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state killing

Law And Disorder: Ending State Killing by: davidseth Mon Jan 25, 2010 at 18:05:14 PST It's not every day that I get a welcoming forum to discuss the death penalty and why state killing should be abolished.  So I was particularly delighted to appear today on WBAI's "Law and Disorder."  Want to hear what I had to say?  Click this to play the interview. A special thanks to Michael Smith, Michael Ratner and Heidi Bogosian for inviting me and to WBAI in New York for broadcasting this show both on the radio and the Internet. -------------------------- cross-poster at The Dream Antilles Discuss :: (4 Comments)

Death Penalty: The Times Speaks Up by: davidseth Mon Dec 14, 2009 at 07:39:32 PST (10 pm. - promoted by ek hornbeck) It's a reason for optimism in the long battle to end State Killing.  The New York Times editorial today called for the abolition of the death penalty.  I applaud.  The abolition of state killing should be a mainstream, American idea. The Times is angry and points out the obvious about the change in Ohio from 3-drug state killing to 1-drug state killing: This is what passes for progress in the application of the death penalty: Kenneth Biros, a convicted murderer, was put to death in Ohio last week with one drug, instead of the more common three-drug cocktail. It took executioners 30 minutes to find a vein for the needle, compared with the two hours spent hunting for a vein on the last prisoner Ohio tried to kill, Romell Broom. Technicians tried about 18 times to get the needle into Mr. Broom's arms and legs before they gave up trying to kill him. Mr. Biros was jabbed only a few times in each arm. The Times gets quickly from the barbarism of the Biro and Broom executions to the main point: The larger problem, however, is that changing a lethal-injection method is simply an attempt, as Justice Harry Blackmun put it, to "tinker with the machinery of death." No matter how it is done, for the state to put someone to death is inherently barbaric. It has also become clear - particularly since DNA evidence has become more common - how unreliable the system is. Since 1973, 139 people have been released from death row because of evidence that they were innocent, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. An untold number of innocent people have also, quite likely, been put to death. Earlier this year, a fire expert hired by the state of Texas issued a report that cast tremendous doubt on whether a fatal fire - for which Cameron Todd Willingham was executed in 2004 - was arson at all. Until his execution, Mr. Willingham protested his innocence. Most states still have capital punishment, and the Obama administration has so far shown a troubling commitment to it, pursuing federal capital cases even in states that do not themselves have the death penalty. The Times conclusion: Earlier this year, New Mexico repealed its death penalty, joining 14 other states - and the District of Columbia - that do not allow it. That is the way to eliminate the inevitable problems with executions. Put another way, abolition is the answer to the lingering horror of state killing.  Abolition cannot happen soon enough. ------------------------------- simulposted at The Dream Antilles Discuss :: (4 Comments)

Texecutions: "Skewed Justice" by: davidseth Mon Sep 21, 2009 at 13:42:46 PDT (11 am. - promoted by ek hornbeck) Here's a trick question.  Is there anything wrong with a death penalty jury trial in which the prosecutor trying the case is having an affair while the case is going on with the judge who is trying the case?  I know.  It looks pretty unfair.  It looks pretty sleazy.  There really should be something the matter with this, right?  Shouldn't the judge recuse herself?  Shouldn't the case be assigned to a different prosecutor, all for the sake of the appearance of fairness? But in Texas, ground zero for state killing, there's no answer to these questions.  At least not today  Why?  Because the majority of the Court of Criminal Appeals, Texas's highest court that considers criminal appeals, is wagging its finger at the defendant's lawyers saying that the affair isn't something that the Court will look at because the defense lawyers waited too long to raise the issue.  According to the Court, it's OK to execute Charles D. Hood whether there was an affair or not because the defense waited too long to raise the question. You cannot make this stuff up. There's More... :: (4 Comments, 759 words in story)

State Killing: Scalia Doesn't Care Whether You're Innocent, You Get Executed Anyway by: davidseth Wed Aug 19, 2009 at 15:58:39 PDT (10 am. - promoted by ek hornbeck) In the middle of Justice Scalia's dissent in Troy Davis's case, a dissent that Clarence Thomas joined in, we have this remarkable, astonishing, shocking sentence: "This court has never held that the Constitution forbids the execution of a convicted defendant who has had a full and fair trial but is later able to convince a court that he is 'actually' innocent." I cannot believe that they wrote this in a Supeme Court opinion.  And I'm not alone in thinking I would never, never, never see something like this in a published opinion. There's More... :: (5 Comments, 894 words in story)

State Killing: Travesties of Justice Just Keep On Coming by: davidseth Mon Jun 08, 2009 at 14:01:32 PDT ( - promoted by buhdydharma ) cross-posted from The Dream Antilles Today's New York Times tells the story of yet another travesty of justice from Alabama in a death penalty case.  This is the kind of thing that unfortunately is no longer a revelation.  It's what you might expect.  And it's happened over and over again. Please join me in the Death Belt. There's More... :: (4 Comments, 1081 words in story)

Please Ask Gov. Richardson To Sign The Death Penalty Abolition Bill (Updated x 2) by: davidseth Sun Mar 15, 2009 at 09:20:10 PDT ( - promoted by buhdydharma ) cross-posted from The Dream Antilles This morning, I re-wrote my dailyKos diary from yesterday, put it up, and again asked people please to call New Mexico Governor Richardson and to ask him to sign the Death Penalty Abolition Bill.  Here's what I wrote: I posted this diary yesterday.  I'm posting it again today because Governor Richardson is taking comments on the New Mexico Death Penalty Abolition Bill until Monday evening. Friday, I wrote that the New Mexico legislature passed a bill calling for the abolition of that state's death penalty.  The bill (pdf) has been sent to Governor Richardson for his signature.  That's where you, my fellow Kossacks, come in.  We all need to call the Governor and ask him to sign the bill. Governor Richardson has formerly supported the death penalty, but he says he has not made up his mind about this bill: Richardson, a second-term Democrat, has opposed repeal in the past but now says he would consider signing it. "I haven't made a final decision," the governor said this week. I want you, fellow Kossacks, to help him make his final decision, a decision to sign the abolition bill. You can make a lasting contribution to the abolition of the death penalty in New Mexico and ultimately in the entire US, by making a single telephone call to New Mexico Governor Richardson and asking him courteously to sign the death penalty abolition bill.  Just ask that he sign the bill.  Here's the number:  (505) 476-2225. The number will record your request.  There is no human being on the phone, just a recorder. Please spend 30 seconds making this call and make this request. The logic for this is clear.  The more calls the Governor receives, the more he understands that there is enormous support for him and for abolition and for his signing the bill.  Huge support for signing makes it more likely that the Governor will sign the bill. It's unbelievably simple what is needed.  But it requires you, dear Kossacks, to take action, to make the call, to spend 30 seconds. Please make this call.  Please bring abolition of the death penalty to New Mexico. Despite their directness, neither diary/essay generated a large response.  Today's had about 20 recommendations; yesterday's, about 40.  I have no idea how many people actually called Governor Richardson's number (505) 476-2225 and left a recorded message asking the Governor to sign the bill.  I know that I did, and I trust that those who said they called in the comments actually called.  Of course, I have no idea how many people just made the call after they saw the essay and didn't bother to click anything on dailyKos. I also sent the first request for calls essay to a number of well known, large, leftwing blogs to ask them to help out with this, to ask them to ask their readership to call the Governor.  This morning I awoke to see that none had responded to the request. I don't really claim to understand how something that seems to me to be so important and so easy to carry out can have so lame a response.  I'm not whining about this.  I'm just saying that I don't understand it.  I have no intention of spending additional time or energy trying to figure this out.  I need to devote myself to trying to bring about results and not shunt myself onto some abandoned siding to analyze the meta. So, dear readers, I am asking you to call Gov. Richardson and ask him to do the right thing, sign the bill, end the death penalty in New Mexico.  It's easy.  And it's the right thing to do. Update (3/15, 3:35pm ET):  Richardson apparently is taking this decision very seriously.  Here's the local Sunday story: The governor said he is looking for the public's input before he decides. "I want to hear compelling argument, factual arguments. I want to hear from the clergy-conscious arguments," he said. Although the death penalty is still common in places like China, Africa and Middle-Eastern countries, The United States is on an increasingly short list of western nations that still execute prisoners--something the governor says he's aware of. "It bothers me that America is one of the few countries that still has the death penalty," he said. The governor's office has been flooded with thousands of calls and e-mails on the issues, with opinion split evenly. Now, the governor says he wants to go face-to-face with voters. "We're going to be available all weekend to hear from constituents," he said. "I'm going to meet with constituents on Monday--anyone that wants to talk to me about this issue," he said. You can call the governor at 505-476-2225. You can also e-mail him through his website under the "contact the governor" link. Put another way, your call is especially urgent.  And, of course, you can email as well. Update (3/16, 1:53 pm ET):  Last chance to make this call is today, Monday.  I'm doing what I can to solicit responses, including this at GOS.  Anyone else is, of course, free to post similar solicitations. Thanks for all the attention to this. Discuss :: (14 Comments)

Seven Years Of Writing About State Killing (with Action Update!) by: davidseth Sat Mar 14, 2009 at 13:38:12 PDT (8 am. - promoted by ek hornbeck) cross-posted from The Dream Antilles To be completely honest, when I began, I never expected that over the course of the next seven years I would write more than 200 essays about ending state killing in America.  But today I noticed-- I usually miss the date-- that March 18, 2009, is the seventh Anniversary of my starting a listserv about ending the death penalty.  And I see that I've written more than 200 essays about the topic. When I started the listserv I described it like this: The views and opinions of an experienced criminal defense lawyer who is also a buddhist. About pending executions, legal developments, the media, the abolition movement, contemplation, prayer, and engaged, nonviolent activism. Sent sporadically. Only for those who value all lives and are opposed to the death penalty. Not for debate. Please make the jump. There's More... :: (11 Comments, 1564 words in story)

Breaking: New Mexico Legislature Abolishes State Killing by: davidseth Fri Mar 13, 2009 at 14:28:33 PDT Long story short, the NM legislature has passed the bill abolishing capital punishment in New Mexico and has sent it on to the governor for signature. This happened about 15 minutes ago.  Here's a first link to prove it's so. Now you can open that bottle of champagne and offer a toast to New Mexico and to the abolitionists who worked so hard and well to bring about this wonderful victory. Bravo!! There's More... :: (7 Comments, 173 words in story)

Remembering The Federal Death Penalty, Saving 49 Lives by: davidseth Sun Feb 01, 2009 at 08:07:41 PST (@ 9 - promoted by NLinStPaul) cross-posted from The Dream Antilles It might be easy to forget the Federal Death Penalty.  We might not want to think about it. It wasn't an issue in the past election.  For eight years the Bush DoJ used its muscle to expand federal use of capital punishment by overruling local United States Attorneys' decisions not to seek death.  Those political decisions to seek death are still very much in effect: the US government continues in court to seek the death penalty in all of those cases. As the new Attorney General arrives in Washington, it's vitally important that the new DoJ immediately remember to re-evaluate all of the federal cases in which the death penalty is presently being sought. And it's important that if these cases do not meet their professed higher standards for imposition of the death penalty (this is an oxymoron, standards that allow state killing cannot be high), authorization to seek the death penalty be withdrawn.  This may save 49 lives and prevent state killings from being carried out in our names. Please join me below.   There's More... :: (3 Comments, 776 words in story)