Numbers
Here are some numbers and factoids to consider (the numbers are the most current I could locate):
11 out of 16
5
14
4
April 1961
11 of the 16 court-martial convictions that resulted in a sentence of death in the last 30 years were overturned on appeal.
There are currently five people on the military's Death Row, at Fort Leavenworth, KS.
There are 14 offenses among the Uniform Code of Military Justice's punitive articles that carry the death penalty.
There are four additional offenses under the UCMJ that can result in a death sentence if the violation occurs during time of war.
April of 1961 was the last time the military carried out an execution.
All of these numbers and factoids are subject to change, when the trial of Major Nidal Malik Hasan begins this coming Tuesday. He does not deny that he murdered 13 soldiers and wounded more than 30 others back in 2009. That number of 11 out of 16 above is one reason that it has taken this long to get the court-martial to the starting line.
Another is that Hasan himself has requested numerous delays. Now he's representing himself and that might be a reason for a higher court to overturn a death sentence, assuming he's found guilty and sentenced to death. Just in case you were curious, the military currently only uses one method for executions, lethal injection.
Now Hasan has released more of his writings, and in one of them he renounces his U.S. citizenship as well as his "oath as a soldier." Why the media is making a big deal about this is beyond my comprehension. Under federal law, you must be outside of the U.S. to formally renounce your citizenship. The courts have ruled over and over that a renunciation that is done in the U.S. is "ineffective."
But I'd be willing to allow an exception in this case. Renouncing one's citizenship means that you give up every single right you have as a U.S. citizen. It doesn't absolve you of legal, military or financial commitments you made while you were a citizen. That's fine. Accept his renunciation. Let him die without nationality.
* * *
The parents of Trayvon Martin met with Justice Department prosecutors and FBI agents this past week. I'm sure they will continue to investigate but I can't see any way to successfully prosecute George Zimmerman under federal law for any violation of Martin's civil rights.
I don't disagree with the sentiment that depriving someone of their life is clearly a civil rights violation; but there isn't any federal statute under which he could be prosecuted for this. Even if a jury were to find him guilty of a charge that would be specious to begin with, it is almost a certainty that any confession would be overturned on appeal.
To properly charge George Zimmerman with a crime under federal civil rights law, they would have to prove that there was racial animus involved. The original FBI investigation investigated dozens of witnesses and found no evidence of any such animus.
My fear is that after the hue and outcry that prompted the DOJ to go ahead and investigate died down, it will become even more heated, should they decide to prosecute. Or worse, prosecute and then lose. Or have a conviction overturned on appeal.
There are people who will not rest until George Zimmerman is behind bars. Is our system of justice completely fair? No. Are mistakes made? Yes. But better 100 guilty men go free than one innocent man hang is at the base of everything sacred about our system. Like anyone else, George Zimmerman walked into that courtroom with the presumption of innocence. He wasn't found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. That's where it should end. Rather than focusing on trying to put a man who was already acquitted of a crime in jail, all this energy should be focused on addressing the inequities in our society.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
Did someone from the office of an L.A. City Councilmember really tell a constituent that the city stopped complete repair of sidewalks in 2009 (yes, back in 2012 and the particular stretch of sidewalk that was so badly damaged you can crawl under it still hasn't been fixed)?
What went through the mind of an Orange County sheriff's deputy when he pepper-sprayed a teen's pizza without the teen noticing?
How awesome is it that the Dodgers won their 13th straight road game today, setting a franchise record?
Who will be the first to accuse Leah Rehmini of leaving Scientology in order to hype the memoir she is writing (the Church of Scientology)?
Is "Jayne Mansfield's Car" a movie title that you would rush out to see without knowing anything about the film (nope)?
This Date in History:
On this date in the year 8, Tiberius defeats Dalmatae on the river Bathinus.
On this date in 1492, Christopher Columbus sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain.
On this date in 1678, Robert LaSalle builds the Le Griffon, first known ship built on the Great Lakes.
On this date in 1852, Harvard University defeats Yale University in a boat race. This is the first American intercollegiate athletic event (athletes from both teams were subjected to urine testing after the race but no one was disqualified....j/k).
On this date in 1900, the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is founded.
On this date in 1907, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis (who would later become Commissioner of Baseball) fined Standard Oil a then record $24.9 million for illegal rebating.
On this date in 1914, Germany declares war on France.
On this date in 1921, MLB Commisioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis confirms the lifetime ban of the eight "Black Sox."
On this date in 1936, Jesse Owens wins the gold medal at the Berlin Summer Olympics.
On this date in 1948, Alger Hiss is accused of being a communist and of spying for the Soviet Union.
On this date in 1958, the USS Nautilus travels beneath the Artic ice pack.
On this date in 1972, the U.S. Senate ratifies the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
On this date in 1977, Tandy announces the TRS-80.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Ernie Pyle
John T. Scopes
John C. Stennis
Clifford D. Simak
Dolores del Rio
Ernesto Geisel
Pete Newell
P.D. James
Marilyn Maxwell
Leon Uris
Marv Levy
Tony Bennett
Steven Berkoff
Lance Alworth
Martin Sheen
Beverly Lee
Martha Stewart
Syreeta Wright
John Landis
Jay North
John C. McGinley
Lisa Ann Walter
Isaiah Washington
Troy Glaus
Movie quotes today come from 1979's "Apocalypse Now" because today is the birthday of its star, Martin Sheen:
[while flying in a helicopter with Air Cavalry soldiers]
Chef: Why do all you guys sit on your helmets?
Soldier: So we don't get our balls blown off.
#2
Willard: [voice-over] I was going to the worst place in the world and I didn't even know it yet. Weeks away and hundreds of miles up a river that snaked through the war like a main circuit cable plugged straight into Kurtz. It was no accident that I got to be the caretaker of Colonel Walter E. Kurtz's memory any more than being back in Saigon was an accident. There is no way to tell his story without telling my own. And if his story really is a confession, then so is mine.
#3
Willard:[voice-over] The machinist, the one they called Chef, was from New Orleans. He was wrapped too tight for Vietnam; probably wrapped too tight for New Orleans. Lance, on the forward .50s, was a famous surfer from the beaches south of LA. One look at him and you wouldn't believe he ever fired a weapon in his whole life. Clean... Mr. Clean... was from some South Bronx shithole and the light and space of Vietnam really put the zap on his head. Then there was Phillips, the Chief. It might have been my mission, but it sure as shit was the Chief's boat!
#4
Kilgore: Charlie don't surf!
11 out of 16
5
14
4
April 1961
11 of the 16 court-martial convictions that resulted in a sentence of death in the last 30 years were overturned on appeal.
There are currently five people on the military's Death Row, at Fort Leavenworth, KS.
There are 14 offenses among the Uniform Code of Military Justice's punitive articles that carry the death penalty.
There are four additional offenses under the UCMJ that can result in a death sentence if the violation occurs during time of war.
April of 1961 was the last time the military carried out an execution.
All of these numbers and factoids are subject to change, when the trial of Major Nidal Malik Hasan begins this coming Tuesday. He does not deny that he murdered 13 soldiers and wounded more than 30 others back in 2009. That number of 11 out of 16 above is one reason that it has taken this long to get the court-martial to the starting line.
Another is that Hasan himself has requested numerous delays. Now he's representing himself and that might be a reason for a higher court to overturn a death sentence, assuming he's found guilty and sentenced to death. Just in case you were curious, the military currently only uses one method for executions, lethal injection.
Now Hasan has released more of his writings, and in one of them he renounces his U.S. citizenship as well as his "oath as a soldier." Why the media is making a big deal about this is beyond my comprehension. Under federal law, you must be outside of the U.S. to formally renounce your citizenship. The courts have ruled over and over that a renunciation that is done in the U.S. is "ineffective."
But I'd be willing to allow an exception in this case. Renouncing one's citizenship means that you give up every single right you have as a U.S. citizen. It doesn't absolve you of legal, military or financial commitments you made while you were a citizen. That's fine. Accept his renunciation. Let him die without nationality.
* * *
The parents of Trayvon Martin met with Justice Department prosecutors and FBI agents this past week. I'm sure they will continue to investigate but I can't see any way to successfully prosecute George Zimmerman under federal law for any violation of Martin's civil rights.
I don't disagree with the sentiment that depriving someone of their life is clearly a civil rights violation; but there isn't any federal statute under which he could be prosecuted for this. Even if a jury were to find him guilty of a charge that would be specious to begin with, it is almost a certainty that any confession would be overturned on appeal.
To properly charge George Zimmerman with a crime under federal civil rights law, they would have to prove that there was racial animus involved. The original FBI investigation investigated dozens of witnesses and found no evidence of any such animus.
My fear is that after the hue and outcry that prompted the DOJ to go ahead and investigate died down, it will become even more heated, should they decide to prosecute. Or worse, prosecute and then lose. Or have a conviction overturned on appeal.
There are people who will not rest until George Zimmerman is behind bars. Is our system of justice completely fair? No. Are mistakes made? Yes. But better 100 guilty men go free than one innocent man hang is at the base of everything sacred about our system. Like anyone else, George Zimmerman walked into that courtroom with the presumption of innocence. He wasn't found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. That's where it should end. Rather than focusing on trying to put a man who was already acquitted of a crime in jail, all this energy should be focused on addressing the inequities in our society.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
Did someone from the office of an L.A. City Councilmember really tell a constituent that the city stopped complete repair of sidewalks in 2009 (yes, back in 2012 and the particular stretch of sidewalk that was so badly damaged you can crawl under it still hasn't been fixed)?
What went through the mind of an Orange County sheriff's deputy when he pepper-sprayed a teen's pizza without the teen noticing?
How awesome is it that the Dodgers won their 13th straight road game today, setting a franchise record?
Who will be the first to accuse Leah Rehmini of leaving Scientology in order to hype the memoir she is writing (the Church of Scientology)?
Is "Jayne Mansfield's Car" a movie title that you would rush out to see without knowing anything about the film (nope)?
This Date in History:
On this date in the year 8, Tiberius defeats Dalmatae on the river Bathinus.
On this date in 1492, Christopher Columbus sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain.
On this date in 1678, Robert LaSalle builds the Le Griffon, first known ship built on the Great Lakes.
On this date in 1852, Harvard University defeats Yale University in a boat race. This is the first American intercollegiate athletic event (athletes from both teams were subjected to urine testing after the race but no one was disqualified....j/k).
On this date in 1900, the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is founded.
On this date in 1907, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis (who would later become Commissioner of Baseball) fined Standard Oil a then record $24.9 million for illegal rebating.
On this date in 1914, Germany declares war on France.
On this date in 1921, MLB Commisioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis confirms the lifetime ban of the eight "Black Sox."
On this date in 1936, Jesse Owens wins the gold medal at the Berlin Summer Olympics.
On this date in 1948, Alger Hiss is accused of being a communist and of spying for the Soviet Union.
On this date in 1958, the USS Nautilus travels beneath the Artic ice pack.
On this date in 1972, the U.S. Senate ratifies the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
On this date in 1977, Tandy announces the TRS-80.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Ernie Pyle
John T. Scopes
John C. Stennis
Clifford D. Simak
Dolores del Rio
Ernesto Geisel
Pete Newell
P.D. James
Marilyn Maxwell
Leon Uris
Marv Levy
Tony Bennett
Steven Berkoff
Lance Alworth
Martin Sheen
Beverly Lee
Martha Stewart
Syreeta Wright
John Landis
Jay North
John C. McGinley
Lisa Ann Walter
Isaiah Washington
Troy Glaus
Movie quotes today come from 1979's "Apocalypse Now" because today is the birthday of its star, Martin Sheen:
[while flying in a helicopter with Air Cavalry soldiers]
Chef: Why do all you guys sit on your helmets?
Soldier: So we don't get our balls blown off.
#2
Willard: [voice-over] I was going to the worst place in the world and I didn't even know it yet. Weeks away and hundreds of miles up a river that snaked through the war like a main circuit cable plugged straight into Kurtz. It was no accident that I got to be the caretaker of Colonel Walter E. Kurtz's memory any more than being back in Saigon was an accident. There is no way to tell his story without telling my own. And if his story really is a confession, then so is mine.
#3
Willard:[voice-over] The machinist, the one they called Chef, was from New Orleans. He was wrapped too tight for Vietnam; probably wrapped too tight for New Orleans. Lance, on the forward .50s, was a famous surfer from the beaches south of LA. One look at him and you wouldn't believe he ever fired a weapon in his whole life. Clean... Mr. Clean... was from some South Bronx shithole and the light and space of Vietnam really put the zap on his head. Then there was Phillips, the Chief. It might have been my mission, but it sure as shit was the Chief's boat!
#4
Kilgore: Charlie don't surf!
posted by me at 9:54 PM
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