The BBC reports on plans for a court and an exectution chamber at Camp Delta in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Major-General Geoffrey Miller told the BBC,

...there are also plans to build a permanent prison block for those convicted and sentenced and an execution chamber should any be sentenced to death. "We're getting ready so we won't be starting from scratch," he said.

So far none of the 680 detainees have been charged with a crime. They are all being held as "enemy combatants." Criminal cases are being prepared against ten of them. None have been allowed to see a lawyer or have access to the courts.

Human rights groups have criticised both the makeshift conditions at the prison camp and the lack of rights afforded to the detainees.

A 19 year old college student serving a four weekend sentence for pot was raped by his cellmate last weekend. The cellmate was being held in the jail on prior sexual battery charges.

His cell mate held a ballpoint pen to the teenager's neck at about 9 p.m. Friday and then forced himself on him, [Sheriff] Troiano said. A member of the victim's family reported the incident to authorities on Saturday. Jail detention officers, who check the cells at least once an hour, heard nothing and nothing was reported to them Friday, Troiano said.

"If there was space available, absolutely we would rather keep our weekenders in a pre-designated area," Troiano said. "But because we don't have much space available we have to do with circumstances on hand."

The July/August issue of Atlantic Monthly , due to hit the stands June 24, reports:

As the legal counsel to Texas Governor George W. Bush, Alberto R. Gonzales — now the White House counsel, and widely regarded as a likely future Supreme Court nominee—prepared 57 confidential death-penalty memoranda for Bush's review. Never before discussed publicly, the memoranda suggest that Gonzales repeatedly failed to apprise Bush of some of the most salient issues in the cases at hand.

....During Bush's 6 years as governor 150 men and 2 women were executed in Texas—a record unmatched by any other governor in modern American history. Each time a person was sentenced to death, Bush received from his legal counsel a document summarizing the facts of the case, usually on the morning of the day scheduled for the execution, and was then briefed on those facts by his counsel; based on this information Bush allowed the execution to proceed in all cases but one. The first 57 of these summaries were prepared by Gonzales...

Author Alan Berlow obtained the never before published memos, which is permitted under the Texas Public Information Act. He says,

Although the summaries rarely make a recommendation for or against execution, many have a clear prosecutorial bias, and all seem to assume that if an appeals court rejected one or another of a defendant's claims, there is no conceivable rationale for the governor to revisit that claim. This assumption ignores one of the most basic reasons for clemency: the fact that the justice system makes mistakes.

[Edit: The link above now goes directly to the article. This is an excellent piece of reporting. [Thanks to Rev. Mr. George W. Brooks, Director of Advocacy for Kolbe House in Chicago for sending it to us.]

Don't miss New York Times Columnist Bob Herbert's Where Fear Rules the Street about the violence in South Central LA.

It's too bad that the Los Angeles City Council turned down Mayor James Hahn and Police Chief Bill Bratton's request for funds to hire additional officers.

The debate has centered on the allocation of $30 million, which Hahn felt should be used immediately to hire officers. The council majority believed it should go to provide insurance should the economy fail to recover as expected. The council says it will review the possibility of adding officers in January.

How many more kids will have been killed by then? While ordinarily we don't believe that hiring additional cops is an answer to the crime problem (versus spending money on prevention, education and treatment,) LA is a special circumstance. South Central is out of control, the murder rate is phenomenally high, and the conditions there are not safe for anyone.

Scott Peterson's lawyers have subpoenaed Judge Wray Ladine to get information about wiretaps in the case. It seems that the Judge met with a prosecutor and investigator without having a court reporter present to take down what transpired at the conference.

Lead defense attorney Mark Geragos is alleging that the Stanislaus County district attorney's office engaged in "grave prosecutorial misconduct" after authorities intercepted 71 calls between Peterson and McAllister or his investigator.

The defense might seek to have the district attorney's office removed from the case over the wiretap issue, according to documents they filed in court.

The AP is reporting that Martha Stewart "slipped into" the New York FBI office yesterday to have her fingerprints and mug shot taken. She was released "without bail" last week on charges contained in the now famous Indictment against her.

It is very ordinary in our experience to surrender clients before a formal arrest when we know in advance a federal Indictment has been returned against them. We bring them to the U.S. Marshal's Office either right before or after their first court appearance. We don't think Martha got special favors here. Her lawyers have been in contact with prosecutors for over a year--they couldn't reach a deal, hence, the Indictment.

"It's something we have done in the past. It's not unusual," a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office said of the discreet way Stewart was processed. The spokesman said similar arrangements have been made before in high-profile cases where officials see little risk of flight. Stewart may travel freely within America and can also make trips overseas if she gives officials 72 hours notice.

Meet Rick Walker, age 47. Mr. Walker has just been released from a California prison after serving 12 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit. An auto mechanic,
Walker was convicted of murdering a former girlfriend based upon accomplice testimony. The man police believe is the real culprit is now in custody.

Snitch testimony is inherently unreliable when it is purchased with promises of leniency or freedom. It makes our system morally bankrupt.

On a more positive note, the Santa Clara DA's office, through spokesman Karyn Sinunu, is very apologetic and it appears Mr. Walker may be eligible for compensation.

All wrongfully convicted inmates should be compensated for the time they unjustly serve in prison. Tell Congress to pass the Innocence Protection Act.

ImClone's Sam Waksal was sentenced today to seven years in prison.

Are you or a relative or friend looking for an interesting job in D.C. with a group committed to progressive changes in the criminal justice system? Head over to the Justice Policy Institute --they are seeking a Campaign Director.

Justice Policy Institute is a non-profit research and public policy organization dedicated to ending society’s reliance on incarceration and promoting effective and just solutions to social problems. JPI is located in Washington, DC and works with advocacy organizations, citizens and policymakers across the country to promote progressive criminal and juvenile justice reforms.

The JPI Campaign Coordinator is responsible for building and sustaining working relationships with individuals and organizations that influence and lead those responsible for determining what happens in this nation’s juvenile and criminal justice systems. The Campaign Coordinator will work closely with and under the supervision of the JPI Campaign Director and as a member of JPI campaign/project teams to develop and implement multi-faceted strategies designed to change practices and policies and create a more favorable environment for juvenile and criminal justice reforms.

Five years "relevant" experience needed --

Applicants must have a strong commitment to social justice issues and interest in criminal justice reform. Must be willing to travel.

Sounds like a dream job to us. Details here.

Richard Cohen writes Tuesday in the Washington Post of Ashcroft's Attitude Problem . Cohen argues that Ashcroft is more dangerous than those he detains.

My job is to connect the dots. So follow me as I take you from a typical newspaper story about yet another convicted murderer being freed after DNA testing to the testimony last week of Attorney General John Ashcroft. The first is clear evidence of the imperfectability of the criminal justice system, and the second is the smug refusal to admit it. Ashcroft has a serious attitude problem.

Cohen begins with Ashcroft being questioned about the 762 post-9/11 detainees:

None of them -- that's precisely zero -- was ever linked to terrorist activities. Yet some of them were held incommunicado for months. Either they were refused lawyers or so many obstacles were put in their way that it amounted to the same thing. They were denied visitors. Some were held in solitary confinement, verbally harassed and threatened and, on occasion, allegedly physically manhandled. To all of this, Ashcroft responded with a shrug. "We make no apologies," he said -- and, of course, he asked for additional death penalties in terrorism cases.

Cohen protests.

In the first place, the Justice Department got things exactly backward. In this country, you're innocent until proven guilty -- not the other way around. Second, harsh and inhumane treatment -- keeping the cell illuminated 24 hours a day -- ought not to be tolerated. After all -- and it is worth repeating -- the detainees were never charged with any crime linking them to terrorism. Most of them were detained because they were Muslims or Arabs. In this country, that ain't a crime.

Cohen asks whether Ashcroft owed the detainees an apology.

Innocent people were held behind bars, sometimes cruelly, for months at a time. They were sometimes called names and told they would never be set free. The report highlights the experience of one woman who for two months was repeatedly told her husband was not being detained (he was) and who, even after she found him, was permitted to visit him only three times in five months. Isn't she deserving of an apology?

Cohen notes Ashcroft refused to apologize.

To hear him, the system worked perfectly. This is precisely the mind-set he brings to capital punishment, of which he clearly cannot get enough....Routinely, it seems, yet another person walks from death row, freed on account of DNA testing. Routinely, we hear of yet another case where the defense lawyer fell asleep, a lab technician lied or some cop got a confession out of some addled suspect who did not, as it turned out, commit that particular crime. Oops.

Cohen sums up with these thoughts--

But when they were cleared, the detainees were owed an apology. A more humble attorney general would have conceded that mistakes were made and procedures violated, and that these are serious matters of concern. In this country, we bend over backward to protect the innocent. We don't casually trash their lives and then walk away as Ashcroft did, saying tough luck.

Go ahead, connect the dots on Ashcroft yourself. A cavalier attitude toward civil liberties, an inability to concede mistakes, a refusal to see imperfections in the criminal justice system, a zealously irrational belief in the death penalty -- and pretty soon you can read between the lines of that Justice Department report: The attorney general is far more dangerous than any of the immigrants he wrongly detained.

How heartening to hear a journalist say it.

Update: Ruben Navarrette, Jr. of the Dallas Morning News calls for Ashcroft to step down.

Jay Caruso at Daily Rant says blogger Andrew Sullivan, who raised $80,000. in his last pledge drive has another funds solicitation in the works.

For readers who don't know who Sullivan is (there are a lot of liberal non-bloggers who read TalkLeft who won't have a clue,) Sullivan is a conservative, gay blogger-journalist who seems to make a lot of people angry. We've only read his blog two or three times, so we won't criticize or praise him. But we didn't know until reading Jay's post at Daily Rant that Sullivan is HIV-positive. We have a hard time getting angry at anyone facing a life-threatening disease.

Sullivan is asking for $20 a year if you read his page more than a couple of times a week, and more if you can afford it. We'll probably be 90 years old before we fit in that category, but we don't begrudge him being paid for his work.

We have a tip jar too if anyone's interested in contributing - $20 isn't necessary, but even a few dollars helps with hosting costs and the cost of the commercial news and research services we subscribe to. Contributions also make us feel appreciated--and remind us that some of you count on TalkLeft to be here day after day, looking at crime and politics through the lens of the Constitution.

If you're one of the conservatives who read this site, we have no problem with you giving to Andrew instead of us. And if you're a reader who wants to keep reading for free, be our guest. This is a free site and will stay that way--as will our other site CrimeLynx --unless some media giant comes along and buys one or the other or both.

"The Bush administration has concluded that stun guns, which inflict a disabling electric shock, can be used for security by crew members on commercial planes, a homeland security official said on Monday."

We think this is downright barbaric, dangerous and unnecessary. What if they stun the wrong person? In prisons, inmates have died from stun gun attacks.*

By the way, the reaction of the airline pilots association has been just swell--they think the usage should be extended to flight attendants in the cabin to quell disturbances. Just what we need. How long before a flight attendant overreacts and stuns a non-threatening but complaining passenger?

An article in the October 8, 2001 Air Safety Week (available on Lexis.com) pointed out:

What emerges is the potential for an arms race in the sky. If pilots start carrying stun guns, so may the "perps" (perpetrators). If the pilots are packing pistols, the perpetrators may escalate from knives and box-cutters to firearms, also. A 4-shot firearm disguised as a working mobile phone (supposedly undetectable) can be had, raising the prospect that even cell phones may have to be consigned to checked baggage. On the other hand, if the terrorists escalate to more lethal weapons, it may be entirely appropriate to pre-emptively increase the level of protection.

If armed sky marshals are deployed, and pilots are deputized and armed,
the terrorists may increase their numbers. One former airline pilot paints this scenario: "When there are multiple terrorists, historically they often operate with a 'caboose,' the guy in reserve if a sky marshal turns up. Now that will be true more than ever. Even with a gun in the cockpit, five terrorists run you out of ammunition in a hurry. Then the pilots get to beg for mercy before they die."

*Two examples: The family of Lawrence Frazier, a Connecticut inmate who died in June 2000 after guards shocked him with stun guns at Wallens Ridge State Prison, filed a $204 million lawsuit against the Virginia Department of Corrections last year in U.S. District Court in Richmond. (Roanoke Times & World News, 1/15/03); Three prison guards were charged with second degree murder in an inmate death in Florida in which a stun gun was used after the inmate was subdued (Orlando Sentinel, Feb. 13, 2002.)

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