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ACTION ALERT: Supreme Court rejects Troy Davis’ appeal; urgent action needed to save Troy’s life
UPDATE: Check below for info on the Oct 23 rally in NYC. After granting Troy Anthony Davis a stay of execution on September 23 in order to decide whether or not to consider his case, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his appeal last Tuesday. Georgia has scheduled Davis’ execution for 7pm on October 27, 2008…
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Update: U.S. Supreme Court stays the execution of Troy Anthony Davis
After scanning the news over and over again all day hoping for good news but fearing it wouldn’t come, late this afternoon I was relieved to read that the U.S. Supreme Court had granted Troy Anthony Davis a stay of execution. The stay came only hours before he was scheduled to be killed by the…
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ACTION ALERT: Amnesty International’s call to support Troy Davis
As I wrote last week, Troy Davis was denied clemency last week by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole and is scheduled to be executed on September 23, next Tuesday, despite the tremendous amount of doubt that surrounds his conviction. Besides the Board of Pardons and Parole, the only entity that can stop the…
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Update: Troy Davis denied clemency, faces execution on Sept 23
UPDATE: I am shocked, angered, disgusted and saddened to say that the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole has denied Troy Davis clemency or commutation of his death sentence. (see here and here for articles). This, despite the fact that there was no physical evidence implicating him and seven of the nine witnesses who testified…
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The execution of Jose Ernesto Medellin: another American middle finger raised at international law
Recently I decided to read the work of Noam Chomsky for the first time, beginning with Hegemony or Survival. I’m a few chapters in now, and one of the points that Chomsky makes is that the United States continues to show blatant disregard and even contempt for international law and institutions such as the United…
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After 20 years’ fight, expanded domestic violence law in NY state
Twenty years ago, Assemblywoman Helene E. Weinstein of Brooklyn introduced legislation that would expand protections for victims of domestic and intimate partner violence in New York state. After reintroducing similar legislation every year since, the Fair Access bill has finally passed in the state legislature and will soon be signed into law by Governor David…
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Convictions overturned for 2 of the Newark 4
Two of the four young Black lesbians who were convicted after defending themselves from a homophobic attack in 2007 have had their convictions overturned. From the New York Times article: An appeals court on Thursday overturned the convictions of two women accused in the beating and stabbing of a man who they said made unwanted…
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Examining the justice that we seek
Thanks to Margarita for helping me talk and think and rethink through these issues today. Like the other people I know with politics similar to mine, I was angry when I heard about the verdict in the Sean Bell case this morning. And I’m still angry, for sure. I still feel like justice has been…
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no justice. none.
Reactions outside of the courthouse. Brendan McDermid/Reuters The cops who murdered Sean Bell have been acquitted of all charges. I would say that it’s unbelievable, but it’s not. It’s all too believable, but no less shocking and appalling. There may be civil, federal or departmental charges filed against the cops, and those cases may wind…
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Sanesha Stewart, Lawrence King, and why hate crimes legislation won’t help
I’ve been out of town and subsequently out of touch for a while now, visiting El Paso with my partner to meet her incomprehensibly adorable two-week-old nephew. But in the midst of the happiness that babies and family and vacation bring, two pieces of tragic news have weighed heavily on my mind. Both of them…