Execution Report: Raphael Holiday

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A jury found Holiday guilty of capital murder in June 2002 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in February 2006.

In 2008, during a statewide sweep of Texas prisons for cellular phones, guards found a phone in Holiday's cell. He had attempted to dispose of it by flushing it down the toilet.

Holiday's lawyers presented his appeals in the state and federal courts, without success. In June 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Holiday's petition for a review of his case. One of the lawyers handling Holiday's federal appeals, Wes Volberding, then sent Holiday a letter informing him of this decision and told him, "This marks the end of work for your appeals I regret." Volberding wrote that the courts have rules against successive appeals that are "strictly enforced."

"The only remaining option," Volberding wrote, "is for a clemency petition to the Texas governor," but "he is not going to grant clemency in this case, or likely in any other death penalty case. A clemency petition just gives an inmate false hope."

Clemency petitions are actually sent to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. The board rejects most of the petitions from inmates seeking relief from the death penalty. The few petitions that the board approves are sent to the governor for a final decision.

After receiving the letter, Holiday asked Volberding and his colleague, Seth Kretzer, to continue to work on his case and to file the clemency petition, but they refused. They also fought Holiday's attempts to secure new court-appointed attorneys. They did state that they would remove themselves from the case if Holiday found a lawyer willing to work for him pro bono - at no charge.

In October, attorney Gretchen Sween, working for Holiday pro bono, filed a motion asking the courts to remove Volberding and Kretzer from the case and appoint new attorneys. Sween stated that she is not qualified to work on capital cases directly. Volberding and Kretzer opposed Sween's motion and sent her a letter threatening to seek sanctions against her if she did not stay away from their client. The federal district court and U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Volberding and Kretzer, who said that all appeal avenues had already been exhausted, and there was no new evidence on which to base any new appeals.

In an interview from death row the week before his execution, Holiday stated he did not intend to murder his children and did not start the fire. "I loved my kids," he said. "I never would do harm to any of them."

"I was at the house. The house blew up," Holiday said. "I don't know how the fire started." He said he stole Mitchell's car and sped off in it because "I was panicking."

On the day of Holiday's scheduled execution, his trial lawyer filed an appeal saying the conviction and some trial testimony were both improper. The trial judge agreed that the issues should be reviewed, and withdrew his execution warrant. The state attorney general's office appealed this decision to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which voided the judge's order and reinstated the execution warrant. Holiday's execution was delayed about two hours because of this appeal.

By the time the Court of Criminal Appeals issued its ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court had already rejected a last-ditch appeal filed by Sween on Holiday's behalf.

Tami Wilkerson - whose last name is now O'Bryant - and Beverly Mitchell attended Holiday's execution. O'Bryant initially stood in the back of a viewing room, watching from behind a corrections officer, but she later walked forward to the window. Both she and her mother declined to speak with reporters.

Eric O'Bryant, the father of the 5-year-old victim, Jasmine, attended the execution but stayed outside the prison. "I'm really against [the death penalty] except when it has to do with elderly people and kids," he said. He explained that the difference is "... because they can't defend themselves."

In his last statement, Holiday told his "supporters and loved ones" that he loved them. "I'm always going to be with you," he said. He then thanked the warden and closed his eyes, and the lethal injection was started. He was pronounced dead at 8:30 p.m.

Holiday's execution was the 13th one to be carried out in Texas in 2015. No more are scheduled for the rest of the year.

By David Carson. Posted on 19 November 2015.
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, court documents, Associated Press, Dallas Morning News, Huntsville Item.