Rain and Erika recommended movies for me to watch. I want to rent each from Netflix but I lost the last DVD I rented. Okay, I think I threw it out. To top it all off, I threw it out and I never got the opportunity to watch it. The movie is called Deadline, a doc regarding the death penalty. Watching Deadline is part of my research for 30 Days to Justice.
Anyway, I called Netflix to let them know what happened. Not only are they going to resend Deadline, but they aren’t going to charge me for the lost DVD. That totally rocks.I wonder if Sprint will be as nice to me and waive the sex phone number I called. Before you go into a tizzy and think that Doug’s comment regarding “Woody” got to me, let me explain.
Yes, I am single but thankfully I’ve never had to pay for phone sex. My guy friends readily obliged me in the category. I tease, folks. I tease.
It appears that Netflix toll free line is almost identical to a sex hotline. I misdialed when calling Netflix. I hung up immediately when I heard a raspy woman’s voice say “big fella” – no lie. I immediately called Sprint to avoid the phone charge - which I’m sure will be ridiculous. Customer service is closed until Monday. I’ll have to wait until then.
Hopefully Sprint will remove the charge without a problem. But somehow I doubt it.
P.S. Erika I didn’t forget about The Exonerated. I want to blog about Deadline and The Exonerated on the same day. Look for my commentary soon.
My elderly aunt has recently sought the services of NAMI her 47-year-old son was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his early twenties. He’s been arrested for petty crimes such as vandalism and disorderly conduct. NAMI is currently working to educate her about schizophrenia. NAMI also provides family to family support., where people who have family members with mental illnesses support people who‘s loved one’s have just been diagnosed. Along with all of the support programs that NAMI provides, they will also give families a better understanding about how the court system works when it comes to crimes committed by the mentally ill.
Out of 2 million prisoners, 500,000 are mentally ill. My math isn’t the best but that makes 25%, right?
The mental illnesses are clinical and include manic depression (bipolar disorder) and schizophrenia. Prisons are not equipped to treat individuals who have been diagnosed.
was bipolar. He wasn’t given his meds and would appear in court incoherent. Chances are that he couldn’t offer much help to his legally blind attorney.
Fewer than 55,000 Americans currently receive treatment in psychiatric hospitals. Meanwhile, almost 10 times that number — nearly 500,000 — mentally ill men and women are serving time in U.S. jails and prisons. As sheriffs and prison wardens become the unexpected and often ill-equipped caretakers of this burgeoning population, they raise a troubling new concern.
The true, bewildering story of a young woman’s disappearance, the nightmare of a small town obsessed with delivering justice, and the bizarre dream of a poor, uneducated man accused of murder—a case that chillingly parallels the one, occurring in the very same town, chronicled by John Grisham in The Innocent Man.On April 28, 1984, Denice Haraway disappeared from her job at a convenience store on the outskirts of Ada, Oklahoma, and the sleepy town erupted. Tales spread of rape, mutilation, and murder, and the police set out on a relentless mission to bring someone to justice. Six months later, two local men—Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot—were arrested and brought to trial, even though they repudiated their “confessions,” no body had been found, no weapon had been produced, and no eyewitnesses had come forward. The Dreams of Ada is a story of politics and morality, of fear and obsession. It is also a moving, compelling portrait of one small town living through a nightmare.
Facts You Should Know
Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot were arrested and prosecuted by the same cops and prosecutors as Williamson. The same sloppy police work put these two men on death row. Waiting to die, they received another trial and their sentences were reduced. Tommy is serving a life sentence. Karl’s sentence: life without parole.
My passion to finish 30 Days to Justice grows stronger everyday.
Erika, a blog visitor, commented that The Exonerated is a good movie to watch regarding the death penalty. Click here to view it online.For those who can’t watch it, don’t worry.
I’m going to watch it over the weekend and provide quotable quotes on Monday. Thanks for the tip, Erika.
John Grisham found inspiration to write The Innocent Man while reading an obituary.
Quotable Quotes:
- Sloppy police work
- Wrongful convictions happen all the time in our country and some of them could be prevented
- A lot of innocent people in prison
- Stop and think twice about the death penalty and the system that we have
- The bible belt so in love with the death penalty. It doesn’t make any sense
- Morally opposed to state sanctioned killings
Fun facts about the book you won’t find in the interview I posted above. Ron Williamson’s lawyer was legally blind. He didn’t have an assistant to help him sort out evidence. He couldn’t review the forensic evidence and other important documents. No wonder Williamson was convicted and sentenced to death. Years later, Williamson had the benefit of hiring a lawyer with eyesight and his conviction was overturned.
New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed a law making New Jersey the first state to abolish the death penalty in more than 40 years. Click here to read the full story.
Rain and Erika recommended movies for me to watch. I want to rent each from Netflix but I lost the last DVD I rented. Okay, I think I threw it out. To top it all off, I threw it out and I never got the opportunity to watch it. The movie is called Deadline, a doc regarding the death penalty. Watching Deadline is part of my research for 30 Days to Justice. 
