Sure Beats Getting Dan Rather Fired, Huh
I stole the title of this entry from Gene Healy, in conversation this evening. It looks very likely that Radley Balko has saved Cory Maye’s life. I put it that way on purpose. In fact, it has taken dogged, pro bono legal work by Covington and Burling, the local efforts of the public defender and considerable generosity on the part of Radley’s employer regarding how he’s been spending his time the last few months. We should salute every one of those people. And to make Radley’s employers especially happy, we should buy his book or at least download the PDF.
But all of those other people got involved because Radley Balko dragged this case into the public eye and kept it there. If there was ever a triumph of the fucking blogosphere moment, this is it. So much of what The BlogosphereTM crows about amounts to collecting scalps – hit pieces, gang stomps, ambushes. Getting people fired. Disgracing someone.
Here, instead, a guy who did not deserve to be killed but was going to be, will probably not be killed after all. His daughter will not be orphaned.
I’m very proud that Radley Balko is my friend.
Your cynical voice may be saying, “It’s great that one black guy in the country interested enough rich white lawyers to get some eventual justice, but that’s not a justice system worthy of the name.” You’d be right. Based on his writing, I’m sure Radley would agree with you. The Maye case is a start. It needs to become the teachable moment about how far off track the criminal justice system in this country has gotten, and how much farther wrong it could go. Cory Maye got swamped by a perfect storm of liberty-destroying practices American law enforcement has adopted in the name of our wasteful, cruel and impossible “War on Drugs.” Confidential informants, no-knock raids, police militarization. They all feature.
And it threatens to get worse. This week in “compromise” legislation the Senate gave the President authority to hide people away and torture them in the name of “fighting terrorism.” Since 2001, every expanded “antiterrorism” power that Congress has granted to law enforcement has ended up being used by federal agencies against ordinary crime. Informal torture has been part of the drug war for a long time. Formal torture is coming as soon as some legislator figures pushing for it will let him appear “tough on crime,” or as soon as some prosecutor decides it will help him get elected governor. Once the state can alternatively interrogate the Cory Mayes of the world into “confessing” to their crimes, there will be less of this fuss and bother about appeals.
For now, though, it looks like Cory Maye will live. It’s a start.
Comment by Skip Oliva —
September 23, 2006 @ 12:06 am
There’s an interesting contrast between Balko’s work and the mainstream sports press’s whining over the jailing of two S.F. Chronicle reporters who deliberately compromised the secrecy of the BALCO–heh, odd linquistic parallel–in an effort to assist prosecutors in convicting Barry Bonds and others. I’ve seen at least a half-dozen columns lauding the Chronicle reporters for their “public service” in aiding and abetting the government’s steroid witch hunt. These same columns boldly assert that justice requires freeing the reporters and jailing Bonds. I suspect race is playing a part here, but nevertheless, it’s telling that the Chronicle reporters are nationally celebrated for making the world safer for prosecutorial abuse while Balko is doing just the opposite with far less fanfare.
Comment by Grant Gould —
September 23, 2006 @ 6:56 am
Informal torture has been part of the drug war for a long time. Formal torture is coming as soon as some legislator figures pushing for it will let him appear “tough on crime,†or as soon as some prosecutor decides it will help him get elected governor.
Would that be a ticking-bong scenario?
Comment by AC —
September 23, 2006 @ 7:46 am
Would that be a ticking-bong scenario?
Nice.
Trackback by Inactivist —
September 23, 2006 @ 10:39 am
Carnival of interesting matters…
We salute you, Mr. Balko
In a totally justified bestowal of kudos on Radley Balko, Jim Henley notes that Balko has worked hard and employed the blogosphere to merely, you know, save a man’s life. Acerbically notes Henley:
…
Comment by Avram —
September 23, 2006 @ 1:05 pm
Wow. This may be the best news I’ve heard all year. (Other contender: the milder-than-expected hurricane season.)
Comment by Gary Farber —
September 23, 2006 @ 8:36 pm
[link spam]
Comment by Bruce Baugh —
September 23, 2006 @ 10:42 pm
For all that I disagree with Radley on a lot…he’s got a sale to me, and probably some gift purchases. This is wonderful news, and you’re quite right to prhase it the way you did.
Trackback by Freedom Democrats —
September 24, 2006 @ 2:27 am
Some Good News: Cory Maye closer to freedom?…
Cory Maye looks to be no longer on Death Row for now.
As Jim Henley says, “It’s a start.”
…
Comment by Jennifer —
September 24, 2006 @ 9:26 am
Radley Balko is what the media is supposed to be. You don’t need first-amendment protection to salivate over the government and help it with its pet causes–even in the most oppressive societies, journalists had complete freedom to do that.
Comment by John Rhoads —
September 24, 2006 @ 1:36 pm
Absolutely great news. There’s very little for libertarians to get excited about these days, so it’s nice when someone goes out and actually effects positive change. Obviously there is no justice yet, as he is still in jail, but it is at least motion in a positive direction.
Comment by Michael_K —
September 24, 2006 @ 6:57 pm
Wow. This may be the best news I’ve heard all year. (Other contender: the milder-than-expected hurricane season.)
Amen, Avram, Amen
Comment by Eric the .5b —
September 24, 2006 @ 7:59 pm
I can only echo everyone else’s pleasure. Balko did well, and did good.
Comment by Neel Krishnaswami —
September 25, 2006 @ 11:14 am
Wow.
Trackback by Quotulatiousness —
September 25, 2006 @ 5:53 pm
Monday links…
Some links which, had I more time, might have grown into fully fledged postings on their own, but I don’t, so they didn’t: Canada’s (temporarily) unguarded southern border (neither the first nor the last time this will happen) The first……
Comment by Jim Treacher —
September 26, 2006 @ 4:34 am
The Rather thing was pretty good too.
Trackback by Samizdata.net —
September 26, 2006 @ 4:37 pm
Radley Balko, take a deep bow…
Great respect is due to Cato’s Radley Balko, who has tirelessly campaigned against the the “no-knock” search and entry powers employed by law enforcement agencies in the United States. I was surfing around the blogs and came across this story a few …
Trackback by Watcher of Weasels —
September 27, 2006 @ 1:22 am
Submitted for Your Approval…
First off… any spambots reading this should immediately go here, here, here, and here. Die spambots, die! And now… here are all the links submitted by members of the Watcher’s Council for this week’s vote. Council li…
Trackback by BuzzTracker.com —
October 2, 2006 @ 4:00 am
Featured on BuzzTracker…
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