Published: June 11, 2008 10:53 pm      

Inmate’s family, friends protest execution

The family of Felecia Prechtl watched Karl Eugene Chamberlain become the first Texas death row inmate to be executed since late September 2007.

Chamberlain, who raped and killed Prechtl 17 years ago in Dallas, was pronounced dead at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday after he was given the lethal injection at 6:21.

While Chamberlain’s half-sister and five friends witnessed his execution from behind another glass window, his mother stood in front of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Walls Unit protesting the death penalty.

Mu’ina Arthur of Las Vegas, N.M., chose not to see her son executed a short distance away.

She was among 20 protesters waving signs in opposition of the death penalty or voicing their viewpoint verbally.

Chamberlain became the 406th person executed in Texas.

“This country is a fascist country,” Arthur said, using a megaphone. “This is not a compassionate America. We have to stand on God’s law. Jesus was a pacifist. Jesus was a pacifist.”

“How many men has the state of Texas murdered who were innocent?” she cried out. “Many. They’re dead, they’re gone, they’re martyrs.”

“Let all the countries around the world put the pressure on The United States of America,” Arthur said with Ron Carlson standing next to her. “The leader of killing. The leader of mayhem. We’re talking about human beings, we’re talking about my son.

“He’s a jewel; he’s a teddy bear; and yeah, he messed up. He didn’t have a criminal record, and he’s not a bad man. He’s a good man. He’s a jewel compared to most. Compare him to Bush. God, oh Jesus save us.

“God is truth. My son is a believer, you’re gonna, hey ... he ain’t dead yet.”

“This is not the first time I’ve stood with an inmate’s family,” said Carlson, brother of Deborah Thornton Carlson, who was killed by Karla Faye Tucker.

“Not only are the people that were murdered, their families, are victims, but every time an execution takes place the family of the inmate is being victimized, too,” Carlson said. “And that’s something that the media needs to report.

“I’m sure you’ve heard her sobs; I’m sure you took photographs; you know she’s hurting. That’s the reality of the death penalty. Nothing is going to change by killing Karl Chamberlain.

“The victim’s family may think that now this is over, but in the end, it never ends. If it did, I wouldn’t be here today.”

When asked why she would not bear witness to the end of her son’s life, Arthur said, “My daughter is there. I’ve been with people who’ve died. It’s a real special reality; murder is a different thing. They’re murdering my son; he’s not dying.”

To the family of Felecia Carol Prechtl, Arthur had a solitary message.

“I love ... I just love,” she said. “I wish that moment had never happened. There aren’t any words when you lose a child. I love them.”

Standing in front of Arthur was Capital “X” – best known for his work with Walk 4 Life.

He was videotaping her message for his own use to help demonstrate the pain felt by the families of the executed, a view he felt was not appropriately covered by today’s media.

“It really hurts me to see all these people hurting, all these people with love and compassion, and then you’ve got these jokers over here (gestures to TDCJ guards standing close by) smirking and laughing,” he said. “I’m not saying they’re all bad, there’s some of them who don’t believe in the death penalty.

“But to stand there and smirk while this woman is getting her heart torn out to me is like disrespect. There’s not even a word for it. But if you put the camera on them they’re quick to turn their faces.”

As the news reached Arthur that her son had been executed, she hugged Lamp of Hope member Karen Sebung, and cried out in agony.