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<a href="http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2007/11/waterboarding-i.html" eudora="autourl">
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2007/11/waterboarding-i.html<br>
<br>
</a>Waterboarding In Mississippi<br><br>
14 Nov 2007 08:39 am<br><br>
A fascinating nugget from American history, unearthed<br>
by guest-blogger Shertaugh at the IsThatLegal? blog.<br>
Waterboarding was sometimes used in the Deep South to<br>
torture African-Americans and to extract false confessions<br>
to alleged crimes. And when it emerged in an appeal as<br>
long ago as 1926, even the Mississippi Supreme Court<br>
ruled it categorically "a specie of torture well known<br>
to the bench and bar of the country," and
"barbarous."<br>
They over-turned a guilty verdict for murder by an<br>
African-American man against a white man because such<br>
methods invalidated any notion of a reliable confession:<br><br>
In a case called Fisher v. State, 110 So. 361, 362<br>
(Miss. 1926), Mississippi's highest court ordered the<br>
retrial of a convicted murderer because his confession<br>
was secured by a local sheriff's use of the water cure.<br><br>
Here's the court:<br><br>
The state offered . . . testimony of<br>
confessions made by the appellant, Fisher. .<br>
. [who], after the state had rested,<br>
introduced the sheriff, who testified that,<br>
he was sent for one night to come and receive<br>
a confession of the appellant in the jail;<br>
that he went there for that purpose; that<br>
when he reached the jail he found a number of<br>
parties in the jail; that they had the<br>
appellant down upon the floor, tied, and were<br>
administering the water cure, a specie of<br>
torture well known to the bench and bar of<br>
the country.<br><br>
Fisher relied on a case called White v. State,<br>
182, 91 So. 903, 904 (Miss. 1922), in which the court<br>
took -- as I understand history in those parts -- the<br>
unusual step of reversing the murder conviction of<br>
a young African-American male, charged with killing<br>
a white man (it appears), because his confession was<br>
secured by the cure. The court said:<br><br>
[T]he hands of appellant were tied behind<br>
him, he was laid upon the floor upon his<br>
back, and, while some of the men stood upon<br>
his feet, Gilbert, a very heavy man, stood<br>
with one foot entirely upon appellant's<br>
breast, and the other foot entirely upon his<br>
neck. While in that position what is<br>
described as the ~Swater cure~T was<br>
administered to him in an effort to extort a<br>
confession as to where the money was hidden<br>
which was supposed to have been taken from<br>
the dead man. The ~Swater cure~T appears to<br>
have consisted of pouring water from a dipper<br>
into the nose of appellant, so as to strangle<br>
him, thus causing pain and horror, for the<br>
purpose of forcing a confession. Under these<br>
barbarous circumstances the appellant readily<br>
confessed...<br><br>
<br>
In 2007, we have a US attorney-general who cannot<br>
say what a Mississippi high court was able to assume<br>
was common knowledge in 1926. That's how far this<br>
president has dragged us down into barbarism. This<br>
is how cowardly today's Congress is.<br><br>
<br>
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