Today(May 8), Democracy Now featured Judge Wendall Griffen of
Arkansas. As you read the following, and give it some thought,
remember that Judge Griffen is both a Judge, and an ordained minister.
He also is Black. And he also is an outspoken opponent of the Death
Penalty, and supports the rights of LBGQ people. He has never been
silent on his views, nor on his Faith. Griffen believes that as a
Judge, he must uphold the law, even if he personally disagrees, and
even if he speaks out publicly. Below are a couple of articles, but
for Griffen's comments you can go directly to:
www.democracynow.org
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen lies on a cot outside the
Governor’s Mansion during a protest against the death penalty Friday.
Griffen, who
issued a restraining order Friday in a lawsuit by the maker of one of
the lethal drugs that would be used in the execution of Arkansas
inmates, has come
under heavy criticism from death-penalty proponents for taking part in
the protest.
Story by
John Lynch,
Emily Walkenhorst
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
The Arkansas Supreme Court on Monday stripped Pulaski County Circuit
Judge Wendell Griffen of his authority to preside over any death
penalty-related cases,
three days after he participated in a protest of the state's plan to
execute seven convicted killers by the end of this month.
The high court's ruling also triggers an ethics investigation by the
state Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission into Griffen's
conduct.
RELATED ARTICLE
Day ends without an execution
"To protect the integrity of the judicial system, this court has a
duty to ensure that all are given a fair and impartial tribunal. We
find it necessary
to immediately reassign all cases in the Fifth Division that involve
the death penalty or the state's execution protocol, whether civil or
criminal," the
high court's two-page order states.
Hours later, the justices overturned a temporary restraining order
that Griffen had issued regarding the use of a paralytic in the
execution process. Griffen's
order was issued in a lawsuit that the supplier of the drug had filed
against the Department of Correction.
Griffen issued his restraining order Friday, the same day he was
photographed at an anti-death penalty vigil at the Governor's Mansion,
lying on a cot
with ropes wrapped around him as though he were a prisoner on a gurney
awaiting execution.
In the state's request to have the restraining order overturned,
Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's office wrote: "Judge Griffen cannot
be considered remotely
impartial on issues related to the death penalty" and "has
demonstrated that he is unlikely to refrain from actual bias regarding
matters related to the
death penalty, and at a minimum, he cannot avoid the appearance of
unfairness and his impartiality might reasonably be questioned."
*******
The statements by Arkansas Officials, including the State Attorney
General, are misleading at best, and and intentionally deceptive at
worst. The ruling by Judge Griffen dealt with the Arkansas
Penitentiary's misrepresentation of the use planned for a drug used in
the state's execution of prisoners. The manufacturer requested a stay
by the Court, demanding the return of their drug. The case was only
indirectly related to the 7 executions planned by the State.
The attorney general and other officials twisted his ruling to appear
as a decision against the death penalty.
The state of Arkansas misrepresented the reason they wanted the drug,
a drug which had been determined to be a potential cause of extreme
pain and suffering when used in the "death cocktail", and the
manufacturer wanted it returned. We should wonder why these self
righteous officials are not demanding removal of those liars who
purchased the drug under false pretensions. Could it be the fact that
these high and mighty self rightious officials are mounting a modern
day Witch Hunt? Of course it wouldn't be the fact that this judge has
been outspoken against a number of positions held by the
Establishment. Nor could it be because Judge Griffen is a Black Man
in a White Man's World. Can this be another piece to the Donald Trump
puzzle to return America to our former Greatness?
Carl Jarvis
