On Wednesday’s edition of NPR’s “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross, poet Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno shares poetry from her new book Slamming the Door Open about the murder of her daughter, Leidy, in 2003. Leidy had just completed nursing school when an ex-boyfriend, angry about their break-up and the fact that Leidy caught him stealing her credit card information, broke into her apartment and strangled her with a telephone cord.

A TCASK board member who was traveling on Wednesday heard the broadcast and called me to say that I needed to hear the story. I finally got a few minutes to listen to it this morning. Kathleen is brutally honest about her own process and the feelings she experienced in the wake of her daughter’s murder–feelings that she did not know she was capable of prior to this tragic loss.

I hope you will take the time to listen to this interview and to hear these moving and soulful poems. For those of us who have never experienced the tragedy of a murder in our families, Kathleen’s poetry opens up the depth of that pain and hurt in a powerful way for others to glimpse and touch, if only tangentially.

Read the story or hear the 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 complaint among men is the erectile dysfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile disfunction can be the symptom a strong soundness problem such as core 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.

One year ago yesterday, Jim David Adkisson entered the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville during a children’s musical performance and began shooting. Before he was finally tackled by a courageous member of the congregation, Adkisson had killed 2 people–Linda Kraeger and Greg McKendry, an elder who attempted to block him from shooting other people–and wounded six.

Adkisson claimed he was attacking “the liberals,” particularly those who welcome gays and lesbians. Adkisson pleaded guilty to the rampage and is now serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. One year later, church members have not allowed Adkisson to dictate their response to this tragedy. They are not acting from a place of hate with a thirst for vengeance as he was. Instead,the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church is a living witness to its faith in the power of love and inclusivity, moving other congregations to become more welcoming of gay and lesbian people while starting new churches along the way.

I am so grateful for the witness of communities of faith such as this congregation who, though violated and attacked, refuse to allow violence, hate, and fear to dictate their response to tragedy. Instead, they choose to celebrate life and to welcome others who might be targets of discrimination.

I hope we can all learn from their witness.

Read more about this story

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 dysfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness problem such as soul 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 much 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.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has set a December 2nd execution date for Cecil Johnson, an inmate who has served on Tennessee’s death row for 28 years. Johnson was convicted of the 1980 armed robbery and murders of three Nashvillians, including a 12 year-old boy.

TCASK is currently creating a summary of this case for our website in order to give readers more information as to how the case unfolded. Ultimately, Johnson was convicted and sentenced to death with no physical evidence, no murder weapon, no proceeds recovered from the robbery, and without the disclosure of key files by the prosecution putting testimony used against him in doubt. The State’s case hinged on the testimony of two eyewitnesses as well as a “last hour” change of story by Johnson’s own alibi witness for a promise of immunity by the prosecution.

TCASK will have much more to share concerning this case. Check our website for the summary in the next few days.

Click here to 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 disfunction. Sexual problems mostly signal deeper problems: low libido or erectile dysfunction can be the symptom a strong health 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 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.

On Thursday, July 9th, Herman Lindsey of Florida became the 135th death row exoneree since 1973 after the Florida Supreme Court unanimously ordered his freedom. The Court determined that there was not enough evidence to convict him of murdering a Fort Lauderdale pawnshop worker in 1994. Lindsey’s exoneration was the 23rd in Florida since the reinstatement of the death penalty. The court ruled that the Broward County prosecutors needed to show there is “a reasonable and moral certainty that the accused and no one else committed the offense charged. It is not sufficient that the facts create a strong probability of, and be consistent with guilt. They must be inconsistent with innocence.”

Only three days earlier, Ronald Kitchen was exonerated in Illinois when the state’s Attorney General dropped all charges against him. Kitchen and a co-defendant had been convicted of a 1988 murder, and Kitchen was sentenced to death. Kitchen confessed to the crime after being subject to interrogation by a police unit that used torturous tactics against suspects.

Kitchen’s case is yet another exoneration linked to disgraced former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge. Kitchen had claimed that detectives under Burge’s command coerced him into confessing to the murders through torture, including hitting him in the head with a telephone, punching him in the face,striking him in the groin, and kicking him. Years after Kitchen’s conviction, Police Commander Burge was fired after the Police Department Review Board ruled that he had used torture. Burge currently awaits trial on charges of obstruction of justice and perjury in relation to a civil suit regarding the torture allegations against him.

Additionally, the case against Kitchen was weak at best, lacking physical evidence and with the prosecution’s reliance on a dubious key witness. Kitchen served 21 years prior to his release.

Kitchen’s exoneration was Illinois’ 20th death-row exoneration. Florida and Illinois rank first and second in the United States, respectively, in death-row exonerations. Last week’s exonerations bring to four the number of death-row exonerations in the last two months. In mid-May, Paul House of Tennessee and Daniel Wade Moore of Alabama were also exonerated within three days of each other.

In 2007, Michael McCormick of Tennessee was found not guilty in a new trial after fighting his conviction for 20 years.

All of these cases highlight the grave risks of executing innocent people, risks that will persist in any human and thus imperfect system. With alternatives like life without parole, why do we continue to insist on the death penalty? How many innocent people have already been executed in this country because mistakes were made? Enough is enough.

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 dysfunction can be the symptom a strong soundness 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 health 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.

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 dysfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness 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 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.

Today the Sixth Circuit Court ruled against E.J. Harbison’s challenge to Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol holding that the U.S. Supreme Court’s Baze decision, which upheld the constitutionality of Kentucky’s lethal injection protocol, applies to Tennessee as well. Of the three judge panel making the decision, two affirmed the decision and the third dissented. The majority held that Tennessee’s protocol is substantially similar to Kentucky’s and therefore does not violate the Eighth Amendment.

However, in his dissent, Judge Clay articulates why this ruling is problematic.

Because the district court (which ruled in favor of Harbison) issued its
opinion before the Baze decision, the district court never had the
opportunity to receive and consider evidence in light of the Baze standard,
and it never rendered a judgement as to whether Tennessee’s protocol complied with Baze. By failing to provide the district court with an opportunity to consider Tennessee’s protocol in light of Baze, the majority effectively usurps the district court’s role as a factfinder and decides an issue never presented to the district court: whether there are material differences between Kentucky’s and Tennessee’s lethal injection protocols.

What we know is that when Governor Bredesen asked for the Department of Corrections to revise its protocols in 2007, Corrections Commissioner George Little established a committee to review the protocol and make recommendations. The Protocol Committee made significant recommendations for changing the protocol, including eliminating the controversial three drug cocktail and moving to a one drug protocol. The Committee also found that the risk of the first drug, sodium thiopental’s failing to fully render the inmate unconscious resulting in the inmate’s enduring the excruciating effects of the following drugs, was more significant than previously thought, particularly since there is a lack of a check for consciousness before the administration of the next drugs. However, none of the recommendations made by the Protocol Committee to address these problems were accepted by Commissioner Little.

The fact remains that regardless of the protocols or methods of execution used in Tennessee, the state’s death penalty system remains broken, a reality confirmed by the legislatively created Tennessee Committee to Study the Administration of the Death Penalty. The Committee determined that the death penalty in Tennessee is unfairly applied, more costly than life without parole, and risks the execution of an innocent person. The controversy over Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol represents merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the problems with the death penalty system.

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 malfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as core 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 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.

Today the US Supreme Court revealed that there will be NO DECISION on the Troy Davis case until the court reconvenes in September. Supporters of Davis have been rallying for the Court to take up his case in order that evidence of his innocence finally be heard.

Below is an article about about today’s press conference in Savannah, Georgia, where thousands of petitions were delivered to District Attorney Larry Chisholm.

Monday, Jun. 29, 2009
60,000 signatures supporting Troy Davis delivered
By RUSS BYNUM – Associated Press Writer

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Supporters of death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis delivered petitions with 60,000 signatures Monday to the office of Chatham County’s district attorney, who’s being pressured to consider a new trial for Davis based on questions raised in his appeals.

About 25 people from groups such as the NAACP and Amnesty International handed a stack of petitions more than two feet high to spokeswoman for District Attorney Larry Chisolm at a news conference outside the Chatham County courthouse.

“We have sufficient evidence, we believe, to show that Troy Anthony Davis is innocent,” said Prince Jackson, president of the NAACP’s Savannah branch. “We are asking that he be given a chance. After all, his life is at stake.”

Davis has spent nearly 18 years on death row for the 1989 slaying of Savannah police officer Mark MacPhail. His attorneys say he deserves a new trial after several witnesses at his trial recanted their testimony.

Though the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to rule on whether it will hear Davis’ latest appeal, his supporters are already working to put pressure on Chisolm, who was elected Chatham County’s first black district attorney last year with much of his support coming from black voters in Savannah. Davis also is black.

A decision from the high court was expected by Tuesday, as justices are taking off on their summer break. If the court rejects Davis’ case, it would clear the way for Georgia to set a new execution date for Davis, who has been scheduled to die by lethal injections three times since 2007 but was spared when courts intervened.

Martina Correia, Davis’ sister, said her brother was in decent spirits and “praying for the best” when she visited him over the weekend. Correia said she hoped Chisolm would give weight to the petition signatures, 11,000 of which Davis’ supporters said came from Chatham County.

“He’s a fresh pair of eyes taking a look at this case,” Correia said.

Chisolm’s predecessor, Spencer Lawton, was district attorney when Davis was convicted in 1991. Prosecutors under Lawton, who retired last year, rejected Davis’ claims of innocence and labeled statements by recanting witnesses as “suspect.”

Chisolm’s spokeswoman, Lydia Sermons, said Monday the district attorney had no comment. She has previously said that Chisolm wasn’t sure he had the legal authority to halt Davis’ execution, and that he would not comment until after the Supreme Court ruled.

MacPhail was slain 20 years ago while working off-duty as a security guard at a bus station. He had rushed to help a homeless man who had been pistol-whipped at a nearby parking lot, and was shot twice when he approached Davis and two other men. Witnesses identified Davis as the shooter at his 1991 trial.

But Davis’ lawyers say new evidence proves their client was a victim of mistaken identity. They say three people who did not testify at Davis’ trial have said another man confessed to the killing.

The case has attracted worldwide attention, with calls to stop Davis’ execution from former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Desmond Tutu. Rallies have been held as far away as Paris.

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 disfunction can be the symptom a strong health problem such as core 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 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.

On Thursday, June 18th, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that those convicted of a crime do not have the right to obtain DNA testing on evidence that could prove their innocence. The 5-4 decision involved the case of William Osborne, an Alaskan man convicted of assault, kidnapping, and sexual assault in 1993. Though the victim did identify Osborne as one of her two attackers, court documents also reveal that her identification was questionable. The victim’s eyesight was poor and the attack occurred at night when visibility was limited.

In 2001, Osborne sought DNA testing that could prove his innocence for the assault. He filed suit in federal court because he contended that the state of Alaska had no provision for post-conviction DNA testing. Although the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision did not completely deny that there is a constitutional right to DNA testing, it found that Osborne’s constitutional rights were not violated. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his majority opinion that Osborne should have exhausted his avenues for appeal in the Alaska courts. Roberts added that defendants have no freestanding right to DNA testing under the Constitution’s Due Process Clause.

According to the Innocence Project, an organization that assists prisoners who might be proven innocent through DNA testing and who represents Osborn, to date there have been 240 people nationwide who have been exonerated through DNA testing. In all, 47 states and the District of Columbia have passed statutes granting access to post-conviction DNA testing, and a federal law granting access in federal cases was passed in 2004. Thursday’s ruling will not affect those laws. The three states without statutes granting post-conviction access to DNA testing are Alaska, Massachusetts and Oklahoma

Tennessee currently allows a defendant to obtain DNA testing of biological evidence during pre-trial discovery or during post-conviction proceedings. Strict pleading requirements, however, have the potential to preclude inmates from successfully obtaining post-conviction DNA testing. For example, the court will summarily dismiss the petition seeking post-conviction DNA testing if the petitioner failed to allege or satisfy a pleading requirement. Most significantly, the court is never required to hold a hearing on the merits of an inmate’s petition for DNA testing (The Tennessee Death Penalty Assessment Report, American Bar Association, March 2007).

Read more about this case.

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 disfunction can be the symptom a strong heartiness problem such as core trouble. Albeit the erectile malfunction itself isn’t necessarily dangerous, erectile dysfunction 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.

Yesterday a new study entitled, “Do Executions Lower Homicide Rates? The Views of Leading Criminologists,” was published in Northwestern University School of Law’s Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. The study is authored by Professor Michael Radelet, Chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of Colorado-Boulder, and Traci Lacock, an attorney and Sociology graduate student in Boulder. The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) has a copy of the study on its web site.

The study’s findings include the following:

• Eighty-eight percent of the country’s top criminologists do not believe the death penalty acts as a deterrent to homicide
• Eighty-seven percent of the expert criminologists believe that abolition of the death penalty would not have any significant effect on murder rates.
• Seventy-five percent of the respondents agree that “debates about the death penalty distract Congress and state legislatures from focusing on real solutions to crime problems.”

The study surveyed the most pre-eminent criminologists in the country, including: Fellows in the American Society of Criminology; winners of the American Society of Criminology’s prestigious Southerland Award; and recent presidents of the American Society of Criminology. The American Society of Criminology is the top professional organization of criminologists in the world. Respondents were not asked for their personal opinion about the wisdom of the death penalty, but instead, were asked to answer the questions only on the basis of their understandings of the empirical research.

The study concluded: “Our survey indicates that the vast majority of the world’s top criminologists believe that the empirical research has revealed the deterrence hypothesis for a myth … The consensus among criminologists is that the death penalty does not add any significant deterrent effect above that of long-term imprisonment.”

The murder rates across the nation provide further evidence that the death penalty is not a deterrent to violent crime. The South carries out 80% of the executions in this country while continuing to have the highest murder rate of the nation’s four regions. The Northeast, which has only had 4 executions since the reinstatement of the death penalty, has the lowest murder rate.

What we do know is that states continue to spend millions of dollars that they don’t have to maintain death penalty systems which do not deter crime instead of spending those dollars on efforts that actually can prevent violence–such as mental health care, drug treatment, education, and resources for law enforcement. Rather than pouring our money down the black hole of the death penalty, let’s get proactive about how we address the root causes of violent crime and actually prevent some of these horrible tragedies from happening at all. One way or the other, we, as a society, must be willing to spend the resources to provide hope and opportunity for those who often have neither. We can either provide those resources when they can still make a difference or after a horrible crime has been committed and it is too late.

The evidence is in. The choice is ours.

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 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 highly 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.