Don't miss reading Freedom Row in the New York Times Magazine section today.

"In recent years, DNA evidence has exonerated 123 people in the United States convicted of violent crimes, including 12 who had been on death row. In most of those cases, as with the men photographed on the following pages, the cause of their wrongful conviction was mistaken identification by a victim or eyewitness." "Standard police procedure encourages witnesses to identify suspects through the use of photographs and lineups. This process relies on the assumption of precise visual memory. But through exposure to composite sketches, mug shots, Polaroids and lineups, eyewitness memory can change; victims may think they recognize a face, but it will not necessarily be the face they saw during the commission of the crime."

There are also video clips from "The Innocents," a documentary directed and produced by Taryn Simon, in collaboration with the Innocence Project, featuring interviews with the exonerated prisoners profiled in the magazine.

We wrote an article for non-lawyers explaining wrongful convictions and eyewitness testimony a few years ago that is still available here.

Here's our weekend reading list:

The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk
by Susan McDougal

Buy the Book Today!

Whitewater figure Susan McDougal tells about about her experiences being grilled, then jailed for contempt for refusing to give Ken Starr his smoking gun-and she lays on the horrific details with righteous fury.

Down By the River:
Drugs, Drugs, Money, Murder, and Family
by Charles Bowden

Buy the Book Today!

Acclaimed author and journalist Charles Bowden offers a gripping, very disturbing look at the drug trade and international relations between Mexico and the U.S., seen through the tragic killing of the younger brother of a DEA agent and the subsequent investigation. A dramatic detective story and a biting critique of the U.S. war on drugs.

And, due out Feb. 4, but you can order it now:

What Liberal Media
by Eric Alterman

Buy the Book Today!

Acclaimed author and journalist Eric Alterman's scathing and witty investigation into who really controls the media. Armed with data and in brisk, light-hearted prose, Alterman exposes the fallacy of the vast left-wing conspiracy that never was.

The Hartford Advocate has a spirited attack on what writer Alan Bisbort calls the witch hunt against Peter Townsend[link via Hamster]

"Colin Powell sent strong signals Saturday that the United States would wait until after U.N. arms inspectors in Iraq submitted their report to the U.N. Security Council on Monday before making any decision on whether or not to lead a military coalition against Saddam Hussein."

Is this Bush's way of saving face in light of the paucity of international support for his war plan? In light of his declining approval ratings? In light of the growing opposition to the war by the American public?

We don't really care why he stalls--we just don't want to go to war.

The Sunday Los Angeles Times runs a long and favorable article on Nancy Pelosi, calling her California's Most Powerful Politician.

Say hello to a new political party--the U.S. Marijuana Party. Composed mostly of libertarians and drug policy activists, the party is up and running in several states. Here's what they say about you forming one in your state:

We have tested this formula and it works. We will show you how to use the internet to form a Marijuana Political Party with a full slate of candidates in your state in 6 months. The way we did it was to first form a coalition of Libertarians and drug policy activists. By using the MARIJUANA NAME to highlight the Libertarian platform an army of drug policy activists become available to run as candidates in elections.

What's their mission? Here is the mission statement for the Colorado Marijuana Party.

Other states with Marijuana parties up and running include Tennessee, Alabama, California, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, New York and Pennsylvania.

How could such a one-issue party be successful? Here's what they say:

The goal of forming a Marijuana Party in your state is to become the king-maker in your state election. It is not to actually win any seats in your state house of representatives or senate..... The civil rights of Americans have been compromised by the war on drugs. Because the vast majority of citizens who use any illegal substance use only marijuana, the war on drugs is basically a war on marijuana. If you can pull the plug on the war on marijuana, you end the war on drugs as we know it. You shut down the prison industrial complex, and you restore the liberties that have been eroded because of this futile war on marijuana.

The key to success lie's in the party's structure, which you can read all about here.

Here's the latest news on Gary Hart and his potential presidential bid:

Des Moines Register: Hart Uses Speeches to Gauge Support

Baltimore Sun: Despite Baggage, Hart Should Elevate Debate

New York Times: Gary Hart Weighs Strengths Against Past Embarrassment: What did Hart know when he got to Iowa to give a speech Wednesday? He knew reporters wanted to ask about the embarassing incident in his past. He knew he has no money or political organization behind him, except for a few students touting him on a website.

But Mr. Hart, who represented Colorado in the Senate from 1975 to 1987, also knew he had a couple of advantages. As a prophet who kept warning of terrorist attacks well before Sept. 11, he might emerge as the only Democrat with a clear defining issue: the Cassandra candidate. And while the others have a head start, no one knows presidential campaigning the way he does.

How does he explain the "folly," as he has been calling his involvement with the young model Donna Rice, that ended his campaign when he was the front-runner in 1987?

"I made a mistake," he said. "I went to great pains to accept responsibility for it and to apologize to all concerned, starting with my family and everyone else. I said then and I continue to say there's a difference between that kind of mistake and not having the character to lead. Character is revealed over a lifetime."

Mr. Hart's mistake may seem less troubling to some voters who have been conditioned by President Bill Clinton's troubles with a White House intern. After all, Mr. Hart's folly did not occur in the office or involve a subordinate; he did not issue indignant denials or parse the meaning of "is"; he was not accused of perjury or obstruction of justice. Given Mr. Clinton's continuing popularity, have public attitudes changed?

"All I know is how people treat me, ordinary people in restaurants and airports," Mr. Hart said. "An amazing number of Americans come up to and say, `I felt for you' and tell me their life stories. The common theme is, everybody makes mistakes."

Noting that his marriage has lasted 44 years, Mr. Hart dismissed the idea that the mistake was part of a pattern of recklessness. "This was not any kind of relationship or long-term situation," he said. "It was just a totally accidental set of circumstances that I regret, and I regret for everybody involved, including the other party, who was very unfairly characterized. I feel responsible. But how many people on this airplane do you think care anything about that? I've talked about it on television, and I'm talking about it with you, and I'll talk about it two or three more times, and then I'm not going to talk about it anymore. It's a distraction. How many times can you say what I've said?"

We've heard enough, and we're satisfied.

On the War against Iraq:

"Every community in this country is vulnerable," Mr. Hart said in a speech at Iowa State University, which attracted a crowd of nearly 200 on a night with a wind chill of minus 25 degrees. "Not one American soldier should cross the Iraqi border until this country is prepared for the inevitable retaliatory attacks."

Upcoming Speeches

January 25, 2003:
Friends of Libraries Authors Breakfast Philadelphia, 8:30-10:30 AM
Senator Hart will discuss his recent book, Restoration of the Republic, from Oxford University Press.

January 28, 2003:
"US Security in the 21st Century"
New Mexico First 2003 First Forum Dinner
6:00 PM Reception, 7:00 PM Dinner
Sheraton Old Town Hotel
800 Rio Grande Blvd., N.W., Albuquerque, NM

Presidential contender Bob Graham of Florida has put his presidential run on hold while he has heart surgery.

We're opposed to Graham. Why? He's a fervent supporter of the death penalty. Per reporter David Firestone in the New York Times this past Sunday:

Mr. Graham, who came to prominence in Florida through his full-throated support for capital punishment, echoed that thought in an interview last week. "The trouble with a moratorium is that it applies to the full population of death row, where I think the focus should be on a case-by-case basis," he said. "Apparently, Illinois had some very egregious practices, but I think in Florida we have a system with adequate checks and gateposts."

It's tough to square that view with the news today about the release of Rudolph Holton, who spent 16 years on Florida's death row. From the AP article:

Holton was convicted of raping and killing 17-year-old prostitute Katrina Graddy and setting her on fire in an abandoned drug house. About 10 days before the slaying, Graddy told police another man had raped her. Holton's attorney was not given the police report. Because of that error, Florida's Supreme Court ruled in December that Holton deserved a new trial.

But prosecutor Mark Ober decided against another trial, citing the unreliability of witness testimony and a lack of physical evidence. Holton attorney Martin McClain said: "Though we are certainly pleased that the state attorney has dropped the charges, this does not change the awful fact that Rudolph Holton served over 16 years on death row for a crime that he did not commit."

McClain said that in addition to the failure to turn over the police report, were other problems with the case. A hair in Graddy's mouth that prosecutors said came from Holton was later tested and found to be her own, he said. Also, jailhouse witnesses recanted their testimony against Holton.

Between 23 and 25 innocent people have been freed from Florida's death row since 1976, according to varying tallies. The AP article above reports that Holton becomes the second person to be released from Florida's death row in about a year. Juan Melendez walked out of prison a free man last January after he won a new trial and prosecutors declined to try him again. In 2000, DNA evidence cleared death row inmate Frank Lee Smith of a 1985 murder. But it was too late for Smith, who had died of cancer 11 months earlier."

This is not " "Adequate checks and gateposts'' to us. Can Graham really think because some mistakes were caught, they've gotten them all? We wish him well with his heart surgery, but he's not our candidate.

From time to time, we read blogs whose authors mention they are looking for work. This was in our inbox today, and we thought we'd share it. But for the fact that we already have a quite demanding day job, we'd be tempted.

Currently, there are two full-time job openings at the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C.:

* Director of State Policies, who will develop and manage all of MPP's state-based campaigns, including overseeing all lobbying activities, hiring and managing campaign managers for state ballot initiatives, coordinating public education campaigns, including press strategies, and managing MPP's State Policies Department staff and interns.

* Legislative Analyst, who will monitor marijuana-related legislation in the states, maintain MPP's state Web pages, write and e-mail legislative alerts to MPP members, and assist the Director of State Policies with research and analysis.

Please do not reply to this message with questions, and no phone calls, please. Instead, please go here for complete job descriptions and application guidelines. We are accepting resumes until February 7, and we will interview selected applicants from February 3 to 14. Positions will begin on approximately March 3 (but this is flexible).

Both positions are in our Capitol Hill office in Washington, D.C., which is conveniently located near the Union Station Metro stop on the Red Line. Both positions require exceptional written and oral communication skills, professional appearance, and political/policy experience.

Sincerely,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

We (TalkLeft) have no further information, so no need to email us rather than going directly to the MPP's website. We can say that we have known and worked on issues with Mr. Kampia for many years and we are very impressed with his dedication and talent.

We're guest-blogging for Eric Alterman at MSNBC's Altercation today--and it's Slacker Friday. Hope you'll stop by.

Talk about getting egg on your face, how's this from the Chicago Sun-Times: Big 'pot' stash was only hay

What Chicago police thought was more than $660,000 worth of dope in a pickup truck last month turned out to be hay from a Roman Catholic church's nativity scene. Prosecutors dropped felony drug charges Thursday against Jose Galvan, 43, and his co-worker, Juan Luna, 21, after crime lab tests confirmed the mistake, said Jerry Lawrence, spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office. The two remained at Cook County Jail as federal immigration officials checked to see if they are in the country legally."

Their criminal defense attorney, Peter Vilkelis, says:

"Somebody must have seen these two big bales, saw the men were Mexican and made an assumption. These guys were treated like they were cartel drug traffickers. Once we finally secure their release, we will be talking to a civil rights lawyer."

The "egg on their face" aspect is amusing. What's not amusing is that these men spent weeks in jail while the cops, at their leisure, tested the non-drugs. And that one of them is still in jail pending a check on his immigration status--it doesn't take three weeks to do that.

Here's more on the marijuana billboard ads we like-- from The Coalition For Medical Marijuana. The ads have an especially appealing tag line, "Medical Marijuana: Compassion Not Federal Prison."

Speaking of federal prisons, check out USA Today's Kevin Johnson on how many offenders are currently packed into them.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons reported a population of nearly 165,000 this month, making the system larger than perennial prison giants California and Texas....

At least part of the increase, officials say, is because of a growing pool of non-citizen offenders who represent nearly one-third of the federal inmate population..... The majority have been convicted of drug-related crimes, and their numbers jumped from 22% in 1998 to 28% in 2002....

The Bureau of Prisons is one of the fastest-growing arms of the federal government. In 1980, the bureau's budget was $330 million, and there were 24,000 inmates in 44 prisons. In 2002, the budget was $4.6 billion, and there were 102 prisons. Eleven more federal prisons are in various stages of construction.

War on Drugs, War on Iraq, Prison Nation....does the Government think money grows on trees?