Live or die -- it's a matter of politics

[theHandpuppet]

From today's Cincinnati Enquirer....
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070415/NEWS01/704150356

The politics of life and death
An inmate's fate often hinges on luck of the draw
BY DAN HORN | [e-mail]

Paul Gregory House pinned his hopes for survival on the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati five years ago when he challenged his death sentence for rape and murder.

He won.

Two years later, House's case returned to the 6th Circuit for what amounted to a new hearing on the same issues. The only change was the addition of four conservative judges to the court.

He lost.

Same evidence. Same arguments. Different outcome.

House learned the hard way that a federal death-penalty appeal can be a game of chance.

If the judges assigned to a case were appointed by Democratic presidents, odds are good they will overturn a death sentence because of new evidence or mistakes made during the trial. If the judges were appointed by Republicans, the chances are slim.... MORE