
His female accomplice, who testified against him at trial, got a
life sentence and is eligible for parole after 25 years.
His trial was short
and partially spoiled by racial prejudices. Gregory’s defense was
absolutely inadequate and the Jury did take no account of his
serious mental illness.
Although the US
Supreme Court declared in 2002 that death penalty for mentally
retarded people is unconstitutional (and inapplicable), it did not
give out its opinion on G. Wilson’s case, yet. Therefore, a possible
deferment of the execution could entail even the re-exam of the
death sentence by the Supreme Court itself.
On August 25, 2010,
Governor Steven L. Beshear fixed the execution date for Gregory
Wilson on September 16. He chose him among some other candidates, as
he had the possibility to put to death only one person. The Kentucky
prison has actually, from now to 2011, only one dose of sleeping
draught, which must be combined with two other chemicals, according
to protocol for the lethal injection.
The appeal to the Governor for Gregory
The Community of Sant'Egidio invites all to send a petition, in order to save the life of Gregory Wilson, eventually sending the following text to the Governor.
Urgent appeal brought out by the Community of Sant’Egidio
to save the life of Gregory Wilson,
sentenced to death
Dear Governor,
I am writing to express my deep concern over a ruling that sentenced to death Mr. Gregory Wilson, even though his evident mental retard and an inadequate legal defence during the trial he underwent.
In the meanwhile I want to express my enduring sorrow and my solidarity to the family of Deborah Pooley, who suffered so much because of this horrible crime.
I implore you to intervene on his behalf in order to prevent this cruel and inhuman punishment from being meted out against him. We implore you to ensure that this cruel and inhuman sentence is not carried out.
We urge you to intervene on his behalf to prevent this cruel and inhuman punishment from being meted out against him. We implore you to ensure that this cruel and inhuman sentence is not carried out and the execution is at least stayed, at least until his claim can be fully considered.
Respectfully Yours
(signature and date)
APPEALS
TO:
Kentucky Governor Steve
Beshear 700 State Capitol
Frankfort, KY 40601
Fax:(502)564-2517
email: [email protected]
