But what about my client, Mr. Bush?

[tbyg52]

By DAVID R. DOW

Johnson had been represented at his trial by one of the most notoriously inept death penalty lawyers in history. The lawyer fell asleep in numerous trials, including Johnson's. He was eventually no longer permitted to represent capital murder defendants. Johnson's co-defendant pleaded guilty, and had long since been released from prison by the time Johnson's execution date rolled around.

I asked then-Gov. Bush to grant my client a 30-day reprieve, with the idea that he could thereby signal to the board his belief that Johnson's death sentence should be commuted to life. He denied my request, as he denied the other 56 requests that were made of him by lawyers representing death row inmates. Some of these inmates were mentally retarded. Some were juveniles when they committed their crimes. Gov. Bush always gave the same explanation: that the inmates had had full access to the legal system.

My client, Carl Johnson, committed the worst crime that can be committed against another human being: He killed someone. And Lewis Libby committed the crime that is most injurious to our criminal justice system: He lied.

Lewis Libby had something in common with the other people George Bush has pardoned, and with people President Clinton pardoned as well: He is rich and powerful, and he has rich and powerful connections.

More:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/4950575.html

[TomInTib]

1. The first sentence of the article made me think back a few years...

"George W. Bush became governor of Texas in 1994, when he upset the popular incumbent, Ann Richards."

The first time that exit polls got it completely backwards in a statewide election was * vs Richards.

Kinda makes you wonder, don't it?

knr, thanks for the catch.

[tbyg52]

2. The first time that exit polls got it completely backwards in a statewide election was * vs Richards

Wow. I did not know that. Rove's practice run, eh? Do you happen to have a link?

[TomInTib]

5. No link, I was there at the time.

People were incredulous.

I remember the guy who ran the polling company (which was put out of business after the '04 debacle) doing interviews and saying that they had gone over everything and just could not figure out how they had got it so completely wrong.

Every election that the little bastard has "won" has defied the predictions of the exit polls.

The only three times they ever got it "wrong" in a statewide or national election.

Remember when three Texas House races were decided by 18,181 vote difference in each of three Texas districts
and the 'pubs were going around saying everyone should just cool it because it was, after all, mathematically possible?

Yeah, right.

[tbyg52]

3. BTW, the chron has online comments

and they could use some un-freeping, if you have time.

[tbyg52]

4. Speaking of the comments, I like this one:

From UnorthodoxRepublican

I don't guess it would be correct to copy the whole thing, but it ends with:

"But hey, pretending to be a christian wins elections."