The San Francisco Chronicle today reports on archictect Raphael Sperry's plan to boycott the design of prisons . 274 architects have signed on so far. In March, we reported on Mr. Sperry's boycott of execution chambers, referencing this interview with him.

The group is Adpsr(Architects / Designers / Planners for Social Responsibility ). Their website for the boycott is here.

by TChris

A Poughkeepsie judge, George Marlow, reminded listeners during a Law Day speech that "the jury system is our best hope for justice most often and our best protection against tyranny." He also spoke out against proposals to limit both the questioning of potential jurors and the exercise peremptory challenges (the ability to strike prospective jurors who seem to a lawyer to be potentially unfair).

"What could ever be more critical to a fair trial than a nonpolitical, impartial, patient, fair and decent jury of free women and men?" Marlow said. "A jury may be picked by the smartest, most prepared lawyers on this planet. But if there are a few wolves in sheep's clothing seated in that box and the lawyers aren't given the leeway to ferret them out ... no amount of competent lawyering can ever prevent the oncoming train of injustice these wolves may be driving."

by TChris

Severed fingers as a food product are again making headlines. First there was this strange case, which led to criminal charges. Now Clarence Stowers of North Carolina, who purchased a pint of frozen custard, found "a piece of severed finger lost by an employee in an accident."

"I thought it was candy because they put candy in your ice cream … to make it a treat," Stowers told [WWAY-TV]. "So I said, ‘OK, well, I'll just put it in my mouth and get the ice cream off of it and see what it is.'"

Realizing the object wasn't candy, Stowers rinsed it off and "just started screaming."

For the second time since 2003, a Puerto Rico jury has rejected the death penalty in a federal case. The New York Times reports:

A 12-member jury decided that Hernando Medina Villegas, 24, and Lorenzo Catalan Roman, 25, will face life imprisonment for shooting and killing a security guard while robbing an armored truck on March 27, 2002. If the jury had decided for the death penalty, it would have been the first time in nearly 80 years that someone charged in Puerto Rico would have faced execution.

You would think the feds would have learned their lesson in 2003 when Ashcroft intervened in a Puerto Rico case to demand that the death penalty be sought. Not only didn't the jury return a death verdict, it acquitted the two defendants of the underlying crime. As I said then:

The runaway bride story still has legs in the 24/7 cable news cycle. The groom still wants to marry her. Gwinnett County DA Danny Porter, who as we reported yesterday, did not think charges should be brought against sheriff deputies who tasered a handcuffed and foot-bound man five times in 60 seconds, after which he died, is considering whether to charge the runaway bride with a crime.

What crime fits? Porter says either false reporting of a crime (the kidnapping) or making false statements to Georgia police. The reasoning seems to be that the bride should be accountable for the expenses incurred by police in searching for her and the anguish she caused people in the community.

Neither of those are elements of the crimes under consideration. Nor are they valid reasons to charge either crime.

TChris wrote yesterday about a 13 year old girl from a group home in Florida who wanted an abortion. The state objected. A Florida judge today ruled in the girl's favor.

....Judge Ronald Alvarez of Palm Beach County Circuit Court ruled that the girl was competent to make decisions regarding her pregnancy and had the right to do so under the state's Constitution.

The girl was represented by the ACLU and lawyer Howard Simon:

"This is another instance," Mr. Simon said, "in which state government, under the leadership of our governor, is attempting to frustrate decisions that are made within what should be a zone of personal privacy"

Update (by TChris): Florida has decided not to appeal the judge's ruling.

by TChris

An ugly death in Iraq isn't the kind of future that induces young men and women to enlist in the military. The Army missed its recuiting goals for the third consecutive month in April. Perhaps hoping to bolster the Army's recruiting efforts, the administration persuaded the Supreme Court to decide whether it is entitled to withhold federal funds from schools that ban military recruiters.

A coalition of 31 law schools says forcing them to accommodate military recruiters also forces them to endorse the Pentagon's discrimination against gays and lesbians, which is at odds with the colleges' anti-discrimination policies. They say a 1994 law that threatens federal funding for colleges that ban military recruiters ["the Solomon Amendment"] violates their rights to choose what ideas they embrace or support.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia agreed with the colleges and declared the law unconstitutional.

The Bush administration argues that the schools surrender their free speech rights by accepting federal money. The law schools contend that they cannot be forced to endorse employers who discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation by providing them with career placement services.

Gov. Jeb Bush has signed Florida's new sex offender law.

The Jessica Lunsford Act requires those who prey on children under 12 to be sentenced to at least 25 years in prison and, if they get out, to be tracked for life.

It is never a good idea to enact legislation in response to a singular event, no matter how horrific. Act in haste, repent at leisure.

This one-size-fits-all attempt at justice will result in no justice at all. The bill fails to adequately distinguish between violent and non-violent offenders. A 2003 Justice Department study found that sex offenders have a lower incidence of recidivism than other those convicted of non-sex crimes.

Pat Robertson was on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" yesterday. He said that federal judges are a bigger threat than al Qaeda.

"Over 100 years, I think the gradual erosion of the consensus that's held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings," Robertson said on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." "I think we have controlled Al Qaeda," the 700 Club host said, but warned of "erosion at home" and said judges were creating a "tyranny of oligarchy."

"I think they are destroying the fabric that holds our nation together."

On a related note, the News reports that a GOP aide advises that Frist is short the 50 votes he needs for his nuclear option:

Sources told the Daily News that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist lacks the 50 votes he needs, which could be a blow to his presidential hopes. "I don't think Frist has the votes," a GOP aide said. "He's now in his own corner. If he doesn't have the votes, he's really screwed."

Pfc. Lynndie England pleaded guilty today to seven charges. A jury will determine her punishment.

England pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy, four counts of abusing detainees and one count of committing an indecent act, during a morning pre-trial hearing at Fort Hood, Texas.

She pleaded not guilty to two other counts against her: dereliction of duty and committing an indecent act.

Her ex-boyfriend, prioner abuser Charles Graner is expected to testify for her at her sentencing. Reportedly, Graner is the father of the child conceived at Abu Ghraib. He has since married another reserve officer soldier who pleaded guilty to prisoner abuse charges, Spc. Megan Ambuhl.

The International press is reporting that two weeks ago, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Saddam Hussein in jail and offered to free him:

US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld paid a secret visit to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and offered him freedom and possible return to public life if he made a televised request to armed groups for a ceasefire with allied forces, a media report said.

Saddam promptly rejected the offer, Ynetnews reported quoting a London based Al-Quds Al-Arabi daily.

Other news agencies that have run the story: Here, here and here. [Via Sploid and Crooks and Liars.]

And here's an interesting recent interview with Samir, the St. Louis auto mechanic who pulled Saddam Hussein from his spider hole.

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft is going into the security business:

Ashcroft is starting a company that will offer "strategic consulting, security and internal investigative services, and crisis counseling," to major corporations, a spokesperson for the new firm said on Monday. ...His new firm will advise clients on issues including homeland security, law enforcement, corporate compliance, antitrust law and intellectual property protection, the spokesperson said.

Joining Ashcroft at the Washington-based firm will be his long-time chief of staff David Ayres, and Juleanna Glover Weiss, a former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney and other Republicans.

Anything that gives Giuliani competition can't be all bad.