#appeal for clemency

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"STORY OF ROSENTHAL'S DEATH AND TRIAL OF CHAS. GIBSON," Toronto Star. October 4, 1913. Page 4. ---- How Accused Explained Human Blood Found on His Trousers. --- BROTHER'S BLOOD, GIBSON DECLARED --- Murder Was Particularly Brutal One at the Dead of Night. ---- ELI DUNKELMAN'S STORY ---- It Was Upon His Evidence That the Young Man Was Convicted. --- The story which involves the present plight of Charles Gibeon commenced with the finding of the battered body of Joseph Rosenthal at the foot of Strachan avenue on April 4, and will end, according to the decision announced, with Charles Gibson forfeiting his own life on October 8, one year and six months after the crime. The mills have ground slowly, but exceeding small. The body of Joseph Rosenthal was found early on the morning of April 6, 1912. He had been brutally slain some time Good Friday night. His skull had been crushed in by a block of cement weighing 14 pounds, which still against his head. His ribs had been crushed in by repeated blows from a hammer, and a rope was so tightly tied around his neck that the flesh almost hid it.

Dunkelman Discovered. The same morning Eli Dunkelman, after lying nearly all night unconscious, was taken to a hospital and hovered between life and death. In the meantime, Detective Cronin , following up another case, found Gibson hiding in a transformer electric station and took him in charge. For five days the whole detective department been occupied in the search for the mysterious "Smith" who had been known to have made an appointment to meet Rosenthal and Dunkelman at the Strachan avenue bridge on Good Friday night, for the purpose of transacting a deal in junk.

Suspicion had been thrown Gibson's way and the murder charge was Iaid. It was alleged that he admitted meeting the two dealers, and explained this by saying that the day before he had met two men in the Hydro-Electric yards and they had asked him if he would dispose of scrap metal for them. Gibson stated that he was merely a go-between for the two parties.

Dunkelman's Story. When Dunkelman had sufficiently recovered he testified at the inquest. He told of going to the Hydro-Electric with Rosenthal and meeting Gibson, declaring that no one else that no one else was present. He waited on the bridge, he said, while Gibson and Rosenthal, at Gibson's request, "went into the yards to make a deal." Half an hour later Gibson came back and he and Dunkelman went into the yards. According to Dunkelman, Gibson called his attention to the lightning, and as he looked up, he was struck on the head, regaining consciousness only the next morning. He identified Gibson at the inquest on May 8, at which the jury returned a declaring the "evidence pointed to Gibson as the perpetrator of the crime."

Jury Out Two Hours. Then came the actual trial in November, lasting two and one-half days, the jury reaching a verdict after a deliberation of two hours to the minute. Eighty-two witnesses were subpoenaed and 16 testified, the actual hearing of evidence tasting thirty-five hours and addresses of counsel and the summing up of Chief Justice Mulock occupying the remainder of the time.

The trial was dramatic. Aubey Bond, appearing for Gibson, made a desperate attempt to exclude the evidence. One of his arguments being that until one crime is proved against a prisoner evidence of a similar alIeged offence could not be put in. Crown Prosecutor Edmund Meredith declared that the killing of Rosenthal and the assault on Dunkelman were all part of the same transaction. Chief Justice Mulock admitted the evidence, granting a stated case on this point.

Charles Gibson finally took the stand and attempted to explain away the net work of circumstantial evidence the Crown had drawn around him, maintained that a man named Alec and another named Wilson were implicated in the affair. These were the two men he had introduced to Dunkelman and Rosenthal. With them he declared he waited on the bridge until the two junk dealers arrived, shortly afterwards leaving the four together and and going home himself. In contradiction of this Dunkelman declared there were only three men there that night - Rosenthal, Gibson, and himself.

Soldiers Backed Him Up. In this assertion Gibson was backed up by three soldiers of the Stanley Barracks. Two of them remembered seeing men on the bridge as they passed by. One of them agreed with Gibson that were more men than Rosenthal, Dunkelman, and Gibson in the party. "I saw four men standing at the bridge and there was another man going towards the city was the significant statement of another the officers. Yet Alec and Wilson were never located although he claimed to have made every search for them.

Other links in the chain of circumstances were given in explanation by the defence. For instance, the Crown proved that there was human blood on Gibson's trousers. The boy said this had fallen from a wound in the head of his small brother which he had bathed when the child ran in from the street where he had been struck down by a bicycle. Other like explanations were given.

All through the trial Gibson maintained the utmost commposure. Never a sign of emotion crossed his face. For hours he sat motionless in one corner of the prisoners box, with his head resting on his left arm, supported by the railing. He maintained this position when the verdict was announced. But in his cell he broke down, but soon recovered himself.

The Scene Shifted. Chief Justice Mulock allowed the case to go to a higher court to decide if he was right in admitting the evidence of Dunkelman, and the scene shifted to Osgoode Hall. Argument was heard in 1913, and decision was finally rendered in April, sustaining the trial judge and throwing out the appeal. Sir William Mulock then passed the death sentence in the May Assizes. No hope for commutation was held out.

Many became interested in the case of the twenty-car-old boy, convicted of murder, and the powers at Ottawa were appealed to in July shortly before the date set by the trial Judge for execution, a reprieve was granted till October 9. The hopes in the breast of the convicted slayer of Rosenthal were crushed this week by the announcement from the the capital that the law as pronounced by Chief Justice Mulock would be allowed to take its course. There are matter rests to-day.

"ROSENTHAL'S SON ASKS MERCY FOR CHAS. GIBSON," Toronto Star. October 4, 1913. Page 5. ---- Writes Letter This Afternoon "In Accordance With Teachings of Hebrew Religion," Though He Believes Gibson Guilty. ----

Toronto, October 3, 1913. ---- Honorable W. T. White. Acting Minister of Justice, Ottawa, Ontario. Dear Sir:- As the son of the late Joseph Rosenthal, who was murdered by Charles Gibson in April, 1912, in this city, I request that you show, in your capacity as Minister of Justice, clemency to Charles Gibson, the convicted slayer of my father. Firmly as I am convinced that he is guilty, I, in accordance with and following the teachings of the Hebrew religion to show mercy to others, sincerely request that you use your power as Minister of the Department of Justice to commute his sentence to that of life imprisonment. I consider that thereby the ends of justice would be well served. Yours respectfully, HARRY ROSENTHAL.

The above letter was mailed this afternoon to the Minister of Justice by Harry Rosenthal, in an effort to have the convicted slayer of his father escape death on the gallows.

"My father is dead," said Mr. Rosenthal, "and while I am firmly convinced that Gibson was my father's murderer, I feel that his crime will be expiated if he spends the rest of his life in prison. It is an awful thing for a man to have to realize that he will never be free again; that he is to be penned up behind stone walls and iron bars for the rest of his life.

"Gibson is only a young man, and I believe that in asking that his sentence be commuted I am doing only what is human."

"GIBSON PETITION IN MANY CHURCHES ON THE SABBATH," Toronto Star. October 4, 1913. Page 1. ---- Seven Hundred of Them are Now Out, and Many are Signing. ---- ARCHBISHOP SIGNS PLEA FOR GIBSON ---- Solicitor Herb. Lennox and Rev. John McNeill are Going to Ottawa ---- TO MAKE A LAST EFFORT ---- Probably 15,000 People Have Already Signed Their Names to the Petitions. ----

"We, the undersigned citizens of the Province of Ontario, having learned that the Minister of Justice has declined to grant a new trial in the case of the King against one, Charles Gibson, who has been sentenced to be hanged on the 9th of October, 1913, for the murder of one, Rosenthal hereby most humbly request that the sentence of hanging be commuted to imprisonment for life. We believe, taking everything into consideration, that a commutation of sentence would be heralded with approval by the great mass of people of the Province, and would furthermore meet the ends of justice in a much more satisfactory manner than hanging young Gibson."

There are 700 of the above petition now in circulation, including some earlier ones, which contained, as well, an appeal for money. The number of signatures is not known, but there are hundreds on many. It is estimated that at least 15,000 names are secured already.

Believes Gibson Guiltless. Mr. C. F. Storey, of 122 Oak street, wants the petition returned no Iater by Monday. He has charge of them, and it is necessary that they be collected in a hurry.

"With Canon Greene, I hold an Anglican service every second Sunday In the prisons," said Mr. Storey The Star, "and in that way I became interested in the Gibson case.

"Do I think Gibson guilty?" "Personally, I do not. Anyway, he is onlya boy. He may know something, but I do not believe he killed the man.

"We are making arrangements," he added, "to have petitions in many churches to-morrow."

Going to Ottawa. "Among other prominent names on the petition to be presented to the Minister of Justice asking that Gibson's sentence be commuted," said Herbert Lennox, K.C., "is that of Arch-bishop McNeil, the Catholic Arch-bishop of Toronto.

"Rev. John McNeill and one of the Jewish Rabbis, probably Rabbi Jacobs, and myself are leaving for Ottawa tomorrow night to present the petition to the Department of Justice."

The letter published exclusively in The Star yesterday from Harry Rosenthal, the son of the murdered man, has had considerable effect. Many people to whom the petition had been presented and who refused to sign it signified their intention of singing to-day. The statement appears to be that if Rosenthal is asking clemency for the man whom he firmly believes murdered his father, then others not so interested should exhibit the same spirit of forgiveness.

Gibson himself has not yet recovered from the shock he received when told that a new trial had been refused him. He is still in a condition bordering on nervous collapse, and has had little to eat and scarcely any sleep since the news was broken to him by his spiritual adviser, the Rev. John McNeill. He believes, however, that his letter of yesterday and the number of petitions which are circulating will have some effect.

One at Osgoode Hall. Even at Osgoode Hall, the home of the courts, a petition is circulating, asking for a commutation of the sentence. Several of the officials have signed, but the barristers show no great eagerness to affix their signaturés.

Other places where petitions are being signed are: Fairweathers, Limited, Yonge street: Upper Canada Tract Society, Confederation Life Bidg.. Child's Restaurant, 158 Yonge: Spencer's drug store, King and Spadina: Owl drug store, Bloor and Spadina: Owl drug store. 2342 Queen east: McCainsh's book store, & College street; College cafe. Yonge and Cariton: Cafeterias, Yonge street.

Suggests Use In Churches People interested in the Gibson case, who wished to sign a petition for commuting his sentence to life imprisonment, failed to find these at some of the points advertised.

Said Mr. Ewart Farquhar to The Star to-day:

"Petitions are announced in morning papers as being found as the Upper Canada Bible rooms. Confederation Life Building, and at Childs Restaurant for signature. I called at the Bible rooms and did not find any petition. At Childs one was dug up on my enquiring for it. I would suggest that the petitions be placed in the city churches tomorrow, with a prominent card calling attention to same. We would welcome one at Bond Street Congregational"

[pilgrim1975]

Alphonse Brengard. Justice delayed, but not denied.

When New York cop-killer Alphonse Brengard walked his last mile at Sing Sing on September 6, 1934 it may have been with a firm sense of time and his crimes having finally caught up with him. Brengard died for a murder effectively committed years before, but he was not to wait in Sing Sing’s infamous ‘Death House’ for very long. After evading the law for several years after the shooting, Brengard…

[femmchantress]

Some fascinating Louisiana news for y'all. So recently, the office of the Pope reached out to our (Catholic, Democrat) governor, John Bel Edwards, and implored him to grant some sort of clemency to our glut of death row inmates. Either converting their sentences to life in prison or pardoning them. John Bel, as a southern democrat, has been very silent on his view of the death penalty for most of his career - but now that he's term-limited out of running for governor again, he's become a very public supporter of abolishing it.

Our (Catholic, Republican) state attorney general, Jeff Landry, who is also the frontrunner in the upcoming gubernatorial election, is attempting to subvert the clemency appeal of death row inmates and prevent a single appeal from being heard. Both because he is an ardent supporter of the death penalty, and so that he can drum up political clout among the pro-death penalty conservative voters throughout Louisiana and minimize the chance of him not making the run-offs.

[blackpearlblast]

Kevin Keith's 27 day hunger strike and the censorship around it

(most post body text copy-pasted from Death Penalty Action news email)

From prison, Kevin planned to manage a publicity campaign to call attention to his hunger strike and his demand for a just resolution to his case, however... the day he started his hunger strike, he was moved to solitary confinement. A prison executive came to see him... 

First she demanded that he hand over all of his documents, his paper, stamps, envelopes and his pen. Then she informed him of a policy change: Prisoners on a hunger strike are not allowed to communicate with the outside world.

Kevin had told his lawyers and some members of the media of his plans, but that was it. I certainly had no details, and Kevin's brother Charles also had no details. Worse, there was no way to contact or even visit Kevin, because he was in the hole (solitary confinement).

Kevin held out for 27 days.

His lawyers came to check on him once a week to make sure he was OK, but that's it.  No media responded to his plea. No celebrity supporters tweeted about his plight. We at Death Penalty Action had no information, and could therefore do nothing.

Even as Kevin drank copious amounts of water, he still was dehydrated. Kevin received intravenous hydration ten times, on the following dates:

February 7

February 12

February 14

Twice on February 16

Twice on February 18

Twice on February 22

And we had no idea.

Kevin says he found a spiritual benefit to the experience, but he stopped when the prison doctor warned him that he risked damaging his kidneys. They threatened him with being transferred to the hospital, restrained, and force-fed. At that point, he decided to end his hunger strike.

Kevin Keith is still waiting for Governor DeWine to act on his request for executive clemency. As you may recall, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against him back in November. It is unclear what additional legal avenues he has available to him.

to support kevin keith, you can sign his petition, send him money so that he can buy food to help as he recovers from his hunger strike, and watch his brother charles keith's 6 minute video on his experiences fighting the death penalty.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

George Chidi at The Guardian:

The Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis, has pledged to drive forward in her prosecution of Donald Trump, even as he once again ascends to the presidency. But the Georgia court of appeals may have other plans. The appeals court on Monday abruptly canceled oral arguments scheduled for 5 December in Georgia v Trump et al, the racketeering case alleging that Trump and more than a dozen of his allies conspired to steal the 2020 election. The court offered no explanation, and has not replied to a request for comment. Trump’s appeal of Fulton county superior court judge Scott McAfee’s order, which declined to disqualify Willis after bombshell revelations about a romantic relationship with her chosen special prosecutor, was to be argued before a three-judge panel. As part of their effort to dismiss the case, Trump and his co-defendants alleged Willis’s relationship meant she should be recused from the case.

Most cases before the appellate court are decided on pleadings, without oral argument. Nonetheless, the panel’s cancellation unleashed a wave of speculation about their intentions. “There’s a decent chance that the appeal gets dismissed as improvidently granted because the court wants Judge McAfee to address how the case will proceed now that Trump is president-elect,” said Anthony Michael Kreis, a constitutional law professor in Georgia and a close observer of the case. It is also possible that the appellate judges may have concluded that “defendants didn’t satisfy their evidentiary burden and so there’s no need for [the appeals court] to intervene”. Trump’s election has meant an end to federal prosecutions. Jack Smith announced that he would wind down the case involving Trump’s mishandling of classified documents and election interference shortly after the election. Federal prosecutors are now concerned that a vengeful White House will target them in retribution.

Trump’s lawyers on Wednesday asked the judge overseeing the hush-money criminal case for permission to make yet another play for dismissal, arguing that throwing out the case was necessary “in order to facilitate the orderly transition of Executive power”. The sentencing date of 26 November for his conviction is on hold. If the court sets the Manhattan conviction aside, Georgia is the last line of prosecution remaining against Trump. It is a state-level case, in a state that has no meaningful avenue for executive clemency. Willis reaffirmed her intent to pursue prosecutions on the case in comments last week, potentially waiting for Trump to come out on the other side of his four-year term. “If someone has an indictment in this office, no matter who they are, we continue to pursue those charges,” Willis, who was just re-elected to a second term, said at a media availability. “I’m here for eight more years, is my plan, so if that’s what it takes for us to get justice in some cases, we come to work every day, we’ll come in and look for justice.”

Fani Willis’s Georgia v. Trump prosecution could be on very shaky ground post-Trump victory.

[savvylittlecoxswain]

How to Throw Your Coxswain in the Water

Rob Colburn via row2k

“For most coxswains, being thrown in is the perfect end to a perfect day, and they enthusiastically join in. There are always a few dissidents who allow trivial fears of hypothermia, toxic runoff, or impalement on a submerged log, to cause them to resist. Coxswain escapes are serious and time-consuming; once loose, they can wedge themselves like hermit crabs into impossibly small crevices in the luggage compartment of the bus or under the sink in the training room, and -- depending on how much weight your cox has had to cut for the race -- it will cost you at least half of a box of fig newtons to lure them out again.

One of the rowers -- someone big and who is impervious to appeals for clemency (such as your five seat) must keep firm hold of the coxswain from the moment the shell returns to the dock. It is not enough simply to run a trailer strap through the gussets of his or her jacket -- coxswains can gnaw right through those. If things are busy on the dock, and no one can be spared for sentry duty while the shell is washed down and put away, temporarily empty the equipment box. (Most coxswains can be made to fit as long as you fold them properly, and if enough rowers stand on the top to press it down. Remember to punch some holes in the lid)

One very cold day early in the season, the winning coxswain of a crew which shall remain nameless (it's not the one you're thinking), succeeded in getting the drop on his rowers, forcing his exhausted crew to chase him on race-tired legs. He got as far as the soccer fields before they tackled him, dragged him down to the boathouse, stripped him to the essentials, and threw him in. They then lined up on the edge of the dock and pushed h im in again every time he tried to climb out. He had turned a very satisfactory shade of blue before they relented.

They made their point.

[lunas-nargle]

↳ fifteen

chapter fifteen of "meddle about" series brian o'connor x reader

xv. sentenced

At the end of the day, Dom still ended up in handcuffs. 

Y/n sat between Brian and Mia as they waited for the judge to sentence Dom. Monty sat beside Mia, holding her hand soothingly, Y/n holding the other tightly, as they tensely stood up as instructed, watching the judge walk to his seat. 

"Please be seated." someone said, letting everyone sit back down. Brian put his arm around the back of Y/n, trying to provide some comfort to her. 

"Please rise, Mr. Toretto," the judge said. Dom silently stood. "I've listened to the testimony...and taken into special consideration...Agent O'Conner's appeal of clemency on behalf of Mr. Toretto, that his actions directly resulted in the apprehension of known drug trafficker, Arturo Braga." Y/n felt her stomach and lungs squeeze as the judge continued. "However, this judiciary finds that one right does not make up for a lifetime of wrongs," 

Y/n let out a shaky breath. Hearing this, Brian moved his arm that was wrapped around Y/n. 

"And as such I find that I am forced to level the maximum sentence under California law." 

Brian couldn't hear anymore. He stood up, and walked off upset. 

"Dominic Toretto," the judge said, as a tear slid down Y/n's cheek. "You are hearby sentenced to serve 25 years to life at the Lompoc maximum security prison system without the possibility of early parole. This court is adjourned."

[foreverlogical]

It long had seemed that the “stall” would be the worst thing the Supreme Court could do when it came to Donald Trump’s claim of immunity from prosecution. How naive.

Delay there will be. The six justices in the Republican-appointed supermajority held, “A former president is entitled to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his ‘conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority.’” They added, “There is no immunity for unofficial acts.” Rather than make clear that trying to overthrow the Constitution’s peaceful transfer of power is not an official act, the justices send the whole matter back to trial judge Tanya Chutkan. Expect more consideration, more parsing, more rulings, more appeals. It will all likely end up at the Supreme Court again in a year, if the whole prosecution isn’t shut down entirely.

But damage to our system goes well beyond delay. Trump v. U.S. astounds in its implications. It grants the president the power of a monarch. Richard Nixon defended his conduct in Watergate, telling interviewer David Frost, “When the president does it, that means it’s not illegal.” Effectively, the Supreme Court’s supermajority has now enshrined that brazen claim.

To be clear, there are reasons to be nervous about prosecuting former chief executives, so some standards make sense. In this case, though, the Court has issued an instruction manual for future lawbreaking presidents: Make sure you conspire only with other government employees. You’ll never be held to account. 

What makes something an official act? “In dividing official from unofficial conduct, courts may not inquire into the President’s motives,” the justices ruled. And a jury cannot learn about the other parts of a criminal conspiracy that may involve official acts.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett did not agree with this last critical point. She said that of course juries can consider the context of a criminal act. Neither Justice Samuel Alito (who flew insurrectionist flags outside his two homes) nor Justice Clarence Thomas (whose wife was on the Ellipse on January 6) recused themselves. They cast the deciding votes to keep from jurors the full story of the attempted overthrow of the Constitution. 

The founders said repeatedly that presidents have no special immunity, as a brief filed by the Brennan Center on behalf of top historians made plain. After all, that was one of the very things about the British monarchy that they hated and against which they rebelled.

Even more directly, this ruling undoes the restrictions on presidential abuse of power put in place by officials and jurists of both parties since the 1970s.

The imperial presidency described an age of growing executive authority and abuse of power. It came crashing to an end during Watergate and after revelations about the misuse of intelligence and law enforcement by Nixon’s predecessors.

The presidential immunity concocted today would have blessed most of Nixon’s crimes. Nixon ordered his White House counsel to pay hush money to burglars in an Oval Office meeting on March 21, 1973. Presumptively an official act? He dangled clemency before E. Howard Hunt, one of the conspirators. Use of the pardon power — entirely immune? He resigned when a tape revealed he had ordered the CIA to go to the FBI to end the investigation of the burglars sent by his campaign committee. “Play it tough,” he told his White House chief of staff. On its face, official.

What about other criminal cases involving high officials? In the Iran-Contra scandal of the late 1980s, numerous officials were charged (including the national security advisor and the defense secretary). Ronald Reagan faced no charges, but not because he was presumed immune. What if he did break the law — would he have escaped accountability? In 2001, federal prosecutors probed whether Bill Clinton sold pardons. They cleared him — but issuing a pardon is surely an official act.

In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said it plainly: “Under [the majority’s] rule, any use of official power for any purpose, even the most corrupt purpose indicated by objective evidence of the most corrupt motives and intent, remains official and immune. Under the majority’s test, if it can be called a test, the category of Presidential action that can be deemed ‘unofficial’ is destined to be vanishingly small.” 

So, yes, all this will delay Trump’s trial. In that sense, he gets what he craved. But the implications are far worse for the structure of American self-government.

It is a massive failure for Chief Justice John Roberts. The other major rulings on presidential accountability for legal wrongdoing have been unanimous. U.S. v. Nixon (limiting executive privilege) was written by the Republican chief justice Nixon appointed, and it was unanimous. Clinton v. Jones (opening the president to civil suit even while in office) was unanimous. Let’s grant that Roberts is an institutionalist. He is presiding over the collapse of public trust in the very institution he purports to revere.

And Trump v. U.S. has enormous implications for the future of the presidency. Remember that utterly bonkers hypothetical from the appeals court argument — that a president could order SEAL Team Six to assassinate an opponent? Sotomayor again: “A hypothetical President who admits to having ordered the assassinations of his political rivals or critics . . . has a fair shot at getting immunity under the majority’s new Presidential accountability model.” 

We read sonorous language in the majority opinion that “the president is not above the law.” But just in time for Independence Day, the Supreme Court brings us closer to having a king again.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Pour grossière indécence," Le Soleil. October 21, 1942. Page 4. --- Un fonctionnaire, convaincu de grossière indécence et d'actes socratiques, a été condamné à une amende de $50 hier après-midi, en Cour du recorder. Il avait été arrêté il y a une quinzaine de jours par le détective Charles Fiset, de l'escouade des moeurs. Le recorder a usé de clémence envers lui en ne l'envoyant pas en prison parce que ce séjour aurait sans doute fait perdre son emploi à l'individu. Ce dernier promit solennellement de s'amender.

[AL: He was arrested for attempting to procure sex with another, younger man.]

[o-uncle-newt]

Enter Sir John (and Lord Peter)

This is basically a Sayers blog alongside a Finnemore blog at this point- and this is going to be mostly a Sayers post but also a bit of a window into my other detective fiction reading, which I don't really post about here but kind of want to. A bit of an experiment. (Also, some spoilers to a very old and AFAIK out of print book that I don't particularly recommend below, as well as a Sayers novel.)

So I have been reading a LOT of random old timey detective fiction recently, and at one point made a reading list based on having read the fabulous The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards, which I highly recommend to basically anyone with even the faintest interest in the subject (and even more so to Christie and Sayers fans). ANYWAY, I made the list, then completely forgot where I got it from, ordered a bunch of books through the NYPL's interlibrary loan system, and somehow got all of them at once. So now I have a stack of books from five states on my dresser, many of which are first editions. One of those is my copy of Enter Sir John by Clemence Dane and Helen Simpson, which isn't only a first edition but literally has the pencil inscription by the original owner from Christmas 1928, when he bought/received the book. Gah I love reading other people's old books.

Reading other people's old books in general is fun- reading this particular one was more of a mixed bag. The pacing was kind of weird, the mystery was kind of thin (and the motive was... PECULIAR for a 21st century reader, a mix of oddly progressive and deeply, deeply problematic depending on how you look at it), and the characterization of most of the characters was pretty thin. The atmosphere of the small-time theatrical setting was fun, and the detective, Sir John Saumarez, is reasonably entertaining. To go through, and mildly spoil (you'll see why shortly), the plot- someone is found dead who had been known to have previously quarrelled with a woman in the past, under circumstances which make it clear that this woman had both motive, means, and opportunity. The woman is arrested and her trial is attended by a man with a title who is struck by her and feels compelled to work on her behalf. He works hard to find the actual killer when the trial goes poorly for her, and realizes that he is in love with her and confesses his feelings to her.

Sound familiar?

For context, Enter Sir John was published two years before Dorothy L Sayers's Strong Poison, and to be transparent I fiddled a bit with the timing and phrasing to make the synopsis as CLEARLY correlated as it is (he doesn't confess his feelings to her until after he's gotten her off the murder charges, she's actually in the room when the murder victim is found, she actually is convicted and her conviction is overturned on appeal, among other changes). If the above plot sounds interesting and you HAVEN'T read Strong Poison, just skip and read Strong Poison because it does the whole thing SO much better. For one thing, the mystery is better- this was Dane and Simpson's first mystery, and while I largely enjoyed Dane's earlier novel Regiment of Women (which I may post my thoughts about sometime), this book just didn't really work for me. It's technically fair play, I guess, but there aren't a whole lot of actual suspects or clues (there aren't many suspects in Strong Poison either, but there are many more clues and there's a much more robust structure).

The other major difference, and this is pretty important because it's at exactly the point where the two books are so similar, is that the characterization of the romance in Enter Sir John is REALLY NOT GOOD. Sure, as Sayers noted in her 1929 introduction to her Omnibus of Crime anthology, love interests in detective novels are often shitty and this isn't necessarily significantly worse than certain others I have read. But while there do seem to be attempts to describe the suspect's personality in a way that makes her sound more honest, frank, straightforward, etc (the kinds of ways that Harriet Vane comes across later in Strong Poison), she also comes across really naive and dumb, and really doesn't have a whole lot to do in the book at all to counteract that impression. On the plus side... she isn't AS racist as some other people, I guess? (This plays into the motive, which I can describe in the comments for people- it's too annoying to get bogged down in.) But anyway, Sir John largely (apparently? it's not characterized super well) is compelled by her and falls in love with her because of her striking appearance and her good breeding and gentility or whatever, and it's all just super awkward. (Also, there's the same "oh no I didn't realize you were proposing" awkwardness in this book as in Regiment of Women, which does it MUCH better and for MUCH better characterization-related reasons. In this book it's just kind of skin-crawling to read.)

Anyway, why have I made you all read about why I didn't particularly like a not-super-easy-to-find book that you were unlikely to ever read anyway? Well, partly because it's an interesting curiosity- and because as I was reading I was like "what the hell, how did Sayers get away with this?" So I cracked open my copy of The Golden Age of Murder again and in its description of the book realized that it mentions that Sayers and Simpson were friends and that Enter Sir John is of interest as an inspiration to Strong Poison, which in retrospect is probably why I put it on my list in the first place.

But I'm still left with some lingering questions. While the actual murder plot and motive are entirely different, this particular throughline on the part of the detective is really STARTLINGLY similar, not least because Sir John Saumarez has some distinctive surface resemblances to Wimsey. For one thing, the method used to trap the killer (casually having them be part of a reenactment/discussion of the way the murder took place) is used by Sayers in Strong Poison as a ruse that Wimsey uses to try to catch Harriet Vane out, if there's anything to catch (when he "casually" brings up the murder-for-book-profits mystery plot idea he had). For another, like Wimsey later would in Strong Poison, Saumarez has a whole inner monologue about how he has only a month to solve the case (though in his case it's before the suspect is executed, and in Wimsey's case it's the IMO more plausible situation of being before the retrial occurs).

All that being considered, one major difference is, of course, that at the end of Strong Poison Wimsey and Harriet don't get engaged, and Saumarez and the suspect (whose name I don't even remember, if I'm being honest, she REALLY wasn't that memorable) do. But Sayers famously wrote that she wanted to use this book to marry Wimsey off! If she had followed through, and still used this same book as a way to do it, would she have literally lifted, if substantially improved, this plotline from her friend's book in order to do it? She was such an original writer- would she have borrowed so significantly from another writer to finish off a series that she had worked so hard on, even if it was one she was wearying of?!

It's interesting, because I wrote in a previous post about how it feels like after writing the Omnibus of Crime intro, including how bad mystery romance plots are, she dared herself to do it better. Reading this book makes me wonder if she read THIS PARTICULAR BOOK and decided she wanted to do it better. Which would be fascinating whether that was a decision that she made before she'd decided to continue the series after this book or afterward- before, in which case she'd be wholesale lifting the plot but at the same time elevating it lol I feel like I'm writing crossword clues) just by virtue of better writing and characterization in both that plot and the mystery that surrounded it, or after, in which case one of her ways of elevating it would de facto BE changing the ending to make it less corny and awkward, and writing a detective romance which is actually psychologically plausible and satisfying rather than just pairing pants and a skirt, so to speak.

Anyway- decidedly mediocre book that I don't particularly recommend, but one that made me ask some questions that I had a lot of fun pondering! I also had fun writing this, and am considering doing another one on Leo Bruce's The Case for Three Detectives, which was tremendously fun as a pastiche of Wimsey as well as Poirot and Father Brown.

[cloudcountry]

IKEMEN FRANCHISE MASTERLIST !!

unconventional otome game love interest traits each guy would have

ikemen vampire . . .

guessing their love languages (headcanons of the mansion residents. ~450 words.) — guessing their love language based on the very little information i have about them oops

yearning (isaac newton x reader. ~1k words.) — you fall asleep on isaac's shoulder while he's working.

lipstick marks (mozart, arthur, vincent, & isaac x reader. ~400 words) — you leave a lipstick mark on him, how scandalous!!!

an artist's dilemma (vincent x reader. ~500 words) — vincent sees a masterpiece in you.

painting with vincent (vincent x reader. ~300 words) — after a long day, you find solace in vincent.

lover of flowers (arthur & isaac x reader. ~1k words) — arthur is enamored with the reserved florist & isaac stumbles about her.

hair clips are my love language (ikevamp characters headcanons. ~800 words) — giving the suitors some of my hair accessories.

comte and a vampire hunter (comte de saint germain x reader. ~500 words) — you run into comte (or rather, he runs into you) after you kill a vampire.

mozart & the wire brooch (mozart x reader. ~250 words) — you give mozart a gift.

vlad and the florist (vlad x reader. ~250 words) — it seems you and the florist you met a long time ago have the same idea.

cooking with will (shakespeare x reader. ~300 words) — you teach will how to find his way around the one room in his villa he never uses: the kitchen.

bakery date with theo (theodorus x reader. ~300 words) — theo "takes you out for a walk." (read: takes you out on a date to a bakery.)

baking an apple pie (isaac newton x reader. ~450 words) — Isaac's been working hard lately, so you take Arthur's advice and make him a tasty treat!!

little things they love about you (suitors x reader. ~1,000 words) — the little things they love about you.

shakespearean serenades (shakespeare x reader. ~600 words) — theo yells at you to wrangle your lover. said lover is trying his best to serenade you.

ikemen prince . . .

self care (yves kloss x reader. ~1k words.) — you're supposed to be doing your skin care routine right now, but teasing yves sounds much more appealing.

small moments with rio (rio ortiz x reader. ~500 words.) — sweet moments with rio C:

guessing their love languages (headcanons of the ikepri characters. ~600 words.) — guessing their love language based on the very little information i have about them oops

dance with me (clavis lelouch x reader. ~400 words.) — you dance with clavis in the rain.

breakfast for you (clavis & yves x reader. ~300 words.) — yves is trying to make you breakfast, but clavis has other plans.

unusual protection (clavis lelouch x reader. ~350 words.) — clavis takes the fall for you, and you're left wondering why.

snowed in with clavis (clavis lelouch x reader. ~1,000 words.) — you get snowed in with clavis. shenanigans ensue.

christmas cookies to save kingdom! (gilbert von obsidian x reader. ~800 words.) — you and gilbert make christmas cookies together!!

sledding with cyran (cyran rose x reader. ~400 words.) — you go sledding with cyran.

ikemen revolution . . .

pet names (zero, edgar, kyle, & harr x reader. ~400 words.) — you call some of the ikerev suitors a pet name for the first time.

the winter itch (kyle ash x reader. ~300 words.) — you call on your favorite doctor to help you out with some chilly problems.

happy birthday (blanc & kyle x reader. ~400 words.) — blanc and kyle attend your after party. (a birthday gift for vivi!!)

soft kyle ash (kyle ash x reader. ~350 words.) — soft kyle ash, your favorite doctor.

the black army pines (black army x reader. ~350 words.) — some mildly embarrassing things that have happened to you while a certain black army member was pining for you.

baking with luka (luka clemence x reader. ~400 words.) — you decorate a gingerbread house with luka.

decorating with zero (zero x reader. ~500 words.) — you and zero put up holiday decorations in red army headquarters together.

love like a heart is no love at all (edgar bright x reader. ~2,000 words.) — edgar contemplates you.

over and over again (blanc lapin x reader. ~2,000 words.) — to blanc, you are the change he needed, and your pressing secret won't change that.

ikemen villains . . .

shopping with ellis (ellis twilight x reader. ~300 words.) — you ask ellis to come shopping with you, and he agrees.

ikemen sengoku . . .

hot springs (yoshimoto x reader. ~350 words.) — you visit the hot springs with yoshimoto.

you are the world (mitsunari x reader. ~1000 words.) — domestic bliss with your husband, mitsunari!!

mystic messenger . . .

snowball fight for love! (saeyoung choi x reader. ~500 words.) — you take saeyoung completely off guard with a snowball to the back of the head!

jaehee on your birthday (jaehee kang x reader. 360 words.) — jaehee celebrates your birthday!!

[talonabraxas]

The Heptameron Conjuration of Jupiter

Another somewhat more involved prayer can be adapted from the Heptameron, a grimoire of spirit invocation attributed to Peter de Abano. A translation of the Heptameron by Joseph H. Peterson is available at Esoteric Archives. Rather than appealing to Jupiter himself, this invocation approaches the spirit by appealing to other spirits in the same cosmic hierarchy. The Heptameron also involves facing and calling upon spirits of the different directions. You can think of this type of prayer as locating yourself within the Great Chain of Being so as to best position yourself to appeal to a particular spirit.

This particular invocation invokes the planetary archangel of Jupiter, known as Sachiel (or Tzadkiel). The Heptameron planetary invocations are prefaced by invocations of angels of the relevant level of heaven in the four directions. Above the fifth heaven (the sphere of Mars) there are no angels of the air, so the prayers to Jupiter have more general prayers to a higher God rather than to a specific retinue of angels. An abbreviated ritual for appealing to the angel of Jupiter could go as follows:

[Facing East:] O great and most high God, honored world without end.

[Facing West:] O wise, pure and just God, of divine clemency, I beseech thee most holy father, that this day I may perfectly understand and accomplish my petition, work, and labor; Thou who livest and reignest world without end, Amen.

[Facing North:] O God strong and mighty from everlasting.

[Facing South:] O mighty and merciful God.

[Continuing to face South:] I Conjure and Confirm upon you, ye holy Angels, and by the name Cados, Cados, Cados, Eschereie, Eschereie, Eschereie, Hatim, Ya, strong founder of the worlds, Cantine, Jaym, Janic, Anic, Calbot, Sabbac, Berifay, Alnaym: And by the name Adonay, who created Fishes, and Creeping things in the waters, and Birds upon the face of the earth, and flying towards Heaven, in the fifth day; and by the names of the Angels serving in the sixth host, before Pastor, a holy Angel, and a great and powerful Prince; and by the name of his Star, which is Jupiter, and by the name of his Seal, and by the name Adonay, the great God, creator of all things; and by the name of all Stars, and by their Power and Virtue, and by all the names aforesaid, I conjure thee, Sachiel a great Angel, who art chief ruler of Thursday, that for me thou labour, [speak your own petition or request here]. —Heptameron, XXII. Considerations for Thursday,

"Assembly of Gods around Jupiter's Throne" Talon Abraxas

[sniperct]

A man in MS is about to be executed for a crime he didn't commit. The prosecutors tried to throw out the case, the victim's family wants him free.

But Gov won't grant clemency, and by a 6:3 decision the US supreme court denied a last minute emergency appeal.

I'm sick.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Jennifer Bendery at HuffPost:

WASHINGTON ― After nearly 50 years in prison, Native American rights activist Leonard Peltier is about to get what may be his last chance at freedom. Peltier, 79, is up for a parole hearing on Monday. His last parole hearing was in 2009. Given his poor health and the many years he’d likely have to wait for his next hearing, it is unlikely he would survive to make another one.

The U.S. government put Peltier in prison in 1977 after he was convicted for killing two FBI agents in a 1975 shoot-out on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. But his trial was riddled with misconduct, and his prolonged imprisonment has drawn sharp condemnation from prominent human rights leaders, including Pope Francis, Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela. Dozens of U.S. senators and members of Congress have urged his release. So have dozens of Indigenous legislators. Amnesty International, an organization typically focused on human rights violations abroad, has an entire campaign centered on Peltier’s case. “Leonard Peltier has been imprisoned for nearly 50 years, and now suffers from severe health issues,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, told HuffPost in a statement. “It’s time for him to go home and live out his remaining days with his family and his community.”

There was never evidence that Peltier committed this crime. The FBI and U.S. attorney’s office never did figure out who killed those agents. But Peltier, who was one of dozens of people present at the shoot-out, was the only person left for them to go after. He had been separated from his co-defendants, all of whom had already been acquitted on grounds of self-defense. Prosecutors in his trial hid key evidence. The FBI threatened and coerced witnesses into lying. On the second day of the trial, a juror admitted she was biased against Native Americans but was kept on. Peltier has maintained his innocence the entire time he’s been in prison. He had a chance to be released in 2009 when he was up for parole, but it would have required him to say that he murdered the two FBI agents. He wouldn’t do it. His parole was denied.

[...] If Peltier’s parole is denied again on Monday, there’s really only one other way he’s got a chance at living out his final years at home in North Dakota with his family and tribe: if President Joe Biden grants him clemency. The president could do this unilaterally at any point. So far, he has chosen not to. As a political matter, the issue of Peltier’s release isn’t going away. Democrats in Congress have publicly appealed to Biden at least four times to grant clemency to Peltier. The National Congress of American Indians, the largest and most powerful Indigenous rights group in the country, has said Peltier’s freedom is a priority for the organization and its membership heading into the November elections. In 2022, the Democratic National Committee unanimously passed a resolution calling on Biden to grant clemency to Peltier.

It’s well past time to #FreeLeonardPeltier.

[beardedmrbean]

Convicted killers Erik and Lyle Menendez were scheduled to appear in court Monday in a bid for release from a California prison where they are serving life without parole for the highly publicized shotgun murders of their parents in the family's opulent Beverly Hills home 35 years ago.

A jury found the brothers guilty in 1996 − after their first trial ended in a mistrial. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic is scheduled to decide whether new evidence supporting claims they were sexually and physically abused by their father, wealthy music industry executive Jose Menendez, is sufficient to re-examine the case.

At trial, defense lawyers argued the brothers acted in self-defense and said they were abused by both parents. Lyle, then 21, and Erik, then 18, had confronted their parents and believed their parents might kill them to prevent them from going public with the abuse, their lawyers argued.

Prosecutors at the time dismissed the abuse claims as untrue, saying the brothers were seeking their parents' fortune, then valued at about $15 million. A spending spree conducted by the brothers between the murders and their arrest helped fuel public skepticism for their plight.

Defense lawyers and family members now say the judge overseeing the second trial excluded substantial evidence of the abuse. The new evidence includes a letter Erik Menendez purportedly wrote to his cousin eight months before the murders detailing alleged abuse.

Resentening hearing set for Dec. 11

A series of appeals, documentaries and podcasts since their convictions have kept the case in the spotlight. Their plea for release gained momentum last month after Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón petitioned a court to resentence the men to 50 years to life on two counts of first-degree murder.

Under California law, they would be eligible for youth parole since they were under the age of 26 at the time of the crime and have already served 30 years in prison. A hearing on that request is scheduled for Dec. 11.

Letter, other abuse claims could be key

The case gained fresh attention around the new evidence, which includes the letter purportedly written by Erik Menendez to his cousin, Andy Cano. Excerpts were included in the 2023 petition filed by the brothers' attorneys.

"I’ve been trying to avoid dad. Its still happening Andy but its worse for me now,” according to an excerpt. “I never know when its going to happen and its driving me crazy. Every night I stay up thinking he might come in.”

Later, the letter states: "I know what you said before but I'm afraid. You just don't know dad like I do. He's crazy! He's warned me a hundred times about telling anyone."

Investigators also are examining allegations from a member of the 1980s pop band Menudo that he was abused by Jose Menendez. Those allegations were publicized last year in Peacock documentary series called "Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed."

Calif. governor will not review claim: No review until DA examines case

Clemency effort also could bring freedom

Another avenue for freedom would be clemency. Gascón sent letters on behalf of each brother to California Gov. Gavin Newsom expressing "strong support" for clemency, citing the brothers' "dedication to rehabilitation." Newsom last week declined to make a decision, saying he wanted to provide incoming District Attorney District Attorney Nathan Hochman with an opportunity to review the case.

Hochman, who defeated Gascón in last month's election, has pledged to be tough on crime. He has said he will review the Menendez case when he takes office next week.

Brothers earned degrees in prison

While in prison, Lyle, now 56, earned an associate degree in sociology from Southwestern College and then graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a bachelor's degree. He also created four prison programs to assist fellow inmates and created and wrote the WIRE bulletin that communicates Inmate Advisory Council matters to the inmate population, Gascón wrote.

Erik, 53, also earned an associate degree in sociology and has been accepted to the University of California. In 2022, he earned a Certificate in Proficiency in American Sign Language from Southwestern College. He has created five prison programs, Gascón said.

[no-passaran]

Ask to stop the execution of David Hosier, scheduled to be executed in Missouri on June 11.

The death penalty perpetuates a cycle of violence and does not serve as an effective deterrent to crime.

David’s case highlights many of the flaws inherent in the death penalty system: 1. Despite the lack of direct evidence linking him to the crime, David was convicted based on circumstantial evidence. The State’s case relied heavily on an alleged motive. In fact, during the initial trial, David was offered a plea for Life without Parole indicating the State thought Life was an appropriate punishment for the crime at the time. David has maintained his innocence and did not confess. 2. The introduction of unreliable forensic evidence at David’s trial resulted in a fundamentally unfair trial. In the absence of an eyewitness or any physical evidence connecting Hosier to the crime, the state's conviction relied heavily on ballistics evidence. New evidence in forensic science casts doubts on the reliability of tool mark identification and courts are starting to question it because of testimony from scientific experts. 3. The death penalty is mostly imposed on poor people who cannot afford to hire an effective lawyer. The quality of a defendant's legal team often decides whether they receive a death sentence. Throughout his appeals, David’s attorneys raised several issues of ineffective counsel, including the fact that no medical doctors or psychiatrists were brought forward to support mitigation about David’s severe depression with psychotic features which was exacerbated by a stroke in 2007. This lack of adequate counsel is a key issue in the system.

Sign these petitions:

CALL THE GOVERNOR to Demand Clemency for David Hosier, a veteran and child of a police officer killed in the line of duty. 573-751-3222.

Missouri couldn't even wait until next week's execution is complete before announcing a new date. Marcellus Williams faces execution in Missouri on Sept 24, 2024, yet according to The Innocence Project there is no credible evidence against him. PETITION: bit.ly/MarcellusWilliamsMO