I think he’ll serve a lot less than 29 years. I believe he can earn early release if he gets a job. Also, I think 40 years is when mandatory parole kicks in as opposed to parole eligibility.

Left by kma on August 30th, 2007 at 3:13 pm

Perhaps he will apply for a passport, when he gets released?

Left by no2liberals on August 30th, 2007 at 4:24 pm

Finally, Governor Rick Perry does something worthwhile. This man does deserve to be behind bars. There is no doubt about that. I just don’t believe that it is justice to kill the individual who was with the murderer.

Left by texasgal on August 30th, 2007 at 4:29 pm

We really need a ‘life without parole’ option for Texas juries.

Left by Jim Howard on August 30th, 2007 at 5:16 pm

I do believe we recently got one. I feel that life without parole would have been the proper punishment for this individual. I don’t think that death was the answer in this case. He will more than likely walk free sooner than most people think. There is nothing that can be done about that now so all we can do is hope and pray that the time he has spent in prison has turned him around and that he may get out one day and become a well rounded contributor to society. He has been given a second chance. I hope he takes it with pride.

Left by texasgal on August 30th, 2007 at 6:45 pm

There is nothing that can be done about that now so all we can do is hope and pray that the time he has spent in prison has turned him around and that he may get out one day and become a well rounded contributor to society.

Put down the pipe! I’m hoping and praying that when he next robs, assaults, and murders somebody, it’s you and not me.

Left by kma on August 30th, 2007 at 6:50 pm

I believe he murdered that young man (and scarred his girlfriend for life), by driving the car while stalking the victims, just as certainly as if he had run over them with the car.
He skates for now. I find no comfort in his pardon.

Left by no2liberals on August 30th, 2007 at 6:53 pm

You’re aware that 60 year old men statistically are not a grave threat to society? Is it worth 50,000 dollars a year to keep old men off the streets?

Left by Preston on August 30th, 2007 at 8:48 pm

Good for Kenneth.

Perry: “I am concerned about Texas law that allowed capital murder defendants to be tried simultaneously and it is an issue I think the Legislature should examine.”

Foster’s lawyer, Keith Hampton, estimated that at least a dozen other Texas death row inmates have been executed under the same law, including one this year.

Who knows what this will lead to: the world is watching too you know…

Maybe Texas would spare the mentally ill in the future too..

Left by Jacques on August 30th, 2007 at 9:09 pm

Are you aware that he will be back on the streets long before his 60th birthday? As to age making you less dangerous:

Ken Parnell. Kidnapped Steven Stayner at age 40, a second boy at age 47. After being released from prison, he attempted to buy a 4 year old for sodomy at age 71.

Lawrence Singleton. Raped a 15 year old at age 51 and chopped both her arms off and left her to die in the desert. (she survived) After being released from prison, at age 61 raped and stabbed to death a woman.

Viva Nash. While serving a life sentence for murder, he escaped at age 67 and committed an armed robbery/murder.

Left by kma on August 30th, 2007 at 9:12 pm

the world is watching too you know…

Really?
Will they notice our constant attempts to improve the justice system, but not chronic indecision on the part of those who can only say…if…and maybe?
Of course not, because like you, the world you speak of is that part of the world that can only be happy when they are bashing America, out of deep seated insecurity.

Left by no2liberals on August 30th, 2007 at 9:16 pm

As I suspected, Jack speaks for Jack, and not the Netherlands, and most certainly not for Texas.

The Netherlands’ ‘mixed’ approach: shifting from prevention to punishment

The Netherlands has a mixed approach. It bases its penal system on both theories, with emphasis on the special prevention – one should be punished for the crimes one has committed, but also the punishment should be preventive in nature as well. Prevention can also be achieved if the convicted has - when the sentence has been served - some future ahead. The offender will not fall back in despair and commit crimes again. A study, for instance, will allow her or him to see other possibilities then, for instance, stealing from people. The same goes for a job prospect.

The effectiveness of this policy is doubtful. The Dutch government has not see a lot of positive results from these projects of offering study facilities or employment guidance.

Sometimes citizens find it hard to accept that an offender is granted far more facilities or openings then persons who have committed no crime. I could agree on this to some extent. In fact in the past victims were treated with less attention and priority then the offenders!

In the recent past one can see that the government is shifting its policy more and more towards punishment then prevention. So, in the end negative opinions on your statement might have the winning hand.

With this advancement in penal thinking, perhaps soon, the Netherlands will join the modern world in capital punishment for it’s worst criminals.

Left by no2liberals on August 30th, 2007 at 9:52 pm

n2l: You can bend over backwards as far as you want to: our numbers are better. 160 murders (total) in 2006, pop. 16+ million. Oh, and in Holland: life is LIFE. (na na nanana, it’s a song too)

Left by Jacques on August 30th, 2007 at 10:18 pm

Yes sir, it’s all becoming too clear about the Netherlands.
Disabled man, 71, arrested for killing armed robber.
Some interesting comments to the editor, concerning the legal system in the Netherlands.
Some snips:

Dutch officials should hang their heads in shame!

In a country where prostitution is freely traded and hashish is enjoyed openly, that 71-year old Cees Gardien should be denied the freedom to defend himself and his property from KNOWN thugs . . . FIVE of the cowards!! . . . and charged for it is beyond disgust.
————————————————————————————
The Dutch deserve whatever crime their silly policies engender.

If you really believe the stupidity that results in such laws, I would truly appreciate it if you never came to America, even as a tourist.

You are a danger to logic and reasonable thinking. In return, I promise never to visit your county.
————————————————————————————
This man should have been given a medal for ridding Dutch society of this wortheless criminal.

Still believe it is the most perfect place on earth, as expressed by Jack? I found this comment, further down on the same link as above, to be priceless:

“During my twelve-year stay in Holland I have first selected, then rejected various keywords to describe my hosts, words such as: gentle, kindly, peaceful, civilized, regular and most recently and ironically: infrastructured.

“But now that I am preparing to abandon mijn Nederlands vgerblijf, I can think of no better word than the word which best applies to Dutch cats and dogs, and that word is domesticated.

“Well, aren’t all cats and dogs in the civilized world domesticated, you might ask. And I answer, Not to the extent the Dutch are!

Oh, and did you know there was actually a school shooting in the Netherlands? You didn’t? Well, there was, and here is the link, but guess what, they call it an “American Style” school shooting. Always deflecting responsibility from themselves, these Dutch.

And in response to the shooting, one student’s father talked of “American conditions”. He also said it was becoming increasingly worse in the Netherlands and wondered aloud where he could safely send a child.

The Hague Education Alderman Heijnen said Terra College was known as a tough school that battled hard to install norms and standards among its students. But in a dismayed response to the shooting, he questioned what people could do to prevent such behaviour.

The most common and tragic answer was that the shooting was simply unpreventable.

I believe it is much worse to have a problem and not acknowledge it, and deal with it responsibly, than to have a problem, recognize it, and do your absolute very best, even if the process has to be continuously refined.

Left by no2liberals on August 30th, 2007 at 10:25 pm

Henh, Jack, and in America we have freedom and liberty.
Life is life, same here, and we will severely punish those who take the lives of innocents.
You adore murderers so much? Start a program to bring our worst criminals to your crowded lowlands, so they can live. You could sponsor their passports.

Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above,
Don’t fence me in.
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love,
Don’t fence me in.
Let me be by myself in the evenin’ breeze,
And listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees,
Send me off forever but I ask you please,
Don’t fence me in.

Just turn me loose, let me straddle my old saddle
Underneath the western skies.
On my Cayuse, let me wander over yonder
Till I see the mountains rise.

I want to ride to the ridge where the west commences
And gaze at the moon till I lose my senses
And I can’t look at hovels and I can’t stand fences
Don’t fence me in.

Left by no2liberals on August 30th, 2007 at 10:34 pm

I meant life in jail is life in jail, not 40 years. And of course some people in Holland are pro dp. We live in a democracy and everybody has the right to his or hers opinion. About your examples: we have a problem and don’t acknowledge it? One way to put it, the other and true reason is: we have far less crime, we do better.

Left by Jacques on August 30th, 2007 at 10:44 pm

Not much to say about all that, Jack?
Perhaps a more in depth examination of your countries standards and practices are in order.
How about Geert Wilders? The Hofstad Network tried to kill him, and will most likely try again? If they had succeeded in their attempt to bomb parlialment, who knows how many would have died, but that’s okay, they would just be locked away, and given job training.
Pathetic.

Left by no2liberals on August 30th, 2007 at 10:58 pm

The indications don’t support your attempt to convince yourself of superiority, with the exception in delaying the inevitable invasion of the ocean.

Left by no2liberals on August 30th, 2007 at 11:02 pm

Say about what? I’ve answered you and about the couple examples you gave: shit happens in Holland too. Still I’m against the dp.

Geert Wilders has 24/7 protection. Hofstad Groep is no longer. You are really, really badly informed.

who knows how many would have died,

‘If’ and ‘maybe’ I believe.

The time here is 6.06 CET

Left by Jacques on August 30th, 2007 at 11:07 pm

Yeah, it’s no longer Hofstad, it’s just Al Qaida now.
Oh, the if and maybe meme sticks in your…dike?

Still I’m against the dp.

That’s the only thing you ever needed to say. The rest is none of your business.

Left by no2liberals on August 30th, 2007 at 11:13 pm

The rest is none of your business.

I’ll be the judge of that, okay. Or has freedom of speech been executed as well.

If you really don’t like me posting here you can ask the owner of this blog to put a IP block on me. Really simple thing to do. It’s one way to get rid of me.

Left by Jacques on August 30th, 2007 at 11:35 pm

Oh, please life in europe doesn’t mean life. For crissakes germany just released a woman who murdered four Americans after only 26 years and by european standards thats long. Generally, it’s only 15 years max for murder. The European union wants to ban the few lwop sentences they do give for serial killers.

Left by kma on August 31st, 2007 at 12:06 am

I don’t understand why reading is so difficult for you kma. Germany isn’t Holland as Europe isn’t Holland, as Holland isn’t the capital of Amsterdam. Each country in our Union has their own laws - nd that isn’t subject to change.

Life in Holland means life. Maybe when you’re 98 and you’ve cancer and only have two weeks to live left you get a weekend of. Maybe..

Left by Jacques on August 31st, 2007 at 12:48 am

We dont have the death penalty in Australia and i am pretty sure our crime rate is pretty low. I think that our government spends more on welfare so that those who are more unfortunate than most are less likely to need to commit crimes in order to survive. also our education is free and we have free medical facilities. What im trying to say is we have more opertunity for people to do the right thing despite the class they were born into.

Also, i think we need to focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment. Lets face it Kenneth was 19 at the time, not even old enough to drink and he had a pretty crappy up bringing.

I dont know what happend that night any more than anyone else, but it is possible that he didnt know that the murder was about to take place, what happend to the need for beyond reasonable doubt? ITs pretty clear he didnt pull the trigger and only he will ever know if he did or did not have prior knowledge as to what was to happen.

Im not 100% sure but i think if this crime happend here, with good behaviour he would already be out or close to getting out.

Left by kerri on August 31st, 2007 at 1:22 am

shit happens in Holland too.

Well, stop the presses!
Holland isn’t the most superior place on Earth, by Jack’s own words. Why, he almost had himself convinced it was the most perfect place to have ever, or will ever exist, for all time, and throughout the universe.

I’ll be the judge of that, okay.

Dang, Jack, don’t be ashamed if you have a pair. You can’t even make a statement withhout being indecisive.
I would never ask someone I’ve never met to ban someone else from their own blog. Besides, it makes it more festive when we have a pinata like you.

Left by no2liberals on August 31st, 2007 at 4:49 am

Kerri, thanks for a factually vacant post. Most I know have good things to say about Australia and it’s people. Please don’t ruin that perception.

Left by no2liberals on August 31st, 2007 at 4:55 am

Poor kerri appears oblivious that there is a large percentage of Australians who want their guns and the death penalty back.

Left by kma on August 31st, 2007 at 5:27 am

Just because someone makes bad choices in their past is no reason to keep them behind bars forever.

People do change. My husband is a perfect example of this. He did five years in prison for aggravated assault and when he got out he turned his life around tremendously. He has been out for going on ten years now and we have two beautiful children together. He is a very hard worker and does everything in his power to keep us in a good lifestyle so that his boys won’t grow up in poverty the way he did. He is trying to raise them completely different than the way he was raised. Because of his situation, my boys are going to have more opportunities and a better chance of living a life that my husband never could in his childhood.

He has learned from his past and is making changes. He even stays away from his family because they are all still the way he used to be. He chooses not to put our children in that situation. I’m incredibly proud of him.

And what he did was much worse than what Kenneth Foster did. Kenneth Foster just drove a car and made poor choices as to who he hung out with. My husbands knife that he carried was only two inches from taking someones life. The only reason he got five and not fifty five years is because the man lived. If the death penalty was really affective then why is our murder rate continuously growing? What about the innocent people that are behind bars? It is happening more and more often where DNA testing is proving people innocent who have had years of their lives taken away. If this is a fact then it is very probable that innocent people have been executed. This means the system is flawed. We shouldn’t be trying to fix the system and still killing people.

We should stop killing people while we fix the system. The day that I feel that there are NO innocent people being put to death then I will be more than happy to support the death penalty. Just wait til’ it’s one of your loved ones that is accused of a crime that they didn’t commit. I bet you will change you tune real fast.

Left by texasgal on August 31st, 2007 at 12:18 pm

Well, stop the presses!
Holland isn’t the most superior place on Earth, by Jack’s own words. Why, he almost had himself convinced it was the most perfect place to have ever, or will ever exist, for all time, and throughout the universe.

I’ve never said Holland is superior or perfect. Not to you not to anyone else. You are trying to put words in my mouth, it’s a kinda habit of yours.

Hope for you words are the only thing you wanna put in my mouth, everything else I’ll keep.

Left by Jacques on August 31st, 2007 at 3:44 pm

I recall you saying “That what me make a better person.”
I understood then, and still do. You’re a self-righteous idiotic busy-body on hash.
Good luck with that.

Left by no2liberals on August 31st, 2007 at 4:37 pm

Good on you and your husband, if what you say is true.
As I’ve said before, prisons are filled with innocent men, just ask them.
Actually, our homicide rate is stable, after falling dramatically from the mid 90’s to the mid 2000’s, and there are fewer people waiting on death row for several years in a row. See NCJRS.
There is no evidence that the state of Texas has ever executed an innocent man, and many of us believe the system to be imminently fair and just. Mistakes can always be made, we are dealing with man, after all, but that is no reason to stop trying to enforce our laws, and protect decent citizens.

Left by no2liberals on August 31st, 2007 at 4:43 pm

I said that because I don’t want an innocent person ending up on death row and be executed. Anybody who thinks otherwise should have his or hers head examined.

And I said it about me, not about Holland. So there’s text, there’s context and then there is n2l and then we have chaos.

Left by Jacques on August 31st, 2007 at 7:40 pm

About wrong executions:

Perry: “I am concerned about Texas law that allowed capital murder defendants to be tried simultaneously and it is an issue I think the Legislature should examine.”

Foster’s lawyer, Keith Hampton, estimated that at least a dozen other Texas death row inmates have been executed under the same law, including one this year.

And what about this:

Thursday’s vote marked only the second time since Texas resumed carrying out executions in 1982 that the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles endorsed stopping an execution with so little time remaining. And in that 2004 case, Perry rejected the board’s recommendation and the prisoner, who had been diagnosed as mentally ill, was executed

Left by Jacques on August 31st, 2007 at 7:49 pm

Getting back to the point, I think this shows just how crappy the Texas judicial system is.
Nothing has changed since the day this happened, it was evident at the time that Foster was the driver. So why has it taken 11 years to acknowledge that fact?
The poor family of the victim must have been through hell and back.
Perry has realised that the ‘Law of Parties’ act is a joke, and he will no doubt do the same again to other death row inmates who where simply associated with a crime rather than being the ones who pulled the trigger.
To save the families of the victims of the criminals on death of anymore heartache, I suggest Perry take the time to look into such cases on death row NOW and not wait until a file gets slung on his desk the day before someone is lead to their deaths.

Jonny

Left by Jon on September 1st, 2007 at 4:53 am

A Dutch rapper married & helped Kenneth?? Oh man, those Dutch should mind their own business

Using the Internet, Foster’s supporters launched a campaign that garnered sympathy from all over the world — especially in Europe. Newspaper editorials in Italy and France condemned Texas for barbarism.

Helping lead the effort was Tasha Foster, 23, a native of the Netherlands who married the death row inmate three months ago. An amateur hip-hop artist who performs under the stage name Jav’Lin, she produced a rap video about Foster, “Walk With Me,” that has been viewed more than 10,000 times on YouTube.

[ LA Times ] [ ABC News ]

Left by Jacques on September 1st, 2007 at 7:41 am

Getting back to the point . . .

The point being that once again you shoot your mouth over something you know nothing about? Perry said he granted commutation based on the fact Fosters’ trial wasn’t severed from Brown’s, not the law of parties. Perry was wrong.

As to the governor’s power to commute sentences, he can only do so when it is recommended by the board of pardons, who can only do so when the defendant applies for a pardon, who isn’t going to do so until they are certain their appeals have failed.

And you don’t give a shit about the families of the victims because 99.9% of them want the laws to be carried out and the murderer executed, so shut up.

Left by kma on September 1st, 2007 at 9:21 am

I’m fine thanks, how are you today KMA?

The point being that once again you shoot your mouth over something you know nothing about? Perry said he granted commutation based on the fact Fosters’ trial wasn’t severed from Brown’s, not the law of parties. Perry was wrong.
As to the governor’s power to commute sentences, he can only do so when it is recommended by the board of pardons, who can only do so when the defendant applies for a pardon, who isn’t going to do so until they are certain their appeals have failed.

Indeed Perry used the simultaneous court cases as to why he commuted the sentence, but why did the board of pardons vote to commute by 6-1? Even if Perry is telling us the truth about his reasoning, the fact that Brown and Fosters simultaneous court cases happened 11 years ago ’should’ suggest that there was no reason Foster should have got life rather than the death sentence.
Why did it take 11 years to realise this fact?

And you don’t give a shit about the families of the victims because 99.9% of them want the laws to be carried out and the murderer executed, so shut up.

Thank you for tyring to talk for me there KMA but having lost a near friend to suspect circumstances, I know first hand what’s it like to have no closure over such an emotive situation.
I hear Bush and Gonzales are trying to speed up the time it takes to carry out the death sentence at the moment.
I’m firmly againt the death penalty but to expect the victims familie to have to wait 10.26 years (on average) for a sentence to be carried out is mind numbing.

Jonny

Left by Jon on September 1st, 2007 at 10:57 am

A Dutch rapper married & helped Kenneth?? Oh man, those Dutch should mind their own business

Finally!!!
Something we can both agree on.
We have all the songwriters and performers we need here, anyway.

God Blessed Texas

I’ve seen a lot of places
I’ve been around the world
I’ve seen some pretty faces
Been with some beautiful girls
After all I’ve witnessed
One thing still amazes me
Just like a miracle, you have to see to believe
CHORUS:
(’Cause) God Blessed Texas
With his own hand
Brought down angels from the promised land
Gave em’ a place where they could dance
If you wanna see heaven, brother, here’s your chance
I’ve been sent to spread the message
God Blessed Texas
First He let the sun shine
Then He made the waters deep
Then he gave us moonlight
For all the world to see
Well everybody knows that the Lord works in mysterious ways
He took a rest, then on the very next day
CHORUS (twice)
Well I’ve been sent to spread the message
God Blessed Texas
Well I’ve been sent to spread the message
God Blessed Texas

Left by no2liberals on September 1st, 2007 at 6:11 pm

no2liberals…. What I said is very true. And I never said that the man or my husband were innocent of their crimes. I am simply saying that just because you have done time behind bars does not make you a criminal for life. People DO change. My husband did and there will be more like him in the future. If they are just given the chance. I would rather see a man who actually fired a gun behind bars then the guy who drove him. Him being put on Death Row in the first place is just stupid. Governor Perry knows it too. The excuse he used when commuting his sentence was just that….an excuse. He knew just like everyone else that Kenneth Foster should not die for driving a car. Death Row is far from closure for anyone. It is nothing but a revenge tactic which makes its supporters just as bad as the murderer. The only difference between death row supporters and someone who takes justice into their own hands is that the death row supporters have the government behind them. But not for long cause people are finally beginning to open their eyes. The republicans are slowly dwindeling down and this country will one day be back to the way it should be.

Left by Texasgal on September 1st, 2007 at 6:17 pm

I quite agree TexasGal.

Your point about support for the death penalty dwindling does seem to be the case. I read a report about the attitudes in Ohio and it seems the jurys there are less comfortable with an outcome of the death penalty than ever before.
It’s a good thing. It shows that even though some people carry out the most horrific acts of violance toward fellow human beings, we now acknowledge that we can show true humanity and righteousness even in the face of these unthinkable crimes.

The biggest problem which doesn’t seem to ever be addressed over there is the causes of these crimes.
TexasGal touches on a very important point. Why are there so many criminals who have comitted such horrific crimes that warrants them being on death row telling us that they have changed? Putting the horrific nature of their crimes to one side, is it unreasonable that after 10+ years on death row, they are changed people?
I would suggest being on death row is the first time for many of these people that they actuall get any attention of any kind.
You only have to look through the texas death row website to see 99% of these guys where labourers, had no education and where regular drug users.
I’m guessing they had no family unit to tell of so I guess its a downward slope for them from birth.
Why doesn’t this get addressed? Your government do nothing to try and sort of the causes of crime. You only spend billions maintaining the conveyor belt that assists these drop out get to the death chamber.
Until the death penalty is outlawed, you will continue to kill people in this way. For every one that dies, their are another two waiting in the wings.

Jonny

Left by Jon on September 2nd, 2007 at 4:16 am

Even if Perry is telling us the truth about his reasoning, the fact that Brown and Fosters simultaneous court cases happened 11 years ago ’should’ suggest that there was no reason Foster should have got life rather than the death sentence. Why did it take 11 years to realise this fact?

Realize what fact? Perry is out to lunch on his excuse that it was wrong not to sever the trials. There has to be a legitimate legal reason to sever a trial. There wasn’t here. That claim was already advanced on appeal and rejected. No state automatically mandates severance on capital cases. And they are not going to start.

And let me repeat myself: And you don’t give a shit about the families of the victims because 99.9% of them want the laws to be carried out and the murderer executed, so shut up.

Left by kma on September 2nd, 2007 at 10:29 am

TexasGal,
I am always pleased to see someone, who made a terrible mistake, have the opportunity to make amends, and live a good life.
My nieces husband is an example, as he got in a stupid fight with a stupid guy, when they were just out of high school. He is a big man, about 6′7″, and very fit. His opponent, the one starting the trouble, wasn’t so big, and wouldn’t take his a$$-whuppin’ like a man, so he pulled a knife. My nieces husband, who thought the fight was over, avoided being stabbed, then proceeded to pound the punk so badly, that he was in and out of a coma for almost a year. It wasn’t until the aggressor was out of danger, and clear he would live, that my relative was given ten years of probation, with any infraction automatically sending him to Huntsville for ten years. He served his parole, has a great family and business, with his daughter showing that she is apparently a child prodigy on the piano.
We will just have to disagree on the other. I do believe death for the worst criminals is not only justified, but necessary. Actually, I saw an editorial from Canada last night, calling for the reinstitution of the death penalty there, and a comment by a Dutch lawyer that says there punishment system isn’t working. To me, there is hope that other countries and states will catch up to the wisdom of Texas justice. I also think your clever attempt to say liberalism, a mental disorder, will spread in Texas, was just that, a clever attempt. Except for the walled fortress of liberalism in Austin, and a few welfare dependent counties along the Mexican border, Texas is a conservative state, and God Willing, always will be.

Left by no2liberals on September 2nd, 2007 at 12:21 pm

Pardon, TexasGal, you meant liberalism in this country, not this state.
There is a slightly higher percentage that call themselves Dhimmicrats, than Republican, with the largest percentage being in the middle, or claim they are. It hasn’t changed much, over the years, and with the Dhimmis in Congress, and those on the Presidential campaign trail, showing their true colors, for all to see, it is my opinion that their chances for gaining control of our representative republic for the next election, or the foreseeable future, are very slim.
We, of course, can disagree respectfully, we are, after all, American citizens.

Left by no2liberals on September 2nd, 2007 at 12:27 pm

You are full of excuses KMA, it’s just a shame you haven’t the back bone to admit when your wrong.

What will happen when Texas gets rid of the death penalty? Will you have to move somewhere else to get you kicks?
I here Thailand has some a judicial system you may like?

Jonny

Left by Jon on September 2nd, 2007 at 1:16 pm

No2Libs: The chances that Texasgal would ever support the dp is zero to none. I believe she is a well known antidp activist who usually posts under a different name. The statement that she would support the dp if she knew no innocent people would be put to death is a lie she hopes will give her false credibility. Fat chance, sclcookie, aka, suzanne.

Left by kma on September 2nd, 2007 at 1:38 pm

You are full of excuses KMA, it’s just a shame you haven’t the back bone to admit when your wrong.

Boy, you have it backasswards. The better question is when have you ever been right, jon? You think nobody notices that every post of yours has been demonstrated to be factually and logically incorrect? lol!

What will happen when Texas gets rid of the death penalty?

It’s never going to happen. Hope that doesn’t make you want to hurt yourself. lol

Left by kma on September 3rd, 2007 at 10:09 am

……….ok

Jonny

Left by Jon on September 3rd, 2007 at 3:46 pm

no2liberals…First of all I would like to Thank you for not ranting and raving your opinions in a disrespectful manner. You are one of a few on here that do so. KMA says that I am someone that posts on here often. That is not true at all. Infact I have no clue who Suzanne or sclcookie is. I am not a groupie either. I don’t write to criminals because although I do believe that some innocent people are sitting behind bars waiting for someone to help them, I KNOW that the majority of the people locked up are in fact guilty of their crimes and deserve to be where they are. I know that most of the convicts out there are liars and will do anything to try and take advantage of naive people. This is why I don’t get too involved with this issue. I simply have an opinion. Can my opinion be changed? Absolutely. When I see that the death penalty is being carried out for good reasons in every case and that there are NO flaws in the system then I would have no problem supporting the DP. When there is evidence like DNA and fingerprints proving that the suspect was guilty of murder then I can understand the use of the DP. But that is not the case in this state. In this state we are ready to put anybody to death without even gathering the proper evidence. This is not in every case but it has happened. I only speak for the the innocent people who have been wrongfully accused. The reason I feel the way I do about this particular case with Kenneth Foster is because a life has already been taken for the death of Mr. Lahood. In fact the life that was taken was that of the gunman that actually pulled the trigger. So why was Mr. Foster given the death penalty for a murder that he didn’t commit? He just needed to be punished for being a participant in the robbery cause he drove to do just that. It just didn’t make any sense to take his life. And what about “The Forgotten Victims”? The family of the accused. Kenneth Foster has a little girl that would have been heartbroken if the state would have taken her fathers life for driving a car. How do you think that little girl feels when she hears people talk so horribly about her dad? None of this was her fault yet she still has to endure the pain from all those wonderfully innocent law abiding republicans that have trashed the only man that she has ever known as a father. Reguardless of what he did, you have to remember…everything you type on blog sites like this one is accessable to a young girl who happens to love this man. So please be respectful and watch your tongue. You can voice your opinion without being hateful.

Left by Texasgal on September 6th, 2007 at 12:59 am

Wow…I am not sure where to begin…other than to say thank goodness we have all these outside opinions of how to handle crime in Texas…God forbid the citizens of our state actually have a say in whether we want to raise our families among Texas “barbarianism,” which by the way is not in the justice system, it is manifested among a select few who see nothing wrong with driving a murderer to commit a heinous crime then arguing he is less culpable for not pulling the trigger…thank you mr. foster for not pulling the trigger…the victim is less dead for you not having participated in the actual final act…where did foster think he was going? a shoe sale at macy’s? seriously…please, do not worry about these great attrocities here in Texas…these poor individuals that had to wait 11 years or even 11 days for mercy from the death penalty…how many years did the victim have to right their soul or say good bye to their loved ones??? Take your crusade to the truly deserving…the mutilated women of Africa or the offenders beaten in public displays in Asia for crimes punishable in America with a fine…but don’t shed a tear for a man that knew exactly what the possibilities were when he got behind the wheel…there is a reason for the Felony Murder Doctrine, just as with the lack of merger for conspiracy…crime that would other wise be thwarted is more likely to be consumated in a group or with a partner…just as violence during the commission of a felony is predictable and the natural consequences of the actions often lead to death of an innocent…he didn’t drive someone to H&R Block to cheat the IRS…he was assisting in an ARMED robbery…anyone with common sense could have told you the likely result…Foster knew the risk and made a conscious choice to act anyway…his victim had no choice

Left by ty on September 12th, 2007 at 1:14 pm

Foster and his supporters are now whining that he has to serve his “life sentence” meaning that he is not eligible for parole until 2037. Well, they better learn to deal with it because no way can his sentence legally be reduced.

Left by Anonymous on July 1st, 2008 at 8:35 am