Allridge's case has caught the light of media coverage and the attention of anti-death penalty advocates because of how he has conducted his life since entering Texas' death row 17 years ago. A self-taught artist and writer with no formal training, Allridge, 41, has produced some truly outstanding works in colored pencil, which he sells on the Internet to raise money for his appeals.
Allridge has also to college at Sam Houston State University through their Correspondence Program where he majored in Business Administration and maintained a 4.0 GPA.
His case also gained publicity when actress Susan Sarandon, who has corresponded with Allridge for years and has purchased some of his artwork, recently visited him on death row. Sarandon is an outspoken opponent of the death penalty. She won an Academy Award for her portrayal of anti-capital punishment crusader Sister Helen Prejean in "Dead Man Walking."
Supporters have long fought to have Allridge's sentence changed, but in July when he received an execution date of Aug. 26, 2004 their efforts were stepped up. A press conference by his relatives and supporters Aug. 11 was aimed at putting pressure on the state Board of Pardons and Paroles to recommend life in prison.
Selling Murderabilia
But there are some who are not entirely in agreement with Allridge's supporters. Referring to Allridge's artwork and other personal artifacts as "murderabilia," Andy Kahan of Houston, a crime victim advocate, argues that any profits from the inmate's art sales that are inflated by the prisoner's notoriety should be confiscated under a state law adopted three years ago. The law has never been enforced."It's time to see if this law is more than lip service," Kahan, director of Houston's victims assistance office since 1992, told the Houston Chronicle in Monday's online edition. "It's obvious that Allridge is using his ill-gotten notoriety to make a buck."
There are victim rights advocates who do not believe Allridge's death sentence should be changed, regardless of the "rehabilitation" issues involved, due to the nature of the crime that put him on death row to begin with.
In 1985, James Allridge, his brother Ronald and other accomplices went on a violent robbery and killing spree during which they took turns driving the getaway cars for each other while committing more than 30 robberies in the Fort Worth area. Ronald was executed in 1995 for shooting a 19-year-old diner at a fast-food restaurant during the spree "because she was penniless."
A Deadly Spree
On March 25, 1985, James was arrested along with Ronald for the $300 robbery of a Circle K convenience store and the killing of the store clerk Brian Clendennen. Originally, James had tied up Brian and left him alive, but realized that he and the clerk had attended a management training school together and would recognize him. After leaving the store and thinking about it, James Allridge returned to the story and shot Clendennen in the back of the head. He died three days later.Allridge's talents from death row have not impressed Doris Clendennen, the 64-year-old mother of Brian Clendennen.
"I don't think it's right. I'm sorry," Doris Clendennen told reporters. "My 21-year-old son, Brian, was also an artist and a writer who got up and preached in church. But he never got to fulfill his dreams."
And what does Brian's family think about Susan Sarandon's involvement in the James Allridge case?
"How would she feel if someone tied up her child and shot him in the back of the head, then she had to watch him on life support for three days until he died?" asked Shane Clendennen, who has waited almost two decades for his brother's killer to face justice.
