Texas Carries Out 400th Execution - Bush Wants To End Appeals Process For Death Row Inmates
By Logan Murphy Thursday Aug 23, 2007 1:01pm
And the culture of life continues...
Via The Telegraph UK:
A man convicted of shooting dead a store clerk during a robbery has become the 400th person to be executed by Texas since the US Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976.
The southern state accounts for almost a third of the 1,091 American executions over the last three decades, and this year it will be responsible for almost two thirds - 21 out of 35 judicial killings so far.
About 14 protestors gathered outside the Huntsville Unit in Huntsville, Texas, as Johnny Conner - who has never confessed to his crime - was executed by lethal injection last night.
Conner, 32, was convicted in 1999 of killing Kathyanna Nguyen, 49, by shooting her in the face during an attempted robbery of the Houston petrol station and convenience store where she worked.
"What is happening to me now is unjust and the system is broken," Conner said as he lay strapped to the execution gurney. Read more...
George Bush has turned the killing of human beings into an art form, so it comes as no surprise that he and Alberto Gonzales are attempting to fast track executions nationwide by doing away with the appeals process for death row inmates. (h/t Dcup)
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Who would Jesus kill?
No no guys so you mean shooting someone in the face isnt a crime?
[Deleted. Off topic]
Bush's love of killing humans is an extension of his blowing up frogs with firecrackers.
Sorry, but it sounds like this guy committed the crime for which he was executed. Let's save our outrage for when condemned inmates who might actually be innocent get executed.
The state must kill people to show that killing people is wrong.
Funny how republicans are for "small" government but have no problem with the government deciding what can and can not be done in our bedrooms, what we put in our bodies, what females can do with their reproductive choices, etc. Interestingly enough, some of my conservative ex-acquaintances viewed the personal choice of ending one's life as immoral and criminal (either assisted suicide or euthanasia were big no-nos for them), yet the had no problem with the state sanctioning when one's life should be terminated.
I guess in order to support some of the things Boosh et al stand for one must leave logic outside the door...
JudyLou do you think shooting someone in the face and robbing His/Her stole is not a crime???
Bush just wants the power to control your life - and choose when people live or die.
Sounds like Caesar to me...not the "leader of the free world."
It seems these politicians never get enough power - we give them a little for "good reasons" and sooner or later we end up with people like Bush that want endless power.
Ok, that's my little rant. Read on for more if you'd like:
"Political Power and its Peddlers"
http://www.populistamerica.com/political_power_and_its_peddlers
John Doe @ 2:
Being against the death penalty does not imply innocence for the convicted.
State sponsored executions--no matter the crime--is wrong, wrong, WRONG.
Um...when was 400 only almost a third of 1,091???
Nice to see we aren't the only ones whose media employ the illiterate.
Why would this guy say, "Please forgive me" to the victims family if he was innocent? Not a big fan of the death penalty but that makes no sense.
Look at the company we keep:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment
Is this who we want to be like?
But then, we were kinda the last to get on board that whole slavery thing.
I admit I'm ambivalent on this issue. I can't say that I have a problem with executing people who are guilty of heinous crimes. I don't believe that executions are a deterrent to criminal behavior, nor are prison sentences.
Now if the appeals process is taken away, I will be decidedly against the death penalty. The appeals process gives people who may have been unfairly convicted, a chance to restate their case. It gives innocent people, a possible escape from injustice.
I can't be ambivalent about a system that executes people with no chance for appeals.
Next thing you know, Bush will want a closed circuit TV with surround sound stereo put in the Oval Office so that he can sit in and watch every execution up close and personal with his bucket of hot buttered popcorn.. He can use his TIVO and replay it over and over again.
Bush gets off on having the power to kill and torture people. I really believe he does. Especially after reading the book "Bush On The Couch" by Dr. Justin Frank. A must-read for all Americans to really understand what we put in the White House.
I will only support the DP if the criminal justice system is perfect.
Its not.
I used to be ambivalent until it became less of an abstraction: my 80 year old uncle was murdered in his bed. The murderer has been in Attica Prison since 1980, which is just fine with me. As the saying goes, "killing was too good for him".
KILLIN' FER JAY-SUS!
nwmuse @ 15:
Agreed.
I thought sociopaths were merely indifferent to the suffering of others, but clearly they enjoy it.
Compassionate Conservatism at it's finest!
I suppose we could be thankful that the government doesn't request the condemned to donate their organs and sends a van that is conveniently set up for a quick gleaning of whatever may be of interest regarding body parts...
Then promptly sell the proceeds on the open market...
Hmmm....
I wonder which country apparently has that ghastly marketing tool at hand?...
Maybe the guy was guilty, that is not the point.
The real point lies in the fact that so many people are found innocent by DNA now that is even more important to have the
appeals process in place. These guys just want to fast track everything so that their mistakes are covered as soon as they make them.
I don't trust this administration with changing ANY laws because they have shown us they can't be trusted by their deeds.
I think the punishment should always fit the crime, but killing people in the name of 'justice" is reprehensible and doesn't ultimately offer any deterrance. The root of capital punishment is based in revenge, not justice. Vengeance based justice prevailed with the vigilantes in the Wild West and the Mob. Why would we want to be like them?
Oh I forgot---this is George Bush's Texas---whose Wild West wannabees are macho schmucks with a big chip on their shoulder. Compassion and mercy--that's for sissies. Everybody pack your heater and shoot first, ask questions second. Justice to them---spelled Just-Us. Just fry the bastards, constitutional rights are so inconvenient.
Kevin Simms @ 20:
True, true, but we'd better end this CC before we're all dead!
George W. Bush during his six years as governor of Texas presided over 152 executions, more than any other governor in the recent history of the United States.
I am guessing he enjoyed every minute of it.
Religious conservatism is enamored of sin and punishment.
ticktock @ 21:
I could see this coming up next. After all, housing these inmates is expensive. Then we could compete with China.
The "party of life".
h/t Dcup? Not even DDDcup?
Perhaps congress should "fast track" the AG investigation and simply kick Gonzo to the curb.
Now would be a good time to bring up the Kenneth Foster case, in which a man is sentenced to death for driving a car in which a passenger committed murder.
Needless to say, this is in TX too. And he's black.
Molnardian @ 1:
Or for a more bumper sticker friendly quote.
WWJE?
Almost sounds like a new type of wrasslin'. ;)
Speaking of Bush wanting to bring Texas-style justice to the rest of America...
In Washington this week, the White House renewed George W. Bush's war against children's health care that dates back to his days as Governor of Texas. Just two weeks after the House and Senate each approved major expansions of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), the Bush administration announced draconian new eligibility rules that would trim thousands of low income children from the rolls. But unlike his Texas two-step when he claimed credit for a program he fought tooth and nail, this time George W. Bush isn't running for anything.
For the details, see:
"Bush Repeats His Texas War on Children's Health Insurance."
hadenuf @ 13:
...and what do you expect from a state that seceded from Mexico because Mexico abolished slavery?
Well, they must have the worst criminals...I mean look at Bush and Rove...
:roll:
I respectfully disagree with you. I will never support the killing of another human being when there are options. Guilty or not guilty is irrelevant to our decision to take a life. We are only spreading the message that life is not sacred by doing that act that we claim is wrong.
Deconstruct @ 16:
Now thats PRO-LIFE!!!
Go Dumbya!
Go Dumbya!
Go,Go,Go, Dumbya!
Get yer torture on!
It's yer birf-day!
Go,Go!.......
Busholini is a "good christian" isn't he? What a joke! "Thou shalt not kill" comes to mind!
Damn, whereever this guy goes he just can't kill 'em fast enough for his liking.
Putting morality aside, executions are not cost effective and have not proven to be good deterrents. Thus the only reasons to continue having them are to satisfy our bloodlust and need for revenge.
"Four years ago, a Missouri man, Joe Amrine, was released after 17 years on death row after the collapse of all evidence that led to his conviction for a jail murder. The state argued, with a straight face, that even the establishment of innocence was not a reason to stop his execution, because nothing had been procedurally incorrect about his original trial."
yup... that's definitely a "pro-life" attitude... in a bizarro world that is, where preserving and cultivating tissue takes precedence over the preservation of justice...
I am a victim of Catholic education. Way back in the 1950s those nuns taught me that government killing is wrong (except for "good" wars).
Now 50 years later I still believe what they first taught me.
I guess I will always believe this.
I also think there might be a hell; and if there is, we know who is going there for his actions here on earth.
texas... *whistles*
seriously, WTF?
and, might i ask, what is the percentage of those executed that were african americans? and then percentage of african americans in texas? and the percentage in jail? you see where i am going with this? (hopefully)
actually those were just rhetorical questions, i can handle my own research...
(a simple, yet powerful, example)
"The Supreme Court made an expected but emphatic statement in favor of race-neutral justice yesterday, overturning the 1986 conviction of a black death row inmate because his trial in Dallas was tainted by government racial discrimination.
By a vote of 6 to 3, the court held that both state and federal judges who oversee capital cases in Texas had mistakenly discounted evidence showing that prosecutors wrongfully kept African Americans off the Dallas jury that found Thomas Joe Miller-El guilty of murder and sentenced him to death. Only one member of the jury was black."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/13/AR200506...
The best poltical debate on crime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3SJt5TJ8WQ
No appeals process for bush, cheney, et al., when they receive their sentences in the Hague!
It is usually
when men are at their most religious
that they behave with the least sense
and the greatest cruelty.
Ilka Chase
And bush (lower case intended) hears god whispering to him.
The inmates of the asylum have taken over the whitehouse
We must protect the unborn. After they are born, then if they sick and die too bad. No universal health care. If they commit a crime, we'll execute them. Or we'll send them to die in a war.
So much for Dubya and his "culture of life" bullsh*t.
The Case of Kenneth Foster: Texas Prepares to Execute Man for Driving a Car Near Scene of Murder
Three weeks from today [8/30], a 30-year-old African American man on death row in Texas is scheduled to be executed. Kenneth Foster was sentenced to death ten years ago for the murder of Michael LaHood, a white man. The trial judge, the prosecutor, and the jury that sentenced him to die admit he never killed anyone. Foster is scheduled to be executed under a controversial Texan law known as the law of parties. The law imposes the death penalty on anybody involved in a crime where a murder occurred. In Foster’s case he was driving a car with three passengers, one of whom left the car, got into an altercation and shot LaHood dead. We broadcast a rare interview of Kenneth Foster from death row and speak to his family in Texas as well a journalist who has closely followed his case.
http://verbal.democracynow.org/2007/8/9/the_case_of_kenneth_foster_texas
Bush never gave up his blood lust he crafted as a child during the m80's and frogs shtick. He doesn't care how many people die as long as he can pretend to be John Wayne/ Steve Mcqueen
Several years back my friend was kidnapped, taken to a field and shot execution style. They caught the three guys who did it and they are in prison. If I were ever going to change my mind about the death penalty that would have been the time. I didn't change my mind the guys are in prison. There have been many appeals but they are still there and we do have the death penalty in Fla. They will never get out of prison and that's good enough for me.
The death penalty should be abolished because the system is imperfect and therefore innocent people get wrongly executed. This is particulary true when you have idiots like George Bush as governors who are unable to digest the facts of a case and determine when a pardon is appropriate. Why pick this particular execution to get up in arms about when the convicted perpetrator is so obviously guilty (he apologized to the victims' family)? Really, help the cause by picking a more appropriate excecutionee next time! I think that a lot of us are against the death penalty because of the fact that innocent people get wrongly convicted and those with the power to pardon are imperfect as well, not because we think the TRUE perpetrator's life should be spared. This case is not a big motivator for us. Poor choice of a poster child. Find a questionable conviction to do this with next time!
John Hall @ 47:
So much for so-called Christ-ian values. What a great example the little state of Texas continues to set for the rest of the Free World.
p.o.p., did you see my post upthread?
Chesire11 @ 11:
good to see that you are so engrossed in semantics that you can miss points entirely. the irony is that your attempt to correct other people proves your own ignorance:
1) 1/3 of 1,091 = 363 so i would say that it's pretty accurate to say that 400 is ALMOST 1/3 of 1,091
2) illiteracy has nothing to do with math skills. it has to do reading and writing. all of the above are areas that you need to work on. so stop criticizing the small stuff and stick to the issues.
ps if u attempt to corect me speling or gramar, then u only porve me pnt. :P
Gee Duhbya is one vile piece of dreck!
Let's skip past the inconsistencies with his passion for the death penalty vs his pro-life, anti-stemcell research.
Let's skip past the systematic death of innocents in Iraq...
And his comments to the effect of "we don't engage in nation building" implying instead we engage in nation destruction.
Just think to the times where you've seen him be able to speak passionately, clearly, coherently as if English was his native language...without scripts or radio receivers behind his suit jacket....it's always about killing and destruction in one form or another, whether onesy-twosy with the Death Penalty, or onesy-twosy with which rocket will assasinate which terrorist riding across the desert in Yemen or the obsession with the details of our torture and rendition program, or the obsession with continuing the carnage of no-end called The War in Iraq.
All other details (Katrina, pre-911 warnings, social programs unless he can create more suffering, international relations...) all bore him. But give him an opportunity to inflict death and misery on people...he's a very focused "leader".
POP - how awful. Unfortunately, it's not so shocking in this nation or in good 'ol Floriduh.
hadenuf, I just read your post. We seem to be of the same mind on this. I'm very sorry about your uncle. Times like that test ones feelings about a lot of things.
IraqIsDisaster @ 51:
Soooo, someone very intelligent, like Bill Clinton, made better choices in Arkansas?
I don't think you can determine what and when people should get up in arms about. If you read the posts, a good case is made to oppose capital punishment. Period.
Dr Acula, if I typed my friend's name and if you've been in this area a long time, you would probably remember the case. If by some chance you do, please don't mention her name here. Thanks
pissed off patricia @ 58:
Yeah, interesting.
I come from a huge Italian family, all "victims" of Catholicism, yet my brother & I were the only ones to oppose the death penalty. I finally said to my family "we are NOT in Sicily, and this is not the 19th C".
This goes beyond the "He did it, so he deserves to die" argument.
This goes to the essence of due process, vengeful prosecutors, politicization of charges by overzealous prosecutors seeking re-election or higher office, and eventually, IMHO, a standard punishment for all murder. What I mean is that it is a systematic stripping away of levels of manslaughter 1, MS2, MS3, Murder 1, Murder 2, Murder 3, etc....
The idea is to make all murder punishable by death, regardless of the circumstances (I'm thinking self-defense will probably still be okay).
But this administration sees only black and white, there are no levels of gray area to work with. They are reverting to a more primitive concept of justice: An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, etc.
A narrow and simplistic view of juris prudence that methodically strips away rights. The notion strikes me that within ten years, executions will be public events (again).
I also think that mass executions will be the norm within that same time frame, if the thugs in the White House have their way.
If they have their way...Look out all people of color (yes, including me – hispanic)... the walls are gradually and consistently being closed in.
The threat of "The Man" is real.
Thank you. Good night. Try the freedom fries... if there are any left.
[steps off soapbox]
This excerpt from an article in Counterpunch says it all to me just how MUCH Bush ENJOYS having the power to kill people and deny them mercy or clemency.
Bush's "Christian" Blood Cult
Concerns Raised by the Vatican by WAYNE MADSEN
(Excerpt)
"One only has to check out Bush's record as Governor of Texas to see his own preference for death over life. During his tenure as Governor, Bush presided over a record setting 152 executions, including the 1998 execution of fellow born-again Christian Karla Faye Tucker, a convicted murderer who later led a prison ministry. Forty of Bush's executions were carried out in 2000, the year the Bush presidential campaign was spotlighting their candidate's strong law enforcement record. The Washington Post's Richard Cohen reported in October 2000 that one of the execution chamber's "tie-down team" members, Fred Allen, had to prepare so many people for lethal injections during 2000, he quit his job in disgust.
Bush mocked Tucker's appeal for clemency. In an interview with Talk magazine, Bush imitated Tucker's appeal for him to spare her life - pursing his lips, squinting his eyes, and in a squeaky voice saying, "Please don't kill me." That went too far for former GOP presidential candidate Gary Bauer, himself an evangelical Christian. "I think it is nothing short of unbelievable that the governor of a major state running for president thought it was acceptable to mock a woman he decided to put to death," said Bauer."
This is the man running our country.
hadenuf @ 61:
The death penalty was abolished in all Italy by the 1880s.
ysbaddaden @ 44:
awesome post, as usual, ys
Hi Targa :)
The system and pardoners will NEVER be perfect so you do not have to worry about those of us who oppose the death penalty for this reason changing our anti-death penalty stance. I happen to oppose the death penalty both because of the imperfect system and because I do not believe in killing people. I am, however, interested in changing the system and think that giving this particular case a lot of attention is counterproductive. I have not seen many other executions get attention like this on C&L. Why not pick one that is a clear example of why both of the major arguments for opposing the death penalty are justified?
There is a greater range of choices than either (1) executing someone without due process, or (2) saying shooting someone in the face is OK.
Ever hear of Jeffrey Todd Pierce? He was on 60 Minutes, etc. I happen to know him and know some of the background. He was wrongfully convicted by the testimony of lying police chemist Joyce Gilchrist, aided and abetted by D.A. Bob "conviction at any cost" Macy. He spent 15 years in prison for a crime they decided he was guilty of and then made the case despite exculpatory evidence. It's a miracle he wasn't executed. Some Oklahomans may have been. The full story has yet to come out. Google it. Jeff received a huge settlement this year. But did the police ever say "Oops, sorry, guess we were wrong." Hell no.
I know of another recent case where a man was driven to suicide by a police detective who decided he was guilty and was making the case that way. Don't think it couldn't happen to you.
These two men were law-abiding, hard-working citizens with families. They weren't lowlifes.
IMHO and in my experience, it is dangerous to trust the police unquestioningly. So don't tell me we should just go along with the system.
I´ve already posted this story three days ago in an open thread (08/21/2007).
I´d like to post it here again because obviously noone read it back then:
Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the 400th execution in Texas
The European Union notes with great regret the upcoming execution in the State of Texas which would be the 400th since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. Therefore, the European Union strongly urges Governor Rick Perry to exercise all powers vested in his office to halt all upcoming executions and to consider the introduction of a moratorium in the State of Texas.
The European Union is unreservedly opposed to the use of capital punishment under all circumstances and has consistently called for the universal abolition of this punishment. We believe that elimination of the death penalty is fundamental to the protection of human dignity, and to the progressive development of human rights. We further consider this punishment to be cruel and inhumane. There is no evidence to suggest that the use of the death penalty serves as a deterrent against violent crime and the irreversibility of the punishment means that miscarriages of justice - which are inevitable in all legal systems - cannot be redressed. Consequently, the death penalty has been abolished throughout the European Union.
(emphasis added)
continued:
http://www.nieuwsbank.nl/en/2007/08/21/f041.htm
This reminds me of the scene in Lonsome Dove where a character played by Robert Urich, who is a friend of Augustus McCRae and Woodrow Call, played by Robert Duval and Tommy Lee Jones, falls into bad company that robs a bank, although he didn't participate. His best friends McCrae and Call hang him themselves from a tree, and then compliment him for taking his hanging so well.
I think this was Floriduh's last execution by electrocution because it was so f*cked up:
http://crimemagazine.com/davis4.htm
The US is one of the few, if not the only country in the Western Industrialized world still practicing the death penalty in its legal system, it is also the only country in said Western world that does not have universal health care. It is the country that spends the most -per capita- on weapons, and it ranks at the bottom on per capita in humanitarian aid expenditures.
So that sort of shows where our priorities stand. But we sure do love to tell people what a great Christian God fearing bunch of folks we are!
So next time a Christian in this country says anything about compassionate conservatism I would just let them know how much I rather have them just SHUT THE FUCK UP.
And yes I am generalizing, and I don't care... numbers don't lie.
It is the utter hypocrisy of every word and action that gets to me. I can't hardly stand it.
I'm neither a conservative nor a liberal (I'm a moderate), but I do not understand how killing someone who is in death row is going to make things better/bring the people that person killed back. I'm not going to say that I know what the family of a victim is going through, but the death penalty is stupid.
How about the countless of men/women who are wrongly convicted and yet they get the chair. It's an unfair punishment.
h/t Dcup? Not even DDDcup?
Actually, it's short for DDCup. But Logan and I are pals, so he calls me by my nickname.
Thanks for the h/t, Logan!
I only WISH that Busholini is haunted by the cries of Carla Faye Tucker pleading for her life. But, since he's such an evil, soulless piece of excrement I'm sure he's not bothered one bit.
For which reason ever: I can´t make the link work, therefore I post the whole response to the Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the 400th execution in Texas which I´ve posted above:
Texas rejects EU executions plea
Texas has told the European Union to mind its own business after the bloc called on the state's governor to get rid of the death penalty.
The EU expressed "great regret" at Texas' preparations to carry out its 400th death penalty and renewed its call to the US to halt executions.
Johnny Ray Conner, 32, will be executed on Wednesday for the 1998 fatal shooting of a grocery store clerk.
But Governor Rick Perry insisted it was a "just and appropriate" punishment.
He was responding robustly to the EU's denunciation of judicial killings as "cruel and inhumane".
The statement from the Portuguese presidency of the 27-nation bloc said: "The European Union strongly urges Governor Rick Perry to exercise all powers vested in his office to halt all upcoming executions and to consider the introduction of a moratorium in the state of Texas."
Texans long ago decided the death penalty is a just and appropriate punishment for the most horrible crimes committed against our citizens
Governor's spokesman
It continued: "There is no evidence to suggest that the use of the death penalty serves as a deterrent against violent crime and the irreversibility of the punishment means that miscarriages of justice, which are inevitable in all legal systems, cannot be redressed."
But Robert Black, a spokesman for the Texas governor, told the BBC News website: "Two hundred and thirty years ago, our forefathers fought a war to throw off the yoke of a European monarch and gain the freedom of self-determination.
"Texans long ago decided the death penalty is a just and appropriate punishment for the most horrible crimes committed against our citizens.
"While we respect our friends in Europe ... Texans are doing just fine governing Texas."
According to the Washington-based Death Penalty Information Center, 1,090 executions have taken place in the US since the Supreme Court lifted a ban on capital punishment in 1976.
Texas has carried out more than a third of those.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/6957390.stm
Published: 2007/08/21 21:28:03 GMT
© BBC MMVII
So long as the trial is fair and unbiased, I think revenge killing is ok. Trouble is, especially in the south, getting a fair trail is problematic.
I can't believe the dismantling of our justice system continues. Lord, I loathe these guys' actions.
In the last election my state had a referendum for the death penalty. It asked: "Should the death penalty be enacted in the State...for cases involving a person who is convicted of first-degree intentional homicide, if the conviction is supported by DNA evidence?" The result was 55.5% yes.
I voted "yes." The specifics are what got my vote -- "first-degree intentional homicide...supported by DNA evidence."
I do not believe that the appeals process should be done away with -- but the DNA evidence is usually what changes things. There have been cases, like the one recently where witnesses from the original trial came forward to say that their accounts were coerced -- it saved the guys life.
I'm not a religious person, I believe that people have the right to expect "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." I don't believe that another person taking that innocent life should be given either option. It is vengeance -- but not only that it is also a deterrent.
I've read the comments that say it is not -- well, I say it is -- that person will certainly be deterred from killing anyone else ever again!
locking up someone forever with no possibility of parole or release is NOT more humane than simply killing them. He shot a woman in the face while robbing a store and almost killed another person. He was guilty. He deserves to die. If a person is not to be rehabilitated and eventually released, he or she should simply be executed. Forcing them to rot the rest of their existence in prison is not leniency. It is a far crueler fate than death.
And on the other hand, if someone does not deserve the death penalty, then they shouldn't be given two and three life sentences, concurrently. They shouldn't even be given Life in prison. If they don't deserve the death penalty, then they should be given a term sentence, with a definite release date. And rehabilitation should be the First consideration of inmates. Being IN Prison IS punishment enough. Prison is hell.
oops that should have read : Rehabilitation should be the first consideration of Prison officials.
MeMyselfAndI @ 9:
DING DING DING. Nailed it. You win today's prize. A free trip to Texas Death Row.
if this is bush and gonzales attitude to the rights of American citizens, then can
we not just fast-track their impeachments and just execute the both of them
publically so the law-abiding citizens can witness real justice for all the lies, deceptions and frauds commited against the USA ???????
48 hadenuf- There was no "altercation" Foster and the three men were out on an armed robbery spree and were on their third robbery of the evening. Foster was the wheel man, and ALL 3 other men in the car used the gun that night. Do you really believe Foster didn't know their was a gun in the car when they were all passing it around while performing these robberies?
Fight the death penalty all you want, but please don't sugarcoat the real actions of crooks who killed innocent people while robbing them.
84 = No fast tracking, just an actual court with real prosecutors, a real jury and NO SUPPRESSION OF EVIDENCE. No tricks or favoritism or judges in Bush's pocket throwing out convictions or The Prez pardoning himself and his cronies. I'm down with that.
I don't think it will ever happen because these crooks who run America aren't EVER going to hold each other accountable, but I don't oppose the Death penalty in the face of overwhelming evidence of treason by our elected officials.
Gollum @ 5:
Maybe he did commit the crime but without the appeals process how can we be absolutely sure? Not saying I'm not against capital punishment just against eliminating appeals. Besides, 400 executions isn't enough for these maniacs? They want to get more done, faster?
Fast tracking the DP in a country like America where everyone is increasingly coming under surveillance,whose political activities are being monitored is a really,really bad idea.
Well, sure they want to get rid of the appeals process. Just think how quickly they can clean out Gitmo by putting the detainees on trial and convicting them after refusing to show the evidence.
Ok let's make this law after chimpy and his gang are convicted.
Florida and Texas are bushfia country.
Damn, leave it up to chimpy, everyone's guilty until proven innocent.
80 Abdiel-- DNA evidence is what finally got Jeffrey Todd Pierce exonerated.
What seemed to sway the jury most was Joyce Gilchrist's hair testimony; she testified that it *was* his hair found at the crime scene, without a doubt.
She was testifying beyond the scope of her expertise (i.e., lying, backed up by Bob Macy).
leftminded @ 87:
Wait they'll soon authorize gas showers.
Death penalty is barbarous, cruel and inhumane and it doesn´t work as a deterrant. End of argument.
leftminded @ 87:
leftminded,
The murderer was convicted in 1999 -- he had at least six years to get an appeal. Bush's stupid suggestion is just that -- a suggestion...it isn't law yet. Gollum was right -- it sounds like he got what was coming. Let's save the outrage for those who deserve our sympathy. Also, if he really wasn't guilty why did he say, "Please forgive me," to the sister of the victim?
I believe in appeals, but with today's modern and sophisticated forensic sciences I believe a five to six year limit should be imposed. In some states there are people who have been given the DP as far back as 1990 who are still trying to exhaust appeals when nothing substantial or newly helpful has been presented.
the 4th Reich is rising @ 93:
First-degree intentional homicide is barbarous, cruel and inhumane...and it is a deterrent -- the murderer is deterred from ever killing again. That's the real end of the argument...for the murdering assholes that is....
[...] Texas Carries Out 400th Execution - Bush Wants To End Appeals Process For Death Row Inmates » This Summary is from an article posted at Crooks and Liars on Friday, August 24, 2007 This [...]
I'm all for bush ending death row appeals up to and until Bush and his vile cohorts sit in the chair :) afterwards the death sentance should be banned forever ;)
When the court at the Hague sentences GWB to death for his war crimes, let's make sure that there will be no appeals allowed. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.
when are we as liberals going to stand up to these fascists? What will it take?? Trains full of progressives being taken to work camps? Wake up!!!!!!!
I certainly would not describe what Bush and Gonzo are doing as an art.I would describe it as more like a "late term abortion."
abdiel @ 94:
Aside from moral issues, the death penalty is uneconomic. The shorter the appeal period, the greater the chance that an innocent will be executed. The longer the appeal period, the lesser the chance but the greater the expense. By the time all appeals have been exhausted, the cost can be greater than a life sentence.
Appeals cannot be curtailed without an increase in the likelihood of false convictions. During the President's time as Governor of Texas, there are stories of accused criminals being assigned public defenders (or only being able to afford counsel) who were alcoholics or inexperienced or incompetent (and no, I'm not bashing all PDs). I believe there was even one story of Defence counsel falling asleep at trial. (On a personal note, I have seen Defence counsel fall asleep in court - admittedly not on a death penalty case).
Of course, as others have pointed out, executions are the ultimate government interference with the life of a citizen. I don't trust anyone (other than, of course, myself) to make direct decisions about who should die and who should live.
Infinitstars @ 99:
"Trains full of progressives"? When did this happen? I'm not sure there are enough progressives in America to fill a train.
(For the literal minded, I'm making a rhetorical point using exaggeration for effect).
Bob Roberts @ 102:
As much as I hate the term lol, I lol`d at this comment.Great post LOL.
can they be put on death row for treason?
Great...so if any innocent person is convicted of a crime they didn't commit
they're going to be snuffed out no matter what with no chance to prove their
innocence.
Fascism is on the march!
The death penalty is never warranted. I'm not American, but I'd be screaming mad if my government were killing people in my name. That's no better than the crime; it's another crime itself.
Dr. Acula @ 76:
He mocked her pleas, if I remember correctly.
An eye for an eye.
The Champ is out.
I have no pity for this man. Justice has been served.
Texas and the serial murderer Bush have never cared about justice. Just killing because they love to kill and can use the power of government as the instrument of death and a cover to disguise their glee at taking life. They get to kill without directly bloodying their hands, get somebody else to satisfy the death lust.
If there is any justice in this world, Bush will face a death penalty, leveid by an authorized court, for his many crimes against humanity.
Don't see how you can be pro-life and for the death penalty.
I guess its easy for a fake christian republican.
Now many innocent people will be killed under the Bush law. Saddam killed thousands and now Bush is using that policy. Next Bush will start executing all minorities and immigrants. Now did the US do the same thing as blacks were hung for entertainment. I guess Americans don't mine the new Laws Bush/Gonzales have set up. Now Libby was found guilty but he can't do jail time because he lied for the Vice President. Laura killed her ex boyfriend and rolled over him with her car several time just to make sure he was dead.
Bush had Pat Tillman killed but Americans see no problem with that. I hope Bush/Cheney and the GOP don't have Senator Obama killed because he's black but you never know.
John the Elder @ 98:
Keep on dreaming.
The USA did not join the International Criminal Court, therefore the ICC can not exercise its jurisdiction.
The Roman statute of the International Criminal Court states explicitely that the death penalty may not be imposed.
Republicans only care for the rich and the unborn. As for the rest, they are happy to execute them, drop bombs on their head, let them drown or starve. Pro-life my ass!
so the state gov decides which of these criminal gets to die...hmmm....are these the same people who run the DMV?
Bush the Liar @ 111:
That's the "Culture of Life" in a nutshell
DickCheneyShotMeInTheFace @ 107:
Even John Paul II tried to convince Bush to reconsider, but Bush seems more dogmatically convinced of his own infallibility than even the Vatican is of theirs, so, great churchgoer that he is, he did mock her pleas and proceed with greenlighting her execution.
stand up comedian Louis Ramey summed up Bush's attitude quite nicely "Born-again? No Problem, we'll kill ya twice"
Yeah, I hope he remembers how he much he loves to see people executed when his is condemned to death for the murder of a million innocent Iraqi civilians, about 4,000 American soldiers in Iraq, several hundred more American soldiers in Afghanistan and a few hundred thousand innocent Afghani civilians. I would also add to the list of his murders all those (a thousand ) he murdered in New Orleans when he obstructed aid to that city.
Personally, I oppose the death penalty even when it is justified, because it is barbaric, cruel and uncivilized. However, when you have a premeditated mass and serial murderer of the caliber of George the Damned, nothing else is appropriate. I would also include Cheney, Rummy, Rove, Rice and other complicit members of his administration. I would also condemn him for the executions in Texas as it has been proven that many he reveled in executing while he was governor were known to be innocent or to have been railroaded through bad trials ... to say nothing of the inherent, deliberate racism practiced in our criminal "justice" system and particularly by this cowardly murdering despot.
these extermination sites sprang up at the same time as the conservative christian republicans started to gain power. killing prisoners is torture and murder.civilized countries won't allow it.
leftminded @ 87:
First, to Gollum, "sounds like he did it" isn't solid grounds for taking a man's life.
To Leftminded, read "The Death of Innocents" and see how, even with the appeals process as it stands now, innocent people ARE routinely executed.
And as for eliminating the appeals process, that's easy: get rid of capital punishment.
Abdiel @95 says:
"First-degree intentional homicide is barbarous, cruel and inhumane…and it is a deterrent — the murderer is deterred from ever killing again. That’s the real end of the argument…for the murdering assholes that is…."
In cases of intentional homicide, the murderer is already deterred from ever killing again, because they would already serve at least one life sentence. The only difference is, it costs taxpayers a lot less.
After that, the only argument to make is that the family of the murdered victim never get to "see justice," which is code for "get revenge."
My theory is, we cannot possibly decrease or eradicate murder if we condone murder.
If you create a society that views murder as justified in some circumstances--even if those circumstances seem well-intentioned, like "deterring murder" or "spreading democracy"--you create a society with a lot of murder. And that's why the U.S. is one of the world leaders in murder.
Killing is Killing, two wrongs are not going to save any one else. Teach only love!!
Just getting ready for the day they start shoveling dissenters into the ovens.
vetinla @ 78:
Normally I'm not this brash, but your post is simply disgusting.
abdiel @ 95:
The entire concept behind a civilized society and its government is to rise above that barbarous act, not to perpetuate it over and over by killing humans. That argument is often applied to using terrorist-like tactics to fight terrorism. It doesn't work and a society like ours should know better.
The fact that you fail to grasp that idea explains your view on the matter.
George W. Bush the Syco Killer is just like the Scorpio Killer in the Dirty Harry movie. Clint Eastwood (aka) Dirty Harry stated in the movie "He will kill again because he likes it, he likes it alot !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
bamboozled @ 120:
Sean @ 124:
Hey Sean,
Your statement is typical of the idealistic naivety that causes people in power to use "terrorist-like tactics to fight terrorism." You see, they like you, equate justifiable executions with the concept of an "eye for an eye." Both of you fail to understand that people like me who support the death penalty only do so when there is a clear and justified reason for it supported by unequivocal evidence of individual wrongdoing.
What is barbaric is the thought that a society would tolerate the presence of outright murderers as equal members of that society -- as I said, murderers who have no value for an innocent life are to me less than human...they are not even worthy of the term "barbarian."
The entire concept of a civilized society is to bring about a humane, ethical, and reasonable advancement of its people. Cold blooded murderers aren't humane, ethical or reasonable -- they have no place in such a society. Hence, the only humane, ethical, and reasonable thing to do for that society is to make sure that the inhumane, unethical, and unreasonable elements remain removed from that society.
I know that this idea is hardcore to bleeding hearts who equate "civilized" with "pantywaist", but I will say again, your pretensions to civility are marred by a stupid morality that explains the tolerance that has brought the world to this point of violent inevitable doom.
As much as you would like to believe in a utopia of the modern world I'm sorry to tell you that it does not exist -- and it's mostly due to the fact that naive folks like you excuse and tolerate those who keep it from happening...those who know that they are safe from the ultimate punishment no matter how cruel and heinous their acts.
You insinuate that I support ruthless collective punishment because I support the death penalty for intentional first-degree homicide. The fact that you fail to grasp my point and argue this facile reasoning more than explains your narrow minded view on the matter.
[...] Pro Life…but perhaps not all life just some life. Story is here [...]
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