FROM THE DEATH PENALTY INFORMATION CENTER (DPIC)

The Clustering of the Death Penalty

INTRODUCTION
Although the death penalty continues to exist in 32 states, it is actually carried out by only a small percentage of jurisdictions.  For example, in 2012 only 9 states carried out an execution.  Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 through to April 2013, almost 82% of the executions have been in the South. Even within a state, the death penalty is usually only practiced in a handful of counties, though the expense is often shared by all taxpayers.
The Death Penalty Information Center has analyzed the use of the death penalty on a county basis, examining:
A. Executions By County
B. Death Row Inmates By County
C. Recent Death Sentences By County
The charts on this and related pages illustrate the geographical disparities in the use of the death penalty.

A. Executions by County

Total Number of Counties in the U.S. = 3,148 (source: U.S. Census Bureau)

Execution numbers accurate as of Jan. 1, 2013

These 15 counties accounted for 30% of the executions in the U.S. since 1976.  They represent less than 1% of the total number of counties in the country, and less than 1% of the total number of counties in states with the death penalty.

 

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   Frederick Leatherman Law Blog DISPARITY

The Pentagon and Slave Labor in U.S. Prisons

Prisoners earning 23 cents an hour in U.S. federal prisons are manufacturing high-tech electronic components for Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missiles, launchers for TOW (Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided) anti-tank missiles, and other guided missile systems. A March article by journalist and financial researcher Justin Rohrlich of World in Review is worth a closer look at the full implications of this ominous development. (minyanville.com)

The expanding use of prison industries, which pay slave wages, as a way to increase profits for giant military corporations, is a frontal attack on the rights of all workers.
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Prison labor — with no union protection, overtime pay, vacation days, pensions, benefits, health and safety protection, or Social Security withholding — also makes complex components for McDonnell Douglas/Boeing’s F-15 fighter aircraft, the General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16, and Bell/Textron’s Cobra helicopter. Prison labor produces night-vision goggles, body armor, camouflage uniforms, radio and communication devices, and lighting systems and components for 30-mm to 300-mm battleship anti-aircraft guns, along with land mine sweepers and electro-optical equipment for the BAE Systems Bradley Fighting Vehicle’s laser rangefinder. Prisoners recycle toxic electronic equipment and overhaul military vehicles.

Labor in federal prisons is contracted out by UNICOR, previously known as Federal Prison Industries, a quasi-public, for-profit corporation run by the Bureau of Prisons. In 14 prison factories, more than 3,000 prisoners manufacture electronic equipment for land, sea and airborne communication. UNICOR is now the U.S. government’s 39th largest contractor, with 110 factories at 79 federal penitentiaries.   READ MORE

Gun lovers download printable gun 50,000 times on its first day — and NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly is alarmed

Untraceable gun alarms lawmakers and law enforcers. 'The Liberator' can be sneaked onto planes.

By Christina Boyle AND Bill Hutchinson / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Tuesday, May 7, 2013, 2:31 AM

The first downloadable gun has gone viral.

The plastic firearm that can be churned out on a 3-D printer and easily assembled was downloaded at least 50,000 times Monday, according to the self-described anarchist who made it available for free online.

Cody Wilson of Defense Distributed, a collective of gun advocates, said the most downloads were done in Spain followed by the United States.

The prospect of terrorists getting hold of the guns by clicking a computer mouse chilled NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly to the core.

“It’s something that obviously is a concern,” Kelly said. “It’s something that the federal government should look at.”

Rep. Steve Israel (D-L.I.) is writing legislation to tighten the reins on the printable guns.

Kelly’s biggest fear is that the gun — called the “Liberator” — will easily sneak past metal detectors and then onto commercial airplanes and into secure buildings.

“If that capability exists anywhere it can exist all over the country,” Kelly said.

But Cody didn’t seem to care.  READ MORE

 

Sandra Fluke Still Haunts Limbaugh, Broadcasters

By Adam Martin

More than a year after Rush Limbaugh's assessment of Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke as a "slut" for advocating federally subsidized birth control, the broadcaster that carries his show is experiencing a "residual hangover" in its ad sales thanks to the boycotts Limbaugh's comments sparked. At least, that's how Lew Dickey, the CEO of Cumulus Media, has characterized the lingering slump. Limbaugh disagrees, and he's now threatening to take his show elsewhere if Dickey keeps blaming him. If Limbaugh left Cumulus, the company would lose the rights to broadcast his show on its 40 radio stations, including WABC in New York.  READ MORE