ETA: Some years back, I wrote a letter to Justice Breyer about an execution for which multiple liberals supported a stay but did not say why. Here, we didn't even have that. I wrote a new letter to him complaining.
I have written a few letters to justices over the years, Justice Blackmun actually writing back. It was about him not voting against the constitutionality of the death penalty, which at the very end he actually did. Justice Sotomayor recently did too, regarding not having Spanish language material on their website, particularly regarding recent cases involving Puerto Rico. The letter thanked me, but noted she could not comment on existing matters of court policy. Seems a bit off given I wasn't talking about a specific case or anything, but appreciate the reply.
Ray Cromartie was scheduled to die at the end of October, but a procedural matter delayed things for a short period, resulting in new execution day on November 13th. I discussed his case earlier, expecting he would be executed, then that dispute would result in a significant delay. A notable thing was he requested DNA testing that the daughter of the victim supported though the state rejected it. At the time, I was dubious that the evidence would really help though any doubt should lean his way.
Hannah Riley of the Southern Center for Human Rights flagged that he rejected a plea deal (his mom encouraged this) that would have brought with it a seven year sentence. The guy who was in the store with him is already out and one article says his whereabouts is unknown, which is notable since the other co-defendant (and Cromartie's half-brother) now says in an affidavit that the guy pulled the trigger. The DNA testing allegedly would help show Cromartie wasn't the shooter, but the state denies this.
A mess -- it is hard to work around a guilty verdict, even when you are not relying on a family member blaming someone conveniently not around. Some people on Twitter are basically assuming the guy is innocent or something, which is a stretch. But, if you execute someone, you better be damn sure. There is room for a bit of doubt here though sure someone against the death penalty who will use most anything half-way reasonable against it might not be convincing. Still, let's leave him in prison and sort it all out. He already got more than the other two received.
The Supreme Court waited until after 10PM to ... deny the final appeals (related to request for DNA testing and addressing the new evidence regarding that affidavit) without any comment ... no, not even a concerned but not denial (sorta of her thing the last few times) from Sotomayor. As criminal justice activist/former reporter Chris Geidner summarized on Twitter: "BIG PICTURE: There is an innocence claim here, there is a request for DNA testing (which the victim's family supports), and there is new evidence suggesting another person committed the crime. And yet, the Supreme Court will not do a thing to stop this irreversible punishment." Which happened.
Little additional tidbit: "The state says it uses the sedative pentobarbital for injections, but Georgia law bars the release of any information about the drug’s source."
Meanwhile, Patrick Murphy (remember him?) was scheduled to be executed the same day, but there seems to be enough evidence that Texas is treating different religions differently regarding final access to religious advisors to hold things up again. The Fifth Circuit has upheld the delay while there was no push for the Supreme Court to overturn it as today's original scheduled execution date passes. So, he will not be executed for what amounts to a petty bit of religious favoritism while someone with an innocence claim is denied relief. Somewhat typical death penalty arbitrariness really. See you soon.
I have written a few letters to justices over the years, Justice Blackmun actually writing back. It was about him not voting against the constitutionality of the death penalty, which at the very end he actually did. Justice Sotomayor recently did too, regarding not having Spanish language material on their website, particularly regarding recent cases involving Puerto Rico. The letter thanked me, but noted she could not comment on existing matters of court policy. Seems a bit off given I wasn't talking about a specific case or anything, but appreciate the reply.
Ray Cromartie was scheduled to die at the end of October, but a procedural matter delayed things for a short period, resulting in new execution day on November 13th. I discussed his case earlier, expecting he would be executed, then that dispute would result in a significant delay. A notable thing was he requested DNA testing that the daughter of the victim supported though the state rejected it. At the time, I was dubious that the evidence would really help though any doubt should lean his way.
Hannah Riley of the Southern Center for Human Rights flagged that he rejected a plea deal (his mom encouraged this) that would have brought with it a seven year sentence. The guy who was in the store with him is already out and one article says his whereabouts is unknown, which is notable since the other co-defendant (and Cromartie's half-brother) now says in an affidavit that the guy pulled the trigger. The DNA testing allegedly would help show Cromartie wasn't the shooter, but the state denies this.
A mess -- it is hard to work around a guilty verdict, even when you are not relying on a family member blaming someone conveniently not around. Some people on Twitter are basically assuming the guy is innocent or something, which is a stretch. But, if you execute someone, you better be damn sure. There is room for a bit of doubt here though sure someone against the death penalty who will use most anything half-way reasonable against it might not be convincing. Still, let's leave him in prison and sort it all out. He already got more than the other two received.
The Supreme Court waited until after 10PM to ... deny the final appeals (related to request for DNA testing and addressing the new evidence regarding that affidavit) without any comment ... no, not even a concerned but not denial (sorta of her thing the last few times) from Sotomayor. As criminal justice activist/former reporter Chris Geidner summarized on Twitter: "BIG PICTURE: There is an innocence claim here, there is a request for DNA testing (which the victim's family supports), and there is new evidence suggesting another person committed the crime. And yet, the Supreme Court will not do a thing to stop this irreversible punishment." Which happened.
Little additional tidbit: "The state says it uses the sedative pentobarbital for injections, but Georgia law bars the release of any information about the drug’s source."
Meanwhile, Patrick Murphy (remember him?) was scheduled to be executed the same day, but there seems to be enough evidence that Texas is treating different religions differently regarding final access to religious advisors to hold things up again. The Fifth Circuit has upheld the delay while there was no push for the Supreme Court to overturn it as today's original scheduled execution date passes. So, he will not be executed for what amounts to a petty bit of religious favoritism while someone with an innocence claim is denied relief. Somewhat typical death penalty arbitrariness really. See you soon.