DP - The Unholy Race
(initially published Oct. 16, 2011)
As Mississippi prepares for the legalized lynching of Willie Manning on May 7, 2013, a man who was DENIED a DNA test to prove his innocence, I decided to re-publish my article that explains why the justice system does not care if it kills innocent people - in fact, it may be preferable. See the Atlantic.com report: "A Ghost of Mississippi: The Willie Manning Capital Case." On the eve of his execution, state officials say there should be no DNA or fingerprint testing for a condemned black man who maintains his innocence (link below). Please sign the "SAVE WILLIE MANNING" petition:
http://www.change.org/petitions/public-help-save-willie-fly-manning
Entertainment through Capital Punishment
RULES of the GAME in TEN POINTS
1. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT has long been a favorite sport. You may be surprised to know that Texas was not among the top five in the DP race until after 1976. States may get double points for executing innocents or mentally challenged people, but the scores I found give all executions equal weight. The numbers quoted here are from July 2011, when Virginia led the nation with 1,386 executions. Before 1976, Texas' score was just 755, but killing another 475 since then brought Texas to 1,230. The Long Horn State can take the lead with another 50 or so people unless Virginia steps up her pace. Below are scores by state between 1608 and 1976 (lynchings are not included) for the top five states.
Virginia - 1277
New York - 1,130
Pennsylvania - 1040
Georgia - 950
North Carolina - 784
2. South Carolina was not in the top five, but no one can doubt its commitment to execution. That state holds the record for executing the youngest person, 14-year-old George Stinney. Of course, George was black. He was only 5'1" tall and weighed just 95 pounds. His guilt is highly doubtful. Some people advocate resumption of juvenile executions. See a picture of George Stinney and learn more about his death at this link: Juvenile Justice - Kids 4 Cash http://marylovesjustice.blogspot.com/2011/03/juvenile-justice-kids-4-cash.html - The law is tough on minority children. A 12-year-old Florida boy, Christian Fernandez, was charged with first degree murder. I wrote about him in "Human Trafficking by Government - Kids4Cash" at this link: http://marylovesjustice.blogspot.com/2011/10/human-trafficking-by-government.html - I don't think the D.A. can ask for the death penalty in his case since juvenile executions were outlawed, thankfully!
3. Execution (especially of potentially innocent people, the mentally challenged, and minors) is not something they want us discussing online, although it happens. Capital punishment is like a burp, which polite people ignore. Hackers are paid to destroy my computers to prevent my advocacy against criminalizing mental illness and capital punishment. Online activism for human rights may be seriously curtailed if/when one of the Internet censorship bills that are continually introduced finally passes.
4. Potentially innocent people may be worth double points in the DP race. Troy Davis was executed on September 21, 2011, and serious doubt remains about his guilt. He declared his innocence in his last moments and asked people who care about justice to "continue fighting this fight" to clear his name. Of course, efforts to clear Troy Davis postpartum and also end DP would spoil the game and reduce prison profits. Prisons are paid significantly more for warehousing condemned inmates than they get for inmates in maximum security prisons or those in the general prison population. Therefore, the petition I launched asking for a new investigation of Officer MacPhail's murder in November 2011 was cyberstalked.
5. Please pray for Thomas Arthur, an Alabama condemned man. His 2009 DNA test eliminated him for all items tested. More items could be tested at his attorneys' expense, but Alabama refuses. See his DNA test results http://www.thomasarthurfightforlife.com/images/Arthur_DNA_Test_Results_07-20090001.pdf - Thomas Arthur's execution scheduled for March 29, 2012 was stayed. Google "Mary Neal Thomas Arthur" for my articles about him. I have followed his case for years despite much cyberstalking to prevent my reports.
6. Pray for Hank Skinner, also. He was scheduled for execution AGAIN on November 9, 2011, but he was granted a stay of execution. Texas resisted testing evidence for his DNA for years. [Finally, a test was allowed AFTER Texas claims it lost the bloodsoaked jacket that Hank wanted tested.] If Hank is killed without irrefutable proof of his guilt, he might be worth double points, too. You can see his support page at Twitter @Justice4Hank at http://twitter.com/justice4hank . Google my article, "Hank Skinner, Human Sacrifice for the 1%."
7. Mentally Ill inmates may be worth double points in the DP race. Please pray for Jeff Wood. Jeff Wood is a mentally challenged young man on Texas death row under the law of parties. That means the State knows Wood never killed anyone, but he was induced to go to the store one day with a man who murdered the store manager while Wood obediently sat inside a truck like the retarded youth had been instructed to do by his devious friend. Wood reportedly did not even know that a robbery/murder was happening. Excerpt from my article about Wood at NowPublic.com states, "The actual shooter in this case, Daniel Reneau, was already executed by the State of Texas." Renault's brother commented at the article, saying that his brother should have cleared Wood before his own execution. Wood's family commented also. Continue reading about Wood at NowPublic.com: Scheduled for Texas Execution: Jeff Wood, a Mentally Challenged Young Man | NowPublic News Coverage http://www.nowpublic.com/world/scheduled-texas-execution-jeff-wood-mentally-challenged-young-man#ixzz1qXyDyaCf
8. Please pray for Andre Thomas. No sane person would eat his eyes, but this insane man did. Andre Thomas ate one eye while awaiting trial for killing his estranged wife and children. He cut their hearts out and took the hearts home in his pocket to keep them close to him (his words). Andre ate his second eye in 2009. Should acute mental patients be executed for their crimes? Members of Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill (AIMI) do not think so, and neither does the Supreme Court. But Texas, where Andre awaits the death needle, disagrees. Andre remains on death row. See this legal blog http://www.shermancriminallawyer.com/2010/09/andre-thomas-sane-enough-to-di.html "Andre Thomas - Sane Enough to Die? - Part 1."
9. SEE HOW YOUR STATE RANKS IN THE DP RACE at Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). The pre-1976 DP scorecard for each state at this link: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions-united-states-1608-1976-state - I wonder if people take bets on whether condemned persons will receive a stay of execution. Of course, it is too late for Troy Davis, but what is your wager on four condemned inmates listed in this article: Thomas Arthur (AL), Hank Skinner, Jeff Wood, and Andre Thomas (TX)?
10. In a world with seven billion people, some decision makers think life is cheap. Ignoring potential innocence and mental illness of condemned persons is indicative of that problem. This is especially true in Bible Belt states, where lynching was a favorite sport in the 1930s and 40s. In the 21st century, human and civil rights are regularly being challenged at state and federal levels. For example, concentration camps are to be erected (some say they are already erected) under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which was enacted in December 2011. NDAA allows indefinite military detention without naming a crime and without any trial. Torture in the camps has not been overruled. Extrajudicial assassinations happen to Americans, also. Concentration camps and extrajudicial assassinations are probably a natural progression for a nation where inmates are killed without irrefutable proof of guilt.
In the "post-racist" era of 21st century America
- Larry Neal, a mentally and physically disabled man was secretly arrested for 18 days (kidnapped) and killed in Memphis Shelby County Jail, and his family is denied any records or explanation. (Tennessee)
- Chavis Carter, a 21-year-old man, was shot as he sat locked in the back of an Arkansas police car where his hands were double handcuffed behind his back after having been searched twice, and his death was ruled a suicide. This is the official ruling although Carter was left-handed and was shot in his right temple. His hands were not tested for gunpowder residue (and neither were the police officers'), and the police car's camera happened to malfunction for a few minutes (officially 60 seconds) exactly at the time Carter was overcome with Houdini powers and managed to escape the handcuffs, retrieve a gun, and kill himself. (Arkansas)
- Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr., a retired veteran, was murdered by police when his Life Alert went off and called for emergency responders. Chamberlain telling police it was a false alarm and police calling him "nigger" and demanding entrance were clearly heard and recorded by his Life Alert operators. Chamberlain was beaten, Tasered, and shot - on tape. All of this was ruled "justifiable" police conduct. (New York)
Those were all black men. Now we have another legal lynching about to happen: Willie Manning's. See the Atlantic.com report:
"A Ghost of Mississippi: The Willie Manning Capital Case."
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/05/a-ghost-of-mississippi-the-willie-manning-capital-case/275442/
Mississippi has a governor who seems to be a pleasant, forward-looking man. He is making Mississippi beautiful again. Gov. Bryant recently announced $69 million in early restoration projects for the Mississippi Gulf Coast following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The projects are part of early restoration activities identified as “Phase III” of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA). He wants Mississippi residents and tourists to feel safe, and he also wants Mississippi to be a place known for its fairness to everyone, without regard to race. Please consider using the following information to contact Gov. Bryant on behalf of Willie Manning.
601.359.3150 (phone) - 601.359.3741 (fax) - P.O. Box 139, Jackson, MS 39205
As a previous Lt. Governor, Gov. Bryant likely has a great sense justice. It is only fair that everybody facing execution should have the right to DNA tests, especially since over 306 people were already exonerated by DNA testing, including 18 who were on death row. That usually means the inmates had been through trials and appeals, and still the courts were wrong. About 70 percent of those exonerated by DNA testing are people of color, like Willie Manning and 37 percent of Mississippi's population.
In March 2013, the U.S. Justice Department announced an agreement with a Mississippi school district to address multiple violations of juvenile due process rights, a signature effort by the Civil Rights Division to address disparate treatment of minorities by local courts (a school-to-prison pipeline case).
http://www.mainjustice.com/2013/03/22/deal-reached-in-mississippi-school-to-prison-pipeline-case/
Learn more about Mississippi's prison system at Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_State_Penitentiary
Sign the "SAVE WILLIE MANNING" petition:
http://www.change.org/petitions/public-help-save-willie-fly-manning
Gov. Bryant is the 64th and current Governor of Mississippi, having defeated the Democratic Party candidate, Johnny DuPree, in the 2011 general election. His website is
http://www.governorbryant.com/
Willie Manning
Mississippi is a beautiful state. It has lovely beaches, lush vegetation, and many friendly, Christian people. Hopefully, the state can overcome its racist history and continue its progress under Gov. Bryant. At a time when other states are ending capital punishment, surely Mississippi will not execute a black man without proving guilt by DNA tests the inmate fervently requests. Such a tragedy, especially after the school-to-prison pipeline debacle, would make it appear that Mississippi has resisted efforts to overcome its past. Please ask Gov. Bryant and the U.S. Supreme Court to spare Manning and allow his DNA to be tested against the evidence. The U.S. Supreme Court is on Twitter at @iSupremCourt, and Gov. Bryant is at
. Call and tweet the governor and justices, please. Time is short, and this is a matter of urgency. May God bless Willie Manning and all inmates who pray for the opportunity to prove their innocence.
Statistical information for this article was provided by:
Death Penalty Information Center
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/
The Innocence Project
http://www.innocenceproject.org/know/
