Thursday, October 15, 2009

Best and worst

Keith Olbermann declares his best and worst persons of the world every day. Surely the rest of us are equally entitled to make such proclamations once in a while. Last night I saw so clearly who the most awesomest person of all is about the same time I decided someone else was as awful as he could be.

First the good news. Jon Stewart is the greatest thing ever. On last night's show, he took on the 30 senators who voted against Al Franken's anti-rape amendment. Both of my senators are among that group of bastards, so I was especially offended by the vote and the justifications offered by those who oppose opposing rape. Stewart, as is usually the case, nailed the criticism of those senators perfectly.
Now for the bad news. Gov. Rick Perry of Texas has spoken out in defense of the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, claiming that Willingham was a "monster" so we really shouldn't worry about whether he truly started the fire for which he was executed. As a criminal defense attorney interested in doing everything possible to prevent wrongful convictions, I am frustrated by the governor's refusal to discuss the flaws in the Willingham case. He would much rather denigrate Willingham's character and turn a blind eye to the junk that has passed for science in Texas courtrooms. Of course, it really doesn't matter whether Willingham was or was not a monster. What matters is whether we convicted him on nothing more than folklore and the feeling that he was a monster. If the Governor really doesn't get that, no good change is going to occur in Texas courts.
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