Texas Kills Tonight

Marvin Wilson was executed tonight at 6PM about 18 miles from willis.  Wilson was convicted of murder and in his trial in 1992 his defense didn't site the possibility of his retardation as it may have portrayed him as more dangerous and a better candidate for the death penalty.

Wilson has an IQ of 61which could mean he was mentally retarded and ineligible for the death penalty per a Supreme Court Ruling in 2002.  However, because his attorney missing a filing deadline, his appeal was denied and he was killed tonight.

Look, I've condensed all this beyond measure.  I'm pretty sure that Wilson committed the crime and was convicted back in 1992.  What bothers me is that in a state (Texas) that is predominantly "pro life" (forced sonograms, defunding "Planned Parenthood", etc,) why would one not overturn every stone to stop state sponsored killing of an individual who, at least, may be mentally retarded?

For willis, I will never be part of any jury that has a possibility of delivering a death penalty.  It's not so much that I don't think that the heinous acts of some don't deserve to be killed (or worse - how about forced Limbaugh/O'Rielly/Hannity via implants), and I'd like to be the dude that pulls the switch.  However, when any individual can be removed from death row or exonerated due to subsequent events it indicates the original process that established the penalty was invalid. The process to arrive at a death penalty isn't infallible and therefore a life sentence versus killing the wrong person, or a person in error is inexcusable for any state...

.......so says willis, for what's it's worth

30 Day Reprieve Upsets "Kill" Schedule

Texas Justice Dept Photo; Cleve Foster

Mr Foster (pictured) was scheduled to be executed this evening in Texas and got a 30 day reprieve from the US Supreme Court to allow time for a review on specifics of the case against him.  A reprieve for different reasons was sought in Texas but denied at all levels and apparently not considered in the reprieve from the SCOTUS.

The reprieve from Texas wasn't about guilt or innocence but about a change in the execution procedure to substitute pentobarbital for sodium thiopental as it is no longer produced in the US.  Apparently the change was made without consulting Pharmaceutical or medical professions in order to meet the scheduled execution date (today).

Mr Foster is bad guy.  He's probably guilty of the murder he was convicted of (although there is some doubt....read the first link) but that doesn't excuse hustling this thing just to meet a damn schedule!  Now that there's a 30 day stop because of the SCOTUS ruling,  I wonder if the Texas Dept of Justice will use it to review their "kill" method?

Texas' First Execution for 2011

Tim Adams is the convicted man to be executed tomorrow.  See the post prior to this one for details on his case.  On the face of it, I never really had a problem with the death penalty.  I always felt comfortable with at least the notion that if I was ever in a jury where I had to make that choice, I could do it without losing sleep.  The facts would always be clear enough.   Not so much any more.  I heard a quote by actor George Hamilton a while back, something to the effect "That now that I'm old enough to finally get my head together, my ass is falling apart" which seemed appropriate one begins to comprehend that there are always mitigating circumstances to any situation.  In Tim Adams case, those mitigating circumstances should allow his death penalty to be commuted to "life".

I've attached some quotes to show how some famous folks feel about this...

"People who are well represented at trial do not get the death penalty ... I have yet to see a death case among the dozens coming to the Supreme Court on eve-of-execution stay applications in which the defendant was well represented at trial." Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court.

"Where would Christianity be if Jesus got eight to fifteen years with time off for good behavior?" NY State Senator James Donovan, speaking in support of capital punishment.

"I like it the way it is." Comment by Governor George W. Bush of Texas at the time that a law prohibiting execution of the mentally disadvantaged was defeated.

"Capital punishment is our society’s recognition of the sanctity of human life." Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

"The death penalty is a poor person's issue. Always remember that: after all the rhetoric that goes on in the legislative assemblies, in the end, when the deck is cast out, it is the poor who are selected to die in this country." Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J.


Update:  The "mitigating circumstances" were not as I thought they were.  See the update to the previous post.  And, this was the second execution this year for Texas...not the first as stated in the title.  My feelings about the death penalty remain unchnaged and the quotes still seem appropriate.

Any Killing is Too Much

This is Timothy Adams, age 42.  He's scheduled to be executed here in Texas on February 22nd after being convicted of murdering his 19 month old son in Houston on February 20, 2002.

Adams and his wife were having problems and a few days before the date of the murder, his wife left him taking their child with her. She returned on the 20th to pick up her belongings and was confronted by Adams.  She called the police but during the confrontation, Adams shot at her.  She fled leaving the child behind.  In a stand off with police, Adams was suicidal though was eventually talked into surrendering and was arrested. His child had already been shot.

Adams really screwed up, I mean criminal level type screw ups.  Shooting at someone, even if you miss would seem to be "attempted murder" or similar (willis is no lawyer)....accidentally killing someone other than your intended victim is hardly a good defense.  Adams admitted guilt when he was arrested and also plead "guilty" at his trial.  He had no prior criminal record.  Regardless, at the sentencing portion of his trial he was determined to be a risk to society (by the jury) which is a prerequisite for the death penalty in Texas and there wasn't "mitigating evidence" to warrant a life sentence.

Adams has a father, brother, sister and 20-something old son from previous marriage all begging for commuting the death penalty. Additionally, at least three of the original jurors also agree with this sentiment based on further knowledge of Adams history and no disciplinary infractions since incarcerated.

A very sad story where nobody wins.  I question why the death penalty is the default option when "prerequisites" to it are met and "mitigating" evidence isn't apparent?  Seems to me that "life" would be the default sentence until the absolute certainty of mitigating circumstances are not an issue....after all, death is pretty fucking absolute isn't it! I've been on a criminal jury before and know you get pulled in and out of the courtroom while they decide what you can legally hear.  What happens if "mitigating circumstances" become apparent after conviction or worse, aren't even heard?  Why is the jury allowed to decide a penalty like "death" without hearing everything?

More importantly,  why are we killing people? 
Willis

Update:  willis had this wrong.  This guy apparently held his child hostage and killed him in cold blood not an accident as I stated in the original post.  The accidental angle was an interpretation of the reports I read before posting this.
I don't agree with the death penalty regardless.  It doesn't look like it was a real deterrent in this case.

Huckabee On The Daily Show Tonight

It'll be interesting to see what if anything, is said about Huckabee's commuting a 108 year sentence on Maurice Clemmons. Clemmons killed four police officers in Washington on 11/29 and was himself killed by police several days later. Huckabee caught a fair degree of grief from both the left and right for his actions while he was governor of Arkansas and has stood his ground.

I don't have much use for Huckabee. To me he is one example of what's wrong on the political right. I say "one example" as each of the republican nominees for the presidential election in 2008 brought their own slice of batshit crazy to the table (McCain = war is good, Rudy = everything is 9/11, Fred = senility, Tancredo = wholly crap!, etc). That and since then Bible-Huck got his own show on Fox to continue to show us why we should be thankful he didn't get close to being elected. That said, I'm backing Huckabee (just this once, dammit) sticking with his decision on Clemmons (one might say there's little else he can do and one would probably be right). However, living here in the Republic of East Texas and watching our Governor Perry repeatedly refuse to move on the death penalty against the recommendations of parole boards and others for several Texas inmates makes Huckabees's actions laudable by comparison....just sayin. It shows an unexpected degree of open-mindedness from a member of a crowd that views everything in black and white.

Death by "Numbers"

This is Khristian Oliver. He was executed last night in Texas at 32 years old. He committed a horrible crime when he was 20 when he shot and beat to death a man whose house he was burglarizing. The victim was shot 5 times and bludgeoned so badly he was unrecognizable. I'm not going to get into how I feel about the death penalty as we could be hear all night and you don't deserve that. The reason I bring up Mr Oliver is that his sentencing was determined by jurors who relied on bible passages to support their determination for execution. Specifically some sections of the Book of Numbers; "the murderer shall surely be put to death" and "the revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer". Mr Oliver was a bad guy and maybe deserved what he got, I don't know. But I wonder if the jury happened to be all Muslim and used the Koran to arrive at their decision, how it would fly for Mr Oliver or anyone.