The Pagan Science Monitor

Quotation du jour, Wed. 7-4-07

"The most dangerous informer of all is the jailhouse snitch who claims another prisoner has confessed to him....The precautionary rule of thumb with a jailhouse confession presented by another inmate is that it is false until the contrary is proved beyond a reasonable doubt."
-- Judge Stephen S. Trott. Words of warning for prosecutors using criminals as witnesses. 47 Hastings Law Journal (1996), 1394 [not available online].

The pic is of Troy Anthony Davis, whose execution date in Georgia is set for July 17, less than two weeks from now. The state of Georgia set the death date four days after the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Troy's habeas petition [PDF warning].
Troy was convicted in 1991 of the fatal shooting of a Savannah, GA, police officer. Judge Trott's QDJ matters because of the absence of physical evidence, including the murder weapon; the post-trial recanting of trial testimony by alleged eyewitnesses; and especially the trial testimony of two jailhouse snitches, who claimed Troy confessed to them.
(*) The death warrant is here [PDF warning].
(*) The Amnesty International page is here.
(*) Among the sources of international law that the Amnesty report on Troy's case cites is United Nations safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty (1984).
The passage of the safeguards directly bearing on Troy's case is Paragraph 4: "Capital punishment may only be imposed when the guilt of the person charged is based upon clear and convincing evidence leaving no room for an alternative explanation of the facts."
The "alternative explanation of the facts" in Troy's case is that one of the alleged eyewitnesses against him at trial is the real killer. Really, do follow some of the links and read about this case.

Tags: politics, law, policy, Quotation du jour, QDJ, Judge Stephen S. Trott, Ninth Circuit, U.S. Supreme Court, habeas corpus, indigent defense, appellate practice, Hastings Law Journal, informers, snitches, death penalty, capital punishment, Troy Anthony Davis, execution, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia.

Communting Scooter's prison sentence is a dare

(Yes, that is a pic of a zombie. What graphic would you have used?)
Bush to Dems: "I dare you to impeach me."
There was no reason to do this except one, and it wasn't pandering to the arch-conservative base. It was nothing more or less than a display of power as an act of high political theater. It was a dare. The Democrats in Congress will do nothing.
Consider what initial hearings (preparatory to impeachment) would show about this scandal alone (leaving aside the other crimes: the lies, the war, the torture, the eavesdropping, Katrina, the abuse of the separation of powers):
(*) Libby was the one indicted, but others did the leaking.

Quotation du jour, Mon. 7-2-07

"The first method for estimating the brain-power of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him....There are, in fact, three types of brain. One understands things for himself. The second discerns what others understand. The third neither understands for itself nor appreciates others."
-- Machiavelli, The Prince (1513/1532), ch. 22

Don't read this, read that

Marjorie Cohn, president of the National Lawyers Guild writes as a special guest on Jurist about the FBI spying on the NLG. Jurist is the e-zine of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

WWJD??!!??

Q: When was Julio's dialysis?
A: Yesterday, from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Q: Why was Jacquetta drunk?
A: Public defenders are all drunks.
Q: Was Willie just drooling?
A: Yeah, but you can kinda see why. That dude was extremely good looking.
Q: Would Jesus discriminate?
A: Go here and you decide.
Help me come up with more!
Would Walrus jilt Dumbo? Wait! We'll jump down! Waffles with jam?! Du-u-u-u-de! Walk with Jay-Z, DMX. Where will Jorge defecate? Wilmette, Winnetka junipers desiccated! What we justifiably dread. Wasp wings jitter delicately. Wiretap whoever joins dissent. Wicked Wisdom jams dangerously. Whistle while julianne'ing datils. Waste water just drips. Wolf wobbly Jell-O down. Wendy's whispering, Justin's dozing. Write windy, jealous diaries. Winter weather jems dazzle. Wild women jazzed Detroit! We were joyful, dolorous. White webs jettisoning dew. Wax, wane, journeying disk. Watch while Junior dives. Wanted: wacky jingle downloads. Whirling wheels' jig's done. Wet whiskers' jasmine delicacy. With whiskey, just drink! Winnifred wants Justine desperately. Wombat, wolf, jaguar, doe. Wear wigs jauntily, dearie! Without watchers, justice dies.

Bonus puzzle: This inscription appears on a page in my notebook for June: "T.V.'s mournful S.G. = W.U."
Whatsit mean?
Sender of earliest received correct answer receives prize of his/her choosing (subject to negotiation, cash value not to exceed price of pitcher of margaritas at El Az on Ponce).

Tags: law, policy, public defenders, indigent defense, WWJD, WWJD?, What Would Jesus Do?, Would Jesus Discriminate?, Jesus Metropolitan Community Church, Jesus MCC.