http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR511482004?open&of=ENG-USA

AI Index: AMR 51/148/2004 ?UA 294/04 

Death penalty/Legal concern 22 October 2004 USA (Kentucky)

Thomas Clyde Bowling (m), white, aged 51 Kentucky’s Attorney General, 

Greg Stumbo, has asked Governor Ernie Fletcher to set an execution date

 of 16 November 2004 for Thomas Bowling, who was sentenced to death


for a double murder committed in 1990. 



Governor Fletcher has this week been presented with a clemency petition. 



On the morning of 9 April 1990, Tina and Eddie Earley 

were shot dead outside their small dry-cleaning business 

in the city of Lexington,Kentucky. 

Thomas Bowling was arrested on 11 April in

neighbouring Tennessee. His car and a .357 calibre

handgun were found hidden at his family’s home in


rural Kentucky.

Thomas Bowling’s murder trial was

held in December 1990. Among the state’s witnesses

were two eyewitnesses, the first of whom described the

gunman as six feet tall (Bowling’s approximate height)

and wearing a black jacket and hat (Bowling owned such

items). He had not been able to pick Bowling out at a 


police line-up, however, and also admitted that he may

have told police that the gunman had long brown hair,

a dark complexion and possibly a moustache – none of

which described Bowling. The second eyewitness could

not be located at the time of the trial, and instead

the jury was played an audiotape of a police 

interview with him on the day of the shootings. 

His description did not identify Bowling. 


The state also presented a witness who said 

that he had sold a .357 gun to Bowling 

a few days before the shootings. 



Expert testimony identified Thomas Bowling’s car as the

vehicle used in the crime and suggested that the

bullets fired at the scene could have come from the

retrieved gun. ?However, the ballistics expert

admitted that there could be millions of guns that


could have fired the bullets. The defence lawyers

presented no witnesses at the guilt/innocence stage

of the trial.??At the sentencing, the defence

presented six witnesses. 

A former work colleague and two jail employees 

testified to Thomas Bowling’s goodcharacter, 

and his mother, sister and son testified

about their love for him, his marriage break-up, his


dependence on alcohol, his recent depressed mental and

emotional state, and his limited mental ability. The

jury voted for a death sentence.

Thomas Bowling’s appeal lawyers are seeking clemency 

on the grounds that he has mental retardation.

 In 1990, shortly before Bowling’s trial, Kentucky legislated to

prohibit the execution of people with mental retardation. 




His trial lawyers did not raise the

issue. In 2002, in Atkins v. Virginia, the US Supreme

Court outlawed the use of the death penalty against

such offenders. It left it up to each individual

state how to comply with the ruling. 

The Court noted that "clinical definitions of mental retardation

require not only sub-average intellectual

functioning, but also significant limitations in 


adaptive skills such as communication, self-care, and

self-direction that ?became manifest before age 18...

Because of their impairments… by definition they have

diminished capacities to understand and process

information, to communicate, to abstract from

mistakes and learn from experience, to engage in 

logical reasoning, to control impulses, and to

understand the reactions of others. There is no


evidence that they are more likely to engage in

criminal conduct than others, but there is abundant

evidence that they often act on impulse rather than

pursuant to a premeditated plan, and that in group

settings they are followers rather than leaders. Their

deficiencies do not warrant an ?exemption from

criminal sanctions, but they do diminish their

personal ?culpability." 




Thomas Bowling’s clemency petition argues 

that he falls within this category. 

At the age of 12 or 13, Thomas Bowling’s IQ was assessed

at 74, which with the margin of error in such

assessments places him within the range for possible

mental retardation if coupled with adaptive deficits

which Bowling is said to have. He was described as a

"follower" and easily manipulated.




Thomas Bowling’s clemency lawyers have also raised evidence 

that he is innocent. 

The evidence against him is circumstantial –

there is no physical evidence placing him at the scene

of the crime, no confession, no identification of him

as the gunman, the weapon linked to him was one of

millions that could have been used in the crime, and

while the car used in the crime was his, there is no


proof that he was driving it at the time. 

The state did not establish a motive for Thomas Bowling

 to kill the Earley couple, 

whom he did not know and had never met.



The clemency petition suggests that Eddie and

Tina Earley may have been shot because of their

involvement with a local family (the Adams family) –

members of which had allegedly run a drug dealing


business from a store situated behind the Earleys'

dry-cleaning business. 



The petition raises the possibility that one of the Adams family

 had shot the Earley couple. 



The clemency petition also argues that

the Lexington Police Department may have focused on

Thomas Bowling rather than pursuing suspects from the


Adams family because it feared further ?unfavourable

exposure following a recent corruption scandal

involving the department. 

The so-called "Bluegrass Conspiracy" involved a cover-up

 of the murder of a young woman in the 1970s to prevent exposure 

of the involvement of police in criminal drugs activity. 

 In addition to seeking clemency from the governor, Thomas

Bowling’s lawyers are seeking relief in the appeal courts.




 They are pursuing the mental retardation

issue, which has already been summarily dismissed at

the trial court level. 

They are seeking police records

from the case, including 10 video tapes of witness

interviews conducted early in the case which may help

to show whether the police wrongly turned away from

investigating other suspects after Thomas Bowling’s


arrest. The lawyers are also challenging Kentucky’s

lethal injection procedures. 



The United Nations

Safeguards Guaranteeing the Protection of the Rights

of Those Facing the Death Penalty prohibit the

execution of people whose guilt is not based on "clear

and convincing evidence leaving no room for an

alternative explanation of the facts". Amnesty


International opposes the death penalty in all cases,

regardless of issues of guilt or innocence, or the

method used to kill the prisoner. 



Today 118 countriesare abolitionist in law or practice. 

Since the USA resumed executions in 1977, it has executed 937

people, including ?52 this year. 



During this time more than 100 people have been released 

from US death rows on grounds of innocence.


 Kentucky has carried out two executions since 1977, 

the most recent of which was in May 1999.



---------------------

http://www.internationaljusticeproject.org/retardationTBowling.cfm

Thomas Clyde Bowling Kentucky Mental Retardation

Execution Date: Granted Stay of Execution



... Bowling was assessed at the age of 12 - 13 to have

an IQ of 74, which given the margin of error, places


him within the range for mental retardation. In

addition, he has an extensive documented history of

adaptive deficits, being described as a ''follower''

and easily manipulated. Throughout school, his parents

had to lay his clothes out for him and ensure that he

bathed and maintained personal hygiene.



Bowling also was a slow learner throughout school. He

had a low I.Q. and spent 3 years in the ninth grade.


Despite working hard, Bowling even failed health class

three years in a row. His neighbours and teachers

remember Bowling as a nice child who just needed extra

help and special education.



Innocence



Bowling's lawyers have also raised evidence that he is

innocent. The evidence against him is purely

circumstantial. There was no physical evidence placing


him at the scene of the crime; an eye-witness failed

to identify him; ballistics experts admitted the

weapon linked to him was one of millions that could

have been used in the crime; and while the car used in

the crime was his, there was no proof that he was

driving it at the time. Further, the state did not

establish a motive for Thomas Bowling to kill the

Earley couple, whom he did not know and had never met.

Instead the lawyers assert, a local family murdered


the Ealey's.



According to the petition and accompanying police

reports, Eddie Earley told police about a local

Lexington family's alleged drug activity, which

resulted in an arrest. The family then retaliated

against the Earleys by shooting Tina, Ed and their

then 2-year-old son outside their dry-cleaning

business. The son was shot in the foot but later


recovered. His lawyers argue that the family

apparently used Bowling's vehicle in the murder and

helped Bowling obtain the gun that police believe was

used in the murder, his lawyers say. On the day of the

murders, Bowling was intoxicated and states that he

can not remember anything of that day. Apparently,

however, he was told by members of the above family

later that afternoon to take his car out of town.

Bowling complied, the petition stated.




Governor Fletcher and Medical Ethics



According to Amnesty International, the Governor's

legal counsel reportedly issued a statement refuting

claims that Governor Fletcher, who is a doctor, was

violating the American Medical Association's (AMA)

guidelines or ethical standards by signing the death

warrant. The AMA's guidelines open by stating that "an

individual's opinion on capital punishment is the


personal moral decision of the individual. A

physician, as a member of a profession dedicated to

preserving life when there is hope of doing so, should

not be a participant in a legally authorized

execution." After Governor Fletcher signed the death

warrant, his legal counsel was quoted as saying: "By

signing a death warrant, in no way is Governor Ernie

Fletcher participating in the conduct of an

execution".


------------------

http://www.kcadp.org/pdf%20files/Bowling%20PDF/KY%20Board%20Filing.pdf#search=%22thomas%20bowling%20execution%22



Danny M. Clark, M.D., President 

Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure 

310 Whittington Parkway 

November 3, 2004 

Louisville, KY 40222 

 


Dear Dr. Clark, 

 

 The undersigned hereby submit to the Kentucky Board

of Medical Licensure a request for a ruling on the

following question of ethics. 

 

Is it unethical for Ernie Fletcher, M.D. the elected

Governor of Kentucky to sign a death warrant as


Governor that will cause the execution and death of

Thomas Bowling, convicted of a capital crime? 

 

We submit this request under the general authority of

the board, including KRS 311.565(h). In the event

Ernie Fletcher, M.D. does sign a death warrant we ask

that this be considered a grievance under the board’s

procedures. 


 

We respectfully submit with this request a statement

of facts and a 

discussion of the issues, on behalf of the

undersigned. 

 

Yours truly 



Rev. Kathy Costanzo Chaplain, University of


Louisville School 

Stuart Urbach, M.D. Associate Professor, University

of 

Of Medicine Louisville 

Carl Wedekind, J.D. Louisville 

Steven Lippmann, M.D. University of Louisville School

of Medicine 

...

1. Kentucky: Thomas C. Bowling, Tuesday, 16 November


2004

 

Governor Ernie Fletcher

Address: 700 Capital Ave.; Suite 100; Frankfort, KY

40601

Phone: 502.564.2611

Fax: 502.564.3517

Email: http://governor.ky.gov/contact.htm


 

Louisville Courier-Journal


www.courier-journal.com

Phone: 502.582.4011

Fax: 502.582.4200

Email: 

http://www.courier-journal.com/cjconnect/edletter.htm

 

Kentucky could soon be on the verge of carrying out

its third execution in

the past quarter of a century and its first since


1999. The attorney general

of Kentucky has requested a Nov. 16 execution date for

Thomas C. Bowling for

the alleged murder of Edward and Tina Earley in April

1990 in Lexington, KY.



Bowling's case is permeated with problems -- including

his possible

innocence, his low IQ and allegations of prosecutorial


misconduct. So

profound are the questions raised by this case that

Bowling's execution

would be a tragic miscarriage of justice. 



Bowling's supporters maintain that the Lexington

police and Fayatte County

Commonwealth's Attorney's office are withholding

evidence that could help


exonerate him, apparently because this evidence would

reveal police

corruption. 



Police Chief Larry Walsh was hired to reform the

Lexington Police force in

the wake of massive police corruption in the early

1980s. Walsh maintains

that Edward Earley informed the police of information


which directly led to

Donald Adams' arrest for drug charges. Police have

failed to fully

investigate the possibility that a drug dealer

committed the crimes despite

this obvious potential connection. Bowling's

supporters maintain police are

withholding evidence because it would reveal the

department's own


involvement with drug crime-related scandals within

the department. 



There has yet to be a hearing on Bowling's mental

disabilities or adaptive

deficits....



On the night the murders took place, Bowling was

extremely drunk apparently because he was upset over

recently ending a marriage. Because of Bowling's


mental decencies and drunkenness he could have easily

been framed in the murders. 



In fact there are several reasons to believe he was

framed. First, the only evidence linking him to the

crime is that paint from his vehicle was found at the

crime scene and the gun he had recently purchased

could have fired the bullets which killed the victims.

There is no motive and no eyewitnesses. 




However, before the crimes were committed, Bowling was

in the company of the Adams family - the same family

which the victim had informed on for drug related

crimes. Members of the Adams family, including John

Edward Adams, had access to Bowling's car and gun as

he had fallen into an alcohol-induced sleep. Bowling

says because of his intoxication he can remember very

little about the night of the crimes. He does remember


his close friend John Edward Adams coming to him and

telling him he had better get his car out of town.



When Bowling heard this he obeyed as he has always

done since childhood. He did not question this request

but did attempt to hide his car and then hitchhiked

back to his sister's house where he fell asleep until

police came to arrest him. 



Bowling has been unable to help with his own defense


for several reasons, including his diminished mental

capacity and his inability remember the many events of

the evening the crime occurred. 



Neither the Kentucky legislator nor the Kentucky

Supreme Court have

determined what procedures should apply to a death row

inmate raising mental retardation for the first time

on appeal or in post conviction. Should Bowling's


execution take place, it will be the third state

killing in 42 years Kentucky has carried out. 



Please write Gov. Fletcher and urge him not to set a

Nov. 16 execution date for Bowling based on the fact

that it is unethical, and unconstitutional to execute

people who are mentally retarded and Bowling has not

had sufficient opportunity to make this claim. Please

urge Gov. Fletcher to consider the strong possibility


that Bowling is innocent as well as evidence of

prosecutorial misconduct. With this much doubt

surrounding Bowling's case, it is unfathomable to

execute this man. 

----------------------

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/15673207.htm



DNA-test request 'guessing game'

PROSECUTORS BALK AT BOWLING'S FILING


By Brandon Ortiz

HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER



By asking for DNA testing of evidence, convicted

murderer Thomas Clyde Bowling is asking the courts to

indulge in a legal "guessing game" that will serve

only to further delay his execution, prosecutors said

in a brief filed yesterday.



Bowling's attorneys are arguing that DNA tests will


raise doubt that he killed Eddie and Tina Earley

outside their Lexington dry cleaning store in April

1990. He specifically wants evidence preserved in his

1981 Chevy Malibu. Bowling's public defender has told

The Associated Press that the DNA could show that

another person who lived in the area and had a grudge

against the Earleys took Bowling's car and used it in

the shootings.




But Fayette Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Larson said in

a response filed yesterday morning that DNA evidence

in the Malibu, which has been stored outside at a

police impound lot, has so deteriorated from the

elements that testing it would be useless. An

affidavit he filed from a forensic scientist said it's

unbelievable that any viable DNA would remain after 16

years.




Larson called Bowling's request a "legal snipe-hunt."



"Bowling's current version attempts to exculpate

himself and inculpate another," Larson wrote.

"Unfortunately for him, he cannot conveniently ingore

the overwhelming evidence of his guilt at trial. He

wants the court to indulge him in a 'guessing game,'

to delay or avoid his sentence of death."



Bowling has lost two previous appeals.




He also has a pending appeal before the Kentucky

Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of

lethal injection.