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School project: rewrite the Constitution
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jeff The Card: [QB] [i]Oh, yes, gotta execute seven white guys for every black guy we execute, even though black people COMMIT MORE CRIMES.[/i] Omega, you bring up a lot of points. So, let me refute them. And since you never really answer a question, you just babble about how much liberals suck, it'd be nice to see you use some brain cells for a change. Now, to start: The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibit a person who has committed a crime while a child (under the age of 18) from being executed. Only 6 countries are known to have violated these conventions since 1990: Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, United States (Texas and Virginia), and Yemen. Yemen has since abolished the practice. According to Amnesty International USA, the state of Texas executes almost as many people per month as such bastions of enlightenment as Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Bush has presided over 135 executions. There have been, in the entire nation, 16 people executed for crimes committed as juveniles. Texas executed 8 of them. Now, while Governor of Texas, George W. Bush, you know, the moron you people elected (thanks a whole bunch), executed a lady named Karla Faye. Was she ? Well,mentally ill no, but quite a few Conservative Christians (including Pat Robertson) asked Bush to spare her life. He didn't, and then mocked her in an interview with Tucker Carlson, by twisting his face into a sneer, and saying, "please don't kill me!" Illegal? No. Insensitive, stupid, and wondering why the Republican Party wanted this guy aside for his family name? Yes. Now, back to Bush, there's a disturbing trend of DEFENSE LAWYERS sleeping through their client's trials! (And their clients being sentenced to Death). Now, let's set up some background. -In 1996, Texas executed Carl Johnson, despite that his original lawyer had SLEPT THROUGH HIS TRIAL, and had later been disciplined for incompetence in another d.p. trial. -Also in '96, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, by a 7 to 2 decision, agreed that the lead lawyer's SLEEPING AND LOUD SNORING didn't violate defendant George McFarland's 6th Ammendment right to effective, competent counsel. Therefore, there was no reason to reopen the case. Which therefore reinforces my opinion that Texas breeds some of the dumbest motherfuckers in the world. -In '83, Calvin Burdine was sentenced to death in Texas after -- guess what? -- his lawyer slept through the trial! Three jurors and a court clerk testified to that. Again, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (what do you have to do to get on that board? Down a kegger in an hour?) said the lawyer's sleeping didn't effect his verdict. Thankfully, U.S. District Judge David Hittner overruled the Texas court's decision and stayed the execution. Now, why did I bring these up? On March 2, 00, at a GOP debate in LA, CNN's Jeff Greenfield asked Bush about the rash of sleeping lawyer cases, in which defendents in Texas had been sentenced to death despite their lawyers sleeping through the trial. Bush laughed. Let me repeat: [i]laughed[/i]. What's so funny about lawyers going to sleep when their clients are on trial for their lives? Explain this to me, especially since Dubya apparently was too busy to deal with D.P. cases at all, cutting his review time of them from half an hour to fifteen minutes. You would also think our beloved President (42 months to go!) would have a soft spot for the mentally challenged ... (being one himself) ... [i]but[/i] ... in 1999, he opposed a bill that would prohibit the execution of the mentally retarded. Hell, even The Gipper was more enlightened then that. And Dubya's brother Jeb said, "People with clear mental retardation should not be executed." So much for Dubya being a compassionate conservative. Ooooh! But, Bush did decided to save Ricky McGinn's life! Why? On May 18, 2000, he signed a death warrant for Ricky. Two weeks later, he called for a reprieve. Considering no facts hafd changed, no new evidence had come to light, and no new arguements had been made ... could it be that the only reason Bush saved McGinn's life was because it was making headlines? Sure, you could argue he reexamined the facts ... but the fact is, he was attending a fund-raiser in Las Vegas. Hell, he didn't even call it in ... that task fell to State Senator Rodney Ellis. More damning? Bush vetoed a bill to improve lawyers for impoverished defendents. The bill would have set a 20-day deadline for appointing a public defender, and instituted other improvements on how lawyers are assigned. Hell, it even got past the Texas Legislature! Joe Sanches, of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund contrasted the veto with Bush's signing of emergency legislation to help the oil industry: "He is showing his conservatism to the poor and his compassion to the rich." Omega, you apparently didn't read what I wrote. If you kill a white person, you're more likely to wind up on death row then if you kill a black person. Why is a white life worth more than a black life? ::shrug:: So, apparently, you're in favor of a system where the menatally ill can be killed, where people can be executed for crimes done while children, where those on trial don't need a competent lawyer, and where your only hope for a reprive is if your case makes headlines ... What a wonderful system. [/QB][/QUOTE]
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