As of today at 3:25pm, 1035 people from all walks of life have signed on to our judicial complaint against Judge Sharon Keller.
Anyone can sign the complaint by clicking here.
Many people have left comment, such as Frank Amies, who wrote “We are all equal under the law so it is the responsibility to those who administer it to do so fairly and impartially.”
The sister of Michael Richard is one of the speakers at the 8th Annual March to Stop Executions this Saturday in Houston. Her brother was the person executed in Texas on Sept 25 after Sharon Keller said “We close at 5”. He was the last person executed in the U.S. before the start of the de facto moratorium, but he should not have died that night.
He was killed by Texas’ one person lynch mob, Judge Sharon Keller. He also had a mental retardation claim that was not recognized by the courts.
We are going to have sign on sheets at the march for anyone who wants to sign on to the judicial complaint we are filing on behalf of members of the general public against Keller.
You can sign the complaint online by clicking here. We already have almost 900 signers. After the march, we will surely have more than 1,000.
See you in Houston.
The New York Times is reporting today that
on Wednesday, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, with 13,000 members nationwide, said it had just sent a complaint against Judge Keller to the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct, the first judicial complaint the group had ever filed, said its president, Carmen D. Hernandez, of Washington.
“Whatever else happens in the United States of America, the courts are to remain open to litigants,” Ms. Hernandez said.
Also, so far, almost 900 people from all walks of life have signed on to a complaint from members of the public that is being organized by Texas Moratorium Network. The sister of Michael Richard, Patricia Miller, is one of the people who have signed the TMN complaint. Patricia Miller will speak on Saturday at the 8th Annual March to Stop Executions in Houston.
Anyone can sign the complaint online by clicking here.
TMN is also responsible for persuading several elected officials to file complaints against Keller, including State Representatives Burnam, Dutton, Olivo and Farrar.
Tonight, the County Executive Committee of the Travis County Democratic Party approved a resolution urging the State Democratic Executive Committee to put a referendum on Iraq on the March 2008 primary ballot.
Only one person voted against the proposal.
The CEC is going to send a letter to State Chair Boyd Richie telling him of their endorsement of putting the referendum on the ballot.
Scott Cobb, who is leading the initiative, said he hopes that he can get other county CECs in November and December to approve the resolution before he takes it to the SDEC for their approval in January. The SDEC has the power to put the referendum on the ballot.
Anyone can sign the online petition for the Vote Us Out of Iraq referendum.
The proposed language reads, “Shall President George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress, in support of the men and women serving in the Armed Forces of the United States, end the U.S. occupation of Iraq and immediately begin the safe and orderly withdrawal of all United States forces.”
Meanwhile, the big national news today on the war concerned the cost of the war. Back in 2003, Bush said the war in Iraq would cost between 50 and 60 billion dollars. As it turns out, the war has cost about 40 times more than Bush said it would.
More on today’s war cost news from the Toronto Star:
WASHINGTON-George W. Bush has asked the U.S. Congress to approve another $45.9 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing the 2008 tab to almost $200 billion and making it the most expensive year of military combat in his so-called “war on terror.”
…
According to the independent Congressional Research Service, the $196.1 billion request by Bush for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 would bring the total cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and counterterrorism operations to more than $800 billion since terrorists struck the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.Even with an optimistic projection of half as many American troops in Iraq by 2017, the research service said spending on the wars would hit $1.45 trillion by then.
The Iraq war alone is costing U.S. taxpayers about $10 billion per month, or $330 million each day.
“The Iraq war is leaving us less secure, unprepared to fight an effective war on terror or respond to the unexpected. President Bush should not expect the Congress to rubber stamp this,” said Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
Paul Burka is reporting that Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle may be retiring. Burka says that “a DA is supposed to be the conscience of the community”, which brings up the issue of how the next district attorney should handle death penalty cases in a county where probably a big majority believe that the death penalty system in Texas is broken. The next DA in Travis County should reflect the community’s feelings on the death penalty and say that the death penalty is off the table within Travis County.
The people of Travis County are very comfortable with life without parole as an alternative to the death penalty. Any candidate who seeks nomination as district attorney in Travis County should pledge not to seek the death penalty. There is no law that requires a district attorney to seek death. Life without parole is a valid alternative. In a contested Democratic primary in Travis County, a candidate who acknowledges that the death penalty system in Texas is riddled with problems and puts innocent people at risk of execution is likely to be rewarded with community support.
More from Burka’s post:
All signs point to Earle’s retirement as district attorney. The first indication I received was an e-mail from a prospective candidate:
Paul, I am writing to inform you of my decision to commence an exploratory campaign to become the next District Attorney of Travis County. If, as I expect, Ronnie decides to retire at the end of his current term, I intend to do everything humanly possible to succeed him ….
In the event that I do become a candidate for District Attorney – and I have good reason to believe that I will soon have that opportunity – I hope that we will be able to count on your support.
The e-mail came from Rick Reed, an attorney who I got to know through Tom DeLay’s successful challenge to his indictment for conspiracy. Reed fashioned a winning argument but he had a losing court (of Criminal Appeals).
Ronnie Earle has never claimed to be a great lawyer, but he has been a great DA for this town. A DA is supposed to be the conscience of the community, a role too many DAs spurn while trying to push the ethical envelope to secure convictions.
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