It was a happy Thanksgiving for Steven Barnes -- the first he's had since some time before 1989, when he went to prison for a rape and murder he didn't commit.

The 42-year-old man walked out of state prison Tuesday after spending nearly half his life behind bars for a crime he did not commit. An Oneida County Court judge set Mr. Barnes free after DNA testing exonerated him of the murder and rape of a 16-year-old girl.

To his credit, the district attorney didn't stand in the way of Barnes' freedom.

The district attorney conceded that Mr. Barnes "would never have been arrested" if today's DNA technology had existed in 1985. The search for the real killer has been renewed.

Happy Thanksgiving, Steven Barnes.

For quite some time, prosecutors were prevented from offering "victim impact" evidence during the penalty phase of a death penalty trial. This made perfect sense, because the decision whether a murderer should be executed shouldn't depend upon how sympathetic the victim could be made to appear, or how many grieving friends and relatives were left behind. That changed in 1991.

Writing for a 6 to 3 majority, then-Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist said prosecutors could balance the virtually unlimited defense mitigation evidence by offering "a quick glimpse of the life" of the victim. But the court laid out little specific guidance beyond saying that victim impact evidence must not be "unduly prejudicial."

The "quick glimpse" language gave birth to an industry that produces "life of the victim" videos, set to music. It is unfortunate that the Supreme Court recently declined to decide whether that kind of video evidence crosses the line that the Court drew in 1991. [more ...]

The Toronto Star reports:

Researchers say they have located the world's oldest stash of marijuana, in a tomb in a remote part of China. The cache of cannabis is about 2,700 years old and was clearly ``cultivated for psychoactive purposes," rather than as fibre for clothing or as food, says a research paper in the Journal of Experimental Botany.

The 789 grams of dried cannabis was buried alongside a light-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian man, likely a shaman of the Gushi culture, near Turpan in northwestern China.

Batteries of tests were performed on the substance. It had a high "THC" content. Other items in the tomb indicated the deceased was of "high social standing."

The tomb also contained bridles, archery equipment and a harp, confirming the man's high social standing.

Hope everyone is having a good Thanksgiving holiday.

Today is a big day in college football. You can discuss it here

Go Gators!!

This is an Open Thread for talking college football.

Looseheadprop, a former federal prosecutor who writes at Firedoglake, makes a last-ditch effort to derail the nomination of Eric Holder for Attorney General.

I agree Obama should have picked someone different, but for for much different reasons -- his position on drug offenses, his Biden-like endorsement of draconian crime bills and his closeness to Obama (a weaker but still troublesome comparison can be made to Bush and Alberto Gonzales) but I think Obama is so beholden to Holder for his work on his campaign, from the Veep Selection Committee on down, that it's hopeless. He sailed through his 1997 confirmation hearing for Deputy Attorney General. As I wrote here and here, [More...]

Share your thoughts.

When TalkLeft last discussed the prosecution of Lori Drew (background here), it was to criticize the Justice Department for exploiting a tragedy as a test case to create a new federal power to prosecute internet users who conceal their true identities on social networking sites like MySpace. Posing as a teenage boy, Drew used a fictitious MySpace identity to say mean things to 13 year old Megan Meier, who was a neighbor and former friend of Drew's daughter. Megan committed suicide, prompting a federal prosecutor in California to indict Drew for computer fraud, despite the decision of a federal prosecutor in Missouri (where Drew and Meier lived) to decline prosecution.

The prosecutor was plainly seeking glory. The good news is: he didn't get it. On Wednesday the jury acquitted Drew of three felony charges that accused Drew of obtaining "unauthorized access" of MySpace to inflict emotional distress on Megan. The bad news (at least for now): Drew was convicted of three misdemeanors. [more ...]

It's shop till you drop day. The same deals are available online, so why go out? If you bought anything fun, or found a great deal and wished you could, let us know.

If there's one thing I wish I could get today, it's this, to replace the one that was stolen in my home invasion two weeks ago.

If you've got anything else to discuss, from politics to your thanksgiving dinner and all other topics, here's a place for you.

I just turned on KBCO in Boulder. Like many great radio stations around the country, they are playing collectibles with fewer commercials today.

Playing now: The Rolling Stones, You Can't Always Get What You Want.

Which of your favorite songs did you hear on the radio today? (I'll get some great late night suggestions from them.)

What I'm thankful for right now: The thieves left my stereo (probably because it dates to 1978 and the amp weighs about 80 pounds.) As you look around today, what are you happy you resisted the urge to trade in or give away?

It's a great Thanksgiving tradition. Radio stations around the country today will play the 18 minute version of Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant, recorded in 1967.

Should you miss it on your local radio station and yearn for the original version, you can listen here (and read the lyrics too.) [Update: that link doesn't seem to be working yet today, try here.]

If you're wondering where Alice is, she's here.
Does anyone besides me still have a hardcover edition of her 1969 Alice's Restaurant cookbook in their kitchen? (Photo here.) It's filled with tasty recipes and very easy instructions.

This is an open thread.

Everyone knows you need connections to get a pardon from the President. When I first wrote up President Bush's pardons, the two that stood out to me were the commutations to time served for two drug offenders.

The mystery as to one of these two, the commutation of John Forte, has been solved. It's Carly Simon, who appealed to Orrin Hatch, who owed her for having recorded one of his songs. Gawker has the details.

Step One: John Forte goes to Exeter, makes friends with Carly Simon's kid, then makes friends with Carly Simon.
Step Two: John Forte goes to jail.
Step Three: Carly Simon records one of Orrin Hatch's soulful ballads and then is like "Okay now you owe me, old man."

Here's Carly in her own words pleading Fort's case. [More...]

Here is the NYTimes reporting on the attacks:

Coordinated terror attacks struck the heart of Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, Wednesday night, killing dozens in machine-gun and grenade assaults on at least two five-star hotels, the city’s largest train station, a movie theater and a hospital. The Mumbai police said the attacks killed at least 75 people and wounded 240, according to preliminary reports. There were also reports that hostages had been taken in at least one of the hotels, with Americans and British nationals being singled out.