Dead Man Walking

Amy Goodman always brings stories to light that the mainstream media ignores. Today she talked about the inmate on death row for a crime he did not commit. His cousin did it, he shot the man behind the counter at the convenience store. Woods, outside in the car, heard the gunfire and ran in. The cashier died instantly and was most likely already dead before Wood even entered the store. By a draconian law in Texas, the Law of Parties, Wood is guilty by association. He was driving the "get-away car". Here is the law's wording:

THE STATUATORY BASIS OF THE LAW OF PARTIES
Section 7.02 of the Texas Penal Code outlines the following:
A person is criminally responsible for an offense committed by the conduct of another if "acting with intent to promote or assist the commission of the offense he solicits, encourages, directs, aids or attempts to aid the other persons to commit the offense" or "If, in the attempt to carry out a conspiracy to commit one felony, another felony is committed by one of the conspirators, all conspirators are guilty of the felony actually committed, though having no intent to commit it, if the offense was committed in furtherance of the unlawful purpose and was one that should have been anticipated as a result of the carrying out of the conspiracy."
Article 37.071(b)(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedures permits the infliction of the death penalty only if the jury believes beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant "intended to kill the deceased or another or anticipated that a human life would be taken."

PARTIES AND THE US SUPREME COURT
The US Supreme Court held that imposition of the death penalty on a person who aids and abets a felony in the course of which a murder is committed by others but who does not himself kill, attempt to kill, or intend to kill violates the 8th and 14th Amendments of the US Constitution. (Edmund v. Florida 458 US 782, 1982)
Five years after the Edmund decision the Supreme Court created an exception to this general rule for those guilty of a murder that occurs in the commission of a felony who do not kill or intend to kill, but who have major personal involvement in the felony and display a reckless indifference to human life. (Tison v. Arizona, 481 US 137, 1987)

THE STANDARD NECESSARY TO DEMONSTRATE RECKLESS INDIFFERENCE TO HUMAN LIFE
The Delaware Superior Court observed:
"Major participation and reckless indifference to human life are more likely to be found where an accomplice defendant is present at and before a killing which involved considerable deliberation and the killing is preceded by physical or psychological abuse of the victim, including assault, torture or other acts of cruelty. Such a finding is less likely where the killing is sudden or impulsive and it is unclear that the defendant actually caused the victim’s death."
The application of Texas Penal Code 7.02, in combination with Texas Code of Criminal Procedures Article 37.071(b)(2), is unjust and unconstitutional because it permits the death penalty to be imposed for complicity in a capital crime without requiring a finding that the person intended to kill or that he was a major participant in a crime where he showed reckless disregard for human life. In other words, neglecting to anticipate another actor’s commission of murder in the course of a felony is all that is required to make a Texas defendant death-eligible, thus immensely lowering the standard the US Supreme Court has set. This is allowing the death penalty to be applied in a most immoral and liberal way.

Texas loves the death penalty. Governor Dubya certainly proved that. This Law of Parties is a barbaric, shameful and horrific piece of legislation. Texas needs to rethink it's place in the 21st century. Will they continue on the path to totalitarianism? When a time for peace and harmony is so desperately needed, it is sad to see so many Orwellian laws go into effect.
Jeff wood, I will light a candle for you today and continue to call Texas Governor Rick Perry's office. If you wish to call, here is the info:

Please call the Governor of Texas at 512-463-2000

Office of the Governor Fax: (512) 463-1849

Tell the Governor to Issue a 30-day Stay of Execution to Jeff Wood

Jeff is Scheduled for Execution Thursday, Aug 21 at 6pm, THAT'S TODAY, so CALL NOW!

Working To Create Change

We have been busy lately...



Nothing like being waterboarded by death on a late fall afternoon.



This picture was lifted from the Asheville Citizen-Times. Check out the article they wrote about the vigil and upcoming Veterans Voices - Veterans Speak Out on WPVM-LP 103.5 FM



Death says, "Bush's health plan keeps me as busy as his foreign policy".



Busy filling goody bags. The bags were brought to Fort Bragg by two Iraq Vets Against the War members who, after handing out about 150 bags, were detained for hours. Read Jason Hurd's, President of the Asheville chapter of IVAW, account of events.

Brownies Will Get You Five to Ten:
A Boondocks Chapter Christmas at Fort Bragg

By Jason Hurd

On the morning of December 17, 2007, Steve Casey and I awoke
bright and early at the Quaker House in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Steve and I had driven nearly three hundred miles from our home-base
in Asheville, North Carolina to distribute holiday gift bags to the
wonderful servicewomen and men stationed at our nation's busiest
military post--Fort Bragg. Our friends and supporters in Asheville
stuffed nearly three hundred small lunch bags full of holiday cards,
chocolates, cookies and home-made brownies. The gift bags had a
humble feel to them: brown paper lunch sacks with the tops folded
down, green and red ribbons, a copy of our newsletter Sit-Rep stapled
to the outside and a small sticker that said, "To: A Warrior, From:
IVAW." Our mission was to ensure that these bags--each made with love
and kindness--got into the hands of our deserving soldiers.
With gift bags in hand, Steve and I drove to Fort Bragg's Mini
Mall and set up a small collapsible table to distribute the bags
from. We taped two large poster boards to the front of the table; one
said, "Happy Holidays From Your Fellow Veterans," and the other
proclaimed, "We Love Our Service Women and Men." Immediately, Steve
and I began handing the packages to soldiers as they exited the Mini
Mall. I greeted each soldier by saying, "Hello. My friend and I are
veterans and we are giving holiday gift bags to our soldiers to show
our appreciation for your service. Thank you and happy holidays."
Nearly every soldier I spoke with replied with a large smile, "Thank
you very much. I'm glad there are people like you doing this. Happy
holidays to you too!" Within an hour, Steve and I had given out
nearly one hundred and fifty bags. In that time, only one soldier
reacted negatively toward us; every one else seemed extremely
pleased.
Around one o'clock in the afternoon, a female manager who worked
for the Army and Air Force Exchange Services (AFFES) came out of the
Mini Mall and said, "Hey guys I'm glad your giving out packages to
soldiers, but you can't do this on Fort Bragg without a permit." I
replied, "Great! Where do we get a permit?" The manager explained
where we needed to go, and we began packing up shop to go get our
permit. That's when the Military Police showed up. Three MP's--SSG
Netwig, PFC Murray and PVT Garren--approached us and began questioning
us about our gift bags. SSG Netwig glared at a copy of Sit-Rep and
said, "I'm going to keep my personal opinion out of this, but you are
disrupting the order and discipline of my post." I explained that we
were on our way to get a permit for our bags and we had no intentions
of disrupting the order and discipline of Fort Bragg. SSG Netwig
replied that we had offended a lot of people with our bags (which was
news to Steve and I) and that he would not allow us to continue
distributing them.
At that moment, a Special Forces Captain (apparently one of the
people we had offended) approached SSG Netwig and spoke with him
privately. Immediately, SSG Netwig said that we were going to the
Provost Marshall's office to answer questions.
"Are we being arrested?" I said.
"No. But you are being detained," SSG Netwig replied.
At that moment, the MP's shoved Steve and I against their patrol
car, searched us, handcuffed us and placed us in the patrol car like
criminals. They drove us away leaving a box of gift bags on the trunk
of Steve's car. In the back of the patrol car, I looked at Steve and
said, "Don't worry, this is a good thing--trust me." "OK," Steve
said. SSG netwig drove us to the Provost Marshall's office where,
after being searched a second time, we spent the next four hours as
detainees. One investigator told Steve that Fort Bragg is a
conservative post and that anti-war views were in the minority. The
officers separated Steve and I and began questioning us. I asked four
times to make a phone call so that I could consult with an attorney;
the officers denied my right each time. A criminal investigator
entered my room.
"Are you affiliated with any other groups besides IVAW?" he
asked.
"No, I am not, " I replied.
"How did you and this Steve guy meet?"
"Look," I said, "I'm not going to continue answering questions
without consulting an attorney."
"But you aren't under arrest. You're merely detained and we are
trying to have a friendly conversation with you," the investigator
said.
"I feel like it is in my best interests to consult with an
attorney before continuing," I replied.
Then the investigator and officers walked out leaving me alone in the
room. Against my captor's wishes, I began text messaging the Quaker
House and IVAW members to let them know what was happening (the
officers had mistakenly left my phone). Immediately, the
investigators began receiving calls from every peace activist from
North Carolina to Philadelphia urging them to release Steve and I.
The MP's knew they had a situation on their hands.
Before we knew it, an investigator apologized to Steve and I for
the inconvenience and released us. The investigator informed us that
we just needed to get a permit for future activities of this nature.
Two young MP's escorted Steve and I back to our car and we talked
about Iraq on the way. One of the young MP's said, "Yeah, fuck Iraq.
I hate that place. I had friends die there. I don't ever want to go
back." We pulled up to Steve's car and rubbing the cuts on our wrists
from the handcuffs, we saw the perfect ending to our day. The box of
gift bags was still sitting atop Steve's trunk and some passerby had
written on it the following:
"Hi, I heard what happened. Listen up cops, politicians, and OVER
EGOTISTIC DRAMA QUEEN SENIOR NCO'S AND OFFICERS! Many friends in my
platoon DIED BRUTALLY for the First Amendment. We have the right to
peaceful protest, damn you! Why did you arrest these guys? To all
ya'll who don't believe in: freedom of speech, press, council,
religion, assembly, and petition...GO TO HELL!! Sincerely, A
concerned passerby and witness to the arrest of protesters."
So much for being the minority.

Feeling a Need to Dissent

As hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets this past weekend in various coordinated protests across the country, a small handful gathered in downtown Asheville, including Death himself.



Coming up in a few weeks is the protest at the gates of Fort Benning, GA with the School of the Americas Watch. I wish I knew how to make a giant puppet. Check out this video from last years events.

IVAW Brian Clement Talks About Trucking in Iraq