Willingham case a test of character
Tuesday October 27, 2009
Categories: Law
The New Yorker's David Grann explains why the new statement by Cameron Todd Willingham's ex-wife Stacy Kuykendall, who claimed over the weekend that the death row inmate confessed to killing their children in her last jailhouse meeting with him before...
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Advertisement
Advertisement
Search This Blog
Recent Posts
About Crunchy Con
Rod Dreher is an editorial columnist for the Dallas Morning News, and author of "Crunchy Cons" (Crown Forum), a nonfiction book about conservatives, most of them religious, whose faith and political convictions sometimes put them at odds with mainstream conservatives. The views expressed in this blog are his own.
Subscribe
Archives
Blogs Worth Reading
- Front Porch Republic
- The American Conservative
- Patrick Deneen
- Conventional Folly
- The American Scene
- First Things
- Andrew Sullivan
- The Plank
- Eunomia
- Get Religion
- Postmodern Conservative
- Alex Massie
- The Corner
- Contentions
- Sharon Astyk
- Barry Ritholtz
- The Oil Drum
- Mere Comments
- First Principles (ISI)
- Brian Kaller
It depends on the country national law which is satisfying or not locality requirement of people really this is very serious for every legislature and think tank of government
Good column.
The DMNews site attempted to make me register.
For anyone who is tired of websites that try to make them register, go to www.bugmenot.com
It's a great resource that has created multiple dummy accounts for papers like Dallas Morning News and Washington Post. You can just use one of their logins and bypass the headaches of registration.
That this story has come to be treated essentially as a struggle by Death Penalty advocates vs. Anti-Death Penalty parties rather than a case of truly seeking truth is absurd and unfortunate. That it has also become about the very political Rick Perry compounds the stench.
Why would people take sides as if they are pro Willingham or anti-'media'. I for one am in favor of putting to death the cliche that the 'media' is some monolithic liberal tool devised to screw 'my country right or wrong' defenders of liberty.
Reactionaries supporting Governor Perry's indifference to the unearthed information in this case and those presenting it (whom he fired)...during a re-election campaign....discredit themselves.
Bravo, Rod.
Good column, Rod.
Are any media or officials defending Perry's actions?
The Willingham case is a made to order attempt to embarrass Gov. Perry. Shows you how low the competition will go to get elected.
"If we are going to have the death penalty, we have the solemn duty to use it responsibly. Right? "
Wrong. It is impossible to fairly administer an inherently flawed and unjust law.
The Willingham case is a made to order attempt to embarrass Gov. Perry. Shows you how low the competition will go to get elected.
Or Perry could have let the commission investigate, produce a report, made some appropriate comments and the whole thing would have been forgotten by the time the Primaries rolled around.
John E
They didn't say they couldn't investigate. Gov. Perry appointed some new blood to the comission, that's what this is all about.
Here I thought, as the Catholic neoconservative George Weigel wrote last year, that states like Texas exemplified the culture of life. Thanks for pointing out the hypocrisy and bloodthirstiness of the Texas justice system.
IW: They didn't say they couldn't investigate. Gov. Perry appointed some new blood to the comission, that's what this is all about.
That's like saying President Nixon only got rid of Cox, Ruckelshaus and Richardson on that famed Saturday night because he wanted new blood in the Justice Department.
For those who haven't been following the case, Perry sacked two members of his own forensic science commission just before they were to hear a scientific analysis calling into question the arson investigation that formed the basis for executing Willingham. We will likely now not hear from the commission until after the gubernatorial election. This is utter cowardice on the governor's part -- and you watch, he'll get away with it too.
iw,
Exactly what aspects of the case have been concocted specifically to embarrass Gov. Perry?
Wouldn't it have been lower of Gov. Perry to let a potentially innocent man be executed than for mostly out of state people with no significant interest in whatever Perry is running for in Texas (governor, senator?) to at least raise questions about something that looks quite shady?
Conversation last night at dinner regarding the Willingham case and the polarized attitudes regarding the death penalty in general and this case specifics:
My friend said to me, "Look, Rawlins. The overwhelming majority of those put to death were guilty as hell. You wanta let everyone free just because some so-called innocent guy gets killed here and there? I'd rather take my chances and let the chips fall where they may."
To which I said, "So this is about the law of averages instead of being about life and death justice?"
"If that's the way you want to say it, yes."
That's like saying President Nixon only got rid of Cox, Ruckelshaus and Richardson on that famed Saturday night because he wanted new blood in the Justice Department.
There's no way I could improve on that reply.
I'll cast my first vote ever in a Texas Republican Gubernatorial primary this year, for Hutchison.
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.