I received an email from David Elliot of NCADP yesterday alerting me that the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted 6-0 to deny James clemency. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals also rejected the bid for clemency.
In looking into this after getting David's email I found some articles on James and his quest for life. According to these articles, his attorneys are filing an emergency request for stay with the United States Supreme Court based on legal arguments of cruel and unusual punishment. The arguments contend that it would be cruel and unusual punishment to kill James after he has waited 17 years on death row and, in the meantime, has completely rehabilitated. Their arguments make the (VERY valid) point that in Texas the SOLE basis for a death sentence is future danger to society. Since James poses no such future danger, it would be cruel and unusual to kill him.
For more information, check out this link to an article republished from the Chicago Tribune. It is one of the few that I found that does not require registration on the website to read it.
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