The Atlantic Monthly has a new story coming out that pokes a lot of holes in Governor-candidate-President Bush's story that he carefully reviewed all pending executions while he was Governor of Texas. After trying very hard to keep the information hidden and failing, the case summaries presented to Bush are now part of the public record.

Bush was never shown the reasons he should have considered clemency in any case other than Karla Faye Tucker, and in fact, went out of his way to avoid the political responsibility vested in him by the state's constitution as part of the office he eagerly sought and won. Not only that, but it was Alberto Gonzales - now White House counsel and often mentioned as a Supreme Court nominee - who prepared the memos and refused to tell Bush what he didn't want to hear.

Alan Berlow's article is a must-read, but you should especially count the problems in the capital conviction of one David Wayne Stoker:

1. A key state witness against Stoker was threatened with felony charges unless he stuck with an initial story, and recanted after the trial was over.
2. Another key witness had charges dropped against him for testifying against Stoker, and in fact was sleeping with Stoker's wife.
3. Two officers of the court and that witness all lied under oath about what the witness received for testifying.
4. The psychiatrist who made Stoker eligible for the death penalty by testifying about his "absolute" violence had never examined Stoker, and had been expelled from the American Psychiatric Association two years before the review for unethical behavior.
5. Another expert medical witness against Stoker lost his license, pled to seven felonies, and had falsely testified in at least 30 cases.
6. Gonzales told Stoker's appellate attorney a week before Bush's clemency review that there would be no clemency granted.

If Bush had "thorougly" reviewed each clemency petition, as he has repeatedly claimed in public and in print, he would have answers for each of these problems. But in fact, he didn't even know about them. Stoker, of course, doesn't care: he's now dead, executed six years ago next week after being denied clemency on that day.

Again, a must-read, unearthed by Jeralyn Merritt's invaluable Talk Left site. Read it and donate to her today, please.