This is pathetic. First, the Innocence Protection Act, which TalkLeft and others lobbied mightily for, was gutted to a shadow of its former self and renamed the Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act. It passed the House 357 to 67 last November.

The bill got stalled in the Senate yesterday by Republicans objecting to the Innocence Protection Act provisions contained in the Act--despite the fact that victims, as well as innocence advocates, have been pushing hard for passage. The innocence provisions would allow inmates to obtain DNA testing to challenge their convictions and grant compensation to those inmates who prove they were factually innocent and wrongfully convicted. Currently, 151 inmates have been exonerated of the crimes of which they were convicted through DNA testing.

The bill in its current form provides far more benefits to crime victims than to wrongfully convicted inmates. Here's the disparity: $755 million is going to DNA testing of old rape kits in hopes of finding the perpetrator through a DNA databank, while only $25 million is allotted for the DNA testing of inmates with colorable factual innocence claims.

And yet, there are still objections to the bill. Shameful. As Senator Patrick Leahy said yesterday:

"Every day that the bill is stalled is another day that rape kits go untested for lack of funds; another day that inmates with colorable claims of innocence are denied access to the DNA evidence that could set them free and put the real criminals behind bars."

How tough is it to understand that DNA protects the innocent and identifies the guilty. if the wrong person is in jail, the real perpetrator is still out there, quite capable of striking again.

Two Army Generals said in depositions and interviews Thursday that the number of prisoners held in Iraq who were hidden from the Red Cross far exceeded a few dozen and may have numbered up to 100.

Army jailers in Iraq, acting at the Central Intelligence Agency's request, kept dozens of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison and other detention facilities off official rosters to hide them from Red Cross inspectors, two senior Army generals said Thursday. The total is far more than had been previously reported.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-VA), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has accused the Bush Administration of leaking classified data to a journalist for partisan purposes. Who? Bob Woodward.

Sad news to report. Aaron Hawkins, of Uppity Negro, has passed away. No details are available yet. He was a unique and talented voice in the blogosphere. You can leave your condolences here.

U.S. News & World Report joins the fray and reports that Bush's military records appear to show that the president failed to fulfill his duty to the Air National Guard. They sum up:

A recent examination of the records by U.S. News does not appear to support Retired Air Force Colonel Albert C. Lloyd Jr.'s conclusions. Among the issues identified by the magazine:

• The White House used an inappropriate–and less stringent–Air Force standard in determining that President Bush fulfilled his National Guard duty.

• Even using this lesser standard, the president did not attend enough drills to complete his obligation to the Guard during his final year of service.

Say hello to the AWOL Project--devoted to examining the Bush Military Files. Their latest debunks Bush's claim that he attended make-up sessions in Boston.

The recent release of the “missing” payroll records from George W. Bush’s tenure in the Texas Air National Guard confirm that Bush did not show up for any of his mandatory training for five straight months.

Follow the paper trail. The site says:

For the first time, Oklahoma has brought first degree murder charges against a woman whose baby was stillborn based on drugs the mother ingested while pregnant. Prosecutors say there will be more such cases filed in the future:

A 27-year-old Oklahoma woman has been charged with first-degree murder after doctors said the woman's illegal drug use caused her baby to be stillborn, prosecutors said on Thursday. It is the first time the state has charged a woman with first-degree murder for using illegal drugs that are suspected of killing the fetus she carried, Oklahoma County prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said they filed first-degree murder charges against Theresa Hernandez late on Wednesday. Police arrested Hernandez after she gave birth to a dead boy at an Oklahoma City hospital in April. A doctor attending the birth told police the mother and baby tested positive for methamphetamine and ruled the death a homicide. Doctors told police the baby had enough methamphetamine in his system to kill two adults.

Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane said: "We've been wanting to do this with a number of people. This has been needing to happen for a long time."

How much meth does it take to kill two adults? And if such amount really is determinable, how come it didn't kill the pregnant woman? How much money is the State of Oklahoma going to spend to attempt to prove the woman's drug taking caused the death of the fetus? Treatment, not jail, would be a wiser investment. America. Prison Nation.

In December, 2002, the Bureau of Prisons changed its policy and began refusing to let inmates go to halfway houses until they completed 90% of their sentences. Today, the first federal appellate court to issue a decision on the policy, struck it down. Via e-mail from defense attorney Todd Bussert of New Haven, Conn:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit published the first appellate decision on the merits concerning the BOP halfway house litigation that has been ongoing since January 2003. In Goldings v. Winn, the Court of Appeals roundly rejected the government's statutory interpretation, finding that 18 USC 3621 vests BOP with the authority to use halfway houses, which are properly viewed as "places of imprisonment" under that provision, at any point in a prisoner's sentence that it deems appropriate.

Don't get sidetracked by the Bush National Guard records issue. Let the Freepers play with it. There's more important things going on, Corrente has the details:

Election Fraud: California joins Bev Harris in whistleblower suit against Diebold

Abu Ghraib: U.S. claims to have lost evidence in the investigation into the death of an Iraqi prisoner.

Danfur: Colin Powell says it's genocide.

Who cares about a typewriter? Don't let the right distract you from more important issues.

If you are interested in the War on Drugs and are going to be in Washington, DC on September 17, here's a free event you won't want to miss. If you can't attend, call your Representative in Congress and ask them to send a staffer:

Rep. Ron. Paul, M.D., Rep. John Conyers, 60 Plus Association & the Association of American Physicians & Surgeons invite you to attend

The Politics of Pain & Painkillers: Drug Policy & Patient Access to Effective Pain Treatments Friday, Sept 17, 2004
121 Cannon HOB
11 am – 12:30 pm (Light refreshments following presentations)
RSVP: briefing@aapsonline.org or (800) 635-1196 by 12:00 noon, Sept 15.

Background on the Bush Administration's crackdown on doctors prescribing for patients in chronic pain is here and here.

From the Press Release we've been asked to disseminate:

Chicago has big plans for citizen surveillance....2,000 cameras are about to be installed in public places.

More than 2,000 surveillance cameras in public places would be tied in to a network that would use sophisticated software to spot emergencies or suspicious behavior under a plan announced Thursday by Mayor Richard Daley. "Cameras are the equivalent of hundreds of sets of eyes. They are the next best thing to having police officers stationed at every potential trouble spot," Daley said.

Officials said the bulk of the cameras already are in use at O'Hare International Airport, on the city's transit lines and in public housing, parks and schools, along with 30 police are using to try to curb violent crime. An additional 250 surveillance cameras still to be bought will raise the number available to more than 2,000. Locations for the new cameras have not been determined.

Does anyone doubt they will be installed in poor neighborhoods where their main catch will be small-time druggies? How many terrorists do you think will be found in public housing?

Chicago will be in good company (not)...a similar plan is being proposed for Shanghai in China, according to the September 7 edition of the South China Morning Post (free subscription required.)

Texas death row inmate Scott Pannetti filled out his last wish packet with some odd requests. His lawyers say he's insane and should not be put to death.

The letter from a death row inmate to his parents complained about occult activity but it also addressed more mundane matters. It said, "Mom, please send money." The prisoner's preparations for his execution were similarly outlandish and conventional. Scott Panetti wanted Jesus Christ to witness his execution and he requested a last meal with pie, coffee and a fresh cigar — preferably Honduran. "No, I repeat, no Cuban cigars," he wrote in the packet of forms that death row inmates receive when their executions approach.

One shrink says he understands his death sentence. Others say differently.

Psychologist Mark Cunningham rejected the suggestion that Panetti can understand his death sentence if he can rationally discuss other topics. Cunningham said Panetti seems most lucid when he's in familiar surroundings or talking about mundane topics. But as his anxiety increases, so do his delusions. And, when it comes to Panetti's death sentence, Cunningham said he was convinced the convict believes he is being punished for preaching by the forces of evil.

His trial was a mess.

Panetti, who turned his 1995 trial into a spectacle by defending himself while wearing a cowboy outfit and trying to subpoena God, claims the state wants to kill him because he preaches the Gospel.

The court heard two days of testimony this week. Panetti's family attended.