Search This Blog
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Cathy Henderson-An Innocent Woman On Death Row In Texas
The long wait continues
May 6th, 2010
We continue to wait for news from the court about Cathy's fate.In the meantime, Cathy wanted us to publish a letter for all her supporters. You can read the full letter here, but here is a snippet:
The weeks that stretch between Christmas and Easter are, for me, the hardest in here. Both holidays remind me of the past, when my girls were young and for better or worse, we were alL together. I remember so well the keen anticipation reflected in their eyes on Christmas morning before presents were opened, or how they'd make endless trips to the window to peer outside, trying to get a glimpse of Santa Claus' or the Easter Bunny. I miss those days so much as I'm sure my girls do too. I didn't know at the time, how swiftly they'd pass or how abruptly one's life can be snatched away and replaced by mere survival...
I can't fathom anyone making it through this process of waiting without faith, without a relationship with God.
The wheels of justice grind slowly...
October 13th, 2009
Thanks to all of you who continue to contact us wanting to know if there is any news in Cathy's case. Unfortunately, there has been nothing to report for almost a year now.
We're still waiting for Judge Wisser to make a decision. We hope to hear something by the end of the year, and we'll announce any news on this site as soon as we hear anything.
In the meantime, Cathy still sits on death row. We've been visiting her and witnessing how the wait is wearing her down. Your letters of support are a big help.
One request from Cathy: If you write to her, please include your full name and address. She has received some letters signed simply "Sister Kate" or "Father John" and she is unable to respond unless you provide your full name.
We're all hoping for a good decision from Judge Wisser as soon as possible.
A letter from Cathy
May 28th, 2009
While there is still no decision from Judge Wisser about Cathy's case, Cathy has sent a letter she would like to share with everyone who has been supporting her.
You can read the full text of Cathy's letter here.
We will, of course, let you know as soon as we have any further word about her case.
In the meantime, feel free to write to Cathy using the address on the right. Your letters mean a lot to her.
Latest word
March 9th, 2009
The latest word in Cathy's case is we're still waiting for word.
Earlier this year, Judge Wisser heard testimony from expert witnesses from both sides. This was a chance for the trial judge to hear for himself the evidence about traumatic injuries which last year, when presented to an appellate court, lead to the staying of Cathy's execution. We will let you know as soon as there is any more news about Cathy's case.
Please note: We've been having on-going problems with our email server. If you sent an email to us in the past six or eight weeks, it may have gone missing. We've fixed the problems now. Our apologies if your email has been left unanswered. Please use the Contact Us link on the left to send us email.
News at last!
November 17th 2008
Finally, we have some news to report on Cathy's case.
Today, in Austin, Judge Wisser heard evidence from one of Cathy's expert witnesses. According to one of Cathy's close friends who was in the courtroom, the expert spoke clearly, plainly and explained the evidence beautifully.
This is the first of a series of evidentiary hearings that will occur between now and January. At each of the hearings, Judge Wisser will hear live testimony to fill out the scientific reports already submitted to him.
There'll be no jury for these hearings, just the judge. Cathy's witnesses will testify first, then the State will call opposing witnesses. It's possible Cathy's lawyers will then call on some of its witnesses to give rebuttal testimony.
Also today, Sister Helen Prejean visited Cathy on death row in Gatesville prison and found her in very good spirits. Cathy is relieved and pleased to know that her expert witnesses are having their chance to present their testimony live.
Cathy sends her best wishes to all those who continue to support her.
Supporting Cathy
October 14th 2008
We've been receiving a lot of email from people asking how they can support Cathy while her case is sitting in an apparent limbo.
She always welcomes letters (see her address on the right). It's important that you do not enclose any items other than the letter itself.
She is also struggling financially. Prisoners in Texas have to buy almost everything for themselves, from aspirin to shampoo.
If you'd like to communicate with Cathy or kick in to her inmate trust fund, read her latest letter. You should also read the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's information about sending money to inmates (to which she refers in her letter).
All quiet
September 10th 2008
We continue to have nothing new to report on Cathy's case. This is good news, in at least one way, because it means that Cathy is alive and kicking. On the other hand, it means she's still on death row with no certain future. Until we hear something from the original trial judge, that's where things will remain. We'll update the site the minute we receive any news.
In the meantime, you can always write to Cathy to show her your support, using the address on the right. If you send her a letter, feel free to enclose a photograph, but don't enclose anything else.
News from Cathy
April 10th 2008
Cathy writes in her latest letter that her mother passed away, her youngest daughter is on the verge of finishing high school and there's been no movement with her case. Click the image below to read the whole letter.
We don't know why these is such a delay with her case. By now, we were expecting to have a decision from Judge Wisser, as there has been ample time for the prosecution to build its response to the testimony of Cathy's expert witnesses.
As always, we will let you know as soon as we receive word.
Still waiting...
February 1st 2008
We haven't updated the site in a couple of months. That's because we're still waiting for progress on Cathy's case. The prosecution had until the end of last year to gather information from expert witnesses. Cathy's lawyers are now pushing for a hearing with Judge Wisser to move things forward.
Sister Helen Prejean and Rose Vines from the Death Penalty Discourse Network visited Cathy in mid-January. Apart from problems with her health, she is in good spirits. Being out of segregation means that she can do work for two hours each day, something she really enjoys.
We'll let you know as soon as there's news.
Update and letter from Cathy
November 28th 2007
Cathy's case is still awaiting a return to the district court where she originally stood trial. The prosecution has been given time to gather information from expert witnesses. In the meantime, Cathy has been moved out of segregation and back into the main death row population.
She recently sent a letter to her family, friends and supporters. You can read the full text here. It not only contains news about how Cathy is doing, but also gives a little insight into life on women's death row in Texas.
Update from Sister Helen
I visited Cathy on September 29th and had one of our best visits ever. She has moved to the work tier and now will be able to get out of her cell two hours a day, and go to the workroom, where she will get to do one of her favorite things: crochet an afghan. Cathy loves needlework and has missed it terribly over the past several years. She also will be able now to get one hour of exercise in the yard ("I need sunshine," she says, "look at how white and anemic I look.") She is also permitted to watch two hours of television. She's very happy about these changes in her situation. (She's happy to be ALIVE.)
Legally, George Cumming, point man of our excellent lawyer team, says that we're waiting until the end of October to see what the formal response of the state will be to the Court of Criminal Appeals' June 11 decision to mandate further hearings. When Cathy's legal team gets their response, they will respond. Sometime in November or, perhaps, December, the hearing will take place in the courtroom where the original trial was held.
Big question: Will the prosecution demand a new trial or not?
Along with Cathy, we pray and wait. As soon as we receive the date of the hearing, we'll make it known so as many of you as possible can attend the hearing to show support for Cathy.
Thank you for all your prayers and loving support for Cathy. She continues to receive 10-15 letters and cards a day. No words can express what that loving support means to her, who came within two days of being killed by the state of Texas. Keep those cards and letters coming. Cathy lives! And that is a miracle.
Letter from Cathy
September 23rd 2007
Dear Family and friends,
Hello, it's me again. I just wanted to write and let you know that I won't be going to court this September like I had originally believed.
Sister Helen was kind enough to contact one of my lawyers and they gave their "guestimate" date to be around the end of November.
It's a relief and a disappointment. It's a relief because I had been stressing over it. A disappointment because it's just more of that hurry and wait stuff that grates on your nerves.
I've asked to be put back on the work program. That will help alleviate some of my anxiousness. I'm excited to get back to my crocheting. I started a beautiful afghan for one of the officers that I'd like to finish.
When a death row offender goes from a status of not working to a working status it takes a little while to get approval. Even though I was approved to go back to work from the Warden and Lt. here on the unit, I still have to wait until the unit gets approval from headquarters which is in Huntsville.
If I get approved from there I will get two hours of rec. and I will get the option of going inside the dayroom to watch TV or going outside to walk the yard. I will also be able to visit inside the non-contact area and not inside a cage. I guess that doesn't sound like a whole lot of privileges but when you are locked up in a cell 23/7 it starts to work on your mental stability. Lord, being under a death sentence is enough.
My daughter, Jennifer, is back at school and doing well. I hope and pray it stays that way. My senior year was a lot of fun but I took a lot of electives. So, I got out at noon because of the DECA program. Jennifer hasn't done that which sort of surprised me. She took a full load. I just hope she finds some time to enjoy her last year there.
Oh yes, my biggest news: If all goes well I will get to visit with Sister Helen the 26th of this months. It's always so refreshing to my soul to get a visit with her. Don't know how she does it but she is always able to put me in the best of moods. Even when I'm feeling down and negative. The only explanation I've been able to come up with is that she is anointed by God.
I have lots of fun plans for her and hope that she has the time to have a little fun while she's here. Her calendar makes me tired just looking at it. Of all people she deserves an evening out for dinner amongst friends and family. Continue to keep her in your prayers. That all her endless days of work will bear fruit in the near future. That she will be successful in her quest for the abolition of the death penalty.
I'd also like to ask that you pray for my middle daughter Amber and her precious family. They are going through some difficulties right now as every young couple does. Also, that you continue your prayers for my best friend Karen Burns Dailey. She is nearing the end of her chemo treatments which have zapped her energy and zest for life. She has always been my strength and encouragement when I felt I couldn't go on. I miss her and her Pollyanna self. Now, she has to go through six weeks of radiation five days a week. The drive alone is enough for a healthy person to just want to lay down and say forget it. So, please keep her in your daily prayers. I pray that the radiation doesn't affect her nearly as bad as the chemo did. I also pray that she will never have to go through these treatments ever again. That she remains in remission for the rest of her life. Cancer is a terrible thing. It ravages the best of people's bodies and minds. I watched my father-in-law die of cancer and it was horrible. He went from 190 pounds to about 98 pounds. He was a good Christian man with a heart bigger than Texas. I miss him, as I know his wife and sons do. I wish we could find a complete cure for cancer so no-one would have to go through its agonies any longer.
Okay, I guess that's about all I have to report for today. I want you to know that just thinking about you and how you have taken me under your wing and are praying fervently for me makes me happy. Thanks for being there for me even when we can't be together. My thoughts, my heart, and my love are with you.
In God's unconditional love,
Cathy
IN MEMORIAM: FRED LIST
It is with deep sadness that we report the death of Fred List, one of Cathy Henderson's staunchest supporters and friends.On March 13, when Fred and his wife Kathy were showing someone on Cathy's case the way back to the highway from their home, they crossed through some low water flowing over the bridge at Berry Creek. The car stalled and the water rose. During the rescue Fred was carried away and drowned. Kathy was rescued.
For the past six years Fred has been tireless in his efforts to save Cathy from execution and from death row. Anyone who has met Fred will know Cathy could have had no more determined and thorough an ally. We'll all miss his passion and commitment, his impish humor, and time spent with Fred and Kathy together at the Donkey Ranch.
Our sympathy and thoughts are with Kathy and all Fred's family.
You can read Fred's obituary here. Note that his family has asked that in lieu of flowers, people send clemency letters for Cathy Henderson.
Cathy Henderson has been on death row in Gatesville, Texas for 15 years.
Please show Cathy your support by writing to her:
Cathy Henderson
DR #999148
Mt. View Unit
2305 Ransom Rd
Gatesville, TX 76528
DR #999148
Mt. View Unit
2305 Ransom Rd
Gatesville, TX 76528
SITE UPDATED
May 6th, 2010
Other women on death row
There are eight other women on death row in Texas, all with very limited contact with the outside world. Cathy encourages you to reach out to these women, too.
Click the Other Women On Death Row link on the left to find out how you can write to them.
Russia's Spy Network In The US
The Dismantling of a Suspected Russian Intelligence Operation
July 1, 2010
Related Special Topic Page
Recommended External Links
STRATFOR is not responsible for the content of other Web sites.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced June 28 that an FBI counterintelligence investigation had resulted in the arrest on June 27 of 10 individuals suspected of acting as undeclared agents of a foreign country, in this case, Russia. Eight of the individuals were also accused of money laundering. On June 28, five of the defendants appeared before a federal magistrate in U.S. District Court in Manhattan while three others went before a federal magistrate in Alexandria, Va., and two more went before a U.S. magistrate in Boston. An 11th person named in the criminal complaint was arrested in Cyprus on June 29, posted bail and is currently at large.
The number of arrested suspects in this case makes this counterintelligence investigation one of the biggest in U.S. history. According to the criminal complaint, the FBI had been investigating some of these people for as long as 10 years, recording conversations in their homes, intercepting radio and electronic messages and conducting surveillance on them in and out of the United States. The case suggests that the classic tactics of intelligence gathering and counterintelligence are still being used by Russia and the United States.
Cast of Characters
The following are the 11 individuals detained in the investigation, along with summaries of their alleged activities listed in the criminal complaint:
Christopher Metsos
· Claimed to originally be from Canada.
· Acted as an intermediary between the Russian mission to the United Nations in New York and suspects Richard Murphy, Cynthia Murphy, Michael Zottoli and Patricia Mills.
· Traveled to and from Canada.
· Met with Richard Murphy at least four times between February 2001 and April 2005 at a restaurant in New York.
· Was first surveilled in 2001 in meetings with other suspects.
· Left the United States on June 17 and was detained in Cyprus on June 29, but appears to have skipped bail.
Richard and Cynthia Murphy· Claimed to be married and to be U.S. citizens.
· First surveilled by the FBI in 2001 during meetings with Mestos.
· Also met with the third secretary in the Russian mission to the United Nations.
· Communicated electronically with Moscow.
· Richard Murphy’s safe-deposit box was searched in 2006 and agents found a birth certificate claiming he was born in Philadelphia; city officials claim there is no such birth certificate on record.
· Engaged in electronic communications with Moscow.
· Traveled to Moscow via Italy in February 2010.
Donald Heathfield and Tracey Foley· Claimed to be married and to be natives of Canada who are naturalized U.S. citizens.
· FBI searched a safe-deposit box listed under their names in January 2001.
· FBI discovered that Donald Heathfield’s identity had been taken from a deceased child by the same name in Canada and found old photos of Foley taken with Soviet film.
· Engaged in electronic communications with Moscow.
· Tracey Foley traveled to Moscow via Paris in March 2010.
Michael Zottoli and Patricia Mills· Claimed to be married and to be a U.S. citizen (Zottoli) and a Canadian citizen (Mills).
· First surveilled in June 2004 during a meeting with Richard Murphy.
· Engaged in electronic communications with Moscow.
Juan Lazaro and Vicky Pelaez· Claimed to be married and to be a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Peru (Pelaez) and a Peruvian citizen born in Uruguay (Lazaro).
· First surveilled at a meeting in a public park in an unidentified South American country in January 2000.
· Evidence against Vicky Pelaez was the first gathered on the 11 suspected operatives.
· Lazaro appeared to communicate with a diplomat at the Russian Embassy in an unidentified South American country.
· Engaged in electronic communications with Moscow.
Anna Chapman· First surveillance mentioned was in Manhattan in January 2010.
· Communicated with a declared diplomat in the Russian mission to the United Nations on Wednesdays.
· Knowingly accepted a fraudulent passport from an undercover FBI agent whom she believed to be a Russian diplomatic officer June 26, but turned it in to the police the next day shortly before her arrest.
Mikhail Semenko· First surveillance mentioned in the criminal complaint was in June 2010 in Washington.
· Revealed to an undercover officer that he had received training and instruction from “the center” (a common term for the Moscow headquarters of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR).
· Accepted a payment of $5,000 and followed orders given by an undercover FBI agent posing as a Russian diplomatic officer to deliver the money to a drop site in Washington.
Their Mission
According to the FBI, some of the alleged “undeclared agents” moved to the United States in the 1990s, while others (such as Anna Chapman) did not arrive until 2009. The FBI says nine of the suspects were provided with fake identities and even fake childhood photos and cover stories (part of what would be called a “legend”) in order to establish themselves in the United State under “deep cover.” Chapman and Semenko used their own Russian identities (Chapman is divorced and may have taken her surname from her former husband). The true nationalities of the other suspects are unknown, but several passages in the criminal complaint indicate that most of them were originally from Russia. The Russian SVR allegedly provided the suspects with bank accounts, homes, cars and regular payments in order to facilitate “long-term service” inside the United States, where, according to the criminal complaint, the individuals were supposed to “search [for] and develop ties in policymaking circles” in the United States.The FBI criminal complaint provides evidence that two of the deep-cover couples (Heathfield/Foley and Lazaro/Palaez) and the two short-term cover agents (Semenko and Chapman) were operating without knowledge of each other or in connection with the other two couples and Metsos, who did interact. This suggests that they would not have formed one network, as is being reported, but perhaps discrete networks. The criminal complaint provides evidence indicating that most of the operatives were being run out of the SVR residence at the U.N. mission.
It is unclear exactly how successful the 11 accused individuals were in finding and developing those ties in policymaking circles. The criminal complaint accuses the individuals of sending everything from information on the gold market from a financier in New York (a contact that Moscow apparently found helpful, since it reportedly encouraged further contact with the source) to seeking out potential college graduates headed for jobs at the CIA. The criminal complaint outlines one recorded conversation in which Lazaro told Pelaez that his handlers were not pleased with his reports because he wasn’t attributing them properly. Pelaez then advised Lazaro to “put down any politician” (to whom the information could be attributed) in order to appease the handlers, indicating that the alleged operatives did not always practice scrupulous tradecraft in their work. Improperly identifying sources in the field ultimately diminishes the value of the information, since it cannot be adequately assessed without knowing where it came from. If these kinds of shortcuts were normally taken by Pelaez, Lazaro and others, then it would reduce their value to the SVR and the harm that they may have done to the United States. The suspects were allegedly instructed by their handlers in the United States and Russia to not pursue high-level government jobs, since their legends were not strong enough to withstand a significant background investigation. But they allegedly were encouraged to make contact with high-level government officials, in order to have a finger on the pulse of policymaking in Washington.
Tradecraft
The criminal complaint alleges that the suspects used traditional tradecraft of the clandestine services to communicate with each other and send reports to their handlers. The suspects allegedly transmitted messages to Moscow containing their reports encrypted in “radiograms” (short-burst radio transmissions that appear as Morse code) or written in invisible ink, and met in third countries for payments and briefings. They are also said to have used “brush passes” (the quick and discreet exchange of materials between one person and another) and “flash meets” (seemingly innocuous, brief encounters) to transfer information, equipment and money. The criminal complaint also gives examples of operatives using coded phrases with each other and with their operators to confirm each other’s identities.In addition to the traditional tradecraft described in the criminal complaint, there are also new operational twists. The suspects allegedly used e-mail to set up electronic dead drops to transmit encrypted intelligence reports to Moscow, and several operatives were said to have used steganography (embedding information in seemingly innocuous images) to encrypt messages. Chapman and Semenko allegedly employed private wireless networks hosted by a laptop programmed to communicate only with a specific laptop. The FBI claims to have identified networks (and may have intercepted the messages transmitted) that had been temporarily set up when a suspect was in proximity to a known Russian diplomat. These electronic meetings occurred frequently, according to the FBI, and allowed operatives and their operators to communicate covertly without actually being seen together.
Operations are said to have been run largely out of Russia’s U.N. mission in New York, meaning that when face-to-face meetings were required, declared diplomats from the U.N. mission could do the job. According to the criminal complaint, Russian diplomats handed off cash to Christopher Metsos on at least two occasions, and he allegedly distributed it to various other operatives (which provided the grounds for the charge of money laundering). The actual information gathered from the field appears to have gone directly to Russia, according to the complaint.
It is important to note that the accused individuals were not charged with espionage; the charge of acting as an undeclared agent of a foreign state is less serious. The criminal complaint never alleges that any of the 11 individuals received or transmitted classified information. This doesn’t mean that the suspects weren’t committing espionage. (Investigators will certainly learn more about their activities during interrogation and trial preparation.) According to the criminal complaint, their original guidance from Moscow was to establish deep cover. This means that they would have been tasked with positioning themselves over time in order gain access to valuable information (it is important to point out that “valuable” is not synonymous with “classified”) through their established occupations or social lives. This allows agents to gain access to what they want without running unnecessary security risks.
Any intelligence operation must balance operational security with the need to gather intelligence. Too much security and the operative is unable to do anything; but if intelligence gathering is too aggressive, the handlers risk losing an intelligence asset. If these people were operating in deep cover, the SVR probably invested quite a bit of time and money training and cultivating them, likely well before they arrived in the United States. According to information in the criminal complaint, the suspects were actively meeting with potential sources, sending reports back to Moscow and interacting with declared Russian diplomats in the United States, all the while running the risk of being caught. But they also took security measures, according to the complaint. There is no evidence that they attempted to reach out to people who would have fallen outside their natural professional and social circles, which could have raised suspicions. In many ways, these individuals appear to have acted more like recruiters, seeking out people with access to valuable information, rather than agents trying to gain access to that information themselves. However, all we know now is based on what was released in the criminal complaint. An investigation that lasted this long surely has an abundance of evidence (much of it likely classified) that wasn’t included in the complaint.
Counterintelligence
According to authorities, the suspected operatives were under heavy surveillance by U.S. counterintelligence agents for 10 years. Working out of Boston, New York and Washington, the FBI employed its Special Surveillance Group to track suspects in person; place video and audio recorders in their homes and at meeting places to record communications; search their homes and safe-deposit boxes; intercept e-mail and electronic communications; and deploy undercover agents to entrap the suspects.Counterintelligence operations don’t just materialize out of thin air. There has to be a tip or a clue that puts investigators on the trail of a suspected undeclared foreign agent. As suggested by interviews with the suspects’ neighbors, none of them displayed unusual behavior that would have tipped the neighbors off. All apparently had deep (but not airtight) legends going back decades that allayed suspicion. The criminal complaint did not suggest how the U.S. government came to suspect these people of reporting back to the SVR in Russia, although we did notice that the beginning of the investigation coincides with the time that a high-level SVR agent stationed at Russia’s U.N. mission in New York began passing information to the FBI. Sergei Tretyakov (who told his story in the book by Pete Earley called “Comrade J,” an abbreviation of his SVR codename, “Comrade Jean”), passed information to the FBI from the U.N. mission from 1997 to 2000, just before he defected to the United States in October 2000. According to the criminal complaint, seven of the 11 suspects were connected to Russia’s U.N. mission, though evidence of those links did not begin to emerge until 2004 (and some as late as 2010). The timing of Tretyakov’s cooperation with the U.S. government and the timing of the beginning of this investigation resulting in the arrest of the 11 suspects this week suggests that Tretyakov may have been the original source who tipped off the U.S. government. So far, the evidence is circumstantial — the timing and the location match up — but Tretyakov, as the SVR operative at Russia’s U.N. mission, certainly would have been in a position to know about operations involving most of the people arrested June 27.
Why Now?
Nothing in the complaint indicates why, after more than 10 years of investigation, the FBI decided to arrest the 11 suspects June 27. It is not unusual for investigations to be drawn out for years, since much information on tradecraft and intent can be obtained by watching foreign intelligence agencies operate without knowing they are being watched. Extended surveillance can also reveal additional contacts and build a stronger case. As long as the suspects aren’t posing an immediate risk to national security (and judging by the criminal complaint, these 11 suspects were not), there is little reason for the authorities to show their hand and conclude a fruitful counterintelligence operation.It has been suggested that some of the suspects were a flight risk, so agents arrested all of them in order to prevent them from escaping the United States. Metsos left the United States on June 17 and was arrested in Cyprus on June 29, however, his whereabouts are currently unknown, as he has not reported back to Cypriot authorities after posting bail. A number of the suspects left and came back to the United States numerous times, and investigators appear not to have been concerned about these past comings and goings. It isn’t clear why they would have been concerned about someone leaving at this point.
The timing of the arrests so soon after U.S. President Barack Obama’s June 25 meeting with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev also raises questions about political motivations. Medvedev was in Washington to talk with Obama in an attempt to improve relations between the two countries on the day the FBI officially filed the criminal complaint. The revelation of a network of undeclared foreign agents operating in the United States would ordinarily have a negative effect on relations between the United States and the foreign country in question. In this case, though, officials from both countries made public statements saying they hoped the arrests would not damage ties, and neither side appears to be trying to leverage the incident. Indeed, if there were political motivations behind the timing of the arrests, they remain a mystery.
Whatever the motivations, now that the FBI has these suspects in custody it will be able to interrogate them and probably gather even more information on the operation. The charges for now don’t include espionage, but the FBI could very well be withholding this charge in order to provide an incentive for the suspects to plea bargain. We expect considerably more information on this unprecedented case to come out in the following weeks and months, revealing much about Russian clandestine operations and their targets in the United States.
| Give us your thoughts on this report For Publication Not For Publication | Read comments on other reports Reader Comments |
"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)