TEXAS: DARLIE Routier Discussion Still Alive

Since accused women don't come up as often as men on this site - and we just received a comment on Darlie Routier, I went to the original post and saw that it had 13 comments and is still quite "alive" although posted 6/08. To review that earlier post and/or become part of that discussion GO here and/or Comment below.

Also, if you want more information from various sides you may want to visit the following:

Official Family Site: here

Wikipedia article(s) here

A discussion group here and here

Also, here's a review about a film which may be relevant to your concerns. Also, I understand that the lawyer featured in the film was also a lawyer for Darlie. GO here

Darin, Darlie's husband, shows where Darlie was attacked.

For all who come here new - be sure to keep in mind that although The Journey of Hope recognizes Innocence issues as one of the major considerations - by no means do we believe that this is the only reason to abolish the death penalty.

You can write directly to Darlie by addressing your envelope to:

Darlie Routier
999220
2305 Ransom Road
Gatesville TX 76528

ARIZONA: Midnight Time for Prevention (Bob Herbert, NYTimes)

Image from NYTimes - See
The New York Times dot com or GO here for general website and GO here for the following...

The article below is by an Op Ed reporter (one of my favorite) who has consistently argued for gun control AND for an end to the death penalty. He is no slouch investigator, research and reporter.

Isn't it TIME for PREVENTION instead of the FALSE CURE of EXECUTION?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
January 10, 2011


A Flood Tide of Murder


By BOB HERBERT

By all means, condemn the hateful rhetoric that has poured so much poison into our political discourse. The crazies don't kill in a vacuum, and the vilest of our political leaders and commentators deserve to be called to account for their demagoguery and the danger that comes with it. But that's the easy part.

If we want to reverse the flood tide of killing in this country, we'll have to do a hell of a lot more than bad-mouth a few sorry politicians and lame-brained talking heads. We need to face up to the fact that this is an insanely violent society. The vitriol that has become an integral part of our political rhetoric, most egregiously from the right, is just one of the myriad contributing factors in a society saturated in blood.

According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, more than a million people have been killed with guns in the United States since 1968, when Robert Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were killed. That figure includes suicides and accidental deaths. But homicides, deliberate killings, are a perennial scourge, and not just with guns.

Excluding the people killed in the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, more than 150,000 Americans have been murdered since the beginning of the 21st century. This endlessly proliferating parade of death, which does not spare women or children, ought to make our knees go weak. But we never even notice most of the killings. Homicide is white noise in this society.

The overwhelming majority of the people who claim to be so outraged by last weekend's shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others --- six of them fatally --- will take absolutely no steps, none whatsoever, to prevent a similar tragedy in the future. And similar tragedies are coming as surely as the sun makes its daily appearance over the eastern horizon because this is an American ritual: the mowing down of the innocents.

On Saturday, the victims happened to be a respected congresswoman, a 9-year-old girl, a federal judge and a number of others gathered at the kind of civic event that is supposed to define a successful democracy. But there are endless horror stories. In April 2007, 32 students and faculty members at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute were shot to death and 17 others were wounded by a student armed with a pair of semiautomatic weapons.

On a cold, rainy afternoon in Pittsburgh in 2009, I came upon a gray-haired woman shivering on a stone step in a residential neighborhood. "I'm the grandmother of the kid that killed those cops," she whispered. Three police officers had been shot and killed by her 22-year-old grandson, who was armed with a variety of weapons, including an AK-47 assault rifle.

I remember having lunch with Marian Wright Edelman, the president of the Children's Defense Fund, a few days after the Virginia Tech tragedy. She shook her head at the senseless loss of so many students and teachers, then told me: "We're losing eight children and teenagers a day to gun violence. As far as young people are concerned, we lose the equivalent of the massacre at Virginia Tech about every four days."

If we were serious, if we really wanted to cut down on the killings, we'd have to do two things. We'd have to radically restrict the availability of guns while at the same time beginning the very hard work of trying to change a culture that glorifies and embraces violence as entertainment, and views violence as an appropriate and effective response to the things that bother us.

Ordinary citizens interested in a more sane and civilized society would have to insist that their elected representatives take meaningful steps to stem the violence. And they would have to demand, as well, that the government bring an end to the wars overseas, with their terrible human toll, because the wars are part of the same crippling pathology.

Without those very tough steps, the murder of the innocents by the tens of thousands will most assuredly continue.

I wouldn't hold my breath. The Gabrielle Giffords story is big for the time being, but so were Columbine and Oklahoma City. And so was the anti-white killing spree of John Muhammad and Lee Malvo that took 10 lives in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., in October 2002. But no amount of killing has prompted any real remedial action.

For whatever reasons, neither the public nor the politicians seem to really care how many Americans are murdered --- unless it's in a terror attack by foreigners. The two most common responses to violence in the U.S. are to ignore it or be entertained by it. The horror prompted by the attack in Tucson on Saturday will pass. The outrage will fade. The murders will continue.

Copyright 2011 The New York Times Company

ACTIONS Suggested - ILLINOIS: Just In - Senate votes to end death penalty

See article at Sun Times dot com here The Senate’s 32-25 vote sends the legislation to Gov. Quinn

Adding the following suggested ACTIONS to this post:

From: "Stefanie Faucher, Death Penalty Focus"
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 13:17:02 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Historic news!

*Historic News!
The Illinois Legislature just voted to repeal the death penalty! *


*Let's make Illinois the 16th U.S. state without the death penalty!

Please contact Governor Pat Quinn right away to ask him to sign the death penalty repeal bill.*

If you are a constituent, please also mention where you live in Illinois.

Springfield Phone: 217-782-0244
Chicago Phone: Phone: 312-814-2121

The Governor is getting many calls today, so if your call doesn't go through or a voicemail box is full – please call back later.

*Where is the Governor on the issue?*

The Governor has not indicated one way or the other how he'll handle this bill, so we should be supportive and encouraging for him to take this important step for Illinois.

In the past, Governor Quinn has indicated support for the death penalty, while also expressing concerns about the problems with the system. You can remind him that regardless of his position on the death penalty, Illinois can no longer afford to keep a costly and error-ridden death penalty. Illinois legislators have sent the strong message that the system can't be fixed.

*Spread the Word*

Please tell your friends, family, coworkers, churches and organizations that a simple call to Gov. Quinn will help him have the courage to end the death penalty. Forward this message today.

*Vote in two online newspaper polls*

We've started a conversation across the state - and nation - about ending the death penalty. Today, a couple of polls have cropped up today to gauge public opinion about the recent votes to repeal the death penalty. Please take a second to vote YES in these two polls.

Quincy Herald Whig: http://www.whig.com/ or GO here

See also the following reports/Op Ed...which I'm leaving as they are for easy cut/past/forwarding

St. Louis Post Dispatch: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/talk-of-the-day/article_48ea16e8-1dd8-11e0-8ecd-00127992bc8b.html [ http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/talk-of-the-day/article_48ea16e8-1dd8-11e0-8ecd-00127992bc8b.html ]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TERRI

Gilles and Terri (This photo was taken as Terri was leaving the Journey caravan in San Antonio, Texas to fly back to Virginia.)

Gilles made this loving birthday post for her:

Today is Terri Steinberg‘s birthday!

I met Terri in 2009 at the Journey of Hope conference in Hamburg, Germany. This was the first time I heard her speak about her son Justin, about her ordeal as a mother with a 20-year old son on death row. We have met again in Washington D.C. and of course during the Texas Journey of Hope.

On the last day of our stay in San Antonio, as the Journey caravan was heading to Austin, Terri had to leave us and go home. She needed to take care of her family and get ready for Justin’s evidentiary hearing that was about to begin in Norfolk, VA. The hearing gave Justin his first opportunity since his 2002 trial to introduce new evidence in court, and could result in Wolfe getting a new trial or in his conviction being upheld.

I would love for Terri to get the best present ever, and hopefully this will happen soon. Everyone at the Journey of Hope feels the same way and wishes her a very happy birthday! Until then, please write Terri a birthday comment below. Why not also show your support by joining Justice for Justin (website), or the Committee to Free Justin Wolfe from Death Row in Virginia (facebook group).

Terri Steinberg’s page on this blog was ranked #5 of all views. Let’s make Terri’s birthday’s post #1 today!

Here's the link (and be SURE to hear/see the Video of Justin's little sister singing like an angel) here

Thank You Gilles and HAVE THE BEST BIRTHDAY EVER, DEAR TERRI!

Love from the Journey Family All

ED CHAPMAN: NC Death Row Exoneree to Speak in Raleigh

NC Death Row Exoneree to Speak in Raleigh, January 8 & 9 (See more details after the following about this hero who has been supported by Asheville friends)... Photo from Details Magazine which has a popular article on Edward Chapman. Also find article in The Journey of Hope blog-site here from his meeting with Transylvanians against the death penalty in Western NC.

People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, Beth Meyer Synagogue, and the Sojourners Class of St. Mark's United Methodist Church invite you to hear death row exoneree Glen Edward Chapman speak at two special events in Raleigh.

Mr. Chapman was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1992 murders of Betty Jean Ramseur and Tenene Yvette Conley, spending 15 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. He was released from prison on April 2, 2008 after prosecutors dropped all charges against him.

On Saturday, January 8, 2011 Mr. Chapman will be sharing his story during service at Beth Meyer Synagogue, 504 Newton Road, Raleigh. Service will begin at 9:30 am.

On Sunday, January 9, Mr. Chapman will be speaking during a special event held in Owen Hall of St. Mark's United Methodist Church, 4801 Six Forks Road, Raleigh. The event will be held from 9:45 - 10:45 am.

If you have any questions, please contact Amanda Lattanzio at amanda@pfadp.org or 919.933.7567

Happy New Year!

People of Faith Against the Death Penalty
www.pfadp.org or GO here
110 W. Main St., Suite 2-G, Carrboro NC 2751

============

Two UPdates: Dallas, Texas: Longest Serving Prisoner CLEARED through DNA evidence

Cornelius Dupree and Selma Perkins Dupree


Press Release just out (Tues, Jan 4th) from Innocence Project - here

Innocent man jailed since 1979 expected to be cleared
January 4th, 2011

Thirty years after Cornelius Dupree Jr. was jailed on rape and robbery charges, he is expected to finally have his name cleared after DNA tests proved he could not have committed the crime, according to the Innocence Project.

If a Dallas County judge agrees with Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins who said the DNA testing shows Dupree "did not commit this crime," he will set aside Dupree's conviction and officially clear his name.

Dupree will have served more years in a Texas prison for a crime he did not commit than anyone else in the state who was exonerated by DNA evidence. Only two other people exonerated by DNA have spent more time in prison in the entire country, the Innocence Project said.

"Cornelius Dupree spent the prime of his life behind bars because of mistaken identification that probably would have been avoided if the best practices now used in Dallas had been employed,” Barry Scheck, co-director of the Innocence Project, said in a press release. "Let us never forget that, as in the heartbreaking case of Cornelius Dupree, a staggering 75% of wrongful convictions of people later cleared by DNA evidence resulted from misidentifications.”

Dupree was paroled six months ago after DNA tests results came back and was declared innocent on Monday, the Innocence Project said. Now, the 51-year-old man is just waiting for his record to officially be wiped clean by a judge.

Dupree was accused of being one of two men who forced a 26-year-old woman and another male into a car at gunpoint in 1979, forcing them to drive the car and robbing them in the process, according to court documents. The two men also were accused of raping the female, court documents said.

The female initially identified Dupree from a photo line-up, but the male was unable to do so, according to court documents. At trial, however, both victims said Dupree and his co-defendant Anthony Massingill were the ones who committed the crime. They were convicted, and Dupree was sentenced to 75 years. Massingill, who is also serving time for a separate rape charge, is expected to also have his conviction set aside, the Innocence Project said.

Dupree has been fighting for his innocence since the day he was arrested, and for years following his conviction claiming he was mistakenly identified as the suspect. The Court of Criminal Appeals turned him down three times.

“Mistaken identification has always plagued the criminal justice system, but great strides have been made in the last three decades to understand the problem and come up with fixes like those being considered by the state Legislature that help minimize wrongful convictions,” Nina Morrison, senior staff attorney at the Innocence Project, said in a press release. “We hope state lawmakers take note of the terrible miscarriage of justice suffered by Cornelius. When the wrong person is convicted of a crime, the real perpetrator goes free, harming everyone.”

here

Dallas County man (to be) cleared in 1979 robbery, rape will be Texas' longest-serving exoneree

01:17 PM CST on Monday, January 3, 2011

By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News
jemily@dallasnews.com

A Dallas County man is expected to be exonerated Tuesday in connection with a 1979 robbery and rape.
Courtesy
Cornelius Dupree Jr.

Cornelius Dupree Jr., the 21st man exonerated in Dallas County, will have served the longest prison term of any Texas inmate cleared through DNA evidence. He was paroled over the summer after serving 30 years of a 75-year sentence.
Also Online

Full coverage: DNA exonerations

Dupree, 51, was convicted of aggravated robbery after two men abducted a man and woman on Dolphin Road in Dallas, said Paul Cates of The Innocence Project in New York.

The two kidnappers forced the man out of the car and later sexually assaulted the woman before shoving her out of the vehicle.

Cates said the rape victim wrongly identified Dupree in a photo array. The man could not pick out Dupree in a photo lineup. At trial, both victims identified Dupree as one of the men who abducted them in court.

Another man, Anthony Massingill, was also cleared in the same case, said Nina Morrison, an attorney with The Innocence Project.

Massingill, 49, will not take part in Tuesday’s court hearing. He was convicted in a second rape case and is waiting to see if there is evidence that can be tested in that case.

Morrison said the two actual perpetrators have not been identified. She said she does not know whether authorities have searched the national DNA database to see if the perpetrators are in the system.

Dupree's exoneration is the first involving DNA in Dallas County since May 2009. Since then, three men have been cleared with other evidence.