"Kill the heathen negress!" ~Texas

The following article is re-published from our blog, "Davis-McPhail Truth Committee" at http://DMTruth.blogspot.com ~ Davis/MacPhail Truth Committee is an anti-death penalty organization established to contest capital punishment, especially in cases where guilt is not irrefutably proved or extenuating circumstances exist. Abolitionists "continue to fight this fight," as Troy Davis asked. Please see the index to "Exposed" blog, opportunity to follow this blog, and a link to a petition to free Mary Neal from censorship. The widgets should be on the left margin, but anti-DP articles are censored more than others. Thank you for your interest in justice. (Seventeen(17) links, three(3) photos, and two(2) videos are in this article.)

A death warrant has been issued for Kimberly McCarthy, a 51-year-old woman, by the State of Texas. Her scheduled execution date is June 26, 2013.

Execution Watch reports:

http://executionwatch.org/

"Kimberly McCarthy is a former crack addict who was sentenced to death for the 1997 slaying of an elderly, Caucasian woman [her neighbor, Dorothy Booth, age 71], during a home robbery near Dallas. McCarthy is the former wife of New Black Panther Party founder Aaron Michaels, with whom she has a son. She is one of 10 women on Texas death row. She is the only woman with a scheduled execution. Three of the nearly 500 people Texas has put to death in the modern era have been women. The week before her scheduled execution of April 3, 2013, McCarthy's attorneys persuaded a judge to delay it until June 26.

State District Judge Larry Mitchell's action formalized an agreement . . . between Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins and McCarthy's attorney that McCarthy's punishment should be put off until the fate of death penalty-related bills now in the Texas Legislature are determined. Lawmakers are about halfway through their six-month session.

McCarthy's attorney, Maurie Levin, contends the jury in McCarthy's case was unfairly selected on the basis of race. [Of the 13 jurors selected in McCarthy's case, all were Caucasians except one.]"

A CBS news affiliate reports that DNA evidence linked McCarthy to Booth’s murder and the murders of two other women: Maggie Harding, 81, and Jettie Lucas, 85, who were not Caucasians. She was never tried on those other two cases. McCarthy is scheduled to become the 500th execution in Texas since the year 1976. DPIC reports that 1,089 of the 1,332 executions since 1976 were done in the South, where there is a church on nearly every corner: the Bible Belt.

McCarthy killed a trusting, elderly neighbor who she reportedly asked for a cup of sugar to gain entrance to her victim's home. While McCarthy was addicted to drugs, she preyed on helpless people. The same can be said of Kermit Gosnell, the abortionist who murdered newborn babies as they lay crying on his table after late-term abortions. Both McCarthy and Gosnell were black medical professionals who killed repeatedly. McCarthy was an occupational therapist, and Gosnell was a doctor. Gosnell did not face the death penalty, because he was a very wealthy man in Pennsylvania. She was a working class black woman in the South, whose ex-husband was connected to a radical political organization. Capital punishment sentences depend on who the defendant is in terms of his or her economic status, the region of the country the defendant lives in, the defendant's race, and the victims' race. Gosnell killed black babies, but McCarthy killed a white woman.

When health care professionals in Louisiana killed their patients during Katrina, none of them were even imprisoned. Many police officers have been filmed killing unarmed citizens, and they suffered no prosecution whatsoever. The same district attorneys who give persuasive arguments for the death penalty regarding some defendants generally withhold prosecution when police officers do violence, perhaps to help the city avoid liability for wrongful deaths the officers caused. See the second of two videos embedded at the end of this article portraying numerous instances of police violence, from YouTube at http://youtu.be/Dxaxd8MNjQo . It appears that some killers are excused from prosecution if such prosecution would expose the city to wrongful death litigation. Sincere outrage over murders would compel the same response to every murder, but that is not what happens. There exists great disparity in application of the law.

Who shares the blame that McCarthy was addicted to crack cocaine and became a desperate junkie looking for her next fix? There is reason to believe the CIA introduced crack, a highly addictive drug, into America, possibly to derail African Americans. Wikipedia reports, "The involvement of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in cocaine trafficking in Central America during the Regan Administration as part of the Contra war in Nicaragua has been the subject of several official and journalistic investigations since the mid-1980s." See "CIA and Contras cocaine trafficking in the U.S." at Wikipedia.

An even more compelling reason to spare McCarthy and end capital punishment, especially in Bible Belt states like Texas, is that God forbids executions throughout the New Testament. Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person" (Matthew 5:38). Capital punishment is incongruous with Christianity, yet most executions occur in the Bible Belt and are sanctioned by so-called Christians.

People who disregard commandments from Jesus might want to destroy a drug addicted murderer, but it is impossible now to kill that person. No murderer lives in McCarthy's cell. Kimberly McCarthy has been imprisoned for 15 years. She is drug-free and devoted to God. Texas has no opportunity at this point to "kill the heathen negress." Texas can only kill a vulnerable, repentant woman who prays for mercy, and reveal itself to be a heartless, vengeful heathen that is only interested in making its 500th execution in the modern DP race. (Photo: McCarthy in 1998)

Nearly 2,000 people have signed the following petition to spare Kimberly McCarthy:

The family, friends and supporters of Kimberly McCarthy are petitioning Governor Rick Perry and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles in an effort to save Kimberly from being put to death by the State of Texas. Kimberly suffered from a severe addiction to crack cocaine in the 1990's, and her life went into a downward spiral into the underworld of drugs. Her association with the wrong people coupled with her out of control drug use became a lethal combination that led to tragedy. Prior to her drug use, Kimberly had no criminal record and was in the field of helping and healing the sick as an occupational therapist. When she was introduced to drugs, her life took a dark and destructive turn that led to tragedy - a tragedy that she lives with daily for which she is deeply remorseful. Over the years, Kimberly's faith in God has strengthened. Her spirit and personality touch each and every person she encounters. We are asking that Kimberly's sentence be commuted. We ask that the State of Texas show mercy! Killing Kimberly will not bring the victim back. It will only create more suffering and heartache and another victim. She could be such a positive influence to others. God can use her to touch the lives of other women headed down the road to destruction.  http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-the-execution-of-kimberly-mccarthy

Texas Moratorium Network carries information about bills the Texas House of Representatives is considering that could have impact on McCarthy's sentence:

Next Tuesday, April 16, the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence will hear testimony on HB 2458 that would prohibit seeking or imposing the death penalty on the basis of a person’s race.

Next Tuesday, the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee will also hear testimony on HB 189 by Rep. Dutton that would affect what is allowable testimony in death penalty cases.

(b) Testimony of an informant or of an alleged accomplice of the defendant is not admissible if the testimony is given in exchange for a grant or promise by the attorney representing the state or by another of immunity from prosecution, reduction of sentence, or any other form of leniency or special treatment. Article 38.14 does not apply to accomplice testimony described by this subsection.

(c) A statement against interest made by the defendant to a person who at the time of the alleged statement was in custody with or imprisoned or confined with the defendant is admissible only if the statement is corroborated by an electronic recording.

The justice system seems more concerned about money than justice. Therefore, effective anti-DP advocates should launch lawsuits after each execution if some cause for legal action can be found. Whether or not advocates win, the lawsuits will demand public attention to the state-sponsored murder long past the condemned person's death, and such litigation will increase the cost of conducting executions, which is already considerably more than life in prison without parole. If McCarthy is executed, anti-DP advocates should sue the CIA for distributing drugs in African American communities in the first place. Sue on behalf of McCarthy, who was changed from a well adjusted, working mother into a crack addict, and sue on behalf of her victim, who would not have been murdered if not for McCarthy's crack cocaine habit.

More information is at the Texas Moratorium Network 

http://www.texasmoratorium.org/archives/2343

If McCarthy is executed, she will be the first woman subjected to capital punishment in America since 2010. Death Penalty Information Center reports that 51 women have been executed in the United States since the year 1900. For more information, access "Women and the Death Penalty"
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/women-and-death-penalty

More information about racial issues regarding McCarthy's sentence is in this article by DPIC: 

UPCOMING EXECUTION: Lawyers Request Reprieve Because of Racial Bias in Dallas County

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/upcoming-execution-lawyers-request-reprieve-because-racial-bias-dallas-county

Repeat of Paragraphs 1 and 2 - The following article is re-published from our blog, "Davis-McPhail Truth Committee" at http://DMTruth.blogspot.com ~ Davis/MacPhail Truth Committee is an anti-death penalty organization established to contest capital punishment, especially in cases where guilt is not irrefutably proved or extenuating circumstances exist. Abolitionists "continue to fight this fight," as Troy Davis asked.

A death warrant has been issued for Kimberly McCarthy, a 51-year-old woman, by the State of Texas. Her scheduled execution date is June 26, 2013.

See the next article in FreeSpeakBlog: "Malcolm Shabazz Killed in Mexico" 
http://freespeakblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/malcolm-shabazz-killed-in-mexico.html

Start with the "Man in the Mirror" - MJJ
http://youtu.be/PivWY9wn5ps

Here are some murderers:

Repeat of Paragraphs 1 and 2
The following article is re-published from our blog, "Davis-McPhail Truth Committee" at http://DMTruth.blogspot.com ~ Davis/MacPhail Truth Committee is an anti-death penalty organization established to contest capital punishment, especially in cases where guilt is not irrefutably proved or extenuating circumstances exist. Abolitionists "continue to fight this fight," as Troy Davis asked. Please see the index to "Exposed" blog, opportunity to follow this blog, and a link to a petition to free Mary Neal from censorship. The widgets should be on the left margin, but anti-DP articles are censored more than others. Thank you for your interest in justice. (Seventeen(17) links, three(3) photos, and two(2) videos are in this article.)

A death warrant has been issued for Kimberly McCarthy, a 51-year-old woman, by the State of Texas. Her scheduled execution date is June 26, 2013.

Mary Neal

Davis-MacPhail Truth Committee

http://DMTruth.blogspot.com

Life and Death Matters: Death penalty: Neither just nor moral

(13 paragraphs, signature block, 6 links)  The article below is from the Blog of Dr. Robert Baldwin, a retired physician who now spends much of his time writing, teaching, and speaking about capital punishment from a faith, philosophical, and logical perspective.  His blog is  Life and Death Matters: Death penalty: Neither just or moral    

Monday, April 19, 2010

Death penalty: Neither just or moral
04/17/2010 - Tribune Editorial

More than a decade has passed since the state of Utah executed a convicted murderer. Now, as the state prepares to once again apply the death penalty, is a good time for Utahns and their elected leaders to consider abandoning this archaic and deeply flawed form of punishment.

In the interim between the execution of Joseph Mitchell Parsons in 1999 and the expected setting of a death date for Ronnie Lee Gardner, the legal, moral and ethical arguments supporting capital punishment in Utah have been eroding like sand castles at high tide.

That is because the state-sponsored killing of a human being, no matter howheinous the crime, is permitted by a system that has been proven beyond doubt to be inherently capricious, unfair and shockingly fallible. And, one by one, state legislatures across the country are deciding that they can no longer justify, even for merely financial reasons, retaining the death penalty as their supreme form of punishment. Already, 15 states have dropped the death penalty and some dozen others have looked at following suit. Lifetime imprisonment under severe restrictions, arguably worse than death, has become the preferred alternative.

Gardner, 49, was sentenced to die in 1985 for the shooting death of attorney Michael Burdell during an escape attempt at a Salt Lake City courthouse. Gardner, who had been brought to the courthouse for a hearing on robbery and murder charges (he was later convicted), also wounded a court bailiff before he was shot in the shoulder and recaptured. Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his latest appeal and the Utah Attorney General's Office has asked a judge to set a date for his execution by lethal injection.

The welcome retreat from the death penalty in the United States began after1994, a year in which there was an all-time high of 328 death sentences since the Supreme Court restored capital punishment in 1976. Last year brought just 106 new sentences. The downward trend has been driven by high-profile cases in which inmates have been sprung from death row by new evidence based on DNA testing, or by key prosecution witnesses recanting their testimony.

The Death Penalty Information Center has identified 129 inmates who have been released from death row since 1977 owing to new evidence. Nine were exonerated and freed last year after serving a combined 121 years behind bars. There simply is no denying that our system of capital punishment in the United States is unalterably broken. To continue to adhere to it is to tread beyond the bounds of what constitutes a humane, moral and just society.

****************

MARY'S COMMENTARY

Modern execution is most often done by lethal injection, as depicted in the last photo on this page.  But no method of execution can mask the barbaric exercise that it is.  It is impressive that Dr. Baldwin is using his retirement years to educate us on this subject.  After linking the article above to my FreeSpeakBlog, I wrote to thank Dr. Baldwin for his article and his voice against capital punishment.  I sent the comment to him at Facebook and asked him to join my friends circle there.  The computer censorship team immediately zapped my Facebook comment.  I do not know if Dr. Baldwin actually received it.  I read that the FBI is at work at Facebook now.  MSN recently reported that the FBI also works at Twitter and LinkedIn.  The report was remiss.  Cyberstalkers work across the entire Internet to curtail free press rights for everyone who writes online about wrongs that should be corrected in our justice system.  See an example of cybercensorship to protect the prison industrial complex at this two-minute YouTube video:  PRISONS EARN $878 MILLION ANNUALLY BY POISONING INMATES AND GUARDS, LAWSUIT ALLEGES - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icRD77mugaI

I will try to contact Dr. Baldwin and see if he actually received my email.  I doubt it.  Cointelpro became aware of how useful computers are to We the People demanding justice several years ago when approximately 30,000 people met in a demonstration in Jena, Louisaina to protest discrimination against six African American youths who were subjected to racism in the justice system.  The demonstration drew people from all over America, and it was completely organized online.  Since then, the Internet has been monitored and controlled, particularly regarding advocacy that reveals problems and demands improvements in the justice system.  The elite discovered it is insufficient to own and control mainstream media, which censors news on demand, because millions of Americans now use computers to communicate about injustices that happen. 

Technology enabled commuters to capture video when B.A.R.T. officers stretched 22-year-old Oscar Grant on the platform of a San Francisco commuter train station and shot him in the back on January 1, 2009.  Officers tried to confiscate all of the video cell phones and digital cameras that onlookers were using to film the young father's murder while he was out with friends for the holiday.  But some commuters did not relinquish theirs.  Therefore, police were unsuccessful in attempts to hide Grant's murder as they did thus far regarding my brother's murder.  One of the police officers (the shooter) was charged with Grant's murder because so many people saw the murder.  Contrarily, my family has been denied all records and accountability for my brother's 18-day secret arrest and murder in Memphis Shelby County Jail, thanks in large part to a cover-up facilitated by the Johnnie Cochran Firm which pretended (under contract) to act as his wrongful death attorneys.  See Wrongful Death of Larry Neal - http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com/  -

I agree with Dr. Baldwin that capital punishment is wrong.  I wrote seven reasons why it is wrong in a comment at Dr. Baldwin's blog at the sight of his article posted above.  When I visited his article, first my comment was invisible, then it suddenly appeared - probably more computer tricks.  Opposition to human rights for prisoners is strong among prison investors, who reap huge benefits because America imprisons 2.3 million people, including 1.25 million mentally ill citizens who should be in hospitals or in communtiy treatment programs, depending on their offenses.  Each inmate in the general prison population costs from $16,000 per year in Georgia to $60,000 per year in New York.  Sick prisoners and condemned persons cost significantly more than that.  Each condemned person costs taxpayers an additional $90,000 per year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC).  That is why cybercensorship is used to limit human rights activists' ability to share valid reasons for ending capital punishment.

I have hundreds more cybercensorship videos that illustrate how determined the prison industrial complex is to continue America's skin trade, which moved from plantations to the prison industry after the Civil War.  When I sue for the illegal attacks against my freedom of press rights, I hope Dr. Baldwin and many of my network friends and members of online groups who are denied receipt of my emails and articles will join in the lawsuit.  Their rights are violated  like mine are when they are deprived of mail that is addressed to them or when the mail arrives blank.  That happened to ecards I sent to hundreds of people to protest a wrongful execution that was planned in Dr. Baldwin's state, Alabama.  Thomas Arthur passed his DNA test and the court received the forensic lab's results in July 2009, but the judge sealed Arthur's DNA results and the D.A.'s office reported plans to request Arthur's death warrant in August.  Innocence does not matter as much as it should in the criminal justice system.  See more about that drama by browsing at Google for "Mary Neal Thomas Arthur."

The death penalty needs to be repealed across the nation and around the world.  Apparently, they who censor online communications about the issue already know that people will likely respond to sound reasons why capital punishment should be repealed.  It is an immoral, expensive exercise in a system where many innocent people have been wrongly convicted and some were wrongly executed.  I join Dr. Baldwin in saying DEATH TO THE DEATH PENALTY!


Mary Neal
http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com/

Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill
http://www.Care2.com/c2c/group/AIMI
P.O. Box 153, Redan, GA  30074

Write P.O. Box 153, Redan, GA  30074-0153 for a copy of cybercensorship videos illustrating more illegal cyberstalking like you see in "Prison Labor Profits" at YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icRD77mugai  - See with your own eyes how much effort is put into preventing this writer from revealing something that mainstream media will not - The Cochran Firm Fraud (Google that term).  Thanks for your interest in justice.

.

Declining Prison Population and Death Sentences

Judge Kevin Fine, Dist. 177, TX
Ruled Capital Punishment Unconstitutional




(5 paragraphs)

THANK YOU, JUDGES! Judges and juries are changing justice in America for the better. I was surprised and delighted to read that the U.S. prison population declined for the first time in decades. Many people are grateful to you for using drug courts, mental health courts, and being more careful to evaluate the evidence presented against defendants. Thank you especially for the decline in death penalty sentencing in every state except California. Even Texas' death sentences declined, a state that can be very proud of judges like Judge Kevin Fine. We appreciate all that you do to be just and compassionate, judges and juries of America. We count on you, and you are demonstrating that you care about justice.

The Bible refers to the leaders of God's people as being judges. Judges and juries have the power to determine the course of lives, and we appreciate your using it righteously. Thank you, defense attorneys, especially hardworking public defenders. Many of you struggle to defend people caught in the justice system and win victories despite the poor budget you have and heavy caseloads. Police officers are probably being more careful with evidence. I believe even our prosecutors may deserve praise, also. Obviously, they are being more fair. Withholding evidence from defense attorneys and ascertaining false testimony from witnesses by coertion should be beneath you. Most inmates are guilty of the offenses for which they were sentenced. However, NO innocent people should be imprisoned or executed. The only way to ensure that innocents are not executed is to do as New Mexico did and repeal the death penalty. As wrongful convictions are overturned by the hundreds, people in the justice system and jury pools across America recognize the flaws in the justice system and increasingly say, "Death to the death penalty."

Indiana increased in prison sentencing while most of the nation experienced a decline. California has a dismal report at number 11 below, but this article is a good news report otherwise. See the exciting headlines beneath my signature block. Links to more articles are in the handy index in the left margin of this blog - http://freespeakblog.blogspot.com/ - California reported the state will resume executions after decades when no condemned inmates were killed. The story of one inmate who faces wrongful execution in California follows the headlines below - the wrongful conviction of Darrell Lomax. Darrel's story is also presented in an article in this blog about wrongful convictions, executions, and excessive sentencing called "Cameron Todd Willingham's Wrongful Execution - and Others" http://freespeakblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/cameron-todd-willinghams-wrongful.html

God loves justice, and so do I. Google for "Mary Loves Justice"! Follow me at Twitter, where I am KoffieTime, and I will follow you back - http://Twitter.com/KoffieTime - If you write about justice issues, please add me to your mailing list - MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com

Mary Neal
Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill
http://www.Care2.com/c2c/group/AIMI

1.
Texas Moratorium Network: Death Sentences Decline, Life Without ...
Dec 28, 2009 ... Death Sentences Decline, Life Without Parole Sentences Rising, ... to die in prison, so they constitute a new kind of condemned person. ...stopexecutions.blogspot.com/.../death-sentences-decline-life-without.html - Cached

2.
Federal Drug Sentences Decline - NORML
Marc Mauer, assistant director of the Sentencing Project, credits the decline of prison sentences to changes in sentencing laws in 1994 that allow judges to ...www.natlnorml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4109 - Cached

3.
U.S. Prison Population in Decline for First Time in Decades ...
Dec 21, 2009 ... The decline in prison population is largely the result of the harsh ... that forced inmates to serve 85 percent of their prison sentences, ...www.politicsdaily.com/.../u-s-prison-population-to-decline-for-first-time-in-decades/ - Cached

4.
News results for prison sentences decline
Grand Forks Herald
Indiana Prison Populations Rise As Nation Sees Decline‎ - 7 hours ago
Prison officials blame the surge on lawmakers not pursuing alternatives to incarceration. Instead, they've relied on tougher sentences for crime. MyWabashValley 450 related articles »

5.
Death Sentences Decline, Life Without Parole Sentences Rising ...
Dec 27, 2009 ... Death Sentences Decline, Life Without Parole Sentences Rising, ... row in the four years since the law took effect, state prison data show. ...open.salon.com/.../death_sentences_decline_life_without_parole_sentences_rising_creating_new_kind_of_condemned_person - Cached

6.
Newsvine - Report: Death sentences decline; death rows shrink
Dec 18, 2009 ... Report: Death sentences decline; death rows shrink ... penalty and laws that allow inmates to be sentenced to life in prison without parole. ...www.newsvine.com/_.../3648149-report-death-sentences-decline-death-rows-shrink - Cached

7.
Sentencing Law and Policy: Notable prediction that prison ...
Dec 20, 2009 ... Notable prediction that prison population may decline in 2009 ... law required drug offenders to serve 85 percent of their sentences. ...sentencing.typepad.com/.../notable-prediction-that-prison-population-may-decline-in-2009.html - Cached

8.
Report: Death sentences decline; death rows shrink - Crime Library ...
1 post - 1 author - Last post: Dec 18, 2009Report: Death sentences decline; death rows shrink Death Penalty. ... that allow inmates to be sentenced to life in prison without parole. ...boards.library.trutv.com › ... › Death Penalty - Cached

9.
Report: Death Sentences Decline; Death Rows Shrink - cbs11tv.com
Report: Death Sentences Decline; Death Rows Shrink. MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) ― Texas and other states that lead the nation in ...cbs11tv.com/wireapnewstx/Report.Sharp.drop.2.1377368.html - Cached
.

10.

Report: Death sentences decline; death rows shrink
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick ViewReport: Death sentences decline; death rows shrink ... death penalty, life in prison without parole becomes a very viable option they can feel safe and ...www.floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us/.../Death%20Sentences%20Decline,%20Death%20Rows%20Shrink.pdf
.

11.

California's death row grows as death sentences decline nationwide ...California's death row grows as death sentences decline nationwide .... San Quentin State Prison's death row now houses more than a fifth of the 3279 ...articles.latimes.com/2009/dec/19/.../la-me-deathpenalty19-2009dec19 - Cached

***************
DARRELL LOMAX is in San Quentin State Prison in California. He was convicted of murder and defended by the same attorney who defended the State's witness against him. His second attorney was a prosecutor who called none of Darrell's witnesses to the stand. None of the evidence in the case pointed to him. Darrell Lomax has been on California's death row for more than 15 years, yet somehow, he has a beautiful smile. Darrell's smile denotes his faith that being innocent is enough assurance that he will not be executed. Please meet Darrell and review his case at http://freedarrell.com/ . Help his confidence in justice be validated. Sign his petition, please. Thanks in advance.

I Didn't Do It, Your Honor!

"BUT I'M INNOCENT, I TELL YOU! I DIDN'T DO IT!" How many movies have you seen with that line? Well, it does happen. The main causes for wrongful convictions were identified in a Buffalo News article* with the percentage of wrongful convictions that each cause effected:

(a) misidentification by eyewitnesses (75%),

(b) unvalidated forensic evidence (50%),

(c) lying government snitches (16%), and

(d) false confessions by juveniles and mentally challenged suspects (25%)

If a jury cannot trust witness testimony, lab tests, or confessions by the accused, what are jurors to believe? Hundreds of wrongful convictions have been overturned by DNA evidence or new trials for convicted persons with substantial new evidence. With all that can go wrong in a case, innocent people will undoubtedly continue to be sentenced to prison. One way to reduce those occurrences would be to allocate more money and attorneys for indigent defense. Troy Davis' appeals attorney reportedly had 70 other active cases while she was defending him on a capital murder charge. One might argue whether such a circumstance as that equals "due process of law."

Although it would cost more to improve indigent defense, states should consider how expensive it is to imprison innocent people. Each inmate costs taxpayers up to $50,000 per year, and significantly more if the inmate has a chronic illness or becomes ill in while incarcerated. Therefore, a 30-year-old wrongly convicted man serving a life sentence costs the state $2 million or more if he lives his normal life expectancy. It seems financially prudent, therefore, to give accused persons every opportunity to prove their innocence and possibly save the state the expense of punishing and rehabilitating people who need neither. The same applies to inmates who petition the court for DNA tests or new trials with substantial new evidence. Every inmate who proves his innocence and is exonerated spares the state the unnecessary financial burden of his continued internment.

Another way the innocent are indicted is through plea bargains. Some people believe that plea bargaining should be used more sparingly or eliminated altogether. Many accused persons are encouraged to give up their constitutional right to a trial by a jury of their peers and cop a plea to avoid the possibility of long prison sentences or execution. Oftentimes, this is a good deal for guilty persons. But innocent people who lack the money for attorneys' fees also accept these arrangements when presented, although a jury might have ruled in their favor upon hearing the evidence.

Since eyewitness testimony, lab tests, and even confessions cannot always be trusted, innocent people will continue to fall through the cracks occasionally and be imprisoned for crimes while the guilty go free. No measures will prevent every single wrongful conviction. But we can stop all wrongful executions very easily. Instead of costing money to do this, it would save around $90,000 per condemned inmate per year: Just end capital punishment, and no one will be wrongly executed. That is the only sure way. Say DEATH TO THE DEATH PENALTY!
________________
* For the Buffalo News report, see:
How just is the justice system in New York? by Ronald Fraser, Ph.D., September 11, 2009
Dr. Fraser writes on public policy issues for the DKT Liberty Project.
http://www.buffalonews.com/149/story/791803.html

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP

1) Become an advocate! It is as simple as sending one email to your representatives requesting that more funds be allocated for indigent defense.

eMail your congresspersons at this link: www.house.gov/writerep/

If you live in a state that still practices capital punishment, tell your state legislature and governor to repeal the death penalty and use the millions of dollars each year that ending capital punishment would save to better fund public defenders offices, improve inmate rehabilitation, and invest in youth jobs and recreational programs that help deter crime.

eMail your local elected officials at this link: www.emailyourgovernor.com/


2) Become a sponsor! Help support organizations that work to improve justice, like the Innocence Project, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Amnesty International, ACLU, Treatment Advocacy Center, and local organizations in your state. At the end of this blog, we present some links from The Death Penalty Information Center. DPIC is a non-profit organization serving the media and the public with analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment. The Center, which is widely quoted and consulted by all those concerned with the death penalty, depends on contributions and grants for its funding. Make your tax deductible donations at this link: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/donate-dpic


4) Sign a petition and pass it on!

Justice for Jeremy and Other Mentally Ill Prisoners
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/JusticeForJeremy


5) Get involved! Become a member of national and local organizations that promote justice, support prisoners, and/or advocate to end the death penalty. You can find local groups by browsing for "prison advocacy" with your city's or state's name.

There are also numerous online advocacy groups where members advocate for change, share valuable information and personal accounts, and there are no meetings to attend. Try mine:

ASSISTANCE TO THE INCARCERATED MENTALLY ILL (AIMI) a/k/a The Dorothea Dix Group, at http://www.Care2.com/c2c/group/AIMI


4) Stay informed about justice issues. Please make checking this blog a part of your daily routine. I was drafted to turn America's mind toward justice by the secret arrest and wrongful death of my handicapped brother, Larry Neal, in 2003. I did not realize before then that our justice system is one in which innocent people are incarcerated and some suffer abuse and death. Believing in Lady Justice, I tried taking Larry's wrongful death to court, but was defrauded by our own attorneys. Still believing in the blindfolded lady, we took our fraudulent attorneys to court and discovered Lady Justice had a cornea transplant and could see just fine! She could see that we were black and not wealthy, and she was therefore very unfair. Since then, I've written over 600 articles and blogs regarding justice issues and sent a thousand emails to individuals and groups of thousands. I like to believe that they have helped to inspire some of the improvements that are being made.

Uncovering secrets, writing boldly about faults in the justice system, and exposing wrongs by privileged persons can be perilous. I have been censored and stalked online and in person while denied normal protection under the law to the point that I now live like Ann Frank, but in God I trust. I simply point out what God's will is regarding fairness and compassion - in other words, human rights. You may have read some of my work:

Oscar Grant: 1st Unarmed Black Man Killed by Police in 2009 - Next?
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/oscar-grant-1st-unarmed-black-man-police-killed-2009-next

Michael Jackson's Death - The Conspiracy Theory
http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/michael-jacksons-death-conspiracy-theory-updated

Enforced Treatment vs. Prison for Acute Mental Patients and Updates
http://www.nowpublic.com/health/enforced-treatment-vs-prison-acute-mental-patients-and-updates-mary-neal

Follow me on Twitter where I am "KoffieTime"- http://twitter.com/koffietime

Get most of my links from this Google profile - http://www.google.com/profiles/MaryLovesJustice

Improvements in our justice system are happening, but bad news gets more press. I always enjoyed returning to my articles at NowPublic.com and reporting when someone I helped advocate for got a stay of execution like Jeff Wood and Thomas Arthur did. I liked being able to report that Oregon built a new mental hospital after Theresa's schizophrenic brother killed her due to untreated mental illness. But I cannot update my NowPublic articles any longer. My membership was suspended after I wrote a series of articles against enforced H1N1 flu vaccines and the concept of militarized health care, despite the series' popularity.

To keep you updated regarding advancements in the justice system as I learn about them, I started a weekend blog at HubPages just to publish improvements and commend the individuals, organizations, and agencies responsible. Visit me on HubPages at the link below, and please send me any good news you come across: http://hubpages.com/profile/Mary+Neal

Your feedback is invited on this blog and any of my articles. You can also contact me directly at MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com or by writing P.O. Box 7222, Atlanta, GA 30357

Thanks for stopping by this blog, and I hope you return tomorrow. Please share the link with your friends and groups. Help to highlight matters that should concern all of us. That is important because elected officials care about what voters care about, and voters cannot care about conditions they don't know about. Send my link and help someone else to know. And do you know what?

God will bless you for your assistance to the least of these, His brethren. (Matt. 25:40)

An excellent resource for information on capital punishment is the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). Below are links to a number of interesting topics DPIC covers. The main link to that organization is http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/home

The Death Penalty in Black and White: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Who Decides
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-penalty-black-and-white-who-lives-who-dies-who-decides

U.S. Supreme Court Denies Rehearing in Kennedy v. Louisiana Opinion

Federal Judge Sharply Criticizes Texas System in Ordering Stay of Execution

U.S. to Seek Death Penalty under New Military Commissions

Crimes Punishable by the Death Penalty News and Developments - Previous Years

Crimes Punishable by the Death Penalty News and Developments: 2007

Those Executed Who Did Not Directly Kill the Victim

Supreme Court Asked to Review Unusual Death Sentence

View More

God Cares About Justice

For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth; To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death. ~ Psalm 102:19-20
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