12 Dec 2011

Justices Will Decide Challenge To Arizona Immigration Law ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Supreme Court said today it would decide whether Arizona's tough law cracking down on illegal immigrants can take effect, Reuters reports. The case arises from the fierce national debate on immigration policy ahead of next year's presidential election. The Justices will review a ruling that put on hold the key parts of the law signed by Republican Governor Jan Brewer in April 2010. The case has been closely watched because several other states have adopted similar laws. The law requires police to check the immigration status of anyone they detain and suspect of being in the nation illegally. Other provisions require immigrants to carry their papers at all times and ban people without proper documents from soliciting for work in public places. The justices are likely to hear arguments in the case in April, with a ruling due by July. It could produce another contentious election-year ruling for the court, which also will decide President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul law. Reuters

California County Jails Speed Up Releases To Accept State Inmates ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The early release of inmates in some parts of California is speeding up as county jails struggle to accommodate state prisoners flowing into their facilities, reports the Los Angeles Times. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department planned to begin releasing about 150 inmates Friday because of overcrowding in county jails. The move is a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring the state to lower its prison population by 30,000. To meet the mandate, those convicted of certain crimes who until now served their sentences in state prison now must serve their time in a county jail. Up until now, San Bernardino County managed to keep its jails from overcrowding through work release and other programs. But with the system rapidly approaching capacity, the sheriff opted to make more room for new arrestees and higher-priority inmates. The parole violators being released will have their criminal and custody history examined, and they will be placed under the supervision of state parole officers. Some counties, including Los Angeles, are under court order to prevent jail overcrowding. So officials said that some inmates will be released to make way for the state prisoners Los Angeles Times

Rules on Committing Dangerous Mentally Ill "Tragically Inadequate" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forty years ago, a legal standard for mental health commitment emerged from a Milwaukee lawsuit to become the law of the land. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, in a detailed examination of the history and evolution of the standard, concludes that "it has proved to be tragically inadequate." Only about 40,000 of the 4 million people in the U.S. with severe mental illness are dangerous--1 percent. Even then, the violence is usually minor - a punch or a shove, said Jeffrey Swanson, a Duke University professor who has studied the correlation between mental illness and violence for more than 20 years. People with mental illness are 13 times more likely to be a victim of a crime than the perpetrator. The inability to identify who is dangerous and the barriers to getting them care are "among the more wrenching failures of our time." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Why Washington's Methadone Death Rate Is Among U.S. Highest ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For the past eight years Washington state has steered people with state-subsidized health care - Medicaid patients, injured workers, and state employees - to methadone, a narcotic with two notable characteristics, says the Seattle Times: The drug is cheap and unpredictable. The state highlights the former and downplays the latter, cutting its costs while refusing to own up to the consequences, finds a Times investigation that includes computerized analysis of death certificates, hospitalization records, and poverty data. Methadone belongs to a class of narcotic painkillers, called opioids, that includes OxyContin, fentanyl and morphine. Within that group, methadone accounts for less than 10 percent of the drugs prescribed - but more than half of the deaths. Methadone works wonders for some patients, relieving chronic pain from throbbing backs to inflamed joints. But the drug's unique properties make it unforgiving and sometimes lethal. Washington's methadone death rate ranks among the nation's highest. California, with more than five times the people, has fewer deaths. Seattle Times

Collections Agencies Forcing More People to Jail For Not Paying Bills ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Although debtors' prisons are illegal, it's becoming increasingly common for people to serve jail time as a result of their debt, reports NPR affiliate WBEZ. Collection agencies are resorting to some unusually harsh tactics to force people to pay their unpaid debt, some of whom aren't aware that lawsuits have been filed against them by creditors. Robin Sanders of Illinois was driving home when an officer pulled her over for having a loud muffler. instead of sending her off with a warning, the officer jailed Sanders for failing to pay a $730 medical bill. Here's how it happens: a company sells off its debt to a collection agency. The agency sues the debtor, requiring a court appearance. A notice to appear in court is supposed to be given to the debtor. If they fail to show up, a warrant is issued for their arrest. The Federal Trade Commission got 140,000 complaints related to debt collection in 2010. That's nearly 25,000 more than the previous year. NPR

David Simon: Only Jury Nullification Will Stop Racially-Biased Drug War ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ David Simon, journalist and "The Wire" creator, told a MacArthur Foundation Models for Change conference on juvenile justice last week in Washington, D.C., that jury nullification is the only way to halt the one thing that will ever stop the justice system from being bloated and racially distorted: treating drugs and addiction as a criminal war instead of a medical one, reports Youth Today. Simon argued that the justice system won't get past its obsession with drug-related cases until "they can't find 12 Americans to put a 13th in jail." Simon delivered an obscenity-laced keynote address in which he described the mission of juvenile justice reform as a hand of "shitty cards you've been dealt." Prosecution does nothing to deter addiction, he argued, and the economy to serve those addictions is the only viable one available to many minority youths. "They're not fools, and there's one factory open," Simon said. Youth Today

More Women, Liberals Reported Buying Handguns for Protection ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A growing number of people in groups once considered anti-handgun - women, liberals, gays, and college kids, are buying weapons, says Bloomberg News. Domestic handgun production and imports more than doubled over four years to 4.6 million in 2009, says the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Shifting politics and demographics have made it easier and more acceptable than at any time in 75 years for Americans to carry handguns. Post-9/11 fears may be a factor, as are the pro-gun politicking of the National Rifle Association and the marketing, particularly to women, by handgun manufacturers. Events like the Dec. 8 fatal shootings at Virginia Tech reinforce a feeling that the world is unsafe, even as violent U.S. crime rates fall. Twenty years ago, 76 percent of women shunned owning guns, and 68 percent of U.S. residents told Gallup pollsters that they backed laws more strictly limiting gun sales. Then what Gallup calls "a clear societal change" began. In October, Gallup found record-low support for a handgun ban - 26 percent among all responders and 31 percent among women. Americans who get handguns for protection are living with "serious delusions," says Caroline Brewer of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, who says few are trained rigorously enough to deploy weapons in the shock and heat of an attack, Bloomberg News/Charlotte Observer

Cops-Shot Epidemic "A Scandal Too Easily Overlooked"--Wash Post ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There is no evidence that Virginia Tech's new lockdown system impeded the plans of a young gunman who killed campus police officer Deriek Crouse last week, says the Washington Post. A "lockdown" on a campus with 125 buildings and 30,000 students "suggests a degree of security that in fact may be illusory," the newspaper says in an editorial. Already this year, 163 law enforcement officers have been killed in the line of duty, a number running 12 percent ahead of last year's rate and way ahead of the numbers recorded in 2008 and 2009. The reasons that police killings have surged are a matter of conjecture. Perhaps budget cutbacks have left olice departments short-staffed or more dependent on officers responding singly to calls. Perhaps, as the rights of gun owners are ascendant, there are more firearms on the streets and in the wrong hands. The epidemic of assaults, injuries, and deaths among law enforcement officers is "a scandal too easily overlooked," the Post says. Washington Post

Seattle Trial Of Swift Sanctions For Convict Violations Working ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Seattle pilot program that imposes swift, certain punishment with as little as three to five days in jail for violations of community supervision is significantly reducing drug use, incarceration, and criminal activity, says a new study reported by the Seattle Times. Correction officials caution that the results are based on only six months of a one-year study involving just 35 convicted criminals released back into the city under community supervision. The Seattle trial is succeeding with offenders with longer criminal histories and more serious crimes than those involved in a similar Hawaii experiment called HOPE, including murder, violent assaults and robbery. The findings, to be shared today with the Seattle City Council, have implications for corrections statewide where more than $270 million in cuts over the past three years - and an additional $27 million projected for the current biennium - could mean early release for thousands of inmates. Noting that the state now supervises 16,000 mostly high-risk offenders, Bernie Warner, secretary of the Department of Corrections, said the Seattle pilot project suggests that the state could potentially save millions in reduced incarceration time and crime. Seattle Times

How U.S. Is Handling Hundreds of Inmates In Terrorism Cases ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A decade after the Sept. 11 attacks, the New York Times looked at how federal prisons have handled the challenge of extremist violence. Among the findings: 171 prisoners remain at Guantánamo. As of Oct. 1, the federal Bureau of Prisons reported that it was holding 362 people convicted in terrorism-related cases, 269 with what the bureau calls a connection to international terrorism - up from just 50 in 2000. Another 93 inmates have a connection to domestic terrorism. Terrorists who plotted to massacre Americans are likely to die in prison. Many inmates whose conduct fell far short of outright terrorism are serving sentences of a decade or more, the result of a prevention strategy to sideline radicals well before they could initiate deadly plots. Since 2006, the Bureau of Prisons has moved many of those convicted in terrorism cases to two special units that severely restrict visits and phone calls. In creating what are Muslim-dominated units, officials have fostered a sense of solidarity and defiance, and set off a long-running legal dispute over limits on group prayer. Officials have warned in court filings about the danger of radicalization, but the Bureau of Prisons has nothing comparable to the deradicalization programs instituted in many countries. More than 300 prisoners have completed their sentences and been freed since 2001. New York Times

NYC Cocaine-Smuggling Case Turns Up Much Airline Baggage Theft ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The ringleader of a cocaine-smuggling group arrested by federal authorities was Victor Bourne, a low-wage baggage handler for American Airlines at Kennedy International Airport, reports the New York Times. His associates were other airline employees: baggage handlers and crew chiefs who delivered contraband while they delivered luggage to the baggage-claim area. Testimony at Bourne's trial showed a culture of corruption among some baggage handlers at Kennedy. They stowed drugs in secret panels inside planes; stole laptops, lobsters and fine clothing flown as freight; and rifled through passengers' belongings for perfume, liquor, and electronics. " 'Everybody did it.' That's a line that a lot of the witnesses said," recalled Rebecca Grefski, a juror. When a prosecutor asked defendant Matthew James, who pleaded guilty, what percent of American Airlines employees took part in baggage theft, he said 80 percent. New York Times

Experts: Sandusky Case Fits Typical Patterns of Pedophilia ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How do persistent child molesters get away with it for so long? The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quote experts as saying that it typically happens because of a confluence of elements. The molester is good at what he does because he's had years of practice, typically dating to his own adolescence. His victims -- usually boys -- are often compliant. The adults around him either aren't paying attention to the signals or don't want to believe the truth. If the charges against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky are true, he is the prototypical acquaintance molester -- grooming vulnerable young male targets over time, building a rapport with boys on the cusp of their sexuality, making enough mistakes to raise suspicions but not enough to be prosecuted. Ken Lanning, a Virginia consultant who wrote "Child Molesters: A Behavioral Analysis" as an agent at the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit, says the behavior outlined in the Sandusky grand jury presentment "is consistent with the patterns I've seen with this type of offender. This is the most persistent and prolific type of molester that we know of." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette