1. Neither I or anyone on this list knows facts about Mr. Graham alias Sankofa. All we know is representations given in different media accounts.
These are NOT facts in the sense of "emprical proof" - but selectively assembled narratives concocted to fit an agenda. So phleeeeeze - do not give me that tripe that I do not know the "facts" or that I should read another narrative. NYT is piece of rag whose credibility is not that much higher than that of the National Enquirer.
2. Mr. Graham alias Sankofa and kindred violent criminals are of rather low concern to me. To be honest, I do not care what happens to them as long as they do not pose a public threat. I do not believe that human life is sacred (otherwise I would be rallying behind the Operation Rescue mob) and I am not in any way moved by the symbolism of death penalty. It is a gruesome yet largely inconsequential sacrifical ritual.
The fixation on the death penalty and criminals is yet another example of total bankruptcy and idiocy of what passes for the Left nowadays. Millions of people die every year from unsafe working conditions, automobile accidents, industrial pollution, and wars waged or instigated by the US government abroad. Yet it is the case of a US citizen convicted of a murder that attracts these so-called Lefties to the streets. This a prima facie evidence that symbolism matters more for those folks than reality. It is a religious cult, not a serious political movement.
There a thusands of better uses of people's time and efforts than on saving Mr. Graham alias Sankofa from the gallows. Why should I rally to save a life of a convicted US citizen, and not that of, say, Iraqi children or Serb elderly dying in droves because Mad Albright happens to dislike the tyrants who run their countries?
3. I find it absolutely disgusting that in today's popular culture African Americans are represented almost solely by the delinquent elements, from hate-spewing hip-hop starlets, to gangsters, to convicted criminals. I can understand that the ruling class may conveniently use black hip-hop performers to broadcast the message of hate, sexism, homophobia, bigotry, and the cult of violence - "the Negro" has been again used to do the dirty work, so others do not have to. But why does the self-styled "Left" embraces that trend? And more importantly, why are the "ordinary" African Americans or Black professionals and intellectuals still "invisible men" (and women). Why are we innundated with the stories of Black convicts struggling to avoid gallows or Black junkies struggling to kick the habit (cf. The Corner), but we do not hear the stories of Black workers struggling to form a union, Black homemakers struggling to send their kids to college, or Black professionals struggling to break through the glass ceilings?
wojtek