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Category Archives: Death Penalty

China Leads the World in Executions; US Slumps in at Fifth

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

CBS news reports that China leads the world in number of people executed by the state, leading the world at 470 executions in 2007.  Surprisingly, the US dropped to fifth.  
I give CBS credit for footnoting the issue of transparency and reporting.  We will always have trouble trying to derive a sociological or statistical picture of conditions [...]

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Supreme Court & Texas to Bush: “Back Off, He’s Frying”

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

In an oddly upside down story, the New York Times reports that the Supreme Court has agreed with Texas; President Bush has no right enforce a World Court ruling by enjoining the State of  Texas from executing a Mexican national.
The Supreme Court ruling acknowledged that President Bush, in pressing Texas to take another look at the [...]

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“Texas Seven” Killer Goes on Trial for the Murder of PO Aubrey Hawkins

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Donald Newbury has gone on trial for the murder of Irving Police Officer Aubrey Hawkins, who was brutally slain as the Texas Seven was committing a robbery of an Oshman’s Sporting Goods in Irving just over seven years ago.  PO Hawkins was having Christmas Eve dinner with his family when he received the call, and I can’t [...]

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Michael Rodriguez (Texas 7) Not Fighting His Execution

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Some of us we stood in silence some bowed their heads and prayed
I think I must’ve picked up a handful of dust and let it fall over his grave
I think I must’ve picked up a handful of dust
and let it fall over his grave
 
Pineola, Lucinda Williams
December 2001, I was still living in NYC when the Texas [...]

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The Media and the Death Row “Innocent Man” Syndrome

Friday, December 22, 2006

I’m not going to debate the merits of the death penalty; that could go on forever, and I’ll concede points on both sides. Bottom line for me? Is it certainly a penalty, and the deterrent effect on the executed cannot be denied, Freddie Krueger not withstanding. Here’s my issue with the death penalty and the [...]

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Blogging on Death Row

Friday, January 27, 2006

I support the death penalty, albeit not randomly nor wholesale. I don’t believe in “kill them all, let God sort them out.” Although some of the Henry Lee Lucas murders happened near my home in West Texas and impacted our communities, I knew from watching the interviews with him that he was insane and I [...]

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“An Innocent Man is Going to be Murdered Tonight”

Friday, January 13, 2006

I’m a Texan, and I know the implications of that when it comes to my views on the death penalty, as illustrated in Ron White’s comedy (via Lone Star Times)
I’m from Texas and in Texas we have the death penalty and we use it. That’s right, if you come to Texas and kill somebody, we [...]

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