Bump and Update: Attorney General Eric Holder has approved the plea deal his predecessor Michael Mukasey rejected. The death penalty will be off the table when trial resumes for Emile Fort.

Not only does Holder's reversal likely spare defendant Emile Fort his life, but it may signal a less aggressive approach to the death penalty in federal court. And it vindicates the local U.S. Attorney's office: Months ago federal prosecutors in San Francisco had recommended a 40-year plea bargain for Fort to their higher-ups in Washington -- only to be rebuffed by Holder's predecessor, Michael Mukasey.

Original Post below:

BTD is busy at work today. Me too. Here's an open thread for you, all topics welcome.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in the William Osborne case. Osborne was convicted of rape in Alaska and alleges new DNA technology would prove he is factually innocent.

Alaska is one of several states that refuses to allow inmates to obtain DNA testing to prove innocence.

The Obama administration has taken Alaska’s side in arguing that Osborne has no right to access the biological evidence obtained in 1994, even if he pays for it. Today’s advanced tests could establish a match with a certainty of one in a billion. Former FBI Director William Sessions explains why Obama is wrong on this one. [More...]

The ACLU has been engaged in a long lawsuit seeking to obtain videotapes of CIA interrogations of detainees abroad. Today the Government filed a letter with the court acknowledging that 92 interrogation tapes were destroyed.

"This letter provides further evidence for holding the CIA in contempt of court. The large number of videotapes destroyed confirms that the agency engaged in a systemic attempt to hide evidence of its illegal interrogations and to evade the court's order. Our contempt motion has been pending in court for over a year now – it is time to hold the CIA accountable for its flagrant disregard for the rule of law."

A copy of the letter is here (pdf). An AP report is here.

Reuters today provides a timeline for the War on Drugs in Latin America.

It began in 1970 with passage of the Controlled Substances Act. President Richard Nixon declared a War on Drugs in 1971 and the DEA was established in 1973.

Pablo Escobar formed the Medellin cartel in 1983.

By 1985, Mexico began to replace Colombia. In 1993, Columbian police, with assistance from the U.S., kill Escobar. By 1996, the Cali Cartel was dismantled.

In 2000, President Clinton provides Colombia with $1.3 billion to fight the war on drugs. In 2004, George W. Bush provides $1.4 billion to Colombia and Mexico. In 2008, more than 6,000 are killed in drug violence in Mexico.

And they still don't get the picture, the War on Drugs is a failure. Defense Secretary Robert Gates now wants to use our military to continue the losing battle.

September 15, 2005:

"Republicans said Karl Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff and Mr. Bush's chief political adviser, was in charge of the reconstruction effort..."

--Elisabeth Bumiller and Richard W. Stevenson, "Bush to Focus on Vision for Reconstruction in Speech," The New York Times.

March 1, 2009:

Is it any surprise that the collapsed house of cards that is our nation after the Bush years was built by this "architect"? "The government official who is responsible for managing Katrina...is the governor of Louisiana."
--Karl Rove, "Rove Blames Louisiana for Katrina Response," "ABC News: This Week with George Stephanopoulos."

BTD is preparing for a hearing tomorrow and I'm running around doing various things but looking forward to the season finale tonight's two hour episode of Brothers and Sisters tonight.

What's going on elsewhere? All topics welcome.

I was watching a little bit of the Sunday shows and was bored to tears. These DC gasbags really have nothing worth saying imo.If you think you have something worth saying, here is an Open Thread.

This is an Open Thread.

When we first caught up with the news about Ohio criminal defense attorney Frank Pignatelli who became an informant for the feds against some of his own clients to avoid indictment on drug and money laundering charges for allegedly having acted in concert with them, he was practicing law in Denver, including representing defendants in federal drug cases.

A few weeks ago, the Colorado Supreme Court filed a petition to suspend his Colorado license to practice law because he allegedly lied on his bar admission application, stating he had never been under investigation.

The Colorado Supreme Court has now revoked Pignatelli's license -- our local alt weekly Westword has all the colorful details. [More...]

In the good news department, New York's draconian Rockefeller drug laws are expected to take a big blow this week as the legislature is poised to pass new laws granting judges more discretion in sentencing.

The Assembly is expected to pass legislation on Tuesday that would once again give judges the discretion to send those found guilty of having smaller amounts of illegal drugs to substance-abuse treatment instead of prison and allow thousands of inmates convicted of nonviolent drug offenses to apply to have their sentences reduced or commuted.

Meanwhile, the governor’s office is preparing legislation that it plans to present to Senate leaders on Monday that would also give judges discretion in sentencing, according to a senior administration official involved in drafting the bills. But for now, the governor is not taking a position on whether sentences should be reduced for some prisoners.

Mandatory minimums were a terrible and unjust solution to the problems that plagued New York in the '70's. I hope the legislators hold firm and make relief retroactive to those already serving these awful sentences. [More...]

Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius will be the new chief of HHS. I think she's a far better choice than Tom Daschle.

Here's some background on her. The announcement will be made Monday.

Update: Sebelius has accepted the nomination.

President Obama's new budget includes $26.5 billion for DOJ, a 3.5% increase.

The budget includes $109 million for prisoner re-entry services, including $75 million under the Second Chance Act. It also includes money for drug courts. More details here (pdf).

But do we really need $1.2 billion in the effort to remove undocumented residents? From the Homeland Security Budget (pdf): [More...]