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Injustice
Life and death in the courtrooms of America
It sometimes comes as a shock to people that the only country in the Americas which still has the death penalty is the USA. It is especially favoured by the southern states such as Louisiana, Texas and Florida and we have on many occasions on this blog mentioned particular cases where the wrong man is convicted of a crime or where the evidence is at best doubtful.
Our view here in the UK of the justice system in America is heavily conditioned by Hollywood films, on screen or on TV, which give a highly biased view of the real life situation. In these depictions, an innocent man or woman has been wrongfully arrested. Clean cut lawyers appear for the defendant and there is a tense meeting in the DA’s office. At some point, the defence (or defense if you’re reading this in the USA) lawyer says ‘we’re outa here’ and they all sweep out. Hearings, such as a Grand Jury happen as if by magic and subsequent court appearances take place soon after. Few episodes can go by without a lawyer saying someone’s ‘Miranda rights have been infringed’ and more people sweep out. Everyone is dedicated to securing justice with the exception of one individual (a witness, police officer or someone needed for the plot) who is found out at the end. More clean cut young people find a tiny and crucial piece of evidence and this is sufficient to set a defendant free, often in the last minute or so of the trial. The overall impression is of a system that works – albeit uncertainly at times – with the good guy getting off at the end.
If you read Clive Stafford Smith’s book Injustice * you will find that these Hollywood stories are for many in the States, fiction. Clive has spent many years in the USA helping people on death row, the majority of whom should not be there. The book is about one individual, Krishna Maharaj (pictured), who was on death row in Florida for 28 years before being released. It is a truly astonishing book with 110 pages of detailed notes and describes the dysfunctional legal system in states such a Florida.
The problem – bizarrely – is that an innocent man or woman is often more at risk that someone who is guilty. Innocent people believe, often wrongly to their cost, that they don’t have to prove anything because they are innocent. There cannot be any evidence to prove they did it because they didn’t. They also think that the justice system is unbiased and the truth will out eventually, a ‘touching faith’ as Clive describes it.
The book explores these issues in great detail. America elects its law officers and so there is great pressure to convict to prove to the electorate that you are ‘tough on crime’. Sentencing people to death is a great way to prove this. Unlike recent changes to the justice system in the UK, the defence has no right of disclosure. So the police need only present evidence allegedly proving guilt, and not reveal evidence that proves the defendant innocent. This practice was also commonplace in the UK before new rules were introduced following some high profile injustices were discovered. In Florida, because of the enormous amount of money flooding in to the state from the drug barons, corruption is rife throughout the justice system. Amazingly, the judge himself in Krishna’s trial was arrested for bribery and corruption after three days of hearings. The police are often themselves involved in the drugs trade.
So if the judge was arrested, then surely the trial should start afresh? No, because defence lawyers are paid so little and on a block fee basis, to start again is something they cannot afford, so they just ploughed on with a new judge. The quality of defence lawyers is frequently poor and they fail to cross-examine properly, call relevant witnesses or even to meet the defendant that often. The problem here is that if through incompetence or otherwise the defence lawyer does not raise the issues at trial, then appeal courts will rule matters to be ‘procedurally barred’ subsequently.
So alibis are not called, forensic evidence not challenged, police witnesses’ changes in evidence not challenged and so on and so on. The result was an innocent man narrowly escaping death row for a crime he did not commit and which was committed it was eventually discovered, by someone acting for a drug cartel. The man murdered was ‘skimming’ drug profits. Errors are so great and so frequent that justice would better be served if it was done on the basis of a coin toss. Fewer would be executed on this basis.
Clive Stafford Smith is an extraordinary lawyer but he is also a great story teller and this account of Kris Maharaj death row case is a powerful thriller beautifully told. Helena Kennedy QC [senior lawyer in the UK]
Passionate and Humane Mail on Sunday
This is a highly recommended book for anyone interested in the justice system. If you have written letters to governors and others in the States it will explain a lot. Clive Stafford Smith was the founder of Reprieve.
A story about the case in Miami Herald
*Injustice by Clive Stafford Smith, Vintage books, 2013
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A brutal 1980 Christmas-Eve murder, decades of silence, death row without execution—this chilling California cold case ends inside a prison cell. https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/crime/condemned-inmate-cold-case-murder-dies-prison-christmas-eve-lc0udktp?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #DeathRow #TrueCrime #ColdCaseSolved #CaliforniaPrisons #CrimeNews
#Biden stopped the #executions of 37 men. Trump's #DOJ wants to punish them
A year after President Joe Biden spared 37 prisoners on federal #DeathRow from execution by reducing their sentences to life in prison, the #Trump admin is making good on its promise to treat them as harshly as possible anyway.
#law #DeathPenalty #TheCrueltyIsThePoint
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/23/nx-s1-5269702/death-row-executions-transfer-commuted
Olymp – Rising Review
By Steel Druhm
You’ve heard me rant about the horrors that lurk in the promo sump come December, and how it’s mostly sub-basement black metal made by those who live on gas station pizza rolls. That kind of low-target high-risk environment is why I noticed the offering from German trve metal act Olymp and took action upon it rashly. Before we go any further, I need to point out that Olymp (I assume short of Olympus) is a truly godawful name. It also sounds like an erectile dysfunction medication. The fact that their sophomore album is titled Rising makes the comparison all the more… turgid, while also suggesting an entire marketing campaign for gas station dick pills. Also, that album art is next-level BAD. On the plus side, it’s probably not AI-generated. Poor moniker and dubious art choices aside, Olymp play a burly, beefy, 80s-centric variant of trve heavy metal with elements of Cirith Ungol and Manilla Road in the DNA. They also hit the same ground as their fellow countrymen, the long-running cheeseball power warriors, Wizard. That means Olymp teeter on that razor edge between serious and trve and over-the-top, cheddar-infected cornballery, which is a tough place to make a glorious last stand. But all hope is not lost, Olympi-Won!
After a table-setting instrumental, the Olymp ethos is unveiled on “Olive Wreath.” It involves hammering you relentlessly with beefy riffage as Sebastian Tölle delivers a rough, raw bellow that’s more shout than sing. He sits somewhere between the legendary Tim Baker of Cirith Ungol and Matias Nastolin of Desolate Realm, and his gruff style generally fits the sound and adds an extra layer of toughness. At times, “Olive Wreath” reminds me of long-forgotten German speed metal fiends Iron Angel and Deathrow, and the guitar phrasing often veers heavily into Cirith Ungol territory. These are all big pluses in my book, and if they gave me a whole album of this meaty broth, I’d happily overlook the issues discussed in the intro. “Thread of Life” is another iron fist to the cranium with burly, simplistic riffs pounding your brain nonstop, and it’s not far removed from what classic Gravedigger did/still do.
Olymp’s style is exceptionally simple, direct, and old school, and when it works, you get cuts like the slam-banging “Orpheus,” which riffs hard enough to shake teeth loose and addle your brain gelatin. The same goes for album closer “White Rose” which is laden with harmonies and flourishes that strongly recall Cirith Ungol. It’s an effective metal chestnut with a nice touch of melancholy. Not every cut pulls off the ancient alchemy, though. “Fire and Brimstone” comes off as really old Saxon and off-brand Manowar sutured together badly, and it’s dumb as hell. “Titan War” is aggressive and punchy, with Tölle sounding more like Tim Baker than usual, but things run too long, and the last few minutes feel tedious. “Olymp” also suffers from a late-song lag. While several songs extend too far considering the number of ideas presented, most tracks manage to avoid the bloat contagion. At 40 minutes, Rising feels like a quick enough spin, and the aggression levels keep it humming.
The biggest snag for Olymp is Sebastian Tölle’s vocals, which are too limited and one-note. As a poor man’s Tim Baker, his raw, ragged shouting works best on the most aggressive numbers, but as the album drags on, his delivery becomes more and more irritating. He isn’t able to elevate the material consistently, and you find yourself wishing he had another gear. The guitar work by Tölle and Armin Amboss reeks of the 80s trve metal era, and they do borrow a lot from Cirith Ungol and Manilla Road while beefing up the tones for maximum impact. Their playing is a highlight and routinely drops nostalgia glitter on those who grew up in the 80s.
Olymp play a style I’m predisposed to enjoy, and I do appreciate most of what they offer on Rising. If they could smooth out some of the rough spots in their songsmithing and improve the vocals, Olymp could become a worthy opponent for the likes of Eternal Champion and Dragon Skull. As things stand, they’re more a rowdy street thug than a noble barbarian. Here’s to rising on command!
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Metalizer
Websites: olymp-band.com | olympmetal.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/olympmetal
Releases Worldwide: December 19th, 2025
Man who spent decades on Ohio death row sees murder case dismissed
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/man-who-spent-decades-ohio-36394988
Murderer's curious last words before he's executed 36 years after killing mum
'Worst death imaginable' as criminals have body parts slowly removed until they die
Florida rapist exectuted for killing his former manager who 'knew he was going to kill her'
Steep rise in Florida executions
Darkness seems to reign in the Sunshine state
November 2025
UPDATE: 21 November. Randolph was executed yesterday making it the 17th in the state. Further background can be read in a Tallahassee Democrat post. There is also material on Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty FADP.
There has been a big increase in executions in Florida – 15 so far this year and another one due to take place today (20 November) of Richard Barry Randolph. This compares with 1 last year and a downward trend in the US as a whole. The reason for this surge is hard to determine but much of the US media and opinion seems to point to the Governor Ron DeSantis. It is alleged that this sudden surge is part of his campaign to run for president in 2028 at the end (?) of the Trump era.
There are many troubling aspects about the executions. Florida is almost unique in allowing the governor
to have the final decision. Other states now leave this to the judiciary. But there is also disquiet about the secrecy of the decision making process. ‘Florida’s governor has no criteria, procedure, or guidelines in place for selecting who lives and who dies…Granting the governor unfettered discretion has, in practice, led to a completely arbitrary process for determining who lives and who dies‘ [attorney for Thomas Gudinas]. De Santis has offered no explanation for this sudden increase in executions.
High level of mistakes
Anyone who has read Clive Stafford-Smith’s book Injustice will know the inefficient court process in the US particularly for poor people. The level of mistakes in the state is high. Since 1989 there have been no less than 93 individuals wrongfully convicted and exonerated. Needless to say, if someone has already been executed it’s a mistake that cannot be rectified.
The judicial process seems to offer little confidence with 6 or the seven justices on the Florida Supreme Court appointed by the governor. The jury system has been altered so that only 8 out of the 12 jurors is needed for a guilty verdict. The results are clear to see with 35% of those on death row are Black whereas they represent only 17% of the population.
There is no evidence that the death penalty is a deterrence. As we have noted, mistakes cannot be afterwards rectified. It would appear that this sudden rise is due to the Governor’s desire to raise his credibility with a view to the presidential election in 2028. As the Palm Beach Post notes, ‘the system is riddled with issues ..’ (18 November).
Sources: Palm Beach Post, WUSF, The Conversation, Guardian, FADP
See our monthly Death Penalty Report
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@OklaBot @tremanewoodfoundation and @acluok did excellent advocacy for him! #deathrow #deathpenalty #deathpenaltyismurder #deathpenaltyabolition
@OklaBot @tremanewoodfoundation and @acluok did excellent advocacy for him! #deathrow #deathpenalty #deathpenaltyismurder #deathpenaltyabolition
@OklaBot @tremanewoodfoundation and @acluok did excellent advocacy for him!
#deathrow #deathpenalty #deathpenaltyismurder #deathpenaltyabolition
#Trump has been forthright about his intention to bring about a #DeathPenalty renaissance, & now his efforts are coming to fruition. This yr has been a particularly lethal one for the #US’ #DeathRow prisoners. Together, #Alabama, #Arizona, #Florida, #Indiana, #Louisiana, #Mississippi, #Missouri, #Oklahoma, #SouthCarolina, #Tennessee, & #Texas have executed a total of 40 people in the past 10 months by injection, nitrogen hypoxia, & firing squad, surpassing 2024’s total of 25—a significant spike…
Update: The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Anthony Boyd's execution can go forward today. Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson dissented from the denial of the application for a stay and certiorari (review). Here's more from @AlcomNews. At the second link, find Lauren Gill's reporting for @bolts.
https://flip.it/_YMEoB
https://flip.it/X5cDP6
#USNews #USLaw #Alabama #DeathPenalty #DeathRow #CriminalJustice #JusticeSystem #AnthonyBoyd
A young Benjamin Button is convicted of capital crimes but the courts refuse to believe that he is a minor.
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In a three-day trial in 1995, Anthony Boyd was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, based solely on the word of a co-defendant who testified under the threat of capital punishment. No physical evidence connected him to the murder of Gregory "New York" Huguley. Boyd has been on death row ever since, and is due to be executed by the state of Alabama on Oct. 23. @bolts examines the reasons to doubt the conviction: Inadequate legal representation, conflicting witness reports, and a system that disproportionately sends Black people to death row.
#USLaw #USNews #Alabama #DeathPenalty #DeathRow #JusticeSystem #Racism
Death row inmates' horror botched executions from blood spurting to catching fire
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