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Morning News

Texas Officials Debate Graham's Fate with One Day to Go

Aired June 21, 2000 - 9:08 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We turn to the debate over the death penalty. The controversy is intensifying as convicted murderer Gary Graham faces a deadline. Unless the Texas Board of Pardons intervenes, Graham will be executed by lethal injection tomorrow.

Reporter Phil Archer (ph), of our Houston affiliate KPRC, has the latest developments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL ARCHER, KPRC REPORTER (voice-over): Gary Graham has consistently denied he's the man who gunned down Bobby Lambert in a grocery store parking lot 19 years ago.

GARY GRAHAM, DEATH ROW INMATE: I hear about the prosecution's (ph) mountain of evidence compared with the overwhelming evidence that clearly demonstrates that.

ARCHER: But new evidence from the bailiff at Graham's trial asserts he as much as admitted killing Lambert. In a signed affidavit, former deputy Larry Pollinger (ph) says after Graham received the death penalty, he told him, "next time I'm not going to leave any witnesses."

Graham's attorneys call the allegation nothing more than hearsay.

RICHARD BURR, GRAHAM'S ATTORNEY: Nowhere in the litigation of this case, as an actual innocence case since 1993, has the district attorney's office or the attorney general's office attempted to verify that or even alleged it.

ARCHER: Co-counsel Jack Zimmerman says the fact Pollinger's statement is only now being brought to light is suspicious.

But one of the prosecutors in the trial says Pollinger reported the conversation to him immediately. Carl Hobbs says it was never brought up because Graham had already gotten the death penalty.

CARL HOBBS, PROSECUTOR: Because it's not on the record, it wasn't a piece of evidence, the trial was over. But at the time it was not relevant, it was just a statement he made.

ARCHER: The affidavit has been forwarded to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles which is now considering Graham's plea for clemency.

GRAHAM: I'm going to beat this by any means necessary.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Again that story from KPRC, our affiliate in Texas.

Gary Graham's case is emerging also -- it continues to emerge in presidential politics.

This from Los Angeles, as angry protesters have been meeting George W. Bush along the campaign trail, they want the governor to halt Graham's execution. But Bush has said he will not intervene without a recommendation to commute from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. The governor has the authority to issue a one-time reprieve in death penalty cases, but Graham already received a reprieve from the former Texas governor, Ann Richards.

Meanwhile, the vice president, Al Gore, also weighing-in on this current debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICE PRES. AL GORE (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I do support the death penalty. I have not changed my position on that and will not. But whether you're for it or against it, you ought to be in favor of seeing it handled fairly and justly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: This story coming out of Texas.

A top Texas senator there has asked the Pardon's Board to hold a public hearing on Graham's case.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

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