Posted on 03/06/2010 8:12:24 AM PST by JoeProBono
It’s either one of the more brazen and courageous judicial rulings we’ve heard of in a long time, or one of the most ill-considered examples of judicial activism we’ve heard of in a long time.
Your take on it will likely depend on your take on the death penalty. The news is this, and it’s pretty striking:
A state district judge in Houston granted a pretrial motion declaring the death penalty unconstitutional.
The ruling, made by State District Judge Kevin Fine, came in response to a motion filed by lawyers for a man accused of fatally shooting a Houston woman and wounding her sister on June 16, 2008. The lawyers had argued the procedures surrounding death-penalty jury instructions in the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure violate the Eighth and 14th Amendments prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment and guaranteeing the right of due process.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.wsj.com ...
I don’t mind making mistakes, I just hate making the same ones over again.
Isn't that the truth! LOL
That is so wonderful to hear. I wish my brother was still alive, I miss him very much even with his faults. I wish the best for you & your sister.
Life is very hard and the difficulties are hidden in order to look strong. We all pray for our own well being as well as those who are amongst us. God Bless
Who knows. Hopefully.
We all seem to mellow with age!
Sure appreciate your thoughtful comments and wisdom, obviously honed through years of introspection and experience. ";^)
Thanks & God Bless to you & yours.
You seem to be a pleasant soul that hates the taking. It will be OK.
Thank you. But I have an Irish/Slavic temper which I need to remember to control. If I feel strongly on a subject I will state my views. Usually I try to be nice. I would rather be friends as I think we all need to stick together in these uncertain times.
It was but the cult of personality is a stronger paradigm than a nation of laws. His body art is apparently more interesting and more persuasive than his legal opinion was.
IMHO his tats are the least of the problem.
Well, not quite ... more like "honed through years of getting my ASS BURNED through my own choices!" God not only has a sense of humor, He’s merciful and patient. He’s got me puzzling over the word "deserve" because I wouldn't consider myself "deserving," but apparently He does.
I notice that people with tattoos who get negative treatment because of the tattoos usually blame the folks who see tattoos as red flags – they blame other people for the consequences of their own choices. Yet it's human nature to judge people at least in part by their appearance -- it's a survival tool and a pretty good one at that. It's not infallible, but it IS invaluable.
Mostly, though, ostentatious tattoos like the ones seen on the judge who brought about this thread, show that the person is eager to communicate to the random world at large something very dramatic (the permanence of tattoos is dramatic) about themselves. Observing people who’ve accomplis remarkable things who I know well and personally, to icons ranging from Chuck Yeager and Steve McQueen to Bogie and Ronald Reagan – andI've noticed that what I’ve come to call “gimmicks” are pretty much absent in them. So the absence of visual gimmicks in people tells a lot about them, as well.
I think you're right.
Folks with tattoos are very touchy, chip-on-the-shoulder, rebel-types. Very defensive. Want to be looked at, but how dare you look too hard! Say they don't care what people think, cover the tats for work, yet post pics of themselves with tats on an open website!
After the discussion last night I got to thinking about Judge Fine with his tats and perhaps his many regrets, who possibly empathizes with perps and can't stand to see the death penalty destroy their chances for redemption.
Perhaps he sees himself in them.
He's dangerous.
I'm not in the mood for being lectured by someone from a state that sent Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins to the US Senate.
I resent your broad brush implication that Texas doesn't conduct fair trials. Have mistakes occurred? No question. However, given the population of Texas vs. a small and homogenous state like Maine, I'd like to see statistical comparisons before making further generalizations.
Real redemption wouldn't be stifled by the death penalty. Redemption is between the sinner and his Maker, and I believe can happen as much on Death Row as it can anywhere else. If the judge puts as second his duty to the law and gives priority to the illusion that he should be a liasion in terms of redemption between an evil-doer and God, then the judge is ... like you say, dangerous.
Amen
I know, that's a claim I hear repeatedly from my tatted loved ones! If they didn't care what people think, why did they get the tattoos??? I ask them, and they're left sputtering. Most tattoos are specifically FOR the purpose of influencing what other people think. Virtually every human born does things to influence what people think of them. I use clothes, jewelry, hairstyle, language, etc., to influence what I want people to think of me, and I can adjust each item to fit the particular circumstances; there are times it's wiser to dress up, and times it's wiser to dress down. Tattooed folks sabotage that flexibility for themselves. They burn their own bridges on a vain whim.
Tattooed folks sabotage that flexibility for themselves. They burn their own bridges on a vain whim.
Harsh words, but true.
My anger?....from where?
I’m just concerned that you, someone who apparently doesn’t care why people get tattoos, actually cares a great deal that you can make so may posts and have so many opinions on the subject. Seems rather odd. But as for me showing anger?.....not seeing it. Never for a second regretted my tat, and I’m 47.
They quite enjoyed them. But have some questions.....Such as these examples such as “One mega-biker”... hmmm what is a mega biker? Either you are or you are’t! And this “but I KNOW that the real, hands-on guys who bike because they love BIKING”
Are we even on the same page here Finny? We are talking about Harley’s & hardcore 1%er bikers or men on touring bicycles wearing spandex & neon colors? No biker we know uses the term biking, is that some new wannabe biker babble? Even the bro's from CA don’t speak like that...(I was trying to defend you as I thought maybe its a West Coast thing & we are East Coast) But they said nope. But the good news is that many of our friends got really interested in FR & were reading other threads & plan to lurk & some plan to sign up! So Finny we will be getting some new members & we have you to thank for that!
Thanks for your responses, fellow FReepers.
It's not a matter of 'mistakes', it's one of deliberate prosecutorial misconduct to get convictions at any cost. At this point, no one knows how widespread the practice is, or isn't, and Texas state government is dragging its feet at finding out.
As far as Snowe, Collins and Maine government go, they can be as rotten as you want or as pure as the driven snow and it doesn't affect Texas's problem either way.
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