Texas Gov. Rick Perry has taken an perfectly Nixonian step of gutting a commission just days before it was to hear expert testimony indicating that Texas executed an innocent man, Cameron Todd Willingham. There is growing evidence that Texas not only convicted an innocent man but fought to prevent him from presenting evidence to prove his innocence. Just days before the hearing before the Texas Forensic Science Commission, Perry dumped the Chairman and declined to reappoint two commission members. The move may block the ability of Craig Beyler, an arson investigation expert, to prove that Willingham was innocent of setting a fire in his home in Corsicana, Texas, that killed his three daughters.
Perry replaced Chairman Sam Bassett with John Bradley, the district attorney of Williamson County, near Austin.
Beyler has stated that there was no credible evidence that Willingham set the fire or that it was even an act of arson. Two prior reports found that the fire was not caused by arson. Other experts have discredited the evidence presented by prosecutors in Texas.
Unable to change such reports, Perry has changed the commission and withheld appointments — effectively postponing any hearing.
To the day of his execution, Willingham insisted that he was innocent.
Perry has introduced a new Zen-like question: if evidence of innocence is spoken but no one is there to hear it, is the person really shown to be innocent?
For the story, click here
billy,
have you been to the Alamo. Have you seen the spot where Davy Crockett, James Bowie and Travis fought to the last man, for Texas Independence. I have been their, I have seen a locket of Davy Crocketts’ hair in a little glass receptacle. When you leave the Alamo in San Antonio, you feel like you have been reborn all over again as an American.
********************
Hold on her partner 2 problems with your logic here. 1) The Alamo was moved to the spot that it now rest on:
Brief History:
1718 — The Spanish establish the Mission San Antonio de
Valero, later known as The Alamo.
1719 — The Mission is moved to the east side of the river.
1724 — After a devastating storm, the mission is moved to its
current location a short distance north.
*************
1821 — San Antonio becomes part of the new independent
nation of Mexico.
1836, February 8 — Davy Crockett arrives at the Alamo with a
group of volunteers.
February 23 — The Mexican Army reaches San Antonio
March 2 — Texas’ Declaration of Independence is approved by
delegates meeting at Washington-in-the-Brazos.
March 6 — The attack on the fortified Alamo begins. At the
end, only the women and children and one slave are left alive.
September — Constitution of the Republic of Texas is approved
Sam Houston is elected president.
October — First Congress of the Republic of Texas convenes.
1837 — The burial ashes of the defenders are interred. The
mission stands abandoned as a symbol of the struggle. San
Antonio is incorporated and Baxter County is created.
The second problem with your logic which is flaw is that Texas was it own independent country from 1836 until 1845. It was not until it was annexed by the US in 1845 that US Troops were able to be sent under the direction of General Zachery Taylor that this was allowed to happen.
I don’t normally interfere with bad or even flawed logic but your description of the events surrounding the Alamo is wrong. I will not debate you on Italy and will presume you are correct. But if you want to know any fact about Texas including how the State Capitol was built, how they originally ran the elevators and where is the best place to bend a female page at the state capitol I will share this vast information with you.
FYI, my family was part of the original settlers of Texas. They were originally to come over initially with Moses. But he died and Stephen F. Austin took the helm, so to speak. Also Texas is or was a debtors paradise. Sam Houston was one of the most corruptible and indisputably biggest drunks that help found Texas. Whom left Tennessee to escape debts, if my recollection is correct he owed about 15 thousands dollars in the late 1700’s.
bill:
No calls are necessary. The way I learned it the RCC is for redemption, not executions.
Rafflaw, have you been to the Alamo. Have you seen the spot where Davy Crockett, James Bowie and Travis fought to the last man, for Texas Independence. I have been their, I have seen a locket of Davy Crocketts’ hair in a little glass receptacle. When you leave the Alamo in San Antonio, you feel like you have been reborn all over again as an American. I was at Anzio beach Italy last year, same exact feeling, goosebumps the chills and tears. I was humbled and so very grateful..
I have been saying it for awhile that we should let Texas secede because they are an embarassiing stain on the Union. The arrogance that they would rather kill someone than admit an error is stunning. Professor Turley’s comparison to the Nixonian Saturday night Massacre(I think Saturday is the right day) is spot on. The thought of a killing any prisoners is an insult to a civilized society. The thought of killin an innocent man and knowing about it is criminal. Wouldn’t there be a civil rights violation here for the Feds to come after the Texas officials?
rc campbell, your logic and reasoning is flawed. Deterrence is best served when the perpetrator is unable to kill again. People will continue to kill, but once apprehended, they can kill no more. They are deterred in perpetuity…
A Catholic ,like myself can be for capital punishment and still be a Catholic in good standing. It is not defined as a dogma of the faith and Catholics are able to decide which way they wish to vote on this measure. If you doubt me, call your local diocesan office for clarification, better still search the internet, its’ right their..
The Catholic Church opposes the death penalty, how do practicing Catholics square that away?
Support for policy that the death penalty deters is at best weak and inconclusive.
Researched and investigated here by John J. Donohue and Justin Wolfers:
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/DonohueDeter.pdf
Henry nailed it for me,
Look, you death-penalty supporters, the question isn’t whether the guy deserves to be executed. The question is whether innocent people deserve to be executed. It is impossible for the criminal justice system to be foolproof, so, if you support the death penalty, you support the execution of innocent people. I’m not saying, of course, that you like to see the execution of innocent people; I’m saying that you consider the execution of innocent people to be acceptable collateral damage. — Henry
http://jonathanturley.org/2009/09/16/ohio-death-row-inmate-given-one-week-reprieve-after-officials-fail-to-find-a-vein/#more-14877
AY,
Texas does not need officially remove itself from The United States of Sanity, it has already done so.
But the good people of Texas (perhaps the minority) are still with the United States of Sanity.
Apologies this should work:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/090907fa_fact_grann
If anyone is interested in more background information detailing this horrific and tragic story here is a link to David Grann’s excellent article in The New Yorker magazine titled “Trial By Fire: Did Texas execute an innocent man?” :
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/fa_fact_grann
billy
Your logic is quite flawed. I don’t have the time to go into all the reasons, but I’ll mention deterrence. The deterrent effect is not, nor has it ever been, intended to deter the convicted person. The intent was always to deter others out of fear of similar state-sponsored retribution for a similar crime. Captial punishment is now and has always been a failure as a deterrent. It is barbaric retribution and shows an ethical weakness of a culture, not strength. If you can’t wrap your mind around the concept that mob revenge is never worth the life of even ONE innocent person, I suggest you need to check your values.
foo 1, October 1, 2009 at 5:01 pm
AY,
I was there this year actually, and also about 3 years ago. It’s still nice. 🙂 Actually, also a good place to raise a family since it has a good school (UT Austin), and cheap real estate.
Death penalty isn’t about deterrent, it’s about killing (i.e. primal justice). Some people get off on that stuff.
*********************8
foo, Austin was great from 76′ to 84, the in 85 MCC and Nimitz moved in. They changed the landscape. Oh yeah, school is great to. Shuttle around campus, used to have 7 bars serving alcohol on campus. Then the shuttle to your off campus location. Oh yeah it was one of those times in my life. I think, some of it was fairly fuzzy I am certain, but I am not sure, what was real and what was not as I look back on my past.
You can do a lot of family raising if you are not careful there too I am sure. Lots of sorority’s too, never joined a fraternity, but was in a lot of sororities as I recall.
I subscribed to Neil Young’s “love the one your with.”
Dredd,
Here is the link: http://www.kvue.com/news/state/stories/100109kvue_gov-perry-cousin-killed-cb.1d4dab033.html
Wow, what can be said. He was at home in Nacona, Texas.
“Montague County District Attorney Jack McGaughey says Wheeler was holding a shotgun and an officer was shot in the hand. No other details have been released, and an autopsy is pending.”
FYI, in Nacona, they make about 90 percent of all the MLB Gloves, plus other stuff.
Link: http://www.baseballgloves.com/nokona/index.html
Bet ya didn’t know some good stuff can come out of Texas.
B-man,
I at least thought you’d like it ruff, ruff!
It is time for the man to put on the writs!
Perry’s cousin was killed today in a shootout with the Texas Rangers (not the baseball team).
He was sitting on his porch with a shotgun … and … well you can imagine …
AY,
I think you are one sick puppy, b-man.
Woof
I know you and so many others “esteem” the use of logic and reason, it is “prominently articulated” throughout this blog. My logic and reasonable assumption is founded in point of fact. If a killer is executed for the crime of murder, “he/she” is now permanently deterred from committing murder again. The deterrence is “full proof” but limited to the perpetrator, nothing more AY..
Billy,
I may be wrong and God knows I have been. The purpose of the deterrence is for other people, hopefully they will think twice before doing something so stupid. I think Swartzmoremom is saying this has not happened. I maybe wrong yet again. But i don’t think you can see the Forrest for the trees on this one or is that Trees for the Forrest?
Swarthmore, it is a deterrent. The murderer who gets “executed” is deterred in perpetuity..
AY,
I was there this year actually, and also about 3 years ago. It’s still nice. 🙂 Actually, also a good place to raise a family since it has a good school (UT Austin), and cheap real estate.
Death penalty isn’t about deterrent, it’s about killing (i.e. primal justice). Some people get off on that stuff.