New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty has issued a press release condemning the 8th Circuit's ruling that the state can medicate an insane prisoner so he becomes sane enough to be executed.
The 8th Circuit opinion, which you can read here, held that"Arkansas may forcibly administer antipsychotic drugs to a prisoner whose date of execution has been set and the State does not violate the Eighth Amendment as it has been interpreted in Ford v. Wainwright when it executes a prisoner who has become incompetent during his long stay on death row but who subsequently regained competency through appropriate medical care."Here is the text of the NYADP press release:
(488 words in story) There's More :: Permalink :: Comments
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled today that PBS's Frontline may not tape jury deliberations during a murder trial.
We agree with the ruling, for reasons we've stated here.
Update: Here's the text of the decision.
This is not some petty academic dispute about a historical footnote. Since Sept. 11, 2001, we have been struggling to preserve our safety while also preserving our freedoms and protecting the rights of the millions of good Americans of Arab ancestry and Muslim faith. Coble's dismissive comments about the largest-scale American human rights violation of the 20th century bear directly on his commitment -- and his ability -- to avoid another one in the 21st.
[The agents]claimed the Pennsylvania attorney general retaliated against them because they uncovered a drug-trafficking ring they said diverted profits to a CIA-backed Dominican presidential candidate.....The Government plans an appeal.McLaughlin and Micewski said they uncovered a drug-trafficking ring operating in Philadelphia, New York and other Eastern cities that funneled drug profits to the left-wing Dominican Revolutionary Party, which they claimed was supported by the CIA and State Department.
They said the U.S. government allowed the party's presidential candidate, Jose Francisco Pena Gomez, to return to the Dominican Republic after a 1995 fund-raising swing through New York with $500,000 in alleged drug profits.
The agents said that shortly after they made their allegations, the Philadelphia district attorney and U.S. Attorney's office stopped prosecuting their drug cases. More than 125 cases were dismissed or dropped after prosecutors accused agents of fabricating evidence and lying on the stand. McLaughlin, Micewski and other agents were transferred and removed from street duty.
Don't miss Sam Heldman today on the Estrada nomination--and the myths being perpetuated. [link via Atrios]
Myth 1: The filibuster of Estrada is "unprecedented."
Myth 2: The opposition to Estrada is an instance of national-origin discrimination
Myth 3: It's inappropriate for Senate Democrats to ask tough questions about what Estrada believes about various substantive issues of law.
Sam explains all, go over and read him.
A new anti-war song--with speech clips by Bush and others interspersed in the music. It's brand new, and free to download. Called, In the Garden of Eden --it's by a group facetiously called The Compassionate Conservatives--it's good stuff.
The group says, "We are releasing this song in MP3 format only via the Internet. Free download for anyone, no registration process, no cookies, absolutely no strings attached! Our mission is to uncover the deception and hypocrisy being foisted upon the American public by an arrogant Administration."
Here are the download sites--it's virus free we are assured.
You can download from any of the sites, wherever you are.
In fact, Springer's political record shows that he is very much a candidate progressive Democrats could embrace. So while no one in the party (understandably) looks forward to clips of Springer's show turning up in his opponents' campaign ads, Democrats shouldn't dismiss a Springer challenge to Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) next year. In fact, they should encourage it.[Thanks to Hamster for the link]
Tapped disses MSNBC for putting three conservatives on to battle Eric Alterman during a recent appearance to promote his book, What Liberal Media?
The anti-death penalty movement is expanding-- into the sports world.
How sweet it was that day two weeks ago when two young lawyers and the man whose freedom they restored were finally able to do something as simple -- and anticlimactic -- as sit down together over coffee at a deli just around the corner from the Bronx Supreme Court.
Finally, a resounding defeat for the Total Information Awareness project -- "House and Senate negotiators have agreed that a Pentagon project intended to detect terrorists by monitoring Internet e-mail and commercial databases for health, financial and travel information cannot be used against Americans." The conferees also voted to restrict further research on the program absent "extensive consultation with Congress."
The only way this vote will not become law is if the Senate and House fail to agree on the total Spending Bill in which TIA is buried. Or, if Bush vetoes the Congressionally approved bill.
One of the principal objections Congress had to the bill involved the participation of John Poindexter.Several members of Congress have said that the admiral was an unwelcome symbol because he had been convicted of lying to Congress about weapons sales to Iran and illegal aid to Nicaraguan rebels, an issue with constitutional ramifications, the Iran-contra affair. The fact that his conviction was later reversed on the ground that he had been given immunity for the testimony in which he lied did not mitigate Congressional opinion, they said.Praise goes to Senator Charles E. Grassley, the Iowa Republican who co-sponsored the Wyden amendment. Grassley said,
"Protecting Americans' civil liberties while at the same time winning the war against terrorism has got to be top priority for the United States. Congressional oversight of this program will be a must as we proceed in the war against terror. The acceptance of this amendment sends a signal that Congress won't sit on its hands as the TIA program moves forward."
We have reported frequently, here, here and here, on Ashcroft's overriding the recommendations of his local prosecutors and directing them to seek the death penalty. Here is a prime example of a case which Ashcroft has misjudged--it involves a Brooklyn murder prosecution in which the eyewitness testimony is in doubt.
The standards, which were Congressionally mandated as part of the U.S.A. Patriot Act and a border security act, would be used in all documents issued to foreigners by the State Department and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, including green cards, student visas and border crossing cards.The scientists' report, which has been submitted to Congress, is the first step in instituting body-recognition technology, known as biometrics, as a governmental tool on a wide basis....
The technologies will be used to deny entry to foreign nationals who have a criminal record or who appear on government watch lists.
| << Previous 12 | Next 12 >> |
