Clear and Convincing - Episode 26 - Texas v. Larry Ray Swearingen

On August 21, 2019, Larry Ray Swearingen was executed for the December 8, 1998 murder of Melissa Aline Trotter.  Over the course of 19 years, Swearingen and his advocates filed what one federal judge described as “a convoluted tangle of habeas applications, pro se motions, mandamus actions, and amended pleadings.”  In 2006, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals described Swearingen’s pattern of requests filed days before execution as dilatory and warned Swearingen’s counsel that continued delays could subject them to sanctions.  In 2009, the Fifth Circuit characterized another late-filed request prior to a pending execution date as “timing gamesmanship.”  Agreed DNA testing did not exonerate Swearingen. Althought Swearingen’s counsel cited an intention to raise additional claims during February and March of 2019, they did not seek funding to pursue investigation of those claims until June.  In early August, 2019, counsel retained a new expert. The week before the execution, Swearingen’s counsel sought authorization to file successive state and federal writs, demonstrating what the Fifth Circuit described in 2009 as “disrespect for this court and for Swearingen's life.”  Swearingen and his advocates have also repeatedly misrepresented the weight of their post-conviction claims and evidence and have ignored the adverse findings of  state and federal courts that have reviewed those claims.  Join Lisa O’Brien and Michael Carnahan on Wednesday, August 28, 2019, at 8:30 p.m. for a review of the case against Swearingen, the multiple post-conviction claims advanced after his conviction and sentence were affirmed in 2003 and the misrepresentations made by Swearingen and his advocates in the media.  We’re a live show and calls are always welcome at (347) 989-1171.