or is the criminal justice system ever so slightly ascew.

I can never decide what position to take on capital puninhment. There seems to be no question that some folks deserve to be executed. Gacy, Bundy, the guy that invented reality television and many other lesser lights have used up all the good will that any society can muster. When you take lives for no disernable reason other than it seemed like a good idea at the time then, we the people decide that planet earth would be better off if you left the building...for good.

Exhibit A. In Virginia tonight one Michael Lenz will be executed for stabbing a fellow inmate at Augusta State Prison 68 times. Mr Lenz is a believer in Asatru or Odinism; a pagen religion that worships rocks or '55 Chevys or something. One can only hope that prison officials do not allow him to die with a sword in his hand. Perhaps a pen. It is mightier you know.

The problem isn't the theory but the practice. Places like Texas, which gets a volume discount from the drug store on the lethal injection chemicals, make it easy to oppose capital punishment. There can't be that many people in Texas as opposed to, say, New York that "need killin". Texans actually appears proud of a justice system that puts hundreds of people to death. (N.B. It's no accident that George Bush is from Texas but that's a blog for another day). A little too giddy for my taste.
Illinois stopped all of its executions when it became clear that no one on death row deserved to be there. When a conviction is overturned due to the research performed in conjuction with a high school civics project it's time to put "Old Sparky" in mothballs for a while.
If we are going to kill people legally, let's at least try to kill the right people.

All of this soul-searching arises from the news today that Andrea Yates has been found not guilty by reason of insanity.

For all you lawyers out there, can you please explain to the rest of us why a murderer is "not guilty" by reason of insanity as opposed to "guilty", etc. Correct me if I'm wrong but you did commit the crime and it's no less a crime because you're crazy.

But I digress.

For those of you that have been on the space shuttle, in June of 2001 Andrea Yates waited until her husband left the house one morning and drowned her five children, ages 7 to 6 months in the bathtub. In 2002 she was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. This bit of compassion was all the more remarkable in that the trial was in Houston. Naturally, she appealed.
Wonder of wonders the conviction is overturned based on some testamony regarding an episode of Law & Order. You can't make this stuff up!!
Dear Andrea then gets a new trial and, presto, not guilt by reason of insanity.
I don't wish to appear hard-hearted but really. If there are five dead children and you admit to killing them, you should be guity of something. ...and in Texas?
If this keeps up Texas will have to take the hangman's noose off their license plate or, replace the vulture as the state bird.
Andrea is now off to the state mental hospital. Oh well, at least she should be made to sit in a room and watch nothing but reality television. Now that's cruel and unusual.