World: Free This Man!

From The Guardian via Raw Story comes news today of a human-rights activist and pediatrician who has been jailed by the Indian government on some very dubious charges.

Dr. Binayak Sen, 58, who treats prisoners and tribal communities for free in the forest region of India's Chhattisgarh state, was arrested last May charged with carrying notes from a member of a Naxalite Maoist rebel movement, who was his patient in prison.

He has protested his innocence of the charges. Under the laws against "turrrrists," he is accused of being a "member" of a terrorist organization, and has been denied bail since his arrest a year ago. If convicted he faces the death sentence.

The article states, in part:

Sen is famous for drawing up one of the most successful community-based primary healthcare schemes in India, based on the Mitanin, the local barefoot health worker who gives the rural poor invaluable advice on preventative health.

Twenty two Nobel laureates have signed a letter to Indian PM Manmohan Singh, calling for Dr. Sen's release. The Mitanin "barefoot doctor" program for which Dr. Sen is responsible is based on educating and empowering rural women and tribal women in health care.

If you are a member of Amnesty International, you can find out more about their campaign to free Dr. Sen here. For information about actions taking place in North America in support of Dr. Sen, see here. More information about Dr. Sen is available here.

It's simply scandalous that Bush and Cheney, who are responsible for the deaths of over 1 million people and the grievous wounding and possible permanent harm to over 1 million more are free to walk around, while a man who provided health care to sick children, prisoners, and poor people, is sitting in jail.

Feel free to write the Indian Embassy as well, and remember, honey draws more flies than vinegar. In other words, keep it sweet. No matter how much disgust you feel.

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Crime: The Trial of Reginald Potts

Nailah Franklin

The Chicago Sun-Times recently reported recently that Reginald Potts' jailhouse lawyering skills might be having the effect that he desires. So far, Mr. Potts has had four different judges assigned to him for the trial. Reginald Potts is on trial for the murder of Eli Lilly sales representative Nailah O. Franklin, with whom he had a brief relationship. We believe that Ms. Franklin discovered things about Mr. Potts that made her uncomfortable and when she communicated the information to others, and threatened to have Mr. Potts jailed for stealing from her, Potts murdered her.

The current judge, Nicholas Ford, has recused himself on the grounds that his wife previously represented Mr. Potts in a trial. Hardly surprising, I suppose, given Mr. Potts' extensive criminal record. Judge Ford was assigned and recused himself on January 15. Judge Marcus Salone, who had been assigned to the Potts case on January 11 apparently also recused himself because Potts' sister is a probation officer working in Judge Salone's courtroom.

Previously, Potts' case had been assigned to Judge James Linn for trial. However, the prosecution objected to Judge Linn, so the case was transferred to Judge Salone.

Potts was supposed to be assigned a new judge on Thursday, January 17th. However, to date, no information is available as to whether such assignment took place.

Potts has requested a gag order on the prosecution. Given how much Potts has been yawping, in all fora, we consider that pretty damn cheeky of him. Apparently, so did the prosecution:

In [a] handwritten motion [requesting the judge to impose a gag order on the prosecution], Potts said [prosecutor] Milan, a candidate for state's attorney and the No. 2 person in the office, "may attempt to boost his public image and gain momentum for his campaign by giving press conferences about this case." Potts said he's worried that publicity will make it hard for him to get a fair trial.

Assistant State's Attorney Maria McCarthy responded: "The irony is no one has spoken to the press more than Mr. Potts." Ford did not rule on the motion.

Is Reginald Potts smarter than he seems, or stupider? Is he seeking to represent himself just to ensure that the trial gets dragged out as long as possible? Is he hoping to ensure that he can get off on some trivial technicality?

To date, the county coroner's office has not issued a definitive report on how Ms. Franklin died, except to state that she was neither shot nor stabbed. We note that previous newspaper reports indicated that Mr. Potts had attempted to choke or strangle one of his girlfriends. We speculate he might have strangled Ms. Franklin.

For ongoing coverage of Ms. Franklin or Mr. Potts, please type "nailah franklin" or "reginald potts" in the white text box at the top left corner of this page. Then click "Search Blog" next to the text box.

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Women's Rights: The Right Not To Be Abused

That's a basic human right, correct? The right not to be beaten? That's not asking for "special rights," is it? Everybody has a right to be secure in their body and know they're not going to be beaten and killed just because they're female. Right?

What kind of monster beats his own child to death because she's a girl and not a boy?



This one. That's what this guy did. He beat a 4-month old baby - his own flesh and blood, his own daughter - to death because he wanted a son and got a daughter.

We do understand people who kill their stepchildren. It's instinctive in most animals to refuse care for those not biologically related. But to murder your own children? That's incomprehensible to us. And a baby! We have no special love for babies, regarding them as a loud noise at one end with no sense of social responsibility at the other, to quote someone more famous. But to beat a tiny, defenseless baby - your own baby - until she dies - that, we hope, sends this guy straight to the death penalty. Pertinent quote:

Gomez-Romero told deputies that he would slap his daughter on the ribs while she was sleeping, and the Medical Examiner's Office said the girl had dozens of rib fractures, a bruised liver and a hemorrhage in her left eye, according to the Polk County sheriff's report.

Is this not the best argument against the existence of a just and loving Deity?

This man must never ever be allowed to inflict something like this on society again. Take away his freedom forever, in fact, take away his life.

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The Trial of Reginald Potts

To find all posts about Nailah Franklin, type "Nailah Franklin" in the box at the top left corner of this page and hit RETURN. To find all posts about Reginald Potts, type "Reginald Potts" and do not include his middle initial or honorifics. Thanks.

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Reginald Potts pled not guilty this morning in his trial for the murder of Nailah Franklin. He has said that he plans on representing himself if he cannot find an attorney.

Apparently we here at Casa de Los Gatos are not the only ones who think this lawyer has a fool for a client. The judge at the arraignment hearing advised him that he was making a mistake, gambling with his life. The prosecution has stated repeatedly that they will seek the death penalty.

Mr. Potts is facing 16 counts of murder in the first degree, and an additional six criminal counts. Details are available here, together with links to extended coverage of the murder and Mr. Potts' rather interesting background.

The article is available here.

Mr. Potts' next hearing is scheduled for January 22nd. The court will, at that time, verify the status of the parties to the trial to ensure that the trial itself, scheduled for February 19th, will proceed smoothly. At this time neither the place nor the cause of Nailah Franklin's death have been revealed. The last pronouncement made by the medical officer in charge was that Nailah Franklin had not been shot or stabbed.

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Reginald Potts: Errata

To find all posts about Nailah Franklin, type "Nailah Franklin" in the box at the top left corner of this page and hit RETURN. To find all posts about Reginald Potts, type "Reginald Potts" and do not include his middle initial or honorifics. Thanks.

The Political Cat knows that there are many people out there (all around the world, it seems) waiting to see what happens in the murder of Nailah Franklin. We apologize for giving the erroneous impression that Mr. Potts would be having his arraignment hearing today. The Chicago Defender announced
today that the arraignment would take place on Thursday, January 10th.

Mr. Potts is facing 16 counts of murder in the first degree, four counts of aggravated kidnapping and one count each of vehicular hijacking and robbery, for a total of 22 counts. The prosecutor plans to seek the death penalty if Mr. Potts is convicted.

Mr. Potts' trial judge will be assigned at the arraignment hearing. Nailah Franklin was reported missing around September 19th, and her body was found on September 27th 2007. Mr. Potts has been held without bond for her murder since December 10th, 2007.

For ongoing coverage of the case, see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

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Reginald Potts: Part One

To find all posts about Nailah Franklin, type "Nailah Franklin" in the box at the top left corner of this page and hit RETURN. To find all posts about Reginald Potts, type "Reginald Potts" and do not include his middle initial or honorifics. Thanks.

The continued hearing on Reginald M. Potts Jr's case resulted in a grand jury indictment in the September 2007 murder of Nailah Franklin. The court advised Mr. Potts against acting as his own attorney. However, Mr. Potts, who seems to think that his cunning which has permitted him to avoid serious punishment for his various crimes over the past years, is worth more in a trial for his life than years of training.

He insists on defending himself, and the court has permitted him to do so. Apparently, Mr. Potts is not happy with his public defender. Mr. Potts also argued to the judge, against his counsel's advice, that he was not being permitted to contact a private attorney, and that he has sufficient funds to afford a retainer.

We, at this blog, understand that when a man is on trial for his life, he must secure the best possible representation. Public defenders try their best, but they are terribly overworked and underpaid, and might not have the criminal trial experience that a private attorney might have.

However, our interest was piqued by Mr. Potts' representation that he has sufficient funds to retain private counsel. The last time he was in court, Mr. Potts claimed he was unemployed and indigent. Where did he get the money? Criminal defense attorneys don't come cheap.

The prosecutor denied Mr. Potts' claims that he had been on lockdown 23 hours a day and not permitted to use the telephone except in the very early hours of the day. The prosecutor also claimed that Mr. Potts has made hundreds of calls during work hours.

Prosecutors like to win their cases, and most are not above, er, stretching the truth. However, if the prosecutor cannot back up claims, she might find the judge inclined to rule for the defendant.

In any event, Judge Donald Panarese, before whom the hearing was held, declined to address Mr. Potts' claims and referred him to his coming hearing next Thursday before Chief Justice Paul Biebel, at which time Mr. Potts' trial judge will be assigned. At that time, Mr. Potts can broach the subject of his jail privileges. Judging by his comments so far, he undoubtedly will.

WBBM has the details.

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Crime: The Trial Of Reginald Potts

Latest update here. To find all posts about Nailah Franklin, type "Nailah Franklin" in the box at the top left corner of this page and hit RETURN. To find all posts about Reginald Potts, type "Reginald Potts" and do not include his middle initial or honorifics. Thanks.

It's often said that a person who represents himself at trial has a fool for a client.

Reginald Potts' hearing in the matter of the murder of Nailah Franklin was supposed to be held today. Mr. Potts is representing himself. The prosecution wants the death penalty. Her family has opined that death is too good for Potts.

No new information was presented, as a result of the postponement of the hearing. Previous coverage is available, with links, here, here, here, here, here, and here. We have been following this story since Nailah was first reported missing. Mr. Potts' preliminary hearing has been rescheduled to January 4th, at which time we will do our best to update those who care about Nailah Franklin (there's a lot of you out there!).

Nailah's family has asked for your prayers for them, and for Mr. Potts' family as well.

CBS has details. Incidentally, WBBM is now reporting that Mr. Potts has eight prior felony convictions. Prior reportage showed five felony convictions and three misdemeanor convictions. However, at the time, there were charges pending in unrelated cases, so it's possible that he may have received additional felony sentences since then.

The Chicago Defender would like us all to remember (and rightly so) that, no matter what his prior criminal record, Reginald Potts has rights, too. This is true. Despite what looks like very convincing evidence, Potts is entitled to his day in court. The prosecution has not yet proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Potts murdered Nailah Franklin.

May she rest in peace.

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Capital Punishment is About Revenge

I want to applaud the efforts of Governor Jon Corzine and the legislators of New Jersey. Ms. Manitoba is against the death penalty and Gov. Corzine, along with the New Jersey State Senate and the General Assembly, voted to repeal the death penalty.

There's a good editorial in the Hartford Courant online. Here's an excerpt that sums up my feelings perfectly:

Capital punishment isn't about justice. There's justice in locking someone away for the balance of his natural life. Society gets protected; the criminal has a lifetime to ponder the atrocity that got him there.

Capital punishment is about revenge. An eye for an eye may be a satisfying credo, but it doesn't heal. In civil conflicts around the world, it has only fostered hatred and moral blindness.

Plus, the right-wing Christians really should read their bible that they seem to love thumping so much. One of Christ's main messages was FORGIVENESS. That means true forgiveness. Not just forgiveness for right-wing child molestors under the influence of alcohol. Not just right-wing foot tappers in the next stall. Forgiveness for everybody.

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Reginald Potts: What A Tangled Tale

Latest update here. To find all posts about Nailah Franklin, type "Nailah Franklin" in the box at the top left corner of this page and hit RETURN. To find all posts about Reginald Potts, type "Reginald Potts" and do not include his middle initial or honorifics. Thanks.

From Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune comes the details of Reginald Michael Potts Jr's arrest record. And it's not a pretty sight:

• 2005 - 3 years Probation for Intimidation case in Lake County (01CF-1794). Details: In June of 2001, Defendant (Reginald Potts) was being investigated in several cases (of car theft according to some reports). Defendant spoke directly to the victim, a Highland Park Police Detective and told him,“I will blow your brains out and your family’s brains out. Your family will never be safe. You’re going to feel the end of my .45.”
  
  A warrant was issued for Defendant’s arrest. After Defendant was arrested, he escaped from federal custody. Note:He was at large for two weeks during which time he made taunting calls to the police. He was subsequently recaptured.
  
  
• 2003 - 2 years IDOC on an Aggravated Battery of a Peace Officer (02CR-1166). Details: Defendant was an inmate in Cook County Jail. Defendant punched the victim, a Deputy Sheriff, in the face. After this incident, Defendant stated in the presence of more than one Sheriff, that when he got out of jail, he was going to kill a certain Lt. and his entire family.
  
  Consecutive to:
  
  
• 5 years IDOC on a Class 1 PSMV (01CR-521). Details: Defendant was in custody on this case when he committed the aggravated battery on the Cook County Sheriff’s Deputy. In this case, Defendant was found in possession of a $100,000 Mercedes stolen from the Motorworks Dealership in Barrington earlier that day. After being put in lock-up, the defendant kneed a detention aide in the groin.
  
  
• 2002 – 30 months IDOC on Obstruction of Justice in Iroquois County
  
  
• 1997 – convicted in 4 separate aggravated PSMV cases and sentenced to 7 years IDOC concurrent on all cases. Details: In those cases, on multiple occasions during the Spring of 1996, the defendant was found to be in possession of cars totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen from dealerships throughout Cook County. In one case, five days after the defendant was released on bond in Atlanta, he re-stole the Mercedes from the police pound in Atlanta. Six weeks later, using yet a different name, he took the car to an auto shop in Chicago, where it was recovered by police.
  
  3 Misdemeanor convictions:
  
  
• 11-26-07 – Defendant PG to counts of Violation of Order of Protection. Details: The victim was his former girlfriend. Defendant was sentenced to 100 days in Cook County Jail. He is currently serving that sentence.
  
  
• 2004 - 6 months CCJ on an assault
  
  
• 1997 - 180 days CCJ on a theft
  
  5 cases pending:
  
  
• Aggravated Battery of a Peace Officer, Maywood. 11-26-07. Details: While in the main lock-up at the Maywood courthouse, Defendant repeatedly kicked a lock-up cell door causing it to remain open after being ordered to stop this activity. Cook County Sheriff’s entered Defendant’s cell and ordered Defendant to turn around and put his hands on his head. Instead, defendant struck the victim Sheriff in the face. Defendant kicked a second Sheriff in the knee.
  
  
• Battery and Resisting a Peace Officer, Maywood. 10-30-07. Details: Defendant refused to comply with County Sheriff’s Deputies’ request to put his cell phone away while in a courtroom. Defendant was asked to step out of the courtroom and place his phone on the ground. Defendant refused to put the phone down. Defendant then resisted arrest by striking the victim Sheriff several times in the chest and stomach. Defendant told the victim “F--- you. Touch me so I can sue you.” NCD 12-21-07.
  
  
• Assault of gas station attendant in Chicago and Battery of a maintenance man in a condo building in Chicago. NCD: 1-9-08 in Branch 43.
  
  
• Violation of an Order of Protection in DuPage County. Victim in that case is the Defendant’s ex-wife.
  
  In addition, the defendant has used multiple aliases and social security numbers when arrested in the past.

We all know that there are police officers who deliberately provoke incidents or mistate facts especially if they don't like the defendant. However, most police officers are simply trying to do their job, and it's a very stressful job. We've found that the police, just like any other group of people, has its bad apples and its good eggs.

It's always possible that Reginald Potts has, through a run of unbelievably bad luck, encountered the worst cops on the force. However, given his demonstrated fondness for lying and manipulation, we could probably safely bet that he is a manipulative career criminal who instigated repeated violent interactions with the police, who, of course, are only too happy to oblige anyone who wants to fuck around with them.

Looking at his interactions with the women in his life, who, unlike the police, actually like or love the guy and are smaller, weaker, less able to whup his butt, he certainly seems like a violent, controlling, bad-tempered bully. So what was a lovely talented intelligent professional woman like Nailah doing with this all-time loser?

I don't think she expected him to be the psychopathic loon that he is. She was raised in a very loving and close-knit family, and from what we can tell, her siblings are all educated, successful, middle-class professionals. She had no way to assess just what kind of monster Reginald Potts really was.

Now we're well aware that Potts has not yet been convicted of the murder of Franklin. But even if he is ultimately proven to be completely innocent of that crime (and we have our doubts), he is still a bully and an arrogant, deceitful, manipulative, conscienceless jerk.

Nailah called him on this, and that made him angry enough to attempt to destroy her reputation and her life. In fact, we can't help but wonder if the emails leaked over the internet tell the real story at all. We're guessing that he never told Nailah anything about himself until she found out. When she ran the criminal check she found out about the convictions. At that point, she would probably have been very angry. He acknowledges that she found out and was furious that she had to hear it from someone other than him.

We suspect that after finding out about the criminal record, she then started to find out about the other women. She probably tried to break it off then. She sent him a furious email stating that she was angry with him over his comments to mutual friends and his flirting with her friends. She was also angry that she had trusted him enough to have unprotected sex with him, and he had lied to her, and stolen from her (videotapes depicting sexual acts).

At that point he decided to write her that nasty email. Even if it contained no truth, by circulating it to his friends and family, he was damaging her reputation and hurting her feelings. Things had started to fall apart for Mr. Potts. First one, and then the other of the two mothers of his children filed restraining orders against him. His divorce had occurred fairly recently and there were child custody issues. His ex-wife filed for child support. His condo association filed suit to collect outstanding fees. His house was in foreclosure, there were bills to be paid, and Nailah was threatening to send him back to jail.

It's doubtful that he kidnapped her at gunpoint from her house. More likely, he turned on the charm, talked about dinner or a weekend together, offered to carry her laptops, walked her past the security guard in her building, and then drove her to some distant location where he murdered her.

However he got his hands on her, what he did was unforgivable. The prosecutor is seeking the death penalty. A member of her family has stated that the death penalty was too lenient for Potts' crime. His next hearing is on the 28th of this month, so we should know by then how things in this case will go.

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Politics: The Republican Candidates

Holy moly, whatta buncha losers. Let's inspect the cattle of the cattle call. What do we know about these people?

Mike Huckabee - governor of Arkansas, a benighted state if ever there was. To the far right of Attila the Hun, judging from information available at On The Issues. A brief summary: No reproductive rights, compares abortion to slavery, no consensus on the issue, no stem-cell research. He wants to get rid of the IRS (how will Government, military, etc., be supported?) and DHS. No civil rights for any minority. Pro-Israel, aggressive foreign policy. The only pluses I can find for this guy: (1) some pro-environment credentials (Athenae over at First Draft thinks NOT) and (2) he seems to want energy independence. Otherwise, he's a bible-thumping huckster with all the charm of a snake-oil salseman who wants to get his nose into every woman's panty drawer.

Rudy Giulani - former mayor of NYC. Grandiose, delusional, philandering, multiply-married transvestite liar with ties to the mob. Appointed close friend Bernard Kerik commissioner of NYPD. Kerik is currently under indictment for mail fraud, wire fraud, and other ethics issues. Employs Monsignor Alan Placa, who a grand jury report found to be involved in child sexual abuse and covering up other priests who had comitted child sexual abuse. Used the NYPD as a taxi service to chauffeur his mistress around town (while still very publicly married); and as dog-walkers for his mistress. Public funds were used for this purpose. He also took a security detail with him to various trysts with his mistress, on the taxpayer's dime, and had the NYPD chauffeur her friends around. Just the kind of guy I'd trust with the Treasury. NOT.

Willard "Mitt" Romney - member of a cult that is almost as wacky as Scientology, but more pro-corporate. No, wait, he's more than just a MEMBER. He's the Mormon equivalent of a Catholic bishop. See Jesus' General for the full story and the usual trenchant analysis. Mitty is beyond belief. First off, what grown adult person uses a nickname? Secondly, WHAT a fucking nickname! If I had a nick like "glove," I'd change it right quick. What's wrong, Willard, wouldn't Will work just as well for you? Third, this guy doesn't have the first clue about anything but pandering. At present, some 60+ per cent of the American people do not support the war in Iraq, and approximately the same number do not support Guantanamo. Yet Mitty wants to double Guantanamo. He thinks his sons' riding about America trying to get daddy elected Prez is exactly like what soldiers are doing putting their lives on the line in Iraq and Afghanistan. And, on top of everything else, he's a psychopath. Anyone who can treat a dog the way Mitt Romney treated his does not deserve a position of power. Plus, what's with kissing the asses of the G.H.W. Bushes? And the Barbie wife?

Fred Thompson - is this guy for real? First off, he sounds like he's on the verge of falling asleep. That'll win the youth vote, fersure. Then he's got the obligatory blonde trophy wife who's like, what, a quarter century younger than him? Women voters are not going to like that much. Add to that the fact that he's spent most of his life working in Washington, D.C., or Hollywood, CA. - neither of them exactly fitting the "small-town, folksy" image he tries to project with his bogus truck-drivin' (see Glenn Greenwald for an excellent analysis of the Mighty Bogue of Freddie T); and that he's been a lobbyist for some causes (like abortion rights) that your average fundie would scream hysterically about. I foresee a quick exit from the stage, and soon.

Duncan Hunter - he's tied to Duke Cunningham, okay? 'Nuff said. He might be following in Teh Duke's footsteps, like his friend Jerry Lewis.

Alan Keyes - the perennial Black Republican candidate. One of only a hundred or so, it's an exclusive club. The less said about this wacko bigoted homophobe godbag "family values don't include my lesbian daughter" nutjob, the better.

Tom Tancredo - the nutjob's nutjob. A mean, nasty, tyrannical, cheating, lying - oh, yeah, that would describe all the candidates. Never mind. To quote Slate magazine,

A cynic might wonder whether Tancredo's proposal to take out the two holiest sites in Islam is a pathetic bid for attention by a candidate whose support among Republican voters is stuck at 1 percent, below Texas Rep. Ron Paul, former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, and Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback.

Since Brownback and T. Thompson have dropped out of the race, one can only hope that virulent nutbag and worm impersonator Tancredo will soon do the same.

John McCain - it says a lot for the sorry state of the candidates that John McCain (whom I once greatly respected, but who has turned into the worst kind of whore, pandering to everybody, and even kissing up to the man responsible for the vicious attacks on McCain's family) is the sanest and most palatable of the candidates. At least he's not mean and borderline psychopathic like most of the others. Praising, as it were, with faint damns.

Ron Paul - We here at TPC don't agree with many of Paul's positions. However, we emphatically do not agree with the corporate paymasters of the media trying to block this, or any other, candidate. The people vote for their president, not the lobbyists, not the corporations, not the media. We're happy to see Paul doing so well with the people. We do confess to agreeing with some of his positions, but his stance on civil rights and women's reproductive rights is a dealbreaker. Check out his stated positions and decide for yourself. Pluses: he's not a screaming homophobe, like so many of the other candidates; no major scandals apparent; pro-Constitution; ACLU gives him a 67 per cent rating, so his voting record on civil rights is mixed. He's no Strom Thurmond. Anti-death penalty. Pro-medical marijuana. Cognizant of the discriminatory effect on minorities of current drug legislation. So, overall, a mixed bag.

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Albert Camus on executions

"An execution is not simply death. It is just as different from the privation of life as a concentration camp is from prison. It adds to death a rule, a public premeditation known to the future victim, an organization which is itself a source of moral sufferings more terrible than death. Capital punishment is the most premeditated of murders, to which no criminal's deed, however calculated can be compared. For there to be an equivalency, the death penalty would have to punish a criminal who had warned his victim of the date at which he would inflict a horrible death on him and who, from that moment onward, had confined him at his mercy for months. Such a monster is not encountered in private life."

-- Albert Camus from Reflections on the Guillotine, Resistance, Rebellion & Death 1966

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Death Penalty: Two executions delayed

graphic from the Events website at Stanford University

Because the Supreme Court will be ruling whether lethal injections are cruel and unusual punishment ... or not, two executions have been delayed:

• In Texas, the execution for Carlton Turner Jr. has been delayed.
  
• In Alabama, attorneys for Tommy Arthur are sought and won a stay of his execution not only because of the high court's plans, but because Gov. Bob Riley decided Wednesday to change the state's lethal injection procedures.
  

And my friend Pat writes about the lethal injection in California - there are two upcoming dates:

• November 19th - Judge Fogel, the federal judge that put executions on hold in California will be touring the new death chamber at San Quentin. There will be a protest and press conference there.
  
• On December 10th at the Federal Court in San Jose (Judge Fogel's court) he will hold the hearing for the State of California to present their revised "Protocol 770" which is the three drug cocktail that the state uses to murder people.

Judge Fogel has stated that it is okay if there is pain to the prisoner in an execution, but the pain can not be "excessive" - because excessive pain is cruel and unusual punishment.

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Death Penalty: Lethal injection arguments

Does the three-drug cocktail used by 37 states to execute prisoners violate the Eight Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment?

Ten states have suspended the cocktail's use. Many argue that, if the condemned prisoner is not given enough anesthetic, he or she can suffer excrutiating pain without being able to cry out.

Well, the Supreme Court has just agreed to hear arguments on this issue.

I'll be keeping close watch on this. I am against the death penalty so this issue is of great importance to me!

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