Robert Nelson Drew

When I decided to review each of the 450 lethal injections in Texas, now 451, I naturally suspected Cameron Todd Willingham, Ernest Cantu, and Carlos DeLuna would be among the cases I studied carefully. They are frequently mentioned as examples of people who may have been innocent, though plunged by Texas. 

I had never heard of Robert Nelson Drew.

It's not that no one ever wrote of Robert Nelson Drew. You can read about his case here, here, and here. Also here and here. Drew just somehow never made it to the Pantheon of likely innocents convicted by the State. Life passed him by, and now Death turns a deaf ear. Even his transition was punctuated with dismissiveness. The judge who signed his death warrant added a smiley face.  

The "Sincerely" was also a nice touch.

How Did You Spend Your College Days?

The Daily Northwestern has a good article on the students who helped save Hank Skinner's life, at least for the moment. The story also discusses the county's effort to have the students reveal their grades, notes, and other goodies.

The newspaper is a college paper associated with Northwestern University, as is the Medill Innocence project, as are the students who researched and reported on the Skinner case.  The newspaper may have a bias. Before relying on what they write, or what I write, I invite you to prowl the internet for competing points of view and decide matters for yourself.

Interesting Links, 29 Mar 2010

Outlaw hedgehogs and only outlaws will have hedgehogs.

Hedgehog weapons being manufactured en masse.

Echidna: n. An Australian's weapon of choice.

Now for Another Cosmic Moment

Back in 1997, the Skeptical Spouse and I drove out to Palm Desert to get a good look at comet Hale Bopp. We drove up into the hills on some dirt roads to get a bit further away from the lights. We stopped for a moment and, from out of the dark, our car was suddenty and maliciously attacked by a big Cujo like dog, who was wagging his tail. "Don't open the door!" she said. "Don't worry about that," he replied.

We moved to another spot, well away from the first. We stared at the comet from inside the car, given that there must have been dozens of Cujo like dogs just waiting for comet watchers who might put their guard down for just that one fatal second.

What was most impressive about the comet was not its brightness, because it certainly wasn't bright enough to illuminate cunning predators. Nope, it wasn't the brightness that was so impressive. It was the extent. If you didn't look directly at the comet, if you used your peripheral vision (as you are supposed to do at night), the comet and its tail together seemed to span the windshield.

There may be a legal moment of cosmic magnitude unfolding before us. Allow me to get you up to speed quickly, as if it's the beginning of another episode of "24".

Interesting Links, 28 Mar 2010

Kittens riding the roomba.
 

Best murder song of all time.  First two minutes, mandatory listening.


To protect and serve in Seattle. I admit I don't have both sides of the story. Maybe she deserved it.