Tag: Death Penalty

Have We Witnessed the De Facto Repeal of the Death Penalty in Delaware? Yes. Maybe.

Filed in Delaware by on February 2, 2016 6 Comments
Have We Witnessed the De Facto Repeal of the Death Penalty in Delaware? Yes. Maybe.

Hear me out. This is exciting.

As you may be aware, a hold has been placed on all death penalty cases in Delaware by the Delaware Supreme Court.

The reason? The U. S. Supreme Court deemed unconstitutional part of a Florida statute that grants exclusively to judges the right to determine a sentence of death in capital cases.

Guess what? Delaware has the exact same provision in its statute.  The irony is that it didn’t used to be that way.  No, AG Jane Brady, Sen. Tom Sharp, Sen. Jim Vaughn and others demagogued the sheep in Dover into taking the power away from juries and giving it to judges.  Why? ‘Coddling criminals’, blah blah blah. How great would it be if they ended up sowing the seeds for death penalty repeal?

I’m not a lawyer, but I don’t see how Delaware’s statute can be constitutional if Florida’s is not.

Here’s where it gets interesting.  Only the Delaware General Assembly can change the statute.  Come inside to see why that’s important….

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Proof that America is Not a Christian Nation

Filed in National by on April 19, 2015 12 Comments
Proof that America is Not a Christian Nation

According to a new survey by the Pew Research Center, about two-thirds of Americans know that innocent people can be killed via death penalty sentences, yet still support the death penalty: The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted Mar. 25-29 among 1,500 adults, finds widespread doubts about how the death penalty is […]

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Does Delaware deserve to kill?

Filed in Delaware by on March 27, 2015 10 Comments

“ChipThe real question isn’t “Do people deserve to die for the crimes they’ve committed?”, it’s “Do we deserve to kill?”

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Witness to Innocence Comes to Delaware

Filed in Delaware by on February 18, 2014 14 Comments
Witness to Innocence Comes to Delaware

These events are sponsored by the Delaware Repeal Project. Witness to Innocence is a group of 15 death row exonerees who are visiting to discuss how flawed the death penalty truly is. I’ve taken the text describing all of these events directly from their FB Event page. Hope to see you at some of these, and be sure to invite your State Rep or Senator too:

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Guest Post — Statement in Support of Senate Bill 19 by Stewart Dotts

Filed in National by on March 26, 2013 12 Comments

Today the Senate is expected to debate and vote on Senate Bill 19, to abolish Delaware’s death penalty. This Guest Post is by Mr. Stewart Dotts — this was his testimony from last Tuesday’s committee hearing. Mr. Dotts also served as a juror in the capital murder trial of James Cooke. After I read this, I was really sorry I couldn’t have been at that hearing. This is powerful testimony. Mr. Dotts has given us permission to reprint his testimony in its entirety. And even though debate and vote is on Tuesday, there is still time to reach out and let your Senator know that you support REPEALING the death penalty in Delaware, and they should vote YES to repeal. Reach out to them here, from the Repeal Project website. Read Mr. Dotts first:

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General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., March 21, 2013

Filed in National by on March 21, 2013 18 Comments

Wow, where to start? Action everywhere. Here is today’s session activity report (it’s all here).

We’ll start with gun control. HB 35 (Longhurst) cleared the House Judiciary Committee by a 7-4 margin. Democrat Trey Paradee(!) voted against it. Why? It’s the slippery slope to gun registration and Big Brother argument. From today’s News-Journal:

Many opponents of the background check proposal at Wednesday’s hearing said the private-sale-record-keeping provision is a precursor to government gun registration, which could lead to firearms confiscations.

Damn! Where were these folks when what remained of our civil liberties were flushed down the drain in the name of ‘homeland security’? Anyway, it looks like an amendment will address this issue, and I hope and expect that Paradee will vote ‘yes’ when the bill comes to a vote. There no doubt will be other amendments, and some will likely be ‘killer’ (pardon the expression) amendments. Stay vigilant, my friends.

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UPDATED: Delaware Executes Johnson

Filed in Delaware by on April 20, 2012 67 Comments
UPDATED: Delaware Executes Johnson

The second state-sponsored execution Shannon M. Johnson occurred early this morning at 2:55 AM. This is Governor Jack Markell’s second execution in 9 months. Shame on you, Governor Jack Markell.

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Gov. Markell Stop Executing People

Filed in National by on April 18, 2012 7 Comments

Gov. Markell, it’s time for you to stop executing people in Delaware. Just stop it now. Shannon Johnson is scheduled to be executed on April 19, 2011. This will be Jack Markell’s second execution since taking office.

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