Longtime Abuse by "Rogue" Staffers Reported at L.A. Jail ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rogue cultures that allow physical and mental abuse of inmates have been allowed to flourish for years inside Los Angeles's Men's Central Jail, says the LA Justice Report. Sources allege that Sheriff's Department officials at the highest levels have known since at least 2005 that there were serious problems with groups of deputies who operate inside the facility almost like street gangs, complete with distinguishing tattoos and handshakes. A whistleblower who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity says the problem of inmate abuse in L.A. County Jails, often led by such groups, has been ongoing for the better part of a decade. As far back as 2006, top-ranking Sheriff's Department officials ignored the advice of their on-the-ground commanding officer inside the central jail, who wanted to break up the deputy gangs he saw as a serious problem. And a multimillion-dollar plan to install cameras inside the facility was abandoned in the same year, 2006, despite widespread reports of abuse inside the jail. |
High Court Blocks TX Execution in Case On Racial Testimony ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked the execution for Houston killer Duane Buck, at least for now, in a case that drew arguments that his punishment might have been tainted by racial testimony, the Houston Chronicle reports. The decision came about 7:30 p.m. last night, about 90 minutes after Buck was to have been executed. He was waiting in a holding cell next to the state's death chamber. Texas Defender Service lawyers argued Buck's death sentence violated equal protection, due process, and 8th Amendment guarantees under the Constitution. Buck was sentenced to die for the 1995 shooting deaths of his former girlfriend, Debra Gardner and her friend, Kenneth Butler. The legal fight centered on a 2000 assertion by then-Texas Attorney General John Cornyn that Buck's case was among six capital trials that might have been tainted by racial testimony from psychologist Walter Quijano. Linda Geffen, who prosecuted Buck in his 1997 trial, joined in urging the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute the killer's death sentence to life in prison. That panel unanimously rejected the request this week. |
Social Media Campaign Aims to Stop Troy Davis Execution in GA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A social media campaign to stop the execution of Troy Davis in Georgia next week is drawing support from hundreds of thousands of people around the world, says USA Today. On Wednesday, a Georgia board was given petitions with more than 600,000 names protesting the planned lethal injection. Celebrities, Nobel laureates, and national leaders have joined the NAACP, Amnesty International, and the grass-roots group Change.org to urge clemency for Davis. He was convicted of the 1989 shooting death of Savannah police officer Mark McPhail. His supporters say he is innocent, noting that 10 witnesses in the case have signed affidavits recanting their testimony and indicating that police coerced them into implicating Davis. Nine people have signed affidavits implicating another man. In 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court granted Davis a hearing to prove his innocence, the first time it had done so for a death row inmate in at least 50 years. A judge later denied him a new trial. |
Lawsuit Stops FL Enforcement on Flashing Lights to Warn of Cops ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Florida Highway Patrol has temporarily stopped writing tickets to motorists who flash their headlights to warn other drivers about speed traps. So has the Seminole County, Fl., Sheriff's Office. The Orange County Sheriff's Office has gone even further, says the Orlando Sentinel: Its lawyer has told deputies to stop writing them, period, because it's not against the law. Those changes have come in the past three weeks, since a tiny law firm filed a pair of lawsuits, accusing any Florida cop who writes those tickets of violating a driver's constitutional right to free speech. "I consider that a tremendous success," said Erich Campbell, 38, a Tampa-area man who's lead plaintiff in a suit filed Aug. 24. |
Terror Suspect's Words Admissible Without Miranda Warning ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Detroit federal judge's decision yesterday to let prosecutors use a terrorism suspect's incriminating statements -- even though he wasn't read his rights -- has triggered a legal debate, says the Detroit Free Press. Some say it was the right call, because agents needed to find out quickly whether other suicide bombers were in the air. Others say the ruling sets a dangerous precedent that could open the door to coerced confessions. The case involves Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 24, who goes on trial Oct. 11 on charges that he tried to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day 2009 with a bomb hidden in his underwear. U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds ruled admissible Abdulmutallab's statement, which he sought to have suppressed. "This is a slippery slope," Andrew Patel, a New York City defense attorney, said of the FBI agents' decision to question a suspect without reading him his rights. Patel, who has represented terrorism suspects, said he fears Miranda rights could eventually be ignored in run-of-the-mill cases. "Where do we stop? Where's the line in the sand? How about the drunk driver?" he said, arguing that the decision could give police too much leeway in deciding what constitutes an emergency. |
Texas County Says 75% of Summoned Jurors Fail to Show Up ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Midland County, TX., Sheriff Gary Painter is shocked and dismayed to hear jury duty has fallen to the wayside, reports KOSA CBS7 in Odessa. This week, of 750 summonses sent out, only 149 people appeared. "75 percent of people fail to show up for jury duty, that is a constitutional right," said Painter. District Attorney Teresa Clingman said, "This is the worst problem with jurors not showing up for jury summons that I have ever seen in 25 years." When left with not enough jurors to chose from, trials may have to be delayed, and it can cost the county $4,000 a case. This month a trial for sexual assault of a child had to be pushed back. "Emotionally that really impacts the victims, to not be able to start on the day that they really thought they were going to get this behind them," Clingman said. Painter says he now will send deputies to fetch every potential juror, "go to their place of business, we'll snatch them up and we'll go to court." When left with not enough jurors to chose from, trials may have to be delayed, and it can cost the county $4,000 a case. This month a trial for sexual assault of a child had to be pushed back. "Emotionally that really impacts the victims, to not be able to start on the day that they really thought they were going to get this behind them," Clingman said. Painter says he now will send deputies to fetch every potential juror, "go to their place of business, we'll snatch them up and we'll go to court. |
NYC Police Official Suggests 15-Summons-Per-Month Quota ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The ongoing ticket-writing slowdown by fed-up New York City cops has become so costly to the city that a top police commander seems to have resorted to using a dreaded word in policing: quota, reports the New York Daily News. The police department's chief of transportation asked a commander at a recent meeting if his cops had written 15 summonses for the month. Police brass deny imposing quotas on the ranks, preferring to call them "productivity goals." sources said. The 15-summonses-a-month questioning came at a meeting late last month during which he asked commanders to come up with ideas on how to hike the numbers. With a ticket-fixing scandal looming over the department, the slowdown is a reaction among the rank and file to the bosses' efforts to ensure that all tickets are on the up and up. The Internal Affairs Bureau is closely examining tickets for accuracy, fining cops 10 vacation days if problems arise with a summons. The penalty was later reduced and a sliding scale instituted - but the summons numbers are still in the subbasement, with brass desperate to stop it. Summonses for moving violations, such as for running red lights, cell phone use, and not wearing a seat belt, plummeted 44 percent citywide for the week ending Sept. 11 compared with last year. |
Sacramento Sees Crime Drop In Patrolling Hot Spots ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Working with criminologists from George Mason University, a team led by Sacramento Police Sgt. Renée Mitchell identified 42 "hot spots," or street corners that attracted the highest percentages of violent crime in California's second most violent city, reports The Atlantic Cities. In a 90-day study between February and May this year, officers were assigned to visit a randomized rotation of three or four of these hot spots for 12 to 16 minutes apiece during shifts. That meant police would inhabit Sacramento's most dangerous corners about every two hours. The officers were told to be "highly visible" during these visits-to step outside patrol cars, to talk with people. This was a change, focusing on places to target rather than specific crimes, and relied on data rather than police instinct. The results, Mitchell says, were striking. "Part I" crimes-which include violent offenses such as murder, rape and robbery, as well as property crimes such as burglary and vehicle theft-decreased by 25 percent in these hotspots. Calls for service decreased by nearly 8 percent. These successes cost the city only $75,000. |
U.S. Now Has All 7 Central American Nations On Drug Watch List ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The U.S. has added tiny El Salvador and Belize to its list of drug producing and transit countries, placing for the first time all seven Central American nations on the list in a sign of how awash in illegal narcotics the region has become, McClatchy Newspapers report. President Obama condemned Venezuela and Bolivia for having "failed demonstrably during the previous 12 months to make substantial efforts" in combating narcotics. Burma also was declared a failure. Of the 22 countries on the list, only five are not in the Western Hemisphere: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Burma, and Laos. Bolivia is one of the major producers of cocaine, while Venezuela is increasingly being used as a transshipment point for drugs that are on their way to Central America and northward to the United States. Leaders of those two nations are both highly critical of Washington. Obama said Afghanistan remains the world's top grower of opium poppy, used for making heroin, but reported that poppy cultivation had fallen by a third in Helmand Province because of an incentive program for farmers and increased law enforcement action. |
Last Crown Vic Leaves Assembly Line; 3 Firms Market Police Cars ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The last Ford Crown Victoria rolled off a Canadian assembly line yesterday, marking the end of the big, heavy Ford cars that have been popular with taxi fleets and police departments for decades, reports CNN Money. Demand for better fuel economy and performance has choked off sales over the years. The Crown Victoria and Town Car get just 24 miles per gallon on the highway, a figure matched by some large three-row SUVs today. Ford has started producing the specially designed Taurus Police Interceptor to replace the Crown Victoria that had been America's most popular police car. Seeing an opportunity, Chrysler Group and General Motors are also aggressively marketing their own police car options. |
How Some Health Care Providers Help Poor People, Defraud U.S. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As the Obama administration cranked up efforts this week to find and eliminate billions of dollars in faulty Medicare and Medicaid payments, a review of court cases shows that Tennessee has been home to several fraud schemes , The Tennessean reports. Some cases involve clearly egregious behavior. A typical example is a person who jumps from location to location, steals doctors' provider identification numbers and bills the federal health programs for services that are never provided. Other times, prosecutions involve seemingly well-intentioned people who make bad, and illegal, decisions. Glenesha Bowling-Moye and Tabitha Jones were sentenced to 18 and 12 months imprisonment, respectively, on federal health-care fraud and money-laundering charges. They had pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud Medicare and TennCare of $1.1 million. The two started a business called EBC Healthcare in 2006. The business provided much-needed services to the elderly in some of Nashville's poorest neighborhoods, from cleaning houses to driving people to medical appointments and Walmart. The problem: They billed Medicare and TennCare for psychotherapy sessions and nurse practitioner home visits but were not providing those professional services. "The key is Medicare doesn't pay for (cleaning and running errands), period," said one investigator. |
Longtime Cincinnati Sheriff Leis To Retire; Prosecuted Flynt ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cincinnati's Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis will end his long and sometimes controversial career next year, when he steps down after a quarter century as the county's chief law enforcement officer, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer. Leis, 77, will not run for re-election next year to the job he has held since 1987. Leis had drawn attention all over the country, from his prosecution of Larry Flynt on pornography charges in the 1970s to his shutting down, temporarily, an exhibit of controversial photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe that Leis believed were pornographic. He has been county prosecutor (1971 to 1982), a common pleas court judge and was appointed sheriff in 1987, winning re-election every four years with little or no opposition. Sean Donovan, Leis' chief deputy since 1997, plans for run for sheriff in 2012. Yesterday, Leis said would have to close three floors of the Hamilton County Justice Center's 10 floors if he has to cut $7.9 million from his budget - 18 percent of the county's 1,240 beds. Through much of his career - as prosecutor, judge and sheriff - Leis was a major force in the Hamilton County Republican Party, a political kingmaker. |
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Friday, September 16, 2011
16 Sept 2011
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