Dear Friends at TDS,

Today we come to you with an urgent petition. We hope that

you hear our cries for this urgent and just matter. Many of you that read this letter are probably already familiar with this issue and we hope that we will be able to motivate you to act. This issue is regarding the Texas Law of Parties Statute, specifically the application of 7.02(b), and how Texas prosecutors, and Courts, are abusing it. We feel that it is time that this law be attacked and challenged on a grand basis.

Will the Law of Parties abolish the death penalty? Of course not in itself. However, it is one more issue that must be won so that one more brick out of the wall of capital punishment will be taken out. It will eventually have to be addressed. So far we have only seen it addressed in one decent way and that was done by Austin Chronicle journalist Jordan Smith in her February 11, 2005 article Wrong Time, Wrong Place and side article Circular Logic, Circular Justice. Still, this article received very little rave, but it should have as it testifies to the unconstitutional, and just flat-out nefarious, nature of this law. Those of us sending this petition is a collective of anti-death penalty advocates, activists and supporters of Kenneth Foster Jr. (the subject of the above article). Therefore, we do not ask this from the outside, but the inside of this gruelling struggle.

Please let us hear something positive from you on this matter. Many people, even beyond these few petitions, are concerned about this issue and we are resolute on our feelings about it. We hope you will share them as well. Thank you for your time.