Daniels Threatens IN Sentencing Reform Veto, Blames Prosecutors ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels' sentencing reform proposal -- an attempt to save money and avoid building more prisons -- has been overhauled by lawmakers to the point that officials say it would require the state to build three new prisons in the next two decades, reports the Indianapolis Star. Daniels says he would veto the bill he once championed if it isn't changed. The original proposal -- endorsed by Daniels and drafted by a commission of the state's top justice officials -- sought to lessen prison time for nonviolent drug offenders and bring Indiana's harsh sentencing laws into line with those of other states. After county prosecutors assailed it as soft on crime, senators gutted the bill and even lengthened sentences for some offenders. "It's a shame, honestly, that what looked to be a consensus is unraveled because of one interest group, the prosecutors, and they do not speak for all prosecutors," Daniels said. "The main point here was to incarcerate people in a smarter way and to save Indiana's taxpayers a lot of money. |
Would "Drunk Tanks" Be Cheaper, More Effective than Jail? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Opening a sobering center - a drunk tank where the 19,000 people picked up for public intoxication in Houston every year could be taken in lieu of jail - could save money and help connect chronic alcoholics with the assistance they need, police, mental health advocates, and a City Council member tell the Houston Chronicle. Proponents envision a center staffed by substance abuse professionals who could counsel alcoholics and connect them with housing, treatment, and other services. "It's a more humane way of dealing with alcoholics," said Houston police Lt. Mike Lee. The city may be able to run a sobering center for a little more than half the $5.8 million currently spent on public intoxication annually, Lee said. "It's not going to be free and it's not going to be cheap," Lee said. The savings could be critical as Houston seeks to close a $130 million budget gap. Of the Houston Police Department's 139,617 arrests last year, 19,587 were for public intoxication. |
Expert: MA Parole Board Firings "Hasty, Heavy-Handed" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has announced nominations to fill the four remaining vacancies on the state parole board. If confirmed, they will join Patrick's choice for parole board chairman: Joshua Wall, a former prosecutor.. Once these members are in place, the board can begin to rebuild from the rubble of the last few months, says former New Jersey parole official William Burrell in The Crime Report.. Patrick fired five board members, suspended several board staffers and imposed a moratorium on all parole releases in response to the December 26, 2010 murder of a police officer by parolee Dominic Cinelli, While the commission of such a serious crime by a parolee certainly demands a quick response and thorough review of the actions of all involved, the public record suggests to me that the Massachusetts response was hasty, heavy handed and misdirected. As former Kansas Secretary of Corrections Roger Werholz has said, it is a statistical certainty that someone released from prison on parole will do something horrible. The parole system should be structured and operated in such a way as to reduce the likelihood of that happening, and should be judged on its overall performance, not a single high-profile incident. The four brave individuals who were selected from among 100 applicants to be nominated to the Massachusetts parole board have a tough job ahead of them. |
Philadelphia Hopes to Close 19th Century Prison ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Deputy Philadelphia Mayor Everett Gillison said a goal over the next five years is to close one of the city's prisons, a 19th Century structure called the House of Corrections that houses between 1,300 and 1,800 inmates, reports the Philadelphia Daily News. The city's daily prison population is down to about 7,700 - from about 10,000 a few years ago. Gillison credits the prison population decline to guiding inmates more efficiently through the legal system, as well as shifting some prisoners to the state correctional system. The city has also sought to move non-violent offenders serving on minor charges into day reporting facilities. |
Holder Starts Law Enforcement Officer Safety Program ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Acknowledging an increase in law enforcement officer fatalities, Attorney General Eric Holder today began a law enforcement officer safety initiative. He directed every U.S. Attorney to meet with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials in their districts to ensure that federal resources are made available to help reduce officer deaths. Holder convened a meeting of law enforcement officers in Washington, D.C., to seek ideas for action to improve officer safety. After a two-year decline in law enforcement fatalities, 2010 was one of the deadliest years in nearly two decades. This year, 27 law enforcement officers have been killed either by firearms or felonious assaults. Holder directed federal prosecutors to identify the "worst of the worst"--offenders with criminal histories who cycle in and out of jail and prison--and ask if any of them are eligible for prosecution, and possibly higher sentences, in federal court. |
Ohio Teens-Behind-Bars Total Down 62 Percent In Decade ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Ohio Department of Youth Services continues to downsize, having closed three facilities and a regional parole office, and reduced its staff by 300 (13.5 percent) in the past two years, says the Columbus Dispatch. In September, another facility will close: the Ohio River Valley Juvenile Correctional Facility in Scioto County. The total number of youths held by the state is less than half what it was as recently as three years ago. A decade ago, the agency had 10 facilities and 1,949 youth inmates. Today, it has five (soon to be four) facilities housing 736 offenders, a 62 percent drop. The agency, through the RECLAIM Ohio program, is doing what the adult prison system wants to do: shrink by diverting offenders to less-restrictive and lower-cost community treatment facilities |
High Court Takes Up Issue of Juvenile Miranda Warnings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Supreme Court takes up a North Carolina case today that could have sweeping implications for young suspects who are questioned by law enforcement, say the McClatchy Newspapers. The question is whether an interrogator should consider a suspect's age before deciding whether to read the Miranda warning. Now, police must decide whether a "reasonable person" would consider themselves in custody. If the answer is yes, law enforcement must tell suspects they have the right to remain silent, to call an attorney and, if under 18, to have his or her parents notified. The issue "comes down to the type of society we want to live in," said Tamar Birckhead, who teaches law at the University of North Carolina School of Law. She and other juvenile justice advocates argue that children should be given extra consideration by police officers in the early stages of an investigation, including in interrogations. Those who advocate for law enforcement agencies say youths already have extra protections in court, and that police officers should not bear an additional burden of trying to figure out a suspect's age |
Despite Spate of Police Shootings, Miami Chief Defends His Force ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Miami police officers have shot and killed 7 African-American men in eight months. The New York Times says the shootings in the racially polarized city have led to marches on police headquarters and calls for a Justice Department investigation. The city manager has initiated an investigation into the chief's record. Families of the seven shooting victims will speak at a City Commission meeting on Thursday. Some families are demanding that Police Chief Migual Exposito be dismissed. "I don't understand how the powers that be can allow these things to keep happening," said Sheila McNeil, the mother of one victim. Exposito, a 37-year veteran who became chief in 2009, defended his leadership. "We don't have a violent police department," he said in an interview. "You'll find our officers are very compassionate with the people they deal with. They will try to de-escalate situations rather than resorting to deadly force." |
Chicago Fighting Police-Misconduct Lawsuits--and Winning ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Illinois Supreme Court overturned a $4 million jury award to Christopher Ries for neck and back injuries he suffered after he was hit by a stolen Chicago police car in 2002. Chicago is getting more aggressive in fighting lawsuits against police officers - a strategy that's winning approval from the rank-and-file who believe the city settled too easily in the past, says the Chicago Sun-Times. Some plaintiffs and their attorneys complain the city is going too far. "For the average citizen this is a very scary situation," said Ries' attorney, Scott Rudin. "It's a guilty verdict and there's no recourse for this guy. This is something where the city should have stood up and said, 'You know what? We're wrong.' " Law Department spokeswoman Jennifer Hoyle explained the city started asking outside lawyers to take "defensible" lawsuits to trial for $25,000 each. They get a $15,000 bonus for winning. As a result, the number of new lawsuits alleging police misconduct dropped by 47 percent in 2010 |
What It's Like for Victims Who Wrongly Identify Suspects ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Advances in genetic testing have led to the exonerations of 267 people across the U.S. who were convicted of crimes they did not commit. In more than three-quarters of those cases, a victim or witness identified the wrong person, according to the Innocence Project. "There is no support group for rape victims who wrongly identify people," said Jennifer Thompson, who was raped in 1984 in Nroth Carolina and wrongly identified a suspect. "While trying to do the right thing, we got it wrong. I felt that I had become the offender and [the defendant] was the victim. I had failed everybody. |
Critics Demand Probe on How States Got Lethal-Injection Drug ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Attorneys in Arizona and Kentucky have joined a lawyer in Georgia calling on the Justice Department to investigate how the states acquired a key lethal injection drug that is in short supply in the U.S., the Associated Press reports. The requests come as many of the 34 death penalty states scramble to find an alternative for lethal injections after the sole U.S. maker of sodium thiopental said earlier this year it would no longer produce it. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said the state was still trying to get sodium thiopental from other states, but officials may have no choice but to switch to another drug, which probably will be pentobarbital. Texas and Oklahoma have announced a switch to pentobarbital, and plan to use it along with two other drugs. Ohio became the first state to use pentobarbital alone when it executed an inmate with the drug March 10. |
Challenges Likely To Rulings by GA Judge With Brain Damage ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Before he was sentenced for crimes committed with a stripper, former U.S. District Judge Jack Camp of Atlanta said he long has suffered from a misdiagnosed bipolar disorder and brain damage from an accident more than a decade earlier, says the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Camp has been sentenced to 30 days in prison. The revelations have lawyers wondering whether justice was meted out by an impaired jurist. "Every case he handled from the time he was misdiagnosed, or before, depending on when he was affected by these conditions, should be re-evaluated," said Marcia Shein, a Decatur appellate lawyer. "The question is: Did these conditions affect his ability to be an objective judge making fair decisions?" U.S. Attorney Sally Yates said her office will consider requests from defendants concerning Camp's judgment "to ensure that justice is served." Camp handled more than 3,000 cases, but only a small fraction of those is expected to be challenged. |
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Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Articles for 23 March 2011
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