flap your lips friday
Posted by Michelle Moquin on April 8th, 2011
This article rides the vein, and I felt was the most apropos story of discussions that have been had on my blog in the past, and most recently. Here is a conspiracy that has been kept secret…for 20 years…until now. It would be bad enough if the “conspiracy” was the meat of this story, but it is not. What is revealed is far far worse.
Presently, we have a sad, and sick justice system. It has been said here that “justice” really just means “just us”. “Who” the “us” is goes without saying. This is one of the cruelest cases in the Supreme Court that has ever come across my plate.
The False Imprisonment Of John Thompson, (Connick v. Thompson)
New Orleans businessman Raymond Liuzza, Jr. was murdered in 1984. The homicide was observed by one witness who was able to provide a clear description of the perpetrator as African American, six feet tall, with closely cropped hair. Several weeks earlier an armed robbery had occurred. During the scuffle that ensued in the armed robbery, the perpetrator’s blood got on the pants of one of the victim’s. A swatch of clothing with the perpetrator’s blood was removed and sent to the New Orleans Police Lab for analysis.
Following the murder, an individual approached the family and offered to provide information on the murder in exchange for money. The conversation in which the so-called informant sought compensation for his assistance was recorded. He claimed to be able to provide an additional witness and the name of the murderer. Based on the informant’s interview, John Thompson was arrested for the Liuzza murder. When his picture appeared in the local media, the families of the juvenile victims of the armed robbery approached authorities claiming to identify Thompson as the robber.
Thompson was tried and convicted first on the armed robbery charge. He was sentenced to 49 ½ years without possibility of parole. At his murder trial he was inhibited from testifying in his own defense because the armed robbery conviction that would have been used to impeach his credibility and show a propensity for violence. Following his conviction for the Liuzza murder, prosecutors argued that the length of sentence in the armed robbery case left only the death penalty as a proper sentence for the murder. Thompson was sentenced to die.
Thompson would spend the next 18 years in prison, 14 of those years in isolation on death row. Appeal after appeal would be turned down as he protested his innocence, confined 23 ½ hours a day to an isolation cell. With appeals exhausted, his execution was scheduled for May 20, 1999. In late April of that year a defense investigator found an old microfiche file related to the armed robbery at the Police Crime Lab. It showed that the perpetrator of the armed robbery had Type B blood. Thompson’s blood is Type O.
Before proceeding to how prosecutors in this case abused their power to convict an innocent man, let’s take a minute to understand the law. The U. S. Constitution requires fair trials and due process. In Brady v. Maryland (1963), the U. S. Supreme Court determined that meeting those requirements demanded that prosecutors provide potentially exculpatory evidence in their possession to the defense. Exculpatory evidence is evidence that tends to prove a defendant’s innocence.
Back to the story. As the cases proceeded, the murder case was set to be tried first, with the armed robbery trial set to follow a few weeks later. The four prosecutors, including a senior Deputy District Attorney as special prosecutor, worked the cases. They successfully moved to have the trials reversed, trying the robbery case first. They would later admit that the purpose was twofold. First, a conviction for robbery would inhibit Thompson from exercising his constitutional right to testify in his own defense at the murder trial. Second they could use the robbery conviction to help achieve their goal of getting a death sentence in the murder trial.
Two days before the armed robbery trial, prosecutors received the results of the blood tests from the crime lab. By later admission of the District Attorney’s office, they intentionally withheld the crime lab report and did not turn it over to the defense despite the defense having officially requested, among other things, “all scientific test results.”
As the armed robbery trial began its first day, prosecutors removed all evidence in the case from the police property room and checked it into the court property room. Except for the blood stained swatch. The swatch was removed from the police property room, but never made it to the court property room. It has never been seen again.
As Thompson’s case moved to the murder trial, the prosecutors, robbery conviction in hand, failed to turn over the witness description of the murderer. You see, Thompson wasn’t six feet tall with close cropped hair. He was 5 foot 8 and wore his hair in a large Afro in 1984. Prosecutors also failed to turn over the audio tape of their “informant” showing that he was paid for his services. And that additional “witness” the informant led them to? He became the prosecution’s key witness. He was an African American, six feet tall, whose nickname was Kojak because of his close cropped hair.
Authorities also failed to produce a police report in which one of their witnesses gave statements to the police that contradicted their testimony at trial. They also coached witnesses, improper conduct by legal ethics standards, to work around evidence supporting Thompson’s innocence. In all, at least ten exculpatory exhibits were withheld from the defense.
No, that’s not all. In 1994, five years prior to Thompson’s scheduled execution, one of his prosecutors fell ill with terminal cancer. With just months left to live, and perhaps fearing for his eternal soul, he confessed to another former prosecutor who was not involved in the case that he had withheld the blood evidence. The confession was held secret for the next five years as Thompson languished on death row. It was not disclosed until after the investigator found the old microfiche of the lab results.
When all of what has just been related was brought before the Louisiana Court of Appeal, they vacated both convictions. It was the fifth case in ten years out of this prosecutor’s office to be overturned because of withholding exculpatory evidence from the defense. The armed robbery charges were dropped, but the prosecution decided to re-try the murder case. It took the jury just 35 minutes to find Thompson not guilty.
This case found its way to the U. S. Supreme Court all these years later because Thompson sued the District Attorney’s office for its misconduct. He received an award of $14 million from the jury. Yesterday the U. S. Supreme Court threw out the jury’s award ruling that Thompson had failed to prove a pattern of misconduct that required training to correct. Full opinion.
Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion in the 5-4 decision. He focused solely on the blood evidence, determining that this involved a rogue act, not a pattern of conduct that would put the office on notice of a need to train to avoid unconstitutional violations of citizen’s rights. But, if you want to know the whole story, you’ll need to read the dissent by Justice Ginsburg.
But, that’s not what this article is about. This piece is about issues the Supreme Court didn’t address.
The Appeals Process
For well over a decade there has been considerable pressure from those who favor capital punishment to shorten the appeals process in death penalty cases. They have argued for quicker “justice”, and they have been successful in cutting off parts of the appellate process at both the federal and state levels. New and tougher procedural requirements have also been added with the goal of shortening the appeals process.
If you fall into the camp of wanting to shorten the appeals process, please take a moment to reflect on the case of John Thompson. Were it not for the dedicated lawyers, paralegals and investigators who sought appeal after appeal he likely would have been executed before the misconduct of the prosecutors could have been discovered. Sometimes it takes years or decades to uncover the truth. Sometimes it is never uncovered. Please take a moment to think about the case of John Thompson the next time you are inclined to protest that the appeals process drags on too long and prolongs the “day of final justice” that you seek.
Official Misconduct
Not long ago I posted an article about police misconduct in the form of beating false confessions out of those in their custody. That too involved men accused of murder and included death penalties later vacated due to official misconduct. Those cases came out of Illinois which recently repealed the death penalty. This case comes from Louisiana. In the prior article, I noted that official abuse of power is not limited to one state, one police department or one prosecutor’s office.
Yesterday, the U. S. Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, opened a door prosecutors will be able to drive a truck through without having to worry about being held ultimately responsible for similar misconduct in the future.
Police and prosecutors have enormous power over those they arrest and prosecute. It is said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Please take heed that this applies not only to foreign despots, but to those fallible humans who populate our own small and large centers of power. We complain bitterly when diplomatic immunity prevents the prosecution of foreign diplomats who commit crimes on our soil. That same outrage should rain down on those we trust with enforcing our laws and who abuse that trust with a silent immunity to hide behind. Yesterday’s Supreme Court decision will not help.
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Readers: This story initially brought tears to my eyes, and a sadness in my heart, but it was quickly followed by anger and disgust to my brow, and a fire in my belly. It is a continual fight for what is right.
Tomorrow: Stay tuned for the dirty details of today’s story.
It’s Friday…you know what to do. Blog me.
Anonymous: Thanks for your comment. This is what happens when people get lazy and don’t vote. A “no” vote is a “Republican” vote. We are learning our lesson the hard way.
Doug: I have always enjoyed your written words. And sung by you is even more special. Thank you.
Cali: You and me both.
Anonymous: That’s a strange comment. So…if you know something, tell. As Jackie said, “Don’t eave us hanging”.
Haru: I HOPE that Japan learns something from it too. I HOPE that the entire world learns something from this. May peace and safety be with you and yours.
And that last sentiment goes out to everyone.
xoxo
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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April 8th, 2011 at 10:42 am
One of the last things I learned in the year of 1864 was an extensive plot to murder Abraham Lincoln. It was began as a means to prevent Lincoln from serving a second term if he was reelected.
The conspirators drilled the minions in the presentation of a story to tell if any were caught. They were to insist that they only took part in a kidnapping plot to gain the release of thousands of confederate soldiers.
It was believed that if they stuck to that story the make up of the jury potential in Washington D.C. would make it impossible to get a conviction. They were certain that no southerner could hold his head up in his community if he voted to convict a man who was attempting to kidnap Lincoln to gain the freedom for poor Confederate soldiers.
Mary Surratt who was often very vocal about her hatred for Lincoln was an active participant in the assassination of Lincoln. She blamed him for her family poverty because his freeing the slaves caused her slaves to run away at least those she had not sold first.
Her son who fancied himself a major spy and skilled military man was eager to participate and wanted to help train the three men who were picked to commit the murder.
The actual conspiracy involved a little over 1100 people. They were from several countries besides the US, to include France, Canada, Britain, and Italy.
The plan was to kill Lincoln and several cabinet members who would be replaced by southern sympathizers. The fear was that if Lincoln could put the country back on its feet, he would run and be elected for even a third term.
Britain and France were not interested in having a strong nation to contend with in the new world for their interest. Britain was convinced that Canada was a prime target for acquisition by Lincoln. As a result key Canadians were enlisted into the plot.
Britain’s racists had already set up training for the purpose of terrorizing the blacks to keep them in submission. They were very prepared to provide any assistance needed to further the aims of the chief conspirators. As far as many of these Brits were concerned, if Lincoln was not elected he was to be captured and hanged as any nigger should be.
Many of the chief plotters had circulated a secret biography that showed that Lincoln was of black heritage. They claimed that he was the illegitimate son of a negro by Nancy Hanks.
In his campaign for the Presidency Lincoln was often accused of being a negro by his opponents. He was called Abraham Africanus the First.
What gave strength to this was that his hair was more negroid than caucasian. So was his color. William H. Herndon who was Lincoln’s law partner from 1844-1861 often told others that he thought Lincoln was a negro passing as a white man because Lincoln had very dark skin and was often mistaken for a slave by potential customers.
He often alluded to the fact that President Lincoln’s confidential servant, William Slade, an ex-slave and a negro was much fairer than Lincoln and he had straight hair. Also it was often said that Lincoln’s father, Tom Lincoln, a short stocky man, bore no resemblance to Lincoln.
When Tom Lincoln learned of Lincoln’s true parentage from a sick Nancy, he smothered her as she lay in bed during her confession. When his second wife questioned him as to why he was so harsh in his hiring out Lincoln to do the most difficult tasks an employer had, he confessed that Lincoln was the bastard son of a nigger. He often threatened Lincoln with turning him in if he ever rebelled. As a consequence Lincoln was extremely subservient to his father always fearing being turned into a slave and sold.
He became suicidal. But his stepmother, Sarah Bush Johnston was a quaker. As such, she preached equality that all men were created equal. She told young Lincoln that God had selected him as he had Moses to lead his people out of bondage. She told him she had a dream that he like Moses would not live to see the fruits of his labor but he would be remembered as the man who freed the slaves.
She encouraged him to study in his spare time and to leave when he felt he was ready to follow God’s command that he free his people. I must confess here that Adam helped Lincoln. When Lincoln was certain that his opponents had discovered his true heritage, he again thought of suicide as a way to save his family.
The publication of a book by David Browder in 1860, titled “Ordeal of the Presidency” depicted a cartoon of Lincoln in a genie costume, the US insignia on his military belt with him uncovering a veil that was over his face to reveal a Lincoln with a head of wooly hair, and a face with distinct negroid features.
Afterwards, Lincoln was often described as a man who had a secret preying on his mind. Adam said that he believed that Lincoln intended to commit suicide to save his wife’s reputation and his family. So he met with Lincoln and told him that killing himself would not save his family because his children would be deemed negroes and sold into slavery.
Lincoln was so impressed by Adam’s ability to “magically” appear and to do things that were beyond his imagination that he asked him if he were God or an Angle.
Adam interrupted and told him what his stepmother told him, but he ended it with. “There is no God as you know it to be, so if you wish to free the slaves, it must be of your on desire. There will be no reward in heaven for you because there is not heaven.”
Lincoln asked if he could ask one last question and Adam said “if the answer does not cause your world’s history or future to change, I will give it. ”
Lincoln said, “I believe the key to freeing the slaves is to keep the Union whole and to never allow my beliefs to be known.” Adam smiled and said, “as your nation’s history will reflect. But know this if you do free the slaves your life will be forfeit, as your stepmother revealed to you. Lincoln knelt and wept as he said to Adam, “surely you must be from God because I have told no other of that conversation.”
Adam brought us in and introduced us; me as “I present you with Alexander Hamilton, the true founder of your nation because without his establishing the financial structure that makes America the competitive entity it is with other nations, you would be but a bunch of colonies pitted against each other and eventually absorbed by the other european nations at their leisure.” And Bita as the modern woman of a race he was not familiar with who would also because of him be a full citizen of the US. Bita with her brashness went up and planted a full mouth kiss on Lincoln’s lips.
The poor man was so startled by our appearance, he for the first time turned pale. If only he could have kept that color. Maybe his children would have met a better fate.
What Adam didn’t tell Lincoln was that those who believed that Lincoln was a negro had set in motion the plot to insure that any issue he had would die prematurely to their becoming a political threat.
By the time Lincoln was reelected for a second term the plot had been well rehearsed, the actors trained and only the appropriate time awaited for his assassination.
April 8th, 2011 at 10:56 am
Geez, will we ever allow blacks to expect equal justice? Between that and the Lincoln story, my mind reels.
If I may paraphrase Sharon, I’m off to work extremely glad that I am a white person.
Lawrence
April 8th, 2011 at 10:59 am
So Anonymous is that article by Michelle true? And what do you think of AH’s comment?
April 8th, 2011 at 11:02 am
Hi Mischa, sad story…look forward to tomorrows conclusion. I don’t understand how people can be so cruel, withholding evidence and all that. Not in touch with humanity within themselves?
AH, amazing story, thank you.
I went the light route today, though there’s info on eating and exercising and other things…but who can pass on some fun with CS? http://getyourlifebalanced.com/2011/04/laughing-is-good-for-your-soul-so-lets-do-at-charlie-sheens-expense-shall-we/
My computer is somewhat crashed…I think…so I’m going to see if I can rescue it and catch you all later, Luv, Zen Lill
April 8th, 2011 at 11:06 am
This is the kind of environmental effort that should be applied to the planets problems. Lead Guam.
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Bioengineering with vetiver grass on Guam
Published: Friday, April 8, 2011 – 10:03 in Earth & Climate
Related images
(click to enlarge)
M. Golabi
Mohammad Golabi, a soil science professor at the University of Guam, has put his years of research on vetiver grass to practical use in shielding the reefs in Pago Bay from the harmful effects of construction-induced run-off. One of the major health hazards facing Guam’s reefs is soil erosion resulting in sedimentation and suffocation of the complex organisms that make up a reef system. “Vetiver’s ability to tolerate high stress situations, adapt to a variety of conditions, develop a dense vertical root system, and powerful soil binding characteristics make it an ideal candidate for controlling soil erosion,” says Golabi.
Vetiver grass has a spongy root system that binds the soil beneath the plant to a depth of up to 3 meters forming a dense underground curtain that prevents gullying and tunneling. Once the hedge has been established, it can live up to 50 years and does not require further maintenance other than periodic trimming. With the right conditions thick hedges can be formed within one year of planting, but it generally takes two to three growing seasons to establish a hedge dense enough to withstand torrential rains and protect the shoreline from sedimentation.
In this pilot project, Golabi in cooperation with the developers planted vetiver grass along a Pago Bay beach area adjacent to a tract of land that had been cleared for a new housing project. Fully developed vetiver seedlings were planted in contour rows along the beach without disturbing the aesthetics of the area. The plants established in a few months, forming a thick hedge that prevents sediment from water-borne erosion from flowing into the ocean.
“It is also expected that these vetiver hedges may even be able to protect the beach area against tidal surge once their root systems are well established. These hedgerows clearly demonstrate that the vetiver grass system is a unique, economical and effective bioengineering technology for protecting coral reefs from further degradation in the Pago Bay area and may be applied to other sites around the island,” says Golabi.
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Be back in a couple more years to tell you how it works.
Michelle, that means you have to keep this blog going at least two more years.
Hafa Adai
Anna
April 8th, 2011 at 11:07 am
Better Chickpeas…
Shmuel Galili, PhD
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) are low in calories and highly nutritious (a one-half cup serving packs 5 g of fiber and 6 g of protein).
New finding: Dark chickpeas (black, red, brown and green) have up to 31 times more antioxidant activity and up to three times more dietary fibers than paler varieties (beige, cream or yellow). To benefit:
Try darker chickpeas, often found at stores that sell ingredients for Indian cuisine. Add to salads, soups and stews. Or make hummus (puree chickpeas with garlic paste, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil).
Personal interviewed Shmuel Galili, PhD, researcher, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel.
April 8th, 2011 at 11:16 am
Zen Lill:
Nice blog. You are hot. So I thought you removed the email address requirement. I wanted to say sweet things but I was afraid the little lady might find out.
I would just be flirting harmlessly, but she might not see it that way. So loose the email requirement.
Jeff
April 8th, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Once again we are in the hands of the dumbest majority that has ever managed a government. The white boy has done it again. The gave the keys back to the assholes who ruined the economy in the first place because they “wanted their country back.”
Translated into hypocrite – “we didn’t want a black man in control. So we put a majority of bigots in to keep watch over him. Now what do we get? A government on the verge of shut down, international embarrassment and tens of thousands if not millions who will be without their government checks.
I’m with the person who said fuck the assholes who sat on their asses and allowed the racists bigots to rush to the polls to vote in those ignorant bigots. The only ones more pathetic are the “independent” OTWs who voted with the bigots for republican candidates.
Greed, those fools voted their pocket books. As Anonz said the “Illusion of Inclusion” gets the greedy every time.
Robert
April 8th, 2011 at 4:18 pm
The republicans are at work stealing votes brazenly. – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/07/david-prosser-wisconsin-supreme-court_n_846431.html?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=040811&utm_medium=email&utm_content=NewsEntry&utm_term=Daily%20Brief
April 8th, 2011 at 10:27 pm
Jeff, I’m working on it but my darling computer guy works on Bahia time bc that’s where he lives, and if you know anything about peeps from that area of Brazil, they run late-ishhhh : ) with him, I’m going to guess that means by Monday, sorry for the delay. Would love for you and others to feel free to come on and flirt shamelessly and anonymously if that is your wish. – ZL
April 8th, 2011 at 10:45 pm
AH:
I remember this event. When the mention of a Negro strain in Lincoln was revived most unexpectedly in 1940, for the world premiere of the motion picture, “Abe Lincoln in Illinois” offered a prize for the American who most resembled Lincoln. The winner was Thomas Bomar, a lawyer, and prsident of the National Postal Alliance.
When after submitting his picture he appeared in person, the judges were amazed. It was as if Lincoln, had come to life. But before the premiere, it was discovered that Bomar, who, to all appearances was white, was a Negro. He was given the prize and sat in the front row the opening night but nothing was said of the contest.
The dailies were silent about the affair but the Interstate Broadcasting Company of New York mentioned it January, 27th, while the Negro press gave it wide publicity.
Friday, an outspoken white magazine, also gave it several pages with pictures. Under the heading, “Lincoln Snubbed at Lincoln Movie Show,” it tells how the prize was “privately awarded to a Negro…..the man who most looked like Lincoln.” (March 15th, 1940)
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Having been talking about the validity of Conspiracy theories. One can see why white america puts so much effort in attempting to shut down any wide spread belief that they occur. White history is full of conspiracies by various groups and entities that conspire to do whatever they choose.
There must be thousands of books and articles about Lincoln, but when was the last time you heard about the newspaper, magazine, a debates that discussed the race of Lincoln? If the same ilk of whites have their way our future generations will never know about the bigots and racists’ reference to President Obama’s birth certificate.
They will exercise their races aspersions to avoid future generations from knowing how disgustingly racists their race was back then. So they have conspired to remove and not mention the aspersions casted against Lincoln accusing him of being a Negro, less some black people start to believe it.
Surely the greatest President besides Obama can’t possibly be black. That would reflect too close to the truth that being white may not be all that.
Paula