As TalkLeft has pointed out repeatedly, exonerations of the innocent by new DNA testing represent only the tip of the wrongful conviction iceberg. Most prosecutions do not depend on DNA evidence. In cases where it's absent, it is extraordinarily difficult to free the innocent after a mistaken conviction. An article in USA Today reminds us that even when DNA testing might prove helpful, states don't always preserve the evidence from which DNA might be obtained.

Timothy Atkins' innocence was proved the old fashioned way: through a "dogged investigation" conducted by lawyers and law students. He was 14 years into a 32 year sentence.

[T]he files contained a tantalizing 1999 letter, allegedly written by a key witness against Atkins, Denise Powell. In the letter to Atkins' grandmother, Powell said she had lied to police, without specifics. In her interrogation and in court, she had said Atkins confessed to being an accomplice in the 1985 murder.

[more ...]

Hillary Clinton writes today:

There appears to be no crisis, tragedy or disaster immune from exploitation under the Bush administration. The examples of the waste, fraud and abuse are legion -- from KBR performing shoddy electrical work in Iraq that has resulted in the electrocution of our military personnel according to Pentagon and Congressional investigators, to the firing of an Army official who dared to refuse a $1 billion payout for questionable charges to the same company. In another scam, the Pentagon awarded a $300 million contract to AEY, Inc., a company run by a 22-year-old who fulfilled an ammunition deal in Afghanistan by supplying rotting Chinese-made munitions to our allies.

[More . . .]

As both Big Tent Democrat and I wrote separately today, a Veep announcement from Sen. Barack Obama is not expected this week.

There was no announcement today in Indiana where he campaigned with current media front runner Sen. Evan Bayh.

Obama won’t be tipping his hand for running mate this week, one campaign official said, and he won’t do it next week either, at least not while he’s vacationing with his family in Hawaii. That vacation ends Aug. 16, giving Obama about a week and a half to make a decision in advance of the Democratic convention.

The State of Florida has 27 electoral votes, more than Indiana (12) and Virginia (13) combined. According to both SUSA, and now PPP, Obama is losing in Florida because is losing women to John McCain:

The numbers show an unusual gender gap, with McCain leading by 11 points among women while trailing by 5 points with men. Last month's results similarly showed Obama doing eight points better with men than women, a trend PPP has not seen in any of its other state by state polling.

Hillary Clinton as VP can help Obama win Florida. She will strengthen him with women and seniors. Yet another reason why she should be the VP pick. Let me add from PPP's release (PDF):

Obama earns just 76% of the Democratic vote, with the folks in his party supporting McCain disproportionately older white females. “The Democrats crossing over to support John McCain are your prototypical Hillary Clinton supporters,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “Barack Obama still has some work to do getting those folks on his side if he wants to have any chance of winning Florida.”

(Emphasis supplied.)

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

CBS will release a new poll tonight on voters' views of the importance of the vice-presidential candidate. Here are some of the findings:

30% say the choice is important to their vote. Among undecided voters, 47% say the choice will influence their vote.

The poll also shows a lack of confidence in both candidates on the question of which would make the right decisions on the economy:

Just 12 percent said they were very confident that Obama would and 9 percent said the same about McCain. Forty percent said they were somewhat confident that Obama would make the right decisions and 41 percent said that about McCain

As to making the right decisions about Iraq, it seems Obama's trip to the Mideast didn't help. While there's a lot of dissatisfaction with both candidates, McCain seems to be ahead on this issue: [More...]

Oh, come all ye faithful? The city and County of Denver yesterday issued a parade permit to a group of Hillary Clinton backers for Tuesday, August 26.

Hillary Clinton supporters will march through Denver during the Democratic National Convention to show appreciation for the New York senator's historic primary run and urge the party to place her name in nomination.

The city issued a permit Tuesday to Colorado Women Count/Women Vote for a parade on Aug. 26 - the 88th anniversary of women's suffrage and the date Clinton is rumored to be speaking at the DNC.

Also participating: "18 Million Voices, a national organization of Clinton supporters."

Hillary supporters, who will be arriving by buses from all over the country, have a place of their own to gather: [More...]

The military jury in the trial of Guantanamo Detainee and Osama bin Laden driver Salim Hamdan reached a split verdit: Guilty of terrorism, not guilty of conspiracy.

Sentencing is expected to take place this afternoon. Life in prison is on the table. Hamdan cried as the verdict was read. His lawyers point out the inherent unfairness of the military tribunal trial process:

Hamdan's attorneys said the judge allowed evidence that would not have been admitted by any civilian or military U.S. court, and that interrogations at the center of the government's case were tainted by coercive tactics, including sleep deprivation and solitary confinement.

Unfair trials rob the public of the ability to trust in the integrity of the verdict. Guantanamo has been a failure and a black mark on America since day one. After the War in Iraq, this will be the biggest stain on the legacy of George W. Bush. Worst President Ever.[More...]

Howard Fineman writes:

Does Barack Obama think he needs the Clintons’ help this fall? And do the Clintons really want to give it to him? The answer to both questions seems to be a resounding “no.” And this could very well be the reason why a slam-dunk Obama victory in November becomes a down-to-the wire race against John McCain.

(Emphasis supplied.) Fineman quotes a Clinton fundraiser saying:

“It’s not that we’re being dismissed,” she said. “The Obama people are perfectly happy to have our support. But their attitude seems to be, ‘we can win without you.’ And I guess that’s why none of us is going from rah-rah Hillary to rah-rah Obama.”

As I have written, I think Obama is certainly going to win this election -- and that he can win without the Clinton Wing of the Democratic Party. The question is why does he want to win that way? Why go for a close victory without the Clintons when you can have a slam dunk victory, a mandate giving victory, with them?

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Bush's Third Term. It is pretty obvious, but it seems to have taken a while for the Obama campaign to get back to the narrative of John McCain as Bush's Third Term. This Obama ad is what we need:

More of this please.

Via Pontificator (who argues for Hillary as VP), the Financial Times reports:

Obama officials say privately it is unlikely a running mate will be selected before the candidate returns from a week’s holiday in Hawaii, which starts this Friday. That leaves about 10 days until the start of the Democratic party convention in Denver.

More . . .

Maureen Dowd is already in "oblivion" as a political commenter. She is defined by her silliness and her columns are basically fodder for mockery. But she wrote a few lines today that merit consideration because they follow a theme that has been running through the Obama campaign, mostly through his supporters in the Media and the blogs - "Bill Clinton looks at Obama and sees his own oblivion", writes Dowd. Of course, the opposite is true. The Obama Post Partisan Unity Schtick has been a direct descendant of Bill Clinton's Third Way Schtick of the 1990s. Obama, in many ways, not the least of which is the marked improvement in race relations in the 1990s, IS Bill Clinton's legacy.

But, as I wrote about before, Barack Obama seems determined to disown this Democratic legacy. In a political campaign that is becoming increasingly dominated by economic concerns, this is political stupidity. Obama should be embracing the Clinton economic legacy. He should be trying to place the Bush economic legacy on John McCain.

More . . .

In these times of financial distress, the New York Times runs a good editorial on the issue of credit card company abuse:

When the Federal Reserve asked for comments on its proposed rules on abusive credit card practices, an astonishing 56,000 poured in. Most were from outraged consumers. They told of interest rates skyrocketing when they paid an unrelated bill late. They complained of unwarranted late fees and pushed-up due dates. One Pennsylvania customer fumed: “I’m fed up with credit card company tricks that drive us deeper in debt.”

This anguished deluge should send a clear message to leaders in Washington. The Federal Reserve should swiftly adopt its proposed rules against unfair or deceptive credit card practices. But the real burden to curb these abuses falls on Congress. For too long, members of Congress have shirked the responsibility to ensure fair lending to credit card customers and have listened more intently to the banking lobbyists.

More...