The Washington Post reports that two more Virginia inmates convicted of rape, one of whom served 20 years before being released, have been determined to be factually innocent based on new DNA testing. The testing in one of the cases produced a "cold hit" to the true perpetrators.

The revelations are the result of modern-day testing Warner ordered more than a year ago of biological samples that had been collected in thousands of violent criminal cases dating back to the 1970s and 1980s. Those samples were collected before leaps in the forensic science.

Now that those tests have revealed that two more innocent men were jailed, Warner is ordering all of the files and others in state custody-- about 660 boxes that contain thousands of cases from 1973 through 1988 -- to be examined for cases that can be retested using the latest DNA technology.

The testing was conducted during a random sample review of 31 cases purusant to an order issued by Gov. Warner last year. In other words, it weren't requested by the inmates, who had since served their time and been released. Kudos to Governor Warner for ordering testing on more cases today.

In his statement released this afternoon, Gov. Warner says it's the morally correct thing to do:

A front page article in today's Wall Street Journal on the Jeffrey MacDonald case reports that lawyers for MacDonald filed papers yesterday in the 4th Circuit to set aside MacDonald's sentence based on newly-discovered evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.

It's been more than a quarter-century since Jeffrey MacDonald was convicted of murdering his wife and two daughters in their Fort Bragg, N.C., home. The former Green Beret, 62 years old, is serving a life sentence in a Cumberland, Md., prison. Dr. MacDonald's story has been examined in dozens of judicial opinions, dramatized on television and told in a best-selling book, "Fatal Vision."

Now a bizarre epilogue is unfolding.

Helen Stoeckley matched MacDonald's description of one of the attackers the night of the murders of his wife and children. Jimmy B. Britt was a deputy U.S. marshall who drove Stoeckley to Raleigh to testify at the trial. On the way, says Britt, Stoeckley said she was in MacDonald's house the night of the murders. She gave details of the interior of the house.

American Progress is hosting a blogger conference call on Judge Sam Alito at 3pm ET. If you'd like to participate, here are the details:

The regular call-in line is (888) 665-1701, and the conference ID number is 3461465.

Speakers include Paul Begala, Judd Legum , David Halperin and me. You will be able to ask questions.

Raw Story reports in an exclusive that Sen. Harry Reid will vote against cloture on the Patriot Act renewal legislation.

Reid has told aides he will vote against cloture -- a Senate procedure which requires that 60 senators support a bill being brought before the Senate before it is brought to a final vote. In essence, voting against cloture means supporting a filibuster.

This is a really bad bill, both from a civil liberties and and a criminal justice standpoint.

by TChris

It's good to see a mainstream news source like the Washington Post calling attention to hypocrisy among right-wing religious extremists:

Why in recent years have conservative Christians asserted their influence on efforts to relieve Third World debt, AIDS in Africa, strife in Sudan and international sex trafficking -- but remained on the sidelines while liberal Christians protest domestic spending cuts?

The answer: religious leaders on the extreme right are making deals with the devils in the Republican Party leadership.

Columnist Robert Novak gave a speech yesterday in Raleigh, N.C.

"I'm confident the president knows who the source is," Novak told a luncheon audience at the John Locke Foundation in Raleigh on Tuesday. "I'd be amazed if he doesn't."

One other tidbit: Novak says his and Woodward's source probably are the same person:

Woodward, a Washington Post editor, recently disclosed that he, too, had been told by an administration figure about Plame's secret identity -- probably, he said, by the same source who told Novak.

How typical of conservatives. When you don't have a legal or rational leg to stand on, attack those pointing out the error of your ways. The New York Times reports that as part of "law enforcement week," conservatives have launched an internet ad campaign supporting Judge Sam Alito's dissent in the 2004 case of Doe v. Groody (pdf), in which Alito argued it was okay for police to strip search a ten year old when the warrant only named her father. I kept reading the article, thinking I would learn the legal theory the ad relied as support for Alito's belief that the police action was justified. Instead, I found this:

The conservative advertisement attacks the "left-wing extremists" who oppose Judge Alito, saying they "may have found new allies, drug dealers who hide their drugs on children."

Judge Alito's actual dissent in the case reads like a prosecutor's brief rather than a judicial opinion: The search was good, and even if it wasn't, a reasonable officer might have believed it was good -- and it's a fact that drug dealers use their kids to carry out their business and avoid prosecution.

The majority opinion, by the way, with which Alito disagreed, was written by that uber-liberal (sarcasm) former Judge and now Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff.

Update from Firedoglake:

David Shuster reported on MSNBC on Dan Abrams show at 4:35 pm ET that they were informed yesterday eveing that the G/J was prepared to meet today with Patrick Fitzgerald. But as of today, Fitzgerald was not at the courthouse today, neither were the members of the G/J. Additionally, this is a period of high anxiety for the Rove side of things, according to Shuster.

Raw Story reports that Patrick Fitzgerald will be meeting with the grand jury tomorrow to present it with the depositions of Viveca Novak and Robert Luskin, Karl Rove's lawyer. RS reports Fitz will wrap up by the end of the year.

RS believes, as I do, that Fitzgerald will charge Rove with making a false statement to federal officials in October, 2003, prior to the time the grand jury was convened. Here's RS on Fitz's meeting last week with the grand jury:

A week ago, Fitzgerald briefed the second grand jury hearing evidence in the leak case for more than three hours. During that time, he brought them up to speed on the latest developments involving Rove and at least one other White House official, the sources said. The attorneys refused to identify the second person.

That would have to be Bob Woodward's source, whom the blogosphere has narrowed down to Stephen Hadley or Richard Armitage. I'll go with Stephen Hadley.

Raw Story had an article earlier today stating that John Hannah, who reportedly has a cooperation deal with Fitzgerald, probably for immunity, told Fitz that Rove first learned of Valerie Plame Wilson (although not by her maiden name) from Scooter Libby -- not from reporters, as he first told investigators.

Like thousands of others, I've been confused about whether to get XM or Sirius or neither. I've been leaning towards XM, and then I stop and ask myself what do I need either for? I can listen to Air America on local radio, I don't spend that much time in the car, and I can watch the news on cable. But I think I just found my reason, and my network.

Legendary folk rocker Bob Dylan will start a new career as a radio DJ when he launches a new weekly music show on XM Satellite Radio next March.... "Dylan will offer regular commentary on music and other topics, host and interview special guests including other artists and will take emails from XM subscribers," XM said.

The full text of the pending Patriot Act renewal legislation, along with the report from the Republicans on the Conference Committee, is available here. [link fixed.]The Table of Contents lists the following provisions specifically impacting Drug Policy.

• Sec. 122. Prohibition of narco-terrorism.
• Sec. 221. Elimination of procedures applicable only to certain Controlled Substances Act cases. (Death Penalty)
• Sec. 410. Uniform procedures for criminal forfeiture.
• TITLE VII--COMBAT METHAMPHETAMINE EPIDEMIC ACT OF 2005 (Sections
  701-756)

Also check out Section 201 which contains the``Terrorist Death Penalty Enhancement Act of 2005''. Sec. 222 adds a new section on indigent defense in death cases (which will now be under 18 USC 3599 in Title 28) instead of 21 USC 848 (q.) Hopefully, they didn't diminish funding.

Background on the use of the Patriot Act to fight the drug war is here. Much of this is the work of Congressman James Sensenbrenner who has become, in my constitutionally protected opinion, a national menace (read about his five years for passing a joint bill and "snitch or go to jail" bills.) As TChris wrote, it's time to Just Say No to Sensenbrenner.

by TChris

Two law professors, Goodwin Liu and Lynsay Skiba, have authored a white paper (pdf) for the indispensable American Constitution Society, exploring Judge Alito�s approach to death penalty reviews during his tenure on the Court of Appeals. Here�s a synopsis (received via email):

In their paper, "Judge Alito and the Death Penalty," Liu and Skiba examine in detail the five capital cases in which Judge Alito disagreed with his colleagues during his tenure on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Liu and Skiba note that Judge Alito has voted to uphold a death sentence in each of these five capital cases. They conclude that, in doing so, Judge Alito "dilute[ed] norms of basic fairness" by taking controversial positions outside-the- mainstream of judicial thought. After noting the implications of both Judge Alito's judicial methodology and his ideology for his jurisprudence relating to the death penalty and the War on Terror, Liu and Skiba propose a series of specific questions that they suggest Senators on the Judiciary Committee pose to the nominee during the upcoming hearings on his nomination.

by TChris

TalkLeft wrote here about Cory Maye, a man who shot a police officer in the middle of the night, after the officer broke down Maye's door, believing Maye was a drug dealer. The cop's mistake (the dealer lived next door) and his aggressive approach to search warrant executions led to his tragic death, but Maye is black and the cop (son of the police chief) was white, so a Mississippi jury found Maye guilty of murder. Maye is facing a death sentence for doing nothing more than protecting his family from a perceived intruder.

TalkLeft credited Radley Balko at the Agitator for pursuing this story. Today, the Public Eye at CBS News reviews the reactions of other bloggers to Maye's case and asks whether the mainstream media will follow the blogosphere in reporting this important story.

Will it? This isn't a story about an attractive white girl gone missing in Aruba, so the answer is: don't count on it.