In a recent edition of the Western Criminology Review, researchers Thomas J. Mowen and Ryan D. Schroeder propose that historic justifications for capital punishment, such as deterrence, savings, and safety, have been replaced by calls for retribution and closure. Citing numerous victim’s family member statements, Mowen and Schroeder argue that victim’s family members now expect to receive closure from a “uniform” court system that is unable to deliver “emotional satisfaction that is highly contextual and individualized.” Mowen and Schroeder also cite a 2007 study that reported only 2.5 percent of victim’s family members found “the execution of the offender actually gave true closure.” In closing the article, Mowen and Schroeder state that, “The American public continues to support capital punishment for the most atrocious crimes, mainly on the basis of promoting closure to victim’s families through retribution, but evolving victim clemency movements and the prior research on covictim closure through capital punishment both suggest that the contemporary justifications for the death penalty do not accord with lived experiences of covictims.”

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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 claim among men is the erectile malfunction. 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 malfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying health 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 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.

On Thursday, over 200 students, teachers and community members gathered at East Tennessee State University to hear from Sister Helen Prejean, author of  Dead Man Walking, in an event sponsored by the ETSU chapter of Amnesty International and other local sponsors.

In her folksy, story-telling style, she wove her personal journey with the death penalty in and out of a critical assessment of the current system, lifting up the disproportionate impact on the poor and people of color, while highlighting the needs of murder victims’ families.

With a profound humility, she shared her own learning process on this journey, particularly from surviving family members of murder like Lloyd LeBlanc, whose only son, David, along with David’s girlfriend Loretta Ann Bourque, was murdered by the Sonnier brothers in Louisiana in 1977.  Sister Helen became Patrick Sonnier’s spiritual advisor, and, in the movie, he is the person upon whom the character of Matthew Ponchelet is based.

Sister Helen calls Lloyd Leblanc “her teacher.”  She recalls that during a court hearing for Patrick Sonnier, even in her attempt to avoid LeBlanc and the other parents of the victims for fear of their reaction to her, Lloyd LeBlanc found her in the hallway and questioned why she had never reached out to him or his wife.  Of course, she couldn’t imagine that they would have wanted to hear from her since she was serving as the spiritual advisor to one of the men who murdered their child.  Lloyd LeBlanc then asked her to pray with him and shared his deep belief in the need to forgive as well as his struggle to do so.  He stated to her that he had to learn to forgive so that “Patrick Sonnier won’t kill me too,” as all the hate and rage he was carrying was eating him alive and keeping him from living.  Lloyd LeBlanc’s story is a powerful witness to all those who hear the her tell it, and she calls him the hero of  Dead Man Walking.

The following day, Friday, April 8, Sister Helen spoke to a room of one hundred on the campus of University of Tennessee at a similar event, co-sponsored by the UT Chapter of Amnesty International, TADP,  and other organizations in the area.  Again, she mesmerized and moved the crowds with the honesty of her story and her troubling assessment of the death penalty in the United States.  A huge thanks to Jonathan Calloway of the ETSU Amnesty chapter as well as to Mary Findley, TADP board member and representative for Amnesty, for their great work to make both of these events such successes. And, thanks to all who attended and to Sister Helen for her work and witness.

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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 appeal 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 disfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile disfunction is sometimes one of the early warning symptoms of other underlying heartiness 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.

Nearly 250 students gathered on March 30th at Belmont University for an event sponsored by NAMI TN and the Belmont Psychology Club featuring  David Kazcynski. David spent nearly an hour sharing about his brother Ted and the mental illness that would lead Ted Kaczynski to become known as the “Unabomber.”

During the presentation, David spoke about always knowing his big brother was special–given his intelligence and genius in the area of mathematics–and the extreme difficulty he and his family faced once they came to the realization that their brother, their son, could be the most wanted man in America.

While talking about his own experiences, he also spoke about of the nature of his brother’s illness and how, even at a very young age, Ted exhibited tendencies of what would later be diagnosed paranoid schizophrenia.  He also reflected on facing the decision to turn his brother in to authorities with his suspicions about Ted’s involvement in mail bombings that had been occurring for 17 years –a decision that he knew could lead to his brother’s death.  And, though the death penalty was sought in this case, Ted Kaczynski ultimately received life without the possibility of parole. He continues to live as a prisoner, not only of a supermax facility, but also of his own mind.  Ted cut off all ties to his family, and they have not seen him since the trial.

Students lined up with to speak with David following the event, some sharing personal stories of family members suffering with severe mental illness  and others commenting on how impacted they were by the presentation. David’s story reminds us that so many families are touched by mental illness and how we continue to execute people who struggle with such diseases.

David also appeared on the Channel 5 Plus show Morning Line.  See a portion of his interview 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 claim among men is the erectile dysfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile malfunction can be the symptom a strong soundness 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 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 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.

Yesterday citizens from across the state took to the halls of the Tennessee legislature, speaking to lawmakers about why the death penalty in Tennessee should be repealed.  Participants included family members of murder victims as well as Paul House, released from Tennessee’s death after 23 years for a crime new evidence indicates he didn’t commit.  (Pictured above)

Participants also heard from Senator Beverly Marrero, sponsor of the legislation, as well as Representative Jeanne Richardson about the importance of the work for repeal and the impact of face-to-face meetings on legislators.  Senator Marrero and Representative Richardson encouraged participants to keep raising awareness and having the conversations with lawmakers as they believe, as we do, that Tennessee will eventually follow the lead of states like New Jersey, New Mexico, and most recently Illinois in repealing the death penalty.   

Twenty legislators received visits from participants, some for the first time, and each and every visit produced instructive dialogue and good questions. Members of both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees (the Committees through which the bill must ultimately pass) also received visits and were appreciative of the information and discussion. 

Even though we are in this for the long haul in Tennessee, these visits make a real impact, with participants seeing the effects of their conversations from year to year as more legislators learn about the system’s problems. TADP is already thinking about next year’s Justice Day and how to get more citizens involved.  Stay tuned for Justice Day 2012!

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 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 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 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.

The United States Supreme Court ruled last week that the New Orleans District Attorney’s Office is not  liable for the 14 million dollars awarded John Thompson, a man wrongly convicted and sentenced to death. Thompson sued the New Orleans District Attorney’s Office after his attorney’s discovered prosecutors had withheld “10 pieces of exculpatory evidence” during Thompson’s initial trial, including DNA samples.

In spite of overwhelming evidence that the New Orleans District Attorney’s Office engaged in prosecutorial misconduct, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of the New Orleans District Attorney’s Office.  Writing for the majority, Justice Clarence Thomas stated, “there was no proof of a pattern of indifference in the DA’s office and that prosecutors, unlike police, do not need special training in such matters because they learn the rules in law school.”

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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 claim among men is the erectile dysfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile malfunction 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 heartiness conditions that can be extremely 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.

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.

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.

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.”

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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.

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.

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.