11-03-08 Death Penalty Abolished in Illinois! Governor cites "Broken System"// Abolida la pena de muerte en Illinois! // 伊利诺伊州废除死刑！

Illinois Governor Bans Death Penalty, Commutes Death Sentences of 15


Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn "signed a historic ban on the death penalty in Illinois and commuted the sentences of 15 death row inmates to life without parole," The Chicago Tribune reports. Writes Quinn in his signing statement: "Since our experience has shown that there is no way to design a perfect death penalty system, free from the numerous flaws that can lead to wrongful convictions or discriminatory treatment, I have concluded that the proper course of action is to abolish it. With our broken system, we cannot ensure justice is achieved in every case."


Please sign the petition calling upon California Governor Jerry Brown to Impose a Moratorium on the Death Penalty in California: 
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-cooper-execution-end-death-penalty-in-caifornia/ 


LINKS:
[1] http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2011/03/quinn-signs-death-penalty-ban-commutes-15-death-row-sentences-to-life.html
[2] http://www.redeyechicago.com/news/chibrknews-quinn-expected-to-sign-death-penalty-ban-wednesday-20110308,0,1487281.story
[3] http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/09/us-illinois-deathpenalty-idUSTRE7285TR20110309
[4] http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110309/ap_on_re_us/us_death_penalty_illinois
[5] http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-quinn-death-penalty-0309-20110308,0,4841534.story
[6] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/08/illinois-death-penalty-ab_n_833250.html
[7] http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8002832
[8] http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/illinois-governor-pat-quinn-death-penalty-execution-sign-bill-20110308
[9] http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/03/09/quinn-expected-to-sign-death-penalty-bill/
[10] http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/quinn-death-penalty-117626733.html 

11-03-09 Bradley Manning in Quantico Brig // Bradley Manning en Quantico Brig // 布拉德利曼宁在匡蒂科布里格

Bradley Manning;        Julian Assange


Bradley Manning Now "Catatonic"; Obama ENOUGH!
By Ralph Lopez
March 09, 2011 "War Is A Crime" --  As Obama's crime of the destruction of Bradley Manning continues to unfold before our very eyes, Manning friend David House now tells us that over 8 months in isolation with movement and sleep restrictions placed on him have been having their intended effect.  House has told MSNBC that by the end of January Manning appeared "catatonic"  and that he had "severe problems communicating," with it having taken House nearly 45 minutes on a recent visit to engage in any meaningful way (video below.)  House said Manning's demeanor was as "if he had just woken up and didn't know what was going on around him."   Manning was "utterly exhausted physically and mentally...it was difficult to have any kind of social engagement."

Also, a full month after Congressman Dennis Kucinich formally requested a visit, the Army has stalled on the request.

Read the full story:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27647.htm
______
emptywheel
DOD Passes the Buck Rather than Let Kucinich Visit Bradley Manning
On February 4, Dennis Kucinich asked DOD to allow him to visit Bradley Manning so he could assess his conditions of confinement. On February 8, Robert Gates wrote Kucinich a short notetelling him we was referring his request to Secretary of the Army, John McHugh. In a letter dated February 24 - but apparently not received in Kucinich's office until March 1 - McHugh told Kucinich he was referring his request to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs.

In short, a full month after the date when a member of Congress requested a visit with Manning, DOD is still stalling on a real response with bureaucratic buck-passing.

Read the full story:
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2011/03/04/dod-passes-the-buck-rather-than-let-kucinich-to-visit-bradley-manning/  

11-03-09 US Supreme Court - Denial of access to judicial records // Corte Suprema de EE.UU. - Denegación de acceso a los expedientes judiciales // 美国最高法院- 获得司法记录拒绝

 

Latest Judgepedia contribution:

Supreme Court of the United States

Denial of due process notice and service and public access to judicial records, to inspect and to copy

The right for Due Process notice and service of judicial decisions is well established in US law as a fundamental Civil Right. Likewise, the right for notice and service of judicial decisions is part of the Human Right for Fair Hearing.

The common law right of public access to judicial records, to inspect and to copy, was re-affirmed by the Supreme Court in Nixon v. Warner Communications, Inc., 435 U.S. 589 (1978), as inherent to the First, Sixth, and Fifth/Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.

In recent years, computerized case management and public access systems have been implemented in the Supreme Court. There is no doubt that such systems could have enhanced the validity, integrity, and transparency of judicial records. However, in parallel to the implementation of such systems, it has been documented that individuals received only notice of judicial decisions in petitions and application, but no service of any judicial records of the decisions themselves. In addition, repeated attempts failed to discover the corresponding judicial records in the paper court files of the Supreme Court failed, to the degree that access to the paper court files was permitted. Requests to access the corresponding electronic judicial records of the Supreme Court were uniformly denied. ^[11]

Therefore, in parallel to the implementation of computerized case management and public access system in the Supreme Court, conditions have been created, where no access is permitted to judicial records to both parties and the public at large.

Reports of the United Nations Drug Control and Crime Prevention Center, pertaining to strengthening of judicial integrity against corruption:

• Call for the implementation of electronic system to enhance public access to judicial records, ^[12]and
• List missing judicial records as an indicator of judicial corruption. ^[13]

The lack of transparency and the absence of comprehensive and regularly updated databases further worsen the effects of corruption in the judiciary. Such situations easily lend themselves to inconsistencies in the application of the law and make it much more difficult to identify patterns, trends or individual cases in which incorrect or anomalous results suggest the possibility of corruption.

...

Indicators of corruption, as perceived by the public, include: ... lack of public access to records of court proceedings; disappearance of files...

References

1. ↑ Request for Impeachment of US Supreme Court Clerk WILLIAM SUTER, Human Rights Alert, January 25, 2011
2. ↑ Report of the First Meeting of the Judicial Group on Strengthening Judicial Integrity,CICP-6 (p 5), United Nations Drug Control and Crime Prevention Center, 2000
3. ↑ Strengthening Judicial Integrity,CICP-10 (p 6), United Nations Drug Control and Crime Prevention Center, 2001

11-03-08 Welcome Puerto Rico - Last New Visitor! .// Bienvenido Puerto Rico - visitantes de Nueva pasado! // 欢迎波多黎各- 最后的新访问者！

Last New Visitor Puerto Rico Visited March 9, 2011