In the wake of the grief, anger, and disillusionment over the State of Georgia's murder of Troy Davis, it is easy to forget that several states are preparing the premeditated murder of more human beings.
Alabama, which has the highest number of executions per capita of any state, will execute Derrick Mason at 6:00 p.m. tonight, barring an extraordinarily unlikely stay by the United States Supreme Court. Derrick Mason is, not surprisingly, an African-American man; his victim was a white woman.
Alabama is one of only three states that allow judges to override jury sentencing recommendations--even when a jury votes unanimously for a life sentence. This is particularly and painfully ironic, given that the judge who sentenced Derrick Mason to death now states that he imposed the wrong sentence, and would impose a life sentence instead if he could do it over. Unfortunately, Judge Lloyd H. Little, Jr.'s letter to the governor pleading for a commutation of Mason's sentence to life in prison fell on deaf ears--Governor Bentley said he "saw no reason to overturn the decision of the jury." Alabama is one of the few states to also allow a non unanimous jury vote in favor of death to result in a death sentence: the jury's vote to execute Mason was 10-2 (the minimum vote required for a death sentence). The only two African-Americans on the 12-person jury voted for life without parole; six of the nine potential African-American jurors had been struck by the prosecution without the prosecution being required to state a race-neutral reason for striking them.
Mason's trial attorneys had no experience whatsoever in the complex and highly specialized field of capital litigation, and failed to effectively present mitigating evidence about his age, mental health issues, and lack of criminal record. Had trial counsel been even marginally competent, they would have presented expert testimony to the jury concerning the effects of physically and sexually abusive childhood, and that he suffered from Attention Deficit Disorder, in addition to the fact that he was intoxicated (from an embalming fluid-laced joint) at the time he committed the crime. Trial counsel also committed a basic and severe error in failing to "Batson challenge" the prosecution's peremptory strikes of several prospective jurors who were persons of color--something even a baby public defender learns to do in basic training. Despite the history of racial bias in Alabama (!) and the fact that Derrick Mason is African-American and his victim was white, trial counsel even failed to question prospective jurors on potential racial bias--again, an extraordinarily basic mistake. The errors were compounded by his previous attorneys' failure to perfect an appeal of the denial of his initial petition.
The prosecution--without an evidentiary basis to do so--repeatedly told the jury in closing argument that Mr. Mason had tried to rape his victim, even though the prosecution's own expert had testified that there was no evidence of sexual assault.
While Derrick Mason's guilt is not in question, he expressed remorse by apologizing to the family of the victim several years ago.
None of these factors mattered one whit to the Alabama Supreme Court; nor to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The cult of death exists unhindered--and in actuality facilitated--by the Injustice System in this very profoundly sick country of ours.
Tonight, it claims another victim.
3:06 PM PT: Birmingham News editorial calling for a commutation of Mason's sentence to life without parole:
http://blog.al.com/...