Texas Executed An Innocent Man
The Chicago Tribune reports that a fire science expert retained by the State of Texas has concluded that there was no evidence of Arson in the December 1991 fire that killed Cameron Todd Willingham's three children. Willingham was convicted of murder and was executed in 2004.In a withering critique, a nationally known fire scientist has told a state ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on August 26, 2009 12:30
We Don’t Have a Justice System…
...we have a legal system, and to the extent that it delivers a just outcome is not something inherent in the system. To see why this is so, read this rather distubring article by Radley Balko over at Reason.com. Be advised the accompanying video and pictures are graphic and not pleasant. Here is a teaser, For most of ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on February 19, 2009 14:46
Anthrax Suspect Commits Suicide
Via the LAT: Apparent suicide in anthrax caseA top government scientist who helped the FBI analyze samples from the 2001 anthrax attacks has died in Maryland from an apparent suicide, just as the Justice Department was about to file criminal charges against him for the attacks, the Los Angeles Times has learned. Bruce E. Ivins, 62, who for the last ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on August 1, 2008 11:32
Obama Plunges in Newsweek Poll!
Newsweek has released a new poll and is excited by the huge change: "Glow Fading? The latest NEWSWEEK Poll shows Barack Obama leading John McCain by only 3 points. What a difference a few weeks can make." This is quite amusing in that pretty much everyone agreed that the June 20th Newsweek poll was an outlier. No matter. In ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 12, 2008 06:56
Supreme Court Made Supreme Error in Child Rape Decision
A WaPo editorial takes the Supreme Court to task for a significant error in a recent decision: There was quite a goof in the court's 5 to 4 decision on June 25 banning the death penalty for those who rape children. The majority determined that capital punishment for child rape was unconstitutional, in part because a national consensus had formed against ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 6, 2008 09:27
Supreme Court Focus of 2008 Election
The NYT editorial board want you to know that they're very disappointed in the Roberts Court, particularly its upholding of Indiana's law requiring would-be voters to be able they are who they claim to be, allowing Kentucky to continue using lethal injection for convicted murderers who've exhausted seventeen years of appeals, and its ruling that the 2nd Amendment applies in ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 3, 2008 11:55
I Miss Karl Rove
Remember the good old days when everyday events were coordinated by Karl Rove? Today could have counted as one but, alas, Karl Rove is nowhere to be found. Child rapists can't be executed, Supreme Court rules The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Wednesday that child rapists cannot be executed, concluding that capital punishment for crimes against individuals can be applied only ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on June 26, 2008 00:50
SCOTUS Bans Death Penalty for Child Rape
The Supreme Court has ruled that raping a child is not sufficiently heinous a crime to warrant capital punishment. The Supreme Court on Wednesday outlawed executions of people convicted of raping a child. In a 5-4 vote, the court said the Louisiana law allowing the death penalty to be imposed in such cases violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. "The ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on June 25, 2008 12:19
Supreme Court: Gitmo Detainees Have Habeus Rights
Terrorist suspects detained at Guantánamo Bay (and presumably, anyplace else under American jurisdiction) have the right to file habeus corpus petitions in U.S. civilian courts the Supreme Court ruled today in a 5-4 decision. Further, Congress could not pass a law waiving these protections absent rebellion or invasion. Justices Rule Terror Suspects Can Appeal in Civilian Courts (David Stout, NYT) “The ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on June 12, 2008 12:32
McCain’s Vice Presidential Candidates
John McCain is vetting potential vice presidential candidates over the holiday weekend, Adam Nagourney reports for the NYT. Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida, Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and a one-time rival for the Republican nomination, have all accepted invitations to visit with Mr. McCain at his ranch in Sedona, these Republicans said. This ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on May 22, 2008 08:48
Obama Personality Cult Redux
Sara Robinson has an interesting examination of the question of Barack Obama’s cult of personality. She begins by a look at the literature on actual cults and shows why the Obama campaign doesn't qualify. While worthwhile from a technical standpoint, though, that's not really what the debate is about. Perhaps "cult" is a poor word choice but people ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on February 14, 2008 08:55
Clinton: Obama Not Barbaric Enough
In the heated campaigning between Iowa and New Hampshire, the Clinton campaign has started to up the attacks on Barack Obama's record. One of the more recent is the Clinton campaign's complaint that Obama favors defendant's rights and opposes mandatory minimums.Hillary's aides point to Obama's extremely progressive record as a community organizer, state senator and candidate for Congress, his ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on January 8, 2008 01:33
Huckabee Criticizes Romney For Lack of Executions in Massachusetts
Steve Benen mentions an interesting tidbit about the anti-Romney ad that Mike Huckabee doesn't have the money to run on TV "refuses to run on principle". Apparently, the ad criticizes Mitt Romney for the lack of executions in Massachusetts during Romney's gubernatorial terms. As Benen points out:Apparently, Huckabee — you know, the evangelical, pro-life Republican — is going ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on January 2, 2008 11:53
OTB Radio – Tonight at 7 Eastern (Updated)
The next episode of OTB Radio, our BlogTalkRadio program, will record and air live tonight from 7-8 Eastern. Dave Schuler will be guest hosting tonight, although I may well wind up taking part as well if we don't find another guest. The topics are up in the air, although TIME's selection of Vladimir Putin as Man ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on December 19, 2007 18:57
Sudan Pardons Teddy Bear Teacher
Gillian Gibbons, who was facing the death penalty for allowing school kids to name a teddy bear Mohammed, has been pardoned by Sudan's president after the intervention of the British government. A British woman jailed in Sudan for insulting religion was to be released on Monday after being granted a presidential pardon for insulting religion by naming a teddy bear ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on December 3, 2007 08:05
