It's almost the close of the day, the time when the hard working people of Nashville finish their work days and head home. They sit down to dinner with their families watch the evening news and sleep the peaceful sleep of the righteous, waking up the next morning to get back to their busy lives. Now, it's a rare occasion indeed when we at TCASK leave the office by 5:00 or even 6:00, but we do still like to have a good night's sleep, which is why I'm a little upset at the City Paper, because there will be no sleep for me tonight. Not with the horror stories they print scaring me out of my socks!

No! It's not a story about the rising crime rate (although that's certainly not a good sign) or even about Barry Bonds. no, the story that caught my eye this morning, causing me to shriek with horror right there on the number 10 bus, was the news that current Attorney General Paul Summers is considering applying for a seat on the Tennessee Supreme Court! Read the entire story here: http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=9&screen=news&news_id=50385

Now the Supreme Court hears all the appeals of inmates on death row and sets execution dates - they've currently sentenced Paul Dennis Reid and Sedley Alley to be executed on the same night. Whatever else Paul Summers has done as AG, he has been an abolitionist's nightmare. In 2000, he asked the Supreme Court to place a conservator on Gregory Thompson to medicate him since Thompson was "incapable of making rational decisions." Then in 2004, while still admitting that Thompson was severely mentally ill, Summers asked that the conservator be removed so he could seek an execution date. He just wanted Thompson medicated to make him sane enough to kill. When Sedley Alley's execution was stayed a few weeks ago to allow for the courts to settle the question of DNA testing, Summers responded by requesting a date of June 1st (the first day after the 15 day reprieve) be set, even though this would never allow the ajudication and testing to take place.

There are more stories I could tell, but I think that what is clear is that, if selected to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, Paul Summers would be extremely harsh to the men and women sentenced to death. It is unlikely that he would be willing to hear legitimate complaints or examine serious issues of innocence. Would Paul Summers care that DNA testing could prove the innocence of Sedley Alley? Would he allow a new hearing for Paul Gregory House? Would he care that Erskine Johnson (a black man) was sentenced to death by an all white jury in Shelby County which is 42% African-American?

The answer gives me nightmares.