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Texas: Halt the Execution of Clinton Young!

 

Texas has a record of sentencing teenagers to die. In Texas, 31 individuals have been executed for crimes committed when they were 18, and another 44 for crimes committed at 19. In August of 2017, two Kentucky judges ruled it unconstitutional to execute defendants charged with offenses committed while they were under 21, given what research now shows that development of the brain and psychological and emotional maturation continues well past the age of 18.

Clinton Young was convicted for the fatal shooting of Samuel Petrey on a charge of murder at age 18, and he maintains his innocence. The sole evidence identifying him as the shooter comes from testimony of someone that failed a polygraph test about their level of involvement with the shooting.

Since the U.S. lifted the federal moratorium on the death penalty in 1976, there have been 1,460 executions. Texas accounts for 543 of these executions, and five of the 18 carried out so far this year. Texas must realize that the death penalty is a punishment with irrevocable consequences. Maintaining its use alienates all people’s right to life and right to be free from cruel, inhumane, and degrading punishment. Write to Governor Abbott to stop the upcoming execution of Clinton Young

Your Message

Dear Governor Abbot,

There are continuing doubts about the reliability of Clinton Young’s conviction for capital murder. The only evidence identifying him as the gunman in the fatal shooting of Samuel Petrey was the testimony of someone who failed a polygraph about their level of involvement in the shootings. Post-conviction forensic and witness evidence continues to cast doubt on Clinton Young’s conviction. Clinton Young was just 18 years old at the time of the crime, and I would point out that two judges in Kentucky recently agreed that this is too young for the death penalty, given what we now know about brain development. In Texas, 31 individuals have been executed for crimes committed when they were 18. Let me remind you that the death penalty is a punishment with irrevocable consequences and is the ultimate injustice and denial of human rights. Please use your influence and authority to stop Clinton Young becoming number 32, and to ensure commutation of his death sentence.