House Votes to Block U.S. Action Aimed At Gunrunners to Mexico ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In its flurry of action to cut federal spending, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to block the Obama administration from implementing a controversial plan meant to give federal authorities a new tool to catch gunrunners to Mexico, reports the Washington Post. The proposed rule was strongly opposed by the National Rifle Association. The measure passed with bipartisan support, 277 to 149. The amendment by Rep. Dan Boren (D-Ok.), bars the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from using federal money to require licensed firearm dealers to report multiple sales of assault weapons. Under the proposed rule, 8,500 gun dealers near the U.S.-Mexico border would be required to alert authorities when they sell within five consecutive business days two or more semiautomatic rifles greater than .22 caliber with detachable magazines. Arturo Sarukhan, Mexican ambassador to the U.S., called the vote "unfortunate." |
Shooting Deaths Show Heightened Risk For Federal Law Enforcers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The shooting deaths of three federal agents in two months highlight the heightened risk to federal investigators who are confronting increasingly violent fugitives, drug traffickers, and other criminals, the Washington Post reports.The killing of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Mexico on Tuesday was followed by the slaying of a deputy U.S. marshal in West Virginia on Wednesday, an unusual confluence of events. A Border Patrol agent was fatally shot in Arizona in December. The killings, while not connected, come amid a broadening federal role in fighting violent crime that was once left mainly to state authorities. Federal-state task forces on violent crime have multiplied since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, bringing federal agents in closer contact with dangerous criminals. The government says it is pouring resources into fighting drug trafficking and other crimes along the border with Mexico. "You're seeing feds playing a much more active role in fighting violent crime, and that's putting us in harm's way,'' said Jon Adler, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association. "We're getting a lot more dangerous people off the street, but the more you do, the more you are exposed.'' Overall, deaths of officers in the line of duty are rising nationwide. About 160 died in 2010, a nearly 40 percent increase from the year before, says the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. |
Arizona Called A Gun "Shopping Bazaar For Mexican Drug Lords" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Over several months, federal agents say, Uriel Patino of Phoenix came to Lone Wolf Trading Co. 18 times, buying a total of 42 handguns and 190 semiautomatic rifles, says the Arizona Republic. Patino told clerks that all 232 guns are for his personal use. Federal authorities say he was acting as a straw buyer of guns for the Sinaloan drug cartel in Mexico. He has been charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, money laundering and lying on federal firearms applications. For advocates of tougher gun control, Patino's purchases represent a shortcoming in federal and state laws that allows people to buy as many rifles as they can carry out the door at a time - without any report to law-enforcement agencies. Licensed gun dealers must notify federal and local authorities anytime a person buys two or more handguns in the same week. For so-called long guns, there are no similar reporting requirements. Some states limit the sale of multiple rifles, but Arizona has no such restriction. Buyers must pass a federal background check, but the decision to sell dozens, even hundreds, of rifles to the same customer is up to gun dealers. So too is any decision to notify authorities of any repeat customers or suspicious purchases. Federal authorities say the lack of laws limiting sales or requiring reports has turned Arizona into a shopping bazaar for Mexican drug lords. |
Texas Seems Poised to Give Students, Profs Gun-Carrying Rights on Campus ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Texas may soon give college students and professors the right to carry guns on campus, adding momentum to a national campaign to open academic institutions to firearms, the Associated Press reports. More than half the members of the Texas House have endorsed a measure directing universities to allow concealed handguns. The Senate passed a similar bill in 2009 and is expected to do so again. Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who sometimes packs a pistol when he jogs, favors the idea. Texas has become a prime battleground for the issue because of its gun culture and its size, with 38 public universities and more than 500,000 students. It would become the second state, following Utah, to pass such a broad-based law. Colorado gives colleges the option and several have allowed handguns. Supporters of the legislation argue that gun violence on campuses, such as the mass shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007 and Northern Illinois in 2008, show that the best defense against a gunman is students who can shoot back. "It's strictly a matter of self-defense," said Texas state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio. "I don't ever want to see repeated on a Texas college campus what happened at Virginia Tech, where some deranged, suicidal madman goes into a building and is able to pick off totally defenseless kids like sitting ducks." |
Prisons Near Full, Illinois Nears New "Good Time" Release Plan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Illinois' prison population is exploding. With 48,760 inmates, the state is on track to fill 52,000 beds, the maximum capacity of the Illinois Department of Corrections, reports the Bloomington Pantagraph. The census has climbed steadily, by more than 3,000 inmates, since January 2010, when public outcry pushed Gov. Pat Quinn against a wall during a tight election. New inmates formerly were required to spend at least 60 days in prison before they were considered for Meritorious Good Time credit. Quinn ended that longtime practice, leading to the surge in the state's prison population. Finding a replacement for the Meritorious Good Time and MGT-Push programs is a top priority for corrections officials. "This is job one," said Cara Smith, the department's new chief of staff. Last September, Quinn named Gladyse Taylor as acting director of IDOC. She replaced Michael Randle, who now directs a juvenile corrections facility in Ohio. Taylor is close to having a short- and long-term plan ready for in-house review that would overhaul the MGT program, "The Department of Corrections doesn't have the luxury of saying 'no' to inmates sent to it. We have to make do," said Smith."This population is a classic example of the sentencing policy in Illinois. This is not a Department of Corrections problem. This is a criminal justice problem," said Smith. |
In Budget Move, Cincinnati May Merge Its Police Department With County's ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cincinnati could be the first major U.S. city to give up control of its police department voluntarily, says the Cincinnati Enquirer. Experts question whether local leaders are rushing it and if it could even work. Negotiations started in earnest last week on a proposal that seemingly popped up out of the blue during tough city budget talks. The city is considering two alternatives: either contract with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office for street patrols or merge the departments. Only two other major cities - St. Louis and Kansas City - pay for police departments they don't control, both done long ago against the cities' will. Elsewhere, mergers have not saved significant amounts and, in fact, cost more initially. Contracting out the patrol officers could save the city money in salaries because the county pays about 20 percent less, but it could cost more in benefits and in the switchover of uniforms, cruisers, and equipment. Former Cincinnati City Manager Jerry Newfarmer, a consultant who helped guide a city/county police merger in Louisville, said a Cincinnati merger could happen as soon as next January. |
Critics: PA Juvenile Justice Reform Still Needed After Judge's Conviction ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A former Pennsylvania judge faces a prison term for his role in a $2.8 million scandal known as "cash for kids" after a jury convicted him of taking kickbacks from the developer of a private detention center, reports NPR. Critics of the state's juvenile justice system say more reforms are still needed. Marsha Levick of the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia says kids routinely appeared in Judge Mark Ciavarella's courtroom without defense lawyers and received draconian sentences for minor infractions. Many were led out of the courtroom in shackles. On Friday, a jury in Scranton, Pa., convicted Ciavarella on 12 counts, including racketeering. They found him guilty of taking kickbacks from a developer who built two private detention centers in Pennsylvania, but acquitted him of charges that he took bribes in exchange for sending juveniles to detention. A Pennsylvania government commission conducted its own investigation of the scandal last year. Many courthouse employees told the commission they were afraid to speak up for fear of retribution. "There was a total collapse of the rule of law," said Judge John Cleland, the commission's chairman. His panel issued a report in May 2010 that included 44 specific recommendations for reform. So far, only a few have been adopted. |
Judge Won't Order Release Of Second Jared Loughner Mug Shot ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ News organizations failed to persuade a federal judge Larry Burns in San Diego to release a second mug shot and search-warrant records involving Jared Loughner, the defendant in the Arizona shooting rampage that killed six people and wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), the Associated Press reports. Burns said he was leaving it up to the U.S. Marshals Service to decide whether to release the mug shot of Loughner, 22, taken in Phoenix while in the custody of the agency. Burns also held off on unsealing search warrant records that show what was seized from the home of Loughner after the Jan. 8 shooting. Defense attorneys argued releasing the second photo would invade Loughner's privacy and doesn't serve a legitimate public interest. Prosecutors described the photo as showing Loughner with abrasions on his face and a cinderblock-wall background. Burns said he did not agree the photo would invade the suspect's privacy or harm his chance at a fair trial, but he said he didn't have the authority to rule on the matter. David Bodney, an attorney representing The Arizona Republic and Phoenix TV station KPNX, argued that there is no basis for the documents to remain sealed. |
After "Ecstasy" Errors Found, Nassau County, N.Y., Closes Crime Lab ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nassau County, N.Y., closed its problem-plagued crime lab after court testimony suggested that drug-testing screw-ups were allegedly ignored for years, leaving thousands of cases in jeopardy. The New York Post calls it an unprecedented move that is the latest black mark on the beleaguered county. The drastic step means that Nassau, drowning in an ocean of red ink, will ship its drug evidence to a private lab in Pennsylvania. Ballistics evidence will go to a state police lab until a new Nassau County facility can be staffed and equipped -- which may take months, says District Attorney Kathleen Rice. Defense attorneys have filed motions in more than a dozen cases questioning whether clients got fair treatment. Rice conceded that some convictions could be overturned. So far, only drug purity tests have been found inaccurate; they can mean the difference between felony and misdemeanor charges. Nearly 9,000 drug cases dating to late 2007 are being reviewed for signs of errors after a spot check last week of nine cases involving ketamine or "ecstasy" found that six of them were inaccurately analyzed. |
How $31 Pot Sale Landed OK Woman In Prison for 10 Years; Judge Defends Term ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Part of a series on why Oklahoma has such a high rate of female incarceration, Oklahoma Watch tells the story of Patricia Marilyn Spottedcrow, who is serving 10 years in prison, has been taken away from her four young children and husband, and has ended her work in nursing homes because of $31 in marijuana sales. On Dec. 31, 2009, Spottedcrow and her mother, Delita Starr, 50, sold a "dime bag" of marijuana to a police informant at Starr's home. "It just seemed like easy money," said Spottedcrow. "I thought we could get some extra money. I've lost everything because of it." He will not be eligible for parole until 2014. Susie Pritchett, who sentenced Spottedcrow before she retired as a judge, said the women were conducting "an extensive operation" and included children in the business. "It was a way of life for them. Considering these circumstances, I thought it was lenient. By not putting the grandmother in prison, she is able to help take care of the children." |
Seattle Police Union Leader Advises Officers to Lay Low After Criticism ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After a controversial police killing of a civilian in Seattle, Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat says a patrol officer tells him he frequently hears people ask, "Are you going to murder me, too?" Said the officer: "People we stop at some point say, 'Don't shoot me, man!' I try to have thick skin and not let it get to me." A steady drip-drip of videos highlighting strong-arm police tactics, coupled with the pointless killing of an Indian woodcarver, have left cop and citizen alike angry or, at the least, eyeing one another suspiciously, Westneat says. Seattle Police Officers' Guild president, Sgt. Rich O'Neill, told officers, ""You are paid to use your discretion and there are many ways to do police work. Recent events should show us that many in the city really don't want aggressive officers who generate on-view incidents. They want officers who avoid controversy and simply respond when summoned by 911." He's saying, in other words: "Lay low," Westneat says. O'Neill adds: "If there's borderline criminal or suspicious activity, I say let it go. Don't go out on a limb. It's not worth it, because if it goes sideways, you're going to be the latest poster child on the news." |
House Appropriations Chair To FL Gov: Take Pill Mill Crisis Seriously ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Florida must not back away from implementing a monitoring system to help cut the flow of pills from its pain clinics that are feeding addiction and death in Kentucky and other states, House Appropriations Committee chairman Harold Rogers (R-KY) told Florida Gov. Rick Scott, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. Rogers said Florida has become a key source of illegally diverted pills for Appalachia and the entire East Coast. "Governor, your state, more than any other, must take this crisis seriously," Rogers told Scott. State monitoring programs, such as the one Florida has approved but not implemented, help combat diversion of pills at a time when abuse of prescription drugs is the fastest-growing drug problem in the country, Rogers said. He said he was "alarmed and dismayed" at reports indicating Scott wants to repeal Florida's monitoring program. Rogers represents the 5th District in Southern and Eastern Kentucky, where abuse of prescription drugs has been described as an epidemic. |
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Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Articles for 21 Feb 2011
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