tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80120652887371433712011-10-11T11:22:24.970-05:00Life and Death MattersTo disseminate facts and other information related to capital punishment with particular reference to the State of Alabama and the grave concerns raised by the American Bar Association and others regarding its priciple and practice, which at this point have been ingnored by our state officials.Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.comBlogger1391100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-2335156061734212392011-10-11T08:27:00.001-05:002011-10-11T08:29:08.650-05:00Inaccuracies in Forensic Testing*I am pleased to post an article written by Allison Gamble for Life and Death Matters. She is a contributing writer for forensicpsychology.net and has published extensively on forensics in death penalty and other cases. Allison has been a curious student of psychology since high school. She brings her understanding of the mind to work in the weird world of internet marketing.
Within the Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-66366320238289705272011-06-14T06:46:00.000-05:002011-06-14T06:46:28.352-05:00Followers in Ukraine
I am pleased to have so many followers of this blog in Ukraine, a number that almost equals the number of followers in the U.S. I am not sure why this is but hope that Ukrainians might post comments addressing the reason. I have also added a Russian translation that may facilitate viewers of this blog in that country.
Thanks for your interest and look forward to your comments.
Robert
Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-3407773828301731612011-06-03T10:59:00.001-05:002011-06-03T11:02:42.639-05:00Dizzying cost to pursue death penalty
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{colorRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-41791920044492251292011-06-02T13:41:00.001-05:002011-06-02T13:43:48.695-05:00Alabama poised to execute another mentally retarded manIn spite of Federal law and defying same, Alabama prepares to execute Eddie D. Powell on June 16. Although in Atkins v. Virginia536 U.S. 304 (2002), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the matter, the following are noteworthy with regard to Powells's case:
From Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty (www.phadp.org)
"1. Under Supreme Court precedent (Atkins), people with mental retardation are Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-66910006178097107462011-06-01T14:43:00.000-05:002011-06-01T14:43:09.319-05:00Ohio to alter execution for cancer-stricken inmateBy ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS, AP Legal Affairs Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio will make it easier for an inmate who lost his larynx to cancer to make a final statement at his execution.
Prison officials are using the change as part of their argument that a federal judge should dismiss a lawsuit challenging Ohio's execution procedures.
The state will raise the gurney where Kenneth Smith will lie and Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-53071017981987847902011-04-11T10:12:00.000-05:002011-04-11T10:12:03.628-05:00The Prosecution Rests, but I Can’tOP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
By JOHN THOMPSON
Published: April 9, 2011
New Orleans
Paddy Molloy
I SPENT 18 years in prison for robbery and murder, 14 of them on death row. I’ve been free since 2003, exonerated after evidence covered up by prosecutors surfaced just weeks before my execution date. Those prosecutors were never punished. Last month, the Supreme Court decided 5-4 to overturn a case I’d Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-19417672149383571232011-03-25T13:49:00.000-05:002011-03-25T13:49:01.696-05:00Second thoughts of a 'hanging judge'March 25, 2011
A death sentence in California rarely leads to an execution. Let's stop the charade.
By Donald A. McCartin
In 1978, the first time Jerry Brown was governor of California, he appointed me to a judgeship in the Superior Court of Orange County. It was a gutsy move on his part, a liberal Democrat naming a right-wing Republican to the bench. I served there until 1993, after which I sat Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-85977268873118015722011-03-19T13:44:00.001-05:002011-03-19T13:47:01.554-05:00"Death penalty abolition will have impact" Kane County Chronicle
March 10, 2011
by J. Bilyk
Following the repeal of the death penalty in Illinois, some state prosecutors and judges have pointed to potential benefits to the criminal justice system. Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon recently said that abolishing the death penalty meant that murder trials in the county could come to a conclusion more quickly. McMahon said, “To theRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-38985689295660642592011-03-16T14:12:00.000-05:002011-03-16T14:12:33.106-05:00Illinois governor cites church teaching in ending death penaltyMarch 16th, 2011
By George Raine
Illinois Gov. Patrick Quinn signed legislation March 9 abolishing the death penalty after concluding that the system of imposing it is inherently flawed and because, quoting the late Cardinal Joseph Bernadin of Chicago, “Other means than the death penalty are available and can be used to protect society.”
Illinois had a remarkably high number of inmates – 20 – Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-38898279835083064892011-03-16T14:11:00.000-05:002011-03-16T14:11:06.782-05:00Catholic lawyers take aim at death penaltyMarch 16th, 2011
By George Raine
A group of Catholic lawyers in California is forming to rally fellow Catholics to oppose the death penalty, saying it is morally wrong under church teaching and the system that administers it is dysfunctional and wasteful.
The plan is to establish groups of Catholic lawyers in each of the state’s 58 counties and dispatch members to speak at parishes, retreats and Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-58456912190521909622011-03-16T09:43:00.000-05:002011-03-16T09:43:02.607-05:00Ga. executions off: DEA seizes critical drugWednesday, March 16, 2011
AP
ATLANTA (AP) — All Georgia executions are off after federal drug agents seized the state's supply of a sedative used in lethal injections that has been challenged by capital punishment critics and death-row inmates, including a man recently executed who called the British exporter of the drug a "fly-by-night supplier."
Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-9698412685237291492011-03-11T14:44:00.001-06:002011-03-11T16:06:41.309-06:00Alabama playing deadly game with death penaltyYOUR VIEW: Alabama playing deadly game with death penaltyThe Birmingham News "Your View"
Published: Friday, March 11, 2011, 5:32 AM Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill this week abolishing the death penalty in Illinois, saying, "Since our experience has shown that there is no way to design a perfect death penalty system, free from the numerous flaws that can lead to wrongful convictions or Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-8091935995472207502011-03-10T09:34:00.003-06:002011-03-10T09:35:48.564-06:00Judge should not disregard jury and impose deathOUR VIEW: A judge shouldn't have been able to disregard a jury's recommendation and impose a death sentence on a veteran who killed an Auburn University student
By Birmingham News editorial board
It's impossible to read the anguished pleas from Lauren Burk's loved ones -- especially her parents -- and not sympathize with their wish to see Courtney Lockhart die. Lockhart killed Burk, an 18-Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-51520032812796569842011-03-09T13:31:00.000-06:002011-03-09T13:31:18.487-06:00Illinois repeals death penalty!Thank you Governor Quinn!Illinois has repealed the death penalty becoming the 16th state in the nation (plus the District of Columbia) without a death penalty!
Please help us thank the one man who had the courage and fortitude to make it a reality. Without his leadership and vision, Illinois could not have taken this monumental step.
Please help us commend Governor Pat Quinn for his heroic Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-74548983404693150342011-03-09T09:27:00.002-06:002011-03-09T09:29:07.639-06:00Ex-prosecutor may face disbarment
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By Brad HeathUSA TODAY
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+ "?publisherName=" + escape( "USATODAY" ) // required, hard-coded
+ "&publication=" + escape( "USATODAY"Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-6278482938432670562011-03-08T09:50:00.000-06:002011-03-08T09:50:09.409-06:00An international treaty Congress should supportFriday, March 4, 2011
By John B. Bellinger III
About two years ago, while many Americans were watching President Obama's inauguration and my former colleagues in the Bush administration were cleaning out their offices, I was flying home from The Hague, where the International Court of Justice had just ruled against the United States in a case I had argued. The 15-judge court said that the Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-17746427351534760252011-03-08T09:47:00.000-06:002011-03-08T09:47:12.210-06:00DNA and the truth
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Use DNA evidence to find the truth.
If you're going to put a man to death for a crime, you'd want to be sure you've got the right guy. At least most of us would. But prosecutors in Texas have fought a request for DNA testing by Hank Skinner, who was less than an hour away from being executed when the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear his case.
On Monday, the court said Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-67312489848687241302011-03-07T12:14:00.001-06:002011-03-07T12:18:52.375-06:00“You want a bargain?”We all are looking for bargains aren’t we. A beloved Catholic priest now in his later years recounts
a story about a visit to Indonesia. He was on a mission trip there and while walking
through the local market, similar to our farmer’s market in the U.S., he was hungry and wanted a
snack, preferably his favorite-bananas. There was a old lady in her tent booth with bananas so
he asked, “How much Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-23945019346679652812011-03-07T11:32:00.000-06:002011-03-07T11:32:47.478-06:00Giving Life After Death RowSunday, March 6, 2011
By CHRISTIAN LONGO
Salem, Ore. -- EIGHT years ago I was sentenced to death for the murders of my wife and three children. I am guilty. I once thought that I could fool others into believing this was not true. Failing that, I tried to convince myself that it didn’t matter. But gradually, the enormity of what I did seeped in; that was followed by remorse and then a wish to Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-46222521461792373542011-03-07T09:59:00.000-06:002011-03-07T09:59:10.324-06:00Texas: DNA Evidence Clears Man Jailed for 17 YearsBy THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
March 2, 2011
DNA testing has cleared a 50-year-old man who spent 17 years in prison for rape. George Rodriguez has been free since 2004, when his verdict was overturned after the court ruled that faulty evidence had been introduced at his trial. The Harris County district attorney, Patricia Lykos, says the DNA evidence vindicates him and verified the true identities ofRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-36225920721983106622011-03-07T09:55:00.002-06:002011-03-07T10:17:11.176-06:00Supreme Court rules for Hank Skinner DNA testingThe Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Hank Skinner's appeal for DNA testing. After many years on Texas' death row for a triple murder and refusal of the courts and prosecutors there, he has found relief. He has maintained his innocence to the charges against him. He may now pursue his claims for DNA in the courts, but not necessarilly get approval.
In Alabama, there is no law giving death rowRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-78092192253131997832011-03-04T16:16:00.000-06:002011-03-04T16:16:49.794-06:00Court declares exonerated man 'innocent'March 3, 2011, 8:45PM
Houstonian will pursue compensation after serving 30 years for rape-robbery he didn't commit
By ALLAN TURNER
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
A Houston man who served 30 years of a 75-year sentence for a Dallas rape-robbery he did not commit has been formally cleared of the crime by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The court's Wednesday action endorsed a Dallas judge's January Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-83541768538020138182011-03-02T12:31:00.000-06:002011-03-02T12:31:02.114-06:00Another judicial override in AlabamaJudge imposes death penalty, outbursts delay Courtney Lockhart trial
Posted: Mar 02, 2011 8:24 AM CST
Courtney Lockhart in court on November 18, 2010.
AUBURN, AL (WTVM) - News Leader 9 has learned the judge in a murder trial overrode the jury's recommendation and is now imposing the death penalty for Courtney Lockhart. The sentencing trial was delayed for five minutes when the man convicted Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-5259163946842997482011-02-28T10:22:00.000-06:002011-02-28T10:22:06.540-06:00Dudley Sharp calls me disingenuous and dishonestBaldwin: This is a continuation of my ongoing debate with Dudley Sharp. On this blog, August 16, 2010, I posted verbatim the article by Christian Prosl, Austrian Ambassador, entitled "Capital punishment and our common values: The European view" (The Hill, 08/16/10). Sharp relied that I was "Dead Wrong," and on September 19 I replied "It is you that is 'dead wrong." To see all of his comments Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-48028584191668184802011-02-25T13:10:00.000-06:002011-02-25T13:10:44.616-06:00Troy Davis needs your help for justice!Many of you know the saga of Troy Davis' incarceration. Please sign the petition from People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, the text of which I have included below as well as the link through which you can sign.
Thanks!
Robert Baldwin
"Dear Chairman Donald and Members of the Board:
We the undersigned represent clergy and leaders from various religious traditions. As leaders in our Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-8037485345020866532011-02-11T13:43:00.000-06:002011-02-11T13:43:35.133-06:00Kill the death penalty02/11/2011
Published By Times Herald
U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel toured San Quentin State Prison on Tuesday to see whether the new execution chamber meets constitutional standards. It's too bad he can't just abolish executions altogether. The death penalty is archaic, unfairly imposed and alarmingly expensive. We should take the hundreds of millions of dollars it costs and spend it insteadRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-87470870689348031912011-02-08T22:16:00.000-06:002011-02-08T22:16:38.390-06:00Alabama Tops in Death Sentences & ExecutionsFrom Equal Justice Initiative (http://www.eji.org/)
Alabama's Death Sentencing and Execution Rates Continue to be Highest in the Country
.February 3, 2011
In the face of growing evidence about the unreliability of the death penalty, and in sharp contrast with the national trend again death sentences, Alabama continues to sentence more people to death per capita than any other state in the Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-69378943329961093012011-02-03T15:14:00.000-06:002011-02-03T15:14:00.045-06:00A Parliament of Experts [convicted an innocent woman of murder?]Fri., Feb. 4, 2011
[I posted the entire article because it testifies to the many disturbing problems in our justice system, e.g., ineffective counsel, lack of defense funds for indigent, inexperienced lawyers, unqualified experts-RLB]
Did 'expert testimony' convict an innocent woman of murder?
By Jordan Smith,
Jan. 30, 2003, was supposed to be a day off for Victoria Gutierrez. Instead, the Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-24034595650647602312011-01-19T11:19:00.000-06:002011-01-19T11:19:17.089-06:00Justice Dept. office to punish prosecutors' misconductUSA Today
By Evan Vucci, AP
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder participates in a news conference at the Justice Department last month. By Brad Heath and Kevin McCoy, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department created a new internal watchdog office on Tuesday to make sure federal prosecutors face swifter and more consistent punishment if investigators find that they committed misconduct.
Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-60406225574533244062011-01-19T10:54:00.001-06:002011-01-19T10:54:51.195-06:00D.A. allows no "closure" for this familyWoman endures as trial drags on for family's killer
Three members of a Whittier woman's family were murdered by her daughter-in-law in 2007. Now the grieving matriarch faces the trial's penalty phase — again.
By Corina Knoll, Los Angeles Times
January 17, 2011
She had hoped by now to be free of terrible things. The mutilated hands of her son that came to her in dreams. The image of the Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-84984470821156582242011-01-14T12:08:00.000-06:002011-01-14T12:08:39.084-06:00Leroy White: Executed three hours after stay issuedEditors Note: I am enclosing this letter and message from Esther Brown. The letter included is a sad note, yes another one, that also points out just one of the many problems with Alabama's death penalty system, noting in particular the response of the judge (rlb).
Friends,
As we try to regroup, as Leroy would want us to, I would like to share the words of one of our two Murder Victim Family Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-34110035867706245412011-01-11T12:34:00.000-06:002011-01-11T12:34:58.742-06:00Illinois poised to end death penalty-too many errorsChicago Tribune - The Senate's Turn
January 10, 2011
Morris and Ruth Gauger, age 74 and 70, were murdered on their McHenry County farm in 1993. Two members of the Outlaws motorcycle gang, looking for a rumored stash of hundreds of thousands of dollars, found no money but killed the couple because they wanted no witnesses.
It was the sort of senseless, heinous crime for which the death penalty Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-47449481478410083442011-01-05T15:26:00.002-06:002011-01-05T15:28:01.189-06:00Please Governor Riley-spare Leroy White's life.January 4, 2011
The Honorable Bob Riley
Governor of Alabama
State Capitol
600 Dexter Avenue, Room N-104
Montgomery, AL 36130
Dear Governor Riley,
First, thank you for your diligent efforts to better the lives of Alabamians during your administration and for doing it with honesty, integrity, and altruism. Having voted for you in both elections I am pleased to know I made the correct choice, andRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-89140936346864645572010-12-14T15:39:00.000-06:002010-12-14T15:39:20.881-06:0010 Infamous Cases of Wrongful Execution*From Criminal Justice Degrees:
There’s no doubt about it – the U.S. criminal justice system is not perfect. And those imperfections become apparent when someone is the innocent victim of the death penalty. Wrongful executions have been happening for hundreds of years, but until the advent of DNA evidence and improved forensics technology, these individuals have remained guilty as charged. Today,Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-31062752296891190902010-12-13T16:18:00.000-06:002010-12-13T16:18:06.230-06:00Only 2% of Texas Counties Imposed Death Sentences This YearDecember 13, 2010
The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (TCADP) released its annual report, Texas Death Penalty Developments in 2010: The Year in Review. TCADP releases this annual report each December in conjunction with the anniversary of the resumption of executions in Texas in 1982.
According to the report, death sentences in Texas have dropped more than 70% since 2003, reaching Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-47045881362915900542010-12-13T12:37:00.001-06:002010-12-13T12:45:58.656-06:00Alabama Prisons Bulging: Time for New Covenantby Robbie Baldwin, M.D.
According to the Alabama Department of Corrections, September, 2010, Alabama has granted admission to 10,219 individuals to our prison system in 2010 [1]. Already bulging from overcapacity, this represents an increase of 202 over September year to date in 2009 and brings the total population of individuals in our jurisdiction to 31, 975. Holman prison houses the largest Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-64579055025214165112010-12-13T10:49:00.000-06:002010-12-13T10:49:46.163-06:00Texas Governor Perry Refuses to Open Records of ClemencyExcerpted from the Houston Chronicle
December 13, 2010
"The high-profile death-penalty case of Cameron Todd Willingham is the subject of an ongoing open-records battle in a lawsuit brought against Perry by the Houston Chronicle and Hearst Newspapers. Willingham was executed in 2004 for the 1991 deaths of his daughters in a fire. Death-penalty opponents, citing modern forensics, have said the Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-72463639592863434702010-12-09T12:47:00.000-06:002010-12-09T12:47:34.259-06:00Framed for Murder?Op-Ed Columnist
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: December 8, 2010
That’s the view of five federal judges in a case involving Kevin Cooper, a black man in California who faces lethal injection next year for supposedly murdering a white family. The judges argue compellingly that he was framed by police. Mr. Cooper’s impending execution is so outrageous that it has produced a mutiny among theseRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-66528599188802095872010-12-08T12:04:00.000-06:002010-12-08T12:04:33.464-06:00Wrongly executed man showed fatal flaw in capital punishmentSunday, December 5, 2010
By Steve Blow
My Dallas Morning News Texan of the Year is dead. And you killed him.
So did I – and all other Texans. Together, we took the life of Claude Jones in a Huntsville execution chamber on Dec. 7, 2000. And now we know we were wrong in killing him. Jones, 60, was executed for the robbery and murder of a liquor store owner in 1989. Let it be stipulated: JonesRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-59600425315470636812010-12-07T18:14:00.000-06:002010-12-07T18:14:30.974-06:00Could Abolishing the Death Penalty Help States Save Money?State Legislators and Reformers Argue Cost in Push to End Capital Punishment
By MAYA SRIKRISHNAN
WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2010
In 2003, Seattle resident Robert Kerr was abducted from his apartment and found dead 30 miles from his home, with his bank account emptied and without clothes or identification. At the end of 2010, the state of Washington has yet to arrest or convict anyone for his death.Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-21513927886570234242010-12-07T16:47:00.000-06:002010-12-07T16:47:17.084-06:00Prosecutors ‘stand mute’ in unusual death-penalty hearingBy Zachary Roth
Tue Dec 7, 2010
Lawyers are usually thought of as a talkative breed. But prosecutors in an unusual death penalty hearing yesterday told the judge they would "stand mute," declining to participate in the proceeding.
As we reported last week, defense lawyers for John Edward Green -- a Houston man charged with fatally shooting a woman during a 2008 robbery -- asked for the Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-79847438535537091392010-12-02T12:25:00.001-06:002010-12-02T12:26:32.306-06:00Spiritual Reflections for Incarcerated Souls (Advent)Guess who’s coming to town?
Jesus said to his disciples: As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-60226192980419866792010-12-01T09:33:00.000-06:002010-12-01T09:33:38.326-06:00Supreme Court Justice Stevens' Powerful Anti-Death-Penalty ViewsCase Study
Anti-Death-Penalty Views
By Adam Cohen Wednesday, Dec. 01, 2010
Former Justice John Paul Stevens, who retired from the Supreme Court in June after turning 90, has come out swinging in the past few days against the death penalty. In an appearance on 60 Minutes this past Sunday and a New York Review of Books essay that is now online, Justice Stevens makes the case that capital Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-22951024224662245322010-11-27T14:07:00.000-06:002010-11-27T14:07:50.197-06:00Event Gathers People Seeking To End Death PenaltyANDREW NELSON, Staff Writer
Published: November 25, 2010
As facilitator Sister Helen Prejean, right, looks on, Mississippi United Methodist Church Bishop Hope Morgan Ward discusses how faith-based communities are often too silent and they must find the courage to engage in a movement to end the death penalty. Other ministers on the panel during the Nov. 16 session included Rev. Dr. Raphael Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-39938194137325138632010-11-24T09:35:00.001-06:002010-11-24T09:35:26.829-06:00Thanksgiving for all the right things-Existentialism & GodNovember 9, 2010
Existentialism... The Good Kind
Alex Crain
Editor, Christianity.com
"Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple..."
Luke 14:27 NASB
As chapter two of Francis Schaeffer's book, True Spirituality, comes to a close, the author highlights a crucial dimension of the gospel's first fruit (that of dying to self). It is that dying to self must be aRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-61768157933613247752010-11-23T13:05:00.000-06:002010-11-23T13:05:40.556-06:00Day Two: People of Faith Against the Death PenaltyNovember 17, 2010
by Robbie Baldwin
After an inspirational night of beautiful songs from around the world performed by "Sweet Honey on the Rock" at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, we all settled down enthusiastically for the second day of workshop and discussions at the conference, "Discerning Justice and Taking Action on America's Death Penalty." An emphasis was placed on the Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-17881204729539839752010-11-18T14:00:00.000-06:002010-11-18T14:00:24.469-06:00Witness to innocence [and prosecutorial misconduct]November 17, 2010
03:34 PM
Witness to Innocence
By Andrea Lyon
Last Sunday, I had the privilege of being asked to talk to a group of exonerees from death row at the end of a conference held here in Chicago by an organization called Witness to Innocence . I spoke about the state of the death penalty here in Illinois and around the country and about the stacked deck that a death-qualified juryRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-84983517639541377182010-11-17T17:53:00.004-06:002010-11-17T18:08:22.748-06:0011th Circuit not playing by the rules in Alabama death penalty caseNovember 22, 2010
High court should agree to hear case in which defense counsel failed to provide jury with mitigating evidence.
By Gerald Kogan and Mark White
"We are disturbed when we hear of yet another Alabama death row prisoner whose unskilled and barely paid defense lawyers cut their teeth on his capital trial and did little to try to save his life. But this, however unfortunate, is notRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-88687726982658256932010-11-17T17:36:00.000-06:002010-11-17T17:36:22.647-06:00Death penalty for murder? Majority supports an alternativeDeath penalty survey contradicts previous polls showing broad support among Americans for the maximum punishment, but pollsters say the key is giving respondents alternatives.
By Warren Richey, Staff writer / November 16, 2010
Washington
Sixty-one percent of registered voters said they would favor a punishment for murder other than the death penalty, according to a survey made public Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-56132938534522862352010-11-16T17:07:00.000-06:002010-11-16T17:07:03.812-06:00Discerning Justice & Taking Action on America's Death PenaltyNovember 15, 2010
Atlanta, GA
Currently participating in conference put on by People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, a National Organization based in N.C. Virtually all faiths are in attendance, although it seems that Catholics and Methodists are in greater numbers. As its president Steve Dear states, "As Religious leaders sougth to foster in South Africa in the 1980's, our hope is that Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-22566489606300180272010-11-15T11:40:00.000-06:002010-11-15T11:40:08.903-06:00Blood on Our Hands: Why the Jones Case MattersWhat the DNA results tell Texas citizens—and journalists
by BOB MOSER
Published on: Friday, November 12, 2010
On Friday morning in Houston, I spoke at a news conference discussing the upshot of the Observer's successful lawsuit to preserve and test DNA evidence that might have posthumously exonerated Claude Jones, who was executed on Dec. 7, 2000. Former Gov. Mark White, Innocence Project Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-70057756264284568952010-11-13T13:55:00.000-06:002010-11-13T13:55:13.214-06:00Executing the innocentFri Nov 12, 2010
Open thread for night owls: Executing the innocent
by Meteor Blades
The United States continues to employ the racist, classist death penalty. It is not a deterrent. It is a Dark Ages relic reflecting an unwillingness to overcome the instincts of our reptile brains with civilized behavior the way most of the other developed democracies on the planet have seen fit to do.
If ourRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-2374266992299281942010-11-12T19:17:00.001-06:002010-11-12T19:19:27.788-06:00Innocent man [off death row] seeks his due from stateNov. 11, 2010
10:12PM
Ex-death row prisoner pursues $1.4 million for 18 years in prison
By HARVEY RICE
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Attorneys for a Somerville man freed last month after spending more than a
decade on death row will return to court next week to take the first step
toward claiming the $1.4 million they say he's due for 18 years of wrongful
imprisonment.
Anthony Graves will ask the Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-20568954410512191172010-11-11T18:15:00.000-06:002010-11-11T18:15:17.376-06:00Alabama politics overturns no death penalty for killerBy Hedley Thomas
The Australian
FOR criminal lawyer Adrian Braithwaite and his client, Gabe Watson, a meeting with immigration a fortnight ago was meant to be a formality.
Watson is a citizen of the US. He calls Alabama home. After the death of his wife, Tina, during a scuba dive while on their honeymoon in Queensland in 2003, he was the subject of an exhaustive police investigation to Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-25455988364951736602010-11-09T09:47:00.000-06:002010-11-09T09:47:15.527-06:00A ‘Biblical’ death sentence in ConnecticutNovember 8, 2010
by Robert L. Baldwin, MD, MA
Today, Steven Hayes received multiple death sentences for the murder of a family in Connecticut, one in which only the father, a physician, survived. I cannot to pretend to know the heartache this family must be going through after such a heinous crime and cannot disagree with the survivor's statement that the penalty may be “deserved,” but does notRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-56892374458937902092010-11-08T14:12:00.000-06:002010-11-08T14:12:53.051-06:00Death penalty too flawed to be used this muchNovember 8, 2010
By the Rev. Joseph B. Ingle
In 1977, the General Assembly of Tennessee passed the current death penalty law. From 1977 through October 2010, Tennessee executed six citizens. Tennessee has executed fewer people than any other Southern state during this period of time.
This corresponds to the historical record. Tennessee has executed fewer of its residents historically thanRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-50802339054081503172010-11-03T16:41:00.000-05:002010-11-03T16:41:47.242-05:00From death row to critic of capital punishmentWritten by Mary Chalupsky
Wednesday, 03 November 2010 12:00
by Kirk Bloodsworth
MILFORD – In 1985, at age 22, Kirk Bloodsworth was wrongfully convicted of raping and murdering a 9-year-old girl, based primarily on the eyewitness accounts of 8- and 10-year-old children. Evidence and 10 alibi witnesses were barely taken into account, he says.
Then in 1993, after spending almost nine yearsRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-43318490701884372762010-11-03T11:56:00.000-05:002010-11-03T11:56:09.386-05:00Walking against death penalty77-year-old to travel 500 miles in 10 weeks
By Wayne Rhodes, Editor, Faith in Action
WAYNESBORO, Va. — A 77-year-old retired United Methodist clergyman has set out to walk 500 miles to raise money for Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (VADP).
Hunter Mabry will walk 10 miles a week for 50 weeks to raise $5,000 for VADP.
Mabry’s goal is to raise awareness of inequities in the Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-81877816784245253522010-10-31T20:32:00.000-05:002010-10-31T20:32:46.120-05:00Beware of false promises from DA candidates on death penaltyPublished: Sunday, October 31, 2010, 5:30 AM
The Birmingham News
Birmingham, Alabama
In the Oct. 21 Birmingham News, both candidates for Jefferson County district attorney "said they would continue the policy of filing capital charges against all defendants in homicides that meet the definition of capital murder."
The same article, however, reports "out of 135 county capital cases resolved Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-89436348656804210672010-10-29T12:39:00.000-05:002010-10-29T12:39:53.995-05:00Death-row case underscores fallibilityDallas Morning NewsEditorial: From Thursday, October 28, 2010Let us recount the grave injustices inflicted upon Anthony Graves. He has spent the last 18 years behind bars, including 12 on death row, for a murder he did not commit. Prosecutors never established a plausible motive linking him to the 1992 deaths of six people who were shot, bludgeoned and stabbed to death in Sommerville, Texas, nearRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-73436737865537602182010-10-27T22:27:00.000-05:002010-10-27T22:27:44.461-05:00Another innocent "Almost bites the dust"Oct. 27, 2010 | 5:56PM
Prisoner ordered free from Texas' death row
By BRIAN ROGERS | Houston Chronicle
A Texas inmate sentenced to die in 1994 has been released after prosecutors said today the man is innocent.
Anthony Graves was convicted of assisting Robert Earl Carter in the slaying of a grandmother, her daughter and four grandchildren in the Burleson County city of Somerville.
The Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-60694166762719122812010-10-27T14:40:00.000-05:002010-10-27T14:40:56.891-05:00FDA Rules do not apply to executionsOctober 27, 2010
by Robert L. Baldwin, M.D.
The state of Arizona executed Jeffery Landrigan last night after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a stay. The request for a stay was based on the fact that the state had exhausted their supply of Thiopental and subsequently obtained and planned to use non-Federal Drug Administration approved Thiopental for the procedure. The state would not turnRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-75717948658622726002010-10-27T14:04:00.000-05:002010-10-27T14:04:15.668-05:00For Elie Wiesel, death penalty is not the answer10/27/2010 | The Day
By Karen Florin
Middletown - Dr. William Petit did not attend Elie Wiesel's lecture on capital punishment at Wesleyan University Tuesday, but for a few minutes the Nazi death camp survivor spoke as if the man who lost his wife and daughters in the Cheshire home invasion was his only audience. "Your wound is open," Wiesel said. "It will remain. You are mourning, and how Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-24707786134867835082010-10-25T18:03:00.000-05:002010-10-25T18:03:26.040-05:00Letter to Gov. Riley: Please don't let the state kill againOctober 22, 2010
The Honorable Gov. Bob Riley
State Capitol N 104
600 Dexter Ave.
Montgomery, AL 36130-2751
Dear Governor,
Philip Hallford is scheduled to die in Alabama’s execution chamber next week. I write urging you to exercise your right under the “Law of the State of Alabama” to give clemency and commute his sentence to life without the possible of parole. You have emphasized in Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-74009417194919009442010-10-22T16:21:00.000-05:002010-10-22T16:21:45.754-05:00Death Penalty: New York v. Texas"Death penalty watch in New York: For the first time in decades, no bill to reinstate the death penalty was introduced in the state Senate this year. Do you remember a few years ago when pro-death penalty legislators argued that elimination of the death penalty in New York amounted to “an open season” on law enforcement officers? Judging from their silence now, perhaps they are aware of the Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-11220754803721512942010-10-22T11:45:00.000-05:002010-10-22T11:45:07.373-05:00Catholic Bishops Plan Drive Against Death PenaltyCatholic Bishops Plan Drive Against Death Penalty
Leaders Shift Priorities, Sensing Public Opinion Has Changed on Capital Punishment
By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 21, 2005; Page A04
In the week before Easter, as Christians reflect on the execution of Jesus, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is launching a campaign to end the use of the death penalty in the Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-46981810973939469362010-10-22T11:01:00.000-05:002010-10-22T11:01:24.175-05:00Brain damaged inmate scheduled to die in ArizonaOct. 21, 2010
Man on death row deserves life term
Trial judge never was told of his brain damage
by A. Bates Butler III | Special for the Republic
Jeffrey Landrigan is scheduled to be executed in Arizona on Tuesday. The judge who sentenced him to death has signed a declaration saying she would have spared his life if his lawyer had presented available evidence about his brain damage and Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-5962004149958989802010-10-20T13:36:00.000-05:002010-10-20T13:36:26.920-05:00Baldwin Replies to Sharp: Inhumane, Christianity, Guaranteed Rights?Dudley Sharp
Wed Sep 29, 2010 11:00
reply to Dr. Baldwin #6
Sharp responds to Prosl: 4. “The death penalty is neither inhumane nor degrading. It holds criminals responsible for the most monstrous of crimes with a sanction that reflects both justice and proportionality. Less justice is not what we need.”
Baldwin replies to sharp: [Mr. Sharp here will find himself in opposition to virtually all Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-21432636470950236742010-10-19T10:51:00.000-05:002010-10-19T10:51:04.052-05:00Reply to Sharp's European ContentionsSee Dudley Sharp response to Dr. Baldwin #5 Wed Sep 29, 2010 07:53 response to Dr. Baldwin #5 "I skipped this response on purpose but decided to go back to it." The follwing is my reply,
If you want to get particular about the Europeans and using France in particular, when Mitterrand ran as a candidate for president he campaigned that “If I am elected, there would be no more executions.” In Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-64321480708351305352010-10-19T10:33:00.000-05:002010-10-19T10:33:35.504-05:00Reply to Sharp re: DeterrenceWith regard to the fear of LWOP vs. the DP, Sharp states that "Life is preferred over death. Death is feared more than life." It is obvious that he has not talked to anyone on death row (more on deterrence below).*
Sharp: Thirdly, Dr. Baldwin either misunderstands or distorts the findings of the ploice chiefs and criminologists.
Sharp: Dr. Baldwin, please produce your police chief polling on Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-91397954686437029072010-10-18T15:08:00.000-05:002010-10-18T15:08:49.804-05:00Sharp replies to Baldwin Re: Deterrence & Just ResponseSharp reply to Dr. Baldwin #4 RE: Deterrence
"Baldwin seems to believe that deterrence is the major claim of death penalty proponents. From my experience, which is extensive, this is completely untrue. The major claim is that the death penalty is a just and appropriate sanction for the crimes committed, the same foundation for all criminal sanctions."
Baldwin Response: The issue of deterrence Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-63050866847721304452010-10-18T10:45:00.002-05:002010-10-18T10:45:41.789-05:00Did Texas execute an innocent man?Death by FireOn air and online October 19, 2010 at 9:00pm (check local listings)
FRONTLINE INVESTIGATES WHETHER THE STATE OF TEXAS
EXECUTED AN INNOCENT MAN
FRONTLINE Season Premiere
Death by Fire
Tuesday, October 19, 2010, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS
www.pbs.org/frontline/death-by-fire
www.facebook.com/frontlinepbs
Twitter: @frontlinepbs
Courtesy of shall@standdown.orgRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-30721585218560300892010-10-06T10:18:00.000-05:002010-10-06T10:18:44.061-05:00Why don't people in Texas talk about the death penalty?Wed, Oct 06, 2010
By Rick Halperin
The death penalty in America should be a topic of constant discussion in public forums and political conversation. The reality is that, in Texas - the state that has executed more people than any other single jurisdiction in the free world since 1976 - the silence about the death penalty is deafening.
With 3,200 people in more than 30 states waiting to be Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-34672871334773838492010-09-23T13:37:00.000-05:002010-09-23T13:37:22.092-05:00Justice, delayed and deniedLeonard Pitts Jr.
Thursday, 09.23.
It was once a staple plot of TV westerns: There's been a vicious killing. Everybody knows who did it -- or thinks they know -- and the posse wants to string the varmint up. No need for the bother of a trial. The crime was outrageous, people are furious. So get the rope, find a tree.
Watching, you'd be glad we've moved beyond frontier justice, glad the Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-73762929361905981922010-09-23T12:44:00.002-05:002010-09-23T12:44:44.545-05:00Texas court reverses conviction in dog scent caseBy JEFF CARLTON (AP)
DALLAS — A man convicted of murder after three bloodhounds allegedly matched his scent to the victim should be set free because the evidence against him was not legally sufficient, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Wednesday.
The court acquitted Richard Winfrey Sr., reversing his 2007 conviction in the murder of high school janitor Murray Burr in the small town of Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-41936604806513167002010-09-22T21:20:00.000-05:002010-09-22T21:20:31.343-05:00Federal prosecutors violate their duties in courtroom"Federal prosecutors are supposed to seek justice, not merely score convictions. But a USA TODAY investigation found that prosecutors repeatedly have violated that duty in courtrooms across the nation. The abuses have put innocent people in prison, set guilty people free and cost taxpayers millions of dollars in legal fees and sanctions."
Read the entire report at USA Today
http://usat.me/Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-21865581850107944352010-09-19T13:06:00.001-05:002010-09-19T13:21:21.667-05:00Reply to Death Penalty Advocate, Dudley Sharp: It is you that are “Dead Wrong”On this blob, August 16, I posted verbatim the article by Christian Prosl, Austrian Ambassador, entitled "Capital punishment and our common values: The European view" (The Hill, 08/16/10). Mr. Prosl takes exception to the death penalty in a very erudite article. In response via a "comment," on this site, a blogger and death penalty advocate, Dudley Sharp, posted the following reply, which I Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-2982059274986668712010-09-07T10:57:00.001-05:002010-09-07T10:58:38.341-05:00Finding ways to reduce wrongful convictionsSunday, September 5, 2010 | HOUSTON CHRONICLE
By STATE SEN. RODNEY ELLIS and CORY SESSION
Timothy Cole was forced to suffer in prison for a crime he didn't commit. His pleas of innocence fell on deaf ears for 14 years, and he ultimately lost his life behind bars to an asthma attack before he could clear his name. Tim had no criminal record when he was arrested; there was no physical evidence Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-45221339264709060632010-08-31T20:34:00.000-05:002010-08-31T20:34:12.222-05:00SEXUAL ASSAULT IN ALABAMA PRISONS AND JAILS AMONG HIGHEST IN NATIONRead the article at Equal Justice Institue web site reporting on the U.S. Department of Justice findings. The stats for Alabama are startling but not surprising. One Alabama official says he does not believe there is a problem and has no plans to make any changes.
www.eji.orgRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-29427091753824596122010-08-30T10:00:00.001-05:002010-08-30T22:25:38.895-05:00Gov. Riley: Will you execute a mentally retarded man?August 30, 2010
The Honorable Gov. Bob Riley
State Capitol N 104
11 S. Union St. # 600
Montgomery, AL 36130-2751
Dear Gov. Riley,
I have pondered just what I might write to you that would garner your attention and concern regarding the upcoming execution of another Alabama inmate, Holly Wood. Having communicated with you preciously the many concerns that I and many others have about Alabama’Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-15644190068604318432010-08-22T08:50:00.000-05:002010-08-22T08:50:49.136-05:00“Let there be light”It is right there in the first paragraph of the Bible, just after “while a wind of God swept over the face of the waters” (thought to
be the Holy Spirit). God says, “Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good” (Gen 1:3-4). No different now
than then, the “light” is good. There are many references to the light in the Bible. “The LORD is my light and my salvation” Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-89889220567489304472010-08-18T08:59:00.000-05:002010-08-18T08:59:42.450-05:00Capital punishment and our common values: The European view [and mine]08/16/10 04:10 PM ET
By Christian Prosl
It is generally assumed the United States and the European Union share the same values. No important speech on both sides of the Atlantic can do without a reference to those common values such as democracy, adherence to the rule of law and human rights. Therefore, it is even more distressing that capital punishment continues to be imposed in the United Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-80938431790247879472010-08-13T20:34:00.000-05:002010-08-13T20:34:27.137-05:00Two death sentences but now freehttp://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/arbitrariness
After two convictions with awful lawyers, one a homophobe and the other an alcohol and drug abuser, man granted deal and returns to re-entry program in Alabama.Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-86568474840563515002010-08-13T15:18:00.000-05:002010-08-13T15:18:30.072-05:00Warden critical of death penaltyCONCORD – A former prison warden who carried out eight executions urged a New Hampshire commission Thursday to stay away from the practice, saying the memories of those he has put to death haunt him.
“It’s nothing but a premeditated, ceremonial killing, and we do it to appease politicians who are tough on crime,” Ron McAndrew said after his testifying at the Legislative Office Building. “The Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-58575695274371827452010-08-05T21:03:00.001-05:002010-08-05T21:20:53.787-05:00Pennsylvnia Addresses Juveniles Sentenced to Die in Prison: Will Alabama?This is a pertinent bill now pending in Pennsylvania legislature but with application to the state of Alabama. We must note that "The United States is the only country that sentences juveniles to life in prison without parole, and Pennsylvania has about 450 juvenile lifers, more than any state, according to studies on juvenile sentencing." The U.S. also stands alone as the only westernized Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-90903923904622528762010-08-04T08:59:00.000-05:002010-08-04T08:59:16.226-05:00Fair Sentencing Act passesReduces crack, powder cocaine discrepancies
By Wayne Rhodes, Editor, Faith in Action
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Faith leaders applauded the U.S. Congress’ approval this week of legislation to reduce the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses. The quantity disparity between crack and powder cocaine moves from 100 to 1 to 18 to 1.
The House of Representatives approved by voice Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-41142677755118255172010-08-04T08:04:00.000-05:002010-08-04T08:04:26.431-05:00North Carolina Racial Justice Act: UpdateNC Racial Justice Act: First Five Death Row Defendants
File Motions Citing Strong Evidence of Racial Bias
Durham, NC -- One year ago, the North Carolina General Assembly took the trailblazing step of passing the Racial Justice Act, a guarantee that no person would be put to death because of racial bias in our state’s justice system. This week, the law is finally being put to the test. Five deathRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-38588847708634108732010-07-29T10:16:00.001-05:002010-08-30T22:25:05.245-05:00Easy for Innocent to Get in Prison-Difficult to get Out(I have copied this verbatim as referenced below)
Pro Bono 2010: Innocence Beyond All Doubt
Posted by Victor Li
George Kendall, a litigation counsel at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, has a
saying: "It's really easy to put an innocent man in prison; it's almost
impossible to get him out."
If that's the case, then Kendall, in conjunction with attorneys from Hogan
Lovells, Holland & Knight, Skadden, Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-59324728878185023862010-07-26T18:52:00.001-05:002010-07-26T18:55:22.361-05:00A Reminder to Methodists: The UMC "rejects" the Death PenaltyAs I read a recent post from the Church and Soceity Team of the United Methodist Church, "United Methodist Social Principles Reject Death Penalty," I could not help but muse about what is and what ought to be.
"Effective governments must have power to enforce legislation. The United Methodist Church urges governments to reduce crime rates through programs that maintain the dignity and freedom of Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-47168051264128443202010-07-08T10:14:00.000-05:002010-07-08T10:14:25.712-05:00Texas DNA Lab under Investigationhttp://www.statesman.com/news/local/police-dna-lab-to-be-subject-of-external-7
91146.html
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/police-dna-lab-to-be-subject-of-external-7
91146.html?viewAsSinglePage=true
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Police DNA lab to be subject of external review
Move comes amid complaints from former employee.
By Tony Plohetski and Steven Kreytak | AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Austin's Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-33470977344413823822010-07-02T17:55:00.001-05:002010-07-02T17:57:30.877-05:00Death penalty articleshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrea-lyon/fighting-the-death-penalt_b_630975.hThis e-mail contains blog posts from:
Huffington Post - Lyon: Fighting the Death Penalty: Hope for Change
Open Salon - Summers: Swimming against the Death Penalty
- - - - -
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrea-lyon/fighting-the-death-penalt_b_630975.h
tml
June 30, 2010 | 01:50 PM
Fighting the Death Penalty: Hope Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-34136849679719916122010-06-30T09:35:00.000-05:002010-06-30T09:35:21.362-05:00Texas Democrats propose new platform regarding death penaltyJune 30, 2010
The Texas Democrat party is proposing new guidelines for the state's death penalty system in their party platform, including DNA testing on any evidence that might prove exculpatory, giving Governor authority to give clemency without involving the parole board, and others.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/editorials/stories/DN-d
From standdown.org (Texas)Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-70552552201570381622010-06-28T20:16:00.004-05:002010-06-29T07:35:40.883-05:00Alabama AG Troy King blinks in battle over death penaltyAlabama AG Troy King takes death penalty off the table in order to get Gabe Watson back to Alabama for prosecution for his alleged involvement in his wife's death while scuba diving in Australia. He is currently serving an 18 month sentence there. King has never seen a death penalty he did not like and one must assume it is gnawing at his soul not to get this one on the gurney.
Australia Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-85992077641285318702010-06-08T20:00:00.000-05:002010-06-08T20:00:21.028-05:00Dear Gov. Riley: Stop the Killing in the Name of "Justice"From the desk of Robert Baldwin, M.D., M.A.
June 8, 2010
Dear Gov. Riley,
Alabama stands out as the worst state in its implementation of the death penalty. Whether you agree with the death penalty in principle or not, the manner in which it is applied is egregious, shameful, and outside of the teaching of virtually every Christian denomination in our country, indeed our state. John Forest Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-10995972394604474672010-06-02T13:30:00.001-05:002010-06-02T13:36:11.042-05:00No, Racism Has Not Gone Away!http://www.eji.org/eji/node/397
June 1, 2010
Racial Discrimination in Jury Selection Remains Widespread, According to EJI Study Released Today. Nearly 135 years after Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to eliminate racial discrimination in jury selection, people of color continue to be excluded from jury service because of their race, especially in serious criminal trials and death Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-5753614557068497382010-05-03T14:21:00.001-05:002010-05-04T10:30:57.789-05:00AG’s office not open to the “whole truth"*This is a response to a recent article appearing in the Times Dailey
I enjoyed Dennis Sherer’s recent article in Florence Alabama’s Times Dailey, Death penalty cases take longer to complete as debate continues, April 10, 2010, citing Colbert County District Attorney Bryce Graham Jr. and Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly and their strong support of the death penalty. The formerRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-82182130672784340482010-04-24T14:48:00.001-05:002010-04-24T14:53:29.776-05:00Death Penalty Focus Awards Dinner-A Personal PerspectiveRobbie Baldwin
Last week I was fortunate to be able to attend the Annual Awards Dinner put on by Death Penalty Focus in Los Angeles, California. It was quite an experience to hear some giants in the realm of human rights speak and receive their awards. I reflected on some earlier times in my life. It seems that just when you think you have it all right or begin to think you have accomplished Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-73785835646480878602010-04-19T16:05:00.000-05:002010-04-19T16:05:49.571-05:00Death penalty: Neither just or moral04/17/2010
Tribune Editorial
More than a decade has passed since the state of Utah executed a convicted
murderer. Now, as the state prepares to once again apply the death penalty, is a good time for Utahns and their elected leaders to consider abandoning this archaic and deeply flawed form of punishment.
In the interim between the execution of Joseph Mitchell Parsons in 1999 and
the expected Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-16595355377725068552010-04-14T19:55:00.000-05:002010-04-14T19:55:19.854-05:00The Wider Impact of Hank Skinner’s CaseTuesday, April 13, 2010
by Dave Mann
When the U.S. Supreme Court halted the execution of Hank Skinner in late March, much of the media coverage focused on the particulars of Skinner’s case: The near-execution of a possibly innocent man halted by a rare last-minute reprieve.
Skinner was eating his last meal—at least what was supposed to have been his last meal—not far from the death chamber in Robert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8012065288737143371.post-63554976653794079052010-04-13T10:55:00.000-05:002010-04-13T10:55:27.102-05:00Perpetuating the death penalty isn't cost-effectiveApr. 13, 2010
Perpetuating the death penalty just isn't cost-effective
by Dan Peitzmeyer | Special for the Republic
In tight economic times, efforts must be taken to save money. Every cost study in the U.S. shows that the death penalty is more expensive than life in prison, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that opposes the death penalty. TheRobert Baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15262594014089426555noreply@blogger.com0