Monday, June 27, 2011

Haunting Rick Perry, a poop too far, and other stories

Here are a few odds and ends Grits would blog about in more detail if I had more time.

'The first innocent man'
Robert Wilonsky at UnFair Park offers "A belated farewell to The Thin Blue Line's Randall Dale Adams, "The first innocent man." Wilonsky doesn't mean that Adams was the first innocent man convicted in Texas, by any means, but that "he's the beginning of the modern day parade of exonerees -- the way they're treated, thought of and talked about upon release." Relatedly, I'd neglected to mention that Gov. Perry signed legislation to allow Anthony Graves to be compensated, along with other non-habeas cases where prosecutors agree a false conviction has occurred. More on Adams: From Cary Clack at the SA Expresss-News.

Haunting Rick Perry
Ta-Nehisi Coates argues in the New York Times that a Rick Perry presidential campaign would be haunted by Todd Willingham's ghost. My feeling: Perry believes it will help him in a Republican primary, which is all he's concerned with winning. He probably can't beat Obama straight up without some type of extraordinary 2010-style momentum beyond his control, so Perry's most realistic hope for becoming President lies with focusing on winning the GOP primary, then be the one who happens to be there when Obama loses, which given the state of the economy and perennial Democratic ineptitude, isn't a bad strategy.

Jail doctor's contract: Minimize hospital transports of seriously ill inmates
In Wichita Falls, the Times Record News describes litigation by the family of a deceased Wichita County Jail inmates who was allegedly denied access to medical attention. The suit alleges that minimizing access to health services was a contractual obligation for the jail doctor. Dr. Daniel "Bolin's 'cost-saving' and 'low price' contract, the suit claims, specifically instructed him to try to minimize transport of people in custody who suffer from serious medical conditions unless or until a patient's condition was near-death," reported the Times Record News.

Mexico hopes military less corrupt than local cops
Soldiers are replacing allegedly corrupt municipal police in much Tamaulipas, Mexico's northeastern most state.

An American face on the argument for foreigners' rights
Here's an example showing why I wished Gov. Rick Perry and the Court of Criminal Appeals took Vienna Convention rights of foreigners a little more seriously in Texas' justice system. If for whatever reason I found myself stranded in a Mexican jail at some point, I don't want anyone to give Mexico any excuses not to afford me every right a US citizen has coming to them, which means doing the same for Mexicans.

A poop too far
Grits argued this week that using DNA technology to solve burglaries and other nonviolent crimes would put too great a strain on crime labs. Imagine if the technology were used to find out whose dog pooped in your yard!

Plug for CURE fan drive
Bob Ray Sanders at the Startlegram makes a plug for donations to Texas CURE to purchase fans for indigent Texas inmates

8 comments:

Hook Em Horns said...

Ta-Nehisi Coates argues in the New York Times that a Rick Perry presidential campaign would be haunted by Todd Willingham's ghost. GRITS feeling: Perry believes it will help him in a Republican primary, which is all he's concerned with winning. He probably can't beat Obama straight up without some type of extraordinary 2010-style momentum beyond his control, so Perry's most realistic hope for becoming President lies with focusing on winning the GOP primary, then be the one who happens to be there when Obama loses, which given the state of the economy and perennial Democratic ineptitude, isn't a bad strategy.

Agreed. In politics, timing is everything and Perry has a decent shot 'by coincidence.'

Anonymous said...

"...Gov. Perry signed legislation to allow Anthony Graves to be compensated, along with other non-habeas cases where prosecutors agree a false conviction has occurred."

Well that's worthless. I mean, do prosecutors ever admit their mistakes?

Anonymous said...

Geez, how anal car you get?!?

What’s happening is that an apartment owner is requiring that DNA samples be taken of the dogs of all the residents in the apartment complex. When dog poop is found a sample is sent to a lab for DNA analysis, and an attempt is made to match it to a resident dog. This is just so beyond the pale as to be laughable except that this sort of thing has just totally gotten out of hand in this country. Red light cameras, HOAs, and the list goes on. People have become such pansies.

Here’s a couple of quotes form Eric Mayer, director of franchise development with BioPet Vet Lab. This is the outfit that is doing the DNA testing.

“It's a huge problem with growing environmental impact,”

“ We want people to be responsible and not leave things behind. Down the drain means it's going into your lakes, rivers and streams,”

Geez, that people have really gotten so from the reality of the natural world that they can make statements like this is truly scary.

Anonymous said...

Personally, I’d go to the local pound/shelter and collect several samples and deposit them surreptitiously about the apartment complex. After having to pay for a couple of dozen DNA test that result in no matches it ought to chill the apartment management’s enthusiasm for such lameness.

Amy said...

I will be donating for a fan. My son was in San Diego, TX last summer and was fortunate enough to have the ability to buy one. However, there were many who didn't have them. If anyone can spare 20 bucks, this is an act of Christian charity that should not be overlooked.

Dustin said...

"I don't want anyone to give Mexico any excuses not to afford me every right a US citizen has coming to them, which means doing the same for Mexicans."

Is this realistic? Is Mexico really going to change your treatment in light of how the States treat a Mexican national? Does Mexico even care about how their nationals are treated? A lot of them die trying to leave the country, after all. By now, that broken state would have figured out a way to help them, if they truly were concerned beyond the meta political aspects.

No, I think Mexico will probably treat you moderately poorly no matter how Texas treats anyone. We are not governed by international law, but by our democratic process, which is not always in line with the wishes of Europe or Mexico's hopelessly corrupt government.

Anonymous said...

If Perry DOES get the GOP nod, it is up to every one of us to ensure the word is out there that Perry killed an innocent man. he is not presidential material, and isn't governor material to any of us, besides the buffoons he gives massive amounts of money to and the weak willed.

Anonymous said...

“It's a huge problem with growing environmental impact,”

Oh really? a huge environmental impact... Ever wonder what Compost is made from? It's shit that grows shit.