Category Archives: Viva!

After 3 Trials and Recanted Testimony, Georgia Set to Execute Man Who May Be Innocent

After three trials, Georgia is set to execute Brian Keith Terrell (pictured) on December 8, unless the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles grants him clemency in a hearing at which he will present claims that he is innocent. Terrell’s lawyers say that no physical evidence links him to the murder and that this conviction and death sentence are a product of prosecutorial misconduct and false and misleading testimony. The key testimony against Terrell came from a witness whom defense investigators say now admits to having lied to save himself. Terrell’s first trial ended in a mistrial when jurors could not agree on whether he was guilty. The second resulted in a conviction that was later overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court. The third trial concluded with a conviction and death sentence. Physical evidence from the crime scene leaves substantial questions as to Terrell’s guilt: footprints found near the victim’s body were smaller than Terrell’s feet, and none of the 13 fingerprints found by investigators matched his fingerprints. Terrell was convicted primarily on the testimony of his cousin, Jermaine Johnson, who spent a year in jail facing the threat of the death penalty before he made a deal with prosecutors to testify against Terrell in exchange for a five-year sentence. Johnson has told defense investigators that police and prosecutors pressured him to give false testimony against his cousin. Terrell’s lawyers say that prosecutors also presented misleading testimony that a neighbor had said she had seen Terrell at the murder scene, when in fact she had told authorities that he was not the man she had seen. At Terrell’s trial, the prosecutor emphasized the importance of Johnson’s testimony, saying during his closing statement, “If you never heard anything about Jermaine Johnson in this case, if he had never testified, would you have enough information to make a decision in this case? You wouldn’t.” 

Terrell’s lawyers are also seeking a stay of execution in federal court raising questions concerning defects in drugs supplied to Georgia for other executions and the secrecy surrounding the state’s execution process. (K. Brumback, “Georgia man set to die for killing of mom’s friend; defense attorneys say he’s innocent,” Associated Press, December 5, 2015; “Clemency Hearing to be Held for Georgia Death Row Inmate,” Associated Press, December 7, 2015; R. Cook, “Brian Keith Terrell appeals to federal court to stop execution,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, December 7, 2015.) See Innocence.

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#YouAintNoMuslimBruv: the voice of defiant unity | Remona Aly | Comment is free | The Guardian

As one tweeter pointed out: “Islamophobes and racists are unhappy with #YouAintNoMuslimBruv trending. They want division as much as Daesh does.” The fact that this is trending on Twitter reflects an eagerness for unity. People simply do not want more division. We are sick and tired of it. Londoners, Brits, the French, Americans, Australians, whoever we are, wherever we face the threat of discord, we stand in solidarity.

Source: #YouAintNoMuslimBruv: the voice of defiant unity | Remona Aly | Comment is free | The Guardian

Egyptian Aak 2015 – Week 48 (Nov 21- 27)

Nervana

Top Headlines

  • IS militants claim hotel attack that killed seven in Sinai. (Tuesday)
  • Egypt to buy advanced weapons from Moscow. (Wednesday)
  • Pope Tawadros II breaks with predecessor’s ban, flies to Jerusalem for bishop’s funeral. (Thursday)
  • Egypt cancels reservations on the African Charter of Child’s rights. (Friday)
  • IS affiliate in Egypt claims responsibility for killing 4 policemen in Giza. (Saturday)
  • Sisi inaugurate new Suez Canal industrial zone. (Sunday)

Main Headlines

 Monday

Tuesday

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The Sad Affairs of the British Left

Nervana

Corbyn

( Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn  via BBC)

A stormy debate erupted when the British PM David Cameron announced his plans to join the anti-Isis coalition. While Mr. Cameron has passionately argued that Britain can no longer “sub-contract” its security to other countries, New Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused Cameron of rushing to war and appealed to those Labour lawmakers who favor the motion to “think again … and please cast your vote against supporting this government’s military endeavors in Syria.”

This debate, although full of articulate and interesting views, has nothing to do with Syria or with how to defeat the world’s most barbaric terror group ISIS, but is merely a reflection of the dismal state of British politics, particularly the British left. The radical left, and its anti-war camp, is indulging in a hungover state, still living in the shadow of a bygone era of the Iraq War while…

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Sweden’s Foreign Minister slams Israel’s ‘extrajudicial executions’ of Palestinian civilians

PNN/Bethlehem

Swedish Foreign Minister, Margot Wallastrom, once again didn’t measure words regarding the reality of Israel’s acts over Palestinian civilians: she accused the Israeli government of executing Palestinian assailants without trial.

On Friday, when asked by a Swedish parliamentarian why she refused to condemn Palestinian acts of violence against Israelis, Margot replied that while she did not condone terrorism and that Israel did have a right to self-defense, “at the same time the [Israeli] response doesn’t need to be extrajudicial executions or disproportionate force”, causing [another] diplomatic crisis between the two governments.

Wallström’s comments were made during a discussion at the Swedish parliament about the ongoing wave of violence and terror attacks raging in Palestine.

A fast response from the Israeli Ambassador to Stockholm, Isaac Bachman, followed her statement:

“Israel’s moral standards when it comes to fighting terrorism are at least at par with other Western nations coping with the same threat,” Bachman said. “Israeli practices are even more successful in avoiding civilian casualties than in other Western nations’ cases, according to verified military statistics”.

Last month after the Paris attacks, Wallstrom was asked the following question on Swedish television:

“How worried are you about the radicalization of young people in Sweden who are fighting for ISIS?”

According to the translation, Wallstrom answered:

“Obviously, we have reason to be worried, not just in Sweden but across the world, because there are so many that are being radicalized. Here, once again, we are brought back to situations like the one in the Middle East, where not least, the Palestinians see that there isn’t a future. We must either accept a desperate situation or resort to violence.”

In October, Wallstrom displeased the Israeli government with a tweet about the wave of violence in Palestine:

“Escalating violence in Jerusalem. Attacks against civilians unacceptable. Bring perpetrators to justice. Leaders must act responsibly,” she wrote.

Aldo, adding to Margot’s comment, Sweden is one of the countries that is leading the call to place consumer labels on settlement products, exacerbating the tensions between Stockholm and Tel Aviv, prompting a scathing response from the Israeli ambassador to Sweden.

 

Humans of New York

“Because I’m a refugee, my life is on pause. My studies have stopped. I’m not working. I don’t have a career. Because I’m Syrian, I’m not allowed to participate in society. It’s been years of doing nothing. I used to be a cheerful person. I was always invited to parties. Now I like to be alone. I’ve become more nervous and aggressive. I yell over silly things. I just want to start my life again. I learned last Thursday that I’m going to a state called North Carolina. I’m very nervous. I know nothing about it. More than anything, I want to finish my education. But mostly I hope that whatever is waiting for me there is better than what I’ve gone through.”(Amman, Jordan)

Source: Humans of New York