Archive for

March, 2011



Amnesty International Report Shows Drop in Executions Around the World

Death Sentences and Executions 2010, a report by Amnesty International, displays international movement away from executions this past year. According to figures compiled by the human rights group, the United States, China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia stand as the only four countries in the G20, a group of the world’s leading economies, to perform executions. The report also shows that only 21 of the 192 UN member nations utilized capital punishment in 2010, lending credence to the argument that the international community continues to move away from capital punishment, both in theory and in practice. “At the end of 2010 the global trend towards abolition of the death penalty could not have been clearer. While in the mid-1990s 40 countries on average were known to carry out executions each year, during the first years of this century executions were reported in 30 countries on average. Most recently, 25 countries reportedly executed prisoners in 2008 while 19 countries – the lowest number ever recorded by Amnesty International – did so in 2009…. The number of countries that are abolitionist in law or practice has substantially increased over the past decade, rising from 108 in 2001 to 139 in recent years.”

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Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual complaint among men is the erectile dysfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile disfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as heart trouble. Albeit the erectile disfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile dysfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying soundness conditions that can be very dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile malfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

Cost of Death Penalty Burdens Taxpayers

As many states struggle to balance their budgets, lawmakers too often look at cutting programs that provide vital services to their citizens without  scrutinizing the amount of money spent to maintain a death penalty system that serves no one.  This week, David Cook, columnist for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, reflects on the cost of the death penalty in Tennessee and why Tennesseans should know how much we are spending to hold onto a system that has executed 6 people since 1960.

Read the article.

Picture by David Beyer

Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual appeal among men is the erectile disfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong soundness problem such as heart trouble. Albeit the erectile disfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile disfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying health conditions that can be so dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile disfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

U.S. Supreme Court Dismisses Troy Davis Appeal

The United States Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis today, clearing the way for his execution. Mr. Davis was convicted of first-degree murder in 1991. Since his conviction, Mr. Davis’s case has garnered international attention because all but two of the non-police witnesses who identified Mr. Davis as the shooter have recanted their testimony. Many of those who recanted have since “stated in sworn affidavits that they were pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements against Troy Davis.”

Read more

Please sign the petition on Troy’s behalf here. 

Image Provided by massmatt

Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual complaint among men is the erectile dysfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong soundness problem such as soul trouble. Albeit the erectile disfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile disfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying health conditions that can be very dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile dysfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

Conservative Judge Rethinks Death Penalty

Seeking the death penalty from a system that is inefficient, ineffective, and extremely costly has given a retired California Superior Court judge second thoughts. In an opinion piece in the L.A. Times,  Judge Donald A. McCartin reflects on his years on the bench, years in which he sentenced 10 men to die.  Judge McCartin, known as “the hanging judge” is now convinced that the death penalty exacts a painful and consuming emotional toll on surviving  family members of murder victims who endure years of suffering waiting for an execution to be carried out. Most are still waiting.

Judge McCartin also attests to the millions of dollars spent by taxpayers  to maintain the death penalty when only a tiny percentages of murderers receive the sentence. These are tax dollars that could be redirected for essentials now on the budgetary chopping block with looming cuts to kindergartens, universities, and people with special needs.

Judge McCartin’s reflection is a reminder that this issue transcends political party and  ideology as the death penalty has become so completely ineffective, costly, and painful for all involved that it serves no one and in fact, inflicts far more pain than it prevents.  

Read more.

Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual appeal among men is the erectile dysfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile disfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as heart trouble. Albeit the erectile dysfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile dysfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying soundness conditions that can be highly dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile dysfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

DNA Testing and the Death Penalty

On March 7, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that inmates seeking post conviction DNA testing can bring claims under a federal civil rights law.  Texas death row inmate Hank Skinner has been seeking post-conviction DNA testing for 10 years in order to show that he is innocent of  killing his girlfriend and her two sons in 1993.

Nina Morrison, a staff attorney with the Innocence Project which has assisted Mr. Skinner’s attorneys on his federal civil rights suit seeking DNA testing since 2008 stated: 

“The Supreme Court was right to recognize that inmates should be able to bring a civil rights claim in federal court seeking access to DNA testing.  Mr. Skinner has been fighting for 10 years for access to evidence so that he could conduct DNA testing that could prove his innocence.  While today’s decision doesn’t guarantee that the evidence will be tested, he will at least now be able to use the federal courts to prove that he was being unfairly denied the testing by Texas law.  But we hope that the district attorney will end further delay and consent to the testing. ” 

According to the Innocence Project, there have been 266 post-conviction DNA exonerations in United States.  Seventeen people had been sentenced to death before DNA demonstrated their innocence ultimately leading to their release from death row.  Skinner was only hours away from execution when the U.S. Supreme Court intervened in order to consider this latest issue. 

It seems absurd that if untestd DNA evidence exists, evidence which could shed new light on the reliablity of a conviction and death sentence, that it could remain untested when the stakes are so high.  Many people, in our CSI world, believe such testing is automatic. That is not the case.

It can often take years to secure DNA testing or to get the courts to consider new DNA evidence, as in the case of Tennessee’s Paul House, who spent years trying to get a court to consider the DNA evidence that ultimately led to his release.   

I am grateful that the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledges that inmates, particularly those subject to death, should be given access to scientific  evidence that could demonstrate their innocence. If obtaining justice and not merely maintaining a conviction is the goal of our criminal justice system, how can we not demand it?

Picture by Micah Baldwin

Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual claim among men is the erectile dysfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as core trouble. Albeit the erectile dysfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile disfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying health conditions that can be very dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile disfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

National Crime Victims’ Week

Reshaping the Future, Honoring the Past is this year’s theme for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 10-16, 2011.  During this week, communities across the country will plan events to mark the occasion. The voices of families of murder victims have been a vital part of our past and continue to shape our future. It is important for all of us to take a moment this year and participate in events marking National Crime Victims’ Rights Week in our communities. 

On Tuesday, April 5th at 6pm, Friendship Baptist Church, located at 1109 32nd. Avenue North in Nashville, will be hosting the film, “HEAVEN’S RAIN.” This is a powerful story told by former Oklahoma state senator Brooks Douglass and is a tribute to the love and faith of Brooks’ parents who were murdered in 1979. You can go to www.heavensrainmovie.com for more information

Let’s take time during this week and throughout the year to remember and honor all who have been touched by crime and their families.

Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual complaint among men is the erectile malfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong soundness problem such as soul trouble. Albeit the erectile dysfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile dysfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying health conditions that can be very much dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile dysfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

Author and Attorney Scott Turow Explains Why Conservatives Should Be Applauding Illinois

In the March 10 op-ed section of the Chicago Tribune, author and attorney Scott Turow details why the abolition of the death penalty should be viewed not only as a victory for progressives, but also one for conservatives. In “The Right Has Reason to Applaud”, Turow puts forth three conservative reasons for abolishing the death penalty: it is a failed government program, it is extremely costly, and it goes against the notion of limited government.  Speaking to the death penalty as a costly, failed public policy, Turow writes, “Despite decades of legislation and litigation aimed at establishing procedural bulwarks, the imposition of the death penalty in Illinois remained haphazard… Of course, if the death penalty clearly served a practical purpose like saving lives, these increased costs might be worth it. But in Illinois we have experienced a steady decline in our murder rate since Gov. Ryan first declared the moratorium on executions in January 2000 that has remained in place since.” In closing, Turow directly addresses the conservative notion of limited government, concluding “The conservative-libertarian view that says that the powers of government must be strictly limited supports drawing a clear line prohibiting a democratic government from ever lawfully killing any of the citizens from whom it draws power. That way a regime that vanquished its political enemies or executed despised minorities would mark itself, whatever the legal rigmarole, as an outlaw. At the end of the day, Illinois’ abolition of capital punishment is part of an evolving national recognition that the death penalty is truly un-American.”

Read more

Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual complaint among men is the erectile malfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness problem such as heart trouble. Albeit the erectile dysfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile disfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying soundness conditions that can be very dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile malfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

Georgia Executions Off as DEA Seizes Execution Drugs

Georgia’s supply of the lethal injection drug, sodium thiopental, was seized on Tuesday by federal drug enforcement agents, ensuring that all Georgia executions are off until the issue is settled. 

Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Chuvalo Truesdell wouldn’t say exactly why Georgia’s supply of sodium thiopental was confiscated,  just that “we had questions about how the drug was imported to the U.S.”

The drug, which attorneys claim was acquired through a “fly-by-night supplier operating from the back of a driving school in England,” was used in January to execute Emmanuel Hammond in Georgia.  The attorneys for Hammond said the drug could have been counterfeit.  The DEA spokesman said he was not sure if other states’ supplies of sodium thiopental were also being collected by the agency. 

Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, and Tennessee have all obtained sodium thiopental from British sources. 

Read more here. 

Photo    

Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual complaint among men is the erectile disfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile disfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness problem such as heart trouble. Albeit the erectile disfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile dysfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying heartiness conditions that can be highly dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile disfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

A Powerful Reflection on Governor Quinn’s Decision

Dr. Mark Osler, law professor at the University of St. Thomas  School of Law in Minnesota, former prosecutor, and author of the book Jesus on Death Row, posted a powerful reflection on the Huffington Post yesterday about Governor Quinn’s decision to repeal the death penalty in Illinois. Dr. Osler gave voice to the gravity and difficulty of that decision.

Now, as Christian’s journey through the season of Lent, Osler, a Baptist,  makes the connection to Jesus and a decision that he made in a comparable situation.

This reflection reminds us that as we debate and legislate the issue of the death penalty, we must always remember the tragedy that lies at its core: a violent murder leading to the unspeakable pain of victims’ families; the suffering of the families of those on death row, the life of the condemned, and the toll the system takes on all those who are directly impacted.        

Read the post here.

Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual complaint among men is the erectile disfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as heart trouble. Albeit the erectile malfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile disfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying health conditions that can be very much dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile disfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn’s Statement on Abolishing the Death Penalty

Today I have signed Senate Bill 3539, which abolishes the death penalty in Illinois.

For me, this was a difficult decision, quite literally the choice between life and death. This was not a decision to be made lightly, or a decision that I came to without deep personal reflection.

Since the General Assembly passed this bill, I have met or heard from a wide variety of people on both sides of the issue. I have talked with prosecutors, judges, elected officials, religious leaders from around the world, families of murder victims, people on death row who were exonerated and ordinary citizens who have taken the time to share their thoughts with me. Their experiences, words and opinions have made a tremendous impact on my thinking, and I thank everyone who reached out on this matter.

After their guidance, as well as much thought and reflection, I have concluded that our system of imposing the death penalty is inherently flawed. The evidence presented to me by former prosecutors and judges with decades of experience in the criminal justice system has convinced me that it is impossible to devise a system that is consistent, that is free of discrimination on the basis of race, geography or economic circumstance, and that always gets it right.

As a state, we cannot tolerate the executions of innocent people because such actions strike at the very legitimacy of a government. Since 1977, Illinois has seen 20 people exonerated from death row. Seven of those were exonerated since the moratorium was imposed in 2000. That is a record that should trouble us all. To say that this is unacceptable does not even begin to express the profound regret and shame we, as a society, must bear for these failures of justice.

Since our experience has shown that there is no way to design a perfect death penalty system, free from the numerous flaws that can lead to wrongful convictions or discriminatory treatment, I have concluded that the proper course of action is to abolish it. With our broken system, we cannot ensure justice is achieved in every case. For the same reason, I have also decided to commute the sentences of those currently on death row to natural life imprisonment, without the possibility of parole or release.

I have found no credible evidence that the death penalty has a deterrent effect on the crime of murder and that the enormous sums expended by the state in maintaining a death penalty system would be better spent on preventing crime and assisting victims’ families in overcoming their pain and grief.

To those who say that we must maintain a death penalty for the sake of the victims’ families, I say that it is impossible not to feel the pain of loss that all these families share or to understand the desire for retribution that many may hold. But, as I heard from family members who lost loved ones to murder, maintaining a flawed death penalty system will not bring back their loved ones, will not help them to heal and will not bring closure to their pain. Nothing can do that. We must instead devote our resources toward the prevention of crime and the needs of victims’ families, rather than spending more money to preserve a flawed system.

The late Cardinal Joseph Bernadin observed, “[i]n a complex, sophisticated democracy like ours, means other than the death penalty are available and can be used to protect society.” In our current criminal justice system, we can impose extremely harsh punishments when warranted. Judges can impose sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Where necessary and appropriate, the state can incarcerate convicted criminals in maximum security prisons. These means should be sufficient to satisfy our need for retribution, justice and protection.

As Governor, I took an oath to uphold our state’s Constitution and faithfully execute our laws. Honoring that oath often requires making difficult decisions, but I have found none to be as difficult as the one I made today. I recognize that some may strongly disagree with this decision, but I firmly believe that we are taking an important step forward in our history as Illinois joins the 15 other states and many nations of the world that have abolished the death penalty.

Watch here

Picture by Randy von Liski

Fairly, there are numerous aspects you would like to think about medications. All discount medicaments save money, but few online drugstores offer better deals than other online drugstores. There isn’t anything you can’t order online anymore. Remedies like Deltasone ordinarily is used to treat diseases such as eye problems. Glucocorticoids naturally occurring steroids, which are easily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. There are varied drugs for every conditions. Cialis is a remedy prescribed to treat many illnesses. What do you already know about long term side effects of cialis? What consumers talk about how long does it take for cialis to take effect? A general sexual complaint among men is the erectile dysfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness problem such as soul trouble. Albeit the erectile dysfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile disfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying soundness conditions that can be much dangerous. Unfortunately nearly all over-the-counter medicines have sometimes dangerous aftereffects, from muscle aches to death. If you buy any erectile disfunction medicaments like Cialis, check with a physician that they are sure to take with your other drugs. Do not take unwanted medications. Take Cialis to your local chemist’s shop which will dispose of them for you.

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