Today's Stories -- Tucson Mass Shooting Trial Likely To Be Held In San Diego -- Baltimore Looks At Undercover Cop Vulnerability After Death -- Bath Salts Misused As Fake Cocaine Lead To Hospital Visits -- Accused CO Killer's Probation Shows Justice System Choices -- Tucson Gun Show Proceeds, Sees No Relation To Loughner -- Critic: AZ College Should Have Sought Loughner Evaluation -- Many Gaps Remain In National Gun-Purchase Database -- TX Senate Panel Urges Spurning U.S. Sex Offender Rules -- MA Ex-Police Chief Acquitted In Uzi Death Of Boy, 8 -- MA Parole Shakeup Seen Likely To Overcrowd Prisons -- Milwaukee Cop Probed After 911 Caller Is Raped -- Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Magazine Win Criminal Justice Journalism Awards You may go to TheCrimeReport.org to search all archived CJN stories. Please e-mail Ted Gest at CJJ with concerns about the editorial content of our news items, to suggest news stories, or with general comments. |
Tucson Mass Shooting Trial Likely To Be Held In San Diego ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Federal authorities are planning to move the trial of Jared Lochner, the alleged gunman in the Jan. 8 mass shooting in Tucson, to San Diego because of extensive pretrial publicity in Arizona, the Washington Post reports. Sources cited the sensitivity of the case in Arizona, where one of those fatally shot was John Roll, the state's chief federal judge. The new chief judge, Roslyn Silver, will make the final decision about any venue change, but one law enforcement official said "it's going to happen. It's just a matter of time.'' San Diego would get the case in part because it's one of the closest judicial districts to Arizona. A San Diego-based federal judge, Larry Burns, has been appointed to hear the case because Arizona judges recused themselves. Judy Clarke, Loughner's attorney, is also based there. Although changes of venue are not regularly granted, they have occurred in high-profile cases. In 1996, a federal judge moved the Oklahoma City bombing case to Denver, saying defendants Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols had been "demonized" in the media. |
Baltimore Looks At Undercover Cop Vulnerability After Death ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last weekend's fatal shooting of a plainclothes Baltimore police officer by colleagues who mistook him for an assailant has taught a stunned force the same hard lesson learned by other agencies whose officers made similar deadly mistakes, says the Baltimore Sun. In 27 cases across the U.S. since 1980 in which police officers were mistakenly killed by other officers, all but one involved a victim who was not in uniform. Among them was last Sunday's shooting of William Torbit, an eight-year veteran of the Baltimore police force who was killed by fellow officers while trying to break up a rowdy crowd outside a club. In most cases, police in other cities responded to the tragedies by ordering plainclothes officers back into uniform - as Baltimore did as an interim fix while reviews are under way - or to wear color-coded bandanas or jackets. As in the Torbit killing, typically the victim was black. A commission appointed by New York Gov. David Paterson after two off-duty officers were killed by friendly fire in 2009 came to a startling conclusion: While fatalities are rare, tense encounters between uniformed and plainclothes officers are routine around the nation. "In almost every case of police-on-police shootings, it almost always involves an officer [out of uniform] with a gun drawn," said Christopher Stone of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, who chaired the commission. "Research with officers of every race shows that you're faster to make the judgment that a black man with a gun in plainclothes is a criminal, not a police officer." |
Bath Salts Misused As Fake Cocaine Lead To Hospital Visits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The half-gram bottle of bath salts promises an "invigorating" and "energizing" experience. Local and federal authorities tell the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that it's another dangerous product misused as fake cocaine that's sending youths to emergency rooms and mental hospitals in Florida and across the country. As federal officials prepare to ban synthetic marijuana, specialty shops and convenience stores across Florida have started stocking up on bottles of bath salts. Authorities have linked the bath salts to at least two suicides in Louisiana, 21 calls to Florida poison control centers, and dozens of hospital visits in Central and South Florida in the past year. "We're seeing teenagers experiment with this," said Dr. Nabil El Sanadi, chief of emergency medicine for Broward Health. "They will do stuff that they wouldn't normally do, like dive from a third-story window into a pool. It's very, very dangerous." Some manufacturers are making designer drugs being sold as bath salts, said Wendy Stephan, health educator with the Florida Poison Information Center in Miami. Users usually snort the powder and experience effects similar to cocaine and crystal meth, El Sanadi said. The euphoria often leads to paranoia, chest pains and irregular heart beats. The bath salts are found in many shops and gas stations that once sold legal weed, says the U.S. Justice Department, which has reported an alarming increase in abuse of the bath salts. |
Accused CO Killer's Probation Shows Justice System Choices ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Judges and prosecutors had many chances to lock up Edward "Tim" Romero before he was accused of killing someone, says the Denver Post. Despite increasingly violent and potentially unstable tendencies - and a warning from a panel of experts that he belonged in prison - Romero avoided hard time, getting second and third chances on probation. That ended Oct. 24 after the body of his 16-year-old neighbor in his garage. As he awaits trial on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Alicia Martinez, whose body was mutilated after she died, his case provides a look inside Colorado's cash-strapped criminal justice system. Hard choices are made every day to reserve limited beds in state prisons for only the worst offenders; a robber with the potential to kill can go unrecognized. Romero, 26 has spent all but four months of his adult life either in low-level jails for short stints or on some form of probation. "It's difficult to see repeat offenders with weapons violations just getting probation. "How many bites at being very close to hurting somebody do you get before a punitive sentence?" said John Clune,of the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Victim Law Center. Prosecutors maintain that Romero's sentences were appropriate given the facts they had at the time. |
Tucson Gun Show Proceeds, Sees No Relation To Loughner ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Crossroads of the West Gun Show on Saturday in Tucson was interrupted with a moment of silence for victims of the Safeway shootings of a week earlier and to "reflect on what we might do in the future to help mitigate this type of violence," reports the Arizona Republic. Gun Show President Bob Templeton said the show went on because the shootings didn' t concern "folks who attend gun shows and folks who use firearms lawfully. This was about a deranged person who had a personal agenda and was determined to commit mayhem and did so." Gun show attendee Eric Okalski, 28, believes the arguments over gun control sparked by the tragedy may have increased business for the gun show rather than deterring it. "You know, there are a lot of people that are frenzied now to pick up more things because they think that it is going to get banned because of (the shootings). I think if anything, it's probably increased the amount of people that come here." Okalski said. Chris Bonhoff, 24, attending a gun show for the first time, believes the show and the shootings are not related "It's a horrible thing that happened, obviously it's a tragedy, but I don't see any bearing on anti-gun versus pro-gun," Bonhoff said. "Stuff happens all the time, and it's a shame." About 6,000 people were expected at the show, held in Tucson five times a year. |
Critic: AZ College Should Have Sought Loughner Evaluation ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arizona makes it much easier than many other states to force a mentally disturbed person to get psychiatric help, even without evidence of dangerous behavior, says the Arizona Daily Star. A provision in state law, little known outside the law enforcement and mental-health systems, gives any adult the right to petition the court for a psychiatric evaluation and, if needed, court-ordered care for someone "persistently and acutely disabled" by symptoms of mental illness but unwilling to seek or follow medical advice. Mass-shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner of Tucson - who shouted at his college teachers, rambled incoherently to campus police, and posted delusional tirades on the Internet - appears to fit the criteria for such a court-ordered evaluation, said Charles "Chick" Arnold, an expert on mental health and the law. Yet no one sought such an intervention, and no evidence has emerged that Loughner received care of any kind. Arnold, a Phoenix attorney, believes Pima Community College officials dropped the ball by not taking steps to initiate a court-ordered evaluation of Loughner, even when he became such a discipline problem they suspended him from campus last fall. Loughner instead received a letter telling him not to come back until he'd been assessed by a mental health professional. He responded by dropping out, a few months before he's accused of going on a shooting spree that targeted U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, killing six people and wounding 13. Alice Callison, a lawyer for the college, said, "I think the college responded in a very reasonable fashion." Loughner "had not committed any crime. He was not a danger to self or others. He didn't seem to be in an acute crisis." |
Many Gaps Remain In National Gun-Purchase Database ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jared Loughner was able to buy a gun in Arizona because he had no convictions and no mental health evaluation on his record. Gun-control advocates worry about the database used to check prospective gun buyers, which is only as good as the records that states put into it, NPR reports. Several studies and experts say those records are often incomplete or missing. The Justice Department says some states still enter records manually. In states where records are fully automated, a clerk in a courtroom can punch the information into the database. Other states pass a handwritten piece of paper from one office to the next before it gets entered - a delay that can be costly for victims of domestic violence who have requested immediate restraining orders. In 2009, the FBI ran 10.8 million background checks on potential gun buyers. About 150,000 people were rejected. Most had felony or domestic violence convictions, or a restraining order, on their records. Under 2 percent were rejected because of a mental illness. The Justice Department says some states still enter records manually. In states where records are fully automated, a clerk in a courtroom can punch the information into the database. Other states pass a handwritten piece of paper from one office to the next before it gets entered - a delay that can be costly for victims of domestic violence who have requested immediate restraining orders. In 2009, the FBI ran 10.8 million background checks on potential gun buyers. About 150,000 people were rejected. Most had felony or domestic violence convictions, or a restraining order, on their records. Under 2 percent were rejected because of a mental illness. |
TX Senate Panel Urges Spurning U.S. Sex Offender Rules ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee is urging that the state unbind itself from federal laws that provide for minimum sex offender registration requirements, reports the Austin Chronicle. As a result, the state may devise its own methods of assessing the risks individual offenders pose to the community at large and create a path to allow qualified offenders off the list. As of Jan. 6, there were 64,565 names on the state's sex offender registry. While initially designed to keep the public - in particular, children - safe from predators, the number of offenses eligible for registration has ballooned since the registries were first created in 1994. Many experts contend that the addition of so many types of crimes has diluted any positive effect the registry might have had on public safety. The registry includes not just serial pedophiles but also so-called Romeo and Juliet casesinvolving youthful romantic affairs in which one party is younger than 17, Texas' age of consent. Martin Ezell and his wife who became involved when he was already 32 and she was just shy of 17. Ezell was prosecuted and given deferred adjudication on the charge of sexual assault of a child. Ezell must register for life, and is unable to find meaningful work. As of Jan. 6, there were 64,565 names on the state's sex offender registry. While initially designed to keep the public - in particular, children - safe from predators, the number of offenses eligible for registration has ballooned since the registries were first created in 1994. Many experts contend that the addition of so many types of crimes has diluted any positive effect the registry might have had on public safety. The registry includes not just serial pedophiles but also so-called Romeo and Juliet casesinvolving youthful romantic affairs in which one party is younger than 17, Texas' age of consent. Martin Ezell and his wife who became involved when he was already 32 and she was just shy of 17. Ezell was prosecuted and given deferred adjudication on the charge of sexual assault of a child. Ezell must register for life, and is unable to find meaningful work. |
MA Ex-Police Chief Acquitted In Uzi Death Of Boy, 8 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The emotionally racked trial of a former Pelham, Ma., police chief charged in connection with the accidental shooting death of an 8-year-old boy at a gun fair came to an end with a jury acquitting Edward Fleury, who cried at the verdict, reports the Boston Globe. Fleury, 53, was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and multiple counts of furnishing a machine gun to a minor. Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Ct., lost control of an Uzi submachine gun and shot himself in the head in front of shocked onlookers that included his father and brother. The jurors had viewed chilling video footage of the youth's death, which occurred in October 2008, before they rendered their verdict. Fleury said he regretted holding the machine gun shoot and will never do it again. "I want to express my heartfelt sympathy to the Bizilj family,'' Fleury said. "It was always meant to be an educational event for people, and it's unfortunate this terrible accident happened.'' Prosecutors argued that Fleury was criminally reckless because he allowed children to illegally shoot machine guns under the supervision of a firing range officer who was 15 at the time and who lacked proper licensing and training. The defense argued that the boy's father signed a waiver acknowledging the risks involved in letting his son shoot, including death, and that the event had occurred for several years without any problems. Christopher Bizilj died when the Uzi submachine gun he fired suddenly tilted upward and then backward in his small hands and a bullet pierced his head. The fair was organized by a company Fleury owned. The jurors had viewed chilling video footage of the youth's death, which occurred in October 2008, before they rendered their verdict. Fleury said he regretted holding the machine gun shoot and will never do it again. "I want to express my heartfelt sympathy to the Bizilj family,'' Fleury said. "It was always meant to be an educational event for people, and it's unfortunate this terrible accident happened.'' Prosecutors argued that Fleury was criminally reckless because he allowed children to illegally shoot machine guns under the supervision of a firing range officer who was 15 at the time and who lacked proper licensing and training. The defense argued that the boy's father signed a waiver acknowledging the risks involved in letting his son shoot, including death, and that the event had occurred for several years without any problems. Christopher Bizilj died when the Uzi submachine gun he fired suddenly tilted upward and then backward in his small hands and a bullet pierced his head. The fair was organized by a company Fleury owned. |
MA Parole Shakeup Seen Likely To Overcrowd Prisons ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's dramatic shake-up of the Parole Board and proposed crackdown on habitual, violent criminals will probably aggravate overcrowding in a prison system that is nearly 40 percent over capacity, criminologists and advocates for inmates tell the Boston Globe. Massachusetts has struggled to find room for its inmates, with the prison population more than tripling over the past two decades to well over 11,000. Other financially strapped states are under federal court orders to free inmates to relieve oercrowding or trying alternatives to incarceration. "This will just make things worse in terms of overcrowding,'' said Chester Britt, dean of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University. "It's dangerous for other inmates and dangerous for the staff who works there. And the state's not in a position where it will build new prisons.'' Josh Wall, the Suffolk County prosecutor whom the governor has tapped as interim executive director of the agency and is Patrick's pick for chairman of the board, said the potential impact on prisons can't be the state's first concern. "The issue of overcrowding is not going to override the fundamental objective that we have right now, which is to get the parole system working and to get the confidence back in the system,'' he said. The mass resignation Thursday of five board members who participated in a 2008 vote to parole Domenic Cinelli, a career criminal who killed a Woburn police officer Christmas weekend, will almost certainly reduce paroles to a trickle until Patrick replaces them, say people familiar with the process. |
Milwaukee Cop Probed After 911 Caller Is Raped ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Federal authorities have started a criminal investigation of a fired Milwaukee police officer accused of sexually assaulting a woman after he responded to her 911 call in July, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Former officer Ladmarald Cates admitted to internal affairs investigators that he had sex with the woman, who called police because teenagers were trying to kick in the door of her home, say police records obtained by the Journal Sentinel. Police Chief Edward Flynn fired Cates, who gave conflicting stories to department officials, for lying and for "idling and loafing" - because having sex on duty is against department rules. Cates has appealed his dismissal. The woman's account suggests the system designed to protect the public from rogue police officers broke down at several levels. The woman called 911 for help, but when police arrived she was victimized repeatedly - sexually assaulted, mistreated by backup officers and then jailed on trumped-up charges when she refused to remain silent, said her attorney, Robin Shellow. |
Philadelphia Inquirer, New York Magazine Win Criminal Justice Journalism Awards ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Philadelphia Inquirer and New York Magazine have won John Jay College/H.F. Guggenheim Excellence in Criminal Justice Reporting Awards. The Inquirer investigative team of Craig McCoy, Nancy Phillips, Dylan Purcell, John Sullivan, and Emilie Lounsberry, won for their series "Justice: Delayed, Dismissed and Denied" on a big-city criminal justice system in crisis. The four-part series exposed flaws in the Philadelphia court system, including an epidemic of witness intimidation, a court debt of $1 billion dollars in bail owed by defendants who skipped court, and the highest fugitive rate in the nation. Robert Kolker of New York Magazine won for his investigation into the 1992 case of New York State resident Frank Sterling, who served 19 years for a crime he didn't commit after making a false confession to the police. Kolker explored the troubling impact of false confessions on the criminal justice system. An honorable mention in the single-entry category went to "Overdue Justice," by Jim Schaefer of the Detroit Free Press, for an investigation of victim restitutions still held in state coffers years later. Two submissions were tied as runners-up In the series category: Charles Piller of The Sacramento Bee for his series, "The Public Eye," focusing on prison reforms; and "Law and Disorder," an investigation of the New Orleans police force after Katrina by the Pro-Publica, the New Orleans Times Picayune, and PBS Frontline Investigative Teams. |
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Monday, January 17, 2011
Articles for 17 January 2011
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