by TChris

The Charlotte Observer today praises North Carolina legislators who want to reform the state's administration of the death penalty.

North Carolina's criminal justice system makes too many mistakes. The state has convicted the wrong person for murder on several occasions. Unless the legislature finds out why and corrects the problem, it's only a matter of time before it executes an innocent person. Lawmakers must not allow this to happen.

The risk of executing the innocent isn't the only flaw in the state's administration of the death penalty. While ending the death penalty is the only way to be certain that the government is not killing an innocent prisoner, the need to make fundamental improvements to the system -- even if punishment by death isn't abolished -- is obvious.

by TChris

Racial and religious hatred breeds in an intolerant climate, and tolerance has been a limited commodity in the United States in recent years. As shocking as they should be, these sad incidents in San Jose come as no surprise:

Eight of the lawns had swastikas burned into them, including those of at least two homes with Jewish residents. A racial epithet had been burned into the lawn of a home whose residents are black, [Deputy] Helm said.

Hatred of racial and religious groups is an ongoing problem that receives too little public attention.

"Unfortunately, it is rearing its ugly head," [NAACP of San Jose president] Callender said. "Just because you don’t hear about it doesn’t mean it’s not happening."

Rock the Vote needs your help. They are under siege from a right-wing group due to their strong stand against privitization. They want bloggers to pass this along:

They call themselves Americans for Prosperity. They just sent us a box of t-shirts that mimic our I LOVE SOCIAL SECURITY shirts[ but instead read I Love Hypocrisy]. A flattering imitation. But here's the thing: our t-shirts are UNION MADE IN THE U.S.A. Supporting the American way of life. Their shirts are MADE IN GUATEMALA. Probably in a sweatshop.

Now which group is really americans for prosperity, and which group is really a bunch of hypocrites? Get your I LOVE SOCIAL SECURITY shirts today!

by TChris

Criminal laws that are named after crime victims are almost always bad laws. So it is with New Jersey's Maggie's Law, named after a woman who was killed by a sleep-deprived driver. Maggie's mom was angry that two juries failed to convict the careless driver of murder (the driver later pled guilty to reckless driving), so she campaigned for a new law.

The law increased penalties for fatigued drivers who go more than 24 hours without sleep and cause a fatal accident. The law allowed such drivers to be charged with vehicular homicide, a second-degree offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $100,000 fine.

New Jersey used Maggie's Law for the first time this year, eight years after it was enacted.

Note that ER physicians routinely practice medicine after staying awake more than 24 hours, but they aren't subject to criminal prosecution if their fatigue-induced negligence leads to the death of a patient. Many factors (including fatigue) contribute to traffic accidents, but they are still accidents, and accidents should not be treated as serious crimes, despite the understandable outrage of a mom regarding her child's death.

At the Take Back America conference Thursday, Howard Dean and John Edwards gave speeches. But neither mentioned Iraq. Who did? Arianna Huffington.

David Corn and John Nichols report . And Arianna speaks for herself, here.

You can watch all the major speeches at the TBA website.

Hollywood loves Hillary Clinton. Wednesday night she appeared at a few fundraisers in L.A. and took in $1 million. Sen. Harry Reid appeared with her.

From a $1,000-per-person soiree at the home of Warner Bros. chief Alan Horn to a late-night Young Hollywood shindig co-hosted by such performers as Christina Aguilera, Scarlett Johansson and Jake Gyllenhaal, organizers of the Wednesday night events had to turn away aspiring guests.

One dinner at the home of radio syndication billionaire Norm Pattiz was expected to bring in $450,000 for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, organizers said. Clinton appeared at the event with Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Thursday night, Hillary continued, with fundraisers in Sacramento and San Francisco.

Why isn't she with the country's other progressives at the Take Back America conference? Marc Cooper has a theory.

U.S. and Australian officials have warned of terrorist plans to bomb hotels frequented by Westerners in Jakarta:

Australian embassy officials in Jakarta have advised Australian citizens in Indonesia they have intelligence reports suggesting the possibility of imminent terrorist attacks. The warning follows a similar statement from US officials.

...The US embassy issued an advisory informing its citizens that it had learned as of June 1 that extremists had plans to conduct bomb attacks targeting the lobbies of hotels frequented by Westerners in Jakarta. The warning also said the attacks were to occur at noon on an unspecified date but carried no further information.

If the Australian officials try and connect this to Schapelle Corby supporters, as they did the harmless powder-filled letter, they really have a problem.

If they try to bring back the draft, as the parent of a draft-age son, and as one who actively protested the draft the last time around, you can be sure I'll be in the front lines of screamers. Markos of Daily Kos, as an appreciative enlistee and veteran of Gulf War I, makes a persuasive case against the draft. And parents across America are now getting ready to holler loud.

I think the "special skills" draft will be first. And with all the troubles recruiters are encountering, it may not be long off. [Here's a piece on a recruiting scandal in Colorado reported last month where a high school kid went undercover and got tapes of recruiters offering to help him a pass drug test and get a phony diploma. As a result, the Army shut down 1,700 recruiting stations for a day.]

Read the 2003 official memo (pdf) on the Special Skill draft. If you are under 34, with special medical, computer or language skills, or the parent of one who is, be very afraid. Women also will have to register under plans being considered. And Canada will not be an option.

Other good reads:

We may finally get to the bottom of the Administration's "few bad apples" meme. The ACLU won another round in federal court today in its FOIA lawsuit.

A federal judge has ordered the Defense Department to turn over dozens of photographs and four movies depicting detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq as part of an ongoing lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.

"These images may be ugly and shocking, but they depict how the torture was more than the actions of a few rogue soldiers," said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU. "The American public deserves to know what is being done in our name. Perhaps after these and other photos are forced into the light of day, the government will at long last appoint an outside special counsel to investigate the torture and abuse of detainees."

Talk about chutzpah, the Administration invoked, of all things, the Geneva Conventions to argue against release.

An informant recants...

A paid informant who figured prominently in police and FBI investigations into the killing of rap star Notorious B.I.G., and who accused rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight and a rogue police officer of orchestrating the murder, has admitted that his information was "all hearsay." The informant, questioned under oath in a civil lawsuit, also admitted that his identification of the alleged gunman was fraudulent. He described himself as a paranoid schizophrenic who has been hospitalized for the disorder.

The case is classified as unsolved, but who will repair the damage to these three?

Earl Ofari Huchinson, writing at the Huffington Post, explains why Emmett Till's case still matters. I agree with him, and I also think the dedication of filmmaker Keith Beauchamp should receive greater attention. Without the film, I don't believe the case would ever have been reopened.

Blaghdaddy disagrees with the exhumation of Mr. Till's body, and the re-opening of the case, using graphic language that would trigger the alarm bells of censor software used by law firms and get TalkLeft banned, but feel free to argue with him over there.

All of TalkLeft's Emmett Till coverage is accessible here.

At 8pm ET, C-Span 2 will feature Atrios and other bloggers participating in the Take Back America conference this week in Washington, D.C. You can watch on the Internet here.

Top progressive bloggers, comedians and radio commentators will take the stage for an animated discussion about the new media and politics. Think Crossfire meets Politically Incorrect. Bring your laptop and tell them what you really think live on stage.

Howard Dean, John Edwards and Arianna Huffington spoke today. And John Edwards invited some of our favorite bloggers over to his house for dinner.

The conference continues tomorrow.