Dominique Green | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers

Dominique Jerome GREEN

Classification: Murderer

Characteristics:

Crime spree - Robberies

Number of victims: 1

Date of murder:

October 14,

1992

Date of arrest:

3 days after

Date of birth: May 13,

1974

Victim profile: Andrew Lastrapes (male, 41)

Method of murder: Shooting (

Tech-9 semi-automatic gun)

Location: Harris County, Texas, USA

Status: Executed by lethal injection in Texas on October 26,

2004

photo gallery

Summary:

Green and three other men took part in a series of robberies in the Houston area over a period of several hours, starting on October 13, 1992, and continuing into the early morning hours of the following day.

After 6 a.m. October 14, the men ended up at a convenience store, where they confronted Andrew Lastrapes in the store parking lot and demanded his money.

When Lastapes refused, Green shot him with a Tech-9 semi-automatic gun, then took $50 from his wallet. Green and his accomplices split the proceeds of their robberies.

Three days later, Green was driving a vehicle stolen from a robbery victim and led Houston Police on a high speed chase for almost 50 miles until swerving off the road into a ditch in Brazoria County.

Green fled on foot, but was eventually arrested hiding in a nearby field. Others in the car were also arrested. A loaded Tech 9 semi-automatic gun, identified as the murder weapon, was found in the vehicle.

Following arraignment, Green admitted to being present at the scene of the murder, but claimed that he was only a "lookout."

At trial, nine victims identified Green as the person who robbed them during a 3-day crime spree.

Citations:

Green v. State, 906 S.W.2d 937 (Tex.Crim.App. 1995) (Direct Appeal).
Green v. State, 934 S.W.2d 92 (Tex.Crim.App. 1996) (Direct Appeal).
Green v. Dretke, 82 Fed.Appx. 333 (5th Cir. 2003). (Habeas)

Final Meal:

None.

Final Words:

"There was a lot of people that got me to this point and I can't thank them all. But thank you for your love and support. They have allowed me to do a lot more than I could have on my own . . . . I have overcame a lot. I am not angry but I am disappointed that I was denied justice. But I am happy that I was afforded you all as family and friends. I love you all. Please just keep the struggle going . . . . I am just sorry and I am not as strong as I thought I was going to be. But I guess it only hurts for a little while. You are all my family. Please keep my memory alive."

ClarkProsecutor.org

Texas Attorney General

Media Advisory

Thursday, October 21, 2004

Dominique Jerome Green Scheduled For Execution

AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information about 30-year-old Dominique Jerome Green, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. Wednesday, October 26, 2004. On July 14, 1993, Green, was sentenced to die for the capital murder of Andrew Lastrapes in Houston on October 14, 1992. A summary of the evidence presented at trial follows.

FACTS OF THE CRIME

Dominique Jerome Green and three other men took part in a series of robberies in the Houston area over a period of several hours, starting on October 13, 1992, and continuing into the early morning hours of the following day.

After 6 a.m. October 14, the men ended up at a convenience store. While two of the men waited in a car around the corner, Green and the fourth man approached Andrew Lastrapes in the store parking lot and demanded his money. When Lastapes refused, Green shot him with a Tech-9 semi-automatic gun, then took $50 from the victim’s wallet.

Following the fatal shooting, Green and his three companions split the proceeds of their robberies and went home agreeing not to talk about what had happened.

Three days later, a Houston police officer spotted a stolen red car traveling southbound on Highway 288. The officer pursued the vehicle until it swerved off the road into a ditch in Brazoria County.

The driver of the car, later identified as Green, continued to run on foot, but was eventually found hiding in a nearby field.

A later search of the vehicle revealed a loaded Tech 9 semi-automatic gun that firearms experts determined to be the same gun that was used to killed Andrew Lastrapes.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

January 5, 1992 - A Harris County grand jury indicted Green for the capital murder of Andrew Lastrapes.
July 9, 1993 - A Harris County jury found Green guilty of capital murder.
July 14, 1993 - Following a punishment hearing, the court sentenced Green to death.
September 11, 1996 - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Green’s conviction and sentence on direct appeal.
November 13, 1996 - The Court of Criminal Appeals denied Green’s petition for rehearing.
April 28, 1997 - The U.S. Supreme Court denied Green’s petition for writ of certiorari.
August 29, 1997 - Green filed an application for writ of habeas corpus in the state trial court.
May 31, 2000 - The Court of Criminal Appeals denied Green’s application for writ of habeas corpus.
January 8, 2001- Green filed a federal petition for writ of habeas corpus in a Houston U.S. district court.
February 28, 2002 - The U.S. District Court dismissed Green’s federal habeas petition.
June 9, 2003 - Green requested permission to appeal from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
October 21, 2003 The 5th Circuit Court denied Green’s request to appeal.
February 19, 2004 Green petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari.
October 4, 2004 The Supreme Court denied Green’s request for certiorari review.

PRIOR CRIMINAL HISTORY

January 6, 1990 Green was convicted of unlawfully carrying a weapon and possession of marijuana and was sentenced to placement in the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department.

February 11, 1991 Green was convicted of burglary of a motor vehicle and burglary of a habitation and had his probation revoked.

January 21, 1992 Green was convicted of possession of a firearm and sentenced to ninety days in jail.

ProDeathPenalty.com

Three men charged with capital murder in the killing of a man found shot to death in his truck went on a robbery spree two days after the slaying according to police.

Andrew Lastrapes was parking his truck in a shopping center when he was shot once in the chest, robbed and left in his truck in Houston on October 14, 1992. The victim's pockets were ripped and his wallet was missing. A woman found Andrew and notified authorities. He was rushed to Ben Taub Hospital, where he died during surgery.

Dominique Jerome Green, 18, Michael K. Neal, 19, and Paul George Lyman II, 19, were charged on Oct. 22, 1992. A fourth man, Mark Potter, 20, was charged with aggravated robbery in connection with the slaying. One of the suspects was carrying a TEC-9, 9mm semi-automatic pistol, authorities said.

Lastrapes was shot once in the chest when he did not immediately hand over his wallet. The suspects tore Lastrapes' pants as they took his wallet, investigators said. Another person was robbed by the same two men in front of the center just before Lastrapes was shot and killed.

Two days later, the same two suspects and a third man were involved in a string of robberies in southeast Houston, police said. Vehicles were taken in two of the robberies and they were caught after a police officer spotted the second stolen car, authorities said.

They rammed the police car during the chase and headed to Freeport, where they abandoned the vehicle. Two were captured immediately, police said. The other suspects was caught with the help of bloodhounds and mounted officers, authorities said.

The suspects had the gun that was used in the Lastrapes slaying with them when they were captured, police said. A check confirmed that the gun matched the one used in the killing. The suspects told officers of their involvement in the killing and led police to the getaway driver in the Lastrapes case.

UPDATE: A Houston teen-ager who made a living selling crack cocaine was sentenced to die by injection for the capital killing of one of 10 people he robbed in a three-day crime spree. Jurors in state District Judge Doug Shaver's court sentenced Dominique "Stumpa" Green, 19, after deciding he deliberately killed Andrew Lastrapes Jr., 41, during a robbery and will remain a menace to society.

Testimony showed Green was thrown out of his home at age 15 when his mother, Stephanie Green, found crack in her refrigerator. He went straight into the crack business and amassed a considerable juvenile record for carrying guns, drug offenses and burglary.

Lastrapes was slain about 5:30 a.m. on Oct. 14, 1992, after going to the 7100 block of Fannin to meet two co-workers so they could travel together to a construction job. He became the fifth person robbed by Green that morning, prosecutor Kate Dolan said, but he was the only one who was shot. "Lastrapes either told (Green), "I'm not giving you the money' or "I've got something for you,' " Dolan said. Green killed Lastrapes with a 9 mm shot from a TEC-9 pistol. Defense attorney Sanford Melamed contended Lastrapes , just before he was shot in the chest, may have made a move that caused Green to think he was about to pull out a weapon.

Three days later, Green and several youths went on a second robbery spree, robbing another five victims in a brief span. They also stole one victim's red Ford Escort, which soon was spotted by police. Green and the other youths led police on a 50-mile chase that ended in Brazoria County when the Escort crashed into a ditch by the county fairgrounds.

Two youths were apprehended near the car, but it took prison system bloodhounds to catch Green hiding in the woods. At trial, Dolan paraded all of Green's surviving robbery victims into court to identify Green's face, his distinctive leather coat with a fur-trimmed hood or his TEC-9 pistol.

Melamed countered with a psychologist who described Green as having been sexually abused by a teacher and reared by a family that was mostly indifferent to him. The psychologist said Green never managed to develop a conscience. While the teen was in jail awaiting trial, prosecutor Catherine Baen said, he wrote his mother a letter saying he'll likely be "trigger-happy" forever.

UPDATE: Texas death row inmate Dominique Green received a lethal injection Tuesday night in the state’s death chamber in Huntsville after a roller coaster day of appeals. Green was sentenced to die for the 1992 slaying of a man in Houston during a $50 robbery.

His attorneys won a stay of execution early in the day Tuesday from a U.S. District Judge in Houston, but late in the day the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans lifted the stay. Green’s attorneys then turned unsuccessfully to the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to step in to halt the execution. Defense attorneys argued that recently discovered boxes of improperly stored and catalogued evidence could help Green’s case, but prosecutors said say all evidence has been accounted for.

Texas Execution Information Center by David Carson

Txexecutions.org

Dominique Jerome Green, 30, was executed by lethal injection on 26 October 2004 in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of a man in a parking lot robbery.

On 14 October 1992, Green, then 18, Michael Neal, 18, Paul Lyman, and another unidentified accomplice spotted Michael Lastrapes in the parking lot of a Houston-area convenience store. While Lyman and the other person waited in a car, Green and Neal approached Lastrapes and demanded his wallet. When Lastrapes refused, Green shot him in the chest. Green then ripped Lastrapes' pants pocket off and took his wallet, which contained $50.

Three days later, a Houston police officer spotted a stolen car traveling on a highway. The officer pursued the vehicle until it swerved off the road into a ditch. The driver, Dominique Green, attempted to flee on foot, but was found hiding in a nearby field. Two of the other robbery participants were also in the car, as was a Tech-9 semiautomatic rifle. A firearms expert later testified that the weapon found in the car was the same one used to murder Andrew Lastrapes.

While in jail awaiting trial, Green wrote a letter that included the phrase "I forever be a trigga happy nigga," a quotation from a rap recording about a violent armed robbery. All three of Green's accomplices testified against him at his trial. Green admitted being involved in the robbery, but denied being the trigger man. Under Texas law, a defendant can be found guilty of capital murder if he participated in the crime, regardless of whether he directly caused the victim's death.

At age 18, Green had no prior prison record, but he had previous convictions for burglary, weapon possession, and marijuana possession. At his punishment hearing, nine people testified to being robbed by Green and his co-defendants.

A jury convicted Green of capital murder in July 1993 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in September 1996. For the next eight years, all of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

Michael Neal pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and received a 40-year prison sentence. Paul Lyman pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and received a 10-year prison sentence. Information on their current status was unavailable for this report. Charges were filed against the fourth robbery participant, but the grand jury refused to indict him. Green's lawyers contended that this amounted to illegal racial discrimination, as the fourth person was white, while Green, Neal, and Lyman were all black. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected this argument, noting that the participants were charged and sentenced according to their respective degrees of culpability in the crime.

From death row, Green said that he was a changed person. A prison spokeswoman said that Green had no major disciplinary record and was considered a well-behaved prisoner. His clemency request was supported by Lastrapes' mother and two brothers. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Green's request for a commuted sentence by a 5-1 vote. Governor Rick Perry also declined to issue a reprieve.

In the days before his execution, lawyers working for Green filed a motion for a stay, based on problems at the Houston Police Department's crime lab. Among several other evidence-related problems at the crime lab was the discovery in August of 280 boxes of evidence that had not been thoroughly examined and cataloged. Lawyers claimed that evidence pertaining to Green's case could be in those boxes. Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal stated that the newly-discovered evidence did not contain any evidence affecting Green's case. A federal judge granted the defense's request for a stay on Tuesday at midday, but the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that order later in the day. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Green's case at 7:20 p.m.

In his last statement, Green offered thanks and encouragement to his friends and supporters. He also said, "I am not angry, but I am disappointed that I was denied justice." He was pronounced dead at 7:59 p.m.

Man executed despite pleas from victim's family

Dallas Morning News

AP October 26, 2004

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Inmate Dominique Green was executed Tuesday evening despite last-minute legal battles and pleas from relatives of the murder victim that Green's life be spared.

"There was a lot of people that got me to this point and I can't thank them all," he said, speaking in a barely audible voice. "But thank you for your love and support. They have allowed me to do a lot more than I could have on my own. ... I have overcame a lot. I am not angry but I am disappointed that I was denied justice. But I am happy that I was afforded you all as family and friends," he said looking at five friends. "I love you all. Please just keep the struggle going. ... I am just sorry and I am not as strong as I thought I was going to be. But I guess it only hurts for a little while. You are all my family. Please keep my memory alive." Green gasped slightly a couple of times as the lethal drugs took effect and was pronounced dead nine minutes late, at 7:59 p.m.

But the stay was later lifted by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant a stay. Harris County prosecutors have said all evidence in the case had been accounted for in Green's case. The execution was the 18th this year in Texas and the fifth this month.

It had been opposed by relatives of the man Green was convicted of killing and by religious leaders, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu and the Rev. Joseph Fiorenza, the Roman Catholic bishop of Galveston-Houston. Green, 30, was convicted of gunning down Andrew Lastrapes Jr. during a $50 robbery outside a Houston convenience store.

Despite requests from Lastrapes' widow and two sons, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles refused in a 6-0 vote to issue a 120-day reprieve. The panel also voted 5-1 against commuting Green's sentence to life in prison. "That's sort of the reality for Texas," said David Atwood, director of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. "We always know this is an uphill battle for anybody on death row."

Green acknowledged being at the scene where Lastrapes was fatally shot in the early morning hours of Oct. 14, 1992, but he insisted he wasn't the gunman. Two companions, who like Green were black, testified against him at his trial and received lesser sentences for robbery. A fourth person at the scene, a white man, never was indicted, spurring complaints of racial bias from Green's appeals lawyers and Lastrapes' family. Harris County prosecutors said the case against the fourth person went to a grand jury, but the panel refused to indict.

In interviews from death row, Green said he grew up and matured since arriving there with the capital murder conviction and an extensive juvenile record for weapons, drugs and burglary offenses. "I would like to be able to say the last 12 years haven't been for nothing," Green said last week, pointing to his clean record and his mentoring of other young condemned inmates. "Now is a time to show them strength. I can still be a positive influence. I'm going to always be an influence, to make people smile."

In a rare face-to-face session in a Texas prison between a death row inmate and a relative of a murder victim, Andre Lastrapes-Luckett met for 90 minutes Monday with the man convicted of killing his father. "Texas is going to put a righteous person to die like an animal, putting him on a table, strapping him up, putting those needles in his arms, putting him to sleep," Lastrapes-Luckett said. "We're not dogs. We're human beings just like everybody else. He's a human being, just like me, just like you." "That's just a very personal thing," Roe Wilson, an assistant district attorney in Harris County who handles capital murder appeals. "Legally, it doesn't mean anything."

Green was arrested three days after the fatal shooting. Officers spotted a stolen car and chased it for 50 miles before it ran off a highway. Green fled into some woods and was caught. According to testimony at his trial, a gun in the car was traced to the Lastrapes slaying. Appeals attorneys said problems at the Houston police crime lab raised questions about the validity of that evidence.

At his trial, nine victims identified Green as the person who robbed them during a 3-day crime spree. His defense lawyers argued he had been abused by a mentally ill mother and turned to the streets to help provide support for two younger brothers.

Houston PD lab under scrutiny in death row case

By Kelly Prew - The Huntsville Item

October 24, 2004

Editor's note: This is the last of a two-part story preceding the execution of Dominique Green, a Texas Death Row inmate whose trial is drawing attention from both sides of the issue. The victim's family is also asking for a reprieve which is unique.

Dominique Green was convicted and given the death penalty in 1993 for the shooting death and robbery of Andrew Lastrapes Jr. on Oct. 14, 1992, in the parking lot of a convenience store in Houston. Lastrapes was one of 10 people robbed during a three-day crime spree authorities said involved Green.

If his sentence is carried out Wednesday, Green will be the 18th Texas Death Row inmate to die this year and the fifth this month.

But there are several people holding out hope for Green, including the victim's family, wife Bernatte Luckett-Lastrapes, and sons, Andrew and Andre, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu who visited Green on death row earlier this year, and historian and best-selling author Thomas Cahill.

Green's lawyers have submitted the case to state and federal courts, and are anxiously awaiting a decision. In a motion for extraordinary relief filed in the Court of Criminal Appeals, attorney David Dow cited racial bias and incompetence on behalf of the Houston Police Department Crime Lab as reasons for the state to extend a reprieve to Green.

Crime lab accountability

Dow said the HPD Crime Lab's failed DNA/Serology audits as of late 2002 should have an affect in Green's case. Ballistics evidence states the bullet recovered from the shooting compare to the tech 9 weapon found in the vehicle Green was in at the time of his arrest days after the Lastrapes shooting. There was no mention in police reports or in the trial that Green's fingerprints were on the weapon.

There is also the question of unknown evidence in 280 boxes recently uncovered at the police department potentially pertaining to thousands of cases from 1979-91. In the motion, Dow cites HPD Police Chief Harold Hurtt as saying, "It is very significant in the fact that we don't know what we have in those boxes. Were they cases that are open? We don't know yet. The bottom line is to ensure that justice is done - whether it's proving people innocent or convicting others."

Dow states, "The firearms division of the HPD crime laboratory provided corroborative evidence for the state in its case against Dominique Green. ... No criminal conviction in Texas may be supported only on evidence provided by accomplices. Specifically, the corroborative evidence must connect the defendant with the offense committed." (Texas Code of Criminal Proceedings) "... Mr. Green's conviction and sentence may not stand on this corroborative evidence in light of what we already know about dubious ballistics examinations being performed in the HPD crime lab."

Assistant Harris County District Attorney Jack Roady told the Houston Chronicle that no DNA or serologic testing was used in the case, and all of the evidence gathered in the case against Green was accounted for. He said ballistics testing was not an issue.

"The problems at HPD don't relate to this case, so it's not an issue here," Roady said. Dow countered that statement in The Huntsville Item in a phone interview Thursday. "The ballistics evidence is not at all definitive because the crime lab has been proven incompetent," he said.

Why is the victim's family involved?

In written and videotaped affidavits, Lastrapes wife and sons pleaded for reprieve. Bernatte has also written to Governor Rick Perry in hopes of giving Green a second chance at life. "During the robbery of my husband, did they intend to kill him," she said in the affidavit. "Did it happen in the struggle and when Andrew's pants pocket was torn off? I don't know. I do know that the execution of Dominique will not bring back my husband. The sentence was too harsh. That young man deserves another chance at life."

Green explained in an interview from death row that his life has changed since being in prison, and in that vein, he has become somewhat of a teacher and consult to others on death row. "I went on death watch (Oct. 13), that's when they chronicle my last 14 days," he said. "They'll watch where I go, what I eat and who I talk to, and if I choose to have a last statement, I'll have to put it into context in the last 6 to 10 minutes of my life. Unfortunately, it will be the last days that matter, not the last 12 years."

Green said he is grateful for the Lastrapes family for seeing beyond the prison walls. They have given him strength and hope. "I am the opposite of who I was when I came here," he said. "The last 12 years, as a person, I've become to some extent, one who understands. I chose to come here and live. I think I've learned, stepped into myself, and all that is trying to be taken away from me. I have made a difference here.

"The Lastrapes family gave me that chance basically because they wanted to fight for me. I only hope I am able to make them proud. The last thing I want them to have is another dead body."

Bernatte wrote in a letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, stating that she felt the trial in 1993 was unfair in a number of ways, and Green's family situation should have some influence on the state's decision. "The loss of my husband, Andrew, was devastating to me and my family," she wrote. "However, I don't believe that Dominique should have received the death penalty. He came from a very abusive family situation. His mother was mentally ill and did not help him at all during his trial. In fact, I saw her sleeping on a bench at the trial! Dominique's father did not help either -- he was nowhere to be seen.

"... God teaches us that we should forgive one another as he has forgiven us. All of us have forgiven Dominique for what happened and want to give him another chance at life. Everyone deserves another chance! ... For the love of God and justice, please commute his sentence to life."

Green said he has only the utmost respect for the Lastrapes family, and said he will do whatever he can to thank them. "I don't want to die," he said. "If given a chance, I will use the education this place has given me. Even places like this can create good people. What hurts me more than anything is that I did not commit this crime. I want the Lastrapes family to know that I'm sorry they had to see a trial like mine -- to see how unfair it was. I am grateful their loss did not fill them with so much hate."

Green executed after appeals fail, high court refuses to grant stay

Houston Chronicle

AP Oct. 26, 2004

HUNTSVILLE -- Inmate Dominique Green was executed this evening despite last-minute legal battles and pleas from relatives of the murder victim that Green's life be spared.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas had blocked Green's execution for the slaying of a Houston man a dozen years ago after his attorneys argued that boxes of improperly stored and catalogued evidence kept by the Houston Police Department crime lab and recently discovered could contain information relevant to the case. But the stay was later lifted by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant a stay.

Harris County prosecutors have said all evidence in the case had been accounted for in Green's case. The execution was the 18th this year in Texas and the fifth this month.

"That's just a very personal thing," Roe Wilson, an assistant district attorney in Harris County who handles capital murder appeals. "Legally, it doesn't mean anything."

Texas inmate executed despite pleas from victim's family

By Michael Graczyk - Denton Record-Chronicle

AP 10/27/2004

Inmate Dominique Green was executed Tuesday evening despite last-minute legal battles and pleas from relatives of the murder victim that Green's life be spared.

"I can't believe they still want to kill me"

But killer has support from the victim's wife, sons,

By Rhea Davis - Houston Chronicle

October 25, 2004

LIVINGSTON - Dominique Green rubs his hand over his shaved head as his eyes dart around the small iron stall. There's no time to discuss the past. His scheduled execution is days away, and he would rather talk about the power of redemption. "I had two choices when I came to death row," says Green, 30, from behind the thick glass window that separates inmates from visitors. "I could either believe I was a monster or prove to everyone I wasn't."

Green is to die by injection Tuesday for the 1992 murder of Andrew Lastrapes Jr., who was gunned down during an early-morning robbery in southwest Houston. Lastrapes was one of 10 people robbed during a three-day crime spree. Green has admitted to participating in the robbery but denies being the triggerman in the murder. He was 18 when the crime was committed.

His case has garnered the support of an unlikely array of people, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu, who earlier this year traveled from South Africa to visit Green on death row. Last week, the victim's widow and two grown sons issued a public appeal to spare Green's life. "All of us have forgiven Dominique for what happened and want to give him another chance at life," the victim's wife, Bernatte Luckett Lastrapes, wrote in a letter to Gov. Rick Perry and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. "Everyone deserves another chance." That act of forgiveness was the culmination of a long journey, which took place largely within Green's 6-by-10-foot prison cell.

Lessons of the street

Green recently talked at length about that journey. By the time he landed on death row at 19, Green said he had survived an abusive home and the tough streets of Houston's Third Ward. He had been arrested for selling drugs and spent two years in juvenile hall. Every lesson he learned he learned from the streets. But growing up with a mentally ill mother and running with a gang of small-time criminals didn't prepare him for life on death row, locked up for 23 hours a day.

Using art to combat the austerity of prison life, Green carries a stack of battered notebooks filled with drawings and poetry about youth, life on death row and missed opportunities. He counsels younger inmates and helps others research the law.

And he struggles with the heartache of losing friends to the executioner's needle. "I've lost a lot of friends since I've been here," he said. "I just try to write about their experiences and keep their memories alive by talking about the good times we had." None was as painful as the Oct. 5 execution of his childhood friend Edward Green, who was condemned for the murder of an elderly couple 12 years ago. The two friends, who were not related, talked about everything. Days before their death warrants were signed, they wondered who would be executed first. "He hoped he went before me because he didn't think he could take mine," Green said softly into the receiver of the prison phone.

But while Green argues for a second chance at life, victims' rights activists counter that transforming oneself in prison isn't as difficult as one might think. "It's kind of hard to maintain the same lifestyle you had on the streets when you're in prison," said Andy Kahan, the Houston mayor's crime victims' advocate.

Changes 'irrelevant'

He said Green's accomplishments are notable but cannot atone for the crime. "More power to him for whatever he's done in prison to change his life, but it's irrelevant in the scheme of things," said Kahan. "It was the wrong decision to murder and rob people and cause family members a lifetime of pain. It doesn't diminish the consequences of your actions, no matter what you do on death row."

Though he doesn't want to die, the boyish-looking Green expressed gratitude for the lessons he learned from some of the most violent criminals in the state. "There are a lot of great men here," he said. "They taught me things I wouldn't have learned otherwise. They taught me about responsibility and respect and how to be a human being." A prison spokeswoman said Green has had no major disciplinary action against him on death row and is considered a level one prisoner, which means he is one of the best-behaved and least restricted.

"I look at my life and all I've done, and I can't believe they still want to kill me," he said. Defense attorneys are using more than Green's accomplishments to try to halt his execution. They say he should be granted a new trial because racial bias may have played a role in his conviction.

Fourth man not charged

Two men who were with Green the night Lastrapes was killed received lesser prison terms for robbery. A fourth man was not charged. All three testified against Green. The three who were convicted were black, and the one white man in the group was never charged despite the fact that police originally intended to charge him with robbery, said David Dow, director of Texas Innocence Network and one of the attorneys representing Green.

Dow also said recent revelations at the Houston Police Department could have a bearing on Green's case. The key evidence at his trial was a ballistics test performed by the HPD crime lab, linking a gun found in the car in which Green and two others were apprehended to the bullet that killed Lastrapes. Citing errors in other work at the crime lab, Dow said this test also could be flawed. Furthermore, in August, police found 280 boxes of mislabeled and improperly stored evidence from 8,000 cases dating more than a decade. Dow said it would be unlawful to execute Green until that evidence is inventoried.

Crime lab doubts

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals struck down a motion last week to delay Green's execution, even though Judge Tom Price said in a dissenting vote that all executions in cases whose convictions rested on evidence processed at the HPD crime lab should be postponed until the evidence can be independently verified. Dow says he plans to file a new request for a stay of execution today. "The District Attorney's Office continues to urge the courts to go forward with executions, even though nobody knows whether HPD possesses evidence related to the murder of Mr. Lastrapes or the other crimes the state introduced during Mr. Green's trial," he said.

Assistant District Attorney Jack Roady denied that race played a role in the plea-bargain deals that were made with Green's co-defendants. He also said concerns over the 280 boxes of evidence are unfounded. "His lawyers have not pointed to anything specific or any missing evidence," he said. "All of the evidence from the case is accounted for."

Plea deal rejected

Green said he rejected a 30-year plea deal before his trial began because he was innocent. A week before his execution date, he said he does not regret his decision. "I would have been too busy (in prison) thinking about what I was going to do when I got out," he said. "I wouldn't have had time to try to change my life."

The son of Andrew Lastrapes Jr. plans to visit Green on death row today. Last week, Andre Luckett Lastrapes, 22, speaking on behalf of his family, publicly asked the state to spare Green's life. Green said he is scared to be optimistic about his future. "I hope for the best," he said. "But I know the worst is right around the corner."

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Dominique Green - Texas - October 26, 2004

The state of Texas is scheduled to execute Dominique Green on Oct. 26 for the 1992 robbery and shooting death of Andrew Lastrepes of Harris County. Green, a young black man who was 18 at the time of the crime, was accompanied by three other young men who all played active roles in the robbing which resulted in murder.

Green’s case is tainted with evidence of racism. Of the four individuals who participated in the crime, the three who are black, including Green, were prosecuted. The white individual who admitted to being present at the murder and sharing in the proceeds of the crime, was not prosecuted and has served no prison time.

Perhaps the most alarming indication of racism in Green’s case involves the testimony of Dr. Walter Quijano. During the sentencing phase of the trial, Green’s court-appointed attorney chose Dr. Walter Quijano to testify in his defense and to analyze his future dangerousness. Quijano's testimony in capital murder cases came under public scrutiny in 2000 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of an Argentine national convicted of abducting and murdering a man in a suburb north of Dallas. Quijano had told a Collin County jury that Victor Saldano's Hispanic ethnicity could be considered a factor when deciding whether he was likely to commit future acts of violence since blacks and Hispanics are overrepresented in the Texas criminal justice system.

Dr. Quijano maintained Green would be a future threat to society because he never developed a moral conscience and would be a danger to society if allowed to live. Green’s race was one of the factors considered when Dr. Quijano reached this conclusion yet the jury was not aware of this prejudice. Supporters of Green maintain that since Dr. Quijano’s testimony, two psychiatrists and one psychologist have said that he would not be a danger to society if allowed to live in a structured setting.

Racism played yet another role in sentencing Green to death when the prosecution introduced the content of a letter Green wrote to a friend from prison before the trial. In the letter, Green quoted a rap song, referring to himself as a “trigga happy nigga.” Green’s trial attorney did not explain to the all white jury that this phrase was included in the letter as an ironic depiction of how Green thought the police perceived him or that the words came from a rap song.

Green endured an extremely difficult young life in the time prior to his incarceration. He was born into a poor family where both of his parents were alcoholics. His mentally ill mother abused and tortured him and his younger brother. He was thrown out of the house at age 15 where he and his brother rented a storage shed and sold drugs to support themselves.

Since his conviction, Green has changed and grown dramatically. After visiting with Green on death row, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu described Green as having undergone a dramatic transfiguration . “He has changed. He is a beautiful person that the world cannot afford to lose.”

Mrs. Lastrapes, the widow of the crime victim, told Archbishop Tutu that she forgave Dominique and that she and her sons did not want to see him executed.

Please write Gov. Perry and the Board of Pardons and Paroles protesting the execution of Dominique Green. A penalty facilitated by a system fraught with racial and economic prejudice is abominable and unjust. Additionally, the victim’s family has proclaimed this action will not help them in their healing process as they recognize that state killing will not end the cycle of violence. You may contact Gov. Perry and the Board via fax and email by editing the message below or submitting it as is.

Canadian Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Dominique Jerome Green - Texas Death Row

TO BE EXECUTED : OCTOBER 26, 2004

Dominique Jerome Green was 25 years old when he first contacted the CCADP. His page included his essay on the fate awaiting death row prisoners ---

"The only thing that will matter is, what is done to them, and sadly, that certainty will be each and every one of them ultimately being slaughtered. As a room full of people, bloodthirsty people, that know nothing about them watch as each man, woman, and child brought before them is put to death and killed." - Dominique Green

To: Texas Gov. Rick Perry

JUSTICE FOR DOMINIQUE GREEN

Dominique Green is a 28-year-old African-American who is nearing the end of his appeals on Texas' Death Row. We believe that after a review of the facts of the case, you, like us, will see racism and a flawed legal system prevented justice from being done in Dominique's case.

To save his fragile brothers, Dominique took their punishment. He also took one brother to a homeless shelter where they both lived to avoid the constant abuse at home. At age 15, Dominique and his brother Marlin were thrown out of their house by their mother. Dominique rented a storage shed where they both lived, and sold drugs to support Marlin and himself.

One evening in 1992, when Dominique was 18 years old, he allegedly went out with a group of three men whom he knew. They were said to have robbed people at gunpoint. One man, Anthony Lastrapes, was killed by a single shot to the chest. There were no eyewitnesses or scientific evidence to indicate that Dominique participated in this crime, but at the trial the other young men testified against Dominique. In return, the State dropped its capital murder charges against them. Dominique told the police he was there but insisted that he did not commit the murder.

Two of the other men, the black men, went to prison, while the white man who admitted being present at the murder and sharing in the proceeds from the robberies was not indicted or prosecuted at all. Indeed, the State of Texas now will not let this man speak to anyone about the case, even though he was never charged at all. This all occurred in Houston, a part of Harris County , Texas, a place that has sent more inmates to their executions than 47 states and has thus gained the name of the "Death Penalty Capital of the World."

Recently, the Supreme Court overturned the Death Sentence of Victor Saldano after former Texas Attorney General John Cornyn admitted error because Dr. Quijano testified in a similar capacity saying Mr. Saldano was more likely to be violent because he was Hispanic.

In Dominique's case, Dr. Quijano told the jury that Dominique never developed a normal conscience and would be a danger to society if he were to live. Since then, two psychiatrists and one psychologist say that he would not be a danger if allowed to live in a structured setting.

Racism again infected this phase of the trial when the prosecution construed the words of a rap song to be his own. While Dominique was locked up awaiting trial, he wrote a letter to a friend. At the end of the letter he quoted a rap song with the words "trigga happy nigga." Dominique, who was only 18 at the time, meant this as a tongue-in-cheek reference to how he thought the police saw him, not to any future plans.

The jury, which had no African-Americans on it, was not informed the phrase was from a song. The prosecution argued Dominique should be executed because he is a "trigger-happy nigger" even though he had no prior convictions for violent crime and only one shot was fired after an apparent struggle where the victim pulled out a knife.

The judge in Dominiques case, Judge Shaver, appointed the defense counsels to represent Dominique even though neither one had ever principally represented a defendant charged with the death penalty. In fact, the only other capital case the defense counsel had worked on was the infamous "sleeping lawyer" case that also was before Judge Shaver, who afterward remarked to the Los Angeles times "The Constitution entitles you to a lawyer. It doesn't say that the lawyer has to be awake."

While this may seem like a comedy of errors, unfortunately in Harris County this comedy is performed routinely. No matter what view you have of the Death Penalty, all must agree that those facing the ultimate punishment should receive a fair trial, free of racism and incompetent counsel.

Since being convicted, Dominique has grown and matured dramatically, making one wonder just what the state will achieve by executing him. He has helped numerous other inmates to survive the torturous nature of Death Row and has submitted his engaging artwork and poetry in various exhibits around the country and world.

We hope you will find the space in your life to support Dominique as he fights for his life.

Sincerely,

Green Homepage

NO to the Death Penalty - International Campaign - Urgente Appeal

Nobel Prize winners, Members of Parliament, Mayors and City Councils, from all over the world sign to save the life of Dominique Green.

Dominique Green is 30 years old He is African-American He is poor He has been condemned to death He is the first death-row inmate we gotten to know, the first of many friends

We want to save his life Help us to help Dominique, help us stop the death penalty

A euro, a dollar...ten euro, ten dollars for Dominique’s defense don’t cost you much. But they do a lot to help give life and justice one more chance. To contribute, please send an international money wire from your local bank to the Community of Sant’Egidio account “for Dominique Green” Your bank will need the following information: Comunità di Sant'Egidio c/c bancario (bank account):# 112233 Banca Popolare Etica Via Rasella, 14 - 00187 Roma ABI 5018 - CAB 03200 Amount: ____________________ ($ or €) Ref.: Donation “for Dominique Green”

Imagine being 18 years old, having grown up black on the streets of Houston, Texas.

Imagine having your parents split up, neither of them ever being there for you. And when the judge asks what to do with you, your mother says, “you can just take him out of circulation.”

Imagine dreaming to be part of a rock band and learning to play the guitar and instead finding yourself friends with some guys who are looking for easy money, two blacks and a white. Imagine a cursed evening where one shot is fired and someone is wounded and then dies.

Imagine that after a while all three of you are arrested, and there are no eye witnesses. There are those who put the blame on the weakest member of the group. The public defender might as well not have been there. The prosecutor pretends you confessed. At the trial the judge makes no effort to stem the the racist excesses. And in the end you are condemned to death, 18 years old.

This is the story of Dominic Green, an African American man who has been on death row in Texas for 9 years, first in Huntsville and now in Livingston. A lack of defense, discrimination between the defendants, and racism: these are just the most glaring problems in his trial and the reasons behind the appeal that, once again, in Texas, the courts denied.

Since August, 1993, Dominique has been living on death row. He has told us what it is like to grow up in prison, waiting to die. He has spoken to us of strong friendships, born in prison and brutally cut off by executions, adding to a torment that has become unbearable. He pushed us into friendship. In his first letter he wrote, “I am a prisoner on death row. I need someone who wants to help me. I thought that you might be able to help me find someone who has time to write to me and help me out, because recently I haven’t been able to figure out how to ask for help or friendship.”

Today Dominique is a different person. He is resisting the violence of yesterday and today, the violence he experiences on death row, trying to live “backwards.” He gets up early, while it is still dark, to read, paint, and write poetry. He sleeps, if he can, during the day. And, as far as he has been able, he and a few others have created a support group for the younger prisoners, helping them keep from going crazy and teaching them to refuse the dehumanizing provocation of violence.

Through his letters, the Community of Sant’Egidio has entered deeper into the universe of death row and from this first, intense relationship was born the world-wide Campaign for a universal Moratorium on capital executions. May no one ever be put to death again, in the United States and in the entire world.

To support the legal defense and to save a life is very difficult, but it is an important, decisive battle, because every life is valuable and with your help can we can give hope to those on death row. It is a decisive first step in reducing violence and breaking the spiral of despair and mistrust.

"A letter makes you remember that you exist, and that you haven’t been forgotten: it helps you resist and keep struggling."

Save Dominique Green

Dominique Green is scheduled to be executed by the State of Texas on October 26, 2004. We ask that everyone join in praying for Dominique and the family of Andrew Lastrapes during this difficult time. It is now more important than ever to express to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Rick Perry that Dominique should not be executed. Please sign the online petition or write to the board members and urge them to spare Dominique. Scroll down to read Dominique's story.

In Texas, Racism and a Flawed Legal System Conspire to Claim Another Young Life

Dominique Green is a 30-year-old African-American who is nearing the end of his appeals on Texas’ Death Row. We believe that after a review of the facts of the case, you, like us, will see racism and a flawed legal system prevented justice from being done in Dominique’s case.

Dominique came of age as an unloved African-American young man, as poor in spirit as he was in material wealth. Both parents were alcoholics and his father was addicted to marijuana. His mother was mentally ill and tortured and abused Dominique and his younger brothers. To save his fragile brothers, Dominique took their punishment. He also took one brother to a homeless shelter where they both lived to avoid the constant abuse at home. At age 15, Dominique and his brother Marlin were thrown out of their house by their mother. Dominique rented a storage shed where they both lived, and sold drugs to support Marlin and himself.

Two of the other men, the black men, went to prison, while the white man who admitted being present at the murder and sharing in the proceeds from the robberies was not indicted or prosecuted at all. Indeed, the State of Texas now will not let this man speak to anyone about the case, even though he was never charged at all. This all occurred in Houston, a part of Harris County, Texas, a place that has sent more inmates to their executions than 47 states and has thus gained the name of the “Death Penalty Capital of the World.”

During the sentencing phase of the trial - when the jury was determining whether Dominique should live or die - his court-appointed lawyer chose psychologist Dr. Walter Quijano to testify in defense. To analyze Dominique’s future dangerousness, Dr. Quijano took into account the fact that Dominique is African-American. He did not however, share this bias with the jury. Recently, the Supreme Court overturned the Death Sentence of Victor Saldano after former Texas Attorney General John Cornyn admitted error because Dr. Quijano testified in a similar capacity saying Mr. Saldano was more likely to be violent because he was Hispanic.

In Dominique’s case, Dr. Quijano told the jury that Dominique never developed a normal conscience and would be a danger to society if he were to live. Since then, two psychiatrists and one psychologist say that he would not be a danger if allowed to live in a structured setting.

Dominique, who was only 18 at the time, meant this as a tongue-in-cheek reference to how he thought the police saw him, not to any future plans. The jury, which had no African-Americans on it, was not informed the phrase was from a song. The prosecution argued Dominique should be executed because he is a “trigger-happy nigger” even though he had no prior convictions for violent crime and only one shot was fired after an apparent struggle where the victim pulled out a knife.

The judge in Dominique’s case, Judge Shaver, appointed the defense counsels to represent Dominique even though neither one had ever principally represented a defendant charged with the death penalty. In fact, the only other capital case the defense counsel had worked on was the infamous “sleeping lawyer” case that also was before Judge Shaver, who afterward remarked to the Los Angeles times “The Constitution entitles you to a lawyer. It doesn’t say that the lawyer has to be awake.”

Green v. State, 906 S.W.2d 937 (Tex.Crim.App. 1995) (Direct Appeal).

Defendant was convicted of capital murder in the 262nd District Court, Harris County, Doug Shaver, Jr., J. Direct appeal was taken. The Court of Criminal Appeals, Maloney, J., held that abatement of appeal and return of case to District Court would be necessary, to allow judge to make required order supporting decision to allow inculpating statement of defendant into evidence. Appeal abated; case remanded. McCormick, P.J., and Clinton, J., dissented.

Green v. State, 934 S.W.2d 92 (Tex.Crim.App. 1996) (Direct Appeal).

Defendant was convicted in the 262nd District Court, Harris County, Doug Shaver, Jr., J., of capital murder and was sentenced to death. On direct appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeals, Maloney , J., 906 S.W.2d 937, abated appeal and remanded. After remand, the Court of Criminal Appeals, Maloney, J., held that: (1) defendant did not invoke his Fifth or Sixth Amendment right to counsel with respect to subsequent custodial police questioning of defendant regarding murder when defendant earlier requested lawyer at his preliminary appearance before magistrate in connection with separate aggravated robbery charge; (2) evidence supported trial court's finding that defendant had not invoked his Fifth Amendment right to counsel during custodial interrogation by police before signing written inculpatory statement; (3) defendant's confession was voluntary; (4) trial court could permissibly find that defendant opened the door to evidence of extraneous robberies by questioning alleged accomplice about splitting up robbery money; (5) defendant did not satisfy burden of providing exceptionally clear evidence that decision to prosecute was for improper reason so as to require full evidentiary hearing to determine whether prosecutor had racial motivations for decision to seek death penalty against defendant; (6) trial court did not abuse its discretion in punishment stage in concluding that introduction of defendant's letter describing himself as a "trigga happy nigga," as evidence of defendant's future dangerousness, was not unfairly prejudicial; (7) trial court did not violate cruel and unusual punishment provision of federal and state Constitutions or due process by instructing jury not to consider parole laws during punishment stage; and (8) instruction during punishment stage, that prosecution's proof as to special issues had to exclude all reasonable doubt concerning defendant, did not deprive defendant of fair trial. Affirmed. Baird, J., joined in judgment only and filed note. Overstreet , J., dissented.

MALONEY, Justice.

Appellant was convicted of capital murder pursuant to Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 19.03(a)(2) . The jury made findings on the three special issues and the trial court imposed the sentence of death. Direct appeal to this Court is automatic. Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 37.071(2)(h) Initially, we sustained appellant's first point of error, abated the appeal, and remanded the cause to the trial court so that it could enter its findings of fact and conclusions of law regarding appellant's confession. Green v. State, 906 S.W.2d 937 (Tex.Crim.App.1995) We now address appellant's remaining points of error. Appellant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction; we dispense with a recitation of the facts of the case.

In points of error two through nine, appellant claims his October 21, 1992, statement was obtained in violation of his Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights under the United States Constitution. [FN1] We will first address his second, third, eighth, and ninth points of error.

FN1. Appellant also asserts introduction of the statement violated his rights under Article I, § 10 of the Texas Constitution and Article 38.22, § 6 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. He argues that Article I, § 10 and Article 38.22, § 6 should be interpreted more broadly than the Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the United States Constitution. Because appellant has offered virtually no argument or authority in support of his position, we do not address these contentions.

Appellant was arrested October 17, 1992, in connection with an aggravated robbery unrelated to the murder in issue here. Appellant was advised of his rights pursuant to Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.22, § 2(a). He waived his rights and made a statement concerning the robbery to the police, and was then charged with aggravated robbery.

A few days later appellant was taken to a magistrate who appointed a lawyer to represent appellant on the aggravated robbery charge. Subsequently, Harris County authorities were able to determine through ballistic comparisons that a gun recovered from the car in which appellant was riding when he was arrested for the aggravated robbery had fired a bullet found at the scene of the murder in issue here.

Appellant was transferred from the Harris County jail to the Houston Police Department Homicide Division for questioning specifically about the murder. Appellant's court-appointed attorney in the robbery case was not informed of this questioning. Appellant once again received his statutory warnings, which he waived, and gave a statement to the police in which he admitted being present at the scene of the murder and serving as a "lookout." Appellant's motion to suppress this statement was denied and the statement was admitted into evidence over appellant's objection.

* * * *

Appellant's mitigating evidence included: (1) appellant's mother "kicked him out" of the house when he was fifteen years old; (2) throughout appellant's childhood he lacked an adult figure to offer love and guidance and he had been treated with utter indifference by his parents; (3) appellant's mother was mentally ill and suffered from "serious psychiatric problems" (4) appellant was physically, verbally, emotionally, and sexually abused; (5) appellant started using drugs at age fifteen (6) appellant did "extremely well" and did not show any trace of hostility when he was under intense supervision.

* * * *

The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Green v. Dretke, 82 Fed.Appx. 333 (5th Cir. 2003). (Habeas)

Petitioner convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death sought federal habeas corpus relief. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas entered orders denying the petition, a certificate of appealability (COA), and petitioner's motion to alter or amend judgment. Petitioner filed notice of appeal. The Court of Appeals held that: (1) petitioner's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel at the penalty phase did not make the "substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right" required for a COA; (2) petitioner's claim of constitutionally impermissible use of race at the guilt-innocence phase did not make the required showing for a COA; (3) petitioner failed to exhaust in state court his claim that he was denied equal protection by the prosecution's introduction of a post-arrest letter he had written; and (4) petitioner's claim of denial of a "full and fair hearing" at state and federal habeas proceedings did not make the required showing for a COA. Certificate of appealability denied.

On the evening of 13 October 1992, Green and three others undertook a series of armed robberies, culminating in a murder on the morning of 14 October. Green was charged with capital murder; a jury found him guilty. Based on the jury's answers to the three sentencing special issues for capital murder under Texas law, the death penalty was imposed.

After the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals remanded to the trial court for findings regarding the admission of some of Green's statements, Green v. State, 906 S.W.2d 937 (Tex.Crim.App.1995), Green's conviction was affirmed, Green v. State, 934 S.W.2d 92 (Tex.Crim.App.1996). The Supreme Court of the United States denied certiorari. Green v. Texas, 520 U.S. 1200, 117 S.Ct. 1561, 137 L.Ed.2d 707 (1997).

In August 1997, Green filed for state habeas relief. In February 2000, the trial court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law, which were adopted by the Court of Criminal Appeals. In January 2001, Green filed for federal habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Through an extremely detailed and comprehensive 98-page opinion, the district court in March 2002 denied both the petition and, sua sponte, a COA.

Green moved under Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e) to alter or amend the judgment. By a similarly thorough 31-page order, that motion was denied in February 2003. The next month, subsequent to filing his notice of appeal, Green moved the district court to reconsider the COA-denial, citing the recently decided Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 123 S.Ct. 1029, 154 L.Ed.2d 931 (2003). A COA was again denied.