We have got to join the rest of the developed world and abolish the death penalty.

[Uncle Joe]

Link to tweet

DEKE PIERCE WAS wearing civilian clothes as he took to the lectern in a narrow press room inside the Texas Capitol in Austin last month, but it was still obvious that he was a cop. He stood with his feet wide and his arms slightly away from his body, a stance molded by years in a uniform encumbered by heavy gear. He was there to make an extraordinary announcement: He and 12 other members of law enforcement with more than 250 years of combined experience had filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of a Texas death row prisoner named Rodney Reed, slated for execution on November 20.

“We each care deeply about the criminal justice system and the rule of law. While that often means holding wrongdoers accountable, it is the equally important goal of the criminal justice system to avoid punishing the innocent,” Pierce told a group of reporters. “Not only would moving forward with Mr. Reed’s execution be cruel and immoral, it would also undermine the rule of law and the legitimacy of the very system we as law enforcement officers swore to uphold.”

Their brief argues that Reed’s conviction was tainted by common problems in law enforcement — forensic errors, “weak facts,” tunnel vision, and “community pressure that can distort an investigation.” The officers argue that in this case there is “uniquely compelling” evidence that Reed is innocent.

Pierce and his fellow officers join an increasing number of high-profile voices calling for a stay of execution and a thorough review of Reed’s case as a stream of new witnesses continue to come forward with revelations that cast doubt on Reed’s conviction; there is one who now says another suspect confessed to the crime that put Reed on death row. Reed’s lawyers, including his long-time attorney Bryce Benjet of the Innocence Project, have asked various courts to intervene, among them the U.S. Supreme Court. Those actions remain pending as the clock ticks down toward the execution date.

(snip)


https://theintercept.com/2019/11/08/rodney-reed-death-row-texas/

[JoeOtterbein]

1. K n R

[myohmy2]

2. as much...

...as I might like to see the death penalty for some heinous crimes, I agree, the death penalty must be abolished...

...better a guilty person should live than an innocent person be put to death...

...the surveillance state already has too much power...

[Uncle Joe]

5. I agree on all points myohmy.

[Quackers]

3. I'm gonna out myself and say I don't support abolishing the death penalty.

That doesn’t mean I want every case to end in death. But in my opinion, there are cases that warrant it. It would be hypocritical of me to say that I oppose the death penalty and then jump on the band wagon when that one case pops up where everyone says that guy should die. I have seen that happen even here. So I guess my stance would be, I support the death penalty in certain cases, when certain criteria is met and guilt is absolute.

[90-percent]

4. uh

can we keep it until it's used on trump and then abolish it?


-90% Jimmy