why rosie?
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a gross display – such a horrible, horrible sight. I don’t understand how, rather than smiling at the dead carcass of that incredible shark, they are not puking off the side of the boat.
I don’t understand. Rosie Rosie Rosie? Why?
( Courtesy Mark Quartiano ) Rosie O'Donnell has taken her children on several fishing trips off Miami Beach with the well-known shark fishing guide Mark "The Shark" Quartiano
I don’t understand how anyone could do this to such a magnificent creature. Imagine the pain that shark endured? and now the ocean is absent another of its most mighty creatures.
I’m amazed that Rosie O’Donnell would celebrate such a thing. Sure, people have a thing against sharks. But, to kill one like that? Why? It makes no sense!
Granted, there are poachers in the seas all over the globe raping the waters of its treasures. Clearly Rosie isn’t doing that. It’s just that…. looking at that image – celebrating the death of that shark – it’s so wrong.
It is enough to make me cry.
This is not a little Snapper or Salmon.
So, what happens now?
Do you need this shark to feed your family, Rosie?
What will happen to the carcass? Will some local Miami Taxidermist get a new project? Or, God forbid, was the parading of the carcass only for the sake a picture?
I’m sick to my stomach.
casey anthony video diary is calculating, shallow but authentic
-Surprise, surprise…. she’s baaaaack! And, in an oh-so-calculating, monotone and self-promoting way that only Casey Anthony could deliver.
She says, “I’m so excited,” like you or I would say, “I like cold beer.”
This YouTube video diary of Casey Anthony donning a sports bra, her bobbed hair dyed blond, and wearing tinted glasses, has surfaced and has gone viral in the media.
One of her lawyers, says the Orlando Sentinel, has confirmed it is indeed the queen herself, but the video’s release was (cough, cough) unauthorized – An unknown account was hacked into, they say. Okay…..
Watch the video and listen to the number of “bleeps” which indicate names having been dubbed over. If this video of Casey-loving-Casey and her toys, was hacked, the audio would not be edited with bleeps. A hacker wouldn’t attempt to edit what he or she steals.
I am convinced this is a manipulative publicity stunt – no accident. Casey Anthony is savvy with computers and the Internet and would not “accidentally” release something she didn’t want to release.
She alluded detection for 31 days while her child was “missing,” she kept her mouth shut for three years of jail confinement, therefore I don’t think she’d make the mistake and ooops, release her diary!
Hacked? Truly I don’t believe it for a minute! This is Casey promoting Casey as only Casey can – in a an icky self-loving show of “look at me now with my new toys.” She’s talking about her new life, she’s very satisfied with herself, too. Her monotone drone, however, belies the fact that she’s a happy camper. She needs attention – really wants it badly. She wants us to know, she’s cool, she’s down with it, she’s hip and ready to play again in life, because life is normal now that she “actually owns things.”
She’s as shallow as a washed up shell.
It’s a bid for attention; she missed it, needs it.
It’s sad.
What a waste.
looking back
Image via Wikipedia
2011 is coming to an end. The year has flown by. Every year don’t we all say, “My, this year has really flown by?!” And the years do go by pretty quickly, especially as we age.
Time seemed to crawl when I was young. Was it like that for you, too?
This year flew, though it seemed to stand still, too, at times.
I wrote a blog post every single day in 2011. To date, I have 608 posts. This one will make 609.
I never thought I’d actually write something every day for an entire year, but I did. In fact, I wrote a post every day in December 2010 so this is month 13 of my Post-a-day challenge.
It was pretty easy, really. The Casey Anthony saga gave me so much material! There were the lawyers on the defense team – how bizarre they were. The defense attorney’s gave me a lot of colorful content. And, the Anthony family, Cindy and George and their antics, provided all kinds of fanciful copy as well.
I was very critical of the Anthony defense team, especially Jose Baez, because he deserved it. His courtroom antics were gross and demeaned the legal profession, at least in my opinion. However, as far as George and Cindy Anthony go – I was too hard on them, at times. Most bloggers were.
The mainstream media helped sensationalize the situation, as did the overflow of documentation made possible by Florida’s Sunshine law. Still, bloggers had a field day with the Anthony’s. I did too.
I am sorry I jumped on the bandwagon and made hay out of the George and Cindy stories – the discovery that was released in the case. I feel badly, looking back at the last three years of this case, that I judged and criticized them too often, as I know I did.
I think, in hindsight, that I forgot they were real people. They are hardly perfect and as capable of making stupid mistakes as I am. I think that comes from being human.
I have never lived under a microscope, I have never had a daughter or a granddaughter, I have never known anyone who either committed or was a victim of murder, not to mention a murder as heinous as Caylee’s was.
During the trial, I felt sorry for both Anthony’s. In hindsight I realize they only ever wanted to do the right thing for a daughter they doted on. As despicable as her acts were, the Anthony’s loved her. She is their daughter. She destroyed them and they allowed it to happen because they thought that was love. They thought they were loving and perfect parents. I think all parents believe they are.
I did some research and reading about how parents – whose children were murderers, behaved and learned that the Anthony’s were not so unusual after all.
Some parents will protect their children no matter what the cost. Even the most law-abiding people will convince themselves their son/daughter couldn’t possibly be guilty, despite solid evidence that says otherwise. Parents will usually ride a ship called denial across the Nile river for the rest of their lives, if that’s what it takes to maintain their sanity and their love for their child.
It’s easy to believe I’d be different from the Anthony’s, but until I’ve walked in their shoes, how can I know?
Having seen George brought to his knees by his own daughter during the trial makes me feel badly that I judged him. Watching Cindy Anthony literally crumble on the stand as she relived the pain of loosing both her daughter and Caylee, makes me feel very badly to have judged her at all.
Weren’t the Anthony’s just ordinary people who were thrown into an extraordinary Orlando firestorm? I think so.
All the crazy proselytizing Cindy did in the media to make Casey into a saint and a good mother helped to make the Anthony’s seem all the more dysfunctional. Little did they know they were inadvertently putting themselves in front of their own daughter’s version of a firing squad.
The video tapes we saw of the Anthony’s were of them at their most vulnerable. George and Cindy Anthony seemed to take a wrong turn and make the wrong decision constantly, and we saw it unfold, moment to moment.
I’d like to think I would have acted totally differently in every regard. But then again, I’ve never been in the lion’s den for three years, let alone three minutes.
The Anthony’s were living their lives as best they could.
Casey Anthony – can we give her the not guilty verdict, finally?
As my Orlando vacation nears its end (I’m heading home tomorrow morning), I suppose it’s fitting to discuss the Casey Anthony saga, which like the Energizer Bunny, just keeps going and going and going….
Since the story began, in 2008, I was enthralled with it. Anxious to know the truth about how and why the darling Caylee Anthony, just two years old, could have been murdered, I read nearly everything about the case. I even signed up for daily Google emails that provided links to the bigger stories related to the case. I still receive the Google daily emails since there continues to be plenty of stories about the Casey Anthony saga in the news.
Today my Google email contained a link to Hal Boedeker’s blog, in the Orlando Sentinel. Hal is the “TV GUY,” and regularly writes about the Casey Anthony coverage on TV. I always enjoy what he has to say. He never fails to deliver the goods.
And then there was a story from “The Examiner dot com,” which is a local online news outlet. The Examiner is kind of like a big blog that delivers news stories that don’t usually make it to the big media outlets.
The Examiner’s Casey Anthony story today makes the claim that Casey Anthony took “The Fifth” in her recent deposition for the Zenaida Gonsalez civil law suit, because she may fear Federal charges.
It is amazing that a news outlet would even proffer that idea! Perhaps the Examiner simply wants to stir up their audience. As most news media know, the Casey Anthony story continues to sell. So, milk it, milk it, milk it!
The facts, however, remain. Federal charges are just not going to happen in this case. Clearly some followers of the trial in which Casey Anthony was found Not Guilty, desperately want Casey Anthony to pay for a crime she is believed to have committed.
The Examiner was wrong to write such a story without providing details and facts. Instead, they say:
Anthony’s decision may have less to do with financial repercussions resulting from pending law suits and more to do with the very real possibility that Anthony may be tried in Federal court for her role in the child’s death.
Since Anthony’s acquittal, numerous petitions have been brought forth by angry members of the public demanding that justice be served. Petitions filed include those directed at the United States Attorney General, seeking federal charges against Anthony. Link to story here.
The Examiner provides a link to the petition, but fails to report that the petition is no longer active.
Not Guilty means Not Guilty
The Casey Anthony verdict was very upsetting, there is no denying that. However, the verdict was final. There is nothing anyone can do to Casey Anthony about the murder of Caylee now.
Casey Anthony is NOT guilty. She’s free, physically, but hardly free in any other sense.
She will be looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life, afraid of the nut-cases in the world who would like to do her harm. And, that is very, very sad.
I will take flack for saying this, but I have some compassion for her situation. She is legally free – our system let her go. She should be able to have a normal life, but she never will. Well, perhaps when she’s an old woman, has changed her name, and moved well away from Florida she may experience the freedom the legal system handed to her.
And so, the Examiner story is not only misleading, it’s also not credible. For Casey Anthony to face Federal charges would be double jeopardy under our legal system.
There are plenty of bloggers who disagree with me, and tell me as much when I write about this topic. People like to bring up a law called “Dual Sovernity.” These bloggers contend that the FBI and the Federal government should prosecute. Our system doesn’t work that way. Without going into a long description of dual sovernity – Here’s a big-picture definition: It affords the US government certain rights, allowing them to retry certain aspects of a case, even when a defendant was found not guilty. I believe it’s a law rarely used.
The important fact to remember, in the Anthony criminal case, the Federal government had no jurisdiction whatsoever – they still don’t. Plus it is the State who brings the charges in a criminal matter.
The argument I hear people make is, “Well, Casey Anthony lied to the FBI.”
No, she did not lie to the FBI. She was never interviewed by them.
The day Casey was indicted, when the two FBI Agents spoke to her (which we all saw on video), she was protected by the US Constitution, particularly, by her Sixth Amendment right to counsel and her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. (This is commonly a protection that people use when they “Plead the Fifth,” which Casey Anthony has done in the law suit brought by Zenaida Gonzalez.)
So, when the FBI talked with Casey the day she was indicted, she had already invoked her right to counsel, therefore, anything she said could not be used in a court of law against her. Period.
This is how our US Constitution protects us – you and me and Casey Anthony, too. Be happy about that.
If the Federal government were able to press charges against Casey Anthony, that would mean the government would have absolute power over the citizens of this country.
Without the protections of our US Constitution, although I am not an expert on it, we would be nothing more than slaves to another entity, a government or a dictatorship, or a King…..etc.
So, give Casey Anthony her Not Guilty verdict. She has earned it. Sad it is, but she is not responsible, under the law, for the death of her daughter.
For all of these reasons, I find it profoundly sad that any media representative would hint at Federal charges in this case.
Smarmy!
The other story I wanted to talk briefly about was Hal Boedeker’s article about what Jeff Ashton said on HLN with Vinnie Politan, about Jose Baez. Ashton called Baez “smarmy.” I nearly choked on the yogurt I was enjoying as I read that!
Oh how most of us agree!
According to Hal Boedeker, Ashton also discussed the “lies” (Ashton’s words) told by Jose Baez during the trial! Holy Cow…. Oh Golly, Miss Molly! He actually said THAT? Yeap!
You’ll just have to read it the Boedeker piece! It’s too good to miss. Here’s the link.
I heart Jeff Ashton – big time!
Tonight from Orlando.
I was going to forget about writing a blog post tonight and went to bed at 11:00 (after falling asleep on the couch at about 9:30.)
Sometimes, I surprise myself at my own sheer stubbornness. I made a promise to blog every day in 2011 and by hook or by nook, I will do it. And the iPhone makes that easy – I’m lying in bed blogging on the phone!
I am pretty darn tired after the drive to Orlando. It’s not a difficult drive, but it’s 3.5 hours of driving, and that tires me out completely.
So, I’m in Orlando! It’s interesting to be here, post the Casey Anthony saga. I still don’t want to visit the site where little Caylee was thrown away like trash, because it’s so near the Anthony home. I think they need to left alone – they have been through enough and people driving by out of curiosity doesn’t seem right – for me, I mean. I would feel like a busy body, I guess.
There’s a new story out today that the former defense team wants a judge to hold former prosecutor, Jeff Ashton in contempt for what he (Jeff) revealed about sealed Psychiatric interviews in his book. I am anxious to write about this one and will tomorrow. As the wonderful Judge Stickland once wrote, “The irony is rich.”
Indeed.
Dismembered and unceremoniously cremated American soldiers – anyone surprised?
The story of how the US Military handled the remains of soldiers fighting in the Middle East, continues to weigh on my thoughts.
When the Iraq invasion began, in March 2003, it was supposed to be a quick in and out, over in a couple of weeks, remember? The Great US was going to liberate the people of Iraq. Life would be so much better for them, we were sold, I mean, told.
“W” aka George W. Bush, and the military and the rest of the liars in the Pentagon and Washington, knew Americans had a short attention span for these things. They wanted Americans to move on to another story, and they did everything within the power of the President as a bait and switch marketing game for the gullible among us. And, for a while it worked.
W jumped on the Marine boat looking utterly ridiculous in his soldier costume. The pomp and circumstance with the MISSION ACCOMPLISHED banner waving in full view, was sickening. Anyone with a brain thought it was the most ridiculous spectacle of propaganda we’d ever seen. It was absolutely sickening.
It was a ruse to change what Americans thought about what was really going on in Iraq. It was pure propaganda. Period. And, of course, it soon became clear the Mission Accomplished was a farce – no, worse than that, it was a lie and a clear ruse to pull the wool over the collective eyes of the USA.
As the numbers of dead American Service men and women began rolling in, the callous W., et al, made sure to ban any pictures or video of coffins coming home to America. Was that because the military was not handling the corpses with any respect or honor? Not photographing coffins, I thought back then. There is only one reason to keep that out of sight and out of mind, I thought. The reason? If those coffins were shown on the evening news it would be emotional for everyone – it would show the reality of those dying over there to people who pay attention to the news.
It could incense Americans to the extent that we asked the hard questions about Iraq. Why were we there? Why are we killing women and children over there? Where are the weapons of mass destruction? That’s why we are there – to get those weapons, right? Well, we know now there never were any weapons.
So, because the whole affair was a lie, was that why the dead were not given the respect of a coffin with a flag? Were the remains of the dead just dumped together – toe tagged maybe, into a bin like dead fish as they were brought back home to this country?
My intuition tells me that there were no coffins to photograph. I have an idea that because the invasion was so expensive, the cost of ceremony over the dead was only a “nice to have” but not important enough to be a must-have.
When the rule about no photography of the coffins coming home from Iraq, it gave me an uneasy feeling. It didn’t make sense. Why would W and the Pentagon want to shield us from the reality of Iraq? Could it be that the reality was not in the least bit aligned with our expectations? Apparently so.
I would absolutely expect this country to treat its own this way. Any government who’d defy the Geneva Convention and torture in ways so heinous, is a ruthless government. Ruthless is our government. Inhumane is our government.
Hell, the men and women in Iraq didn’t even have the equipment they needed to maintain their presence there. Hummers were falling apart. Soldiers didn’t have what they needed to do their jobs, which is why I have convinced myself that W and the Pentagon would be loath to pay for coffins, or any kind of pomp and circumstance to honor anyone. Plus, the American forces in Iraq had to be a smoke-screen to hide the real reason we were there – Money. Contracts. More Money. Big Contracts. Remember Blackwater?
Sorry, I got off topic for a moment…. back to the main story.
There was a special counsel appointed to investigate the cremation and despicable treatment of the corpses. You can find the report at this link: http://www.osc.gov/FY2012/Scanned/10-04%20DI-10-2151,%20DI-10-2138%20and%20DI-10-2734/Analysis.pdf
Here is a small piece of the report (below). I am including this to illustrate that the military has rules about the treatment of those who died in service to his or her country. Here’s a snippet from the report that I referenced above:
The dignified handling of remains. Image by Beverly & Pack via Flickr
… the Port Mortuary is required, under AR 638-2, to process remains in a manner reflecting “the highest standards of the funeral service profession.” ….. “[r]emains will be handled with the reverence, care, and dignity befitting them and the circumstances ….. Port Mortuary Embalmers are required to hold a state Embalmer or Funeral Director’s license; however, most states provide only general guidance or are silent on specific prohibited embalming procedures. It also notes the military’s policy that every effort will be made to prepare the remains of personnel so that service members’ families may view them in uniform.
And then there is this, below, also taken from the report, regarding the destruction of a corpse so he’d fit in a coffin for the family viewing, and for burial. Warning… The below is very disturbing.
Preparation of Remains of Deceased Marine
Mr. Parsons, an Embalming/Autopsy Technician, disclosed information concerning an incident that occurred in February 2010, involving the preparation of the remains ofa deceased Marine. He alleged that Port Mortuary Director Quinton Keel determined that the remains in this case should be made viewable for identification, despite the assessment of several Mortuary Specialists/Embalmers (Embalmers) that the remains were non-viewable and should be wrapped in a full body wrap, with the unifonn placed over the body, rather than dressed in uniform?
Mr. Parsons noted that while a full body wrap was necessary, the Marine’s head and face were in good condition and would have been preserved for viewing by the family, if desired. He stated, however, that Mr. Keel instructed him and an Embalmer to prepare and dress the remains in uniform. When they were unable to position the Marine’s left arm so that it would fit into the uniform, due to massive injuries sustained in that area, they sought guidance from Mr. Keel. In response, Mr. Keel instructed them to saw off the left arm bone and place it in the right leg of the protective undergarment inside the uniform, where the lower portion of the leg was missing. Mr. Parsons refused to cut off the bone; however, the Embalmer complied with Mr. Keel’s instruction and Mr. Parsons placed the bone in the right leg of the undergarment.
I’m going to continue to dig for news about this story.
I won’t be happy until people are arrested and charged with war crimes over this and the war itself.
Related articles:
- Dover Mortuary: Panetta Sets Up Independent Review (offthebase.wordpress.com)
- Hundreds of US remains ‘dumped’ (bbc.co.uk)
- Air Force Officials Disciplined Over Handling of Human Remains – New York Times (nytimes.com)
- Number of dead U.S. soldiers’ remains dumped in landfill sites is revealed by … – Daily Mail (dailymail.co.uk)
what’s in a name? Not “Fernandez”
I haven’t completely lost interest in the ongoing fallout from the Casey Anthony murder trial, which resulted in the surprising Not Guilty verdict earlier this year. Every now and then I get sucked back into the newsy-ness of the remaining civil lawsuits against Casey Anthony.
I’m particularly interested in the defamation lawsuit that Zenaida Gonzalez has brought against Casey via the prominent Orlando law firm, Morgan & Morgan. This lawsuit is becoming ugly as a result of Anthony defense attorney Charles Greene’s public statements that demean Zenaida Gonzalez quite badly.
Initially, Zenaida Gonzalez never signed up for being dragged into a national media maelstrom. It appears now she is enjoying the lime light.
For the first few days of the case, as the supposed nanny, she’d been under the microscope of the media as a potential suspect in the disappearance of Caylee. But, in no way was she a lasting suspect, nor was her involvement a theory in the case because the police were pretty secure about Casey’s involvement. After all, before you could say Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez, Casey was behind bars.
These images come up with the search of Zenaida Fernandez Gonalez
It all started in July 2008 when Casey Anthony blamed her “Nanny,” a Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez, as the one responsible for absconding with her daughter, the adorable Caylee Marie Anthony.
Caylee was about a month shy of her third birthday when her mother, Casey, went on the lam for 31 days without so much of a mention that anything untoward had happened to her daughter. When Casey needed a cover-story for Caylee’s whereabouts, she made up the Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez kidnapping story. We found out soon afterwards that story was a fantasy and Casey knew where her daughter was but refused to share any information.
As we know now, Caylee was already deceased while her mother partied, stole from friends she was living with, and basically thought she’d finally found “the Good Life” or, Bella Vita, as she had tattooed on her back.
When Casey told the police that her nanny, Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez, had taken Caylee 31 days ago, the Detective assigned to the case immediately followed up.
The Detective learned that a Zenaida Gonzalez had filled out a guest card at the Sawgrass Apartments where Casey claimed Zenaida lived and where shed’ dropped Caylee off into Zenaida’s care. The police interviewed the Zenaida who’d filled out that Sawgrass Apartments guest card. It was an odd coincidence that Zenaida had visited Sawgrass Apartments where Casey claimed she’d often left Caylee.
Zenaida denied knowing Casey. And, Casey, when shown a picture of this Zenaida Gonzalez, claimed she was not her nanny.
Sooooo, what’s the fuss, you might be thinking. Well, Zenaida was wrongly portrayed as a potential kidnapper and was in the glare of the media. And that, she claims, harmed her reputation and defamed her in the public.
The irony is she is now in the glare of the cameras constantly. Had she remained in the shadows, her name would have been forgotten within a week of when the police cleared her as a suspect – which they had done immediately, I might add.
But, we’re only human and Zenaida was looking at her chance appearance in the over-sensationalized Anthony case, as a cash cow.
When she hires the law firm Morgan and Morgan (who have a big reputation and bigger voices), they dove into the story and fast.
Morgan and Morgan had a grand time inserting themselves into the media driven soap-opera that had become a circus of many characters and clowns.
It never seemed to be about justice for Zenaida Gonalez. (But, it was a good bit of media attention for her and her lawyers.)
When they (Morgan and Morgan), video-taped George, Cindy and Lee Anthony’s depositions and released them to the media, it was a gold mine for them – the videos made the national news, and so did Morgan. The Anthony family was not at all liked by the populace and they were recalcitrant and harsh in the video depositions which made Morgan and Morgan smell like a garden of roses.
Fast forward to 2011 and the same Zenaida Gonzalez lawsuit is full steam ahead, but seemingly getting derailed by their own hubris.
Now we find out that this Zenaida Gonzalez does not have “Fernandez” in her name. Well, her lawyers used Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez in the civil lawsuit against Casey Anthony…. and no one corrected the media that she was not Fernandez-Gonzalez either. Everyone was led to believe that her full name was Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez.
Is that deceitful? If not, it is curious.
Zenaida Gonzalez now says she doesn’t know why her lawyers put that name on the lawsuit. Could it be they thought their suit might get more attention if the names matched?
Zenaida claims she got unwanted attention as a result of being interviewed by the authorities in connection with this case, though she was never charged with anything. And now she is saying she wants an apology from Anthony. And now she claims that she wasn’t fired from her job – she quit her job.
The Casey Anthony case has always been about band-wagons – jumping on the band-wagon for the attention, payout, notoriety and national media attention.
Back in September, 2008, Zenaida filed her law-suit and shortly after appeared on Good Morning America (GMA), to announce it to the nation.
Her lawyer, John Morgan, was on the GMA show as well. Neither blinked when they referred to Zenaida using the middle name “Fernandez” as you can see in this ABC news story:
Though Fernandez-Gonzalez was cleared by police, she said she lost her job, cannot find an apartment and received threats from Anthony supporters. She filed a defamation lawsuit Thursday against Anthony.
Fernandez-Gonzalez, a 37-year-old mother of six, said today on “Good Morning America” that she looked at an apartment and filled out a form at the complex where Anthony said she dropped off Caylee before she disappeared.
“I just went to look at an apartment and filled out an information card,” Fernandez-Gonzalez said in an exclusive interview today with “GMA.” “My suspicion is they probably gave her [Anthony] the information from the card.” The card included the names of two of her daughters and the make and color of her car, which is the same information that Anthony gave the police, said Fernandez-Gonzalez and her attorney John Morgan. Link to GMA Story: click here.
In every story and every appearance I have seen in relation to the civil law suit, the name Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez, is referred to.
The Anthony’s knew this and they tried to point it out during their humiliating video-deposition in the civil lawsuit. No one really listened at the time.
I wonder if anyone is listening to the latest bits of intrigue?
Take a peek at these stories:
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/full-deposition-be-released-civil-suit-against-cas/nFnrx/
http://www.cfnews13.com/article/news/2011/december/352401/Who-is-Zenaida-Gonzalez.html
so much for your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free
I have written about the hedonistic immigration laws in Alabama in the recent past. What prompted me to write about this again was the Op-Ed I read today in the New York Times titled The Price of Intolerance that examines the economic and social toll the immigration law has taken on the state.
Even though Alabama’s Immigration Law is fairly new – less than 6 months old – and is modeled after Arizona’s aggressive law, its problems are becoming increasing painful for Alabamians. Whether or not Alabama will revoke the laws because of the economic issues, is another thing altogether.
Regardless, this law is doing damage to nearly all sectors of Alabama’s economic and social stratosphere.
Few words are more famous or more evocative than these from Emma Lazarus's "The New Colussus": "Give me your tired, your poor,/ Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty, they have come to represent America's promise. Institution: American Jewish Historical Societquite a while to come.
Let’s hope the fallout in Alabama will be a critical warning sign to other states, like Florida and California, hoping to pass a similar law. Florida, where I live, is one of the few states considering a similar law to Arizona and Alabama’s. Florida is also building its own Immigration prison slash detention center. They don’t like to call it a prison, though we all know that is precisely what it is. It’s a prison for immigrants who are CAUGHT without papers. SLAM goes the door to the cell that will hold mothers and fathers of children who did nothing to deserve having their life destroyed other than being born in the USA.
Apparently illegal immigrants are being held in Florida’s criminal jails. Maybe I’ve been under a rock, but I didn’t think this was happening. I know that immigration facilities existed, but I was under that impression that people held there were also criminals. WRONG, Ms. Ostrich.
In a recent article by Laura Wides-Munoz of the Associated Press, the plans are laid out:
The proposed facility is part of the federal government’s new plan to move immigrants from jails to detention centers it says are better for holding people with no criminal background. The centers are also supposed to be easier to reach for detainees’ relatives and lawyers (Arizona Republic, Nov. 19, 2011).
I find it difficult to wrap my head around this. It makes me sick to my stomach to think that the Immigration Detention center will jail people without any criminal record. They will be criminals just as soon as they’re caught without paperwork. I have also learned this Florida Detention center will be privately run – i.e. not run by the government. That is scary in itself.
As far as the impact to Alabamians, the damage is just now coming to light, according to the New York Times. For instance, workers who’d normally work on farms are largely, if not all, immigrants. Americans don’t want these jobs.
In Alabama, workers are fleeing for fear of being jailed. This means the farmer’s crops are dying on the vine, work is not getting done in other businesses supported by an immigrant population.
The New York Times Op Ed asks, how will Alabama deal with the extra police needed to handle the immigration dragnets? Alabama is not exactly a wealthy state -far from it.
Who will step into the jobs held by the immigrant populations?
Undocumented immigrants make up about 4.2 percent of Alabama’s work force, or 95,000 people in a state of 4.8 million. For all the talk about clearing the way for unemployed Americans, there is no evidence that Alabamians in any significant numbers are rushing to fill the gap left by missing farm laborers and other low-wage immigrant workers (New York Times, The Price of Intolerance ).
Recently in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a manager from the Mercedes-Benz company was visiting the local work site. The manager was found driving without a driver’s license or any legal identification documents and he was taken to jail since he was potentially an illegal immigrant.
Now, that’s a cautionary tale. We are America, the land of the free?
“Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” wrote Emma Lazarus in her sonnet, The New Colossus, written at the base of the Statue of Liberty.
Not so much. Not anymore.
when justice isn’t
When criminal trials are only about winning or losing like in a sporting event, the outcome will not always be justice. The best team doesn’t always win. The Police and State Attorneys are not always as honest as the fine men and women who worked in the Casey Anthony case, in Orlando.
Orlando had exceptional people working on the Casey Anthony case – with the exception of Deputy Cain, that is. (In case you don’t recall, Cain was the Officer who responded to Roy Kronk’s August 2008 call to police about seeing, in the swamp off of Suburban Drive, what appeared to be a human skull. Cain was summarily fired for not following through on the investigation of the area that Kronk identified. Afterwards, to make matters worse, Cain told lie after lie. His long lies did him in and he was fired from the Orlando sheriff’s Office.)
But, this whole idea of justice can be a slippery slope when one side or the other (Prosecution or Defense), throws their scruples out the window in favor of winning at any cost. It begs the question then, what is justice anyway? Like in football, or any sport, the best team may not win. Flukes happen, people have bad days, we’re only human…. That’s why the bar is high when it comes to the Government proving its case “beyond and to the exclusion of any reasonable doubt.” That’s a high burden. It’s a high-stakes game in the courtroom.
The stakes couldn’t be higher when an innocent person is charged with a crime by a relentless prosecutor who refuses to admit a mistake. That is the worst possible outcome because there is truly no justice. I guess you could say it’s anti-justice. Is there anything worse than an innocent person being jailed for a crime they did not commit?
Likewise, when all roads lead to the ultimate conclusion that one perpetrator of a crime is the one sitting at the defendant’s table but a jury, realizing they will be in the spotlight, wish to err on the side of caution and let a murderer go, there is no justice, either. However, it is a far better thing that Casey Anthony walked free than for an innocent person to be convicted.
Was there justice for Caylee Anthony? Hardly.
I still do not believe the Casey Anthony Not Guilty verdict was the result of the Prosecution’s case being weak. I cannot accept that. I honestly believe the jurors cared more about themselves than they did holding Casey Anthony liable for murder.
Life is not fair but the justice system should always be. And it usually is fair, but not always as you’ll see in the sad case of little Holly Staker who, in 1992 was raped and murdered as she baby-sat for neighborhood children. Holly was only 11 years old, and the person charged with the crime was 19-year-old Juan Rivera.
This story in today’s New York Times Magazine, is about winning and losing and the fact that justice took a holiday for Rivera just as it had for the People of Orlando, Florida in the trial of Casey Anthony.
The facts in the Rivera case have to do with Rivera being arrested, tried, and convicted of the rape and murder of 11-year-old Holly despite there being scant evidence of such crime. The only “evidence” is the four-day police interrogation of Rivera in which, on the fourth day, he confessed. He finally confessed to the crime and that is what convicted him. Despite overwhelming evidence that Rivera is innocent, a confession was beaten out of him and it was that evidence alone that nailed him to the cross.
Murder/rape victim Holly Staker. Photo credit: New York Times
As a result of DNA testing, Rivera was excluded as a source of the semen found in the victim. It didn’t matter. The Prosecutors made up scenarios that the jury believed. Namely, that the victim was sexually active. A ludicrous suggestion that the jury bought.
There was no physical evidence connecting Rivera to the crime scene. It didn’t matter. Rivera confessed so he must be guilty. The prosecution’s argument (one of them) said that 11-year-old victim was sexually active which explains why Rivera’s DNA was not present.
The outcome of this trial, the life sentence of Juan Rivera, is far more heinous than the not guilty verdict in the Anthony case.
The story is somewhat long, but very good. The link is below for your reference.
The Prosecution’s Case Against DNA, by reporter Andrew Martin, New York Times.
will it be belly up to the bar for Jose Baez?
It has come to pass that Jose Baez, Lead Defense Attorney for the acquitted Casey Anthony, is in the cross-hairs of the Florida Bar. The Orlando Sentinel reported just today that there are two separate Florida Bar complaints against Mr. Baez.
Two complaints! We don’t know the seriousness or the purpose of the complaints. We don’t know who filed them.
What Led Up to the Current Bar Complaints?
Jose Baez has been the subject of a lot of criticism. His personal and professional life has been extensively reported on by the media.
Mr. Baez’ past is marked by behaviors that delayed his acceptance into the Florida Bar as a lawyer for a few years. The Florida Bar took its time before it granting Mr. Baez his license to practice. It was only in 2006 that he was admitted by the Bar. He became involved in the Casey Anthony case in July of 2008. Hardly time for the water to dry behind his ears, though that didn’t stop him.
It didn’t matter to Jose Baez that his experience was minimal at best in criminal cases, and he had NO experience with Capital Murder cases. And, boy did it show. He was like the court jester; but no one was laughing with him, they were laughing at him.
To be (somewhat) fair, Mr. Baez did improve as the months and the years wore on. Oh, but his rogue-dog attitude never left him.
In my opinion, having closely watched his performance, I thought he was completely lacking ethics. He was, in my opinion, a total sell-out to the truth. Granted, Defense Attorneys have to be zealous advocates for their clients and ensure the government can prove the charges beyond any reasonable doubt, the goal should be to seek the truth, or am I being naive?
Both sides of the attorney aisle are adversarial by design. They have tricks under their sleeves, but they usually don’t sell their soul to the devil to win a case. Right?
Jose Baez in court. Photo credit: Red Huber, the Orlando Sentinel June 21, 2011
Jose Baez put his entire career on the line with this case; but he won it. He won the case of a lifetime.
Was it a fair win? I don’t think so, personally, but I accept the verdict because it is final and it is binding. No one will be able to investigate Casey Anthony’s involvement into Caylee’s murder again. It’s over and Casey Anthony should be left alone to live out the rest of her life.
If, like OJ Simpson’s foray into crime after his acquittal, she should engage in another criminal act, and get caught, she may see those grimy jail bars again, just like OJ did. Time will tell if she can be rehabilitated.
Perhaps someday Casey Anthony will have an anonymous and happy life. It’s debatable – the deck is stacked against her.
Who Filed the Complaints, and What is the Cause?
Of course, I am only guessing about this, but I have an idea of a couple of individuals who may have filed the complaints.
Judge Belvin Perry?
At the end of the trial, Judge Belvin Perry planned on having a hearing with regards to what sanctions to bring against Jose Baez. However, when the defense won the case, nothing further was publicly addressed about this issue. It was left on the table. I thought at the time that it would seem like sour grapes, or prejudicial, to bring the sanctions up so soon after the verdict was announced.
I tend to think that Judge Perry took up the issue with the Bar in the form of a complaint rather than address it publicly in the Orlando Court.
I wrote an article about the violations that plagued the trial; it’s titled, Yet Again, Judge Perry says Legal Violation by Baez.
The fact is, Judge Perry and the State of Florida, particularly Jeff Ashton, had constant run-ins and legal battles regarding Discovery rule violations by Mr. Baez, who pretended he was unaware of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure which details EXACTLY how lawyers are to obey the rules of Discovery.
Was it Jeff Ashton?
Did one of the complaints come from Jeff Ashton? Mr. Ashton was constantly thrown under the bus by Mr. Baez’ deliberate refusals to turn over evidence or expert reports. (Perhaps it was another attorney in the State Attorney’s Office, though I can’t see Linda Drane-Burdick filing a complaint, it’s certainly possible.)
There was a big issue about expert reports that were not filed. Mr. Ashton wrote a motion that requested the Court hold Jose Baez in contempt. I wrote an article about this, titled: Show Cause or Else Be In Contempt. This motion required Mr. Baez to argue why he should not be held in contempt. As it turned out, he was not held in contempt, he was sanctioned – I believe the total was approximately $500.00.
Was it Stogskill Court Reporting?
Then there was the Court Reporting Fiasco in which a firm outside the state of Florida was used by the defense. The issue here was the defense wanted to pay Stogskill Court Reporting Services, (after the work had been done) a rate that was lower than what the firm charges. The owner of the firm wrote a letter of complaint to Judge Perry, stating he was lied to. It is possible this firm could have written to the Bar. The story is titled, More Defense Woes?
Could it Be Brad Conway?
Maybe Brad Conway filed a complaint? Was Mr. Baez aware that Laura Buchanan was going to falsify Texas EquuSearch (TES) documents? Brad Conway was inadvertently put in the middle of the TES fiasco. Here’s a story about that issue, titled: Big Trouble for Baez?
How a Bar Complaint Works
According to the Anthony Colarossi, Orlando Sentinel Reporter, the two Bar complaints are concerning professional conduct during the Casey Anthony trial. There are different levels a Bar complaint has to wind its way through. The first level is a staff review. Apparently, if the complaint ends at the Staff Review, it will go no further. The other complaint against Mr. Baez stopped at this level. In this instance, however, both complaints are headed to a grievance committee. Below is how Anthony Colarossi explains it:
The Florida Bar confirmed Tuesday that two complaints over professional conduct filed against Casey Anthony attorney Jose Baez have progressed to a grievance committee. This means the complaints have not closed without discipline and moved from staff level to the next point in the process. The volunteer grievance committee is the rough equivalent of a grand jury. The nine-member panel will ultimately help determine whether to bring charges against Baez under Florida Bar rules of conduct. It is not exactly clear what the two complaints involve, but they do cover Baez’s representation of Casey Anthony, according to Francine Walker with the Bar.
I’m told that Bar complaints take a while to process through the review phase. It will continue to be a waiting game for Mr. Baez. Something tells me he’s not worried; he’s beat these complaints once already….
I wonder if his Teflon will hold up?
I am Troy Davis
I am struggling with the murder of Troy Davis by the state of Georgia.
“I am Troy Davis,” cried the throngs of supporters who battled to turn his death sentence around. Indeed, we are all Troy Davis – we could be charged with something in the blink of an eye simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
For a black American male, the reality of “I am Troy Davis” is quadrupled. Black men have been stopped by police because they drive a nice car. Sadly referred to in South Florida as, “Driving while Black.” The stereotypical scenario that an expensive car and a black man, in some areas, is a red flag. The first suspicion? The car was stolen.
How can a racist nation; a nation that murders people, be thought of as civilized? It can’t.
It seems the criminal justice systems of the deep south have three versions of criminal law – separated by the classes. The very poor black man is guilty until proven innocent; the same is nearly true in the sluggish criminal justice system for the middle class; and there’s the rich person’s justice where fat-cats play and money is made via pay offs.
As an idealist, I am loathe to see this divide. But when a white man is given clemency by the Georgia Parole Board the very next night as Troy Davis’ murder, there is clearly something wrong! Read the Reuters story about Samuel David Crowe’s clemency.
We know the original United States Constitution denied black persons the same rights as white persons. That sacred set of rules by which we live was originally littered with racism. There is no denying that America, at one time, judged people by the color of their skin. Throughout history white persons were afforded privileges well above and beyond the meager allowances of black citizens.
I remember, as a little girl growing up in South Florida, there were “colored” beaches, and beaches for everyone else. My mother has told me for years that as a child I wanted to drink from the “colored” water fountain because I thought it would be colored water, like fruit punch. I thought “colored” people were made of primary colors. I suppose I associated it with my colored crayons.
Fortunately, I had an advantage over other kids my age. My father was a teacher in a black school, in the sixties, and I grew up knowing his students, and fellow teachers. He and my mom made sure I went to segregated schools. I never knew how racist the United States really was until I entered college. Well, I knew about slavery before college, but had a difficult time believing it until the television mini-series “Roots,” aired and I learned how I saw the world and how it really was, were very divergent.
I wasn’t a very good student in high-school; I only cared about singing, dancing and acting. What was on my mind back then was practicing how to write my signature when people wanted my autograph, coming up with different stage names, creating scenarios for when I met Barbra Streisand and what I’d talk to her about. (I had pages and pages of things to talk to her about – and I’d practice the conversations, too.) She was my obsession and I was so sure I was going to meet her as soon as I was famous.
Sorry, I was talking about Troy Davis.
I don’t know that Troy Davis was innocent. I don’t know enough about the crime itself (yet) to really pass judgement on “innocence” though many people are making that leap of faith. What is bothersome to me is all the doubt that people are saying existed in this case.
The murder weapon was never found and seven of the “eye” witnesses recanted their testimony. There was no DNA, Troy Davis has denied being the trigger-man, and is insisting he is innocent. (A lot of criminals go to their grave denying they committed the crime – look at Casey Anthony.) Just because a defendant maintains their innocence means nothing in the big picture – criminals will lie.
In the Troy Davis case, because enough doubt has been raised over the years should have at least raised the white flag of surrender to clemency for Davis, don’t you think?
The fact that Georgia and the Supreme Court did not err on the side of life for Troy Davis makes a statement. The statement, in my estimation, is one that informs us that Georgia is callous as it concerns race relations. I was sure the Georgia Politicians would be sensitive about race, and therefore do the right thing – so as to not suffer the consequences of political suicide. The fact that Georgia lawmakers and politicians did not take a stand on this issue is alarming.
The politicians must believe that the populace prefers a lynching rather than what Spike Lee called, “Doing the Right Thing.”
The cartoon by Chan Lowe was published September 23, 2011, by the Sun-Sentinel, a Tribune Company.
guilty of being black in Georgia
Racism. It is a horrible reality in our country. I know we don’t like to discuss it, but it’s there, it’s pervasive, it’s sickening.
What is racism anyway? If we break it down, what does it imply at its heart? I think it boils down to two things: Superiority and skin color.
My skin is pale white and I have freckles that I hate, they cover my arms, legs and chest. The skin on my face is also pale, not pasty, just pale with some freckles. Growing up near the beach in South Florida, I loved the ocean and the sun. I’m paying for my sun-worshiping days now. No skin cancer – yet – but the way I baked my skin when I was young, doctors always have an eye on my freckles.
I’ve always loved dark skin. And the darker the better. (I’d like all my freckles to merge into a rich mahogany color.)
Unfortunately, we can’t pick our skin color, it’s a gift we’re born with. If Troy Davis’ skin was a pale color would he have gotten clemency, too?
The man pictured below, is the color of his skin dictate how deserving he is of pardon? Yes, says the Parole Board of Georgia.
The man below is a murderer but was not murdered last night. Before Troy’s casket was sealed, the Parole Board of the State of Georgia gave this man clemency.
Samuel David Crowe
Wouldn’t you think that the death penalty in Troy Davis’ case would give people pause, or prompt them to consider the consequences of killing an innocent? There was too much doubt to kill Troy Davis! But he was black….. Guilty of being black in Georgia.
Georgia murders more black men on death row than white.
There are Southerners and Skin Heads who hate a person’s skin color with such a passion. it must be something that’s inbred – inherited from childhood, I think.
When I read that just last night this white man was given clemency in Georgia the night after Troy was murdered, it proved to me that the application of murder in Troy’s case was racially motivated. Why else would they put him to death and save this man?
They put him to death because good ole boys and girls in Georgia are not expected to have a conscious when it comes to a black person, particularly a black man who is believed to have murdered a white cop.
Troy Davis’ murder was, in my opinion, as much of a hate crime as the recently murdered Texas man who hitched a black man to his truck and dragged him to his death.
Troy Davis is guilty of being black in Georgia.
the death of justice
Not the face of a murderer!
As you know, Troy Davis lost the battle against the Machine last evening.
I am mad, emotional and exhausted as a result of this terrible outcome.
It seemed certain the U.S. Supreme Court (the Supremes), would take more than four hours to consider the life of Troy Davis, human being. But they didn’t.
When the Supremes granted the stay before 7:00 last evening, such a sense of euphoria collectively wafted around all of us standing sentinel. The stay, however, was soon replaced with horror as barely four hours later, the Supremes rendered a devastating decision.
Our system of justice is not that at all. It’s a system, yes, but where is the justice? Why must we murder? How is this civilized? Why did the Supremes only consider Troy’s life for four hours?
I thought for sure the Supremes would do something. It is understandable why President Obama could not get involved in this fight, it would be unprecedented and would smack of something akin to dictatorship had he stepped in. Obama could not usurp the power of the State of Georgia. I understand that. What I do not understand is Georgia’s refusal to listen to their own son, President Jimmy Carter.
I am not sure if this issue was about politics, racism, or both. In my gut I think it’s both.
The State of Georgia said the “excuses” made in defense of Troy Davis was smoke and mirrors. I don’t want to believe the State of Georgia would lie outright….. but, something is very wrong when so many thousands of people stand up for justice only to have their pleadings fall on deaf ears.
Can all the thousands of citizens, judges, lawyers, and law enforcement officials, be under the influence of smoke and mirrors?
Clearly someone has it wrong. I don’t have the answer, obviously. Hopefully someone will offer a history of this case – I’d like a better understanding of the facts and of the purported smoke and mirrors.
The Color of Change
The email below is from the Color of Change organization. I’ve included their website, too.
I hope you find some solace in their message. I did.
I have a new sense of resolve about this issue. It has to be our mission. If a fight has to happen before change can happen, then I’m ready.
I don’t have any idea how change can happen, but a dialog must happen sooner rather than later. People need to be educated about the issue of murdering human beings as retribution.
The best place to learn more about these issues is to visit and support organizations like The Color of Change, The NAACP, Amnesty International, The Innocence Project, and others.
The fight is over due. As a society we cannot continue to condone barbaric murders in the false name of justice. No more.
Check out the Color of Change website for important messages: http://www.colorofchange.org/
Dear Andrea,
At 11:08 pm Wednesday, the state of Georgia killed Troy Davis. Just before he was executed, Troy maintained his innocence, urged people to dig deeper into the case to find the truth, and said “For those about to take my life, may God have mercy on your souls, may God bless your souls.” It’s a tragic day for Troy, for his family, and for equality, fairness, and justice.
It’s hard to know what to say at a time like this. In this moment, and in the days and weeks before Troy’s execution, we’ve felt all kinds of things — anger, sadness, inspiration, hope and hopelessness. This is a time to mourn and remember Troy, to contemplate the profound loss we’re facing, to send love and support to Troy’s family and friends. It’s incredibly important to take the time to spiritually and emotionally care for Troy’s family and the amazing community that has arisen to support Troy — and it feels hard to muster the energy to do much more than that.
But before he died, Troy told us that this was about more than him — and he called on those of us who have fought against his execution to continue fighting for justice, even if we weren’t successful in saving his life. Now is also an important moment to take stock of what’s brought us to this point — the criminal justice system that allowed this to happen, and the movement we’ve built to fight for Troy and others facing injustice and oppression at the hands of that system.
Race, the criminal justice system, and the death penalty
At every stage of the criminal justice system, Black people and other minorities face inequality and discrimination. We all know about people who’ve been treated unfairly by police or by the courts. When the entire system treats Black people unequally, it means that the death penalty is applied unequally too. Troy Davis’ case underscores the way in which this systemic inequality can lead to a tragic miscarriage of justice.
In most cases, people who’ve been treated unfairly or wrongly convicted have some chance to correct the injustice. People who have been mistreated by the police can sue them. People who are wrongly serving time can be granted new trials, can be released from prison, and are sometimes entitled to compensation. As we all know, the safeguards that can correct abuse by the criminal justice system often fail, and rampant inequality persists. Usually, people can at least keep trying.
But there’s no way to correct a death sentence. If Troy Davis were serving a sentence of life in prison without parole, he could continue to press the legal system to grant him a fair trial — but because the death penalty exists, he will not have that opportunity.
Troy Davis’ case has sparked a national conversation about the death penalty. In the past, much of the debate around the death penalty has focused on the morality of killing people as a legal punishment — a very important question that brings out a lot of strong opinions. But even if we completely leave aside the question whether or not it can ever be right for the government to punish a murderer by killing them, there’s an entirely different debate to be had — whether or not we can have the death penalty and actually avoid the possibility of killing innocent people. In a criminal justice system that routinely misidentifies Black suspects and disproportionately punishes Black people, Black folks are more likely to be wrongfully executed.
There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that the death penalty has been used to kill innocent people many times. Since 1973, more than 130 people have been released from death row because of evidence that they were wrongly convicted. Troy Davis is one of many people who were executed despite serious questions about their guilt, and he’s called on his supporters to continue working to end the death penalty.
A group of NAACP organizers went to visit Troy in prison yesterday, and NAACP’s Robert Rooks said this about the visit:
For someone that was facing death the very next day, he was just full of life and wanted to spend time talking to the younger staff, the interns, giving them direction and hope and asking them to hold onto God. And he challenged them. He challenged them by saying, “You have a choice. You can either fold up your bags after tomorrow and go home, or you can stand and continue this fight.” He said it doesn’t—it didn’t begin with Troy Davis, and this won’t end if he is executed today. He just asked us all just to continue to fight to end the death penalty, if in fact he’s executed.
A powerful movement
For years, ColorOfChange members have been an important part of a growing movement to stop Troy Davis’ execution. Hundreds of phone calls from ColorOfChange members to the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole helped delay Davis’ execution twice. Over the past year, there’s been a huge outpouring of support for Davis from ColorOfChange members — more than 100,000 of us have signed petitions, and we raised more than $30,000 to run radio ads in Georgia calling for justice for Troy.
And we’ve been part of an even bigger movement — NAACP, Amnesty International, National Action Network, Change.org, and others have all been a major part of the fight for Troy Davis, and there are now over close to a million petition signatures overall. Prominent people from all across the political spectrum have spoken out: members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Desmond Tutu, former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI, former FBI Director William Sessions, former Georgia Republican congressman Bob Barr, and former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Norman Fletcher.
This movement couldn’t stop Davis’ execution — but it’s a movement that won’t die with Troy Davis. There’s no better way to honor Troy’s memory than to keep fighting for justice.
Thanks and Peace,
– Rashad, James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Matt, Natasha and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
September 21st, 2011
Troy Davis – Denied Clemency
The unthinkable is going to occur tomorrow night unless something miraculous happens. (I have trouble thinking about this without shaking inside.)
I got word that Troy Davis was denied clemency in the middle of teaching class. I didn’t do a very good job of hiding my feelings when I saw the text message. My class wanted to know what was going on. I told them, and they all knew about the case, and all but one person was very upset. One woman in my class told us that if we’d had someone in our family die a horrendous death, as she had, we’d feel differently about the death penalty.
I wanted to argue with her, but couldn’t – I didn’t want to diminish what she went through, certainly. And I wanted to tell her that despite this, I would never ask that someone be murdered, but I didn’t. I just listened and felt her incredible pain. Her beautiful fourteen year old niece was raped by five animals (I cannot call them “men” they are animals), and then shot to death.
In this case, twenty years ago, a white police officer, Officer Mark MacPhail, was killed – shot twice in the course of duty. The Savannah Georgia authorities were frantic to hold someone responsible and placed the gun that was never found, in the hands of Troy Davis.
Save Troy Davis Image credit: NAACP
No physical evidence of any kind was found. No DNA, no finger prints, soiled clothes, etc. Nothing was found other than eye witnesses.
This case was solely about eye-witness accounts – the WORST evidence in a trial. Why is it the worst? Because people are people and they make mistakes. People like you and me always want to be seen in the best light; we want to be as honest as we can, and we try our best to do the right thing. That can be problematic when Police are under enormous pressure to close a case.
The police in the Casey Anthony case were, in my opinion, the best of the best. But, not all police are on the side of finding the truth. And, some reports I have read indicated the police were not honest.
Police can get eye witnesses to agree to anything simply by how they position a photo lay-out, or how they use their body language to suggest one suspects picture over another.
Sadly, there have been stories of police misconduct – how they will use any trick in the book to nail a suspect. They lie, they use coercion, or use suggestions to try to close the case. But, it’s not only because of shady police involvement in what eye witnesses say, it’s also because we humans are fickle and our memory changes as time passes. In this case, as many as seven people recanted, saying they were mistaken when they initially identified Troy Davis as the shooter.
I don’t know one way or another what the truth is in the Troy Davis case. BUT, I have enough faith in the people involved in this case to believe that if this execution happens tomorrow, it will be an enormous travesty of justice. The fact that many thousands of people across this country believe there is enough doubt that Troy Davis is responsible for the murder, could give the justice system more than a black eye, in the long run.
Is our justice system breaking or broken? The Casey Anthony case is fresh in the minds of millions of Americans. Clearly she had culpability in the murder of her daughter, but was found not guilty. We like to say, “The jury system worked as it should in the Anthony case.” But, that’s not true. If it worked as it should, Casey would be held responsible.
I have accepted the finding of the Anthony jury. I don’t agree with it, but I accept it. And, frankly, I would rather she be found not guilty than die by lethal injection. I would rather the guilty go free than the innocent punished or killed.
If Troy Davis is murdered tomorrow night, at 7 pm, there will be consequences that the justice system will have to face. People in this country, and all over the world, will view the United States as a barbaric nation. A statement by Amnesty International says it best:
“It is unconscionable that the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles has denied relief to Troy Davis. Allowing a man to be sent to death under an enormous cloud of doubt about his guilt is an outrageous affront to justice.” – Amnesty International in a statement Tuesday about Davis being denied clemency; he’s slated to be executed Wednesday.
I wanted to find a place to go and protest tonight; I want to protest tomorrow until time is up and it happens.
I don’t understand how can we kill someone when there is doubt about their involvement in the crime. How can we murder our citizens and still call ourselves civilized? How? How did we become such an ugly nation of murderers?
I can’t find the words to fully express my sadness, anger and disappointment.
Doesn’t it say something about this case when The Innocence Project, the NAACP, the ACLU, Amnesty International, President Jimmy Carter, the former head of the FBI, William Sessions, and all the other Human Rights groups are fighting for the life of Troy Davis?
The Justice system in Georgia should be fighting, too! Fighting for life! How can anyone be against abortion but for the death penalty? For political reasons maybe? Ah, and this is a political season, after all. Politicians must be bold and appear courageous for their constituents when an election year is on the horizon. “Tough on crime” is the battle cry. What about tough on truth?
This is exactly why defense attorneys are so important.
Troy Davis will refuse his last meal tomorrow night. In solidarity with him, those of us chilled to the bone will fast tomorrow. too.
I am wearing black.
FloriDUH | Report: Naked sword fight lands lawyer in jail
FloriDUH | Sun Sentinel Blogs | Report: Naked sword fight lands lawyer in jail.
DUH! is right.
If you’re hunting for a Florida defense attorney who uses “out of the box” strategies, look no further, you’ve found your guy.
