Well, I was invited on The Ed Show tonight which meant I had to get an emergency haircut. But it’s actually, perhaps, good news that I got bumped. The Supreme Court granted a temporary reprieve for Troy Davis. That meant that the producer had to lose a segment and my segment was the least important. I told the producer that it was a pleasure to lose my slot under the circumstances. I hope the SCOTUS does the right thing and puts a stay on the execution. People should really be talking about whether he deserves to be in prison at all. Any talk of executing him is just insane.
There’s a good chance I’ll be on The Ed Show in the near future. But I guess it depends on the news cycle. Don’t tell me how many people watch that show. I don’t want to know.
We can use this thread to discuss developments in the Davis case, or if nothing develops tonight we can use it as an open thread.
I tend to avoid watching Ed, primarily because of his tendency to go overboard with his rhetoric towards the President, but if you let us know ahead of time, I will make an exception.
Oh, and that is GREAT news about the SC stepping in..
It’s not GREAT news, yet. It’s good that he isn’t dead, but he is by no means out of the woods.
From what I’ve read, and most of it is only hearsay, it sounds like there is so much likelihood that he did not kill anyone that the prospect that he would even do prison time, after what he has been subjected to already, would be a crime in itself.
But I’m probably prejudiced since I think the death penalty should be imposed in only the most extraordinary of circumstances, if at all. In my opinion, our judicial system is just too flawed to have such a sentence imposed in such an inconsistent manner.
The good thing to come of this has been renewed push for the abolition of the death penalty. Also, Democracy Now! is getting a shit ton of viewership over it.
I mean, this is how the death penalty was abolished in England:
John Christie (murderer)
What were you invited to talk about? Also, congrats, but please don’t allow the institution to ruin you and your clear headed analysis; ie, “I need to keep access.”
I’ll try not to say blow job on the air.
It should be noted that an overwhelming majority (65-28%) of Britons support the DP.
http://www.angus-reid.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2011.08.23_Death_BRI.pdf
Don’t tell Booman because he doesn’t want to know but last night Ed got 893,000 total viewers and 250,000 of those were in the prime 25-54 demographic. These numbers are a bit higher than usual for Ed so he must have done something really special last night. I didn’t catch the show.
I’m sending my bar tab to you.
just tell me BooMan, and I’ll be watching you on The Ed Show.
Here’s a shocker…
I am strongly opposed to the death penalty…
Because of human fallibility…
BTW…the same reason you Progressives’ central planning doesn’t work…
Killing someone intentionally is barbaric…
Of course, intentionally killing a fetus isn’t much nicer…they do have brains and hearts.
If my mother, or sister, or wife, was killed by an evil murderer, I would realize much more joy from his genuine repentance than from his cold-blooded murder.
This is upsetting…God really is not a big fan of revenge…it’s not bout Justice…that’s God’s job.
It’s kind of sad that I’m supposed to be shocked that a conservative is opposed to the death penalty. Remember the guillotine? It specialized in conservative necks.
Why would a conservative trust a liberal state, governed by representatives elected by the rabble, to not arbitrarily lop of their heads?
Conservatives in representative democracies should automatically oppose the death penalty and make sure to buy off the press, the police, and the courts.
And then there is religious aspect of it. I don’t know any religious prophets or heads of churches who favor the death penalty.
It’s not about someone’s politics, but the relationships of human beings to one another…
Or whose head is on the chopping block…
If given the choice, I would rather have my head cut off than cut off another human being’s head…
Forgiveness and non-Judgement is the core teaching of every spiritual teacher this planet has seen…
The State’s execution is truly disturbing to me, even if this man did what the State said he did…
In any case, your party’s base just applauded Rick Perry for the sheer volume of people’s he’s killed. Maybe your concern would be more productively communicated on their forums. I’m not surprised that you oppose the death penalty. But I am appalled that you have a lonely voice on the right.
I love freedom…
I love individual liberty…
I love accomplishment…
I love people…
I wish I could help more realize their true potential.
Somehow, I belong to “my party’s base”…
I really do appreciate where Progressive are coming from…I desperately want to help the less “fortunate” become more “fortunate”.
whatever. you. say.
I have a bridge for sale in New York, beautiful stone arches, goes right into brooklyn.
Being a “fetus” does not necessarily make it “someone”. That is the larger question that is so difficult to answer.
As for “god” not being a fan of revenge, have you ever actually read a “scripture”? “God” is nothing if not a vengeful being. As for “justice”, that is also an ambiguous term whose definition is fluid depending on the circumstance. Absolutism is a flawed way of looking at such complex issues.
Richard…which “scripture”?
How aboute he Upanishads from ancient India..the “scripture” that they recognize.
Or do you mean the Bible?
Well, since “Christians” are, or should be, defined as “believing in the teachings of Christ”–give me a quote from Jesus himself advocating revenge.
Okay…like, “Love your enemy”, or “Pray for those who persecute you”…
Do you think the “scriptures” represent a Jesus who advocated revenge (death penalty
Jesus of Nazareth is the poster boy for “executing an innocent man”.
Churches ought to symbolize his execution with lethal injection needles. It might make a few of the sleepy saints wake up.
One would think a conservative would oppose the death penalty simply because the state should not have the power to kill. After all, other than my non-violent nature and the belief that the DP is nothing but vengeance and not justice, my biggest opposition is because the state should not have that power.
Damn right…the State should absolutely not have that power…
There never has been a society without the regulation of killing. The designated regulator immediately functions as “the state”.
The whole idea most libertarians have of the functions of the state is police, military, and the enforcement of contracts. Police and the military are the designated killers. And even contracts are served by an armed sheriff.
What is your proposal for how a state without the power to kill functions. Does this mean that every individual is free to use the power to kill legitimately? You might take a gander at Hannah Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism before you accuse liberals of empowering the state in killing. A liberal Supreme Court eliminated the death penalty in 1972 and a conservative one reinstated it in 1976. It has been conservative Republicans who step-by-step have increased the use of the death penalty. Not liberal Democrats, and certainly not progressives who have had no power for 40 years.
How is this for wording? State sanctioned murder as “punishment” is a disgrace.
Far as I can tell, the business of the State is a bloody, murderous business. What’s one more or one less in the greater scheme of things? Justice is relative; we trust in fate.
It’s grotesque, but not unlike us to murder innocent people collectively.
You speak to the “razor’s edge” between Anarchy and Totalitarianism…
Have you found it?
The ultimate balance between individual liberty and the collective good.
Good luck. I err on the side of the individual.
And I love wilderness…so do my horses.
There are many types of anarchy. It’s not a razor’s edge.
The damn thing about siding with the individual is that there’s really no such thing.
Yes and no. Brilliant.
We do not exist individually because we are a conglomerate of thousands, or millions, of psychological “I”‘s. For example…one “I” wants to lose weight, and the other “I” likes Ice Cream…who is the real “I”? One “I” wants to wake up early, and the other “I” wants to sleep in. Which one is real?
But most Human Beings dealing with each other do not recognize that fact.
ugh, i see from video that riot police seem to be out in force. and Troy Davis sister gave interviews where she spoke of him in the past tense…
my stomach is in knots!!!
Well, it ain’t pretty.
Quote: “Any talk of executing him is just insane.”
I agree. Apparently the standard for a new trial in Georgia is proof of innocence and not simply reasonable doubt as to guilt.
But for God’s sake, if there’s reasonable doubt (which the appellate judge apparently acknowledged), stay the freaking execution. There’s no sorting out what happened if the man is executed.
Congratulations on the invite to the show, BooMan.
a friend who’s a lawyer says that SCOTUS delay is just a tactic to ensure police has response needed after execution. any lawyers out there agree?
Supreme Court has refused to stay the execution.
And there you have it. SCOTUS denies stay of execution. Damn, I guess my friend was right.
Would that this be the last time we have to endure the possibility that an innocent person has been executed in our name. Things like this shame us as a nation.
I’m really pissed at this. I don’t blame the family, I blame CNN they are using this woman for ratings and sensationalism…freakin’ bastards.
I’m with James Fallows from twitter:
Because humans have always liked watching things that in death for one or more of the participants.
That END in death rather.
I watched this, too, with total disgust as Anderson Cooper seemed to be dragging things along, seemingly holding out the hope that he could be the one to break news of the execution in real-time to victim’s mother. The questions that he was throwing at her were worse than abominable.
It was the most vile of displays. Fucking pathetic and inhuman. Has to be one of the most shameful moments I have ever seen. I had to leave the room. It sickened me.
boy am I glad that I am not on The Ed Show right now. The producer made the right call.
All I can think of in the last few days is thank god I live in a state where the government has better things to do than kill people. A while back the GOP here tried to get it going, but everyone basically just ignored them.
We save so much money this way, we don’t execute innocent people, and literally NOBODY talks about wanting it – it’s not on anyone’s mind.
There are many bad things about the death penalty, but one of the worst is how it sucks up all the air in the room and distracts from everything else that needs to be done.
It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so gut-punched regarding a developing national news story. Maybe since Katrina? That’s the last thing that stands out.
Usually I don’t know whether to laugh or cry, but right now I don’t whether to cry or scream. I simply cannot believe what is transpiring in Georgia right now.
We’re upset of course but this regrettable case may just serve the greater good. I think I heard today (on the Thom Hartman show) that California is going to have a ballot measure next year to outlaw the Death Penalty once and for all. This case could be the evidence they need to do it. This guy now needs to be proven innocent post-mortem to show them what a disaster the Death Penalty can be.
As goes California, so goes the nation – sooner or later. This man’s hope was to serve a greater good like this. We should respect that, pursue it and use him as an example of what’s wrong with this system. If you are so inclined, you may want to join with others and start a ballot-measure movement in your own state.
More info on the California ballot measure. Check out that whole site BTW for useful information on the state of this issue.
I just happened to remember the website from the Mike Farrell interview on Thom Hartman’s show right after hitting “Post.”