Clarence Thomas "Outraged" by Treatment of His Nephew

[kpete]

The Supreme Court recently refused to hear the case of a pregnant woman who was repeatedly tasered by Seattle police during a routine traffic stop simply because she refused to sign a speeding ticket. The Rutherford Institute

https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/john_whiteheads_commentary/whatever_happened_to_justice_supreme_court_oks_police_tasering_pregnan

Clarence Thomas "Outraged" by Treatment of His Nephew
—By Jean Casella and James Ridgeway| Wed Jul. 14, 2010 2:13 PM PDT

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was reportedly "completely shocked and outraged" when he learned that his nephew, who suffers from epilepsy and was reportedly suicidal, was beaten and tased with a stun gun at a Louisiana hospital—apparently, for nothing more than some unruly behavior.

"Outraged" we can understand: What happened to 24-year-old Derek Thomas does qualify as outrageous. According to an account on Raw Story:

Derek Thomas was admitted to West Jefferson Hospital in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Thursday, after a possible suicide attempt, reports ABC affiliate WGNO.

When the Supreme Court justice's nephew refused to put on a hospital gown and said he wanted to leave the hospital, doctors ordered security to restrain him.

Security guards "punched him in his lip, pulled out more than a fistful of his dreadlocks and tasered him to restrain him," a statement from Thomas' family said.

Shortly afterwards, family members say, Thomas suffered a "massive epileptic seizure."

Still, there's no reason why Justice Thomas should be "shocked" that such a thing could happen. As one of the nine highest placed individuals in the U.S. Justice system, he should know that these things—and much worse—happen every day to Americans who suffer from mental illness.
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2010/07/clarence-thomas-nephew

[11 Bravo]

1. That IS outrageous! They tased the wrong Thomas!

[valerief]

29. Badda bing! nt

[malaise]

58. Ding ding we have a winner

[kentuck]

2. S--T--F--U Clarence!

You fucking bozo!

[tavernier]

3. Must have felt odd to him

to have an emotion.

[LuvNewcastle]

4. Welcome to the real world, Uncle Thomas.

[KeepItReal]

13. Well played...well played.

[elehhhhna]

16. congrats good o ne

[Paladin]

24. +100. (nt)

[Cali_Democrat]

28. +1000

[closeupready]

38. There we go.

[BeyondGeography]

5. This will just make him want to hurt more people

I'm not hopeful.

[KoKo]

30. He grew up in Georgia...and so he should have known..but, he distanced

himself from it all...in some deluded way. This nephew must be from a part of the family he doesn't associate much with...since he and his wife live totally differently in the "DC Insider Beltway Bubble of privilege.

Anyway...I feel sad for his nephew and the circumstances and maybe the kid's family did as well as Clarence has....but Clarence forgetting what he saw around him growing up has gotten an awakening, hopefully...but, probably not.

[BeyondGeography]

33. We know as of the Voting Rights Act ruling that the awakening is still very much in waiting n/t

[uppityperson]

6. As those in power experience what we plebs do, it is enlightening. May he learn and that is really

too bad about the nephew.

[Fawke Em]

7. You mean he actually said something?

[kestrel91316]

8. Tazing is fine with this guy until it affects his own family - then it's bad. Got it.

[City Lights]

14. Typical GOP approach to life.

Republicans suck.

[surrealAmerican]

9. I guess the sub-text here would be ...

... "but only because it's his nephew." He's never had any problem with other people's nephews being treated that way.

[joeybee12]

10. Ain't Karma a bitch...

Poor kid though, on the receiving end of Karma's kick in the ass meant for his uncle.

[polichick]

11. He still won't connect the dots to see what a sell-out he's been.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

12. He's just outraged it happened to someone in his family.

This sort of thing is only supposed to be done to those who he doesn't hold dear. It's a common hypocrisy of the elite, powerful and influential. I don't expect this will change anything as to his views on the rest of us.

I'm sorry his nephew had to suffer through that. It's a horrific thing to do to someone in his condition.

I wonder how long before the nephew receives a discrete and substantial settlement?

[matthews]

15. The SCOTUS had a chance to do something about this for good. They passed on it.

Supreme Court Dodges Cases Testing Boundaries Of Taser Use

May 29 2012 5:27 PM


The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday refused to wade into cases that tested the limits of Taser stun gun use by law enforcement officials, allowing a ruling to stand that said police had used excessive force when they used the weapon on two women.

http://www.ibtimes.com/supreme-court-dodges-cases-testing-boundaries-taser-use-700547

[HiPointDem]

37. thanks for that.

[matthews]

39. We were lucky that they let the verdict of the Ninth stand (I thought).

I was surprised they went against the police officers in that case and didn't take up the case.

But it was a pleasant surprise

[BumRushDaShow]

17. I remember when that happened

yet here it is 3 years later and he hasn't done a damn thing but sit there like a zombie during arguments, asking no questions, and writing 1 page briefs while collecting a check.

[elehhhhna]

18. prolly aoutraged that they didn't just shoot this useless eater

he's a cold mofo, uncle Thomas is

[JitterbugPerfume]

19. The nephew obviously needs compassion;

Do not judge him by his uncles actions.


Clarence Thomas needs to STFU about this issue, he has blood all over his hands.

[KoKo]

34. This from the article is very disturbing...

As we wrote earlier this week, the St. Tammany Parish Jail in Covington, Louisiana—which is just 50 miles north of the hospital where Derek Thomas suffered his abuse—has come up with a novel "solution" to the problem of suicidal inmates. It places them in 3" x 3" cages, half-naked and without bedding, a toilet, or anything else they might use to do themselves in. Some have remained in the cages for weeks or even months. The ACLU of Louisiana is fighting for their release, but have so far been unsuccessful.

Clarence Thomas has yet to protest the torture of St. Tammany Parish's suicidal prisoners—or of any prisoners at all, for that matter. As New York Times Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse wrote earlier this year, Clarence Thomas has never once sided with a prisoner who claimed violation of the Eighth Amendment's guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment. This included a case where "a guard had responded to [a prisoner's] request for a grievance form by slamming him onto the concrete floor and then punching, kicking and choking him until another guard pulled the attacker off," and another where an inmate "had been handcuffed to a hitching post and left to stand shirtless in the sun for seven hours without water or bathroom breaks." Thomas has said that the framers of the Constitution “simply did not conceive of the Eighth Amendment as protecting inmates from harsh treatment.”

[Ilsa]

40. Good god. People and jailers haven't been able to

See the inhumanity of this? The perpetrators of this treatment should be jailed.

[KittyWampus]

47. a 3 inch by 3 inch cage?

[JitterbugPerfume]

50. What an evil POS he is!

[Scootaloo]

52. Good fucking god!

Anyone who comes up with or administers these "methods" should be forced to undergo it themselves.

[KamaAina]

20. His nephew? Wouldn't that make him Uncle Thomas?

[UtahLib]

21. Too bad the nephew got what his uncle so richly deserves. n/t

[eissa]

22. Did Scalia grant him permission to be outraged? nt

[uponit7771]

23. I'm not shocked that Thomas is shocked, Thomas is really really stupid

[TheOther95Percent]

25. Justice Thomas Should Re-read His Dissent in Hudson

In this case, a prison inmate suffered injuries to his teeth caused by a beating administered by prison guards.


http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0503_0001_ZD.html

Justice O'Connor's Opinion

This case requires us to decide whether the use of excessive physical force against a prisoner may constitute cruel and unusual punishment when the inmate does not suffer serious injury. We answer that question in the affirmative.

I

At the time of the incident that is the subject of this suit, petitioner Keith Hudson was an inmate at the state penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana. Respondents Jack McMillian, Marvin Woods, and Arthur Mezo served as corrections security officers at the Angola facility. During the early morning hours of October 30, 1983, Hudson and McMillian argued. Assisted by Woods, McMillian then placed Hudson in handcuffs and shackles, took the prisoner out of his cell, and walked him toward the penitentiary's "administrative lockdown" area. Hudson testified that, on the way there, McMillian punched Hudson in the mouth, eyes, chest, and stomach, while Woods held the inmate in place and kicked and punched him from behind. He further testified that Mezo, the supervisor on duty, watched the beating, but merely told the officers "not to have too much fun." App. 23. As a result of this episode, Hudson suffered minor bruises and swelling of his face, mouth, and lip. The blows also loosened Hudson's teeth and cracked his partial dental plate, rendering it unusable for several months.

The Dissent From Thomas

In my view, a use of force that causes only insignificant harm to a prisoner may be immoral, it may be tortious, it may be criminal, and it may even be remediable under other provisions of the Federal Constitution, but it is not "cruel and unusual punishment." In concluding to the contrary, the Court today goes far beyond our precedents.

[Berlum]

26. Wow - Clarence is a rank stanking hyprocrite. How perfectly Republican.

[John2]

44. Clarence Thomas

acts like he is an angry man and it seems to be at Liberals. That is why the Republicans like him and he doesn't even recognize that he was only selected to be on the court was because of Republican's own version of Affirmative Action.

[TheOther95Percent]

54. Yes, big surprise.

Delaware, yes Delaware, is the only state, I believe, that still allows flogging for some 20 different crimes. No one in Delaware has been sentenced to be flogged in 60 years. I'm quite sure if someone was sentenced tomorrow to be flogged, Justice Thomas would not deem it a violation of the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

[Major Nikon]

61. Thomas would have been unable to marry his current wife in his home state

...had the Supreme court not struck down anti-miscegenation laws.

Thomas dissented on the DOMA decision.

So yeah, he's just another hypocritical wingnut.

[HiPointDem]

36. thanks for that.

[TheOther95Percent]

55. You're very welcome.

[Ilsa]

42. Rec your post. nt

[TheOther95Percent]

56. Thank You.

Justice Thomas is one of the worst, if not the worst, justices to ever serve on the Supreme Court. The competition for worst justice is steep.

[90-percent]

27. Coulda been worse for the Thomas Family

approx 540 plus taser deaths since 2001

http://electronicvillage.blogspot.com/2009/05/taser-related-deaths-in-united-states.html

-90% Jimmy

[Kingofalldems]

31. Definition of a liberal:

A conservative who has been arrested.

[Yavin4]

32. Conservatives: "we only care about shit when it happens to us." n/t

[HiPointDem]

35. i'm outraged that the court has enabled such things.

[TheAmbivalante]

41. I doubt that he actually has an empathy at all

If he does, I hope he feels pain and anguish and hatred. And I hope it never goes away. Because he made his own pain.

The police state that Thomas ruled into existence by placing Bush in office led to Homeland Security, which led to police being paramilitary authority, which elevated the use of force in just about any situation where a voice is raised.

Welcome to the America you helped build, Clarence.
Oh, and fuck you, and for that matter, your entire extended family.
Feel the pain, bitch.

[Safetykitten]

43. Well, well, Clarence gets a glimpse. Priceless!

[Ilsa]

45. I'm sorry this innocent man was hurt. I can

only hope this episode in Thomas' family life will serve to inform all of them of the inhumanity the poor, the disabled, and mentally ill must deal with. But I doubt it will change them one bit.

[HiPointDem]

46. they have the pull to get justice for their own.

[sakabatou]

48. I feel sorry for his son, but not Thomas himself

[jessie04]

49. Imagine if your nephew was named Trayvon, Uncle Thomas.

nt

[indepat]

51. Justice Clarence Thomas has spoken with his every ruling of his utter contempt for the people

of the United States, its institutions, its Constitution, and its other founding principles imo. Sorry, Justice Thomas, your chickens have a way of coming to roost and the seeds you have sown on the American landscape are bearing your odious fruit.

[ck4829]

53. Welcome to the real world, Justice Thomas.

[muntrv]

57. Well, CLarence, still think we are post-racial America?

[RedCappedBandit]

59. Clarence Thomas is a piece of shit

So are the people who assaulted his nephew.

[Trillo]

60. Yes, these things happen in hospitals.

It's one reason among many that a hospital is the last place some of us would like to die.

[Douglas Carpenter]

62. I hope this is the beginning of the awakening of Justice Clarence Thomas