...K P F T news

Gary Wayne Etheridge is on death row for the 1990 stabbing death of Christie Chauviere, a 15-year-old daughter of Etheridge's former employer in Brazoria County. According to Etheridge's appellate affidavit, he was high on cocaine and looking for money to buy more drugs when the crime occurred.

Etheridge's execution, which was scheduled for yesterday, was delayed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals so that it could hear an argument filed by his attorney based on comments made by the judge after the sentencing phase of the trial.

Jim Marcus, the Director of the Houston-based non-profit Texas Defender Service, has defended Etheridge since October 2000, when he first learned about Brazoria County Judge J. Ray Gayle III's biased remarks.

". . . those remarks themselves, he called Mr. Etheredge a piece of garbage and nothing but a blight on society. Those are pretty strong words of bias, since then he really hasn't been allowed on the case at all except now he's setting the execution dates, he's done that twice."

Judge Gayle is known for talking to the media during trials, something that Marcus says is inappropriate for an office-holder that is supposed to remain unbiased. Diane Clements, president of the Houston-based Justice for All victim's rights organization, said the judge's comments don't undermine the jury's verdict.

"It would appear to me that the judge who declared publicly that he was a blight on society signing his death warrant has nothing to do with the constitutionality or the validity of the sentence that was reached and posed by the jury ... but it is another example of super due process that exists for those convicted capital murderers."

Etheridge's trial lawyer, who had one year and a half worth of experience practicing criminal law in Texas, did not have a firm grasp of the law according to Marcus. His lawyer did not present mitigating circumstances including psychological problems and sexual abuse to the jury prior to his sentencing.

"The law of Habeus Corpus and even appelette procedure is fraught with many, many traps for the unwary and just one misstep by an attorney can forever waive the right of that defendant to have his case reviewed."

Judge Gayle recused himself from the case again on Wednesday and asked for another judge to be appointed to sign the death warrant.

Clements does not believe that Judge Gayle should be blamed for the biased remarks.

"Should we blame the judge? No. Who should we blame? Well, the appellate attorney who filed this frivolous, in my opinion, appeal.

Etheridge has two chance for relief left: a grant of clemency from the governor's office or Supreme Court intervention.

David Stiles and Brandon Moeller, KPFT News, Houston

E-mail David Stiles or Brandon Moeller at stiles138@yahoo.com or brandonmoeller@hotmail.com respectively.