The image of a British grandmother on death row in America is to be put on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square in a plea to save her from execution.Not sure how that’s supposed to work. Unlike that famous (infamous?) bridge, we haven’t sold Trafalgar Square to the Yanks yet…
Linda Carty was sentenced to death in 2002 for abducting and murdering a mother, allegedly to steal her baby.Ah, yes. The ‘SODDI’ defence (Some Other Dude Did It).
She maintains she is innocent and says she was framed for the crime.
Well, kudos for thinking outside the box and not going with the totally-ridiculous ‘one armed man’ defence, I suppose…
On Thursday her supporters will erect a cardboard cut-out of her on the plinth used for temporary live statues in the London square.Seems appropriate – she’s ‘temporarily live’ herself...
They will play a recording she made in the Texas jail where, if appeals fail, she will be put to death by lethal injection.
Maybe if Damian Hirst or Gunther Von Hagen gets involved, they can display her pickled or plastinated corpse instead, after she gets the needle, of course.
In the message, she states: "Time is now running out and I appeal to every one of you and to the British government to please help me."I doubt it. But since some idiot’s put this platform up for all kinds of freaks and weirdoes, I don’t see how you can be blamed for utilising it too.
She adds: "I'm sorry if I sound like a desperate woman. I am desperate, because the British people may be my last hope. If they ask for my life to be spared, maybe Texas will listen."
Legal charity Reprieve described Ms Carty as the the most at-risk British national they are following. It is thought her execution could take place as early as next summer.Reprieve, of course, is the pressure group that employs the odious Clive Stafford-Smith, who has made a life’s work and a hell of a lot of self-aggrandising publicity out of pleading for the lives of convicted killers and campaigning against the death penalty.
It seems Linda Carty hasn’t been briefed on Brown very well by our Clive as she obviously thinks he’s a man who will face a direct question or tricky moral dilemma with courage and integrity:
Asked if she thought Prime Minister Gordon Brown could assert more pressure, she said: "He has to. You cannot sit passively by and because you have a good relationship with the US say 'I don't want to rock the boat'.Heh! Good luck with that.
"You are talking about somebody's life here. He has to get up and say 'I am not going to allow you to kill this lady'."
Frankly, I'd want Gordon nowhere near me if I was her, with his track record.
I mean, the Yanks are going to treat her a hell of a lot more humanely than she treated her victim, after all. If Gordon gets involved, they might just decide to return to old Sparky, or roast her alive over a pit of vipers...
Clive Stafford-Smith, director of legal charity Reprieve, said: "Linda Carty's speech to Trafalgar Square shows that she is a terrified woman, and with good reason. Texas plans to kill her by lethal injection, which is a painful and lonely death.The British Government has done all it can for her.
"The British government must do everything in its power to prevent Linda's death."
And even Gordon isn't dumb enough to want his fingerprints all over this one. Not after his last involvement in an international affair went so utterly, spectacularly wrong...
Mother fucking scum bag journalist. What was he doing there any way? Gives him somethingh to wank over thinking he's "the big man" in the middle of everything does it?
ReplyDeleteKill the fucking LOT, shower of fucking tosspot wannabees.
The two separate issues of her innocence or guilt and the appropriateness of the death penalty are obviously inextricably linked in this case.
ReplyDeleteI believe it is a highly appropriate use of the plinth to raise awareness of the issue of the appropriateness of the death penalty being used on a British subject but not her guilt or innocence. The later being a matter solely for the Americans as the crime was committed, tried and decided on their soil.
I for one hope she is not executed regardless of her guilt or innocence. She has been prevented from committing another crime. If she is guilty she may never be able to be part of any free society without posing a threat to it but this is no reason to end her life. The question should be while we can prevent someone from committing further crimes what good can they do if any? After all, nothing will bring the victim in this case back to life.
I agree with you Julia on not ever wanting to have Gordon Brown responsible for my individual well being. I’m sure this woman is uniquely concerned with herself right now. He has and does seem incapable of concentrating on issues of individual that affect the people he is responsible to or issue of the country for more than five minutes before he changes his mind. And then sometimes back again. Better to do nothing than contradict one self repeatedly?
ReplyDeleteNot a big fan of journalists Von?
ReplyDeleteWhy can't Brown sit passively by?
ReplyDeleteHow would we feel if Obama tried to starting freeing American prisoners in the UK who have been convicted of serious crimes?
He could, but freeing a convicted killer is not the only other option to ending her life is it?
ReplyDeleteMike, you always raise impressive and sympathetic points. Could you give innocent old grannie a home?
ReplyDeleteIt boils down to how good the evidence is, I guess.
ReplyDeleteIf we can plea on behalf of a girl in Laos for smuggling drugs that would have probably killed people (who got herself pregnant, while in jail, you know the one).. then surely we can at least insist on a retrial in this case.
I don't care what anyone (or her passport) says - she ain't British.
ReplyDelete"I believe it is a highly appropriate use of the plinth to raise awareness of the issue of the appropriateness of the death penalty being used on a British subject but not her guilt or innocence. The later being a matter solely for the Americans as the crime was committed, tried and decided on their soil."
ReplyDeleteSo, we can't comment on the trial, but feel justified in handwringing over the sentence?
"She has been prevented from committing another crime. If she is guilty she may never be able to be part of any free society without posing a threat to it but this is no reason to end her life."
The death penalty is just as much an issue for the US as the rest of it. This is what they've voted in. This is what enough of them want.
Just because we're too squeamish - and have now had our options to bring it back restricted by the EU - is no reason to start to interfere in the judicial sentences of others..
"If we can plea on behalf of a girl in Laos for smuggling drugs..."
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have bothered with that one overmuch either!
You do the crime, you do your time...
Julia, we can comment on the trial but it is a separate issue to the sentence.
ReplyDeleteWith specific reference to the trail and its verdict I believe that is also flawed but then the crime was committed under its jurisdiction and so the result stands.
The sentence is hollow in its reason, method and effect regardless of boundaries or law.
Paul, I would give a home to anyone if I were able guilty or innocent. Especially if they posed no threat to themselves, the public or me. If they did I would report them to the relevant authorities and hope, they would deal with the matter humanely.
Ahh???
ReplyDeleteCan any one tell me how my post (the first here) ended up on THIS thread, and not the one I posted it on about a scum bag "journallist" killing a Para????
"Can any one tell me how my post (the first here) ended up on THIS thread, and not the one I posted it on about a scum bag "journallist" killing a Para????"
ReplyDeleteDid you have multiple windows open? I do that sometimes, and it's easy to post under the wrong one if it's a long thread and you've scrolled down further than the post header.
In that case I apologize for seming to be WAAYYY off topic.
ReplyDeletePlease feel free to edit it out if you wish.
Julia, you surprise me believing in the appropriateness of a death penalty on the grounds of squeamishness. There are many methods that humans have used to end each others lives and lethal injection is one of the more humane. The validity of a society authorising and asking one human to kill another is what I believe the plinth should be used for. Let me ask you this, in war if a solider surrenders do we shot them?
ReplyDelete