Rodney Reed sits on death row in a Texas prison while awaiting his execution. His execution is slated for November 20. In 1996, a jury convicted Reed of rape and murder of Stacy Stites, a woman whom he claims he had a consensual relationship. Doubts about his guilt have surfaced with many celebrities joining in his cause, including Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, Dr. Phil and others. The victim was the fiancé of former police officer, Jimmy Fennel. Fennel was suspected of the murder after he failed 2 police administered lie detector tests. But DNA evidence helped to convict Reed whom he admits to having a consensual affair with Fennel’s fiancé, the victim. Since Reed’s conviction Fennel confessed in 2010 while in jail to inmate Arthur Snow; a cousin agreed that Stites and Reed were romantically involved; and, an insurance agent also supported the theory that Fennell killed Stites. Reed’s attorneys, The Innocence Project, filed a petition for clemency to the Board of Pardons and Parole. … [Read more...] about Rodney Reed and Why We Must End the Death Penalty
Archives for 2019
Lori Loughlin Didn’t Get the Memo
https://vimeo.com/329391830 On November 20, Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossini Giannulli will be arraigned on new bribery charges stemming from the college admission scandals case. With the new charges, Loughlin and her husband face a maximum of 50 years in jail. Lori Loughlin, her husband, Felicity Huffman and approximately 50 other wealthy parents were charged with crimes relating to payments made to obtain admission to various colleges for their children. The college admissions scheme scandal case is the largest in U.S. history. Loughlin and her husband are alleged to have paid $500,000 to Rick Singer and bribed University of Southern California officials to obtain admission for their two daughters to USC. They went to elaborate lengths to pass them off as athletic crew members—posing in front of rowing machines, despite having no athletic abilities Felicity Huffman accepted responsibility for her wrongdoing and was sentenced to 14 days in jail for paying $15,000 to … [Read more...] about Lori Loughlin Didn’t Get the Memo
Why Amber Guyger’s Appeal Success is Unlikely
Former police officer Amber Guyger intends to possibly file an appeal of her murder conviction resulting in a 10- year prison term. She filed a notice of appeal. A notice of appeal must be timely filed within 30 days of a final court order to preserve a defendant’s right to appeal. A notice of appeal does not mean that a defendant will file an appeal. It only provides notice to the court that an appeal is being contemplated to be filed. An appeal is successful when it determines prejudicial legal errors made by the trial judge’s rulings which likely resulted in the defendant’s conviction. Guyger’s own attorney made strategic mistakes that likely resulted in her conviction. And no, a defense attorney cannot appeal his/her mistakes. If Guyger had not testified that she intended to kill Botham Jean, a jury may not have likely convicted her of murder. The crime of murder requires an element of an intent to kill. Through her own testimony on direct examination by her attorney, she … [Read more...] about Why Amber Guyger’s Appeal Success is Unlikely
Florida Judge Temporarily Halts Voter Disenfranchisement Law
Last week, a Florida judge handed down a preliminary injunction to place on hold a law that placed financial restrictions on felons before they could be restored their right to vote. In November 2018, Florida voters overwhelmingly passed by constitutional amendment the right to restore voting rights to all formerly incarcerated felons once they complete their terms of their sentence. 65% of Florida voters approved of the ballot referendum, known as Amendment 4. The amendment did not apply to those convicted of murder or sexual offenses. The amendment would have allowed over 1 million new voters to the Florida rolls. Before the amendment could fully take place as intended, the GOP took other restrictive measures. Restoring the right to vote to convicted released felons, apparently didn’t sit well with the Florida GOP. To counter what Florida voters intended, the majority GOP legislature put restrictions on felons’ right to register to vote. The legislature voted to require that … [Read more...] about Florida Judge Temporarily Halts Voter Disenfranchisement Law
Mitch McConnell’s Chickens may be Soon Coming Home to Roost
Republican cracks of support for Donald Trump became apparent when Trump announced withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria. These actions unilaterally left the Syrian people faced with hostile take- over, displacement and killing of Kurds by Turkish military forces. This set of circumstances led Trump to reconsider his impulsive move. Vice President Pence announced a cease fire agreement on Thursday, October 17. Less than 24 hours later, Turkey resumed business of firing as usual. Up to now, Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell’s iron hand kept Republican Senators in line with protecting Trump. Could these new events be the straw that helps break the GOP’s elephant back? There is also something known as karma—what comes around goes around. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R. KY) once declared that his main goal was to make President Obama a one-term president. He failed to succeed. He did succeed on his promise to deny a Supreme Court seat vacancy to President Obama as a … [Read more...] about Mitch McConnell’s Chickens may be Soon Coming Home to Roost
Confessions of a Corrupt President by His Chief of Staff
Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney spoke during Thursday's White House briefing about Donald Trump’s phone call to the Ukrainian president. Mulvaney made it clear that Donald Trump demanded information or an agreement to investigate the Biden’s, Hunter and Joe Biden, in exchange for the release of U.S. aid monies to the Ukrainian people. Mulvaney almost seemed defiant in the remarks stating “Get over it. There’s going to be political influence in foreign policy.” Mulvaney spoke better about Trump's corruption and abuse of power than Richard Nixon did during Watergate. Mulvaney confessed openly and proudly. I know an admission or confession from my days as a former prosecutor. And Mulvaney’s remarks amount to a confession of wrongdoing by Donald Trump. He stated Trump froze aid to the Ukrainian country in exchange for an investigation to find dirt on Hunter Biden and Joe Biden. The remark shows there was a quid pro quo by the Trump administration. No … [Read more...] about Confessions of a Corrupt President by His Chief of Staff