US: Georgia denies clemency for Troy Davis, execution imminent in hotly debated death row case

From the Guardian, via RichardDawkins.net:

One of the most hotly contested death row cases in recent years looks set to go ahead with the execution of Troy Davis in Georgia on Wednesday.

He lost a final plea for clemency despite overwhelming evidence indicating his conviction for murder is unreliable.

Snip from related coverage in the New York Times:

“He has had ample time to prove his innocence, and he is not innocent,” said Mr. MacPhail’s widow, Joan MacPhail-Harris.

But as a friend notes, the justice system in the United States is supposed to require proof of guilt, not innocence.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Retired Russian cop arrested on suspicion of organizing execution of journalist Anna Politkovskaya

In Moscow today, a retired police officer has been arrested on suspicion of organizing the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006. She was shot dead in the elevator of her Moscow apartment building.

But this arrest, like the arrest of the suspected triggerman in May, still does not address the issue of who might have ordered the killing of Politkovskaya, a sharp critic of the Kremlin and its chosen strongman in Chechnya.

Tuesday’s arrest of retired Lt. Col. Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov was first reported by editors at Politkovskaya’s newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, and later confirmed by investigators.

Link to AP item.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.