Posted on 06/21/2005 9:37:38 AM PDT by misterrob
Yeah, that's often forgotten. Why didn't they retry him immediately? If 11/12 voted him guilty, wouldn't it stand to reason that another jury would have gotten 12/12.
You're kidding, right? Cruel and unusual? He's never been punished AT ALL -! For organizing, leading, and carrying out a triple murder.
Even the son of the one holdout juror in 1967, the one who hung the jury (setting Killen free) said that his mother later admitted she was wrong, and sorry she let him off. It was 11-1 to convict him.
I'm not a fan of seeing people live without consequences; even knowing that the real judgement - for each of us - comes beyond this life.
Big Shock..This is not a death penalty conviction..and every state does not run their courts/trials like California does.
The defendant presided at the judge's parents funerals IIRC..
You're saying that the end justifies the means. You might have a point if Killen represented a danger to society today. He doesn't.
The fact that people in Philadelphia "seem relieved" is utterly irrelevant. Contrary to the liberal line on this and other civil-rights trials, the purpose of our justice system is not to help communities face the past, or bury the past, or learn from the past, or come together. It is to determine individual guilt for specific crimes. In addition, I would point out that much of the relief in Philadelphia is undoubtedly relief that they will no longer be the object of so much name-calling and finger-pointing by the liberal establishment ... or so they hope, perhaps wrongly.
The near-conviction in 1967 was for civil-rights violations, not murder. Killen will, in all probability, get something more like a murder sentence. It is unjust to sentence someone to prison for the rest of his life for manslaughter, when he's no danger to society. But that is exactly what will happen tomorrow.
While I do think Killen had some involvement in what turned out to be the killings, I am not persuaded that he deliberately set up a murder. What gives me confidence in the guilty-of-manslaughter verdict is precisely the fact that the 1967 jury, whose incentives were AGAINST conviction, nonetheless came so close to convicting -- and, as you point out, was hung only because one member violated her oath.
However, I don't believe a jury in one trial has any right to know the outcome of a previous trial. If they did, this would be yet another grounds for reversing Killen's conviction.
I have sympathy for a helpless 80 year old man with no friends in powerful positions, no ability to get his version of the story covered in the major media, who is the object of a politically tainted prosecution that probably violates the U.S. constitution. Yes, I do. My sympathy is not for Mr. Killen, but for anyone caught in such an Orwellian position. And even more so, for our abused system of justice ... and the future, more innocent victims of future PC witch hunts that dubious prosecutions like the Killen trial will only encourage.
Sorry to go on and on, but I think a lot of conservatives are swallowing the liberal line here.
Are you serious? Do you understand the type of hate crimes this Klansman was involved with?
'They' would be whom? The law, his victims? Absolutely no remorse has ever been displayed by Killen concerning the beast like crimes he & other committed in order to stop Americans from voting. Anyone ever prevent you from voting?
Killen bragged to his friends what he did, and if that was not bad enough, he was organizing a Klan rally at the end of last year, yet this 'preacher' continued to lie stating he never belonged to the Klan. His own lawyer stated otherwise.
"Do you understand the type of hate crimes ..."
Yes, of course I do. What in God's name does that have to do with whether he received a fair trial????????
Oh yea, I am all broken up about his 'rights' just as much as those Islamist butchers.
You are worried about this killer's "fair trial"? Maybe you also believe he should have not been brought to trial?
You are now on a simply nonsensical level. American citizens have rights. And I repeat, Killen is no danger to society. So your bull-bleep Muslim analogies fall short on two counts.
Fair question. I have no sympathy for racist organizations, and no sympathy for the violence that occurred in the Deep South 40 years ago. However, I do like to play devil's advocate against liberal pieties. These people get very full of themselves, and their hypocrisy is something to behold, is it not? The various civil-rights trials are a good example of this. These trials cut corners that the liberals would never countenance against, say, Muslim terrorists or Black Panthers. In addition, there are indeed serious questions about the integrity of the justice system here. And if no one else will speak out about these, I will. Conservatives should NEVER let the prospect of name-calling, from liberals or from other conservatives, tell them what they can and can't say and do. Finally, I think it's significant that Killen is too old to be a danger to society. As I said in a previous post: It's not Killen specifically who I'm concerned about. It's anyone in such a position, regardless of politics or race.
Hope this helps.
When it comes to the likes of Killen and others just like him the majority of conservatives are and should be appalled he managed to mock the justice system all these years.
If someone is a known leftist and only presenting one side of any issue, naturally they must be challenged.
Conservatives feed into liberal traps if even appearing to side, for any reason with an individual who used God, called himself a 'preacher' to fuel some of the worst hate for fellow Americans this nation witnessed.
In terms of age, he was trying to play everyone as suckers, just the same as many of the captured Nazi war Criminals. Saddam is what, maybe 10 years younger then Killen? When it comes to vicious killers such as the one in question his age did not prevent him from attempting organizing a Klan rally not less then 8 months ago. He knew in 1964 when he was a Klan organizer and in 2004 engaged in the same garbage.
He placed himself on trail. If Killen had clammed up and not tired inciting hate all over again, the same hate as in 1964, due to his hard-core racist mentality, there would not have been a trail.
I'm a bit flabbergasted... a helpless 80 year-old man - ? What would friends in high places do for him? Scrub his conscience clean? The jury in 1967 said they were absolutely convinced that he was as deeply involved as ANY of the men they convicted in this case. But he got off because of a jurist's bias for a "preacher man." A jurist who later realized she was wrong.
You're pleas about his helplessness, and "no danger to society" ring very much like an ACLU line, something a liberal would be very proud of. You need to abandon sticking up for this guy. If his own neighbors can figure out he's slime, so should you.
But that's jmho.
Old or not, there' s no statute of limitations on murder. I can't imagine that many of us, especially freepers, would have it any other way..
For those interested, here is a pretty good behind-the-scenes look at the frustration with the 'lone juror'....
From the Clarion Ledger:
http://orig.clarionledger.com/news/0005/07/07miburn.html
HE's Dead, Jim.
You're right of course, but there comes a time when it's too late to do much good. Have fun putting a sick old man in prison. That really does your cause a lot of good.
I think some intrepid freepers should see if they can find KKK crimes from that period that Byrd can be linked to.
And it's downright heartbreaking to hear it coming from Freepers.
BUMP.
I believe the major difference between a redneck and a good ol' boy, is the amount of crack exposed above their jeans.
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