The L.A. Times has a story titled Killen Guilty of Manslaughter in 1964 Civil Rights Slayings:
A jury convicted Edgar Ray Killen on Tuesday in the slayings of three young civil rights workers, 41 years to the day after they were abducted by a gang of Mississippi Klansmen along a dark highway and shot to death.
I love this quote from the guy’s lawyer:
James McIntyre, Killen’s lawyer, said he planned to appeal the verdict. “I’m disappointed,” McIntyre said. “He did not get a trial before a jury of his peers, because his peers are all dead.”
Also because the only robe permitted in a court is the black one worn by the judge.
I heard Hugh Hewitt on the radio yesterday saying Dick Durbin’s apology was insufficient. Captain Ed calls it “yet another halfway dodge in putting the onus onto those whom you offended instead of taking responsibility for your own actions and comments.” And Michelle Malkin says it’s a “non-apology apology.”
I disagree. Do I think Durbin is some super-sincere guy because he welled up in the well of the Senate? Nah. But my reaction is: good enough. Here’s what he said:
Some may believe that my remarks crossed the line. To them I extend my heartfelt apologies. There’s usually a quote from Abraham Lincoln that you can turn to in moments like this. Maybe this is the right one. Lincoln said: “If the end brings me out right what is said against me won’t amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong ten thousand angels swearing I was right wouldn’t make any difference.” In the end I don’t want anything in my public career to detract from my love for this country, my respect for those who serve it, and this great Senate. I offer my apologies to those who were offended by my words. I promise you that I will continue to speak out on the issues I think are important to the people of Illinois and to the Nation. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
Via Michelle, you can watch the video at The Political Teen, who has a slightly inaccurate transcript.
This isn’t a “I’m sorry you were offended” non-apology apology. It’s an apology. For someone with as much pride as a U.S. Senator, it’s a decent helping of crow. Now some are faulting him for apologizing only to those who were offended. Come on. Who else is he going to apologize to?
Remember what he was talking about: a memo that said that detainees had been chained to the floor for 18-24 hours at a time, and were urinating or defecating on themselves. According to the memo, one had apparently been pulling his hair out because he had been kept in an unventilated room whose temperature was over 100 degrees. It’s not Hitler, Stalin, or Pol Pot. It’s not sawing someone’s head off, either. But it’s worth looking into.
Durbin’s apology was good enough for Smash. That should be the end of it.
UPDATE: Don’t get me wrong. I would have liked to have seen something stronger — like this.