Ontario, Canada:
In another story of a wrongful conviction being over turned (see the Actual Innocence posting for the other story), the conviction of Steven Truscott for the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl when he was but a 14 year-old himself was over turned today in Ontario, Canada.
Truscott was convicted and sentenced to hang on September 30, 1959, but his death sentence was quickly commuted to life in prison because the nation feared what the image of them hanging such a young boy - the youngest sentenced to hang in Canadian history - would be to the rest of the world.
Now at 62, Truscott, who has been living and raised a family under an assumed name since his parole after serving ten years in prison, has his name back and cleared due to new evidence.
Sometime justice does take a while.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
And I Quote
You can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it even better than you think you can.
~ Jimmy Carter
39th President of the United States of America
39th President of the United States of America
And I Quote
Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened, but go on in fortune and misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm.~ Robert Louis Stevenson
Actual Innocence
Goldsboro, North Carolina:
Dwayne Allen Dail is a free man after spending 18 years in jail for a crime he did not commit.
He was wrongly convicted and imprisoned in 1989 of child rape for the rape of a 12-year-old girl in 1987. He was convicted on the girls mistaken identification of him as her attacker and hair samples found at the crime scene "consistent" with his.
In 2001 his lawyer pushed for new DNA testing and the tests proved he was not the rapist but that another man already in prison was the man guilty of raping the 12-year-old.
The District Attorney asked that the conviction be reversed and Wayne county Superior Court Judge Jack Hooks Jr., set aside the conviction.
Dail's lawyer plnes to seek Governor Easley's pardon and erasure of the conviction and the $20,000 for each year Dail spent in prison wrongfully convicted.
What I want to see is his name removed from the sex offenders list as well ... but I think that will be the hardest part.
Dwayne Allen Dail is a free man after spending 18 years in jail for a crime he did not commit.
He was wrongly convicted and imprisoned in 1989 of child rape for the rape of a 12-year-old girl in 1987. He was convicted on the girls mistaken identification of him as her attacker and hair samples found at the crime scene "consistent" with his.
In 2001 his lawyer pushed for new DNA testing and the tests proved he was not the rapist but that another man already in prison was the man guilty of raping the 12-year-old.
The District Attorney asked that the conviction be reversed and Wayne county Superior Court Judge Jack Hooks Jr., set aside the conviction.
Dail's lawyer plnes to seek Governor Easley's pardon and erasure of the conviction and the $20,000 for each year Dail spent in prison wrongfully convicted.
What I want to see is his name removed from the sex offenders list as well ... but I think that will be the hardest part.
Greek Fire
Having been extremely busy over the past few days I haven't caught all the news but the snippets I have heard about the fire raging in Greece haven't been pretty.
First, I heard it had burned through Olympia, site of the original Olympic games ... which is a tragedy in and of itself from a historic and cultural perspective.
Second, I heard it was burning "over literally half that country" ... which is a horrible tragedy for the people of Greece and their lives and their livelihood.
Third, I heard that the fire was deliberately set ... which is so heinous that the one(s) guilty of doing so should be publicly beaten with a cat-o-nine because a: it would be severely painful, and b: they could never be made to make full restitution.
Sorry, but firebugs are firmly planted as one of the top social malcontents on my shit list.
Fourth, I heard that the fire was so massive it can be seen from space ... an achievement that should be of note but here is just another facet of the tragedy.
It is as if this Greek Tragedy has reached into the sublimely nebulous etherworld to become a Greek Comedy.
Forgive me but the pun was so open and as they say if there is an opening go for it, besides you have to laugh to keep from crying.
First, I heard it had burned through Olympia, site of the original Olympic games ... which is a tragedy in and of itself from a historic and cultural perspective.
Second, I heard it was burning "over literally half that country" ... which is a horrible tragedy for the people of Greece and their lives and their livelihood.
Third, I heard that the fire was deliberately set ... which is so heinous that the one(s) guilty of doing so should be publicly beaten with a cat-o-nine because a: it would be severely painful, and b: they could never be made to make full restitution.
Sorry, but firebugs are firmly planted as one of the top social malcontents on my shit list.
Fourth, I heard that the fire was so massive it can be seen from space ... an achievement that should be of note but here is just another facet of the tragedy.
It is as if this Greek Tragedy has reached into the sublimely nebulous etherworld to become a Greek Comedy.
Forgive me but the pun was so open and as they say if there is an opening go for it, besides you have to laugh to keep from crying.
Mark of a Successful Man
The mark of a successful man is one who has spent the entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Ladies from Hell
No one wants to face the Scots on the battlefield.During WW1 the 'highlanders' earned the moniker "Damen ab Holle" aka "Ladies from Hell" from the the Germans because they fought like demons.
All who face faced off against the Scots throughout history have had similar 'names' for them ... you'd think they'd wise up by now wouldn't you?!
Quiet Morning
It's been a quiet morning so far and I am worried ... yesterday was a quiet morning as well and I ended up having and bunch of people over and a burglar on top of that (see the Barnyard Follies post for details) ... what will today bring?
Working on my tan while typing this Blog, hearing the occasional bird chirp, contemplating a dip in the pool, solving the world's problems, yep that's pretty much it this morning.
Working on my tan while typing this Blog, hearing the occasional bird chirp, contemplating a dip in the pool, solving the world's problems, yep that's pretty much it this morning.
Bedtime for Gonzo
Alleluiah, alleluiah, come on everybody sing it with me, alleluiah Alberto is gone away!
Alberto Gonzales is resigning as Attorney General much to the delight of all sane and rational people in the nation. We had wondered where the shrub would find a worse Attorney General than Aschroft when Ashcroft resigned and he found Gonzo.
Never before have the top law enforcement officers of the nation been such law breakers as have these last two bozos ... even old J. Edgar tipped his hat at the law - granted he didn't do much more than tip it, but he did tip it.
Never before have the top law enforcement officers of the nation been such law breakers as have these last two bozos ... even old J. Edgar tipped his hat at the law - granted he didn't do much more than tip it, but he did tip it.
Now, everybody sing ...
Alleluiah!
Alleluiah!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Barnyard Follies
Chickens in the yard and cows on the porch:
the light in the window is a burglar's torch.
the light in the window is a burglar's torch.
We had an uninvited guest a little earlier this evening and Bossie scared the bejesus out of them coming up on the porch behind them and bellowing a deep "Moo" - how the thief didn't hear her coming up the steps is amazing, I heard her from the other end of the barn.
The hapless fool then fell into the Mrs., roses -man that had to hurt and when she sees them he'll wish he was dead, only to roll out of the bushes into a dozen or so squawking hens who began to peck at him like nobody's business. At which point he looked up to see Seamus and Angus "grinning" at him and letting a low rumbling growl out of their throats not six inches from his face.
I swear he pissed himself then and then he lifted his eyes passed the dogs and saw my laughing hysterically but with my rifle trained on his head, I asked him if he was a 'city boy' to which he croaked 'yes sir'. I said I figured as much when I saw you jump when Bossie there 'mooed'.
We just waited there as we were until the police arrived to take him to jail for attempting to break into my home which wasn't long as there were several calls to the police from the various others hanging around the pool and hot tub and they all seem to have remembered their cell phones.
Then I had to convince Bossie to get off the porch and get back to the barn ... which I tell you wasn't the most easy ordeal I have had to face ... she makes a mule look outright congenial when she gets spooked!
It has been several months since the last poor souls tried to burgle my home ... there must be some new blood in the city that don't know about my security system because the last ones thought hell had opened up and two hell hounds had come forth to bite them a new asshole or at least that is what they told the cops who 'saved' them from Seamus and Angus. I guess Bossie wouldn't be left out so she took it upon herself to become a "watch cow" to keep up with the Labs.
The hapless fool then fell into the Mrs., roses -man that had to hurt and when she sees them he'll wish he was dead, only to roll out of the bushes into a dozen or so squawking hens who began to peck at him like nobody's business. At which point he looked up to see Seamus and Angus "grinning" at him and letting a low rumbling growl out of their throats not six inches from his face.
I swear he pissed himself then and then he lifted his eyes passed the dogs and saw my laughing hysterically but with my rifle trained on his head, I asked him if he was a 'city boy' to which he croaked 'yes sir'. I said I figured as much when I saw you jump when Bossie there 'mooed'.
We just waited there as we were until the police arrived to take him to jail for attempting to break into my home which wasn't long as there were several calls to the police from the various others hanging around the pool and hot tub and they all seem to have remembered their cell phones.
Then I had to convince Bossie to get off the porch and get back to the barn ... which I tell you wasn't the most easy ordeal I have had to face ... she makes a mule look outright congenial when she gets spooked!
It has been several months since the last poor souls tried to burgle my home ... there must be some new blood in the city that don't know about my security system because the last ones thought hell had opened up and two hell hounds had come forth to bite them a new asshole or at least that is what they told the cops who 'saved' them from Seamus and Angus. I guess Bossie wouldn't be left out so she took it upon herself to become a "watch cow" to keep up with the Labs.
No Rust
The Statue of Liberty should never rust.
Teflon was placed between the steel framework and the copper skin when they restored the statue.
Now, if we can polish the tarnish off that has covered it over the last 6 plus years it will shine as a beacon to the world once again.
Shine on Lady! Shine on!
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