Texas Issues Apology For Executing Innocent Man

[xephyr1000]

FUCK that asshole of a state, Texas and the shithead Gorvernor Rick Perry who KNOWINGLY executed an innocent man just because he wanted to have the "appearance" of being tough on crime. The state of Texas should succeed from the Union so they no longer have any influence on the rest of the Country with all their retarded school books with absolutely ZERO realworld value (i.e. "Of Pandas and People") and abstinence Only sex ed. ETC.

[akiskem]

We don't even try to understand the causes of so-called "problematic behaviours" and then fix them, instead we kill the victims of sub-cultures, rationalising it by saying "This behaviour is genetic" like there is such a gene that makes you a killer, so we might as well not spend resources trying to fix things. Like people behave totally on their own, ignoring all environmental stimuli...

[aryanangel73]

ya we all want to be tough on crime but the fact is willinham did not do it. i used to be a big supporter of the death penalty but i have to change my mind now.the fact is a innocent man was put to death and we let it happen,now we can put on our blinders or we can do away with it.an argument must be made for both sides.how do you argue the fact that a innocent man was put to death? i really wish i could think of one but i cant,so my mind is changed.

[conservthestate]

i believe they should give them all an interview with a trained detective. they are trained in micro analysys. they can see how he acts when talking. and they should have atleast two witnesses as well

[john48martin]

@robinhoodtn1 um, he's just being sarcastic. I mean, he just saw the same video that we did. very well put together bythe way. I really enjoyed that. Great statement. Hilarious and meaningful. I was actually watching a documentary "Last Word" about Johnny Frank Garrett. Most shocking Texas execution you will ever hear about. Well, the subject of this video was really horrifying as well.

[arabicutie]

Actually....stebaw....138 innocent men have been given death sentences and later exonerated....studies show many people were put to death who were innocent....your ignorance is pathetic

[itscontagiousx3]

capital punishment isn't justice, it's cruel and unusual revenge.

[TheDisenherited1]

@itscontagiousx3 i like it

[MrAbolitionist]

I'm reminded of South Park, awesome video.

[panther0567]

If that guy turns out to be an immortal zombie, I'd hate to be the executioners...

[JesusDillinger]

He's not the only one. Many people have been "executed in error." That's the legal terminology.

[patrickcorliss]

@JesusDillinger

It is too late to rectify the situation now that he is dead. Which is why you should think hard before doing something irreversible.

In fact, at least two wrongful execution cases in the UK led to the abolition of the death penalty.

One was Timothy Evans hanged for killing his wife and son. He was granted a posthumous pardon as the murderer was John Christie, a serial killer.

[jimpurdie]

the law in texs has been tough from the beginning and still is an always will be ,its the wild west,gunslingers,banditos etc.

[SpeedVideoz]

Death penalty should work like this 20 years in prison before death sentence. so they can try to find evidence because there fucking with a mans life.

[888poppy888]

@SpeedVideoz Should they not have evidence before they convict to start with? 20 years in prison is still tremendously "fucking with someones life"

[cselubks3]

What a sadness-

[stebaw]

no innocent person has ever been executed in the us since the reintroduction of capital punishment. end of story.. they get what they deserve

[LeeCamp2]

@stebaw You're very very sadly wrong. Ignorance is bliss.

[Weasler455]

@LeeCamp2 NAME all the "innocent" people who have been executed. And I'll save you a lot of work - when I say "innocent", I don't mean "improper evidence". I mean someone who truly did not commit the crime.

[LeeCamp2]

@Weasler455 Cameron Todd Willingham for one. And how about you name all the people who have been executed and were guilty? Oh, you can't name them? You don't carry that info in your wallet? What are the odds?!

[allroy1420]

@LeeCamp2 Carlos De Luna was also executed as an innocent man. There are others as well. If only ONE innocent man or woman's life is taken from the death penalty, it should be abolished. I consider the U.S. to be a civilized nation and things like this shouldn't be happening here.

[Luv0rSin]

@LeeCamp2 im SURE there are dozens and dozens of people that have been wrongly executed .. States f*ck up and make mistakes .. and they will do anything and everything to try and cover their tracks if a mistake indeed happened

[Egendomlighet]

@Weasler455 "improper evidence" means he wasn't actually proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt... which means one must return to the default presumption, INNOCENCE. "innocent until proven guilty" is how justice fucking works in this country.

[liliodine]

@Egendomlighet Well, it's how it's SUPPOSED to work. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people on death row, and in prison, who did not commit the crimes they were convicted of. Have you read John Grisham's book The Innocent Man? It has several examples of cases who were convicted of crimes they didn't commit. I believe they were all from the same area in Oklahoma. I could be wrong about that, but I think it involved the same prosecuting attorney, who was corrupt.

[Tanfeliz]

@Weasler455 There were so many people on death row in Illinois that were later PROVEN innocent that the Republican Governor put a hold on all executions. That trashed his career because there are a lot of people who think the way you do.

Ten years later in 2011 the death penalty has been repealed in Illinois altogether, because there were way too many innocent people BEING KILLED.

[InuKun2008]

@Weasler455 Carlos DeLuna, whom Texas executed in 1989 and was found afterwards innocent given the rush to gather evidence whilst overlooking a key individual who admitted he was the murderer instead of DeLuna, but Corpus Christi police ignored the lead. In addition to Cameron Todd Willingham whom the state was preparing to exonerate in 2009 when Perry replaced the commission members (made up of experts in fire damage) with political supporters of his in order to turn the heat off.

[stefmon68]

You obviously don't know anything about the story. Take a few minutes to read the story in the NEw Yorker magazine. Unless you're scared to have your views challenged....

[Headhunter004]

@stebaw

Not true, not true at all...

justicedenied(dot)org/executed­(dot)htm

Just read that page, and you'll find that this is only true in the sense that the COURTS never established their innocence upon (wrongfully) executing them. In reality, however, this is FAR from the truth: the US *has* executed innocents, MANY of them. This has been proven. And of course no court is going to admit that they knowingly and willingly killed an innocent man, that would be political suicide, DUH!

[ultradumbass]

@stebaw stebaw, you're fucking joking right? wow and let me guess. you're a high school drop out with an iq of 25 points? you ever read about lionel herrera? well that doesn't matter, because to you, nobody is innocent. well if you're ever set up for murder, i will not care then whether or not you are likely innocent, i'll just follow your ideology and get on with it.

[thebarrens]

@stebaw Wow, you are fucking NUTS. 

[PreSPF50]

@stebaw

Wow, that is such an ignorant statement to make. Even if we didn't have proof to the contrary, which we do, you still couldn't make an absolute statement like that.

[Vote4RonPaulLiberty]

@stebaw Why didn't you choose God as your moniker?

[oiyabastard]

@stebaw shut up dummy how do you  know?

[toekneeeyeoweme]

@stebaw Troll much?

[DATruth4sho]

Personally, I think the death penalty makes some sense. If the person did something horrible and there is absolutely no doubt he was the person who did the crime, then kill 'em. I'm sure they'd rather be put to death than serve a life sentence anyhow.

[LeeCamp2]

Well DATruth4sho, that's a lovely perfect world you describe - in which we're always sure the person committed the crime. Instead what we've got is an egregious system in which innocent people are killed. Furthermore, it's a racist system in which you're much more likely to be executed if you murder a white person than a black person. So, in this real world, the only answer is to end the death penalty.

[ScottieAxeman4ever]

@DATruth4sho allowing the death penalty to exist means you allow some innocent people to die. not worth it.

[zwanmoretime]

No civilised country could ever condone capital punishment.

[Commuter8]

Extremely late for an apology you know this guy was murdered in 2004 in a lethal injection.

Yes its murder the judge the jury the state of Texas has committed murder.

I am American and i wanna say FUCK YOU TEXAS you did us wrong.

What the hell are you gonna do about it? you killed an innocent man your bull shit evidence was marked wrong.

ASSHOLES.

[blaziermissy]

@Commuter8 Those blood thirsty fockers can't comprehend it... All they can say is "don't may -us wid Tay-uhh-xis"

[jamminforpeace]

kind of late for an appology .. dont you think?

[thelancemanion]

So does that mean that in texas the law is that you can murder someone and as long as you apologize you get off scott-free?

[baysiderecording]

The conviction of Todd Willingham was merely based on so-called experts' opinions. I watched the other footage on Youtube of ABC's interview with the lead prosecutor on this case. He's now a judge in Corsicana. His responses to ABC's barrage of questioning, I must admit, are scary as hell!! John Jackson is his name I think. This redneck of a judge, wherever or whatever redneck school of law he was certified, is the ultimate EVIL!!

[victor190779]

I once discussed the number of people freed from death row with a prosecutor - this was after the introduction of DNA evidence.

His answer: Well, they might not have done what they had gone to jail, but society was still better off without them.

I am afraid, this attitude is widespread.

[redrainjedi]

Can you imagine what would happen if the evidence was reexamined from every case where someone was executed before DNA testing was available?

There should be a federal program to examine just that.

[KentuckyBordello]

It's all about politics, money and power, from the courtroom to the governor's seat. None of these dipshit politicians are going to admit to or prevent a mistake like this if it's going to hurt them in anyway. Even if it's at the cost of an innocent man's life.

When it get's right down to it....this country is a smaller scale of Nazi Germany, just without the swastikas.

Say what you want people, but it's not your ass on the slab with a needle in your arm. How would you feel then?

[aj19bcx]

that's why we have independent organizations and investigative news shows and magazines. if enough people know he was innocent then death penalty proponents will have to admit it, or else look like they are covering up a broken system rather than fixing it.

[jjrglobal]

@KentuckyBordello

You got that right. I know Judge Jackson personally, we was my next door neighbor and was actually going to be my business partner after he left the bench. After spending quite a bit of money on my part he backed out of the deal, which caused me to lose my investment. He's not very honorable and Navarro county is nothing but a redneck brother in law justice system. If you are on the sheriffs good side you can get away with anything, just dont piss him or the judge off.

[aj19bcx]

before someone can be executed make the prosecutor sign his life as collateral, then maybe they won't execute people so readily

[bersaba]

@aj19bcx,

Now that is a fucking good idea.

[insomnia320]

i don't know what to say except that America has always seemed to me to be a barbaric nation and the fact that they speak English (sometimes) means nothing, so do most of the world, I have nothing in common with most Americans (I am from the UK)

[danielvlee]

As an American who is against the death penalty and has many British friends, I can tell you I am pretty sure you are like MOST Americans. Most Texans, however... different story. I could probably include most Southerners. No offense intended, but your statement seems either ignorant, or an emotional overreaction.

[boing3887]

he isn't the first - i was surprised to see a white guy executed, but i guess texas doesn't discriminate in executions as long as they're killing eh?

texas, doing america proud

[bcw324]

if these people are executed for murder, who is putting the executioner to death for murder ... arent a lot of these people that are for the death penalty the same that go to church every week? they must not have very good reading comprehension skills!!!!

[MrZombieLuigi]

HAHAHA....the title is "Texas Issues Apology For Executing Innocent Man" and the thumbnail just said "My Bad"....I couldn't even watch the video until I stopped laughing and got back in my chair....

[medaa25]

I support the death penalty as an option. But it should only be granted if the family of the victims ask for it. If someone killed a member of my family, i'd like to have the chance to kill him myself.

[Kashrlyyk]

So then the family of that person is allowed to kill a member of your family and so on. What you didn`t see that?

[beelzebubblicious6]

Julius-There is a huge difference between an accidental death and a purposeful death. Choking, car accidents, and error during surgery are not purposeful deaths. Execution is a purposeful death.

[toddz1972]

Texas killed a man who was later found to be innocent after he was put to death.Now shouldn't the monster who gave the orders to murder this innocent man be thrown into prison or put to death for this careless judgment?Being guilty before proven innocent is the new law of the land.

[talkytina1]

Nothing "new" about that, this is the way it's ALWAYS been in this country for the poor!

[hoomanity]

Great video good job! Posted on Texas Death Penalty blog

[panther0567]

"Wow, turns out the guy we executed a while ago was actually innocent"

"...uhh....heheh... woopsie daisies!"

[CloeOBrien242424]

I don't like the death penalty.

[sikes1379]

Stay the fuck out of texas! lol

[Buckeyes202]

I don't think the death penalty is wrong. I just think the people who decided to give it to him were wrong. If he did actually kill his kids then he should get the death penalty. I don't think they should give someone the death penalty unless they are 100% sure it was him.

[2lazy2watch]

Lots of idiots live in that state I heard. Like Bush.. so no surprise there.

[panther0567]

Yes, end the death penalty!

[dfwtexxaas]

You have to remember that Republicans are very Christian-like...NOT!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!

[LeeCamp2]

dr71956 - you're working off of old facts. You need to read the recent 17-page article in the New Yorker about this case. One of the best fire analysts in the country investigated the case right before the execution and said there was no proof of arson. They had done a test burn with a similar house and similar situation and found that the so-called "points of origin" were bullshit and can happen in a regular electrical fire. The only place they found...

[LeeCamp2]

traces of lighter fluid was on the porch - where the family kept their grill and lighter fluid. Furthermore, the Board of Clemency admits they never read any of this new evidence, they only listened to the wildly inaccurate gov't expert. Furthermore, there was never any motive for him to kill his children. Furthermore, a man on death row with an almost identical situation was released weeks before Willingham was executed. Point being- you need to update yourself on the facts.

[mmmmmvodka]

I don't think it's the death penalty's fault.

It's the officers and investigators who got it wrong. It's their fault. They should have done it right.

[LeeCamp2]

So you admit that humans can be flawed? And of course you admit that the death penalty is administered by humans. So therefore... you believe our death penalty system is flawed. So therefore... there shouldn't be a death penalty. ...Isn't logic great?

[mmmmmvodka]

Ooh ooh ooh! I got one.

Human beings can make mistakes therefore making the death penalty system flawed. However, if human beings can actually learn from mistakes and view the evidence instead of making assumptions, then the death penalty will NOT be flawed.

BADDA BING! YA?

However, I do agree that the DP is pretty bad. But I do believe in the DP only for those who are extreme serial killers. But that's how I see it. Everybody thinks differently.

[funkor]

You can change your mind on a life prison sentence. You can't change your mind on the death penalty.

[JuliusBonapart]

By that logic medicine, food, any kind of justice, car repair, nothing can be administered because it's administered by humans. Until we can train the monkeys or the dogs to do it. They're not flawed at all.

[LeeCamp2]

Nope, that's not what the logic says because those others don't end in the absolution of someone's death. If you feed someone poorly, it's not the end of their consciousness on earth... unless you REALLY fuck up the food.

[JuliusBonapart]

I don't disagree with your stance on the death penalty I just find your logic a bit flawed. You can also really fuck up the car repair, the justice and the medicine. And the food. Basically anything anyone does ever can result in someone's death. Just ask Bush when he almost died choking on a potatoe chip. Or any MI6 member.

[funkor]

This is a variation of the "cars kill lots of people so guns shouldn't be regulated" idea. Guns are made to kill people. The death penalty is made to kill people.

When those things are flawed they kill innocent people.

Potato chips provide a good thing. The death penalty does not decrease crime, apparently. But what is the difference in life imprisonment and the death penalty? Someone could write a great novel or help other inmates repair their lives.

[LeeCamp2]

You know I love ya, Julius, but I gotta disagree with your logic. Funkor said it pretty well. Yes, ANYTHING could accidentally kill someone. The death penalty is no accident. It's not someone choking on a pretzel. It is intended to kill, and unfortunately, it's killing the wrong people (even if we skip the debate of whether it's EVER okay to kill someone).

[JuliusBonapart]

Fine, fine you guys win. *grumbles away eating potatoe chips* I've had enough playing devil's advocate. Congrats on keeping the minute of claritys coming - this was a particularly good one. Can we see one on Obama firing (or accepting the resignation of) Van Jones, like the comic you drew up on the Huffington post? There's many anti-democrat things Obama's doing out of sheer cowardice or playing "realpolitik" (like dropping the gov. option on health care) and he needs REAL democrats to criticize

[luchamini]

So we have proof that people can't do everything right, correct? Do you want to put the lives of others into flawed individuals hands?

Until an absolutely flawless being is created (through science not fiction) that can determine exactly what happened, how and why, a man should not kill another in the name of justice.

[arglistfuchs]

I'm so utterly disappointed in my state. :/

[marick626]

I guess the texans where too busy with their BBQ to do proper work.

[mmmmmvodka]

Really? I'm a Texan.

And I haven't had BBQ is months!

I guess that makes me a horrible Texan.

I think what you really should be saying is that Texans were too busy making ASSUMPTIONS to do proper work.

[jabarimclain2]

sorry im with the death penaltiy so I cant vote I just say 30-50 years before they put the person to death not unless they have unbeatable evidince then he can be put to death in 4 years

[luchamini]

30-50 years is already taking somebody's life. Imagine being in jail at age 30 in 1979. Now jump to today with our fast paced lives, cell phones, and internet and see just how much of a life a 60 year old would have. An innocent 60 year old.

[iknewitalready]

George W Bush is in Texas. Texans should execute him for committing war crimes and high misdemeanors

[iknewitalready]

Texas is a very, very, very SORRY state!

Texas is seceding from the union soon.

/watch?v=BmqtNiy4lgc

/watch?v=5qO4K_wmJ94

[Steve7508]

woah, they killed an innocent WHITE guy? how did that happen??? innocent and black, I could understand... seems to happen a lot in Texas.

[imtang0708]

Thanks Lee! Another fantastic video!

[hoomanity]

Good job! I oppose the death penalty in all cases, with exception of killing the death penalty itself.

[Observerx10]

Hey Lee,

Of all the moments of clarity I have seen so far, this is my favorite. Really, really good job

[Plutonwolf]

Can you imagine the horror of sitting in a cell waiting to be killed, knowing you are innocent, knowing that the real killer of your children is free, knowing that people will spit on your grave, knowing that your life will unavoidably end at a fixed time and date, knowing that the powers that be care not a whit about your innocence....so long as the group bloodlust is sated......imagine all the people that have actually endured this hell. The death of one innocent man stains us all.

[gotilk]

Murder - "It is what it is" .. as they like to say.

[fakebeliever]

Killing people to teach them the lesson that they shouldn't kill people is just the kind of logic a dumbass state like Texas would revel in.

[thebeautywithin678]

I live in Texas, so I can't see the death penalty being killed permanently, but when it does, there's definitely going to be fireworks!!

Thanks for posting Lee :)

[MrTwister4Life]

the death penalty is just government sanctioned murder. good vid

[wtfoof]

Let's just put Texas to death.