The death penalty was made for Danny Rolling. I guess if push came to shove I'd vote to abolish state executions, because innocent people sometimes get caught up in it and most of the time it doesn't seem right to me at all. But killing that frowning moping horrow show Rolling almost makes it worthwhile. I'll admit it, I'm just glad the dude's not sucking in air on this planet anymore. It doesn't bother me that he died peacefully while his own victims died in some of the most horrific ways imaginable. It's not about revenge; it's about a little extra peace of mind. Another Death Row denizen like that is Lucious Boyd, the local funeral home scion who raped one woman after another before he started killing his victims. Some of his crimes remain unsolved (Patrece Alston) but his most horrendous act -- the brutal rape and murder of the kind and virginal Dawnia Hope Dacosta -- was well-publicized. He's on Florida's death row right now.
For a good play-by-play on the execution read the article by Marc Caputo and Stephanie Garry in the Miami Herald. Or, even better, read Michael Mayo's Dead Man Walking-turn in the Sun-Sentinel.
After the jump: Foley's Fashionable Rehab, Following Wasserstrom, and Crist's Abortion Take
Mark Foley's lawyer finally revealed where Foley is staying, a posh rehab center in the desert near Tucson that costs $40,000 a month. Andrew Marra writes it up in the Palm Beach Post:
His stint in the program puts a congressman known to hobnob with Hollywood big shots in a place where many of the biggest names in television, music and the sports world have gone during their darkest hours.Sierra Tucson has addressed substance abuse, eating disorders and grief management for the likes of Whitney Houston, Michael Douglas, Nicole Richie, Ringo Starr, Rob Lowe, Julie Andrews and Kim Delaney.
Golfer John Daly thought so much of the center that he named his second daughter Sierra.
There Foley is isolated from the media and enjoying the center's "walking trails, horse stables and panoramic mountain views" which "offers plenty to keep its patients occupied, including 'equine-assisted therapy' and 'adventure therapy.'"
-- Scott Wyman and John Holland get a nice advance on the Keith Wasserstrom story. Namely that the disgraced Hollywood commissioner was secretly lobbying for another contractor. It's not a clear-cut case, but shows again that the man's idea of public service is seriously skewed. Word has it that the Sentinel is going deep into Hollywood's finances, an investigation only heightened after Mayor Mara fired off a nasty e-mail to the newspaper. Hmm, wonder if it was from her AOL account.
-- The Herald's Beth Reinhard and Gary Fineout look at Charlie Crist's squishy position on abortion. It can only further erode his support in the Bible Belt areas of Fla, but gives further evidence to this obvious truth: The next governor is gonna be an improvement on the last.
