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Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Georgia executes 72-year-old inmate for 1979 killing during robbery
37 years to have the death penalty carried out? After all that time he probably forgot why he was in jail.
This undated photo provided by the Georgia Department of Corrections shows Brandon Astor Jones (Georgia Department of Corrections via AP)
JACKSON, Ga. – Georgia executed a 72-year-old man, its oldest death row inmate, early Wednesday for the killing of a convenience store manager during a robbery decades ago.
Brandon Astor Jones was pronounced dead at 12:46 a.m. Wednesday after an injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital at the state prison in Jackson. He was convicted in the 1979 shooting death of suburban Atlanta store manager Roger Tackett.
Jones declined to make a final statement in front of witnesses but agreed to have a prayer read.
Georgia doesn't announce exactly when lethal injections begin, and the injection isn't visible to observers. But the warden left the execution chamber at 12:30 a.m., and records from past executions show the lethal drug generally begins to flow within a minute or two of the warden's departure.
Jones was initially still with his eyes closed and then swallowed a couple of times and moved his head slightly. He opened his eyes at 12:36 a.m. and turned his head to his left, appearing to look toward a clock hanging on the wall. Then he closed his eyes again and took a few deep breaths before falling still.
The execution had initially been set for 7 p.m. and was delayed while the U.S. Supreme Court considered appeals from Jones' attorneys. They asked the justices to block the execution for either of two reasons: because Jones was challenging Georgia's lethal injection secrecy law or because he said his death sentence was disproportionate to his crime.
Around 11 p.m. Tuesday, the court denied the requests for a stay.
The challenge to Georgia's strict execution secrecy law sharply divided the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday. The law classifies the identifying information of any person or entity who participates in an execution as a "confidential state secret."
Jones' lawyers argued the state's execution method carries "a substantial risk of significant harm," violating his constitutional right against cruel and unusual punishment. But because of the secrecy law, they argued, they don't have enough information to make that claim, which violates his constitutional right to due process.
Three-judge panels of the 11th Circuit had already rejected similar arguments, setting a binding precedent. But because of divided opinions expressed by judges on those panels, Jones' lawyers asked the full 11-judge court to consider their arguments. The court on Tuesday voted 6-5 to deny that review, but several judges offered strongly worded dissenting opinions.
"Today Brandon Jones will be executed, possibly in violation of the Constitution. He may also be cruelly and unusually punished in the process. But if he is, we will not know until it's too late -- if ever," wrote Circuit Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum, adding that she believes the secrecy law denies Georgia death row inmates of their due process rights and may deprive them of their right to access to the courts.
According to evidence at his trial, Jones and another man, Van Roosevelt Solomon, were arrested at a Cobb County store by a policeman who had driven a stranded motorist there to use a pay phone about 1:45 a.m. on June 17, 1979. The officer knew the store usually closed at midnight and was suspicious when he saw a car out front with the driver's door open and lights still on in the store.
The officer saw Jones inside the store, prosecutors have said. He entered and drew his weapon after hearing four shots. He found Jones and Solomon just inside a storeroom door and took them into custody. Tackett's body was found inside the storeroom.
Tests showed each man had recently fired a gun or handled a recently fired gun, prosecutors said. The cash drawer had been removed and was found wrapped in a plastic bag.
Jones was convicted in October 1979 and sentenced to death. A federal judge in 1989 ordered a new sentencing hearing because jurors had improperly been allowed to bring a Bible into the deliberation room. He was resentenced to death in 1997.
Solomon, who was also convicted and sentenced to death, was executed in Georgia's electric chair in February 1985.
IOWA DEMOCRATIC PARTY: NO RECOUNT
Maybe they should rethink voter ID.
In the end, it came down to a coin toss in 6 districts.
Anyone surprised Clinton won all six?
The biggest story coming out of Iowa was the virtual tie between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Throughout the night, Sanders and Clinton were separated by only a few votes. It was not until this morning that Clinton was officially declared the winner. Based on how close the race was, many thought a recount would be taking place. The Iowa Dems have now announced that no recount will happen and Hillary Clinton will remain the winner in Iowa. Bernie Sanders is not happy about the decision to not have a recount.
During the course of the evening, it was reported that 90 precincts had lost their votes. Bernie Sanders alleged that the 90 caucus sites where the votes were lost were not staffed properly and that these missing votes could have been enough to sway the caucus in his favor. Based on how the democrats run their caucus, a recount is not possible even if they wanted to have one.
(Missing votes, missing emails...what difference does it make)
Many people would think that both the Democrats and Republicans would have similar voting procedures in the caucus. The Republicans wrote on paper who they wanted to vote for and those votes were then counted. The Democrats did not use paper balloting. They didn’t even have to write the name of their candidate down on anything. The people who wanted Sanders to win grouped together on one side of the room while the Clinton supporters grouped on another side of the room. Precinct chairs would then count how many people were in each group and whoever had the most people, won.
(Surely, nothing could go wrong using this method)
Since the Iowa Caucus was not an official election like the one for President, each party can set their own rules for the process. No paper trail exists to allow a recount based on the method that the Democrats used last night. With only tenths of a percentage point separating Sanders and Clinton, the vote total accuracy could have swayed the election in the favor of Clinton. The votes that were lost in the 90 precincts were estimated to have been up to five percent of the total votes in Iowa.
(Most of them were probably for Sanders. Strange how this stuff happens. Then we wonder why there is so much voter fraud in their party in the general election)
Bernie Sanders was said to not have much of a chance in Iowa against Clinton. At one point, Sanders was down by over 20 percent in the Iowa polls. Many political experts are saying that even though Sanders lost the caucus, he won by being able to essentially tie Clinton and split the Democrat delegates.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Did Hillary Lie About the Origins of Her 'Speed Limit' Story?
On a tip from Ed Kilbane
Video 215
Hillary Clinton is getting called out on her latest attempt to explain away the email scandal that's been hanging over her campaign.
The questionable comment happened today during an interview with Iowa TV station WHO-DM.
She related an illustrative anecdote that she said she heard from a man in Des Moines yesterday having to do with speed limits.
The story was unremarkable in itself, except for the fact that she told it almost three weeks ago when speaking at a Des Moines Register event.
Clinton: "You know it’d be like somebody in the Department of Transportation setting speed limits that had cameras where cars were going down a road, and pictures of license plates were being taken and let’s say the speed limit was 35. And then retroactively the police say that speed limit should’ve been 25, so let’s go back and look at anybody who drove down that road and exceeded 25."
Ed Henry said: "Gives you an idea of one of the reasons why this whole question of trust, being honest has dogged her throughout the campaign."
Apparently Killary is still suffering from BSFS.
(Bosnian Sniper Fire Syndrome)
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