The trouble with Jerry

Linda Carty has been described as the unluckiest woman on death row. Why? Because she was unfortunate enough to be appointed the notorious defence attorney Jerry Guerinot by the state of Texas.

Carty's federal petition cites numerous examples of poor work by Guerinot in other capital murders, which reveal, it claims, a 'pattern'. Jerry Guerinot has acted for 39 capital murder defendants, of which twenty were sentenced to death. This is more than the entire death row population of New Mexico, South Dakota, Maryland and Montana combined.

"We are simply saying the defence was completely ineffective. There's no doubt in my mind that if her trial lawyers had taken the simple, basic steps in Linda's case - such as talking to the witnesses - she would not have been convicted of capital murder. What's so disappointing is that the state won't come back to court and accept this."

In Texas, it is the jury, rather than the judge, which decides to impose the death penalty. Guerinot failed to present crucial testimony that might have persuaded the jury that Linda did not deserve execution. He failed to spot obvious flaws and inconsistencies in the prosecution case. And most importantly he failed to interview fundamental witnesses.

Nothing about Linda fits the profile of a malicious murderer. Born on the Caribbean island of St Kitts, then a UK colony, she lived there until she was 23. In St Kitts, she worked as a primary school teacher. After her conviction, investigators from Reprieve visited the island. Here, it was discovered that Linda Carty was still remembered as a passionate teacher who was devoted to her students. Linda was regarded as an outstanding member of the community. She also taught at Sunday school, sang in a national youth choir and led a volunteer social-work group.

The story of Linda Carty's life in St Kitts, her appeal claim says, would have enabled Guerinot to present her to the jurors as 'a dedicated teacher, fearless political voice and community leader' - factors that might well have induced them to vote to spare her life, even if they thought her guilty of murder.

Guerinot applied to the court for funds to go to St Kitts before Linda's trial, neither he nor his staff made the trip.

The fact he made that request means he must have known she was entitled to British citizenship. Yet Guerinot made no attempt to contact the British Consulate. When questioned about the reasons as to why he did not contact the British Consulate he stated, ‘this stuff about calling the British consulate and all is the biggest bunch of bunk I've ever seen.'

"The first we knew she was British was after she was sentenced to death," a Foreign Office spokesman says. "Had we known beforehand, we would have been in touch with her within 24 hours and would have made our position very clear to the Houston authorities - that we are opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances."

The British consulate, he adds, has a list of approved lawyers, and would have helped Carty to change her representation if asked. Needless to say Guerinot is not on that list.

Accused of murder, Linda’s life was on the line. Yet Guerinot didn’t meet her until two weeks before the trial. He failed to develop a relationship with Linda and therefore was unable to build an accurate picture of her. 

Linda said that:

‘she tried to get in touch with him numerous times. He wouldn't accept my collect calls: he would basically hang up every time he heard my name. Even during the voir dire [jury selection] he kept saying, "I'm busy, I'm busy, we'll talk tomorrow" - and tomorrow never came.'

According to Carty's appeal claim, one of the most significant failures made by Guerinot was that he never spoke to her common law husband, Jose Corona.

'I would have testified that Linda did not deserve the death penalty and that I do not believe that she is an aggressive person or a threat to society.’ The second consequence was more serious. Under Texan law, the 'spousal privilege' means a common-law husband cannot be forced to testify against their partner. Corona’s affidavit says, ‘I did not want to get involved in the trial or to testify against Linda, but when the prosecutors office called me, I thought I had no other choice.

Guerinot also failed to contact or investigate Carty’s former Drug Enforcement Agency boss Charlie Mathis, who was willing to speak favourably about Carty’s employment and her character and would have helped trial counsel communicate with Carty. Mathis affidavit states that, ‘I would have testified that she is not a violent person, let alone a cold blooded murder.’

Time is running out for Linda. We can only hope that the damage caused by Jerry Guerinot's failure to defend Linda decently does not result in her execution.