Word: deaths
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...play centers on the death of Sebastian Venable and the conflicting stories that arise out of it. Mother Venable--who was not present at the time--has one story, and Catharine Holly--her niece, who witnessed the death and who was put in a mental asylum by Venable--tells another, more offensive version. Both stories suggest that Sebastian's sexual character, not to mention sexual orientation, was some what dubious...
...Court heard Swain v. Alabama which tried to raise the same question. A 19-year-old Black man had been sentenced to death by an all-white jury. His attorneys argued that not only was this unfair, but that no Black person "within the memory of persons now living [had] ever served on an petit jury in any civil or criminal case tried in Talladega County, Alabama." This was in spite of the fact that "of the group designated by Alabama as generally eligible for jury service in that county, 74 percent (12,125) were white and 26 percent...
...prevents Blacks from being called for jury duty. However, it seems that the problem faced by that young Black man I saw is not as unique as I once thought. Moreover, it appears quite reasonable to speculate that the disproportionately larger numbers of Blacks than whites who have received death sentences may be due to all-white juries. Juries, no matter how noble their purpose, do not exist in a vacuum, and one white racist could unfairly influence the decision...
...said you can be certain only of death and taxes...
...disagree, as several legislators did, with the efficacy of provisions allowing the death penalty or cutting off student aid and other federal benefits to those convicted of drug use. But congressional attempts to move the much-ballyhooed "war on drugs" from rhetoric to a coherent policy should be encouraged, not ridiculed. To immediately denounce such attempts as election-year pandering only serves to undermine an important piece of legislation that should instead be debated on its merits...