Articles for 23 Feb 2011

Philadelphia Courts Move Aggressively To Collect Bail, Fines, Restitution ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Philadelphia courts, reversing a long pattern of lax financial collections, will aggressively go after more than $1.5 billion in forfeited bail, fines and restitution owed by thousands of defendants, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. Starting Monday, courts will phase in a system to dun debtors and deploy collection lawyers to go after the worst deadbeats. Those who have not made arrangements to pay could find themselves facing liens, attached wages, even sheriff's sales of their property. The courts yesterday announced the imminent end of a "penalty-free period" to encourage more than 400,000 people to pay up. That program included a temporary waiver of the steep collection costs associated with pursuing such debt. It will be replaced by a three-tier program that steadily rachets up the pressure and penalties on debtors. "These people have been thumbing their noses at us," said David Wasson, chief deputy court administrator. For decades, court officials have presided over an ineffective bail system that allowed accused criminals to skip court virtually without consequence. Defendants routinely failed to appear in court and just as routinely, failed to pay the forfeited bail that was supposed to come due as a result. As the Inquirer reported in November, the courts have been similarly lenient in collecting tens of millions of dollars in restitution owed to crime victims, and they have lagged in dunning criminals for millions more in fines and court costs. Philadelphia Inquirer

Pirates Who Killed 4 Americans Near Somalia Could Be Sent To U.S. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A U.S. military spokesman said it was possible that 15 pirates detained after the killing of four American yacht enthusiasts could be sent to the United States to face trial, the Associated Press reports. The military and Justice Department are working to figure out the next steps for the pirates, said Bob Prucha, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command in Florida. The 15 are being held on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise off East Africa. The International Maritime Organization says that in the last year, there have been 286 piracy-related incidents off the coast of Somalia resulting in 67 hijacked ships, with 1,130 seafarers on board, the Christian Science Monitor reports. In 2009, four Somali pirates seized the cargo ship MV Maersk Alabama and its crew of 20. After several days, during which ship captain Richard Phillips was held hostage in a lifeboat, Navy SEAL snipers killed three of the pirates. The surviving pirate, Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, was brought to New York for prosecution. He pleaded guilty to two felonies, and last week got the maximum prison sentence of 33 years and nine months. Federal Judge Loretta Preska said, "It is this marked uptick in piracy and armed robbery at sea and the need to deter other individuals from undertaking this kind of conduct" that "makes the higher sentence absolutely necessary." Associated Press/Christian Science Monitor

New MA Sheriff Plans to Clean Up Scandal-Plagued Office, Jail ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peter Koutoujian, the new sheriff of Middlesex County, Ma., is unveiling sweeping reforms meant to clean up the scandal-plagued department, vowing to bar jailhouse staffers from giving to his campaign and to take politics out of promotions, says the Boston Herald. In his first extensive interview since taking over the 780-employee department after the suicide of former Sheriff James DiPaola, he said, "If there is a need I will not hesitate to move people around or bring in new people." Koutoujian, a former state representative and prosecutor, said he's seeking to restore public confidence in a department under investigation by the attorney general over allegations that staffers paid DiPaola for promotions and other considerations. He pledged to refuse campaign donations from employees and he will require promotional exams. For jail inmates, he wants to start certificate programs for custodial jobs, printing, and graphics. He wants to open a post-release resource center and bring at-risk youth into the jail to see life behind bars. "I don't envision myself as being a police officer here," said the married father of three. "You've got different models of sheriff. You've got some that are more law enforcement driven and others that are driven more on the issues of preparation for re-entry. Between those two is an appropriate direction to follow." Boston Herald

Texas Executes Its 466th Murderer in the Last Three Decades ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Capital punishment is waning in some parts of the U.S., but executions continue in Texas. Timothy Wayne Adams was put to death last night for the 2002 murder of his 19-month old son, reports. the Houston Chronicle. He was the 466th killer to be put to death since the state resumed executions in 1982, and the second this year. In a witness room, Adams' former wife Emma Adams wept softy as the killer stopped breathing. Adams, 42, shot his son, Timothy Adams Jr. during a 2½-hour police standoff at his Houston home. Adams' attorneys contended the shooting came during an emotional crisis prompted by his wife's decision to leave him. He had no prior criminal record, and exhibited exemplary behavior in his seven years on death row, they said. As the execution date approached, members of his family and church publicly pleaded with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to spare him. Emma Adams did not join in their call for mercy. The pardons board unanimously rejected the killer's appeal, as did courts. Houston Chronicle

Texas Advances Bill To Prevent Eyewitness Identification Errors ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Texas House committee has approved a measure meant to streamline eyewitness identification procedures, reports the Dallas Morning News. Under the legislation, police departments would have to adopt uniform standards for eyewitness identification. The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee approved the bill unanimously after hearing from criminal justice officials and emotional testimony from half a dozen exonerees who spent years in prison for crimes they did not commit. James Giles, a Dallas man exonerated in 2007, said he was picked out of a lineup and accused of rape, although he had never seen the victim before. He spent 10 years in prison and 14 years as a registered sex offender on parole. Policies for gathering eyewitness identification would have to be based on scientific research on memory, along with policies and guidelines developed by the federal government and other states. Policies would have to address the selection of photographs, lineup filler photographs or participants and instruction given to witnesses. The Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas at Sam Houston State University would create a model policy to be distributed to local law enforcement agencies. Texas has had 42 exonerations, 38 in cases that had been based on false eyewitness identification. Four states - Ohio, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Wisconsin - have implemented legislation similar to the eyewitness identification bill. Dallas Morning News

Maryland Rape Victim Helps Deny Parole To Assailant 37 Years Later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Washington Post tells the story of how a Maryland rape victim, now in her 40s, was persuaded by prosecutors to tell a parole board why the man who raped her 37 years ago should not be released. Maryland holds 10,000 parole hearings annually. Fewer than three rape victims a year typically come to speak, because doing so means reliving the assault in front of the attacker. "It takes more courage than anything I can think of," said David Blumberg, commission chairman, "and that is why it doesn't happen very often." It almost didn't happen in the case of Bill Wallshleger case, either. First the woman, who was not identified by the Post, declined to testify. Then the prosecutor called. She started to feel selfish: What if Wallshleger got out and hurt someone else? She grew uncomfortable with how scared she was to confront him. "Being that affected," she said, "meant that that day, that event and that person still had power over me." She finally testified, and the board denied Wallshleger parole for another three years. Washington Post

Suspect in St. Petersburg Officer Killing, 16, Struggled in School ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nicholas Lindsey, the 16-year-old accused of killing a St. Petersburg police officer, was described as a quiet kid who was struggling in school, says the St. Petersburg Times. His family said they did not know he had a gun or how he would have come up with the $140 he apparently paid for it. A woman who knew him at his middle school and high school said he was "always polite" and not a "thug." Said Sherry Howard, volunteer coordinator, "I know some thugs here, that kid is not. When I saw him on the streets, he'd say, 'Ms. Howard, how are you doing?' Always polite." "What made him that angry? What made him snap? He doesn't seem like he wouldn't respect or comply with the officer," she continued. "What was the catalyst that made him get to the point that he had to shoot this man? Because that's not him. That's not this child." Principal Kevin Gordon said Lindsey, a 10th-grader, missed 42 days this school year and attended only seven class periods this month St. Petersburg Times

Another Increase In Domestic Anti-Government "Hate Groups" Reported ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A new study by the Southern Poverty Law Center describes a big rise in hate groups, NPR reports. It counts more than 1,000 active extremist groups in the U.S. The largest increase may come from militias that consider the federal government their enemy. Mark Potok, head of the center's Intelligence Project at the law center, said there was an "absolutely explosive growth of these groups in 2009, and what we have now found is that that growth continued through 2010." The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist movements, says there are three major reasons for the increase: the bad economy, the wide reach of the Internet, and changing racial patterns in the country. The most negative energy seems to be coming from people who think the federal government is conspiring to take away their freedom. "The patriot movement has produced a great deal of criminal violence," Potok says. "There were an enormous number of plots that came out of the patriot movement, particularly in the late 1990s, and we're beginning to see that again." NPR

New York Times Reports on Some Celebrities with Handgun Licenses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Among the more than 37,000 people licensed to have a handgun in New York City are dozens of public figures: prominent business leaders, elected officials, celebrities, journalists, judges, and lawyers, reports the New York Times. Some express pride in their gun ownership, like divorce lawyer Raoul Felder, who posed with his .38-caliber Smith & Wesson. Several well-known lawyers were irked to learn they would be included in an article based on the public records. Alexis Stewart, a radio hostess and daughter of Martha said, "I don't believe people should be allowed to have guns in America," but explaining she bought a .357 Magnum after 9/11. Getting a handgun legally in New York is a two-step process. Applicants must obtain a license, which costs $340, takes about 12 weeks to process, is good for three years and requires a police background check. Those who pass that hurdle must get a purchase authorization from the police for the weapon they intend to buy. One handgun license may list up to 25 weapons (so far, no one has tried to register more than that, officials said), but buyers must wait 90 days between purchases. The 41,164 registered handguns include those owned by more than 2,400 people who live outside the city but have permission to bring their weapons in, like Roger Ailes, president of Fox News, and Sean Hannity, the conservative talk-show host. New York Times

Judge Decides New York City Must Release Reports on 850 Police Shootings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A judge ruled that official reports written whenever a New York City police officer fired at a civilian in the last 13 years must be turned over to the New York Civil Liberties Union, the new York Times reports. The ruling, unless blocked by an appellate court, means that a trove of internal police documents could soon be thrust into public view. The ruling by judge Emily Goodman gives police officials 60 days to turn over two sets of the documents for each shooting dating back to 1997 - a period covering roughly 850 shootings. The ruling could provide the public new details about such recent police scandals as the 2006 shooting death of Sean Bell and the 1999 killing of Amadou Diallo. "There are going to be a lot of big cases in these reports," said Christopher Dunn of the civil liberties group, who said he would make the reports public. "There will also be a lot of cases nobody ever heard of." Police spokesman Paul Browne said, "These are interim reports that shouldn't be made public for reasons that have been argued in the case, and especially considering the fact that our annual firearms report is already so comprehensive and that we already provide regular press briefings after each police-involved shooting." New York Times

At Media Request, Marshals Service Issues New Mugshots of Jared Loughner ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The U.S. Marshals Service released a new set of Jared Loughner mugshots, reports Politico.com. Loughner's attorneys and prosecutors opposed the release; U.S. District Court Judge Larry Burns in San Diego refused to block disclosure of the mugshots, which had been requested by media outlets under the Freedom of Information Act. Loughner is charged with shooting U.S. Rep.Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and killing six people in Tucson last month. The new pictures, a head-on and profile shot, show bruising around Loughner's left eye and an abrasion above his right temple. The photos were taken as part of the U.S. Marshals Service booking process for federal prisoners. (An earlier mugshot from the Pima County Sheriff's Office got large play in the media. Politico.com

Reporting On WI Gun Sales, New Orleans Police Win Awards ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two other criminal justice stories have won Polk journalism awards. John Diedrich and Ben Poston of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel were named winners , for "Wiped Clean." an investigation into violations by gun dealers, including how "more than 50 gun shop owners facing federal scrutiny wiped away years of gun sale violations simply by changing ownership on paper, such as from father to son or from husband to wife." In the category of television reporting, A.C. Thompson of ProPublica, Raney Aronson-Rath and Tom Jennings of PBS' "Frontline," and Laura Maggi and Brendan McCarthy of The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, won for "Law & Disorder," an investigation into abuses by New Orleans police following Hurricane Katrina. The judges said that, "The news project revealed that in the midst of post-Katrina chaos, law-enforcement commanders issued orders to ignore long-established rules governing use of deadly force, reporting that a police captain told a group of officers that they had the authority "by martial law to shoot looters." Yesterday's Crime and Justice News reported a Polk award to the Newark Star-Ledger for reporting on steroid abuse by police officers and firefighters. Long Island University