One morning, on January 1996, Jeff was at a stop inside his car at a gas station. Accidentally, just at that very moment, a man, Daniel Earl Reneau, was carrying out a robbery inside the shop, which ended by the killing of a clerk, Kris Keeran.
The same murderer, bound to run away, got headlong in the car of Jeff, forcing him to leave right away.
When arrested, Jeff was thought a partner in crime and due to the law of parties, existing in Texas, was sentenced to death only because he was accused to have indirectly taken part to the murder, even though he did not kill anyone at all.
The interrogation by the police was performed with no council present.
He was undertaken to a very hard treatment, lasted hours without sleeping. In the end, in a confusing state he eventually confessed it was a planned robbery.
In a similar case in 2007, Governor Perry spared the life to Kenneth Foster. Reneau was put to death in 2002. The victim’s father, who disagrees with the use of death penalty, had forgiven him.
More than ever, today, he urges Texan authorities of justice to save the life of Jeff, whose only fault was to find himself by a simple twist of fate at the wrong place in the wrong time.
His execution is tragically set for August 21st 2008.
The appeal to save Jeff
The Community of Sant’Egidio urges everybody to share its appeal aiming to spare
Jeff’s life from the execution, sending the following statement to the competent authorities of Texas by fax or e-mail.
Urgent appeal brought out by the Community of Sant’Egidio
to save the life of Jeff Wood,
sentenced to death
Dear Governor
Excellency
I am writing to express my deep concern over a ruling that sentenced to death Mr. Jeff Wood, even though he never killed anyone, just finding himself involved in a crime only by chance, and declared guilty after an interrogation by the police leaded by illegal means, without an adequate legal assistance. Recently in a similar case, life was spared to Mr. Kenneth Foster. Moreover, Mr. Wood is completely alien to the facts he is accused of.
I urge you to intervene on his behalf to prevent this cruel and inhuman punishment from being meted out against him.
I implore you to ensure that this cruel and inhuman sentence is not carried out.
