"Perry also might have been asked about this week’s scheduled execution of convicted double murderer Duane Edward Buck out of Houston. In the trial’s punishment phase, an expert testified that Buck was more likely to be a future danger to society because he is black. Then-Texas Attorney General John Cornyn admitted that the state was wrong to allow juries to consider such outrageous testimony in this case and six others, and he asked the Supreme Court to allow for punishment retrials. But technicalities prevented a new sentencing from happening in the Buck case, unlike the others. Has the governor lost sleep over an unconstitutional punishment process?"
EDITORIAL: THE DALLAS NEWS;
-------------------------------------------------------
"Two things seemed creepily out of whack last week when the subject of the Texas death penalty came up during the GOP presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library," the Dallas Morning News story published on September 11, 2011 begins, under the heading, "Perry's odd ease with death penalty."
"First was the crowd’s reaction at the mention of this state’s leading execution statistic, a record 234 of them under Gov. Rick Perry. The audience actually applauded the body count tallied in Huntsville over the last 11 years," the editorial continues.
"That bizarre outburst set the stage for the governor’s defense of his record, and, with the crowd behind him, it probably was a politically effective media moment for the governor. Yet the justice system Perry depicted is not the system that comes into focus when taking a hard look at the facts. His is a black-and-white rendition: bad crime, fair trial, thorough review, last words on a gurney. The reality of Texas justice is not so sound-bite simple. The fight for fairness and truth can be an agonizing and often futile one. Debate moderator Brian Williams might have thought he had a clever question — do you sleep well at night, governor? — but that overlooked the goings-on in Texas even as he spoke. A better question might have focused on the refusal by Texas courts to permit forensic analysis of untested evidence in the Hank Skinner murder case out of West Texas. Does the governor lose sleep over Skinner’s execution date of Nov. 9, or is he confident that the courts will have it all sorted out by then? Perry also might have been asked about this week’s scheduled execution of convicted double murderer Duane Edward Buck out of Houston. In the trial’s punishment phase, an expert testified that Buck was more likely to be a future danger to society because he is black. Then-Texas Attorney General John Cornyn admitted that the state was wrong to allow juries to consider such outrageous testimony in this case and six others, and he asked the Supreme Court to allow for punishment retrials. But technicalities prevented a new sentencing from happening in the Buck case, unlike the others. Has the governor lost sleep over an unconstitutional punishment process? And has the governor lost a wink thinking about how to address the hideous Anthony Graves miscarriage of justice? Here was a man railroaded by a Central Texas prosecutor in the sensational slayings of six family members. Isn’t it true that Graves might never have been freed last year had it not been for college journalism and law students who laid the foundation for his innocence? Is this the same system in which the governor has unshakable faith? Perry was right about one thing: The public is generally comfortable with the death penalty. But consider that a mere theoretical statement. Dig deeper into uncomfortable truths and, we think, the public will see hard realities that are impossible to defend."
The editorial can be found at:
http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20110911-editorial-perrys-odd-ease-with-death-penalty.ece
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
