Supreme Court reinstates death penalty for California killer

[alp227]

Source: McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday reinstated the death penalty for convicted California murderer Scott Pinholster, in a fractured ruling that will make it difficult for other prisoners to win appeals in federal court.

Imprisoned on San Quentin's death row after being convicted in 1984, Pinholster has been arguing for several decades that his trial attorneys were fatally incompetent.

A federal judge and a federal appeals court agreed with the mentally distressed Southern California native, but a divided Supreme Court said that a federal law restricts what new evidence can be considered when hearing a challenge to state-run trials.

"Although state prisoners may sometimes submit new evidence in federal court, (the law) is designed to strongly discourage them from doing so," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the majority.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/04/2150384/supreme-court-reinstates-death.html

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Holster?

[ixion]

1. they keep on whittling away at the Rule of Law

so it doesn't matter, now, if someone is innocent once 'The System' has spoken. :puke:

[Liberal Veteran]

2. The system shall not be questioned! To do so is thoughtcrime!

Yeah, that's some fucked up thinking on Thomas.

It's a facepalm moment

[onehandle]

4. Cheer up. At this rate, soon there will be no 'Rule of Law.'

And then there will be no need for the Supreme Court.

[pam4water]

3. Depressed K&R

[Chef Eric]

5. What a civilized country we live in.

World's Top Executors in 2010, according to Amnesty:

1. China (2000+)
2. Iran (252)
3. North Korea (60)
4. Yemen (56)
5. USA (46)
6. Saudi Arabia (27)

[GReedDiamond]

13. Note that 5 out of 6...

...are basically tyrannical dictatorships...or is that 6 out of 6?

[defendandprotect]

6. Death Penalty is wrong -- and this isn't a verdict which will ultimately protect the innocent ....

remember when that used to be the main purpose of our system of justice -- ?

The right wing not only caused America great expense in reestablishing the death

penalty, but it wants all avenues blocked for appeals or retrials.

Get on with the killing!!

The right wing and its right wing SC justices should be an embarrassment to any

civilized society!

[Fool Count]

9. Right or wrong, death penalty is mostly irrelevant for the

purposes of this ruling. Someone serving a life sentence for a crime he didn't commit will not be allowed to bring in new
evidence to prove his innocence just the same. It may seem less outrageous to have a law forcing an innocent man to spend
the rest of his life in prison than to kill him, but neither case has anything to do with justice.

[defendandprotect]

10. Haven't they agreed he may be killed by the state? How is that irrelevant to death penalty?

Otherwise, think we're both saying the same things about the impact of this on innocent.

[Fool Count]

12. That he can be killed by the state (aka constitutionality of

the death penalty) is well established by SC before and independently of this case. Arguments against death penalty have nothing to do with the rules for
introducing additional evidence, which is at issue here. What is novel here is that it now appears to be legal to kill someone whose innocence is, in principle, fully
proven by that new evidence. It is also legal now to keep such person in prison for the remainder of his sentence, which could be for the rest of his life.

[bananas]

14. Yes, this applies to much more than the death penalty, it's about introducing additional evidence

Important point, thanks, I only skimmed the headline.

[defendandprotect]

15. Re-read my original post -- death penalty is relevant because they will kill him ...

additionally, I pointed out how this will effect and impact the innocent --

You're simply repeating what I said --

[IScreamSundays]

7. Yeah sure. That was just so "in your face, whacha gonna do about it"

Just like when the publicize the banker bonuses. We really have to realize that we are fighting something so huge, so pervasive, and so rotten to the core.

And I will say it again: Divide and Conquer is their strategy. As it has been since the beginning of time. They have spent a generation establishing their war chest...concerned citizens of this and concerned citizens of that. They infiltrate inboxes daily. They are organized, they are monied, they are ruthless. The are the ones that created the tea party, they own the media, they own congress, they even have infiltrated local government, they WILL NOT STOP.

Our only hope, And I MEAN THIS FROM MY SOUL: Is to find some common ground with those that we so vehemently disagree with. It is the only way.

Yeah, I hate those fuggin baggers more than anything. I was at the bank yesterday and saw an SUV with a bumper sticker that said: "Tea Party of ______. My first instinct was to key her car, or engage in a hostile conversation with her. But I didn't. Afterwards, I really had to take a look at why I hated this woman. She probably has kids that go to the same school, she probably bakes cookies for the class, she probably pays her taxes, she probably loves her family more than anything, asides from the politics, she is probably just like me. But we have had a wedge driven between us by people that have an agenda that necessitates pitting neighbor against neighbor. You see I truly believe that we are ALL liberals, it's just that they are conditioning us to hate one another.
There needs to be a dialog, I just don't know what that is gonna take. Yo uhave the MSM to deliver your daily hate and disinformation, and if ya couldn't catch the news they will check you in your inbox. People are tired, they are working their asses off. They are trying to keep their noses above the water. They are being exploited by those that could give a fuck.

I have personal experience with this. My sister lives far away, has for 15 years. She watches Fox News and listens to hate radio. And I gotta tell you this is the most liberal woman you could ever know, if you really knew her. But she literally got brainwashed. She has convinced herself that she is "NOT A PROGRESSIVE" and thinks Glenn Beck has it going on. She is so far away that I can't have much influence on her, and she is a very strong willed person. But if she was here, I could eventually show her the truth.

We have so many weapons that are used against us. Cable news, news papers, syndicated radio...I mean come on...these people are organized, calculating, and without conscious. They have been laying the foundation for years.

We MUST find a way to come together. There has to be a way to educate our country about the propaganda. WTF is it going to take.

[The Doctor.]

11. That is exactly it.

"Divide and Conquer"

Unfortunately, the tea-party/wingnut brigade has been conned into believing this is some kind of sports-match between 'right' and 'left'. No matter what we say, they will not listen.

We are in truly deep shit.

[rpannier]

8. Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion?

It should read, "Clarence Thomas copied from Scalia for the majority."