Action Alert from the National Coalition Against the Death Penalty ( NCADP):

NCADP URGES CLEMENCY CAMPAIGN FOR OKLAHOMA MAN SET FOR EXECUTION

GOVERNOR IS IGNORING QUESTION OF INNOCENCE; BOARD VOTED UNANIMOUSLY FOR COMMUTATION

Dec. 16, 2002 - The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty is urging its members to contact the office of Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating and ask him to change his mind and grant clemency for an Oklahoma man scheduled for execution Tuesday evening.

Ernest Carter was convicted in the 1990 robbery-murder of Eugene Manowski. Carter's defense attorney has argued that despite the conviction, his client was not guilty of the crime beyond a moral certainty. The Oklahoma Board of Pardons ands agrees with this assessment, and unanimously voted to recommend that Gov. Frank Keating commute Carter's sentence to life in prison without. On Sunday, Gov. Keating indicated he will not comply with the board's recommendation.

"Executive clemency exists as the final safeguard to prevent an innocent person from being executed," said Steven W. Hawkins, NCADP executive director. "In a speech last year at the National Press Club, Governor Keating himself said that although he favors the death penalty, the state must not execute anyone unless there is a 'moral certainty' that that person is guilty. In this case, the threshold of 'moral certainty' simply has not been met."

Since Gov. Keating took office in 1995, the Oklahoma Board of Pardons ands has recommended clemency for four people on death row. Gov. Keating has accepted only one of those recommendations. This is despite the fact that nationwide, at least 102 people have been freed from death row due to actual innocence, including seven people from Oklahoma. Oklahoma is tied with Texas for third place in the number of innocent people exonerated, behind Florida and Illinois.

"In the past quarter century, Oklahoma has executed 54 people and seen seven people walk off of death row due to actual innocence," Hawkins said. "This is a clearly unacceptable margin of error. Oklahoma's death penalty cases simply are not receiving the level of scrutiny necessary to prevent the ultimate, unacceptable miscarriage of justice from occurring - the execution of a person who is quite possibly innocent. Governor Keating must step in immediately and commute Mr. Carter's sentence."

NCADP is urging its members to contact Gov. Keating's office and let their views be heard. Phone number is 405-521-2342; fax is 405-521-3353. Gov. Keating's
email address is governor@gov.state.ok.us

The execution is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST Tuesday, Dec. 17.