Henry, Istook Argue Over Killer's Clemency; Record Supports Henry's Contention, At Least In Part

Governor Brad Henry and Congressman Ernest Istook argued Monday night, in their televised meeting on KOCO-Channel 5, over Henry's 2004 action in granting clemency to death row inmate Osvaldo (also reported as "Osbaldo") Torres, and a check of Henry's statement at the time supports, at least in part, his contention, disputed by Istook, that the U. S. government asked Henry to consider clemency.

However, in their contentious discussion, the governor indicated it was the Justice Department that had contacted him; his news release of two-plus years ago says the government contact came from the U. S. State Department. Henry apparently was unprepared for the Istook comment on Torres and seemed uncertain, at first, how to respond.

Istook's campaign issued a broadside Tuesday in which it said, "The best Henry could come up with was to falsely state that 'The case that the Congressman cites, what actually happened is his own federal justice department asked us to step in….' That is wrong. The U.S. Department of Justice made no such request."

Here is the text of Henry's statement at the time: May 13, 2004, Oklahoma City – Gov. Brad Henry today commuted the death sentence of Osbaldo Torres to a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. The decision comes after the state Pardon and Parole Board voted May 7 to recommend clemency for Torres, a 29-year-old Mexican national. Torres had been convicted and sentenced to death for the 1993 murders of an Oklahoma City couple, Francisco Morales and Maria Yanez. Torres’ co-defendant, George Ochoa, was identified by an eyewitness as the actual gunman. Ochoa also received a death sentence. “My heart goes out to the family of Mr. Morales and Ms. Yanez. This was difficult decision, but I believe clemency is warranted by a number of issues involved in this case,” Gov. Henry said. He made his decision after a thorough review of the case that included meetings with prosecutors in the state Attorney General’s office, Torres’ appellate defense attorneys and relatives of the murder victims. “It is important to remember that the actual shooter in these horrific murders was also sentenced to death and faces execution,” Gov. Henry said. “Osbaldo Torres will spend the rest of his life behind bars for his role in this deplorable crime.” The Governor also noted that Torres had not been notified of his right to contact the consulate of his native Mexico to seek legal representation. Such rights are ensured under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Signed by the U.S. in 1969, that treaty is also important in protecting the rights of American citizens abroad. The International Court of Justice ruled on March 31 that Torres’ rights were violated because he had not been told about his rights guaranteed by the 1963 Vienna Convention. Under agreements entered into by the United States, the ruling of the ICJ is binding on U.S. courts.“I took into account the fact that the U.S. signed the 1963 Vienna Convention and is part of that treaty,” the Governor said. “In addition, the U.S. State Department contacted my office and urged us to give ‘careful consideration’ to that fact.” Earlier today, Torres was granted a temporary stay of execution by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. “Despite that stay, I felt it was important to announce the decision that I had made upon a careful and thorough review of the entire case,” Gov. Henry said. The Governor has denied the three other clemency recommendations he has received since taking office in January, 2003. Under state law, the Governor can only consider clemency if it is recommended by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.

Istook pounded Henry for what Istook said has been the parole of "1,500 drug dealers" since he's been governor. Henry said many of those paroles meant the inmates would be supervised upon release rather than being turned out on the streets without supervision in a short time.

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