Key Hearing for Mumia Approaches. So Does Death

The Inquirer reported in yesterday’s paper on a critical argument that will be held in the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals this Thursday in the long running case of convicted cop killer Mumia Abu Jamal (and truthfully, have there been more than a handful of hot Broadway shows that have run longer than this guy’s appellate litigation?) In any event – as sympathetic as I am to folks who get railroaded by the state and as corrupt as I know the system is, Mumia is guilty. He was given a fair trial, and has had ample opportunity to litigate his appeals. Its time to bring down the curtain on this show and to put a needle into Mumia’s arm.

Prosecution Will Not Seek Death Penalty in the Rafael Robb Case

Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor, who evidently intends to prosecute the case himself, announced on Thursday that the Commonwealth will not seek the death penalty in the case of Penn professor Rafael Robb, who is accused of brutally bludgeoning his wife to death. Interesting decision. Castor said that its not a death penalty case because there are no aggravating factors present. Not that I am a cheerleader for the death penalty, but the brutality of the killing would seem to me to be an aggravating factor. Unless Castor knows something of which I am not aware.

Note to Client: Keep Your Tongue in Your Mouth

I wish I had a dime foir every time I have thought “I wish he didn’t say [or do] that.” If I had been the defense lawyer, Ronnell Wilson’s gesture of sticking out his tongue on hearing a federal jury’s decision to sentence him to death would have been one of those times. Now, I understand, to some extent, the frustration and fear that motivates these things. I also understand how much of a long shot death penalty appeals are in this day and age. But why do something that will necessarily brand you in the minds of the public, and not in a positive way?

Concerns About Saddam’s Execution

Evidently I wasn’t the only one who thought that the imposition of Saddam Hussein’s death sentence was perhaps a bit rushed and unjust. According to the New York Times:

Iraqi and American officials who have discussed the intrigue and confusion that preceded the decision late on Friday to rush Mr. Hussein to the gallows have said that it was the Americans who questioned the political wisdom — and justice — of expediting the execution, in ways that required Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to override constitutional and religious precepts that might have assured Mr. Hussein a more dignified passage to his end.

So it appears that even the Bush Administration had deep conserns about this macabre sideshow. As I said in my earlier post, I hold no brief for Saddam, but the shenanagins surrounding his execution was not the new Iraqui government’s finest hour, nor ours.

Source: The New York Times

NJ Panel Recommends End To Capital Punishment

The New York Times reports that a New Jersey legislative panel has recommended that capital punishment be abolished in the state. Given New Jersey’s politics, I would expect to see this recommendation find its way into an amendment of the state criminal code before too long, and would expect that Governor Corzine would sign it. New Jersey’s court’s have shown complete antipathy for the death penalty over the years anyway. New Jersey would be the first state to ban capital punishment in almost 4 decades.

Source: The New York Times

Saddam to Be Executed by the New Year

Talk about swift and certain justice. I am no Saddam Hussein sympathizer, but I have to wonder what the rush is to carry out the sentence.