Wednesday, March 01, 2006

 

Yes, You Maye


Blogging has been used to discuss issues such as Desperate Housewives, how to make a soufflé, and how Kobe Bryant single-handedly ruined the Lakers. This, for many, suggests that weblogs are created for trivial and trite purposes only. These people have not come across Radley Balko’s blog. Balko is addressing a court case in Mississippi that sentenced a young man to death row.

His site, the agitator.com, has used this form of expression to potentially save a man's life.

Balko is researching and discussing the case of Cory Maye (pictured right), a man accused of shooting a police officer during a drug raid at Maye’s house which killed the cop. Balko, an analyst for the Cato Institute, has done tremendous amounts of research regarding obtaining court documents and referencing the prosecuting and defending attorneys. His goal is to get the attention of mainstream media.

The word is spreading through Balko’s blog and others are taking to his cause. A blog called Battlepanda is tracking the coverage of this case around the country. Although there are not many credible news sources reporting on the article, one can find several weblogs on the issue.

May sites have been created to proclaim his innocence or to simply question the legal system's swiftness in making such a decision.

This demonstrates the power blogging potentially has. A young, black man on death row who thought his life would be an afterthought, if thought of at all, by most is now the subject of an internet revolution. Instead of television shows or cooking, blogs can address justice and human liberties. A man’s life could be saved because one eager writer decided it would be an interesting topic to write about.

Comments: Post a Comment



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?