| The renewal of news about the Cameron Todd Willingham case should not only shed light on the reasons Rick Perry is a bad governor, but it should also illuminate our way-too-Republican Court of Criminal Appeals, which denied writs of Habeus Corpus to Willingham continuously, even a month before execution.
The court is fully occupied by Republicans, and three judges are on the ballot in 2010. Two of those three, according to Grits, belong to the "more or less totalitarian wing" of the court and fully deserve strong challengers.
Grits was able to inform us yesterday that one such challenger has emerged:
Keith Hampton, a veteran appellate lawyer and chair of the legislative committee for the Texas Criminal Defense Laywers Association, has announced his candidacy for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, lining up to run against Michael Keasler. Here's Hampton's campaign website.
I've had my differences with Keith but he'd be an overwhelming improvement over Judge Keasler, if only to add some balance to the range of opinions on the court.
If the larger Democratic ticket can pull even a slightly successful year, good candidates have a strong chance to defeat Republicans for this court. The Willingham case is only the most recent spurt of anger that can be directed to the CCA.
Now, if only we can get another CCA candidate or two...and a ticket to lead the Democratic charge. |
