It will be many years before a record is fully assembled about what role the media played in creating a death-chamber in the New Haven courtroom that was home to the trial of State v. Steven Hayes. Reporters flocked from around the world to behold the trial. Each seat was packed; television ews crews assembled in the pre-dawn hours so as not to miss a moment.
The hero of this morality play was Dr. William Petit, Jr. His every move was studied, and reported upon, as though he were something other than a man of sorrows, acquainted with unspeakable grief. Did he place his hand to his brow,...
December 2, 2010
Information knows no national boundaries; it flows, like the truth, across borders, and into the minds of those prepared to receive it. That is why governments everywhere view truth as an enemy. It is why, today, Julian Assange, a spokesman for Wikileaks, is in hiding.
Interpol has issued a so-called "red notice," asking members of the world's largest association of law enforcement agencies, to arrest him. Swedish authorities want to question him about claims of date rape. These claims emerged only after Wikileaks began to publish classified information about what we are doing in...
December 2, 2010
Zealotry is an equal opportunity destroyer of peace and tranquility. Mohamed Osman Mohamud apparently wanted to destroy ours with a well-placed bomb in Portland, Oregon; some anonymous arsonists wanted to destroy the peace of mind of those who worshipped with Mr. Mohamud at the Salman Al-Farisi Islamic Center in Corvalis. I understand these regrettable acts of violence and attempted violence. What I do not understand is why the Federal Bureau of Investigation felt the need to let things go so far.
Conspiracy theories are a close cousin of theology: The world is but a stage for vast and...
November 29, 2010
The first Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to two men in 1901: Henry Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross, and an international pacifist named Frederic Passy. The Nobel committee ought to award the prize to Wikileaks. It would reward sunshine in government, and be a fitting acknowledgement of the Internet's capacity to change the world. It might also put the world's governments on notice that lies, even the boldest and biggest of lies, can purchase security for only so long.
Wikileaks is a new but powerful presence in the world. It was founded in 2006, and first appeared on line in...
November 28, 2010
November 26, 2010
"Having recognized religious doctrines as illusions, we are at once faced by a further question: may not other cultural assets of which we hold a...
November 26, 2010
The law's senseless cruelty was on display again last week in a Bridgeport federal courtroom. No matter how many times I see a person ground to dust...
November 26, 2010
I am not shedding any tears over the conviction of former House Republican Majority Leader Thomas DeLay's conviction on money laundering charges...
November 25, 2010
The dogs are a little subdued this morning. They get that way when my wife is not at home. We have our routines, and the dogs make sure we stick to...
November 24, 2010
Although I am not much of a fan of legal blogs, I make an exception for Defrosting Cold Cases. It celebrates its first anniversary today. I have...
November 22, 2010
There is something wrong, seriously wrong, with a country that makes a watchdog into the national mascot. But we like sheep sat last night, watching...