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Judge's Critics Not Arguing Right Facts

By Steve Hall

That's the title of an editorial in today's Galveston Daily News, signed by Heber Taylor.  LINKSince State District Judge Kevin Fine of Houston declared the death penalty unconstitutional, critics have pointed out that he:A. Is a Democrat.B. Is a recovering alcoholic.C. Is a former cocaine user.D. Has a lot of tattoos.They have not provided a coherent defense of the death penalty as it is administered in Texas.If you want to read some really brutal criticism of Texas? death penalty, forget about Judge Fine for a minute. Take a look at the justices on the U.S. Supreme Court, most of whom were appointed by conservative presidents. For the past decade, they?ve had a lot to say about Texas.The court threw out one conviction, not because it doubted the guilt of the convicted murderer, Thomas Miller-El, but because it found that, for decades, prosecutors in Dallas County ?had followed a specific policy of systematically excluding blacks from juries...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on March 09, 2010 (boomark / email).