One Response to “President Bush Has No Recollection Of Destroyed CIA Tapes. Youtube Video.”

1. # Kenneth Steppon 13 Dec 2007 at 12:47 pm

   Mississippi 1926 Supreme Court explains “waterboarding”.
   Kudos to the blogspot “Is It Legal” for researching “waterboarding”:
   “November 12, 2007
   “If It Was Torture in Mississippi, Then It’s Definitely Torture, Right?
   “A final word or two on this “waterboarding as torture” issue.
   “Waterboarding, known ironically in earlier times as “the water cure”, remains — in the view of this administration and many supporters — not torture. And if it’s not torture, then it’s not cruel and unusual punishment or a violation of due process.
   “But here’s the rub.
   “In 1926, the Mississippi Supreme Court called the water cure torture. No qualifiers. No hedging. Just plain, good ol’ fashion torture . . . and therefore a forbidden means for securing a confession. These men were hardly a group I’d call *activist* or *liberal* and certainly not bent on subverting our country in the name of coddling criminals.
   “In a case called Fisher v. State, 110 So. 361, 362 (Miss. 1926), Mississippi’s highest court ordered the retrial of a convicted murderer because his confession was secured by a local sheriff’s use of the water cure.
   “Here’s the court:
   “The state offered . . . testimony of confessions made by the appellant, Fisher. . . [who], after the state had rested, introduced the sheriff, who testified that, he was sent for one night to come and receive a confession of the appellant in the jail; that he went there for that purpose; that when he reached the jail he found a number of parties in the jail; that they had the appellant down upon the floor, tied, and were administering the water cure, a specie of torture well known to the bench and bar of the country.
   “Fisher relied on a case called White v. State, 182, 91 So. 903, 904 (Miss. 1922), in which the court took — as I understand history in those parts — the unusual step of reversing the murder conviction of a young African-American male, charged with killing a white man (it appears), because his confession was secured by *the cure*. The court said:
   “. . . [T]he hands of appellant were tied behind him, he was laid upon the floor upon his back, and, while some of the men stood upon his feet, Gilbert, a very heavy man, stood with one foot entirely upon appellant’s breast, and the other foot entirely upon his neck. While in that position what is described as the “water cure” was administered to him in an effort to extort a confession as to where the money was hidden which was supposed to have been taken from the dead man. The “water cure” appears to have consisted of pouring water from a dipper into the nose of appellant, so as to strangle him, thus causing pain and horror, for the purpose of forcing a confession. Under these barbarous circumstances the appellant readily confessed . . .
   “If “the cure” was seen as a barbarous form of torture in Mississippi in the 1920’s, I guess I’m at a loss to understand exactly how our attitudes about the process have progressed to see it as an acceptable means of interrogation 80 years later.
   “I suppose, in light of this administration’s position on waterboarding, that both Fisher and White are teetering on irrelevance. Truly amazing.
   “Posted by shertaugh at November 12, 2007 3:24 PM”
   Kudos to Shertaugh for his research into Mississippi law. It’s too bad that Mitch McConnell, Hal Rogers, George W. Bush, and Dick Cheney are not as liberal nor progressive as the 1926 all-white Mississippi Supreme Court. It’s too bad a majority of the general election voters in the Kentucky Fifth District have voted to “Stay the Course” and accept waterboarding as national policy, and are not as liberal nor progressive as the 1926 all-white Mississippi Supreme Court. Time will tell whether a majority of the Kentucky electorate in 2008 will vote approval of the “waterboarding” candidates “Mitch” McConnell and the Republican nominees to succeed George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.
   Are “Mitch” McConnell, Hal Rogers, Dick Cheney, and George W. Bush more backward than the 1926 all-white Mississippi Supreme Court? Probably So.
   Are you more backward that tne 1926 all white Mississippi Supreme Court? Do you agree that waterboarding (also known as “the cure”) is torture? Do you agree that evidence obtained from waterboarding (also known as “the cure” should be disregarded? If you answered No, Yes, and Yes to the last series of questions then you agree with Kenneth Stepp and disagree with Mitch McConnell, Hal Rogers, Dick Cheney, and George W. Bush, and you should be a Democrat. Are you a closet Democrat? It’s time to come out of the closet, go down to your local county courthouse and register as a member of the Democratic Party so you can vote in the Democratic primary to determine who is to be the Democratic candidate for President, and also which Democrat is the best person to Ditch Mitch in November 2008. I understand that so far, three Democrats have entered the contest to see which Democrat will be the standard bearer of the Democratic Party to Ditch Mitch in November. I think Larry Forgy is planning on running as an Independent. An Independent could get thirty per cent of the vote in such a three-way contest. It will be an interesting political year.

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Mail (hidden) (required)

Website