The Case of Kenneth Foster, Jr., Texas Death Row

In a death watch cell on the Polunsky Unit in Texas, a man waits to die by lethal injection on August 30, 2007. His name is Kenneth Foster, Jr. What did this man do to deserve to be executed? He drove a car. Yes, that's right, in 1996 he was the driver of a car in a series of robberies, one that resulted in the death of a young man, Michael LaHood Jr. who was 25 years old at the time of the incident.

What makes this man any different than other drivers in other crimes? So different that instead of getting a regular prison sentence, he received the death penalty? In that very car that Kenneth was driving, where four young men altogether. One, Maricio Brown, the trigger man has been executed in 2006 for the murder of Mr. LaHood Jr. Two others, Steen and Dilliard are in Texas prisons, and did not receive the death sentence.

People who are for the death penalty often say "An eye for an eye," but an eye has already been taken. Why is Texas about to execute another inmate, when only one man was murdered? I can feel for the LaHood family. How awful it must have been for them to lose a son. Someone they loved, had hopes and wishes for. A nightmare that will never be forgotten. But hasn't justice been served already? They say executions bring closure for the family. Then didn't closure come when the man Mauricio Brown, who murdered Mr. LaHood, was laid out on that gurney and injected with a lethal dose of drugs? Will executing Foster bring closure to the LaHood family even though they know he did not kill their son?

In an effort to stop street gangs and gang related activity, District Attorney for Bexar County, Texas, Susan Reed, started a program called (G.O.T.J.A.) Gang Offender Tough Justice Action while she was District Judge in Baxar County. The program has the names of documented gang members, and when someone is arrested, if their name is identified in this database, as being a gang member, or having committed a gang related crime, Reed states on her website "the defendant's file is identified and tracked to ensure that he/she is punished to the fullest extent of the law".

On the TDCJ website Kenneth FosterJr., listed as being a former member of the "Black Disciples" street gang. Could Susan Reed's "tough on gangs" attitude have anything to do with Kenneth Foster Jr.recieving the death sentence? Is this their way of punishing him to the fullest extent of the law? Although Foster did not kill anyone, he was sentenced under Texas's "Law Of Partys" which means he was associated with the crime, and sentenced to die. Two other co defendants who were present at the robberies received regular prison terms.

There has been controversy with another Texas death row inmate. According to Wikipedia, Ruben Cantu was executed in 1993. Cantu was executed despite a retraction from a co-defendant who claimed Cantu was indeed innocent, but felt threatened at the time by police. No other evidence linked Cantu to the murder. Susan Reed was the Judge who rejected Cantu's appeal in 1988 and set an execution date of 1993. Reed, acting as District Attorney investigated the claims of innocence of Cantu but decided his execution was justified. Here we have now another Texas death row inmate, with an execution date of August 30, a man who everyone knows did not kill anyone. Will Texas do the right thing this time, and take Foster off death row?

If Foster is executed, will his case bring pro death penalty people to the other side? Even those who are for the death penalty see no reason why Foster should be executed, and many have expressed concerns about executing a man who did not kill anyone. Will Fosters case be the one to bring a moratorium on Capital Punishment?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Reed

http://www.co.bexar.tx.us/da2/