Undue process -Times Online Friends must sometimes agree to disagree. Britain forbids capital punishment; the United States supports it. But above all, good friends must honour their word. An Anglo-American agreement requires Britain to notify the US if it takes legal action against an American citizen, and for the US to do the same if a Briton is to stand trial in America. So the case of Linda Carty — who was born in St Kitts, which qualifies her as a British citizen — is especially galling. Carty now waits on death row in Texas. In a last attempt to avoid her becoming the first black British woman to be executed in more than a century, the British Government has now presented an amicus brief to the US Supreme Court urging it to reconsider the case. The above is a British article. After reading it check out the comments from Brits on America and Americans- not to favorable.
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A Readers Opinion This opinion was sent in by Shannon on the Alyssa Bustamente case: The case against Alyssa Bustamante is a very sad, as well as very controversial case. Many people think because she is only 15 she should not be tried as an adult. In some cases I would agree. In Alyssa’s case I strongly disagree; I don’t think the death penalty should be used even though I strongly believe that there are times it should be. I do howerver, believe she should be tried as an adult. After reading articles from several news sources such as AOL, CBS, and ABC news I believe she knew what she was doing and fully intended to commit murder against the innocent 9 year old girl. If there was no intent then there would not have been two graves dug prior to the murder. AOL news stated that on a day off of school she dug these graves, and then went on about her normal activities while she planned the murder. In several of these reports, Alyssa Bustamante put online under her hobbies that
International Death Penalty Abolition Day 1 March 2010 -- is International Death Penalty Abolition Day, a day that marks the occasion in 1847 when the state of Michigan became the first English-speaking territory in the world to abolish capital punishment. The death penalty is a violation of human rights, as stated in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 2008, there were 2,390 known executions in 25 countries. In December, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights adopted a resolution calling on African states to observe a moratorium on the death penalty. As laudable as an Africa-wide moratorium would be, it would have a small impact on the global number of executions. Five countries, none of which are in Africa, were responsible for 93% of executions in 2008.
Linda Carty Execution Imminent All that now stands between Carty, 50, and death by lethal injection is an appeal to the Supreme Court, a highly uncertain recourse as it only considers a handful of cases each year. The Fifth Circuit court in New Orleans conceded that Carty received an inadequate defence at her murder trial in 2002 but refused to reverse the jury's decision to impose the death penalty. Carty's lawyers said the court also refused to hear new evidence which they say casts serious doubt on her conviction. The 50 year-old was sentenced to death in 2002 for her part in the abduction and murder of a 25-year-old woman after a trial campaigners say was ''catastrophically flawed''
Woman On Death Row Asks For Mercy - Nashville News Story - WSMV Nashville NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The first woman on Tennessee's death row is asking the state Supreme Court for mercy because she says she suffered from "battered-wife syndrome." However, prosecutors said Gaile Owens prevented her own lawyers from making that argument at her trial. The state has asked the court to set a date for Owens' execution after she hired someone to kill her husband in 1986. Owens wants the sentence reduced to life in prison. In a response filed by the state Tuesday, prosecutors said Owens refused to undergo the mental evaluation her defense requested to prove a battered wife defense. She also refused to testify in either the guilt phase or the penalty phase. She did stop her attorneys from filing a battered woman argument at the original trial stating that she didn't want her sons to know that their father was an abuser. I guess she has changed her mind. Her son has a blog
Alyssa Bustamante- The 15 year old Missouri girl who killed a 9 year old neighbor girl for the feeling will be tried as an adult according to recent reports- Crime Scene KC To me- this seems like another way our criminal justice system is contradicting itself. In 2005, the Supreme Court abolished juvenile death sentences on the grounds of scientific findings that children under the age of 18 have undeveloped frontal lobes in their brain. This is the area that determines critical thinking and decision making. So if we cannot give Alyssa the death penalty for this reason how can she be tried as an adult? I know the case of Craig Price , a 15 year old boy who committed four murders and then bragged about them, resulted in some state laws that made it possible for juveniles to be charged as adults for serious crimes but isnt this a huge contradiction? I have been considering writing to Alyssa. However, considering her age I'm unsure she will be allowed to receive it. Also, wh
Md. woman who froze girls' bodies guilty of murder, abuse - washingtonpost.com This woman tortured and abused her foster children, three sisters, until she eventually killed two of them. She kept them in her deep freeze until the rmaining little girl finally jumped out of a second story window and was found by police wandering the streets. This really reminds me of Sylvia Marie Likens - another little girl who was tortured and killed by her foster mother. In that case little Sylvia was also tortured by the foster parents daughter and the neighbor kids. She finally died but she had a little sister who survived the terrible nightmare.The movie An American Crime was based on this story.
I wrote to Kelly Gissendaner on Georgia's death row yesterday. She is currently the only woman on Georgias death row. I have written to her before, many years ago and never received a reply. There is an interesting book about her case called "First We'll Kill my Husband" by Lyn Riddle. You can find in in the banner above for books on and by the women. She is on death row for the contract murder of her husband which she claims to have had nothing to do with. This is from her page on the CCADP : On November 20, 1998 I was shipped from the county jail to Metro State Prison in Atlanta, Georgia. When you are put into the prison system you are stripped of everything. Not just your clothes, though that's one of the first humiliations. Everything is taken from you. Your rights, your freedom, they'll even try to take your hope. You'll only have what the state gives you.
I received my letter from Tiffany Cole yesterday. She is actually very pretty. Her trial photos and mug shots do her no justice. I have no idea if she is guilty or not we have not discussed it. She spoke a lot about missing her family and how she has gotten closer to them since she has been in jail. She said that she gets lots of new mail from people she doesnt know. I dont have the heart to tell her that since she is new to death row that is to be expected but soon enough she will hear from no one.