Wednesday Round Up- Death Penalty, Drug War, and Things Enjoyed By Caucasians

Two great stories from DMN. First, the number of executions in Texas decreased from 27 in 2007 to 18 in 2008. What’s the cause of the 30% reduction in government killing? DMN attributes the enormous cost of death cases, a zealous defense bar, new sentencing options, and the decreasing number of murders.

From DMN-

Executions nationwide and in Texas were down in 2008. So were death sentences. The numbers don’t lie – but not everyone agrees on what they say. Defense attorneys think the statistics indicate a waning enthusiasm in the Lone Star State, the death penalty capital of the country, for the ultimate sanction. Also Online Link: Texas Department of Criminal Justice schedule of executions “It has taken a little longer for the transformation to be felt here,” said Rob Owen, co-director of the Capital Punishment Clinic at the University of Texas at Austin. “I think we are seeing the leading edge of that national transformation.” “> Executions nationwide and in Texas were down in 2008. So were death sentences.

The numbers don’t lie – but not everyone agrees on what they say.

Defense attorneys think the statistics indicate a waning enthusiasm in the Lone Star State, the death penalty capital of the country, for the ultimate sanction.

“It has taken a little longer for the transformation to be felt here,” said Rob Owen, co-director of the Capital Punishment Clinic at the University of Texas at Austin. “I think we are seeing the leading edge of that national transformation.”…

The 18 executions that took place in Texas in 2008 occurred in the last half of the year, following a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that had temporarily halted capital punishment. And 13 executions have been scheduled in the next nine weeks.

Some sad comments follow including calls for speedy public executions. I’ll got out on a limb and assume the execution zealots have limited contact with the criminal justice system.

Why should you oppose the death penalty? I’ll skip the religious/moral debate on killing defendants. Our government is too corrupt and incompetent to administer something so permanent. The DNA exoneration parade confirms that our criminal justice is not only fallible, but that wrongful convictions are a certainty. Until we provide some basic protections for all criminal defendants, say some sort of bill providing rights for the accused, the state has no business killing anyone.

Politicians of the Year- El Paso City Council
No doubt inspired by my Einstein quote, the El Paso city council passed a bold resolution this week. The unanimous measure calls for a discussion on the possibility of changing federal drg policy. El Paso is hardly a fringe libertarian hotbed. The narco civil war at their doorstep, including 1,600 murders in Juarez in 2008, is the inspiration for change.

Luckily for drug warriors, the asshat mayor vetoed the measure. Status quo protected. Our federal government continues to fiddle while Mexico burns. Supplying American drug demand is so profitable, that drug cartels have billions to spend on a bloody power struggle. Demand creates supply. We can choose a new supplier (government, free market, Pfizer, CVS, Canada) at any time.

From DMN

Concerns about the bloody drug war being fought just across the Mexican border led to a short-lived resolution Tuesday asking the federal government to consider legalizing drugs.

Mayor John Cook vetoed the resolution hours after it was unanimously approved by the City Council.

Beto O’Rourke, an El Paso city councilman, pushed the resolution that asked the U.S. government to start an “open, honest, national dialogue on ending the prohibition of narcotics.”

“We think it should at least be on the table and so far it hasn’t,” O’Rourke said.

Stuff White People Like
I have to admit I’m guilty as charged on a few of these.