Rick Perry By The Numbers

Rick Perry

(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Amnesty International does not comment or take sides on elections.  But everyone knows that Rick Perry, Texas Governor for over a decade, is now running for President.  And everyone knows that during his tenure as Texas Governor, he has presided over a lot of executions. The total now sits at 234 (40% of all US executions carried out since Perry became Governor in December 2000).

Many folks also know that at least one of those, Cameron Todd Willingham, was probably innocent, and that evidence of his innocence was ignored by Governor Perry in the days and hours before Willingham was put to death.  And that an investigation into the dubious forensics that led to Willingham’s conviction was sidetracked when Perry suddenly put Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley in charge (Bradley is now being accused of withholding evidence of innocence in a case in his home county).

But there have been other cases of possible innocence, and, as currently scheduled, Perry’s 240th execution would be of Henry Skinner, a man whose innocence claim the Lone Star State is refusing to examine.

BY THE NUMBERS

9 – The number of prisoners suffering severe mental illness who, according to a 2006 Amnesty International report, were put to death during the first half of Rick Perry’s tenure

8 – The number of Texas prisoners who “volunteered” to be executed under Rick Perry

7 – The number of foreign nationals executed under Rick Perry, most of whom were denied their rights under U.S. treaty obligations

4 – The number of juvenile offenders executed under Rick Perry (before the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed such executions in 2005)

2 – The number of men put to death under Rick Perry for crimes in which they were not the killer

1 – The number of clemencies granted by Rick Perry that were not required by court rulings

AIUSA welcomes a lively and courteous discussion that follow our Community Guidelines. Comments are not pre-screened before they post but AIUSA reserves the right to remove any comments violating our guidelines.

98 thoughts on “Rick Perry By The Numbers

  1. Even worse, Virginia is about to kill Jerry Terrell Jackson (a black prisoner) tonight for the murder of Ruth Phillips (a white woman) in spite of the evidence of extreme physical and psychological abuse that went TOTALLY ignored! And worse, Phillips' family is about to get their vengeance in the form of justice satisfied by killing Jackson! This is totally racist and unfair, as the Phillips family is totally racist towards the Jackson family and carrying out the vengeance against them by making them suffer the loss of their loved one to state-sponsored murder, and my heart breaks for both families. If Jackson's time arrives to die, then I pray that God may comfort and forgive the families of Phillips and Jackson, for the Phillips family don't realize what they are doing to Jerry, that God may comfort and forgive Jerry's family for the pain they are about to undergo in losing their loved one to execution, and I pray that God may forgive Jerry and help him find his peace, that his spirit may find rest with Ruth Phillips in heaven. May God forgive us all. 🙁
    http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/state-news/201

  2. Even worse, Virginia is about to kill Jerry Terrell Jackson (a black prisoner) tonight for the murder of Ruth Phillips (a white woman) in spite of the evidence of extreme physical and psychological abuse that went TOTALLY ignored! And worse, Phillips' family is about to get their vengeance in the form of justice satisfied by killing Jackson! This is totally racist and unfair, as the Phillips family is totally racist towards the Jackson family and carrying out the vengeance against them by making them suffer the loss of their loved one to state-sponsored murder, and my heart breaks for both families. If Jackson's time arrives to die, then I pray that God may comfort and forgive the families of Phillips and Jackson, for the Phillips family don't realize what they are doing to Jerry, that God may comfort and forgive Jerry's family for the pain they are about to undergo in losing their loved one to execution, and I pray that God may forgive Jerry and help him find his peace, that his spirit may find rest with Ruth Phillips in heaven. May God forgive us all. 🙁
    http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/state-news/201

  3. Even worse, Virginia is about to kill Jerry Terrell Jackson (a black prisoner) tonight for the murder of Ruth Phillips (a white woman) in spite of the evidence of extreme physical and psychological abuse that went TOTALLY ignored! And worse, Phillips' family is about to get their vengeance in the form of justice satisfied by killing Jackson! This is totally racist and unfair, as the Phillips family is totally racist towards the Jackson family and carrying out the vengeance against them by making them suffer the loss of their loved one to state-sponsored murder, and my heart breaks for both families. If Jackson's time arrives to die, then I pray that God may comfort and forgive the families of Phillips and Jackson, for the Phillips family don't realize what they are doing to Jerry, that God may comfort and forgive Jerry's family for the pain they are about to undergo in losing their loved one to execution, and I pray that God may forgive Jerry and help him find his peace, that his spirit may find rest with Ruth Phillips in heaven. May God forgive us all. 🙁
    http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/state-news/201

  4. "Amnesty International does not comment or take sides on elections."

    Oh really? That's exactly what you've just done.

    I support Amnesty's work (and I worked for Amnesty Ireland for a few years) but this crosses the line. You have intervened in the middle of an election campaign in order to harm one of the candidates chances of being elected.

  5. I agree with conor. This article states it does not take sides but from I'm reading it sure does feel that way. I am a liberal with some conservative views. Perhaps a moderate. However, I can't but see that only one side is being shown. I am not for nor against Perry, but this is one sided guys. I actively play a role in my community. I fight for our rights. I jus can't fathom how you can state that you are not bias. I don't have a problem with your article I like it. But please do not put things that are not true. You lose your credibility. We are legion.

  6. they are laying out the statistics for a presidential candidate on the high number of his executions and how he is happily executing potentially innocent people and proudly taking credit for it. He happens to be a Republican candidate. Amnesty can't help that. It's just truth. Truth is not politics, spin is. Pretending he is not a known candidate for the highest office in the land is spin. Trying to "balance" an article about a single individual by finding his clone on the other side is spin. This is an article about one man and how he does not care about innocence.

  7. I'm not talking about balance. I'm talking about Amnesty targeting an individual candidate in the midst of an election campaign. This blog post is not about the issue of the death penalty, it is Amnesty trying to harm one candidate's election campaign.

    Clearly, I abhor the death penalty and only a complete looney would want someone like Mr Perry as their nation's President but Amnesty should stick to the issue of the death penalty and try to convince people that it is wrong rather than target one candidate.

  8. I feel for Conor and "anonymous". Though I am going back-and-forth between whether Amnesty is taking sides, or reporting facts. Regardless if they do not "endorse" candidates, one can safely assume that if a candidate is not in line with their ideology, no one from Amnesty would support them. I suppose my confusion lies in the fact that it's an election. If it weren't an election- then is it safe to say that it's okay to state these facts?

  9. Facts are facts, election year or not. If candidates and their supporters are uncomfortable with the facts, they can either (a) not run for office or (b) not engage in the behaviors they are uncomfortable with being reported. There is no statement of endorsement or opposition to the candidate here, just a synopsis of his record on a particular issue.

  10. When writing an article myself, I tend to be objective and not subjective. By only providing one view (negatives) you are choosing to only report on that one particular topic instead of both positive and negative aspects of this man. Do you think they will post the negative character of a liberal minded democratic candidate. I think not good sir. With that said it is subjective and its ok to have opinions but to say its not being bias is ridiculous. If they want to put truth to that statement edit the article and put pros and cons.

  11. Thank you all for the spirited discussion. Governor Perry is the only U.S. Presidential candidate who has been deeply involved in the administration of capital punishment (the issue I write about); hence, I wrote about him. Should a non-partisan group like Amnesty International refrain from commenting on a politician’s human rights record, just because that politician is currently running for office? Certainly not. The act of seeking election does not give a politician immunity from scrutiny of his human rights record. And Governor Perry's record is clear: he has assented to 234 executions.

  12. I agree with you Mr. Evans. No political candidates should ever be given immunity. Regardless of the facts, they are facts and should be reported. However, due to certain circumstances the decision to only report on Perry during this election does give way to public scrutiny. Perhaps it would be less if would have written on several public officials. If this article has nothin to do with the election it would be safe to say you could include others as well. I credit you with writing an article that holds truth but just understand just as political officials have to answer for their actions so do the people who report on them. I do not disagree with this article. I absolutely abhor capital punishment. But while in the midst of a political campaign one mist ask themselves why only Perry.

  13. @Brian His death penalty record is not news. The only reason you have written this article now is because he is running for President and you are trying to influence potential voters.

    I don't see how this can not be categorised as Amnesty commenting on an election.

  14. Even worse, Virginia is about to kill Jerry Terrell Jackson (a black prisoner) tonight for the murder of Ruth Phillips (a white woman) in spite of the evidence of extreme physical and psychological abuse that went TOTALLY ignored! And worse, Phillips’ family is about to get their vengeance in the form of justice satisfied by killing Jackson! This is totally racist and unfair, as the Phillips family is totally racist towards the Jackson family and carrying out the vengeance against them by making them suffer the loss of their loved one to state-sponsored murder, and my heart breaks for both families. If Jackson’s time arrives to die, then I pray that God may comfort and forgive the families of Phillips and Jackson, for the Phillips family don’t realize what they are doing to Jerry, that God may comfort and forgive Jerry’s family for the pain they are about to undergo in losing their loved one to execution, and I pray that God may forgive Jerry and help him find his peace, that his spirit may find rest with Ruth Phillips in heaven. May God forgive us all. 🙁

    http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/state-news/2011/aug/18/tdmet01-jackson-set-for-execution-tonight-ar-1245763/

  15. The United States is fairly unique among civilized Western nations for (1) still having capital punishment; (2) having so many dimwits who doubt evolution and/or believe the bible is the word of god; and (3) not having universal health care.

    Amnesty did overstep its bounds by commenting on the last two points above, but clearly commenting on the execution of innocent people is well within its purview. I see nothing wrong with outing Perry as the poster boy for this brutal American human rights abuse — particularly when he single-handedly accounts for almost half of it.

  16. Solution? Elect him President and he will no longer be a Governor overseeing the death penalty of those convicted of Capital offenses. Plus it kicks Obama to the curb. Two birds with one stone. Thank you AI

  17. “Amnesty International does not comment or take sides on elections.”

    Oh really? That’s exactly what you’ve just done.

    I support Amnesty’s work (and I worked for Amnesty Ireland for a few years) but this crosses the line. You have intervened in the middle of an election campaign in order to harm one of the candidates chances of being elected.

  18. I agree with conor. This article states it does not take sides but from I’m reading it sure does feel that way. I am a liberal with some conservative views. Perhaps a moderate. However, I can’t but see that only one side is being shown. I am not for nor against Perry, but this is one sided guys. I actively play a role in my community. I fight for our rights. I jus can’t fathom how you can state that you are not bias. I don’t have a problem with your article I like it. But please do not put things that are not true. You lose your credibility. We are legion.

  19. they are laying out the statistics for a presidential candidate on the high number of his executions and how he is happily executing potentially innocent people and proudly taking credit for it. He happens to be a Republican candidate. Amnesty can’t help that. It’s just truth. Truth is not politics, spin is. Pretending he is not a known candidate for the highest office in the land is spin. Trying to “balance” an article about a single individual by finding his clone on the other side is spin. This is an article about one man and how he does not care about innocence.

  20. I’m not talking about balance. I’m talking about Amnesty targeting an individual candidate in the midst of an election campaign. This blog post is not about the issue of the death penalty, it is Amnesty trying to harm one candidate’s election campaign.

    Clearly, I abhor the death penalty and only a complete looney would want someone like Mr Perry as their nation’s President but Amnesty should stick to the issue of the death penalty and try to convince people that it is wrong rather than target one candidate.

  21. @david this is a conversation about capital punishment and it should stay that. By bringing other topics of discussion you just open the door to chaos. Religion/creationism and universal healthcare are topics in there own sense and should be kept out of this discussion for mere clarity reasons. I respect your view points but let's keep on topic. And in regards to your final statement, I abhor the idea of using people as "poster children" for sole purposes of gaining favor to your topic. You think that way until it happens to you one day when they use you as an example.

  22. I feel for Conor and “anonymous”. Though I am going back-and-forth between whether Amnesty is taking sides, or reporting facts. Regardless if they do not “endorse” candidates, one can safely assume that if a candidate is not in line with their ideology, no one from Amnesty would support them. I suppose my confusion lies in the fact that it’s an election. If it weren’t an election- then is it safe to say that it’s okay to state these facts?

  23. Facts are facts, election year or not. If candidates and their supporters are uncomfortable with the facts, they can either (a) not run for office or (b) not engage in the behaviors they are uncomfortable with being reported. There is no statement of endorsement or opposition to the candidate here, just a synopsis of his record on a particular issue.

  24. When writing an article myself, I tend to be objective and not subjective. By only providing one view (negatives) you are choosing to only report on that one particular topic instead of both positive and negative aspects of this man. Do you think they will post the negative character of a liberal minded democratic candidate. I think not good sir. With that said it is subjective and its ok to have opinions but to say its not being bias is ridiculous. If they want to put truth to that statement edit the article and put pros and cons.

  25. Thank you all for the spirited discussion. Governor Perry is the only U.S. Presidential candidate who has been deeply involved in the administration of capital punishment (the issue I write about); hence, I wrote about him. Should a non-partisan group like Amnesty International refrain from commenting on a politician’s human rights record, just because that politician is currently running for office? Certainly not. The act of seeking election does not give a politician immunity from scrutiny of his human rights record. And Governor Perry’s record is clear: he has assented to 234 executions.

  26. like all hypocrites, amnesty cannot stand truth and freedom of expression, and has censored following comment several times here.

    why is pointing out hypocrisy and racism, using reason and facts, unacceptable here?
    why is pointing out how amnesty is a tool of west unacceptable here?
    why is calling western leaders war criminals ( with reasons why )unacceptable here ?

    why is amnesty unable to point out what is objectionable in the following and always prefer go for the barbarous kill /repression (in usual western way)?
    =
    so amnesty find fault with this potential war criminal perry when it is yet to call obama a war criminal for killing children in pakistan?


    do you support amnesty? if so you are a racist hypocrite. amnesty is a tool of western oppression of rest of the world.
    while it is quick to accuse non west, not obedient to west, of violations human rights and crimes against humanity, even on no or flimsy evidence, it is yet to accuse usa and rest of its cronies of same even with very solid evidence.

    how many more children have to die by the hands of brutal military forces of west acting under obama's orders before amnesty call him a war criminal ? (over 160 children have died from american drone attacks in pakistan upto now. google to find substantiated facts and pics on this. hundreds and thousands more children and innocent adults were killed in iraq,libya, and afghanistan, to mention only the current overt acts of western aggression).
    why is amnesty not trying to bring bush in front of a war crimes court?

    why does amnesty apply this double standard? (apart from personnel racism of its leaders,) these selective accusations against non western leaders and countries helps west to keep them in line and obedient to west and answerable to western tools instead of their own people.

    as long as amnesty fails to accuse western leaders and countries in the same way as others and apply double standards, it is guilty of racist hypocrisy . don't support this racist hypocritical , tool of western oppression.

  27. I agree with you Mr. Evans. No political candidates should ever be given immunity. Regardless of the facts, they are facts and should be reported. However, due to certain circumstances the decision to only report on Perry during this election does give way to public scrutiny. Perhaps it would be less if would have written on several public officials. If this article has nothin to do with the election it would be safe to say you could include others as well. I credit you with writing an article that holds truth but just understand just as political officials have to answer for their actions so do the people who report on them. I do not disagree with this article. I absolutely abhor capital punishment. But while in the midst of a political campaign one mist ask themselves why only Perry.

  28. @Brian His death penalty record is not news. The only reason you have written this article now is because he is running for President and you are trying to influence potential voters.

    I don’t see how this can not be categorised as Amnesty commenting on an election.

  29. as long as free speech is denied and reason and facts are censored we will be forced to engage in various forms of peaceful protests to expose the repression occurring this blog .

    this form of protest would have been avoided if our original 1 comment here (would have been 1st here as our screenshots show) was not removed by amnesty.

    hope this protest will convince the editors here that denying free speech is not the answer.

  30. Sittingnut, why do you always insult us all by giving us all too many thumbs down and giving out a "Screw you!" to Amnesty International USA? You always accuse Amnesty International USA of being "a lying hypocrite racist, sexist tool of corruption that supports all evil in the world and deserves to be totally obliterated and burn in hell like the trash it is!" Go troll somewhere else instead of on these blogs, because we don't tolerate insults from anyone, especially you! 👿

  31. The United States is fairly unique among civilized Western nations for (1) still having capital punishment; (2) having so many dimwits who doubt evolution and/or believe the bible is the word of god; and (3) not having universal health care.

    Amnesty did overstep its bounds by commenting on the last two points above, but clearly commenting on the execution of innocent people is well within its purview. I see nothing wrong with outing Perry as the poster boy for this brutal American human rights abuse — particularly when he single-handedly accounts for almost half of it.

  32. Solution? Elect him President and he will no longer be a Governor overseeing the death penalty of those convicted of Capital offenses. Plus it kicks Obama to the curb. Two birds with one stone. Thank you AI

  33. @david this is a conversation about capital punishment and it should stay that. By bringing other topics of discussion you just open the door to chaos. Religion/creationism and universal healthcare are topics in there own sense and should be kept out of this discussion for mere clarity reasons. I respect your view points but let’s keep on topic. And in regards to your final statement, I abhor the idea of using people as “poster children” for sole purposes of gaining favor to your topic. You think that way until it happens to you one day when they use you as an example.

  34. like all hypocrites, amnesty cannot stand truth and freedom of expression, and has censored following comment several times here.

    why is pointing out hypocrisy and racism, using reason and facts, unacceptable here?
    why is pointing out how amnesty is a tool of west unacceptable here?
    why is calling western leaders war criminals ( with reasons why )unacceptable here ?

    why is amnesty unable to point out what is objectionable in the following and always prefer go for the barbarous kill /repression (in usual western way)?
    =
    so amnesty find fault with this potential war criminal perry when it is yet to call obama a war criminal for killing children in pakistan?


    do you support amnesty? if so you are a racist hypocrite. amnesty is a tool of western oppression of rest of the world.
    while it is quick to accuse non west, not obedient to west, of violations human rights and crimes against humanity, even on no or flimsy evidence, it is yet to accuse usa and rest of its cronies of same even with very solid evidence.

    how many more children have to die by the hands of brutal military forces of west acting under obama’s orders before amnesty call him a war criminal ? (over 160 children have died from american drone attacks in pakistan upto now. google to find substantiated facts and pics on this. hundreds and thousands more children and innocent adults were killed in iraq,libya, and afghanistan, to mention only the current overt acts of western aggression).
    why is amnesty not trying to bring bush in front of a war crimes court?

    why does amnesty apply this double standard? (apart from personnel racism of its leaders,) these selective accusations against non western leaders and countries helps west to keep them in line and obedient to west and answerable to western tools instead of their own people.

    as long as amnesty fails to accuse western leaders and countries in the same way as others and apply double standards, it is guilty of racist hypocrisy . don’t support this racist hypocritical , tool of western oppression.

  35. as long as free speech is denied and reason and facts are censored we will be forced to engage in various forms of peaceful protests to expose the repression occurring this blog .

    this form of protest would have been avoided if our original 1 comment here (would have been 1st here as our screenshots show) was not removed by amnesty.

    hope this protest will convince the editors here that denying free speech is not the answer.

  36. Sittingnut, why do you always insult us all by giving us all too many thumbs down and giving out a “Screw you!” to Amnesty International USA? You always accuse Amnesty International USA of being “a lying hypocrite racist, sexist tool of corruption that supports all evil in the world and deserves to be totally obliterated and burn in hell like the trash it is!” Go troll somewhere else instead of on these blogs, because we don’t tolerate insults from anyone, especially you! 👿

  37. @Debbie Kearns

    there is telling difference between the language i used and your dishonest distortion of it .

    i DID NOT say
    “a lying hypocrite racist, sexist tool of corruption that supports all evil in the world and deserves to be totally obliterated and burn in hell like the trash it is!”"

    i said (as everyone can see above)
    "do you support amnesty? if so you are a racist hypocrite. amnesty is a tool of western oppression of rest of the world.
    while it is quick to accuse non west, not obedient to west, of violations human rights and crimes against humanity, even on no or flimsy evidence, it is yet to accuse usa and rest of its cronies of same even with very solid evidence."

    i supported my specific claim with verifiable facts. and explained why amnesty is doing this.

    so why this dishonest distortion on your part ? did you think that by such dishonesty you can run away the specific argument i advance..

  38. Debbie Kearns please!
    Sittingnut may or may not be a troll, but your lies certainly make you a troll.

  39. @Debbie Kearns

    there is telling difference between the language i used and your dishonest distortion of it .

    i DID NOT say
    “a lying hypocrite racist, sexist tool of corruption that supports all evil in the world and deserves to be totally obliterated and burn in hell like the trash it is!””

    i said (as everyone can see above)
    “do you support amnesty? if so you are a racist hypocrite. amnesty is a tool of western oppression of rest of the world.
    while it is quick to accuse non west, not obedient to west, of violations human rights and crimes against humanity, even on no or flimsy evidence, it is yet to accuse usa and rest of its cronies of same even with very solid evidence.”

    i supported my specific claim with verifiable facts. and explained why amnesty is doing this.

    so why this dishonest distortion on your part ? did you think that by such dishonesty you can run away the specific argument i advance..

  40. Debbie Kearns please!
    Sittingnut may or may not be a troll, but your lies certainly make you a troll.

  41. Quit calling me a liar, trollbasher! You're clearly the one who supports those who attack Amnesty International USA (like sittingnut) by defaming our good name and giving us all bad names and so many thumbs-down while only giving yourselves thumbs up and falsely accusing AIUSA of being "an evil, corrupt organization who supports terrorists and never cares about innocent people or victims' rights"! Please stop attacking all of us who support AIUSA and calling us all "liars, racist hypocrites and trolls"! 😡

  42. Debbie Kearns :
    While this may be too much to expect from you, I will ask it for the sake of intelligent civilized behavior; Please learn to read!

    Sittingnut did not accuse AI of of being “an evil, corrupt organization who supports terrorists and never cares about innocent people or victims’ rights”. That is your latest lie.

    You will learn what Sittingnut actually said by reading his/her comments.

  43. I think you're the one who's lying, trollbasher! You and sittingnut TRULY attack AIUSA by calling it "a tool of western oppression to the rest of the world" which is "guilty of racist hypocrisy" and of "censoring and denying free speech and reasons and facts" as long as it "fails to accuse western leaders and countries in the same way as others and apply double standards" and "bring [George Bush] in front of a war crimes court" and calling us "racist hypocrites" while also lying about not bashing or attacking AIUSA! You and the sittingnut trolls can please go find somewhere else to troll, NOT here on these blogs in AIUSA's site!

  44. it seems that amnesty supporters like debbie kearns are unable to counter the accusation we made with facts and reason; that amnesty is acting like a hypocritical western tool of oppression when it applies racist double standards in its denunciations of war crimes.

    so they resorted to (see above )
    1/ censorship
    2/ distortion of what we said

    now they are 3/ asking us to go away .

    why should we not expose hypocrisy and racism with facts?
    should we not resist (peacefully ) this form of western oppression channeled through tools like amnesty ?

    we are not going away.

  45. Quit calling me a liar, trollbasher! You’re clearly the one who supports those who attack Amnesty International USA (like sittingnut) by defaming our good name and giving us all bad names and so many thumbs-down while only giving yourselves thumbs up and falsely accusing AIUSA of being “an evil, corrupt organization who supports terrorists and never cares about innocent people or victims’ rights”! Please stop attacking all of us who support AIUSA and calling us all “liars, racist hypocrites and trolls”! 😡

  46. Debbie Kearns :
    While this may be too much to expect from you, I will ask it for the sake of intelligent civilized behavior; Please learn to read!

    Sittingnut did not accuse AI of of being “an evil, corrupt organization who supports terrorists and never cares about innocent people or victims’ rights”. That is your latest lie.

    You will learn what Sittingnut actually said by reading his/her comments.

  47. I think you’re the one who’s lying, trollbasher! You and sittingnut TRULY attack AIUSA by calling it “a tool of western oppression to the rest of the world” which is “guilty of racist hypocrisy” and of “censoring and denying free speech and reasons and facts” as long as it “fails to accuse western leaders and countries in the same way as others and apply double standards” and “bring [George Bush] in front of a war crimes court” and calling us “racist hypocrites” while also lying about not bashing or attacking AIUSA! You and the sittingnut trolls can please go find somewhere else to troll, NOT here on these blogs in AIUSA’s site!

  48. it seems that amnesty supporters like debbie kearns are unable to counter the accusation we made with facts and reason; that amnesty is acting like a hypocritical western tool of oppression when it applies racist double standards in its denunciations of war crimes.

    so they resorted to (see above )
    1/ censorship
    2/ distortion of what we said

    now they are 3/ asking us to go away .

    why should we not expose hypocrisy and racism with facts?
    should we not resist (peacefully ) this form of western oppression channeled through tools like amnesty ?

    we are not going away.

  49. Stop ganging up against Ms Kearns. She's loyal & she's brave, even in the face of you big guns.

    Sittingnut, your concerns are real, but you scatter them too widely.

    Amnesty's not a tool of imperialism. It's not that simple.

    Amnesty's way is to investigate issues as they come up.

    When investigation is blocked by governments, Amnesty presses her demands for independent access.

    Even into the wrongdoings of proWestern & Western regimes, including the US.

    AI won't initiate a trial of Bush.

    AI instead investigates & raises issues like Guantanamo & other Bush / Obama era crimes … even in the face of jingoistic public opinion.

    i never hear you speaking on those issues when they come, in the face of the proUS champions.

    Why keep your fire for idealistic individuals like Ms Kearns ?

  50. Perry wasn't responsible for the executions that occured while he was in office. He didn't kill the victims, the muderers did. He didn't investigate and arrest the offenders. The police did. He didn't argue for their convictions. Prosecutors did. He didn't covict and subsequently sentece them to death. Juries did. He didn't reject their appeals, the courts and parole boards did.

    Placing full responsibility on the governor, who is not involved in any step of the death penalty process other then deciding whether or not to grant clemency makes no sense. The road to the death penalty is a muti-step process hadled by many different people in the system. The governor has a very small role to in it at the end

  51. Stop ganging up against Ms Kearns. She’s loyal & she’s brave, even in the face of you big guns.

    Sittingnut, your concerns are real, but you scatter them too widely.

    Amnesty’s not a tool of imperialism. It’s not that simple.

    Amnesty’s way is to investigate issues as they come up.

    When investigation is blocked by governments, Amnesty presses her demands for independent access.

    Even into the wrongdoings of proWestern & Western regimes, including the US.

    AI won’t initiate a trial of Bush.

    AI instead investigates & raises issues like Guantanamo & other Bush / Obama era crimes … even in the face of jingoistic public opinion.

    i never hear you speaking on those issues when they come, in the face of the proUS champions.

    Why keep your fire for idealistic individuals like Ms Kearns ?

  52. Perry wasn’t responsible for the executions that occured while he was in office. He didn’t kill the victims, the muderers did. He didn’t investigate and arrest the offenders. The police did. He didn’t argue for their convictions. Prosecutors did. He didn’t covict and subsequently sentece them to death. Juries did. He didn’t reject their appeals, the courts and parole boards did.

    Placing full responsibility on the governor, who is not involved in any step of the death penalty process other then deciding whether or not to grant clemency makes no sense. The road to the death penalty is a muti-step process hadled by many different people in the system. The governor has a very small role to in it at the end

  53. a.savage :
    debbie kearns is liar. read her comments above deliberately distorting my comments. that is not idealism that is dishonesty plain and simple.

    when you praise this liar with her lies in plain view, we are have to conclude that you are not interested in truth.


    your claim about amnesty not being racist hypocritical tool of western oppression also does not agree with facts. facts clearly indicate double standard in the way amnesty treat west and non west .

    one eg, amnesty is yet to denounce obama as a war criminal for the brutish war crimes he has deliberately committed and for which more than enough evidence exists ( such as 160+ children killed in pakistan ) and has never asked that obama be dragged before a war crimes court .
    on the other hand amnesty is free with its denunciations on non western countries and leaders ( read this blog's history) in most cases with almost no evidence.

    facts being such only deliberate blindness can prevent any rational honest person from not realizing that amnesty is a hypocritical racist organization that acts as a tool of westerns oppression.

    are you blind ?

  54. a.savage :
    debbie kearns is liar. read her comments above deliberately distorting my comments. that is not idealism that is dishonesty plain and simple.

    when you praise this liar with her lies in plain view, we are have to conclude that you are not interested in truth.


    your claim about amnesty not being racist hypocritical tool of western oppression also does not agree with facts. facts clearly indicate double standard in the way amnesty treat west and non west .

    one eg, amnesty is yet to denounce obama as a war criminal for the brutish war crimes he has deliberately committed and for which more than enough evidence exists ( such as 160+ children killed in pakistan ) and has never asked that obama be dragged before a war crimes court .
    on the other hand amnesty is free with its denunciations on non western countries and leaders ( read this blog’s history) in most cases with almost no evidence.

    facts being such only deliberate blindness can prevent any rational honest person from not realizing that amnesty is a hypocritical racist organization that acts as a tool of westerns oppression.

    are you blind ?

  55. I have to say, I'm grateful for the article and am glad to know his record with the capital punishment, but am very surprised to see it from Amnesty as it does seem unusually biased!!

  56. I have to say, I’m grateful for the article and am glad to know his record with the capital punishment, but am very surprised to see it from Amnesty as it does seem unusually biased!!

  57. may i ask why my first comment was censored several times before it was allowed, if you "welcome and encourage all views, including dissenting ones"?
    in what way specifically did it not adhere to "community guidelines" if that is the excuse you use?

    do not run from these questions.


    btw when i called a person a liar ( in much later comment) i was stating a fact . as everyone can see, the person concerned attributed quotations on me that i varies considerably from what i said (as pointed out in detail by me and others above).

  58. The truth needs to be heard, especially the truth about a person running for US president. Denying appeals based on DNA evidence is unconscienable. George Bush did the same thing when he was governor of Texas. Now look where he is now, bragging and writing books about lying us into 2 wars and torturing people. We do not need more of that kind of sadistic evil in the presidency of the USA. God Help US.

  59. marie fitzsimmons, unfortunately amnesty is not interested in truth. amnesty is interested in serving the american state and its cronies, preferably run by a leftist presidents that want to increase role of state in both america and in the world. that is why it is speaking against perry for allowing convicted criminals to die, while staying silent on obama's criminal killing of innocent children pakistan.

    as i said amnesty is a racist hypocritical tool of western oppression of the world, facts are plain enough are your eyes open?.

  60. may i ask why my first comment was censored several times before it was allowed, if you “welcome and encourage all views, including dissenting ones”?
    in what way specifically did it not adhere to “community guidelines” if that is the excuse you use?

    do not run from these questions.


    btw when i called a person a liar ( in much later comment) i was stating a fact . as everyone can see, the person concerned attributed quotations on me that i varies considerably from what i said (as pointed out in detail by me and others above).

  61. The truth needs to be heard, especially the truth about a person running for US president. Denying appeals based on DNA evidence is unconscienable. George Bush did the same thing when he was governor of Texas. Now look where he is now, bragging and writing books about lying us into 2 wars and torturing people. We do not need more of that kind of sadistic evil in the presidency of the USA. God Help US.

  62. marie fitzsimmons, unfortunately amnesty is not interested in truth. amnesty is interested in serving the american state and its cronies, preferably run by a leftist presidents that want to increase role of state in both america and in the world. that is why it is speaking against perry for allowing convicted criminals to die, while staying silent on obama’s criminal killing of innocent children pakistan.

    as i said amnesty is a racist hypocritical tool of western oppression of the world, facts are plain enough are your eyes open?.

  63. @Sittingnut: Your post was removed specifically because it was copied and pasted multiple times on multiple posts. We consider this spamming, and as such, posting in this manner violates our guidelines.

  64. Hello, Amnesty. I appreciate your efforts in trying to defend yourself and all of us from defamation and censorship of our good speech and rights by those like sittingnut who keep giving us all so many thumbs down, censoring our good comments, and calling us all "racist hypocrites, liars and trolls". However, the more blogs you post, the worse the situation becomes, because the same people who call you a "racist hypocrite and a tool of western oppression" are going to keep censoring all our good speech until there's nothing left for us to speak out for your good work. If these haters keep up, then I think it is best if I never visit your blogs at all, so as to avoid more insults from those who attack you. I will still continue to see your activities on Facebook, but I won't post on your blogs anymore, for fear that I may be attacked by those who insult you. It's been nice talking to you though the years, and I really appreciate your efforts, but it's so sad that I have to say goodbye to your blogs. I really wish there was something you could do to defend yourself and all of us who support you from insults and censorship. We may never meet again in your blogs, but we'll never forget each other. 😥

    *expects someone who hates you to give me all thumbs down and hide my speech to you*

  65. @Sittingnut: Your post was removed specifically because it was copied and pasted multiple times on multiple posts. We consider this spamming, and as such, posting in this manner violates our guidelines.

  66. debbie kearns who was unable to counter our first comments with facts and reason, and engaged in posting false quotations attributed to me (which i contrasted with what i actually said in detail above ) now runs away after terming our exposure of facts 'attacks' ,instead of explaining why she was so clearly dishonest.

    this is typical of amnesty supporters , they cannot face the facts or counter them so . so they attack the messengers like us with falsehoods and then when their bluff is exposed run away .

    far from censoring them ( as amnesty actually did to us here ) we want their comments with their blatant lies in full view.

    =
    we will continue to engage in a gandhian campaign of exposing hypocrisy and racism of western tools of oppression like amnesty.

    we stick to facts and reason .
    we have facts on our side. we use reason. we do not use vulgar or curse words . we use words like 'racist' , 'hypocrite',etc in their dictionary definition after explaining why they fit with facts.

    we are not going back down, anymore than gandhi did with genocidal british empire , when this western tool amnesty censor our exposure of it or when its supporters attack us,

    bc amnesty is hypocritical and pretends to care for human rights such censoring and prosecution against its critics pointing out its racist double standards only hurts it. similar to the way british imperial oppression was was hurt when its prosecution of ghandi exposed british empire builders hypocritical claims to be 'bringing civilization to natives'.

    so join us, make your own individual contribution exposing amnesty's racist double standards and hypocrisy in the service of west, instead of supporting amnesty.

  67. No! I will STILL support Amnesty and continue to support its human rights via petitions and Facebook in spite of your claims and insults, sittingnut, but I will NEVER yield to you! I hope AIUSA will hear more of your insults and ban you for good. Good day!

  68. Hello, Amnesty. I appreciate your efforts in trying to defend yourself and all of us from defamation and censorship of our good speech and rights by those like sittingnut who keep giving us all so many thumbs down, censoring our good comments, and calling us all “racist hypocrites, liars and trolls”. However, the more blogs you post, the worse the situation becomes, because the same people who call you a “racist hypocrite and a tool of western oppression” are going to keep censoring all our good speech until there’s nothing left for us to speak out for your good work. If these haters keep up, then I think it is best if I never visit your blogs at all, so as to avoid more insults from those who attack you. I will still continue to see your activities on Facebook, but I won’t post on your blogs anymore, for fear that I may be attacked by those who insult you. It’s been nice talking to you though the years, and I really appreciate your efforts, but it’s so sad that I have to say goodbye to your blogs. I really wish there was something you could do to defend yourself and all of us who support you from insults and censorship. We may never meet again in your blogs, but we’ll never forget each other. 😥

    *expects someone who hates you to give me all thumbs down and hide my speech to you*

  69. editors:
    i did not post the same comment. since i was supporting my argument with facts which remain same ( if you don't know this is the nature of facts and logic, 2+2=4 will always remain same ) the comments do appear similar . but they were not identical .

    if you are in good faith, it is absurd ask us to post a fact concerning obama's war crimes and your silence on them (in contrast to your non silence against non west or obama' opponents in your posts ) only in thread of one such post .

    nor did we link to or point to any thing resembling commerce . so your claim of our comments being spam is also absurd.
    btw there is no mention of 'spam' is your 'guidelines' as of now. as such i have to ask is this new definition spam, just to censor us exposing you with facts and reason ?


    when ppl defend the indefeasible (such as editors here with their censorship) they inevitably dig themselves further in to absurdity

  70. debbie kearns:
    we gave to the facts and reason why you should not support this hypocritical and racist tool of western oppression; amnesty.

    you were unable to counter them and lied about what we said . ( as pointed out in detail above).

    however we are not in the business of forcing ppl.

    while we prefer others to agree with us, or counter us with rational arguments and points out other facts that may invalidate our arguments, individuals are free to be blind to facts and be irrational too, if that is their inclination.

  71. debbie kearns who was unable to counter our first comments with facts and reason, and engaged in posting false quotations attributed to me (which i contrasted with what i actually said in detail above ) now runs away after terming our exposure of facts ‘attacks’ ,instead of explaining why she was so clearly dishonest.

    this is typical of amnesty supporters , they cannot face the facts or counter them so . so they attack the messengers like us with falsehoods and then when their bluff is exposed run away .

    far from censoring them ( as amnesty actually did to us here ) we want their comments with their blatant lies in full view.

    =
    we will continue to engage in a gandhian campaign of exposing hypocrisy and racism of western tools of oppression like amnesty.

    we stick to facts and reason .
    we have facts on our side. we use reason. we do not use vulgar or curse words . we use words like ‘racist’ , ‘hypocrite’,etc in their dictionary definition after explaining why they fit with facts.

    we are not going back down, anymore than gandhi did with genocidal british empire , when this western tool amnesty censor our exposure of it or when its supporters attack us,

    bc amnesty is hypocritical and pretends to care for human rights such censoring and prosecution against its critics pointing out its racist double standards only hurts it. similar to the way british imperial oppression was was hurt when its prosecution of ghandi exposed british empire builders hypocritical claims to be ‘bringing civilization to natives’.

    so join us, make your own individual contribution exposing amnesty’s racist double standards and hypocrisy in the service of west, instead of supporting amnesty.

  72. No! I will STILL support Amnesty and continue to support its human rights via petitions and Facebook in spite of your claims and insults, sittingnut, but I will NEVER yield to you! I hope AIUSA will hear more of your insults and ban you for good. Good day!

  73. editors:
    i did not post the same comment. since i was supporting my argument with facts which remain same ( if you don’t know this is the nature of facts and logic, 2+2=4 will always remain same ) the comments do appear similar . but they were not identical .

    if you are in good faith, it is absurd ask us to post a fact concerning obama’s war crimes and your silence on them (in contrast to your non silence against non west or obama’ opponents in your posts ) only in thread of one such post .

    nor did we link to or point to any thing resembling commerce . so your claim of our comments being spam is also absurd.
    btw there is no mention of ‘spam’ is your ‘guidelines’ as of now. as such i have to ask is this new definition spam, just to censor us exposing you with facts and reason ?


    when ppl defend the indefeasible (such as editors here with their censorship) they inevitably dig themselves further in to absurdity

  74. debbie kearns:
    we gave to the facts and reason why you should not support this hypocritical and racist tool of western oppression; amnesty.

    you were unable to counter them and lied about what we said . ( as pointed out in detail above).

    however we are not in the business of forcing ppl.

    while we prefer others to agree with us, or counter us with rational arguments and points out other facts that may invalidate our arguments, individuals are free to be blind to facts and be irrational too, if that is their inclination.

  75. Since when does reporting facts count as commentary?
    We (Americans) already suffer from commentary disguised as news, and perhaps just don't recognized unbiased reporting when we see it???
    Thank you AAI for providing these unarguable FACTS

  76. Since when does reporting facts count as commentary?
    We (Americans) already suffer from commentary disguised as news, and perhaps just don’t recognized unbiased reporting when we see it???
    Thank you AAI for providing these unarguable FACTS

  77. I would suggest that Amnesty add to its effort in Troy's behalf the following

    from the holy Bible –

    Luke 4: 17-19

    Blessings to the Amnesty workers.

    Sincerely, Lois

  78. I would suggest that Amnesty add to its effort in Troy’s behalf the following

    from the holy Bible –

    Luke 4: 17-19

    Blessings to the Amnesty workers.

    Sincerely, Lois

  79. Watch out, everyone … Sittingnut's here !!

    All voices differing in tune from his will be silenced !!

    Even the editors are edited out by him !!

    He's a supporter of Sri Lanka, you see … & Sri Lanka deals with all critical voices by switching them off !!

    He even vanished Bethany's comment , which is critical of America & not addressed to his theme at all … apparently it displeased him by its support for Amnesty !!

    Censorship never gets the nuances … it always acts like a wet blanket !!

  80. Hello, everybody !!

    Go see something STRIKING on the other blogs on this page today !!

    All the critical, independent voices in the blogs on KASHMIR, TURKEY …. & BRAZIL here have been censored & HIDDEN OUT !!!

    & WHOM do you think has gone to all these sites??

    SITTINGNUT !!

    His text on all the 3 different lands is the SAME ….with NO DIFFERENCE …. though the issues COMPLETELY DIFFER !!

    Not only that … his text has won the MOST votes IN favor !!

  81. Watch out, everyone … Sittingnut’s here !!

    All voices differing in tune from his will be silenced !!

    Even the editors are edited out by him !!

    He’s a supporter of Sri Lanka, you see … & Sri Lanka deals with all critical voices by switching them off !!

    He even vanished Bethany’s comment , which is critical of America & not addressed to his theme at all … apparently it displeased him by its support for Amnesty !!

    Censorship never gets the nuances … it always acts like a wet blanket !!

  82. Hello, everybody !!

    Go see something STRIKING on the other blogs on this page today !!

    All the critical, independent voices in the blogs on KASHMIR, TURKEY …. & BRAZIL here have been censored & HIDDEN OUT !!!

    & WHOM do you think has gone to all these sites??

    SITTINGNUT !!

    His text on all the 3 different lands is the SAME ….with NO DIFFERENCE …. though the issues COMPLETELY DIFFER !!

    Not only that … his text has won the MOST votes IN favor !!

  83. I am someone who is trying to find any empoyee's name at amnesty intrnl. so I can contact them. Please e-mail me w/ any info. A.S.A.P.

  84. I am someone who is trying to find any empoyee’s name at amnesty intrnl. so I can contact them. Please e-mail me w/ any info. A.S.A.P.

  85. I am seriously considering the validity of amnesty inter, claims..i use to think they were balanced and had a real mission…after this article their mission appears to be closer to politics something i distain…because of all the mis information

  86. I am seriously considering the validity of amnesty inter, claims..i use to think they were balanced and had a real mission…after this article their mission appears to be closer to politics something i distain…because of all the mis information

  87. You clearly crossed the line on posting your views on Perry, I will no longer support AI financially. We can go on about how Obama has turned his blind on in Illegal immigration, and all the Illegal Aliens, ooops, I mean undocumented workers, for killing Police Officers and American citizens, Perry is the one person that poses a threat to your liberal agenda. Leave the politics out of this, You can find more important issues than bringing up Perry at election time. I can write on about Obama and his poor leadership, plus he knows nothing about job creation, etc. Its sad that you lost a supporter today, all because some one has to cross the line and post a article that is not of any importance to this cause. Good luck replacing my check. Adios.

  88. You clearly crossed the line on posting your views on Perry, I will no longer support AI financially. We can go on about how Obama has turned his blind on in Illegal immigration, and all the Illegal Aliens, ooops, I mean undocumented workers, for killing Police Officers and American citizens, Perry is the one person that poses a threat to your liberal agenda. Leave the politics out of this, You can find more important issues than bringing up Perry at election time. I can write on about Obama and his poor leadership, plus he knows nothing about job creation, etc. Its sad that you lost a supporter today, all because some one has to cross the line and post a article that is not of any importance to this cause. Good luck replacing my check. Adios.

  89. I agree, it would have been more fair to present an array of figures that compare the records of several governors or other candidates; to take a snapshot of the field, in a sense.

    Obviously it is not AI's job to report something positive alongside a fact that reflects on someone negatively. It is absolutely is AI's job to get the facts out about candidates within its area of focus and expertise. I think every activist organization has a responsibility to get out such messages, as long as they are grounded in truth, backed by evidence. Voters follow organizations who keep on top of the issues they care about, and look to them to spend the time gathering expertise. That's totally legitimate.

    Maybe AI will provide more context next time it takes on a candidate by placing facts about each candidate alongside facts on others.

  90. I agree, it would have been more fair to present an array of figures that compare the records of several governors or other candidates; to take a snapshot of the field, in a sense.

    Obviously it is not AI’s job to report something positive alongside a fact that reflects on someone negatively. It is absolutely is AI’s job to get the facts out about candidates within its area of focus and expertise. I think every activist organization has a responsibility to get out such messages, as long as they are grounded in truth, backed by evidence. Voters follow organizations who keep on top of the issues they care about, and look to them to spend the time gathering expertise. That’s totally legitimate.

    Maybe AI will provide more context next time it takes on a candidate by placing facts about each candidate alongside facts on others.

  91. Between 1977 and 2000 13 inmates in Illinois were freed on DNA evidence. During this same time period 12 inmates were executed due to the death penalty. If not for the DNA evidence presented in the above inmates behave by Professors and students @ Northwestern University, over have of the people released off of death row would now be dead. Since this occurred the Governor at the time realizing this Death Penalty was( no justice ) put the Death Penalty on hold in Illinois. Too bad there isn't anyone in Texas or Georgia or South Carolina, or any other state with the Death Penalty; with enough clout to enable a few good Professor's and students interested in making a wrong, right!

  92. Between 1977 and 2000 13 inmates in Illinois were freed on DNA evidence. During this same time period 12 inmates were executed due to the death penalty. If not for the DNA evidence presented in the above inmates behave by Professors and students @ Northwestern University, over have of the people released off of death row would now be dead. Since this occurred the Governor at the time realizing this Death Penalty was( no justice ) put the Death Penalty on hold in Illinois. Too bad there isn’t anyone in Texas or Georgia or South Carolina, or any other state with the Death Penalty; with enough clout to enable a few good Professor’s and students interested in making a wrong, right!

Comments are closed.