2,000 celebrate Gary Graham's life

Gary Graham was executed last week for a 1981 murder.

By SALATHEIA BRYANT

June 30, 2000 Web posted at: 9:37 AM EDT (1337 GMT)

HOUSTON, Texas (The Houston Chronicle) -- A week after Gary Graham's execution in Huntsville, about 2,000 mourners gathered Thursday to celebrate the life of the convicted killer.

At the funeral, which lasted about three hours, ministers and lay people called Graham by the name Shaka Sankofa, who had evolved from a wayward youth into a revolutionary who had inspired others to mobilize to end the death penalty.

Several times speakers mentioned some of Graham's final words spoken in the death chamber, and occasionally a mourner would shout out "Shaka lives" or stand with a raised fist in agreement with speakers.

There were also standing ovations and a call for mourners to get involved with the anti-death penalty movement.

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"Faith lifted him above fear. The enemy can't lock up faith," the Rev. Jesse Jackson said in a 42-minute eulogy. "The enemy can't bury faith. The enemy can't steal faith. When it's dark, you fight fate with faith."

Jackson also told the crowd to support a House bill that calls for a minimum seven-year national moratorium on the death penalty.

Jackson's son, a U.S. representative, and other lawmakers have introduced the bill.

He asked those who were 18 and older who weren't registered to vote to stand up, and ushers handed them voter registration cards.

At the close of the service, the Rev. Chris Wright referred to the voter registration card by setting a death date for Bush.

"That voter registration card is unique and November 7 we're going to strap his (Bush's) campaign to the gurney," Wright said.

Graham supporters have been critical of Bush because he refused to stop the execution. However, Bush was powerless to stop the execution, though he indicated moments before Graham's death that he was not inclined to do so anyway.

In Graham's paid obituary in the Chronicle on Wednesday, it said: "Executed by the State of Texas under the Governorship of George W. Bush. Despite his innocence, Shaka Sankofa, was a leader who will be missed by many around the world."

The funeral was an ecumenical service that included a Muslim minister praying in Arabic; a Catholic priest saying Graham was a "child of God in the arms of his father" and a prayer by the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell of Windsor Village United Methodist Church.

Jackson told mourners the funeral cost about $10,000. However, Community of Faith Pastor James W.E. Dixon II later said Jackson was underestimating and that the cost was closer to $15,000. They asked for people to give money to defray the cost, saying the family did not ask them to take up the collection.

Parishioners put checks and cash into wicker baskets that were passed around by church ushers.

The 2,500-seat auditorium at Community of Faith Church was nearly full, as well as a memorial service Wednesday.

A number of Houston pastors were also seated in the audience along with local leaders, including state Rep. Ron Wilson, NAACP President Howard Jefferson and local anti-death penalty activists.

Following the service, Jackson said executions should be televised. He also called for the 135 executions carried out under Bush to be investigated to determine if any innocent people have been killed.

"This is public property. Put these on television," Jackson said. "Let America be the jury. I think it would turn most Americans stomachs and start them thinking again. If we dare to kill people let us dare to watch them."

Graham was put to death by lethal injection for the capital murder of Bobby Grant Lambert, 53, of Tuscon, Ariz., who was shot to death May 1981 in the parking lot of a Houston supermarket. He was suspected in a string of robberies and a rape during a one-week crime spree that investigators say began with the murder of Lambert.

Texas executes Graham for 1981 murder despite his pleas of innocence

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