Contact Texas Officials, Newspapers, and Other Organizations

Many people contact us and ask what they can do to help Michael’s situation. We are asking that Michael’s supporters send letters and emails to the following addresses in order to raise awareness and hopefully garner some interest in his case. Below you will find a list of media outlets, organizations, and individuals, as well as some tips on writing support letters and sample letters. Our aim is to do a mass mailing, with many supporters contacting all of these addresses at once in order to get their attention. If you cannot send a letter or email to every address listed, then please contact as many you can. Michael is dependant upon those of us on the outside; he needs us to be his voice. It may not seem like you can make a difference, but one letter and a stamp could be the catalyst to his freedom!

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS:

Governor Rick Perry
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711-2428
Phone: 512-463-1782
Fax: 512-463-1849

Attorney General Greg Abbott
PO Box 12548
Austin, TX 78711-2548
Phone: 512-463-2100

Senator John Cornyn
Occidental Tower
5005 LBJ Freeway
Suite 1150
Dallas, Texas 75244
Phone: 972-239-1310
Fax: 972-239-2110

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
961 Federal Building
300 East 8th Street
Austin, Texas 78701
Phone: 512-916-5834
Fax: 512-916-5839

John Whitmire
Chair, Texas Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
P.O. Box 12068
Capitol Station
Austin, Texas 78711
Phone: 512-463-0115

NEWS OUTLETS:

NBC news
dateline@nbc.com
STORY SUGGESTIONS
Dateline NBC
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

ABC News [20/20/Primetime/Nighline]
7 WEST 66th Street
New York, NY 10023.
2020@abc.com
abc.news.magazines@abc.com Subject: PRIMETIME
niteline@abc.com Subject: NIGHTLINE

CBS 48 Hours Mystery
48 Hours
524 West 57th St.
New York, NY 10019
48hours@cbsnews.com.

CBS 60 Minutes: 60 Minutes
524 West 57th St.
New York, NY 10019
60m@cbsnews.com

ORGANIZATIONS:

Center for Constitutional Rights
666 Broadway 7th Floor
New York NY 10012

Amnesty International US Office
5 Penn Plaza - 14th floor
New York
NY 10001

Amnesty International State Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator
SMU PO Box 750172,
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX 75275
Rick Halperin--contact
214-363-8087 (day)
214 768 3284 (fax)
rhalperi@mail.smu.eduBe-mail

Texas ACLU State Headquarters
P.O. Box 12905
Austin, TX 78711-2905
William Harrell--contact
512-441-0077 (day)
510-441-3195 (fax)
info@aclutx.org

ACLU of Texas -- Eastern Region
P.O. Box 132047
Houston, TX 77219
Michael Skadden/Marta Glass--contacts
713-942-8966 (day)
713-942-8146 (fax)

Center on Wrongful Convictions
Northwestern University School of Law
357 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60611

Campaign to End the Death Penalty
Austin Chapter
Lily Hughes--contact
512 494 0667 (phone)
lilymae30@hotmail.com

Catholic Death Row Ministry
P.O. Box 1328
Howe, TX 75459-1328
Michael Denson--contact
903-892-9424 (phone)

HOPE of CURE
P.O. Box 1176
Burleson, TX 76097
Ken and Lois Robison--contacts
817-295-5715 (day)
817-295-8817 (fax)
klr_cure_hope@juno.com

Impact
P.O. Box 214463
Dallas, TX 75221

The Prison Show
KPFT Radio, 90.1 FM
419 Lovett Blvd.
Houston, TX 77006
Ray Hill/Marta Glass--contacts
713-942-8146 (phone)
mglass15@juno.com

Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
3400 Montrose Blvd., Suite 312
Houston, TX 77006
David Atwood--contact
713-520-0300 (day)
713-529-3826 (eve)
713-940-8146 (fax)
dpatwood@igc.apc.org
http://www.tcadp.org

Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement
SHAPE Center
3903 Almeda Road
Houston, TX 77004
Gloria Rubac--contact
713 521 0629 (day)
713 563 7020 (eve)
713 521 1185 (fax)
abolitionmovement@juno.com
http://www.geocities.com/abolitionmovement

Texas Innocence Network
University of Houston Law Center
100 Law Center
Houston, Texas 77204-6371

University of Texas Center for Actual Innocence
University of Texas School of Law
727 East Dean Keeton Street
Austin, TX 78705

TIPS FOR WRITING SUPPORT LETTERS:

1. Keep it short! Most of these organizations and individuals are bombarded with requests everyday; they are busy, cynical, and do not have time to wade through excessively long letters. Thus, keep all correspondence under one page long (see example below).

2. If the name of a person is given along with the organization, please address your letter to that individual. It is always better to address letters personally. Avoid phrases like to whom it may concern etc. If no name is given, address it to the organization.

3. Please remember to direct the contact to Michael’s website, http://www.savemichaelperry.info

4. Please remember to include Michael’s TDCJ address:

   Michael Perry 999444
   12 CD-50 Polunsky Unit
   3872 fm 350 South
   Livingston TX 77351

5. Always be professional and polite. If you receive a response, even if it is a rejection, send a thank you follow-up (see example below). Also, remember to run spell-check on your letters/emails; we want to be taken seriously and what we put out there is a reflection upon Michael.

6. I find it helpful to print out the list of contacts and check them off as I contact each one, including the date of mailing, and keep track of any responses on the list as they come in.

7. Do not get discouraged if your letters/emails do not receive immediate response. Remember there is power in numbers! If these organizations and individuals receive mass mailings from all of Michael’s supporters, they will take notice.

8. Spread the word: tell your family, your friends, your peers, your co-workers. Six degrees of separation! You never know who in your circle of acquaintances may be the missing link to someone who has the power to help Michael.

The following is an EXAMPLE of a support letter. You can use this as a template for your own letter. Please use your own words, and use whatever facts are most compelling to you. It is always more effective to speak from your heart, but if you need a starting point, feel free to use and modify this example:

Dear______________ (Insert name of contact/organization)

I am writing you on behalf of Michael Perry, an inmate on Texas death row, because I am convinced Michael is innocent.

Michael was convicted of the 2001 murder of Sandra Stotler, despite being ruled out as a match to physical evidence at the scene, solely on the basis of a false confession extorted from him by police while he was intoxicated, suffering from a head injury, and denied his requests for an attorney.

During trial, the State’s own witnesses alibi Michael at the time the State claims the murder occurred, and the Medical Examiner placed the victim’s time of death on a date when Michael was in jail on a separate charge, rendering it impossible for him to be the perpetrator. Michael’s ineffective trial attorneys failed to bring these inconsistencies to the jury’s attention.

The State’s star witness against Michael, Kristin Willis, was given complete criminal immunity in exchange for her testimony. Kristin Willis’s step-father is a veteran police officer in the county where this crime occurred. A shirt belonging to Kristin Willis was covered in blood back spatter (the technical name for the pattern of blood projected from the victim back toward the shooter); however this information did not come to light during Michael’s trial. Conveniently, the State now claims this potentially exculpatory evidence has been lost or destroyed. Kristin Willis’s bias is further demonstrated by her engagement to Michael’s co-defendant, Jason Burkett. Kristin admitted on the stand during Michael’s trial that she was afraid of Burkett and that she had repeatedly lied to police regarding her knowledge of the murder.

Michael requests an opportunity to get his story out to the public. Michael is currently represented by Vinson & Elkins and is awaiting the ruling on his federal Habeas Corpus petition. Michael’s case has already generated world-wide support and public interest as evidenced by the over 1,100 signatures on his online petition. He has also been featured in two foreign magazines.

I urge you to please view Michael’s website, www.savemichaelperry.info, for a more comprehensive case summary. Please help save Michael.

Respectfully,
(your name and contact info)

Michael Perry 999444
12 CD-50 Polunsky Unit
3872 fm 350 South
Livingston TX 77351

EXAMPLE OF A FOLLOW UP TO A REJECTION:

Dear___________ (name or organization),

Thank you for your response.

Although I am disappointed that you (or name of organization) cannot assist Michael Perry at this time, I hope that you (or name of organization) will keep Michael in mind in the event circumstances change.

Should you reconsider, please contact me at my address given below or contact Michael directly at:

Michael Perry 999444
12 CD-50 Polunsky Unit
3872 fm 350 South
Livingston TX 77351

Again, thank you for your time.

Respectfully,
(your name and contact info)

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