-- Justin Rosario on the effects of so-called "stand your ground" legislation.
Showing posts with label murder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label murder. Show all posts
Friday, June 8, 2012
Quote Of The Day - Here And Now Edition
-- Justin Rosario on the effects of so-called "stand your ground" legislation.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
A Nightmare Next Door, cont...
Jan 17th, 2012
Here name was Jackie, dammit. Not, "Jacqueline."
She was a good neighbor and a warm soul. She lived on the other side of my house.
She liked football and animals and Pinot Grigio. She liked the latter quite a lot.
All that separated our lives was a few thin layers of drywall. She was gorgeous, not the frowning face the newspapers have chosen to show.
More than that, she was beautiful in a way that didn't even threaten my girlfriend, Jenni.
Jenni's first reaction, upon seeing the ID photo or mug-shot or whatever bad-shot the gutter-draggers passing themselves off as "journalists" published was to exclaim, "Where's her smile?"
Indeed. Jackie's smile could light up the whole out of doors, not just a room.
She was murdered this weekend. According to a friend of Jenni's privy to local law enforcement, it was grisly. A single shot from a large caliber weapon.
My girlfriend apparently heard it. Not knowing what guns sound like, outside of the fiction of film, she thought it might have been one of our cats engaging in the casual destruction of which they are so very adept.
She was wrong. I was asleep. It didn't even register. Then, this happened.
For the last 2 days, our world has been cops. City cops. County cops. State cops. They all descended upon us. Multiple interviews with cops. Telling them all the same thing; "No. I don't know anything. No, it doesn't make sense. No, I never thought there were any serious problems."
And Vultures. Taking pictures. Plastering my exact address and photos of my home across the internet. Which has brought the gawkers, the rubber-neckers and the sick-fucks. You want a photo? Here's a fucking photo. From inside my house.
Then, there is the obvious suspect. His name is "Doug," although the media, as of this writing, has not yet released it.
I liked him, too. He was nice to me. We often talked while his crazy, dumb dog tried to jump on me and knock me over. I liked that he was such a good neighbor. Whenever he had friends over, he would knock and say, "Hey, buddy. Wanna hang out? Just lettin' you know we might be loud and stuff."
More often than not, I would decline. But, it felt great to have people we thought we could trust.
They were also very beautiful together.
To be honest, I thought of Doug as a very, very lucky man to have so lovely a lady.
Which just serves to make this uglier and harder to deal with.
It was his mother whom I consoled outside in the earliest hours of Monday morning.
She loved Jackie. Everybody loved Jackie.
Jackie was altogether lovable.
And special.
And now, our world is the stuff of bullshit TV-movies and hangers-on and quick-buck artists hawking manipulative crap about "domestic incidents."
And blah, blah, blah. And blah, blah, blah.
I just want her back...
Walking up the driveway in that ridiculous pancho she actually knew how to rock.
Flashing a peace-sign as if it were current. Beaming that smile and asking, "How are you?"
So that I might shoot back, "good... and you?"
As it is with all things that are too hard to fathom and, simultaneously, too ordinarily lurid...
I want a Goddamn explanation.
In spite of the fact that I know there will never, ever be one.
Here name was Jackie, dammit. Not, "Jacqueline."
She liked football and animals and Pinot Grigio. She liked the latter quite a lot.
All that separated our lives was a few thin layers of drywall. She was gorgeous, not the frowning face the newspapers have chosen to show.
More than that, she was beautiful in a way that didn't even threaten my girlfriend, Jenni.
Jenni's first reaction, upon seeing the ID photo or mug-shot or whatever bad-shot the gutter-draggers passing themselves off as "journalists" published was to exclaim, "Where's her smile?"
Indeed. Jackie's smile could light up the whole out of doors, not just a room.
She was murdered this weekend. According to a friend of Jenni's privy to local law enforcement, it was grisly. A single shot from a large caliber weapon.
My girlfriend apparently heard it. Not knowing what guns sound like, outside of the fiction of film, she thought it might have been one of our cats engaging in the casual destruction of which they are so very adept.
She was wrong. I was asleep. It didn't even register. Then, this happened.
For the last 2 days, our world has been cops. City cops. County cops. State cops. They all descended upon us. Multiple interviews with cops. Telling them all the same thing; "No. I don't know anything. No, it doesn't make sense. No, I never thought there were any serious problems."
And Vultures. Taking pictures. Plastering my exact address and photos of my home across the internet. Which has brought the gawkers, the rubber-neckers and the sick-fucks. You want a photo? Here's a fucking photo. From inside my house.
Then, there is the obvious suspect. His name is "Doug," although the media, as of this writing, has not yet released it.
I liked him, too. He was nice to me. We often talked while his crazy, dumb dog tried to jump on me and knock me over. I liked that he was such a good neighbor. Whenever he had friends over, he would knock and say, "Hey, buddy. Wanna hang out? Just lettin' you know we might be loud and stuff."
More often than not, I would decline. But, it felt great to have people we thought we could trust.
They were also very beautiful together.
To be honest, I thought of Doug as a very, very lucky man to have so lovely a lady.
Which just serves to make this uglier and harder to deal with.
It was his mother whom I consoled outside in the earliest hours of Monday morning.
She loved Jackie. Everybody loved Jackie.
Jackie was altogether lovable.
And special.
And now, our world is the stuff of bullshit TV-movies and hangers-on and quick-buck artists hawking manipulative crap about "domestic incidents."
And blah, blah, blah. And blah, blah, blah.
I just want her back...
Walking up the driveway in that ridiculous pancho she actually knew how to rock.
Flashing a peace-sign as if it were current. Beaming that smile and asking, "How are you?"
So that I might shoot back, "good... and you?"
As it is with all things that are too hard to fathom and, simultaneously, too ordinarily lurid...
I want a Goddamn explanation.
In spite of the fact that I know there will never, ever be one.
A Nightmare Next Door
Jan 17th, 2012
by F. Grey Parker
I didn't have time to read much over the last day and a half. Unlike last year, I didn't have time to publish anything about MLK Day. I slept through the South Carolina GOP debate. Our world was turned upside down over the last 2 days.
At a little before Midnight on Sunday evening, my doorbell rang. I got out of bed, grumbling mildly, expecting to see a friend who occasionally drops by at that hour. Instead, standing in front of me, there was a policeman.
"When was the last time you saw your next door neighbor?" he asked hurriedly.
by F. Grey Parker
I didn't have time to read much over the last day and a half. Unlike last year, I didn't have time to publish anything about MLK Day. I slept through the South Carolina GOP debate. Our world was turned upside down over the last 2 days.
At a little before Midnight on Sunday evening, my doorbell rang. I got out of bed, grumbling mildly, expecting to see a friend who occasionally drops by at that hour. Instead, standing in front of me, there was a policeman.
"When was the last time you saw your next door neighbor?" he asked hurriedly.
Friday, September 23, 2011
State Sanctioned Murder Is Always Wrong
Sept 23rd, 2011
by F. Grey Parker
Please join Amnesty International and commit to ending state sponsored murder
There has been some vulgar pushback following the state sanctioned murder of Troy Davis in Georgia. Those of us who have been steadfast in our opposition to the practice of capital punishment for years have been accused of only recently taking an interest. It has been suggested, with ominous undertones, that we "didn't care" about the other victim in the Davis case, the late Mark MacPhail. Our motives have been made suspect. This is not only dishonorable, it is vile.
What's more, we have been called "hypocrites for "ignoring" the execution in Texas of the notorious Lawrence Russell Brewer that same evening.
We weren't ignoring it. We were also fighting against Brewer's execution on general principle. However, having a provably reasonable doubt in the Davis case made it a greater imperative not only for us, but for millions of educated and informed citizens of the world. Let's face it. The cause of Brewer was not a popular one. The public's reluctance to sign our petitions on his behalf isn't exactly hard to fathom.
Others have spent time today lamenting the decision of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute the death sentence of Samuel David Crowe yesterday evening. This is wrong.
Is it shocking that his sentence was not carried out and that he will now spend life in prison, rewarded for simply having said he is "sorry" for his crime?
Yes, it is.
Is it suspicious that this commutation came just a day after after Davis' execution?
Absolutely.
The apparent hypocrisy begs a serious inquiry into the workings of the Georgia system.
That said, we who fought for Troy Davis should celebrate the Crowe decision. We should also condemn the killing of Brewer. That this penalty is allowed at all is the problem.
There is no deterrent value. It is revenge. Some receive it while others don't at the whim of judges and juries.
Allen Ault, the former warden of the Jackson, Georgia prison in which the Davis sentence was carried out, was one of six former penal officials who called for clemency in the Davis case. Mr Ault, a man who has overseen executions in that very death chamber, had this to say to MSNBC in the hours following Davis' death:
"When you're in the death chamber ordering an execution, and even if in your mind, if you're a man of conscience, actually believe somebody is guilty, it's still a very premeditated murder. I mean, it's scripted and rehearsed. It's about as premeditated as any killing that you can do."
It's murder. You can dress it up, you can engage in hyperbole about the "worst of the worst," you can argue about and distort "tradition" and you can generally find a good number of Americans who are willing to do as many rhetorical back flips as they need to in order to call it something else. It's still murder.
Lawrence O'Donnell did a fine job of pointing out why commitment to the end of all capital sentences is a moral duty. You might not be aware that there was a third execution yesterday. The cameras weren't there. They had already folded up shop. We didn't get very many supporters for Derrick O'Neill Mason. There was no question of his guilt and his crime was monstrous. And yet, some of us were fighting for him. Yes, even him. Here's why...
In O'Donnell's words, "as long as we have Derrick O'Neill Masons and Lawrence Russel Brewers we are going to have Troy Davises." Period.
by F. Grey Parker
Please join Amnesty International and commit to ending state sponsored murder
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| Troy Davis image via |
What's more, we have been called "hypocrites for "ignoring" the execution in Texas of the notorious Lawrence Russell Brewer that same evening.
 |
| L.R. Brewer image via |
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| S.D. Crowe image via |
Is it shocking that his sentence was not carried out and that he will now spend life in prison, rewarded for simply having said he is "sorry" for his crime?
Yes, it is.
Is it suspicious that this commutation came just a day after after Davis' execution?
Absolutely.
The apparent hypocrisy begs a serious inquiry into the workings of the Georgia system.
That said, we who fought for Troy Davis should celebrate the Crowe decision. We should also condemn the killing of Brewer. That this penalty is allowed at all is the problem.
There is no deterrent value. It is revenge. Some receive it while others don't at the whim of judges and juries.
Allen Ault, the former warden of the Jackson, Georgia prison in which the Davis sentence was carried out, was one of six former penal officials who called for clemency in the Davis case. Mr Ault, a man who has overseen executions in that very death chamber, had this to say to MSNBC in the hours following Davis' death:
"When you're in the death chamber ordering an execution, and even if in your mind, if you're a man of conscience, actually believe somebody is guilty, it's still a very premeditated murder. I mean, it's scripted and rehearsed. It's about as premeditated as any killing that you can do."
It's murder. You can dress it up, you can engage in hyperbole about the "worst of the worst," you can argue about and distort "tradition" and you can generally find a good number of Americans who are willing to do as many rhetorical back flips as they need to in order to call it something else. It's still murder.
Lawrence O'Donnell did a fine job of pointing out why commitment to the end of all capital sentences is a moral duty. You might not be aware that there was a third execution yesterday. The cameras weren't there. They had already folded up shop. We didn't get very many supporters for Derrick O'Neill Mason. There was no question of his guilt and his crime was monstrous. And yet, some of us were fighting for him. Yes, even him. Here's why...
In O'Donnell's words, "as long as we have Derrick O'Neill Masons and Lawrence Russel Brewers we are going to have Troy Davises." Period.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Killing King
Sept 2nd, 2011
Apparently, it's still hard to convict a suspect who planned a murder, told six people he wanted to do it and did it in front multiple witnesses in broad daylight. At least, it's hard when the victim was an openly gay 8th grader.
via AP:
"At the outset, prosecutors presented it as a slam-dunk case of murder: Brandon McInerney, driven by homophobic rage, shot a gay classmate in the back of the head during a school class.
But ultimately, after an eight-week trial and six days of deliberations, jurors could not decide if the slaying was murder or manslaughter.
A judge declared a mistrial Thursday after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision on the degree of Brandon McInerney's guilt for killing 15-year-old Larry King."
As has been reported by multiple sources, six witnesses heard the Brandon McInerney threaten the victim. He brought a loaded .22 handgun to his school. He fired the gun twice in the back of the victims head. After the murder, Brandon McInerney told a psychologist that in the days leading up to it, "All I could think about was I wanted to kill him."
To call this anything other than premeditated, first-degree murder is insane. On that note, cue the jury:
"One juror, who identified himself only as juror no. 10, told The Associated Press that several members of the panel thought McInerney should never have been tried as an adult.
"I don't think so," the juror said, when asked if the district attorney should have pursued an adult prosecution. "He was 14. Just trying to get in the head of a 14 year old (is hard.)"
via AP:
"At the outset, prosecutors presented it as a slam-dunk case of murder: Brandon McInerney, driven by homophobic rage, shot a gay classmate in the back of the head during a school class.
But ultimately, after an eight-week trial and six days of deliberations, jurors could not decide if the slaying was murder or manslaughter.
A judge declared a mistrial Thursday after jurors failed to reach a unanimous decision on the degree of Brandon McInerney's guilt for killing 15-year-old Larry King."
As has been reported by multiple sources, six witnesses heard the Brandon McInerney threaten the victim. He brought a loaded .22 handgun to his school. He fired the gun twice in the back of the victims head. After the murder, Brandon McInerney told a psychologist that in the days leading up to it, "All I could think about was I wanted to kill him."
To call this anything other than premeditated, first-degree murder is insane. On that note, cue the jury:
"One juror, who identified himself only as juror no. 10, told The Associated Press that several members of the panel thought McInerney should never have been tried as an adult.
"I don't think so," the juror said, when asked if the district attorney should have pursued an adult prosecution. "He was 14. Just trying to get in the head of a 14 year old (is hard.)"
Nonsense. Getting into the mind of this killer is not that difficult. His history of abuse at the hands of his parents is not a mitigating factor. Allegations of unwanted advances by the victim are not mitigating factors either. Brandon McInerney was obsessed with white supremacist and Nazi ideology. He was gripped with hatred for homosexuals. He wanted to kill the homosexual he knew. And he did.
Now, unless the DA refiles charges, Brandon McInerney is getting away with murder.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Christina Taylor Green RIP
Jan 9th, 2011
She was nine years old. She was born on Sept, 11 2001. She was interested in government and a member of her school's student council. It is reported that Christina Taylor Green went to see her congresswoman, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), in order to learn "how government works." It was the last thing she ever did.
Her life was snuffed out along with those of five others by an assassin's bullet.
The lesson is now ours to learn. This either ends now... or we have already lost our country.
Her life was snuffed out along with those of five others by an assassin's bullet.
The lesson is now ours to learn. This either ends now... or we have already lost our country.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Salman Taseer - R.I.P.
Jan 5th, 2011
Salman Taseer, the Governor of Pakistan's Junjab province, was shot dead yesterday by one of his own bodyguards. He recently had made a domestic and international stir by calling for reform of that country's repressive and destructive blasphemy laws.
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| Gov. Salman Taseer 1946-2011 |
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