The night-walkers of Uganda

Texas defies federal court with execution plan
Level 1
Elementary
Key words
1
Find the information
2
Look in the text and find this information as quickly as possible.
1. When did Brown kill Michael LaHood?
2. In which city did the murder happen?
3. How old is Kenneth Foster?
4. When was Brown executed?
5. When did Texas reintroduce capital punishment?
6. How many people has the state of Texas put to death since 1974?
202

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Texas defies federal court with plan to 
execute man who did not kill
Dan Glaister in Los Angeles
August 20, 2007
On August 14 1996 Kenneth Foster and three 
friends were driving around San Antonio, Texas, 
smoking marijuana and using their guns to rob 
people. Foster, who was driving, stayed in the 
car while two others, Mauriceo Brown and Julius 
Steen, robbed people. While they were driving 
to the home of Dwayne Dillard, the fourth person 
in the car, they found themselves in a part of 
the city they did not know. A woman thought the 
men in the car were following her and asked 
them what they were doing. When she walked 
away, Brown got out of the car and followed her 
to the home of her boyfriend, Michael LaHood. 
There was an argument between Brown and 
Mr LaHood. Then the three men in the car, 25 
metres away, heard a bang. Brown returned to 
the car and Foster drove off. 
The police arrested all four men in connection 
with Mr LaHood’s murder. Dillard was never tried 
for the crime, and Steen had an agreement with 
the prosecutors. In court the prosecutors asked 
for the death sentence only for Brown and Foster. 
The district attorney asked for Brown and Foster 
to appear in court together. Brown was found 
guilty of murder. In Foster’s case everything 
depended on what Steen told the court. Steen 
said he had had “a pretty good idea” of what was 
going to happen when Brown left the car. In the 
trial Steen’s words were very important. They 
showed that all the men knew about the plans to 
use guns to rob people. If Steen knew about it, 
then so did Foster. 
In Texas the law does not make any difference 
between the person who actually commits a 
crime and the people who are with him at the 
time. If they knew about the crime before it 
happened, then they are guilty too. So Kenneth 
Foster may die for a murder he did not commit. 
At the time of the murder he was sitting in a car 
25 metres away but he was still found guilty of 
murder by the court. Both Brown and Foster 
received death sentences in May 1997. Brown 
was executed last year.
Foster has appealed against the death sentence 
several times. Each time his appeals have failed. 
Now the 30-year-old African-American’s final 
hope is to ask the governor of Texas, Rick Perry 
for mercy. If Mr Perry says no, Foster will die 
on August 30th. “He’s on death row because 
of mistakes made by other people,” said his 
attorney, Keith Hampson. “There have been 
several mistakes, one after the other. Now I’m 
asking the court to correct their own mistake. If 
they don’t correct their mistake, this man will die.” 
Since the court found Foster guilty of murder, 
new evidence suggests that the men did not 
plan to rob Mr LaHood. But the main argument in 
Foster’s appeal is that his punishment is against 
the constitution of the United States. But the 
Texas court of appeals agreed with earlier court 
decisions that Foster knew someone might be 
killed that night in 1996. “For sure Foster knew 
it was possible that someone might die during 
one or more of these armed robberies,” the court 
wrote. It said he clearly showed he didn’t care 
about the lives of other people. 
Foster’s lawyer is very disappointed. “It’s a 
technical problem. Every court that has looked 
at this has said that his execution would be 
against the constitution. It makes me very angry,” 
Mr Hampson said. The Texas parole board will 
make the final decision. It, can recommend 
that the governor reduces the sentence to life 
imprisonment. In the past Mr Perry has never 
reduced a death sentence when the parole board 
has recommended it. 
The state of Texas reintroduced capital 
punishment in 1974. Since then it has put 398 
people to death, more than any other state in
the USA.