it is a shame for the USA if this woman will be executed.

Was Francis executed today?

Katie
6:25pm

It is time to pay the State of Texas the ultimate cost, death.

I was born and raised in Texas and I am a recent law school graduate. Historically, It is never a "good thing" for any (republican) governor to decide whether an execution will be stayed. Why, do you ask? I don't know. Even in the face of overwhelming evidence of the prisoners innocence, Texas Governors have a track record of denying requests for stays on execution. I suppose its because Texas is an extremely conservative state which typically always has a republican governor. The court system here is one with an attitude of retribution, and an "eye for an eye" mentality.

Let me be clear, I am a proponent of the death penalty in a theoretical since, but as a nation we simply cannot apply it properly. Unless we can be 100% sure (beyond ALL reasonable doubt, not beyond A reasonable doubt) that the person we are putting to death is guilty (and we cannot) then we should not utilize the death penalty.

In my estimation Francis Newton's conviction of guilt does not even meet what's required by law, the less strenuous burden of proof, beyond A reasonable doubt (this is not a 100% burden of proof, its less than that, it's hard to put a number on it). I have seen reports that she was a horrible and evil person. Even if it's true, Is this proof that she killed her husband and 2 kids? Is it proof enough to take her life away?

I have noticed something even though I have not started my legal career as of yet, the chips seemed to really be stacked against the defendant in a criminal case before the trial even starts. The case is tried in State court, the Prosecutor works for the State, The Judge works for the state, and to a jury they appear 'trustworthy', while the defendant and defense counsel are automatically viewed as scum.

Everytime I cut on the news and I see that there is another execution scheduled (mind you, in Texas this is a regular occurance) my stomach cringes. I wonder, "can we be sure that he or she actually did it, or at the very least were all the requirements of due process met, as proscribed by the Texas and U.S. Constitution?" Then I say to myself. " I doubt it."

I am really disgusted with the justice system and feel we need some definite changes. Francis Newton may have been killed over the self righteous attitude of the district attorneys office and that is what it comes down to. As a previous cop (note I said previous...got tired of the corruption) and person who also worked in the court system for a number of years, I saw way too many trials where the DA's office hid facts, played games and even (once an error was discovered) lied to save face. It quite often becomes a matter of not wanting to admit that there is more politics involved than determining actual guilt. I worked in the Capital Crimes Calendar...and saw guilty people go free....and many many inocent people sentenced. What a DAMN shame.....why are we murdering our own people but letting the bad ones go free? Something needs to change. And, as far as cops and the legal system....don't kid yourself...there is A LOT of corruption. A lot more than we want to admi....we all need to wake up and smell the coffee....before we kill more innocent people.

"..before we kill more innocent people." I hear this all the time. I am from Texas and I a current police officer in Texas. A large percentage of the people put to death in Texas confess before they get executed. Very rarely do we hear one that claims complete innocence. I love to hear people say they have been a model prisoner, we shouldn't put them to death. The only innocent people in this story died nearly 20 years ago. I also enjoyed reading the previous entry where he thought the State shouldn't put anyone to death unless we could prove they committed the crime "beyond ALL reasonable doubt.." This is ridiculous. Besides, I can tell by reading your entry that you will be one of the lawyers that will come up with some creative reason why it is okay to kill. We, in Texas, have put to death numerous inmates for various crimes. We, in Texas, have also allowed many to go for frivilous reasons. We, in Texas, recently allowed people with low I.Q. scores to be exempt from the death penalty.

As far as quitting a profession because of the "corruption", I look at this the same as not going to church because they are all hypocrites at the church. I have been a policeman for 17 years and I can tell you that if I don't feel comfortable filing the charges, I don't file them. To survive as a policeman, you have to be a strong person. If a police officer or department is violating civil rights, you should have taken action. You were the police. You had a responsibility to take action. You were in a position to make changes and did not. If you felt the district attorney's office was violating the civil rights of individuals, you should have taken action. Ms. Newton got numerous appeals and had much to explain. The Houston police department is reaping its reward for shotty police work and a shotty lab because some person did their job and didn't walk away.

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