Homeless in NOLA, Four Years Later | Texas Executed an Innocent Man | What a CIA Probe Must Look Like

Rights and Liberties September 2nd, 2009 More from Rights and Liberties »

Four Years After Katrina, Thousands Are Homeless and Struggling In New Orleans By Jordan Flaherty, Left Turn With recovery still lagging in New Orleans, thousands are living in storm damaged and abandoned buildings. Read more » Anti-death penalty activists have long argued that proof exists that innocent people have been put to death in this country. This week, an article in The New Yorker magazine has convinced people to stop denying it. In 1992, Cameron Todd Willingham was convicted of arson murder in a fire that killed his three children in Corsicana, Texas. He was sent to death row and executed in 2004. In the years since, numerous investigations have cast serious doubt on whether the fire that killed Willingham's kids was intentional, including assessments from fire experts, who said that the initial investigation against him was hopelessly flawed. In 2004, Louisiana Fire Chief Kendall Ryland told the Chicago Tribune it "made me sick to think this guy was executed based on this investigation. … They executed this guy, and they've just got no idea -- at least not scientifically -- if he set the fire, or if the fire was even intentionally set." Now, the truth is out. "The New Yorker's investigation lays out this case in its totality and leads to the inescapable conclusion that Willingham was innocent. There can no longer be any doubt that an innocent person has been executed," said Innocence Project Co-Director Barry Scheck this week. "The question now turns to how we can stop it from happening again." To read the New Yorker piece, go here. For more on Texas's cruel execution legacy, go here. Thanks for reading, Liliana Segura Editor, Rights & Liberties Special Coverage The Secret Government: What a Real Bipartisan Probe of Bush-era Crimes Should Look Like By Christopher Hayes, The Nation From CIA assassinations to domestic spying, a sweeping investigation of government crimes is not only possible -- it has been done before. more » Rebuking Cheney's Torture Propaganda in 7 Easy Steps By Jeremy Scahill, Rebel Reports Cheney is all over the airwaves, trotting out his propaganda and defense of the Bush administration's serial violations of the Geneva conventions. more » 5 Ways to Build a Fascist-Proof America By Sara Robinson, Campaign for America's Future If we want to build a fascist-proof America for the long haul, we must stand up now for everything we believe and everything we are. more » Journalistic Outrage: The Pentagon Paid a Disgraced PR Firm to Profile My Reporting By Nir Rosen, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting "A public affairs officer told me it was the most alarming report about a journalist that he had ever seen." more » ACLU Sues Controversial Arizona Sheriff By Willam Fisher, IPS News The self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff" in America this week added another lawsuit to the thousands pending against him. more » Liberal Lion Ted Kennedy Has Died ... What Happens Now with Immigration Reform? By Andrea Nill, Center for American Progress Kennedy "laid the groundwork" for the sort of humane immigration reform that he had spent much of his political career fighting for, but never achieved. more » The Wing-Nut Code: What Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin Are Really Saying to Their Followers By Adele M. Stan, AlterNet You thought they were just unhinged. But here's what they're really saying to the armed and dangerous. more » Texas Executed An Innocent Man By The Innocence Project The tragic case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was falsely accused of setting a fire that killed his children -- and then executed for it. more » PEEK and Video: The hottest buzz and videos on the web Obama to Continue Bush Policy of Searching Travelers' Personal Effects Without Cause By Joshua Holland, AlterNet But fear not -- more oversight! more » For Team Obama, A Refresher on Jack Johnson and "The Great White Hope" By Dave Zirin, Huffington Post In 1918, the first black heavyweight boxing champ defeated a racist "great white hope." Why won't Obama fight back? more » Kansas School District Bans T-Shirts Depicting Evolution By Faiz Shakir, Think Progress "I don't think evolution should be associated with our school," said one parent, who teaches in the district. more »

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