Say no to the McCanns' movie about Maddie!

A petition set up by DM forum member.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/justiceformaddie/

The fund, the online shoppe and now the movie! The Panorama programme revealed that the McCanns have been keeping a video diary since Madeleine disappeared. There is also Gerry's blog, most of which has been deleted, but which has been archived and saved by a canny individual and can be accessed by clicking on the link on this page under, "Blogs of Interest." Most of the entries in Gerry's blog from day 1 are there.

The blog, the video diary? Set up with the book and the movie in mind?

Daily Mirror forum for more details!

Addendum: carlymichelle's thread, linked to above, seems to have disappeared and the petition has been invaded by the usual crowd who try to crowd out genuine signatories by posting obscene comments. We know who you are, you trolls! Listed by Paulo Reis. The only place this petition has been listed, apart form here, as far as I know, is the DM forum. So, it's got to be the usual suspects!

Daily Mirror Forum: The hunt for Maddy

McCanns: the movie, the book and directors jumping ship!

Madeleine the movie!

" The McCanns are set to turn the story of their daughter into a film.

Kate and Gerry are in negotiations with the world's largest talent and entertainment agency, IMG, in a deal which could be worth millions.

The money would help fund the search for Madeleine amid fears that the £1.2 million raised from public donations will soon run out."

Daily Mail Tuesday 8th January

The Find Madeleine Fund was set up just a few days after Madeleine disappeared and was denied charity status as its scope was not wide enough. The fund is a business, but I am sure that many people thought they were contributing to a charity. A young girl apparently sold her toys on e-bay and contributed the proceeds, augmented from £80 to £100 by her mother. And what have the McCanns done with the cash? They have paid out £50,000/month to Metodo3, an agency in Spain more used to dealing with corporate fraud than finding missing persons. They have also paid the salaries of their PR people and made two months' payments on their mortgage. A meeting of the fund's directors made the decision that the McCanns' legal fees could be paid out of the fund, but on a guilty verdict if the case went to trial, the money would have to be paid back. How? Fifty pence a week from prison earnings?

"The Board has taken advice from Bates Wells & Braithwaite London LLP and Christopher McCall QC. The Board has been advised that payment of Gerry and Kate’s legal defence costs would be legally permissible subject to conditions about repayment in the event of a guilty conviction. "

The objects of the fund:

"1.1 The full objects of the Fund are:

1.1.1 To secure the safe return to her family of Madeleine McCann who was abducted in Praia da Luz, Portugal on Thursday 3rd May 2007;

1.1.2 To procure that Madeleine’s abduction is thoroughly investigated and that her abductors, as well as those who played or play any part in assisting them, are identified and brought to justice; and

1.1.3 To provide support, including financial assistance, to Madeleine’s family.

1.2 If the above objects are fulfilled then the objects of the Foundation shall be to pursue such purposes in similar cases arising in the United Kingdom, Portugal or elsewhere."

Part of a statement from the McCanns' legal team:

"What would really help is for the arguido status to be lifted and then a wave of sympathy would lead to more money coming in."

Yes, that's what's needed, another wave of sympathy to swell the coffers! Maybe the, "Best selling items," in the tacky online shoppe are not selling so well!

The online shoppe!

High quality T shirts and wristbands. Buy a wristband, get a poster free!

It would be easy to miss the information about a planned meeting of the fund's directors in Rothley. I missed it on my first reading of the Daily Mail's article on the movie and the book, but it's there. Resignation of some of the fund's directors is on the agenda for tomorrow's meeting.

"The meeting tomorrow follows the resignation of key board members, including the fund's spokeswoman Esther McVey.

The fund agreed a deal in the autumn to pay the Barcelona-based agency Metodo 3 a retainer of £50,000 a month for six months to find Madeleine. Metodo 3 has come in for criticism over comments made by its boss Francisco Marco, including one that he knew who kidnapped Madeleine and a promise to find her by Christmas.

The fund has also been criticised for paying two months' worth of mortgage payments, amounting to a few thousand pounds, on the McCanns' home while they were in Portugal and unable to work."

The Find Madeleine web site was set up within 4 days of her disappearance and the fund, I believe, was fully operational and receiving cash by May 17th, just 14 days after the event. Uncommon haste I would say! I guess we might find out later why several directors have resigned, including the fund's spokesperson.

In the words of that movie star I used to admire, "I'll be back," later with more news. Used to admire? Tookie Williams, Arnie! Tookie Williams!

Madeleine: rogatory letters to be delivered this week

Correio da Manha 8/01/08

With thanks to Li of the DM forum for translation.

Correio da Manha 8/01/08

The rogatory letters, are the formal requests to the UK authorities for the McCanns and their holiday friends to be re-interviewed. If those requests are granted, members of the Portuguese police will travel to the UK. They will not interview the McCanns and the others, but will be involved in setting the questions. The interviews will be conducted by British police officers.

" Letters should arrive at England this week
Rogatory letters delivered

The rogatory letters where the PJ asks to question again the McCanns and the seven friends that dinned with them the night in which the small Maddie disappeared were sent yesterday early afternoon by the Public Prosecutor of Portimão.

The CM found through a source close to the process that the documents followed through the Eurojust - which provides the link between the various departments of Justice of the Member States of the European Union - and that they will only be in the possession of the British police at the end of this week.

Only from there the PJ can initiate the steps in partnership with the British police. However,this does not mean that the Judiciary will comply with all the requests in the documents.

The delay in sending the rogatory letters - which reached the Public Prosecutor on December 7 - was due as the CM reported in the 12, to the need of examining the documents very closely especially the translation work by the Prosecutor.

NEW ARGUIDA DENIED

Francisco Pagarete , the lawyer who represents the Portuguese-British Robert Murat - one of three defendants in Maddie's case - denies the existence of a fourth suspect likely to be involved in the disappearance of British child, Madeleine McCann. "It is false that I have ever said that there is a fourth defendant in the process. It is also untrue that Michaela Walczuch has been constituted an arguida. Only my client [Murat] and the McCanns are arguidos, "said to the CM, denying statements made yesterday by the newspaper'24 Horas 'and adding that now" there is no news in the process. "

Francisco Pagarete says that he is not aware of an extension in the secrecy of justice. "I do not know if the secret of justice has been prolonged or if it was requested the special complexity of the process. I was not yet notified of anything. In relation to my client, everything remains the same, "he says. Pagarete is confident in the outcome of the investigation, however,he does not reveal what he feels about the outcome for Robert Murat.

The Portuguese law with regard to secrecy within the judicial process of investigation was changed last year and means that eight months after a person has been named arguido (formal suspect) the information held by the police must be made available or an application made to extend the period of secrecy. Robert Murat was named arguido on May 14th 2007. It has been reported that an application has been made to extend the period because of the complexity of the case. January 14th marks the eight month time limit.

Madeleine police deny Robert Murat's girlfriend is a suspect

This Is London 7/01/08: 11.22am

This Is London

"A claim that the lover of Madeleine McCann suspect Robert Murat had herself been made a suspect in the case was denied today.

Tabloid 24 Horas reported that Michaela Walczuch was named an arguida - or official suspect - in November and that her alibi is still being investigated by Portuguese detectives.

But today Portuguese police officials denied the story and Mr Murat's lawyer Francisco Pagarete said only his client was an official suspect in the case."

"Mr Pagarete, who has spoken on behalf of Ms Walczuch, told 24 Horas: "In the eyes of public opinion, they both became arguidos in a crime they did not commit. Neither of them is free of suspicion, with all the material and psychological damage that a dramatic situation like this implies. Somebody will have to pay for this."

Mr Pagarete added that Mr Murat will sue the Portuguese and British authorities. Madeleine was three years old when she vanished."

I hear that Mr Max Clifford is waiting in the wings to aid Robert Murat once Murat's arguido status is lifted!

Madeleine McCann: Correio da Manhã 7/1/2008

First thing each morning I go to the Daily Mirror forum's web page, with a mixture of hope and dread, to read the latest news on the Madeleine McCann case. Why the DM forum? Because there are Portuguese people posting there who translate the news being reported in the Portuguese press, which is often not available until much later in the UK press, if at all.

This morning, courtesy of a poster called Li, we have details of an news item in Correio da Manha.
For those who read Portuguese, here is a link to the original.

Correio da Manha 7th January 2008

For the rest of us, here is the translation, with thanks to Li.

"Exclusive Correio da Manhã
2008-01-7

Maddie's case

Blood in the flat and in the car confirmed

The final result of the tests that arrived recently from England do not leave any doubts to the researcher of the Criminal Police. The blood found in the McCanns car is from Madeline as well as the vestiges detected in the house rented by the British and from where the three years old child disappeared without a trace. "

" The front cover of the newspaper says:
Confirmed blood in the flat and in the car
Final results of the British laboratory
The risk of confusion between the genetic profiles of the twins and Maddie was eliminated."

I say that I read the news with a mixture of hope and dread because somehow I still retain a vestige of hope that Madeleine is alive somewhere and will found and she will go home. At the same time, I dread that she is dead and will never be found and laid to rest and also dread that she will be found and what is revealed will be details of a death which shocks to the core of what I want to believe about parents.

Also on the DM forum this morning, lullaby reports that the information about the results from FSS has been given out on Portuguese TV news. (RTP) If this is true, then it would seem to be valid confirmation of the news reported by Correio da Manha.

DM forum poster, mrsseagull, has provided a translation of an article in, "24horas."

24 horas

According to this article, Michaela Walczuch, described as ex-girlfriend of Robert Murat, was given arguida (formal suspect) status in November, 2007. This seems to be in contradiction to information published by the UK Daily Star and other newspapers in November.


Daily Star 22/11/07

Writing about Metodo3, the agency hired by the McCanns;

" THE £2,000-a-day private eyes hired by Madeleine McCann’s parents to find her were dismissed by police last night as “irrelevant small fry’’.

They claimed the evidence gathered so far by Spanish-based private detective agency Metodo 3 “lacked credibility’’.

The police detectives scoffed at the private eyes’ claim they “know who the kidnappers are’’ and were “very, very close’’ to catching them.

And they insisted Robert Murat’s German girlfriend – who the investigators allege is linked to Madeleine’s disappearance – was not a suspect in the case."

"Michaela dismissed the private eyes’ allegations as “ridiculous’’ and plans to sue them. Murat, an ex-pat Brit estate agent, remains a suspect, but his mum insists he was with her the night Madeleine vanished. Police have so far found no evidence to link him to the youngster’s disappearance. "

An interesting detail from the 24 horas article, as translated by Li.

" The employees deny

The employees of the Tapas Bar, according to what 24 Horas discovered, guaranteed to the inspectors of the PJ that Jane Tanner was always in the restaurant and that only O'Brien and Gerry McCann and his wife Kate were absent during dinner. O'Brien has never entered in the flat where Maddie slept with the twins as this is stated in the deposition that he gave to the authorities. Jane Tanner only left the restaurant when Kate appeared screaming: They've taken her."

We are being told here that Jane Tanner never left the restaurant, so that she could not have seen Eggman, Bundleman, the man carrying a child in Madeleine's pyjamas. If Jane Tanner had been wandering around in PDL and observing a, "swarthy," man carrying a child, from her statement about where she was when she saw him, she must have been close to where Gerry McCann and Jez Wilkins were having a conversation, but neither of the men saw Bundleman or Jane.

Our very own Daily Star has picked up today on the remarkable similarity between Robert Murat and David Payne.

Daily Star 7/01/08

" WITNESSES who say they saw suspect Robert Murat outside Madeleine McCann’s apartment on the night she vanished may have named the wrong man.

The 34-year-old ex-pat has always denied claims that he was just yards from the flat where the little girl was last seen – and now police believe he could be telling the truth. Detectives think Murat could have been mistaken for one of the McCanns’ friends, 41-year-old medical researcher David Payne. And they say witnesses who claim to have seen Murat actually spotted Mr Payne out searching for the missing four-year-old."

I will end here by mentioning a second article translated by Li from 24 horas. This article reports that Michaela Walczuch,

"..........was heard as witness and became a suspect in Maddie's case
Murat's girlfriend is also an arguida
Michaela Walczuch is suspected of being allegedly involved in the child's disappearance. Her alibi is being investigated by the authorities "

Whether Michaela Walczuch has arguida status or not, the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann seems to be nearing a resolution and conclusion. As many of the posters on the DM forum say; justice for Madeleine.

Smokey The Rabbit Died Last Night

Now, you may wonder why I am telling you about Smokey the rabbit. He was seven years old or thereabouts and that's apparently a good life for a rabbit. Smokey was a well-loved rabbit and he was looked after with great care. Smokey belonged to a teenager called Jack, but I am told that he received most attention from Jack's sister Sammie.

The passing of Smokey the rabbit marks another milestone for the parents of Jack and Sammie. Sammie is Sammie Osborn, who left her family home in April 2007, aged just 15 years and has not returned. She is now 16 and is living in Bristol with the man she met on the internet.

While you've been gone, Sammie, your brother has become a young man. He has probably grown a few more inches in height and a few more bits of fluff on his chin, but to look at him you'd still see that brother you knew and lived with for the whole of his life until April 2007. You would recognise Jack anywhere, I am sure, because he won't have changed outwardly beyond all recognition. Inwardly, though, Sammie, your brother has done years of maturing emotionally since that day you left the home he now shares on his own with your parents. Jack has faced the kind of challenges that most young men of his age don't experience and those challenges have produced a mature young man of your kid brother.

Now, I am not telling you this to make you feel guilty. I am telling you because people's lives don't stand still. Your image of your home and your family may be frozen at April 2007, but things change and people grow and move on, especially young people. Your friends have taken their mock GCSEs and I'm sure they're going to be very busy now getting their coursework out of the way and revising for the real exams. They will all leave school in June and move on, mostly I imagine into further education, studying for their A levels and hoping to go to university. I have read some of the letters your friends sent to you and I can tell you there is still a gap where you once were. But Sammie, that gap will gradually be filled as your friends' lives change, as they meet new people in Sixth Form College and move on to other things. The experiences you should be sharing with them, they will share without you. You will not be forgotten by your friends, but the Sammie they knew will have gone forever, changed by time and circumstance as they are changed.

And now to Smokey. Another change since you were last at home. Your frozen image of your home may include a snapshot of Smokey in his hutch. Alas, Smokey died last night and I am sorry to tell you that Silky has also gone. The hutches are as empty as your bedroom. Another gap and another little bit of grief for those who love you.

I hope you are well and happy, Sammie, because if you ever decide to return to your family, I hope that you go back as a happy and more mature person who has benefited from all the experiences you have been through and that the changes in you are positive changes that you are really happy with. Nine months is a long time in a young person's life and you must have changed a great deal in that time, emotionally and physically. Sammie, please don't let the gaps grow too wide between you and your family and your friends. We only have one family, one mother, one father and you have one brother. There isn't another, ever. Please don't let them go, Sammie. Hold onto them. Please don't be in the position where you look back in a few years time and wish that the changes in your life had been changes you shared in the heart of your family.

For now, Sammie, I wish you well. Take care and whatever you do, be safe.

Kate And Gerry McCann: Is the Party Over?

Once again it's thanks to the brilliant posters on the Daily Mirror forum for bringing items and articles to our attention, particularly from those blogs with information which seems to escape the notice of the UK press.

Duarte Levy and Paulo Reis, writing in Gazeta Digital 3.01.08

Gazeta Digital

"Police has new evidence against Madeleine's parents

Investigation about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann from a quiet resort at Praia da Luz had “important developments” in the last weeks, after a Portuguese police team met with Leicestershire police and representatives from Forensic Science Service, the British laboratory where samples collected at the crime scene are being analysed.

It seems that a great deal of work was done and a great deal of information exchanged, which we did not get to read about in the UK press. If it was there, I missed it!

"On a preliminary report about the case, recently sent to the Public Prosecutor's Office, Polícia Judiciária (PJ) states that the parents remain the main suspects. Among other pieces of new evidence, there is a specific phone call and several messages, send from Ocean Resort, that are classified by investigators as “highly incriminating” Gerry and Kate McCann.

I believe the messages being referred to may be fourteen text messages which Gerry was reported to have sent on the evening of May 3rd, in the time between leaving the apartment for the tapas bar and Madeleine's being reported missing by Kate at 10pm. The phone call may be a mobile phone call, made some time later (June 12th?) between Gerry McCann and Russell O'Brien, when Gerry reported that the two were only 4km apart and triangulation placed then at 25km apart. The fairly accurate positioning of where this call was made from may have been what led the PJ to a disused barn and a towel which had traces of blood along the hem, which showed a, "moderate comparison," to Madeleine's DNA.

"The same evidence also gave indications about how the body of Madeleine McCann could have been taken from the apartment and disposed of. Today, it was confirmed by a source from the Public Prosecutor's Office that a request to extend the time limit for the case will be filed, with the Criminal Court, before January 14, eight months after the first formal suspect was named."

"The Tapas Group, the friends who had dinner with the McCann on May 3rd, will be questioned again soon, as a formal request to the British Home Office is ready. Police wants to clarify, first, contradictory statements about the night of May 3rd, and PJ detectives would like to interrogate Gerry and Kate before the end of January – something that will depend from the time Home Office and British police will take to proceed with the questionings.

"Among many details that are confuse or contradictory, Police sources refer the fact that witnesses confirm they saw Gerry McCann and Russell O'Brien going inside apartment 5A to check the three children sleeping there. The McCann spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, is already preparing public opinion for a new interrogation of Madeleine's parents and yesterday told British Media that Kate and Gerry would be pleased to clarify “misunderstandings” related with their previous statements."

So, according to this report there are witnesses who say they saw Gerry and Russell going into the apartment to check on the children. This is a significant departure from earlier reports which stated that Russell O'Brien was absent from the dinner table because he was with his child who was vomiting. There is no mention in official timelines reported to have been given by the Tapas 9 that O'Brien entered the apartment, with or without Gerry. And Kate and Gerry will now be pleased to, "clarify misunderstandings."? Misunderstandings? Euphemism for outright porkie pies?

"New detectives hired

Hogan International, a company specialized in asset investigations, is reviewing Madeleine's case, working in coordination with Metodo 3, the Spanish detectives company that announced recently they knew who kidnapped Madeleine and promised to find her before Christmas. Sources close to the McCann supporters say that the six-month contract with Metodo 3, which ends around March, will not be renewed and Hogan International will replace them, in the private investigation set up by the McCann, following advise from Control Risk Group.

The McCann legal team has asked private investigators to concentrate in specific details of the investigation related with Police evidence of Madeleine's death and his body disposal, instead of following leads about sightings or other information related with a possible abductor.

Duarte Levy and Paulo Reis"

Giving up on the story about an abductor to concentrate on building a defence based on what the police might have as evidence? Well, we know some of that already. The scent the cadaver dog Eddie alerted to in the rented Renault Scenic? Well, they carried soiled nappies and mouldy meat to the dump and Amelie had been wearing Madeleine's sandals, which must have had traces of Madeleine's sweat on. Doctors carrying leaky soiled nappies and mouldy meat which wasn't properly wrapped in the boot of a hired car? They've got very strange ideas of hygiene or they're lying! Ummmm! Wonder which it is!

So, is the party over for the McScams and the Tapas Crew? Today's Mail On Sunday is reporting that the PJ has enough evidence to prosecute the McCanns and just need to re-interview the McCanns and their holiday mates, to clear up inconsistencies.

All British paedophiles associated with the Algarve have been eliminated, hundreds of holiday-makers have been interviewed, the witnesses who apparently saw Robert Murat near the apartment, are not being taken as credible and what does that leave? No evidence of an abduction. Windows and shutters not tampered with. Incredibly small window of opportunity for an abductor and no trace of an abductor in the apartment. So, as in most cases of children going missing, possibly killed, it comes back to the parents. Looks like theirs is the only trail not eliminated. Maybe the party is, then, well and truly over. If so, and the PJ has enough incriminating evidence to charge the McCanns with Madeleine's disappearance, I hope that we will find out what happened to that small child and that her body may be found and laid to rest.

Rest in peace little Madeleine. We will not rest until justice is done for you and those responsible are brought to answer for their crimes.

Robert Murat and David Payne

Photograph posted on the Daily Mirror forum by Sweetex.

(See also photograph in margin, posted by Lippmann on the Daily Mirror forum.)

Well, those canny folks on the Daily Mirror forum have done it again! They've been doing it for months now, practically since Madeleine McCann disappeared. Doing what you might ask. Well, first of all there were questions about three children being left on their own in an unlocked apartment. This very quickly led to suspicions being voiced about shutters that were, "jemmied," and then found to be intact. Who checked on the children and when? Could the apartment really be seen from the tapas bar? How far is the tapas bar from the apartment? A few truly investigative types went as far as using aerial photos and measuring the distance and one or two, who had holidays planned, walked the route in Praia da Luz and produced videos of the trek.

Jane Tanner's repetitive updating of her description of a possible abductor was well and tuly scrutinised and gave rise to, "Eggman," "Bundleman," and finally the clearly described (from the back) man carrying a child in pyjamas just like the ones Madeleine was said to have been wearing when she disappeared.

I think LogicMan's theory was the first clearly delineated one. Kind soul that he seems to be, almost desperate for Madeleine to be found alive and well, LogicMan gave birth to the, "hoax theory," wherein Madeleine's disappearance had been planned, she was being well cared for and would return.

We've had, "think the unthinkable." Was Madeleine being sexually abused? Could she have been saying things where she shouldn't have been, in the creche for instance, that might have been seen as disclosure to a Child Protection trained person? Would this be cause enough for murder to save careers and reputations? This theory has been the most incendiary for the pro-McCann posters on the forum, some of whom become irate just at the suggestion that in some photos Madeleine is wearing make-up.

The accidental death theory. Did Kate or Gerry, in a fit of temper, lash out, causing fatal injuries? The sedation gone wrong theory. Was Madeleine over-sedated? Did she have an unusual reaction to a sedative? The woke and wandered, had an accident, was lifted by an opportunist paedophile, lay dead somewhere for so long that the McCanns would have been charged with neglect, leading to serious harm.

Today, they have done it again, those brilliant people! Remember all those people who bear witness that they saw Robert Murat in the vicinity of the McCanns' apartment, soon after Madeleine was discovered gone? Three members of the Tapas Crew, and six others, including the two sisters whose stories have been well publicised in the world's press. (It has been pointed out by, amongst others, Martin Brunt of Sky News, that no local person who knew Robert Murat saw him near the apartment.) So, what's new? Well, there have been suggestions in the past weeks, months maybe, that David Payne, one of the Tapas 9, bears an uncanny resemblance to Robert Murat. Today we have visual evidence of the similarity between the two men.

Daily Mirror Forum

Thread started by Sweetex: "Amazing, murat and payne...."

In the dark, how easy would it be to tell which of those two men was seen? One of the sisters insisted that she had seen Robert Murat wearing a stripey top and when seen later in the same day, he had changed his clothes, because he wasn't then wearing the stripey top. She saw David Payne earlier?

Well folks, it's getting really interesting over there at the Daily Mirror forum and I hope the Portuguese police are keeping tabs on what is being said there. Have they investigated The Author's very well documented and discussed theory on the, "Forged last photo."? Go look for yourself! Fascinating.

Well done Daily Mirror forum posters! It's a pity that there have been no investigative journalists in the UK press who have been willing to put so much time and effort into researching the unanswered questions surrounding the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Uzbekistan and South Korea but not US Presidential Candidates.

From January 1st Uzbekistan the death penalty has been abolished in Uzbekistan.

Interfax Politics

"Starting from January 1, 2008, the death penalty in Uzbekistan has been
abolished. In addition, the right to sanction arrests has been delegated to
courts starting from the New Year's," the Uzbek Supreme Court told Interfax.

These decisions are based on the presidential decrees 'On the abolition of
the death penalty in the Republic of Uzbekistan' of August 1, 2005 and 'On
delegating the right to sanction arrests to courts' of August 8, 2005."

On Sunday December 30th South Korea passed a milestone of 10 years since the last execution, becoming an abolitionist state in practice, with a bill pending to make the abolition formal.

The Indian Catholic

"On Dec. 30, the country marked 10 years since its last executions, thus becoming an abolitionist country "in practice" as defined by international human rights monitor Amnesty International. The last executions, of 23 death-row inmates, took place on Dec. 30, 1997.

The activists held their public celebration of the occasion in the courtyard of the National Assembly in Seoul. The Preparatory Committee for the Celebration of the Abolition of the Death Penalty, which brings together campaigners from religious, political and civic groups, organized the event. Participants demanded that lawmakers pass a pending bill to abolish the death penalty."

"Catholic Bishop Boniface Choi Ki-san of Incheon told the gathering, "South Korea has become the 134th country to abolish the death penalty in practice or in law. This shows that our country has become 'developed' in human rights.

So, Uzbekistan, a police state, has joined the ranks of countries to abolish the death penalty. South Korea just passed 10 years without an execution. The U.S. is becoming more and more isolated in its use of the death penalty.

What of the American presidential candidates and their views on the death penalty? John Nichols of Madison's Capital Times considers that most candidates are wrong in their support of the death penalty. While Uzbekistan and South Korea join the ranks of abolitionists, and the United Nations has called for a moratorium on state executions, most presidential candidates seem to be in favour of the USA's retaining the death penalty.

Capital Times Madison Wisconsin

"The death penalty is a ridiculously ineffective and even more ridiculously expensive tool for fighting crime. It is a permanent punishment, yet it is applied unevenly and unreliably. It is dramatically racist in its application. It is even more dramatically biased along class lines.

It is cruel, and it is unusual. It has been banned by the civilized world."

And, of course, there is the matter of it being immoral when weighed against any moral code that can see beyond the "eye for an eye" fantasy that Mahatma Gandhi correctly observed "leaves the whole world blind."

Yet, for the most part, the candidates for the 2008 Democratic and Republican presidential nominations are death penalty supporters -- or, perhaps even more objectionably, they are death penalty apologists.

One candidate, Mike Huckabee, is a death penalty practitioner. Huckabee notes that, as governor of Arkansas, he had to "carry out the death penalty more than any governor in the history of my state." This is, Huckabee claims, "not something I'm proud of."

Yet Huckabee's embarrassment was not so great as to cause him to follow the lead of a fellow Republican, former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, by calling a halt to executions.

Huckabee's hypocrisy is writ large across his every action, so it is not surprising that the self-defined "Christian leader" continues the ancient Roman custom of state-sanctioned slaying of prisoners.

But Huckabee's no worse than proponents of expanding the death penalty. Republican Mitt Romney, as governor of Massachusetts, drafted legislation to reinstate the death penalty. Democrat Joe Biden, the senator from Delaware, authored the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which expanded the federal death penalty to cover 60 new offenses.

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is a death penalty advocate who, as first lady, lobbied for expanding the list of federal crimes for which a prisoner could be killed.

Republican front-runner Rudy Giuliani is another longtime fan of capital punishment, and he has even gone so far as to urge federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in specific cases.

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, Clinton's closest competitor for the Democratic nod, is embarrassingly hypocritical on the issue. With death penalty abolitionists, he cites his work as an Illinois state senator to reform that state's capital punishment system. With death penalty supporters, he says allowing executions is a way of saying that "the community is justified in expressing the full measure of its outrage."

John Edwards, who has made a strong play for progressive votes, also favors the death penalty. But Edwards at least says "we need reforms in the death penalty to ensure that defendants receive fair trials, with zealous and competent lawyers, and with full access to DNA testing."

That's similar to the stance taken by New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. And it's a whole lot better than another Democrat, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, who opposes the sort of moratorium on capital punishment -- in order to ensure that innocents are not executed -- that even some Republicans back.

The leading Democratic contenders are no more responsible or humane when it comes to the death penalty than mainstream Republicans such as Fred Thompson, the senator-turned-actor who played a tough prosecutor on TV, or Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Indeed, of the 16 men and women actively seeking the nominations of the two parties this year, only three have sided with death penalty abolitionists. Former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, a Democrat, has argued for 35 years in favor of ending capital punishment. Similarly, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, the libertarian Republican who is at odds with his party's leaders on so many fronts, is an across-the-board foe of executions whose campaign says he always has and always will vote against capital punishment.

Once again, that aligns Paul with Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, a steady and passionate foe of the death penalty, who says, "Morally, I simply do not believe that we as human beings have the right to 'play God' and take a human life -- especially since our human judgments are fallible and often wrong."

John Nichols is associate editor of The Capital Times.

John Nichols — 1/01/2008 9:11 am

So, there we have it. Of the 16 men and women actively seeking the nominations of the two parties this year, only three have sided with death penalty abolitionists. Uzbekistan has abolished the death penalty, South Korea has not executed anyone in ten years and will probably pass abolition into law, and in the USA, a country which considers itself to be civilised, thirteen out of sixteen presidential hopefuls are supporters of the death penalty. If South Korea has become a country, "developed in human rights," what can be said of the good old US of A and the person its citizens will elect as their next president? Developed in human rights? I think not.

Absent Friends

After The Bells, and we had sung Auld Lang Syne, my mother used to raise a glass, "To absent friends." We ring out the old and we ring in the new and somehow it feels especially poignant if someone close to us is not present to accompany us over the threshhold into the new year.

When we know where our loved ones are, even when not present in body, we can feel a spiritual and emotional connection if the reason for their distance from us in known and understood. When we have no way of reconciling their absence, it feels like there is an empty place in the heart where that person should be. There is a part of us that will be left in the old year with memories of the missing loved one, unwilling to move on without them.

At this time of the turning of the year, let's think of the families who are missing a much-loved one of their members.

http://www.missingpeople.org.uk/

So many people who are missing and missed. So many absent friends.

So, here's to absent friends.

Who's Next For The McCann Treatment?

Metodo3, the company of private investigators hired by Kate and Gerry McCann seem to have failed to deliver on their promise to definitely have Madeleine back in time for Christmas, maybe! Metotodo's boss was so sure they knew where Madeleine was perhaps and who was holding her possibly. Well, Marco, boss of Methadone3, (substitute for a real missing person's agency!) Christmas has come and gone and emmmm, it's not just Amazon that's late with the deliveries.

So, just what have the McCanns got for their dosh? £50,000 a month is not cheap, even for an agency that doesn't normally look for missing children, who claimed to be doing this for a nominal fee plus expenses. Well, a few Moroccan families have had their privacy invaded and their children made the focus of world-wide attention. There have been so many reported sightings since Methadone was hired, I'm surprised my postman and the local shopkeeper have not been investigated. I hear they have been seen with blonde children.

It looks like the Portuguese police, in co-operation with the UK police are gradually ruling out the possibility of an abduction in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Fifty-two Bitish sex-offenders with links to the Algarve have now been traced and eliminated from the investigation. We still have DJ Shifty, though. Methadone 3 is trying to trace Christian Ridout, a Briton whose parents run a bar in Praia Da Luz.

" The private detectives seeking Madeleine McCann say they are hunting a Briton who fled Praia da Luz after being accused of grooming an under-age girl for sex.

Part-time barman and disc jockey Christian Ridout, 32, allegedly sent the British girl obscene text messages when he worked in an expats' pub 200 yards from where Madeleine disappeared."

Daily Mail

" The spokesman for Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate confirmed that the Spanish detective agency working for them, Metodo 3, was seeking more information on the missing man."

Mr Ridout had been sending obscene messages by text to a 12 year-old girl. When the girl's mother discovered the messages, she contacted the police. Ridout subesequently disappeared and has not been seen by his parents for two years.

"Jill Ridout said: "I haven't seen Christian for two years. I have no comment on this subject."

The girl's mother said:

"I went to the police station in the large regional town of Portimao, and they took all the explicit messages. I went in to see them just before Madeleine disappeared and they confirmed they're still looking for him. 'No one knows where he is, but he could have been back to this area"

So,what now? Mr Ridout appears not to have been seen in PDL recently, for two years in fact. I doubt he is going to turn up, loitering with intent to abduct from holiday apartments, when he is so well-known and the police are looking for him.

We also have, according to good old Uncle Clarence, people who are not on that list of sex-offenders. So, if you have been to the Algarve this year, keep your mouth shut! It may be you next!

What can Methadone3 do now? Well, ummmm, there's those 347 calls they've had since that tear-jerking (not!) Christmas Eve appeal and would you adam-and-eve it? Two women who were on holiday at the same time as the McCanns have contacted Methadone3 to say that they saw Robert Murat outside the Ocean Club soon after the alarm was raised about Madeleine's being missing on the evening of May 3rd.

"Annie Wiltshire, 58, of Aylesford, Kent, and Jayne Jensen, 54, of Maidstone, Kent, were on holiday in Praia da Luz at the same time as the McCanns, it was reported.

They believe they saw Mr Murat smoking cigarettes near the Ocean Club at about 10.30pm on May 3 - about half an hour after Madeleine was found to be missing.

The sisters were interviewed by British police after they returned home.

They have also contacted Metodo 3, the firm of Spanish private detectives hired by Kate and Gerry McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, the reports said.

An unnamed source close to Metodo 3 told the Daily Mail: "Jayne remembers seeing him outside the Ocean Club, smoking cigarettes, between 10.30 and 11pm.

"Every time they see him claiming he was not there on the night, they find it ridiculous."

Three friends on holiday with the McCanns - Russell O'Brien, Rachael Oldfield and Fiona Payne - are understood to have told police they saw him near the Ocean Club on the night of May 3."

"But Mr Murat's mother Jenny, 71, whose villa, named Casa Liliana, is just yards from the McCann holiday apartment, has backed his alibi."

So, the witnesses who report seeing robert Murat in the vicinity of the Ocean Club on May 3rd are three friends of the McCanns plus these two women, who are reported elsewhere as having made friends with the McCanns whilst on holiday. No local people, who must know Robert Murat rather better than the tourists have identified him as being seen near the Ocean Club that evening. I hope that when this is over that Robert Murat sues the pants off the McCanns and their two-bob agency Metodo3.

Benazir Bhutto Assassinated

Well, I guess this was just about inevitable. Ms Bhutto knew she was taking serious risks every time she appeared in public, and today an extremist was successful. Ms Bhutto was shot in the chest and neck as she was getting into her car following a rally in Rawalpindi. The killer then blew himself up, killing at least 15 of Bhuttos supporters and injuring many others.

WTF kind of civilisation is this? You don't like their politics, so shoot them? Disagreeing with someone's political stance is a worthy reason to blow yourself up and take as many others as possible with you?

Benazir Bhutto returned from exile in October, and was hoping to stand for Prime Minister in democratic elections due to be held in January. She survived a previous attempt on her life when a suicide bomber killed 139 people at her homecoming rally in Karachi and vowed not to be dictated to by extremists.

Sky News

"The stength of character for which Ms Bhutto was renowned was first seen after her father was imprisoned and charged with murder in 1977 following a military coup.

He was executed two years later.

Ms Bhutto spent five years in prison herself, most of it in solitary confinement.

She later set up a Pakistan People's Party office in London and began a campaign against the then President, General Zia.

She returned to Pakistan in 1986 and became PM for the first time two years later after General Zia was killed in an explosion on board his aircraft.

A decade later, she faced corruption charges and was convicted in 1999 after failing to appear in court. Pakistan's Supreme Court has since overturned that judgement."

Sky News Foreign Affairs Editor Tim Marshall

"She knew the risks, she gambled, she lost.

And Pakistan has lost. Lost a leader who, despite all her faults, was a democrat who wanted to move her country forward, bring its extremists to the centre, and take on the irreconcilables.

That is why they murdered her. They could not reconcile with the possibility of a woman coming to power again. A strong, modern, working woman involved in politics is everything the Islamists fear.

It challenges their world view.

Bhutto knew how much she embodied their fears and knew they wanted to kill her.

I'd asked her about the dangers shortly before she returned to Pakistan from exile. She was quite open, acknowledging that there would almost certainly be attempts on her life, but she said she trusted in her security and in Allah.

I asked her again in Karachi just a few hours after the first attempt which killed over 130 people.

She did not say it was her destiny to go forward and lead Pakistan, but she alluded to it and said she would not be cowed from realising her dream.

But it was a gamble. Could she stay alive long enough to win the office of Prime Minister and the enhanced security the post brings.

Two weeks before the election we have the answer.

So she has lost her life, Pakistan has lost a leader, and two young girls have lost a mother.

Written by Tim Marshall, December 27, 2007"

What now in Pakistan? There are already reports of riots and bloodshed? The January elections will probably be cancelled. Benazir Bhutto has been killed by Islamist extremists. Is this supposed to be a religion? I know it's a whole political model, but is it to be taken seriously as a religion, one that encourages its followers to extremes of violence and killing to meet its ends? It's not religion as I know it. Even the Catholics stopped inquisiting hundreds of years ago. In Pakistan, though, we still have religious nutters who know nothing besides bloodshed and killing to further their ideology.

Yes, WTF kind of civilisation is this?

Wey hey! My Polo Saved From the Scrappie!

Well, good news today! Repairs on my lovely little Polo have been authorised by the insurance company, for whom I have nothing but praise. That little car has served me well and I have no wish to replace it. If it takes me to where I want to go and brings me home again then it will do for me. VW cars are definitely made to last judging by the number of Polos and Golfs there are on the road, which are considerably older than my Polo.

I see no good reason to scrap a car that is in reasonable condition, just for the sake of having a newer model in the driveway. My self-esteem does not depend on the make or model of car I drive, on the range of functions on my mobile phone or on any other blatant status symbol.

I am so pleased that my beautiful little Polo will be coming back.

Shall I Just Stand here And Mumble?

That's what I said to the woman at the car showroom when I went to fetch my courtesy car, but I'm way ahead in the story by telling you that.

Sunday morning I set off with beloved son to go shopping in Solihull. I know. Why Solihull? Because that's where the specialist shop is where they do something fancy called, "Gait analysis," and fit you up with the appropriate running shoes. For son. Not for me!

Anyway, off we went in my 10 year-old VW Polo. That car has a full service record, and has been lovingly cared for. Many years left in the old gal yet, I thought!

About two hundred yards from home, I had what the nice woman at the insurance company said was the most common accident they deal with. Behind one car at a roundabout. I can see clearly the traffic approaching from the right. Nothing coming and the guy in front pulls out. As I am looking to my right and moving forward, because there is nothing coming, the guy in front slams on his brakes and I do a fender-bender! I didn't even see it happening! The guy stopped in the middle of the roundabout, got out, inspected his vehicle and drove off!

When I inspected my car, I found a headlight smashed, the radiator grille twisted and some other damage, which looked minor. I decided to go home rather than drive on the motorway because it was very misty and I did not want to do motorway driving with one headlight.

So, I got home and phoned the insurance company. The lovely woman took the details and said she was faxing a repair place as we spoke. The repair place would collect my car and bring a courtesy car on Monday.

So, on Monday morning a woman from Foxhole (name changed, but it rhymes!) phoned to make arrangements. Before even looking at my car, she said it would probably be a write-off because it was so old. Two mechanics came and collected my car, but did not bring a replacement. I was told that they would ring me during the morning as they were closing at lunchtime. I waited until one o'clock and then rang to see what was happening. I spoke to a woman who knew nothing about it and who said she would try to find someone to speak to me. I could hear the ringing and ringing and ringing as she was attempting to transfer the call. Eventually she put me through to a male colleague to talk about a courtesy car. He said that since they had not had eight hours notice, they couldn't supply a car until Thursday. I replied that I had a family Christmas to go to. This is how the conversation went.

Me: I have a family Christmas to get to tomorrow. You really don't have a car available? Why didn't you tell me?
Foxhole employee: We don't need to. We didn't get eight hours notice.
Me: I will need to ring the insurance company and let them know.
FE: Hold on a minute. (Approx 5 seconds later) Actually we do have a car, but you'll have to fetch it because I'm short-staffed and get here by three because we're closing.

Try to get a cab on Christmas Eve? No way! So, after a twenty-five minute walk, I arrived at the Foxhole showroom, where the first impression was of a lot of cars. I could see a portico which obviously led to the main entrance, but it took some time as the vehicles on the forecourt were so closely squashed together I couldn't find a way through! Anyway, after trampling over a steep grassy bank, I found the double glass doors. A man in a red uniform approached me, and asked what I was looking for. Not, I might say, "Can I help you?" No, he asked what I was looking for!

So, I told him...bla bla bla courtesy car and he pointed me to the service desk, behind which were three women, equidistantly spaced, each facing a chair in front. One of the woman beckoned me with a nod of the head. I went over and did my bla bla again to which she replied not at all. She just stared! So, I said, "Would you like to tell me where I should go or shall I just stand here and mumble?"

"You go out through those doors, walk round to your right and in through the double glass doors."

So, out I went, round to my right, found the double glass doors and went in. Wrong double glass doors. "Round to your right, in through the double glass doors," said the man! So, out I went, more double glass doors. Wrong double glass doors! "Round to your right........" said another man....double glass doors."

Third time lucky! As I opened the door, a man at a desk immediately inside pushed a form towards me and asked me to sign...here and here. "Have you driven a Foxhole before?" he asked as he headed outside. I said yes, I had driven a Stellar and a Bextra (Names changed, but I'm sure you know what I mean!) Was it one of those? No, he said. It's just here. and there it was, facing the double glass doors!

It was a red box-shaped thing with huge, and I mean huge, white writing advertising Foxhole and their service from only £99. The man opened the driver's door, showed me the wipers, the lights and where to find reverse and off he went.

In I got! Now, I'm five feet nothing tall. So, first thing I did was pull the seat forward. Next, tried out the foot pedals. Problem! The seat was very high and I couldn't reach the clutch properly. Couldn't find a lever to alter it!

So, in I went through the double glass doors and found that the man had disappeared. Hello! No reply! I wandered through a doorway into a deserted workshop and called again. Hello! Five minutes of hellos later the man reappeared. I asked him if the driver's seat could be put down. Here is the conversation!

Me: Is there a lever to move the driver's seat up and down?
Foxhole Employee: No.
Me: Well, you may have noticed that I am vertically challenged and I can't reach the clutch properly.
FE: That's easily sorted.
So, he went out and after trying to move the seat forward, discovered it was already moved. Did he really think I wouldn't have moved it? Duh!
Me: Is there any other vehicle available?
FE: No, that's the one we use as a courtesy car.
Me: My son is insured on my policy. So, if you would drive the vehicle out of here, he could collect it later.
FE: No I can't do that and we're closing in five minutes.
Me: I shall have to phone my insurance company.

So, I phoned the insurance company from where I was and was given the advice which I repeated to the Foxhole man.

Me: I have been advised to drive the vehicle out of here somehow, and park it outside for my son to collect later.
FE: Well, actually, only the double metal gates get locked. So, I could drive it through those, park it and your son could collect it later.

So, how's that for service?

The engineer is not back until Thursday and he will then decide if my ten year-old car is worth repairing at which point if he decides that my lovely little Polo is for the scrap heap, they will want their product endorsement vehicle back immediately. Fortunately, if that happens my insurance company will provide me with a hire car.

But what about global warming and conservation? How can that be reconciled with writing off a car because an engineer at the Foxhole showroom decides that my car, with probably many good years left, is not worth repairing? My car has what looks like minimal damage to the front end, but high labour costs mean that the car may be worth less than the cost of reparing it.

So, beware dear readers, the double glass doors at the Foxhole!

Stan Tookie Williams

On Tuesday December 13th, 2005, Stan Tookie Williams was executed by lethal injection at San Quentin Prison, California.

CNN December 13th 2005

"SAN QUENTIN, California (CNN) -- Death did not come quickly for Stanley Tookie Williams, the co-founder of the violent Crips street gang who was executed by lethal injection early Tuesday for the 1979 robbery murders of four people in Los Angeles.

Witnesses and prison officials said Williams appeared to grow impatient as prison staffers searched for several minutes for a vein in his muscular left arm.

"Seventeen reporters witnessed the execution and gave their accounts afterward. (Watch the witnesses describe Williams' last minutes -- 10:04)

They said inserting the IVs to administer the lethal chemicals took nearly 20 minutes, with staff having particular difficulty getting a needle into Williams' left arm."

"The execution went ahead as scheduled after the U.S. Supreme Court late Monday rejected a last-ditch appeal.

The high court's ruling followed California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to deny clemency for Williams.

So, who was Stan Tookie Williams? He was born in New Orleans on December 29th 1953 and became one of the early leaders of the notrious Crips gang in South Central Los in 1971. In 1981, Stan was convicted on four counts of murder and sentenced to death. He spent six and a half years in solitary confinement for assaults on prison staff and fellow inmates. Stan had led a very violent existence as a founder of the Crips, and his violent behaviour continued in prison.

After being released from solitary confinement, Stan's behaviour changed dramatically. He wrote several children's books advocating non-violence and an alternative to gangs. He wrote several books about his life, including an autobiography, "Blue Rage, Black Redemption." Holywood honoured Stan in 2004 with a film about his life, "Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story."

Stan maintained his innocence of the murders throughout his time on death row. Numerous appeals were posted and all were unsuccessful. The final avenue open to Stan was an appeal for clemency to the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who turned it down.

"Thousands of people signed online petitions calling for Schwarzenegger to commute the death sentence. Those who campaigned against the execution included celebrities, politicians, and Nobel laureates."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Williams

"In 1997, Williams wrote and posted on his website an apology for his role in creating the Crips. In 2004, he helped broker a peace agreement, called the Tookie Protocol For Peace, for what had been one of the deadliest and most infamous gang wars in the country, between the Bloods and the Crips, in both the state of California and the city of Newark, New Jersey. On the nomination of William A. Harrison, a minister from West Monroe, Louisiana, Williams received a letter from U.S. President George W. Bush commending him for his social activism, one of some 267,000 "Call To Service Awards" that were sent out."

Stan Tookie Williams was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his books which were intended to help disenfranchised youth.

The death penalty process does not seem to have space for nor embrace the possibility of redemption, that a person can be truly remorseful and, as in Stan's case, make very valuable contributions to society. Whatever his guilt or innocence in the four murders for which he had been convicted and sent to San Quentin, Stan Tookie Williams redeemed himself in his work for peace and reconciliation. It was a sad day when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger turned down the appeal for clemency. This decision led Arnold Schwarzenegger's home town in Austria to rename a sports stadium which had been named in Schwarzenegger's honour, so strong was the world-wide support for Stan.

Stan Tookie Williams is gone, but definitely not forgotten. A reprint of his autobiography, "Blue Rage, Black Redemption," has been published in November this year and hopefully many more people, especially the young and disadvantaged in American inner-cities, will hear the Tookie message of non-violence and alternatives to the gang culture.

Stan Tookie Wiliams, I salute you and honour you as a true example of the redemptive power of the human spirit. Rest in peace Tookie.

UN Assembly calls for death penalty ban

Bangkok Post Breaking News

Tuesday 18th December.

"New York (dpa) - The UN General Assembly on Tuesday voted 104-54 to adopt a moratorium on the death penalty, defeating vocal opposition from countries that maintain the practice does not violate human rights.

Countries that favour ending the death penalty are a uniformed bloc, arguing the practice "undermines human dignity" and that a moratorium "contributes to the enhancement and progressive development of human rights."

"There is no conclusive evidence of the death penalty's deterrence value and that any miscarriage or failure of justice in the death penalty's implementation is irreversible and irreparable," the proponents said in the resolution adopted by the 192-nation assembly. There were 29 abstentions.

The resolution submitted by more than 90 countries, including most Europeans nations, voiced concern about the continued use of the death penalty and demanded that the UN "establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty."

It called on countries that still apply the death penalty to respect international standards that provide safeguards guaranteeing the rights of sentenced prisoners and to "progressively restrict the use of the death penalty and reduce the number of offences for which it may be imposed."

Countries that opposed the moratorium renewed their criticism before the vote, a replay of the debate last month in the human rights committee of the assembly. Opponents included the block of 13 Caribbean nations and others like Singapore, which accused Europeans of imposing their values on other sovereign nations.

There are 134 countries that have abolished the death penalty.

But countries that continue to use it, like the United States and China, have remained mostly silent during the whole debate.

Despite Washington's official stance on maintaining the death penalty, New Jersey on Monday became the first US state to abolish the sentence in more than 40 years, as Governor Jon Corzine signed into law a measure eliminating it.

New Jersey joined 13 other US states that do not allow executions.

"Today New Jersey evolves," Corzine, a Democrat, said in a statement. "This is a day of progress for us and for the millions of people across our nation and around the globe who reject the death penalty as a moral or practical response to the grievous, even heinous, crime of murder."

Before the final vote in the UN General Assembly Tuesday, the human rights committee voted 99-52, with 33 abstentions, last month to approve the moratorium, and sent the draft to the 192-nation assembly for a final vote.

The issue split the committee into two camps, with the Europeans, led by Italy, on one side against mostly small countries in the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East that said the death penalty is not a human rights issue."

Jon Corzine Signs Abolition Into Law

On Monday 17th December, Jon Corzine, Governor of New Jersey signed into law the bill approved by the state's Assembly and Senate last week. Although New Jersey re-adopted the death penalty in 1982, following its reinstatement by the Supreme Court in 1976, New Jersey has not executed anyone since 1963.

"The measure spares eight men on the state's death row. On Sunday, Corzine signed orders commuting the sentences of those eight to life in prison without parole.

Among the eight spared is Jesse Timmendequas, a sex offender who murdered 7-year-old Megan Kanka in 1994. The case inspired Megan's Law, which requires law enforcement agencies to notify the public about convicted sex offenders living in their communities."

New York Times

New York Times editorial, Saturday December 15th. "A Long Time Coming."

"It took 31 years, but the moral bankruptcy, social imbalance, legal impracticality and ultimate futility of the death penalty has finally penetrated the consciences of lawmakers in one of the 37 states that arrogates to itself the right to execute human beings."

This is the opening paragraph in what I think is an excellent editorial. The author reports on a couple of recent cases where convictions have been overturned. One of the best reasons for ending the death penalty; it's not easy to apologise to the dead!

"New Jersey’s decision to replace the death penalty with a sentence of life without parole seems all the wiser coming in the middle of a month that has already seen the convictions of two people formerly on death row in other states repudiated. In one case, the defendant was found not guilty following a new trial."

The United States of America is the most powerful of the western civilised nations, but in keeping the death penalty on its statutes, who is it keeping company with?

"By clinging to the death penalty, states keep themselves in the company of countries like Iran, North Korea and China — a disreputable pantheon of human mistreatment. Small wonder the gyrations of New Jersey’s Legislature have been watched intently by human rights activists around the world."

So, lawmakers of Texas, the state which has executed more people than any other since reinstatement of capital punishment, take note. The time has come to consider what place executions have in a civilised world.

"In a sense, the practical impact of New Jersey’s action may be largely symbolic. Although there are eight people on New Jersey’s death row, the moratorium was in place, and the state has not put anyone to death since 1963. Nevertheless, it took political courage for lawmakers to join with Governor Corzine. Their renunciation of the death penalty could prick the conscience of elected officials in other states and inspire them to muster the courage to revisit their own laws on capital punishment.

At least that is our fervent hope."

New York Times Editorial

New Jersey Abolishes The Death Penalty

On Thursday 13th December, the New Jersey Legislature followed up Monday's approval by the State Senate, and in a vote of 44-36 made NJ the first state to abolish the death penalty. The US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, but New Jersey has not executed anyone since 1963. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine has said he will sign the bill into law when it arrives on his desk.

The Guardian

"A New Jersey state commission found in January that the death penalty was expensive to administer, had no deterrent effect and carried the risk of killing an innocent person. It was, said the commission, "inconsistent with evolving standards of decency".

"We would be better served as a society by having a clear and certain outcome for individuals that carry out heinous crimes," Corzine said."

I think that, "clear and certain outcome," is a very important factor in abolishing the death penalty. Prisoners will not be sitting on death row, year-after-year, waiting to be taken on their last walk, or to hear last minute news about their latest appeal. The families of victims will achieve some level of closure and not be waiting for the next round of publicity given to the person found guilty of murder. And just as important, no innocent person will be put beyond the oportunity to experience the proof of innocence or to walk free.

The abolition of the death penalty in New Jersey would seem to just write into law what the state has been doing in practice since 1963, but it is a very important piece of legislation. The state legislature has voted for what the Governor calls, "...evolving standards of decency," and I congratulate those who have worked doggedly to get this legislation onto their statute books.

Now what about Texas? Time for that state to look carefully at its standards of decency?

When the Bullies Turned Faceless

New York Times

"LIKE most mobs, the one that pursued Megan Meier was cruel and unrelenting. Its members gathered on the social networking site MySpace and called Megan a liar, a fat whore and worse.

Megan, 13, fought back, insulting her tormenters with every profanity she knew. But the mob shouted her down, overwhelming her computer and her shaky self-confidence with a barrage of hateful instant messages.

“Mom, they’re being horrible!” Megan said, sobbing into the phone when her mother called. After an hour, Megan ran into her bedroom and hanged herself with a belt.

“She felt there was no way out,” Ms. Meier said."

Megan Meier’s suicide made headlines because she was the victim of a hoax. Lori Drew, another mother in the neighborhood, said in a police report that she had created a MySpace profile of a boy, an invention named “Josh Evans,” and that she and her daughter had manipulated Megan into thinking that this fabricated person liked her.

Then, after a few weeks, Ms. Meier said, girls posing as Josh wrote MySpace messages telling Megan that he hated her. He insulted her, and other girls — most unaware that Josh did not exist — viciously piled on. (Later, through her lawyer, Ms. Drew, 48, denied knowing about the hoax.)

In some ways, the hoax was a tragic oddity. Most mothers don’t pull vicious pranks, and few harassed adolescents become depressed and commit suicide. But Megan’s story is also a case study about cyberbullying."

Now, I know that there has always been bullying for as long as young people have socialised and congregated in groups. Most schools, in most countries of the world, will be doing their best to combat bullying, but they will never eliminate it. At least, though, the traditional methods of bullying in the playground and in communal areas of schools was easier to confront; the bullies had faces and could be identified. Mobile phones and text messaging, web sites like MySpace, allow the new breed of bully to remain faceless, to hide behind an anonymous ID. They also allow more people to join in at the speed of cyber-communication.

"And unlike traditional bullying, which usually is an intimate, if highly unpleasant, experience, high-tech bullying can happen anywhere, anytime, among lots of different children who may never actually meet in person. It is inescapable and often anonymous, said sociologists and educators who have studied cyberbullying."

It used to be that a child who was being bullied at school could enjoy some respite in their own home. Not so now. Children have mobile phones and so many have a computer in the bedroom. Mobile phones and the internet allow the bully a way into the sanctuary of our homes and very often parents have no idea that it is happening or have any means of combatting it or of confronting the bullies. Do you take away your child's mobile phone and computer and then render them more isolated and out of touch and maybe more vulnerable than they are already, sitting alone in their bedroom, trying to deal with an anonymous barrage from people who can be brave because they are faceless?

"And, as in the Megan Meier case, the victim of cyberbullying is often isolated, yet never free from attack. “The target sees this entire cyberuniverse where everybody is against them, and no one will come to their defense,” said Dr. Walter Roberts, professor of counselor education at Minnesota State University, Mankato. “The harassment is not limited to the portion of the day when the kids are in school. The targeted kids have no escape.”

The internet is a wonderful invention. It allows instant communication around the globe. When my son was on a gap year, travelling round the world, he found cyber-cafes even on small islands off the coast of Thailand from where he could tell his professional worrier of a mother that he had been swimming with a harmless species of shark! Mobile phones have opened up a new world of communication for deaf children via text messaging and have also probably saved many lives when someone has met with an accident in a remote place. However, they have also rendered our children vulnerable to this new virile form of bullying, and of course, as some parents have discovered, the internet also opens up a world where our children are vulnerable to the most nasty aspect of all, online grooming for sex.

I bid you adieu for now, dear readers. Christmas shopping to do. Thanks to the wonderful internet, I have ordered a load of lovely clothes for my beautiful grandson and a Tokyo Flash JLr7 watch for my son, but Wellesbourne market is calling and I'm off to snap up some bargains!

On this cold December day, may all our children be safe.