Defense Lawyers Argue Race was Significant Factor in Death Sentence for Non-Whites Accused of Murder in NC: White Prosecutor Struck Black Jurors

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About 149 cases stand to be litigated under N.C.'s  Racial Justice Act, a law that allows statistics to be used in order to show bias, and if bias is shown, a sentence would be reduced from death to life without parole. From [HERE] and [HERE] Race was a significant factor in the death sentences given to two black men and one American Indian woman convicted of murder who are trying to have their sentences reduced under the Racial Justice Act, a defense attorney said Monday in Cumberland County court.

They are the first death-row inmates to make their cases before a judge since the General Assembly made it harder this summer to win claims under the controversial N.C. Racial Justice Act. The inmates are Christina "Queen" Walters, who killed two women in a gang initiation ritual; Tilmon Golphin, who killed two law enforcement officers in a traffic stop; and Quintel Augustine, convicted of killing a Fayetteville police officer.

Their hearing started Monday in Cumberland County Superior Court. Defense lawyers on the first day of hearing used notes that prosecutors made 10 years ago to try to prove they made racist decisions while picking a jury for the Quintel Augustine murder trial.

It's unconstitutional to convict someone or set a punishment on the basis of race. It's also unconstitutional to reject potential jurors based on their race. The Racial Justice Act of 2009, passed by a Democratic-controlled legislature, provided a legal framework for condemned inmates to advance claims that racism was an illegal factor in their convictions and sentences. It was promoted as a means to protect the criminal justice system's fairness and integrity, and redress a history of institutional racism.

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Just for Show? Families of Victims Not Informed, Not Invited to South Africa "Public Inquiry" in Police Killing of 34 Miners

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Last month, The Legal Resource Center (LRC) human rights group reported that several witnesses said police shot and killed protesters who were trying to escape or surrender. The LRC also said it has forensic evidence that suggests a police cover-up of the killings. [MORE]  From [HERE] Lack of notice, poverty and distance kept victims' families away when an inquiry opened in South Africa on Monday to unravel how 46 people were killed in a mine strike in the worst bloodbath since the end of apartheid. Commission chair Judge Ian Farlam asked family members to stand as their loved ones' names were read out to open the Marikana Commission of Inquiry in the Rustenburg Civic Centre northwest of Johannesburg. But no one stood while commissioner Bantubonke Tokota solemnly read down the list, all 46, one-by-one. No wailing, only silence.

Police shot dead 34 of these on August 16, when the group of illegal strikers ran down a hill where they had been gathering, armed with machetes, sticks and metal rods, at London-based Lonmin's platinum mine.

Why don't you see anyone of them here? They're not here. They are in the rural areas," said Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza, who represents the families of 20 victims.

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White Party Determined Not to "Re-Nig" in 2012 - GOP Accused of Voter Fraud in 11 Counties in Florida

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From [HERE] A major element of the Republican National Committee's overall attempt to game the 2012 elections by trying to affect who gets to vote and who does not, has just been stopped dead in its tracks.

Along with it, a criminal election fraud complaint has now reportedly been filed with law enforcement in the state of Florida against a Republican firm, owned by a paid Mitt Romney consultant, which was hired by the GOP to carry out partisan voter registration operations in at least five battleground states.

Millions of dollars were spent on the aborted effort by the GOP over the last two months --- their largest single expenditure in several of the states where the scheme was in full tilt --- to seek out Romney supporters only, and sign them up to vote.

The strategy resulted in (or included) fraudulent registration forms collected by the firm and then submitted in Florida by the state GOP with voter addresses, signatures and party affiliations changed. Election officials in the state have told The BRAD BLOG that they fear the scheme could result in the disenfranchisement of a still-unknown number of otherwise legal voters, and they are taking extraordinary measures to try and contain the potential damage as they attempt to work through more than 45,000 new and updated registrations submitted by the GOP and verify their legitimacy.

 

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The U.S. Does Not Want a Peaceful Resolution to Conflict in Syria

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We see how the Western-trained and sponsored militia on the ground in Syria has responded. They’ve responded with a wave of bomb attacks over two days in Damascus. The crucial point is that the West does not want to see a peaceful resolution to this conflict. It wants to destabilize, that is the name of the game. They do not want a peaceful resolution. 

They don’t want any compromise, because what are their main strategic aims? Remember, their main strategic aim is to destroy Syria as a functioning independent state, because at the moment Syria is part of the alliance with Iran and Hezbollah. Now, Hezbollah's independent existence, which was shown by Hezbollah's defeat of Israel in 2006, that is the one thing protecting the Palestinians from Israel just unilaterally imposing some kind of once-and-for-all 'peace deals' on the Palestinians that would condemn them forever to living in little cantons in a sea of Israeli settlements – the one thing preventing Israel from doing that is the existence of Hezbollah, the arming of Hezbollah by Iran and Syria. Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah himself, said that Syria was crucial in the 2006 victory by Hezbollah against Israel. 

So the West is determined to keep this war going, to destabilize Syria, to make sure that they cannot any longer play the role that it has been playing in supporting the Palestinians and preventing a successful Israeli attack on the Palestinians, on Lebanon and on Iran. Once Syria falls, the hope is for the West and for the Zionists that they will then have a free hand to go and implement, to go ahead and roll out, that program of a final solution for the Palestinians, destruction of Southern Lebanon, destruction of Iran. Syria is a kind of link that so far is preventing that. They do not want a peaceful solution. 

 

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White Party (GOP) Still Dreaming of a White President but Polls Show States Swinging Away from Mittens

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In photo GOP freaks in Mecklenberg County, VA dream of a white president [MORE] and [MORE]. From [HERE] During the US election, American voters are the most heavily polled in the world, with hardly a day passing this year without a new survey. They almost all pointed to the same conclusion: the 2012 White House race was nip and tuck. At least until now.

The latest polls show Barack Obama opening up big leads in the swing states. With these most important battlegrounds tilting heavily against him, the Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, faces an uphill struggle to find a path through the electoral college system to the White House.

Obama started the race with an advantage. Look at the electoral college map of the US and you see swaths of Republican red but most of these Republican states have relatively small populations, each delivering only a few electoral college votes.

By contrast, Obama starts with many of the most heavily populated states in the bag: New York, California and Illinois were always going to vote Democratic. Add together all the solid Democratic states and those likely to vote Democratic and Obama starts the election with 237 electoral college votes, just 33 short of the magic victory number.

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Dr. Blynd on Voting & the Illusion of Choice

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Whoopi Goldberg & Ann Coulter go toe to toe on ABC's "the View" yesterday - having a meaningless argument about why they support their political parties. [MORE] 

VOTE - Vulnerable Oblivious Thoughtless Electorate. 2) Vicarious Ownership Through Elections. 3) Vendetta Of The Elite. 4) Victory Of The Elite. 5) Voices Of The Encumbered 6) Vice Of Token Elections (See:Votescam)

 

VOTER - Victim Of The Electoral Returns. Returning fat-cat phallocrats back to the scene of the(ir) crimes.

 

voters - customers of beggars (politicians). A voter is born every second. (See: Secret Ballot, Voting Hoax & Control)

 

voting - a pacification (sucker) process which allows the votary to make choices provided to her/him, not decisions. 2) a “privilege” of U.S. citizens to do it behind a curtain-as long as they do it alone. 3) political masturbation exercises for those who can’t cop real power. 4) a habitually accepted imposition that gives the votary-vassal-suckers an illusion of inclusion or participation, 5) an act of self-abuse (See: Voting Booth, Elections, Politicians, Politics, Voting Hoax & Ho Reps)

 

voting booth - the PIT - a place where one takes a Political Ineptitude Test. Haven’t you heard or come to realize that secret ballots beget secret “government” Until they pay you for your vote, you will pay for (casting) your vote. (See: Elections)

 

voting hoax - “Help Slave America.” (See: Freedom Technology, Ph.F. Degree, NWO & University of Chocolate City)

 

voting power - an oxymoron. 2) a transitory form of illusory power. 3) the appearance of power without the juice.

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Execution of Black Man Halted after judge says white prosecutor suppressed evidence

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From [HERE] A Philadelphia judge halted next week's scheduled execution of a teenage killer after finding the trial prosecutor suppressed evidence the victim was molesting boys, “sanitized” witness statements before giving them to the defense and lied about a secret deal she'd struck with the accomplice.

The judge also tossed out Terrance “Terry” Williams' death sentence, granting him a new sentencing hearing.

Williams has been on death row for 28 years and was set to be executed Wednesday. He would have been the first person executed in Pennsylvania in 50 years who had not given up his appeals.

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10 Writers for the Wall Street Journal are Mittens Advisors

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From [HERE] The Wall Street Journal has been criticised by senior US journalists for failing to disclose that 10 of its op-ed writers are Mitt Romney advisers.

According to an inquiry by Media Matters, 23 pieces in the WSJ’s op-ed pages attacked President Obama or praised Romney without the writers acknowledging their political connections to Romney.

Max Frankel, a former New York Times executive editor, called the lack of disclosure “shameless.” He added: “They ought to put a banner saying Romney has approved of this page… It looks like the Wall Street Journal editorial and op ed pages have enlisted in the campaign. They should be disclosing that.”

“Not disclosing is inexcusable,” declared Stephen Henderson, editorial page editor of the Detroit Free Press. “It is important to disclose that so that the reader can evaluate the argument intelligently,” said Nicholas Goldberg, Los Angeles Times editorial page editor, adding that transparency is “absolutely essential.”

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Election Close Enough to Steal: Vote Counting Company Tied to Mittens

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H.I.G. Capital employees have given $338,000 to Mitt Romney's campaign. That amounts to over $1500 per employee. Bain Capital, Mitt's former company, by comparison, only gave him $268,000. H.I.G. is the 11th largest donor to the Romney Campaign. Clearly they are working really hard for their man. It appears that they will work even harder on election night. Although not boisterously promising to deliver states where their machines are to Romney as Wally O'Dell of Diebold did for Bush in 2004, they can launder hundreds of thousands of votes and swing the vote in the crucial swing state Ohio. 

Will Mitt's cronies steal our democracy the way they stole our jobs? Time will tell, but they have certainly positioned themselves to do so if they choose. 
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ACLU Urges Government to Stop Delegating Federal Immigration Authority - ICE Program Promotes Racial Profiling

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From [HERE] The American Civil Liberties Union  news archive] on Thursday urged  the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) [official website] to end stop delegating federal immigration authority to state and local law enforcement agencies, claiming this leads to racial profiling. Specifically, the ACLU contends that the 287(g) program has promoted the racial profiling of Latinos and that the ICE should not renew the program prior to its September 30 expiration. Citing incidents of Latinos being targeted at traffic stops and being arrested for minor traffic violations, and the setting of checkpoints near Latino neighborhoods, ACLU's legal counsel called for a joint effort from the ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to end the racial bias it believes has been fostered since the inception of 287(g). On Wednesday the ACLU joined several faith, labor, immigration advocacy and other civil rights organizations in sending a letter [text, PDF] to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and ICE Director John Morton  to terminate the program on grounds that it lacks "transparency and federal oversight, [thus] leaving the program susceptible to inefficiencies, insufficiently-monitored racial profiling, and pretextual arrests by law enforcement agencies."
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Supreme Court may limit use of race in college admissions

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From [HERE] More than a half-century after the Supreme Court ordered the University of Texas to admit a black man to its law school, the sprawling live-oak-and-limestone campus is again the site of a monumental battle over the use of race in university admissions.

But this time the challenge comes from a white woman. Abigail Fisher says the color of her skin cost her a spot in the 2008 freshman class at the university she had longed to attend since she was a child.

Under the banner of racial diversity, Fisher contends, the UT admissions process — which considers race as a factor in choosing one-quarter of its students — unfairly favors African Americans and Hispanics at the expense of whites and Asian Americans.

“If any state action should respect racial equality, it is university admission,” Fisher said in her brief to the Supreme Court. “Selecting those who will benefit from the limited places available at universities has enormous consequences.” Enormous, too, could be the consequences of Fisher’s case for the nation’s selective universities, public and private. If the court rules broadly, college administrators could be barred from considering race in admissions.

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Jim Crow Back in Tennessee: Court rejects voter ID challenge - Only Gov Issued ID's Accepted

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From [HERE] A judge for the Davidson County Chancery Court in Tennessee on Wednesday ruled that Tennessee's voter identification law [SB 16 materials] does not violate the state's Constitution [text, PDF]. Civil rights attorney George Barrett argued before the court that the requirement that residents show proof of ID is unduly burdensome. Barrett sought an injunction against the requirement in anticipation of the upcoming November election. Chancellor Carol McCoy ruled that the law is constitutional, even though the state constitution limits voting qualifications to legal age, residency and voter registration. Barrett indicated that he would try to take an appeal to the state supreme court prior to the November election.

A report published by the Center for American Progress  in April asserted that Tennessee is one of the five worst states for voting rights. The report criticized the tide of recently-passed state voter ID laws as an attempt by conservatives and lobbyists to "return to past practices of voter suppression to preserve their political power." The Tennessee law states that any ID that is not distributed by state or local governments, including student IDs, are not valid forms of voter identification. There are now 32 US states that require voters to present some form of ID at the polls.

Florida Governor Restarts Voter Purge of Black & Brown Voters

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From [HERE] Florida has officially restarted it’s controversial purge of registered voters less than 6 weeks before election day. Governor Scott’s intention to resume the effort, detailed in a PowerPoint presentation, was first reported by ThinkProgress.

Initially, Florida identified 180,000 potential non-citizens to be purged from the voter rolls. That list was subsequently narrowed down to 2600 “sure fire” non-citizens. When it became clear in early June that even the smaller list was riddled with errors, elections officials stopped the effort.

According to the Miami Herald, Florida has sent just 198 names to local election supervisors. (Of those, no more than 36 have ever cast a ballot.) But there is already evidence that the latest list still is not accurate. From the Herald:

For voters like Yeral Arroliga, it’s a pain.

Arroliga, 25, who immigrated from Nicaragua in 1995, said he already sent his proof of citizenship earlier this summer under the first version of the purge program. He’s ready to do it again, after ending up on the new list. But he’s not happy about it. “It sounds like you have Big Brother watching over you,” he told The Herald. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

Of this list of 198 potential non-citizens, about 58 percent are minority — 41 percent Hispanic and 17 percent black.

 

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At U.N., Obama defends free speech: "I accept that people are going to call me awful things every day, and I will always defend their right to do so"

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From Politico 9/25/12 President Barack Obama used a high-profile speech to the United Nations Tuesday to deliver his most robust defense of the value of freedom of expression since an anti-Muslim video triggered protests against America across the Muslim world. 

While Obama's forceful endorsement of free speech rights was delivered to leaders of many regimes that repress critics, the president's message seemed intended as much for a domestic audience: He sought to quiet Republicans who have attacked him for failing to stand up for "American values."

"I know there are some who ask why we don't just ban such a video. The answer is enshrined in our laws: Our Constitution protects the right to practice free speech," Obama told world leaders and delegates gathered for the United Nations General Assembly.

"Here in the United States, countless publications provoke offense. Like me, the majority of Americans are Christian, and yet we do not ban blasphemy against our most sacred beliefs. As president of our country, and commander-in-chief of our military, I accept that people are going to call me awful things every day, and I will always defend their right to do so," Obama said, drawing sustained applause. 

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Child Predators, Cheating Prosecutors and Terry Williams: How Pennsylvania Is Poised to Execute a Victim of Horrific Sexual Violence Despite the State’s Own Bad Acts

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From [HERE] Here we go again – but, wait, this is Pennsylvania, not Texas or Florida, which have been known to execute individuals despite evidence supporting innocence and/or horrifying trauma histories and major mental health and intellectual deficits.  For the first time in more than a decade, Pennsylvania is planning an execution. Terry Williams is the first Pennsylvania death row prisoner scheduled to be involuntarily executed in 50 years in that northern state –  it turns out it’s not just the South that denies people’s rights and kills them anyway. 

Last week, the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons denied relief to Terry Williams, even after a majority of the Board, including the Attorney General of Pennsylvania, recommended to spare Terry’s life. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania requires a unanimous recommendation in favor of clemency in order for clemency to be considered by the Governor. 

Last Monday, the Board of Pardons heard graphic evidence of Terry’s horrifying trauma history as a child and teen at the hands of numerous, much older, sexually-predatory men. Physical abuse by his mother and violated trust of older men in his life, including at least one schoolteacher, damaged Terry.  However, the trial court and jury did not learn of this abuse from Terry’s trial lawyer, who  met the teenager just the day before his capital trial almost three decades ago.

Ultimately, Terry killed two of his abusers, Herbert Hamilton and Amos Norwood.  But contrary to the “innocent" stranger the prosecutor claimed Norwood was, law enforcement at the time of trial had extensive evidence of predatory and abusive acts against Terry by both Norwood and Hamilton.

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Ninth Circuit rejects Arizona immigration law challenge

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From [HERE] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday denied a request for a new injunction against a controversial provision of Arizona's immigration law [SB 1070, PDF] requiring law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of persons they stop or arrest if there is a reasonable suspicion that the person is in the US illegally. Last week a judge for the US District Court for the District of Arizona lifted an injunction that barred enforcement of the law. After hearing arguments on the law in August, District Judge Susan Bolton denied a request for a preliminary injunction earlier this month in light of the US Supreme Court ruling in Arizona v. United States report] which upheld the provision.

Following the latest order, White Supremacist Arizona Governor Jan Brewe expressed contempt toward the law's challengers:

I am under no illusion that opponents of SB 1070 will stop their baseless allegations and call off their teams of lawyers. Even now, they scheme for new ways to undermine the rule of law and malign the character and commitment of our State and local law enforcement. Know this: They will not succeed. The State of Arizona stands firmly in support of the rule of law, in defense of our citizens and together with our brave men and women in uniform.
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Fifth Circuit finds Army Corps of Engineers not liable for Katrina damage

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From [HERE] The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit [official website] ruled [text, PDF] Monday that the US Army Corps of Engineers is not liable for damages caused by canal breaches that occurred during Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive]. Monday's ruling overturns a previous decision [text, PDF; JURIST report] issued by the same three-judge panel in March. Plaintiffs claimed that the impact-review requirement of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) constituted a legal mandate that overrides the Corps' discretion. The court overruled its previous decision on this matter, citing to "discretionary-function exception" (DFE) of the Federal Tort Claims Act . The court, however, wrote:

NEPA's procedural mandates require agencies to inform their discretion in decisionmaking. An agency that complies with NEPA gives outside influences (the public, lawmakers, other agencies) more information with which to put pressure on that agency, but the original agency retains substantive decisionmaking power regardless. At most, the Corps has abused its discretion—an abuse explicitly immunized by the DFE.

In a 2009 decision [JURIST report] the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana [official website] ruled that USACE made "negligent decisions" that "rested on applications of objective scientific principles and were not susceptible to policy consideration." The Fifth Circuit's most recent ruling, voids the district court's ruling, which allowed the plaintiffs to recover approximately $720,000.

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6 Million Barred from Voting due to Felony Convictions: NAACP Takes Bid to Ensure US Ex-Con Voting to UN

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From [HERE] The NAACP is taking to the U.N. its effort to ensure that all former convicted felons in the United States can vote.

A delegation from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was holding meetings Tuesday at the United Nation's Geneva office in part to press the world body to send observers to the U.S. for this year's elections.

The diplomatic push comes against the backdrop of a related — and vigorous — debate about requirements in some states for would-be voters to provide proper identification before they can cast ballots.

The NAACP says nearly 6 million U.S. citizens are barred from voting because of previous felony convictions. According to The Sentencing Project, an advocacy group that seeks policies to make it easier for felons to vote, the United States has the world's largest prison population — 2.2 million — and more than 60 percent of inmates are ethnic or racial minorities.

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More White Party Negro Outreach: Va. GOP orders affiliate to remove offensive Obama photos

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From [HERE] Virginia Republican Party officials on Tuesday ordered their Mecklenburg County affiliate to remove photos portraying President Obama as a witch doctor, a caveman and a thug from its Facebook page.

The altered photos have been on the Mecklenburg County Republican Committee’s page for months but drew attention outside the rural southwestern enclave after a luncheon event this week with Republican Senate candidate George Allen.

Anna Scholl, executive director of ProgressVA, called the images racist. “I think the images are obviously offensive and seek to portray our president, and black men more broadly, as, quote unquote, savages,” she said. “I think it both perpetuates this totally debunked idea that Obama wasn’t really born here, that he’s not really an American.”

and here is a serving of bullshit for you: “These kinds of images have no place in political discourse — period,” said Pat Mullins, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia. “They are offensive, tasteless and should never have been posted anywhere, let alone a local unit’s Facebook page. The Republican Party of Virginia condemns this sort of imagery in the strongest possible terms. I am in the process of contacting our Mecklenburg County unit to inform them that this is unacceptable behavior from any local unit associated with our party.”

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