28 Sept 2011

San Diego Jails to House State Inmates: "Very Scary Prospect" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ San Diego County supervisors unanimously approved a plan yesterday to deal with thousands of lower-level criminals by housing them in local jails instead of state prisons and requiring county probation officers to supervise them, but not before questioning the state for forcing the change on them, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. Gov. Jerry Brown recommended the state shift responsibility for felons convicted of nonserious, nonviolent and nonsexual crimes to the counties to save money and alleviate prison overcrowding, and the legislature endorsed the plan, which takes effect Saturday. "I enter this whole issue and discussion with a great amount of trepidation," said Supervisor Greg Cox, who added that more than 250 inmates will be released from state prison next month to be monitored in San Diego County. "That to me is a very, very scary prospect." Because the county's jails have room for about 800 additional inmates, the supervisors said San Diego may fare better initially than other counties where the jails are at or near capacity. "I just have this sinking feeling that somewhere down the line somebody is going to be out that shouldn't be out and do something that they shouldn't do," Cox said. San Diego Union-Tribune

Civilians Confirm L.A. County Jail Inmate Brutalization Reports ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies brutalized inmates on multiple occasions and their supervisors failed to take complaints of the abuse seriously,say sworn declarations from two chaplains and a Hollywood producer who volunteered in the jails, reports the Los Angeles Times. Two volunteers said they heard deputies yell "stop fighting" as deputies pummeled inmates who appeared to be doing nothing to fight back. The allegations come after Los Angeles Times stories detailing FBI probes into deputy misconduct in the jails. The declarations are expected to be filed in court today as part of a report by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is a court-appointed monitor of jailhouse conditions. It's not uncommon for inmates to make allegations of abuse, but these sworn statements are noteworthy because all three are from independent civilians who say they came forward because they were troubled by what they saw. Los Angeles Times

Ohio's Marijuana Megafarms: Have Mexican Cartels Moved In? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As summer turns to fall in the foothills of Appalachia, the annual harvest for Ohio's best marijuana becomes a chase between police and sophisticated growers, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The drug's potency, which has skyrocketed over the years, and its profitability in a region crippled by poverty have made the chase as intense as ever. What makes the high-stakes game different is a new wave of players. Mexican nationals have begun growing large plots of marijuana across southern Ohio hills. Some state authorities, who have tracked marijuana for years, say the groups are financed by the Mexican drug cartels in an attempt to use the state's temperate weather, good soil, and vast rural landscape to grow potent pot without being noticed. Others, including federal prosecutors, aren't so sure. While Mexicans are among those who have been prosecuted for cultivating the drug, federal officials have not been able to link them to major drug organizations. The fact that the new groups have moved in and begun what some are calling marijuana megafarms has been a shock to a region that enjoys a slower pace of life. Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Microfluidics" Could Cut DNA Analysis Time for Police ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Baltimore Police Department is taking part in a program to develop and test new technology that could significantly cut DNA analysis time, reports the Baltimore Sun. The National Institute of Justice is putting $1 million toward the project. Police will partner with researchers from Yale University and a North Carolina-based company to develop technology that would enable crime lab workers to identify and test smaller samples in a much shorter time. The technology is at least a year away from being usable and won't be implemented for cases during the pilot phase, but officials hope it will be cleared for use if successful. "The problem being solved here is that DNA sequencing, which is the gold standard for crime forensics, is expensive and takes a long time," said Richard West, CEO of Advanced Liquid Logic, which developed the technology. "This device will [] indicate to the crime lab technicians which samples are worthy and which are not worthy of further analysis." The technology uses "microfluidics," which one expert said is an emerging area of research. Mitchell Holland, director of the forensic science program at Pennsylvania State University, said such devices have been produced in the past year in academia and the private sector, as well as in Britain. "I don't know of any [police] lab in the USA that is using microfluidics," Holland said. "It could be that the Baltimore crime lab is one of the first in the country to implement this." Baltimore Sun

Florida Police Officer Killer To Be Executed Today After 33 Years ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In a long-delayed death penalty case, Manuel Adriano Valle is due to be executed today in Florida, says the St. Petersburg Times. Jeneane Skeen will be watching in the execution chamber. Valle killed her father, Coral Gables police officer Louis Pena, 33 years ago. For decades, she and her family pleaded for justice. They wrote to six governors to sign Valle's death warrant. Gov. Rick Scott finally did 12 weeks ago, his first execution. "We're tired of waiting," Skeen said. "We want my father's justice to be done. He gave his life doing his job." Valle's guilt is not in dispute. There's no international outcry like that over Troy Davis, the man Georgia executed last week who maintained until the end that he was innocent. For the past three months, Valle's state-appointed lawyers have fought to keep their client in prison and spare him the death penalty. They succeeded in delaying the execution twice. It was initially set for Aug. 2, but temporarily stayed to examine the safety of a lethal injection drug. Valle will be the first Florida inmate executed using the sedative pentobarbital. St. Petersburg Times

MI Chief, Others Charged With Misspending Forfeiture Proceeds ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The former police chief of Romulus, Mi., Michael St. Andre, and five officers from a special investigative division allegedly spent more than $100,000 in forfeited drug money to buy booze, marijuana, prostitutes, lavish trips, and a tanning salon for the ex-chief's wife, reports the Detroit News. Prosecutor Kym Worthy said the officers falsified reports and misused city funds to deposit cash into personal bank accounts. More allegedly was spent on a rehearsal dinner for an informant and on false payments to informants. The officers also are accused of filing fake reports and double-dipping by charging the city for items such as uniform expenditures while pulling money from the drug forfeiture funds. The investigation started after a police official asked Michigan State Police to investigate the department's use of drug forfeiture funds. The charges stemmed from the probe of what Worthy called "a culture of corruption and greed at its core." Detroit News

U.S. Prisoner Re-Entry Council Talks Grants, "Myth Busters" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A federal interdepartmental council on prisoner re-entry held its second meeting yesterday, discussing $83 million in funding for programs under the Second Chance Act and the latest in a series of "Reentry Myth Busters," fact sheets intended to educate employers and others about the impact of federal laws on those who are formerly incarcerated and seeking jobs, housing, and federal assistance or benefits. The new Myth Busters focus on veterans' benefits, voting rights, criminal background checks, taxes, and Medicaid eligibility. Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson said 131 grants were awarded, chosen from 1,000 applications. Prisoner re-entry could get less federal aid in the fiscal year that begins next week. A House committee voted to provide $70 million, but a Senate committee voted to zero out the program. Advocates are urging Congress to continue funding. Attorney General Eric Holder urged using "every tool at our disposal to tear down the unnecessary barriers to economic opportunities and independence so that formerly incarcerated individuals can serve as productive members of their communities." U.S. Department of Justice

Presidential Clemency Acceptance Record Drops To 3 Percent ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The president's power to reduce sentences and grant pardons is used infrequently, and backlogs responding to clemency petitions are common, says a Justice Department inspector general report quoted by the New York Times. More than one in five of 95,000 clemency petitions have been granted since 1900, but that rate has dropped in recent years, with just 3 percent of clemency requests--177 of 5,806 cases--being granted. The clemency-petition backlog rose 92 percent from 2005 to 2010, from 2,459 petitions to 4,714. Since the end of the 2010 fiscal year, the Obama administration reduced the backlog substantially by denying nearly 4,000 petitions while granting 17 pardons. The first nine of those were granted last December. "They are stellar at rejecting applications," said P. S. Ruckman Jr., a political scientist at Rock Valley College in Rockford, Il. Focusing on processing times and averages "completely missed the point," said Margaret Colgate Love, U.S. pardon attorney in the 1990s. The essential question, she said, is the quality of review. Love, who represents applicants for presidential pardons and sentence commutations, said "the pardon process is not serving the president" by giving the information he needs to make good decisions. New York Times

ICE Chief in South Florida Charged in Child-Porn Case ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The South Florida head of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who spent decades busting criminals, will be in federal court today facing an indictment that accuses him of child-porn offenses on the Internet, the Miami Herald reports. Anthony Mangione, 50, was arrested yesterday on charges of possessing and distributing digital images of child porn on his computer. Mangione was placed on paid leave in April after sheriff's deputies and FBI agents began investigating four images of child porn he allegedly received on his home computer via an AOL e-mail account. The investigation grew significantly over the summer, leading to the alleged discovery of more images of child porn on his computer. The Justice Department probe took months to complete as investigators conducted a forensic analysis of his computer and other electronic equipment to determine whether Mangione sent, received or distributed illegal digital images of children. ICE has aggressively targeted child pornography, with Mangione frequently speaking out against "predators'' who illegally share images through their computers. Miami Herald

FBI May Keep Acquitted Suspects On Terror Watch List ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The FBI may include people on the government's terrorist watch list even if they have been acquitted of terrorism-related offenses or the charges are dropped, reports the New York Times. Files released by the bureau under the Freedom of Information Act lay out for the first time in public the legal standard that officials must meet to add a name to the list. The database has about 420,000 names, including 8,000 Americans. About 16,000 people, including about 500 Americans, are barred from flying. Timothy Healy of the FBI Terrorist Screening Center said the files show that the government was balancing civil liberties with a careful, multilayered process for vetting who goes on it. Still, some of the procedures were criticized by civil liberties advocates like the Electronic Privacy Information Center, which made the request for the files. They include a December 2010 memo to FBI field offices showing that even a not-guilty verdict may not always be enough to get someone off the list, if agents still have "reasonable suspicion" that the person might have ties to terrorism. New York Times

U.S. Provides Pot to 4 Patients "For Compassionate Reasons" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For the past three decades, the U.S. government has been providing a handful of patients with some of the highest grade marijuana around. The program grew out of a 1976 court settlement that created the country's first legal pot smoker, reports the Associated Press. Advocates for legalizing marijuana or treating it as a medicine say the program is a contradiction in the 40-year "war on drugs" - maintaining the federal ban on pot while at the same time supplying it. Officials say the program no longer accepting new patients, and public health authorities have concluded that there was no scientific value to it, At one point, 14 people were getting government pot. There are four left. The government has only continued to supply the marijuana "for compassionate reasons," said the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Marijuana is getting a new look from states considering calls to repeal decades-old marijuana prohibition laws. There are 16 states with medical marijuana programs. In the three West Coast states, advocates are readying tax-and-sell or other legalization programs. Associated Press/USA Today

AL "Church or Jail" Program Delayed After ACLU Objects ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Bay Minette, Al., alternative to incarceration program that asks first-time, nonviolent offenders to choose between church or jail, was slated to start this week but is being delayed for legal review, Mayor Jamie Tillery tells ABCNews.com. "The city will ask the Alabama Attorney General to review the program as well," Tillery said. The Restore Our Community program, called Operation ROC, aimed to offer those convicted of first-time misdemeanors the opportunity to attend church once a week for a year and answer questions about the services, or go to jail and pay a fine. While Tillery said the first-time misdemeanor offenders would be offered a "menu of options," including community service, the American Civil Liberties Union stepped in to say church should not be among them. "The First Amendment still prohibits the government from becoming entangled in core religious exercise, which includes attending church," said ACLU attorney Heather Weaver. ABC News