Damien Echols

Check out my blog post about Damien Echols on Care2 today.  Please add a comment and vote in the poll. We are trying to generate as many letters as we can to Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe before Damien's September 30th hearing.  Take Action here.


Posted in Blog, Innocence

Comments

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1. Comment by George, Sep 4th, 2010 11:41pm

   Of course death penalty should be repealed as it is a "good" method to let unknown and unpunished the true culprits.
   Three eight years boys ware demented killed in Memphis?
   Certainly someone must be responsible.
   
   EX 13:13 And for the young of an ass you may give a lamb in payment, or if you will not make payment for it, its neck is to be broken; but for all the first sons among your children, let payment be made.
   EX 13:14 And when your son says to you in time to come, What is the reason for this? say to him, By the strength of his hand the Lord took us out of Egypt, out of the prison-house:
   EX 13:15 And when Pharaoh made his heart hard and would not let us go, the Lord sent death on all the first sons in Egypt, of man and of beast: and so every first male who comes to birth is offered to the Lord; but for all the first of my sons I give a price.
   
   GE 16:11 And the angel of the Lord said, See, you are with child and will give birth to a son, to whom you will give the name Ishmael, because the ears of the Lord were open to your sorrow.
   GE 16:12 And he will be like a mountain ass among men; his hand will be against every man and every man's hand against him, and he will keep his place against all his brothers.
   
   JOH 1:35 The day after, John was there again with two of his disciples;
   JOH 1:36 And looking at Jesus while he was walking he said, See, there is the Lamb of God!
   
   LE 1:10 And if his offering is of the flock, a burned offering of sheep or goats, let him give a male without a mark.
   LE 1:11 And he is to put it to death on the north side of the altar before the Lord: and Aaron's sons, the priests, are to put some of the blood on and round the altar.
   
   
   Sincerely,
   




2. Comment by Richard L. Martinez, Jul 28th, 2010 2:46pm

   We have found too many men and women coming off of death rows, as well as long periods in prison, who were innocent. They gained their freedom via the appeal process that many seem to view as dragging on the completion of justice. We have recently found that an individual in Texas who was executed in 2004, Todd Willingham, may not have been guilty. A number of other cases have surfaced which raise concerns as to the guilt of the person executed. The death penalty is a punishment that once brought to completion we can never correct it should we find that an individual may have been innocent. LWOP allows society, as well as the victims, a closure on the murder of an innocent(s). No one is saying we must love the murderers who have committed horrible crimes; but we should also be cognizant of the numbers of individuals who are being found to be innocent.
   
   Justice Harry Blackmun, in re: Herrera vs. Collins, 506 U.S. 3909 (1993), noted "Of the one thing, however, I am certain. Just as an execution without adequate safeguards is unacceptable, so too is an execution when the condemned prisoner can prove that he is innocent. The execution of a person who can show that he is innocent comes perilously close to simple murder." German Scholar and lawyer, Max Hirschberg, sixty-yers agon, noted in a study of wrongful convictions, specifically in the area of capital punishment, "Every doubt, and not merely 'reasonable' doubt, shall be over before the sentence of death is imposed." We must be sure that the one convicted, received a fair and impartial trial, was not convicted due to lack of qualified legal assistance, had the ability to provide for his defense, had an automatic appeal, has the ability to introduce new evidence of innocence no matter when it is discovered, that all accused of similar offenses receive the same punishment. We should also be cognizant that the poor, minority, the disenfranchised are not the exclusive recipients of the death penalty.




3. Comment by Daria Miedzinski, Jul 23rd, 2010 1:08pm

   I do not believe that all people that have been
   convicted are really guilty. I believe so many
   cases are screwed up and not investigated correctly.
   If the authorities think someone did it, they just
   accept that as the person and that person may not
   have done anything in the first place. 40% of all
   inmates are innocent and pretty soon our country will
   have more innocent than guilty in prison. There is
   something definitely wrong with this picture. If there
   is proof of a crime and real proof not just circumstantial evidence, then that is one thing. But if there is new proof that comes into play our courts should be more open to overturn these cases as all of our countrys foundation is laid upon that. The system just doesn't want to admit when they are wrong and just search and find the real
   truth. The system is not interested in this. It is their pride that stands in the way. I have found that there is
   so much corruption and deal making in our system that it would make your heads spin. We are involved in a case here in CT and because the state does not want to own up to all the mistakes they have made and that they have imprisoned an innocent man because he WILL NOT ADMIT TO SOMETHING HE NEVER DID. He is back in prison for violation of probation because he won't admit to something
   he did not do. We have so much proof to back up our side but the state is so afraid they will be sued they are grasping at straws so they don't look like fools. I am
   sure there are deals being made and payoffs as well.
   
   Check into this man's case thoroughly and if there is even a question or a doubt, then let justice reign and stand up for the truth. There is not enough of it here in this country anymore. Truth is what matters.