Anthony+Ruff+2A

 Toronto Patterson -- who had no criminal record and who was just 17 years old at the time of his offense -- is now scheduled for execution in Texas on August 28, 2002. He was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of three of his cousins in Dallas, Texas. Because he was a juvenile at the time of his crime, Toronto's execution would be contrary to American standards of justice, fairness, and decency as well as international law. This is a call for his sentence to be commuted to life in prison. In appealing for clemency on behalf of Toronto, we do not, in any way, seek either to excuse the crime or to minimize the pain and suffering it caused the family and friends of the victims.