Last Words

Via capital defense weekly:

Stephen Moody, 52, strapped to the Texas death chamber gurney at Walls Unit in Huntsville, about 70 miles north of Houston, addressed his victim's mother and son as they watched through a window. "I was unable to respond to you in the courtroom," he said. "I can only ask that you have the peace that I do." After expressing love to his relatives and friends watching through an adjacent window, he said: "Warden, pull the trigger."

Revolution in Art

Saw this quote and thought it was interesting: "Revolution in art lies not in the will to destroy but in the revelation of what has already been destroyed."

Selective Enforcement

It's a sign of a sickness in society that we incarcerate individuals for an act that so many people so regularly perform. It turns us all into criminals. The only reason we tolerate it is that the law is only enforced on the others.

The tone is a little annoying, but this week's New York Magazine piece is useful. It explains why New York City is the marijuana arrest capital of the United States:

[p]ossession of 25 grams, or seven-eighths of an ounce...is not a crime in New York State and has not been since the passage of the Marijuana Reform Act of 1977, or 32 years ago.... There are exceptions, however. If the pot is “burning or open to public view,” then the 25-gram deal is off. It is this provision that has been the basis for the arrest outbreak, many civil libertarians contend.

The scenario of what happens on the street, as told to me by several arrestees, is remarkably similar. It goes like this: You’re black, or Spanish, or some white-boy fellow traveler with a cockeyed Bulls cap and falling-down pants. The cops come up to you, usually while you’re in a car, and ask you if you’re doing anything you shouldn’t. You say, “No, officer,” and they say, “You don’t have anything in your pocket you’re not supposed to have, do you, because if you do and I find it, it’ll be a lot worse for you.” It is at that point, because you are young, nervous, possibly simple, and ignorant of the law, you might comply and take the joint you’d been saving out of your pocket. Then,zam: Suddenly, your protection under the Marijuana Reform Act vanishes because the weed is now in “public view.” The handcuffs, the paddy wagon, and the aforementioned court date soon follow.

Aware of Our Own Hypocrisy

Well there you have it. A majority of Americans have come to realize the obvious -- that alcohol is more dangerous that marijuana. Makes it sorta hard to understand why we outlaw marijuana and legalize (and loosely regulate) alcohol.

Fifty-one percent (51%) of American adults say alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Just 19% disagree and say pot is worse. But 25% say both are equally dangerous. Just two percent (2%) say neither is dangerous.

Perhaps it's time to change the law.

(h/t) Sentencing Law and Policy