''An innocent man is going to be murdered tonight''

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-ex03.html

Tests may prove an executed man's innocence for 1st time

RICHMOND, Va. -- With less than two weeks left in Gov. Mark R. Warner's term, time is running out for him to arrange DNA testing that could determine whether Virginia sent an innocent man to the electric chair in 1992.

If the tests show Roger Keith Coleman did not rape and murder his sister-in-law in 1981, it will mark the first time in the United States an executed person has been scientifically proved innocent, say death penalty opponents, who are keenly aware that such a result could have a powerful effect on public opinion.

''I think it would be the final straw for a lot of people who are on the fence on the death penalty,'' said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington. snip

''An innocent man is going to be murdered tonight,'' the 33-year-old said moments before he was electrocuted. ''When my innocence is proven, I hope America will realize the injustice of the death penalty as all other civilized countries have.''

[Skidmore]

1. This is the same Gov. Warner that some Dems are pushing for 08?

[Kahuna]

3. So what is your problem with Warner in this peice?

S'plain please. :shrug:

[Skidmore]

19. Just checking.

[Kahuna]

20. LOL!

:D

[depakid]

33. Simple- the man could well be a coward

Facing up to unpleasant facts is what leaders do- and in this case, we not only have a governor, but a lawyer who swore an oath when he was admitted to the bar. If he allows a potential travesty of justice to pass- or passes it on to his successor (who had capital punishment used as a campaign issue against him) that says A LOT about his character and his fitness for higher office.

The way I see it, for an ethical man, the decision here is a no brainer. The only question is whether he has the courage to do the right thing.

I guess we'll see.

[Toots]

36. Any man barbaric enough to enforce the death penalty or even allow it

is not fit to lead a great nation. But then again America is no longer a great nation so the more barbaric the better I guess.

[XanaDUer]

4. Yes, it is.

...

[wakeme2008]

6. Yes and as more Dems learn of him

and his beliefs, I think they will be turned off.

[Kahuna]

8. Another hit and run attack with no explanation of what you find..

so appalling in Warner's action. For the life of me I can't figure it out. He WAS NOT THE GOVERNOR IN 1992. He didn't pull the switch. I think it's very admirable that he plans to have the DNA test done. Exactly what is it that you disagree with?

[wakeme2008]

10. let wait and see IF he allows the DNA testing

thats only fair right.

[Kahuna]

14. Doesn't the article say that he is negotiating the test? People are..

drawing a conclusion without reading the article. Right away they jumped to the conclusion that Warner was against the test! Very revealing.

[BushOut06]

24. He's the governor, plain & simple

Issue an executive order staying the execution until the DNA testing can be carried out. Honestly, this should have been done long ago, and not waiting until the last minute.

It almost seems to me that many people would rather see this man die and then say "gotcha, we executed an innocent man" rather than saving an innocent man's life.

[Kahuna]

38. You are very very confused. How in the world can Warner...issue a stay

for someone who has been dead for 13 years? I don't get it. :shrug:

[BushOut06]

22. Why not postpone the execution until the testing is done?

If the test is done post-execution, isn't that even more damning? All it would take is a order to postpone the execution pending a DNA test.

I'm sorry, but I have no respect for anyone who says "Sure, we'll run a DNA test...after he's dead and it's too late".

[Kahuna]

23. Warner wasn't the govenor in 1992. So what's your beef with him..

Are you saying that he's now grandstanding by allowing the test at all??? FCOL. He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

[BushOut06]

25. He's the governor now!

Why not postpone the execution? He has the power to do that, governors issue stays of execution all the time! My beef isn't with Gov. Warner perse, it's with the death penalty as a whole. If Gov. Warner truly believes that a DNA test could save this guy's life, it's his duty to make sure that the testing can be carried out in a timely fashion - and not after the fact.

Are we defending him merely because he has that (D) after his name?

[OzarkDem]

26. Already executed

The article is about Warner agreeing to a DNA test that may exonerate someone who was executed back in 1992.

I'm not sure why its taking Warner so long to order the test. What has to be negotiated?

[BushOut06]

28. Gotcha - sorry, I misunderstood then

I thought the guy was sentenced back in '92, and was scheduled for execution tonight.

Carry on!

[ProfessorGAC]

29. The Guy Has Been Dead For 13 Years!

This is a WAY after the fact attempt to exonerate an innocent man. I don't understand the objection.
The Professor

[BushOut06]

30. see post #28

Again, I was operating under a false assumption. My bad.

[ProfessorGAC]

34. No, My Bad

I didn't see the other post where someone else told you the same thing, and you acknowledged it. Sorry.
The Professor

[Joe Chi Minh]

37. Too rational.

[H2O Man]

2. Nominated.

This is something that people who support the death penalty should think about.

[Cooley Hurd]

5. Happy to K&R, as well...

With every execution that takes place, we run the risk that an innocent man's life is taken, while the real perp walks free. :(

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

7. Anybody who doesn't want such post-execution tests to be made

for fear of backlash against the death penalty... yeah, you. I know there's some of you "better kill an innocent than let a criminal alive" ghouls in here.

YOU are the vilest of the vile. YOU are the scum of the Earth. YOU are no better and no worse than the rapists and killers whose demise is the one and only source of your deviant sexual arousal.

Eat shit and die, all of you.

[Kahuna]

9. Who in this story is trying to get the test stopped?

Warner is for it. The prosecutor is for it. What is the problem? :shrug:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

13. From other cases.

And, if everybody is for testing, why the delay? It seems to me somebody, somewhere, is not as "for it" as it seems.

[Kahuna]

15. It seems to you.

:eyes:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

16. Be cool. It's not Warner I'm wary of.

Rather, the nameless cogs in the pro-death punishment establishment. Maybe the prosecutor himself is talking out of both sides of his mouth. Who knows?

[Kahuna]

17. Okay. Cool. But it does appear to me that people were jumping to gigantic

conclusions about Warner's position because they only read the snips and not the entire story.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

18. That seems to be true.

Besides, coming out with such proof would be a huge boon for Warner. Not only it looks like an accomplishmet, a victory -- which it is -- but it also would be a license to speak freely against the DP without fear of being labeled "soft on crime".

And THERE you have another possible reason for the delay!

[OzarkDem]

27. What's taking so long?

I read the article, it only says he's negotiating.

[Kahuna]

39. And the man is already dead so what's the rush?

nt

[Kahuna]

11. It is apparent that people are not reading the whole story and are

taking Warner's involvement out of context. If you would bother to read the story you would read:

Warner -- a potential Democratic presidential contender for 2008 -- hopes to complete negotiations over how the test would be conducted before his term ends Jan. 14.

Sheesh!

[progdonkey]

12. I think many share my ambivalence...

Part of me wants the results to come back saying that, yes, he was innocent and therefore we have absolute proof an innocent man has been put to death, which would be, as the article states, very good evidence for the abolition of the death penalty in this country. Without such solid proof, both sides are stuck with hypothetical arguments: "Well, what if an innocent person is killed?/Well, what if a child murderer is able to break out of jail when he would've already been put to death?" With it, we on the abolition side have proof, and the pro-death penalty people have nothing but phantom hypotheticals about "deterrence."

Of course, the other half of me wants it to come back that he was a lying murderer, and it isn't the tragedy of tragedies that he's dead.

:shrug:

[rpannier]

21. As an opponent of the Death Penalty

I agree with you 100%. I have always argued that we have executed innocent people. To have proof like this would be sad and disturbing, for the victim and his family.
Imagine being the judge or jury on his trial -- or anyone else who aided in his execution/murder.

[NaturalHigh]

31. Warner should give the go-ahead for the DNA testing.

However, I seriously doubt that it will exonerate Coleman. I've done some reading on him, and he was a particularly putrid individual.

[TahitiNut]

32. Some "particularly putrid individuals" are given the death penalty.

Other "particularly putrid individuals" are elected to federal offices. :eyes:


"... and liberty and justice for all." Can anyone recite the Pledge of Allegiance with a straight face ever again?

[NaturalHigh]

35. What does that have to do with my post?