The number of suicide attempts at Guantanamo now stands at 32-- another attempt was reported today.

[original news link replaced-Ed.]

The number of suicide attempts at Guantanamo now stands at 32-- another attempt was reported today.

[original news link replaced-Ed.]

The Missouri Supreme Court today vacated the death sentence of Christopher Simmons, holding that the imposition of the death penalty on those who were juveniles at the time of the crime violates the 8th Amendment ban against cruel and unusual punishment. Simmons was 17 at the time of the murder for which he was sentenced to death. His sentence will now become one of life without parole or release, except by an act of the Governor.

From the Court syllabus:

(1) In 1989, the United States Supreme Court declined to bar the execution of offenders who were 16 or 17 years old at the time of their crimes, holding that there was not then a national consensus against such executions. Stanford v. Kentucky, 492 U.S. 361 (1989). This Court is not bound by Stanford, however, because the determination of what is cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment must be interpreted in a flexible and dynamic manner. This determination must be considered by current standards, recognizing that society's standards of decency are fluid and evolving.

(2) In the 14 years since Stanford was decided, a national consensus has developed against the execution of juvenile offenders. No state has lowered the age for execution from 18 to 17 or 16, five more states have banned the practice of executing juvenile offenders through legislative action and a sixth state has banned such a practice through a judicial decision. Only six states have executed a juvenile offender in the past 14 years. Opposition to the juvenile death penalty by professional, social and religious organizations, both nationally and internationally, has grown since Stanford. Similar to the reasons set out in Atkins in regard to offenders who are mentally retarded, neither retribution nor deterrence provides an effective rationale for imposing the juvenile death penalty, and the risk of wrongful execution of juveniles is enhanced.

(3) This Court concludes that the United States Supreme Court would hold that the execution of persons for crimes committed when they were under 18 years of age violates the evolving standards of decency and is prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the United States constitution. This decision applies retroactively to persons whose cases are on collateral review.

You can read the syallbus and full opinion here.

Update: Further information that Druce killed Geoghan at the behest of another inmate, expecting to receive a benefit.

Bump and Update: From the latest Reuters article:

James Pingeon, a lawyer with Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services, said a prisoner told him he had tried to warn officers about Druce's plans, but to no avail.

"The inmate told me he heard Druce had planned to stage a hostage taking but that guards dismissed his information," Pingeon said. "We were also told by this inmate that another inmate had paid Druce to attack Geoghan."

**************
Massachussetts Governor Mitt Romney has ordered a review of prison policies following the murder of former Priest John Geoghan. This is chilling:

Jim Pingeon, director of litigation for the prisoners' rights group Massachusetts Correctional Legal Services, also told the Times another prisoner had tried to warn jailers about the impending attack, but they took no action.

We won't be surprised if it turns out Geoghan was warned as well, and asked for increased protection - and was either ignored or denied it. We hope the prison keeps a record of inmate 'kites' and requests.

Update: Check out Prison Can Be a Living Hell for Pedophiles

Quick afternoon update, we've got to get back to work:

Fabio Ochoa, convicted Colombian former cartel leader, was sentenced to 30 years today. Roy Black, his attorney, says the sentence violates the terms of his earlier extradition agreement which stated 12 years was the maximum sentence for a violation.

It shows the bad faith of the U.S. government," said defense attorney Roy Black. "The U.S. government, despite its arrogance in refusing to follow international agreements, must be held responsible for making promises to the government of Colombia."

In the Sniper case, the Judge ruled the prosecution must turn over exculpatory statements in witness interviews but refused to hold a hearing on the constitutionality of the death penalty.

Bioterror expert Dr. Steven Hatfill, long the subject of the federal anthrax probe, has sued Attorney General John Ashcroft and other officials for " ...trampling his constitutional rights and using him as a scapegoat for their failure to make an arrest in the case."

Saving the best for last, Ashcroft On Tour and Unplugged:

– Like an aging rock star promoting a new album, John Ashcroft hit the road for a summer tour last week. Armed with a repertoire that includes such timeless hits as "We Are Safer" and "Our Liberties Are More Secure" the attorney general set out on a four-week 18-city jaunt that will take him from the heartland to the East Coast.

[thanks to Patriot Watch for the link]

Since we are not journalists or writers by trade, even though we write plenty of legal briefs, we often get stuck trying to figure out grammar when writing for TalkLeft. Help is here at last. Via Making Light, we have found Copy Editing, Damnit. We have high hopes.

According to Fred Hiatt in the Washington Post, Howard Dean's makeover is underway. In an interview with Hiatt and a colleage before a recent rally, Dean said he is not a "dove." While he thinks entering the war was wrong, now that's it's happened, we need to stay in both Iraq and Afganistan, long-term.

It's true that he opposed the war in Iraq, he says, but he supported the 1991 Gulf War and the Bush campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan. More interesting, at a time when many politicians are shuddering at President Bush's ambitions to remake the Middle East -- conservatives, because they are skeptical of such grand reshaping ambitions; liberals, because they see resources being diverted from social causes at home -- Dean sounds if anything more committed than Condoleezza Rice to bringing democracy to Iraq.

..."We have no choice. It's a matter of national security. If we leave and we don't get a democracy in Iraq, the result is very significant danger to the United States." And "bringing democracy to Iraq is not a two-year proposition.

Dean is almost as sweeping about Afghanistan, where "losing the peace is not an option" and "pulling out early would be a disaster." Five times the current level of troops are needed, he said. "Imagine making deals with warlords to promote democracy. What are these people thinking?"

Thoughts? Is he being realistic or changing colors?

Looks like the FBI is changing its hiring policies for the war against terror and we approve:

Wanted: super-smart techies interested in a good salary, early retirement and great job security. Sound unusual in this economy? Here's the kicker: Must be willing to chase down terrorists and respond to bank robberies if necessary.

Uncle Sam hopes metro Denver will be a fertile recruiting ground for its fast-growing FBI computer crimes division. The agency has congressional funding to add 960 people nationwide next year, including 192 computer crime agents.

No, here's the kicker:

Flabby computer geeks who can't run a mile won't make the cut; neither will anti-social programmers who'd rather look at a computer screen than at people, nor those who've smoked pot more than 15 times.

Not more than 15 times? Now that's progress.

Talk about a light sentence...6 months for stealing marijuana from the evidence locker and then giving it to a female drug defendant in exchange for sex. And to boot, this is from a judge in the state that so proudly champions the Ten Commandments.

A recent poll shows Colorado's Republican Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell only five points ahead of democratic Congressman Mark Udall, who has not declared his intention to run.

Democrats took heart from a poll by Talmey-Drake Research & Strategy Inc., of Boulder, showing that in a head-to-head matchup, Campbell would lead Udall by 5 percentage points - 45 percent to 40 percent, with 13 percent undecided and 2 percent naming other candidates.

Campbell's slim lead and his failure to reach 50% is considered by experts to be a sign of his weakness going into the 2004 election.

We have been a strong supporter of Udall in his past campaigns. We've worked with him and his staff on issues and find him to be honest, exceptionally dedicated and truly progressive. In fact, we can't praise him enough.

Gary Hart has also been mentioned as a possible candidate against Campbell. We think Gary Hart would blow Campbell out of the water if he decided to run. We'd champion that decision in a heartbeat.

As an aside, when we covered Gary Hart's possible presidential run months ago, we mentioned that we weren't sure of his position on some criminal justice issues, like the death penalty.

We had an opportunity to ask Hart directly a few weeks ago when we were seated at the same table at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' (NACDL) luncheon in Denver, where he was the keynote speaker.

Hart emphatically told us he opposes the death penalty and has opposed it his entire career.

In the past, we've had the opportunity to ask Mark Udall the same question. Same answer--Udall opposes the death penalty.

We hope one of these two fine men decide to challenge Campbell. Either won would win handily, in our opinion. And the nation would be far better off.

Tragic: The New York Times reports that Postwar Deaths of U.S. Troops in Iraq Exceeds Combat Toll:

The number of United States soldiers who have died in Iraq since May 1, when President Bush declared the end of major combat there, has surpassed the number of American deaths in the first stage of the war, which began on March 19.

A total of 141 United States soldiers have died from May 1 to today, compared with 137 from March 19 to April 30, according to a spokesman at Central Command at McDill Air Force Base in Florida.

Of the total since May 1, 63 Americans were killed in action and 78 died in nonhostile incidents, the spokesman, Lieut. Ryan Fitzgerald, said.

The total number of American deaths since March 19 are 175 killed in action and 103 from nonhostile action, Lieutenant Fitzgerald added.

There are also non-fatal casualties. Considerthe number of soldiers falling ill with a mysterious pneumonia type disease that requires them to be put on respirators? The Economist has the details:

Since hostilities began in March, more than 330 American and British soldiers have died in Iraq. All such losses are regrettable, but two deaths in particular are a puzzle. They were among 18 servicemen who have developed severe pneumonia in the past six months, part of a wider but milder outbreak that has affected another 74 American soldiers.

Oliver Willis asks whether Vice-President Dick Cheney committed a crime in withholding requested documents from Congress during its investigation of the his energy task force.

While we think Cheney was wrong not to turn over the records, according to the news article, he litigated the issue in court and the court ruled in his favor, dismissing the lawsuit filed by the General Accounting Office. We don't see a criminal charge here, given the court's stamp of approval, unless he misled the court.