The 141st wrongfully convicted death row inmate in the U.S. was released from jail today after serving 15 years for a crime he didn't commit. Damon Thibodeaux, now 38, left prison today. The cause of his wrongful conviction: A false confession. Later DNA testing excluded him as the perpetrator of the crime.

Nationally, DNA has freed 18 wrongfully convicted death row inmates.

Terrance Williams has been on death row in Pennsylvania for 28 years. He was scheduled to be executed next week. Today a judge stopped the planned execution and overturned his death sentence because the prosecutor in his case, suppressed evidence and engaged in gamesmanship to get the death sentence. While the conviction stands, the judge ordered a new sentencing hearing.

A Philadelphia judge halted next week's scheduled execution of a teenage killer after finding the trial prosecutor suppressed evidence the victim was molesting boys, “sanitized” witness statements before giving them to the defense and lied about a secret deal she'd struck with the accomplice.

...Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina accused trial prosecutor Andrea Gelman Foulkes of “gamesmanship” in order to win the 1986 death-penalty case. “She did at times play games and take unfair measures to win,” Sarmina said Friday, reading aloud her lengthy ruling. “She wanted to win.”

Gelman Foukes is now an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia. She testified at a hearing in Willimas case last week and the judge said her testimony was "not credible." [More...]

Massachusetts drug lab chemist Annie Dookhan was arrested today on charges of obstruction of justice and lying about her educational degrees. She faces up to 20 years in prison.

Dookan has been the subject of a huge lab scandal in Mass. She tested over 60,000 samples in 34,000 cases over 9 years. She has admitted intentionally faking results. More than 1,100 inmates are still serving time in cases in which she performed or assisted in the drug tests. The lab has since been closed.

The only motive authorities have found so far is that Dookhan wanted to be seen as a good worker, the state attorney general said.

Dookhan is expected to face more charges as the investigation continues. While the state initially tried to portray Dookan as a rogue chemist, the problem seems to be systemic:

I'll be flying solo on Daily Kos Radio from 11 to noon Eastern today. Topic of discussion - Cathloic bishop threatens Democratic voters with eternal damnation. NOTE - Show cut short due to technical difficulties.

Open Thread.

Yesterday, Google turned 14, Lil' Wayne turned 30, Gwynneth Paltrow turned 40 and Meatloaf turned 65.

Today, it's my turn.

I'm taking the day off from blogging, so here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Update: Another "real name" for Nakoula Bassely Nakoula. According to KPPC, he told the judge today his real name is Mark Basseley Youseff. The charges are still under seal.

Youseff, who revealed that he also goes by the aliases Nakoula Basseley Nakoula and Sam Bacile, was accused of 8 allegations of probation violation. No date has been set for his next hearing.

Update: Nakoula was ordered detained pending the final determination of supervised release revocation proceedings.

The judge cited a "lengthy pattern of deception," including making false statements to probation officials. "The court has a lack of trust in the defendant at this time," Judge Suzanne H. Segal said, adding that he posed "some danger to the community."

Calfornia film maker Nakoula Basseley Nakoulah was arrested today on a petition to revoke his supervised release. He has an appearance this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

I'll be flying solo on Daily Kos Radio from 11 to noon Eastern today. Topic of discussion - can "true" progressives vote for President Obama? Hint - Absolutely yes.

How to Listen to Daily Kos Radio:

Can't see the Flash player? Click here to download the stream directly.

Open Thread.

The Prime Minister of New Zealand has issued an apology to Kim Dotcom. (Video here.)

In a media conference after the release of the report into unlawful monitoring of Mr Dotcom and an acquaintance, Mr Key said he was "appalled" at the agency, saying it had "failed at the most basic of hurdles." "Of course I apologise to Mr Dotcom, and I apologise to New Zealanders."

He said New Zealanders were entitled to be protected by the law "and we failed to provide that protection to them."

The report referred to is that of Paul Neazor, the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security for New Zealand, responding to the Prime Minister's request for an explanation of the illegal interception of Kim Dotcom's communications. The report is here. [More...]

Good news for football fans. The lockout has ended. A deal has been struck and the NFL referees will return starting tomorrow night.

According to reports, the pension issue was resolved with the existing defined-benefit plan remaining in place for five years until the officials are rolled over into a 401(k) plan.

Busy day. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Miguel Alonso Contreras-Perez, an army deserter and convicted rapist serving an indeterminate (up to life) sentence has been identified as the suspect in the killing of a Sgt. Mary Ricard, 55, a prison kitchen worker at the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility near Ordway, Colorado. Another prison staffer, Sgt. Lori Gann was seriously injured in the attack which occurred as as Ricard, who was working on her day off, was supervising inmates preparing breakfast. There are 1,000 inmates at the prison.

Contreras-Perez pleaded guilty in 2004 to kidnapping a 14 year old girl at a bus stop at 6:30 a.m. and sexually assaulting her in 2002. The victim said he was wearing military clothing. He went AWOL from Fort Carson a month after the crime, and traveled to Utah, where he turned himself in at a police station and confessed. (Ex-soldier gets 35 years Man pleaded guilty to kidnapping, raping 14-year-old girl The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colorado) February 3, 2004.)

He was returned to Colorado, pleaded guilty and sentenced in 2004. He was 22 at the time of the crime, and according to the victim, married with two children. (Teen rape victim wants people to understand The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colorado) February 3, 2003 Monday). [More...]

A new poll by Bloomberg today has Obama ahead of Mitt Romney 49 to 43. Mitt's problem: people view him negatively.

Half of Americans hold an unfavorable view of Romney -- a September high for a presidential challenger in the last three decades -- and 49 percent of likely voters consider the former Massachusetts governor out-of-touch compared with 40 percent who say that of Obama in the latest Bloomberg National Poll conducted Sept. 21-24.

Also, voters think Obama has a better vision for the future:

The president does have one clear advantage -- his economic plan is breaking through with more Americans, who give him a 48 percent to 39 percent advantage over Romney on having a vision for a successful future.

In a nutshell:

[T]he public continues to view Romney as more disconnected from their lives and unconcerned with their challenges.