Issue No 100 | 29 June 2001 | |
SatireTexan Governor Faces ExecutionExtracted from The Chaser
The governor of Texas has been sentenced to death row after a jury found him guilty of killing hundreds of people.
The US Supreme Court described him as one of the country's worst ever murderers, and expressed surprised that he was able to get away with his killing spree for so long. The governor admitted under cross-examination that he was responsible for more than one hundred killings in the past year. He said he didn't think his murderous rampage was wrong, because he only targeted convicted prisoners, some of whom were even guilty of their alleged crimes. "I've always believed in an eye for an eye," he said. "If you take someone's life you should expect to lose your own. No one's taken more lives than me, so it's only right that I be sent to the chair. In fact no one advocates my execution more strongly than I do." Debate about capital punishment has escalated in the US since the execution of Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh, who himself was in favour of the death penalty because it made him more famous. "I couldn't get headlines like these from just sitting in a cell," he said, shortly before his death. "Being killed makes me a martyr. It also means no more prison food." After being led into his execution chamber McVeigh declined to utter any last words, as his mouth was frozen numb from eating so much ice cream. He instead issued a darkly evocative poem from Pam Ayres. The execution was broadcast to relatives of the victims, many of whom asked to change channels because they were missing "Friends". The closed-circuit telecast failed to win its timeslot, and was slammed by the critics who found the ending too predictable. The execution has forced US President George W. Bush to initiate a comprehensive review of the death penalty in America. "I want it widened to include parking offences," he told Congress last night, before quickly excusing himself to move his car.
|
Interview: Baptism of Fire It�s been a rugged few weeks for Labor Council�s new honcho. But John Robertson accepts it comes with the territory. Politics: Seven Days that Shook Our World Chris Christolodulou surveys the wreckage from a week when the political and industrial wings of the labour movement collided. History: History Sometimes Repeat This is not the first Labor government to attack workers compensation entitlements. Some believe the Unsworth Government�s 1987 reforms were the beginning of the end for that administration. Technology: Unions Online: Where To Now? Social Change Online's Mark McGrath goes looking for what's on the virtual horizon for the union movement. Media: The Printed Word Revisited Rowan Cahill looks at the resurgence of the workers press and the lessons for unions in better communicating with their members. Unions: Time For Second Gear The trends are in the right direction but unions are still drinking small beer in the IT world and need to allocate more resources to communications generally, argues Noel Hester. Satire: Texan Governor Faces Execution The governor of Texas has been sentenced to death row after a jury found him guilty of killing hundreds of people. Review: The Insider Neale Towart looks at a literary anti-hero who brings the factional machinations and double-deals of the ALP machine out of the back rooms and into the light.
Notice Board View entire latest issue
|
© 1999-2000 Labor Council of NSW LaborNET is a resource for the labour movement provided by the Labor Council of NSW URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/100/d_review_texas.htmlLast Modified: 15 Nov 2005 [ Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Credits ] LaborNET is proudly created, designed and programmed by Social Change Online for the Labor Council of NSW |