Remember that David Grann piece in the New Yorker that asked whether Texas had executed an innocent man? Texas Governor Rick Perry replaced the chairman and two members of a commission set to hear evidence in the case. The new chairman appointed by Perry cancelled the hearing. A spokesman for the governor told the New Read More
I think, as dispassionate observers of the legal system, we can all agree that Charles Hood probably got a fair trial despite the newly established fact that the prosecutor and judge were having an affair. Besides, if that was an issue, Hood’s lawyers should have just raised it at trial. What, don’t think so? Communist. Read More
Believe it or not, I’ve been known to be a jackass. Ask anyone who had the misfortune of knowing me in college. Or a couple years ago. I really hope President Obama isn’t asked about it anytime soon: Anyway, lots of things have happened since our last Monday roundup. Here’s a few of them, a Read More
(cross-posted from the League of Ordinary Gentlemen and U.S. of J.) The thing that bothers me most about this New York Times piece on the efficacy of sex offender alert programs is… that it focuses on the efficacy of sex offender alert programs, and doesn’t bother to raise any objections to the idea of a Read More
This week’s New Yorker features this breathtakingly tragic and much-discussed piece by David Grann about Cameron Todd Willingham, a Texas man who was sentenced to death for starting the fire that killed his three kids. Grann’s piece points to evidence that more or less invalidates the entire case against Willingham, and exposes the shoddy “fail-safes” Read More
Plaxico Burress probably should have established residency in Arizona, where he could have registered his handgun – or an automatic weapon, even – and then brandished it at a large public event. Maybe even at a health care town hall hosted by the president of the United States. That would have been perfectly legal. And Second Amendment Read More
Remember that weird, problematic case in which the off-duty officer, in plainclothes, pulled out his gun and chased a guy who may have broken into his car, and then other cops came and shot that off-duty cop? News from the New York Times: A grand jury in Manhattan has voted not to indict a New Read More
So where do we go from here? President Obama has been portrayed as a monkey, witch doctor, various types of pimps and now The Joker. Certainly, there’s more variations on this general theme. But I really want to know, what’s the endgame? Is this supposed to advance some principled political opposition? Or merely “to get their country back”?: As always Read More
by Invisman52, who blogs over at countykids.blogspot.com. This post is about Michael Vick and how his case provides occasion to talk about much larger issues than sports. I want to use as a point of departure because Vick gives me the opportunity to talk about so many issues at once: ethics, crime and punishment, business Read More
I’ve been kicking myself for not making this point in my post about the policing of marginalized neighborhoods: Imagine what it’s like to grow up in a neighborhood where the police look at you, from a young age, as a target or potential enemy. Imagine what that does to your mind, to your conception of Read More
