Rio Texas Methodist Federation for Social Action

Scheduled Executions
The State of Texas is scheduled to execute two individuals this month:

• On May 16, Tilon Carteris scheduled to be executed for the robbery and murder of 89-year-old James Eldon Tomlin in April 2004 in Fort Worth. Following Carter’s sentencing in 2006, his appeals focused on the deficiency of his trial lawyers, as well as faulty jury instructions.  The U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider his appeals last year.

  Carter was originally scheduled to be executed on February 7, 2017, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted him a stay after the trial court missed the deadline to notify the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs of the execution date. If it proceeds, Carter’s execution would be the third out of Tarrant County this year. Tarrant County accounts for 40 executions since 1982.

• On May 24, Juan Castillo is scheduled to be put to death for the robbery and murder of 19-year-old Tommy Garcia, Jr. in December 2003 in San Antonio. During the punishment phase of his trial, Castillo fired his attorneys and represented himself; he made no final argument to the jury. In 2007, Castillo tried to appeal his sentence based on insufficient evidence, faulty testimony, and the unconstitutionality of the death penalty. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected his claims. The S. Supreme Court rejected similar appeals in October 2016.

  If it proceeds, Castillo’s execution would be the second out of Bexar County this year; there is one other individual convicted in Bexar County scheduled to be put to death. Bexar County accounts for 43 executions since 1982.

Texas accounts for four out of the ten executions nationwide thus far in 2017.  At this time, there are three additional executions scheduled in Texas through July.

Attend a vigil in your community on the day of executions. Information and updates on cases are available on our website and through Facebook and Twitter.

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