Friday, June 3, 2011

9/11 Hate-Crime Victim Bangladeshi Rais Bhuiyan Defends The Life Of His Attacker. True Story.

The Attacker: Mark Stroman
I personally don't think this gesture will change nothing of this man.. but still.. im not the judge here..

Days after the 9/11 terror attacks, 31-year old laborer Mark Stroman went on a shooting spree in the Dallas area. In a drug-fueled mission of revenge, he killed two South Asian immigrants and shot another — Rais Bhuiyan — in the face at close range, blinding him in one eye.

Shortly after his arrest, Stroman boasted of his role as “Arab Slayer.”

Now, as Stroman faces imminent execution in Texas, an unlikely champion is fighting to save his life: Bhuiyan, who spent years recovering from the wounds he suffered in the attack.

“I’ve had many years to grow spiritually,” said Bhuiyan, a Muslim who immigrated to the U.S. from Bangladesh and now works as technology professional in Dallas. “I’m trying to do my best not to allow the loss of another human life. I’ll knock on every door possible.”

Bhuiyan began collecting signatures late last year on a petition asking the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute Stroman’s death penalty sentence to life in prison without parole through his website “World without Hate.” Now he is working systematically through legal and political channels save Stroman’s life.

If you know anything about Texas and their feelings about the death penalty then you know that this will be an uphill battle.


The seven-member Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles holds the power to recommend a commutation to the governor, but it has only done so in one death penalty case since December 2000, when the current Gov. Rick Perry took office. That recommendation was denied by Perry.

During his administration, 229 death row inmates have been executed — far more than the 152 put to death during predecessor George W. Bush’s term or the 92 executed while Ann Richards occupied the governor’s mansion — a record at the time. Nor has Perry exercised his power to grant a one-time 30-day stay of execution.

Even when immense public pressure has been brought to bear — as was the case before convicted murderer Karla Faye Tucker was put to death — the board has not bent. Tucker became an international cause celebre because of her gender and her widely publicized conversion to Christianity while in prison. She was put to death by lethal injection at Huntsville on Feb. 3, 1998, the first woman to be executed in the United States in 14 years.

“If (clemency) happens in this case (Stroman’s), it would be unprecedented,” said Rick Halperin, who teaches history and runs the Center for Human Rights at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. “If, in fact, the ears, hearts and minds of the parole board and possibly the governor can be persuaded to spare a life, it would be quite a gesture. I would like to say there is a precedent for it in this state, but there isn’t.”

This is truly the act of a man who has forgiveness in his heart. Honestly, we’re not sure we could try to save the life of the man who damn near killed us.

What about you guys? Could you fight to save this man from the chair??

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