14 Dec 2011

Gangs Using Facebook, Twitter to Organize, Recuit; "The New Reality" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As Nashville police investigated the murder of Jeremy Green, they took to the streets, interviewed witnesses and turned to a different source that is quickly becoming routine in gang investigations: Facebook, reports The Tennessean. As social media gain prominence in everyday life, police are finding it a useful tool for tracking criminal activity. Gang members often publish photos of themselves holding money, guns, and drugs. Authorities are seeing gangs in particular begin to use social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook to organize their activities and recruit new members. "I think it's the new reality. It's the new reality for every person with the Internet and this different social media. I don't think it's going to be a flash," said Lt. Gordon Howey, who heads the police gang unit. The FBI warns in its 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment report that gang violence expanded over the past two years and that the increase in communication technology - smartphones and social media - is partly to blame. The Tennessean

State Prison Inmate Deaths Rise, Jail Mortality Rate Declines ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ State prisons reported 3,408 inmate deaths in 2009, an increase from 2,877 in 2001, the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics said today. The mortality rate in state prisons has remained stable since 2003, fluctuating between 250 and 260 deaths per 100,000 prison inmates. Both the rate and number of deaths in local jails dropped to one of the lowest levels in a decade in 2009. The jail mortality rate dropped to 127 inmate deaths per 100,000 jail inmates in 2009 from 151 deaths per 100,000 in 2000. Jail deaths declined from a high of 1,102 in 2007 to 948 in 2009. In 2008 and 2009, suicide, heart disease, cancer, and liver disease remained the leading causes of death in state prisons and local jails. In 2009, 32 percent of deaths in jails were suicides and 21 percent were due to heart disease. Heart disease and cancer accounted for half (52 percent) and liver disease for 8 percent of all prisoner deaths in 2009. Suicide rates in jails dropped each year between 2001 and 2007 (from 49 to 36 deaths per 100,000 inmates), before increasing in 2009 to 41 deaths per 100,000 inmates. In state prisons, the suicide rate has been fairly stable, fluctuating between 14 and 17 deaths per 100,000 prison inmates between 2001 and 2009. U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics

State, Federal Conflict over Medical Marijuana: A "Giant Mess" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A "giant mess" is how Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar sees the conundrum over the expansion of medical marijuana, which is seen across the city in the growing number of patients with prescriptions, dispensaries popping up faster than Starbucks shops, and neighborhood complaints about rising crime and traffic, reports the Christian Science Monitor. The root of the "mess"? The challenge of carrying out the will of Californians, who in 1996 voted to decriminalize marijuana sales and possession for medicinal use, even as the federal government deems marijuana, "medical" or not, to be an illegal drug. In the 15 years since California became the first state to adopt a medical marijuana law, the nation's general drift has been toward greater tolerance of marijuana use. President Obama's Justice Department steered prosecutors away from charging "individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana" - though many say that no longer is the case. Some say that Obama policy contributed to the current confusion, with the feds missing in action as a patchwork of state laws and local rules sprang up around medical marijuana - much as has happened with illegal immigration. Lately, the Justice Department has moved to clamp down on marijuana dispensaries and growers, especially in California, citing large-scale criminal activity. Obama "made it sound like he was going to take a different tack than his predecessor - that they are not going to go after patients but only large collectives," says Vanderbilt law Prof. Robert Mikos. "The simplified media sound bites made it look like they weren't going to enforce the ban, and when they did, marijuana advocates overdramatized it." Christian Science Monitor

Las Vegas Officer Fired 8 Months After Beating Man WhoTaped Him ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Las Vegas officer accused of beating a man for videotaping police was fired, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Officer Derek Colling was terminated after an eight-month probe into a confrontation between him and videographer Mitchell Crooks. Crooks, 37, was videotaping police from his driveway as officers investigated a burglary across the street from his home. Crooks said that when he refused to stop filming, Colling beat him, with much of the altercation recorded by the camera. Crooks was arrested for battery against an officer, trespassing and resisting arrest, but the charges were dropped. The long investigation has been "driving me crazy," Crooks said. "This is a little vindication." Crooks' lawyer filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Colling in U.S. District Court last month. Las Vegas Review-Journal

Man Freed Over Crack Term Back in Prison; U.S. Attorney Fought Change ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Maryland man who got out of federal prison in December when his crack cocaine sentence was reduced was sent back prison this week after being sentenced to 11 years for distributing drugs, reports the Baltimore Sun. Clevon "Ty" Johnson, 38, went back to his old career less than a year after walking out of prison. Revisions in federal crack cocaine sentencing guidelines are resulting in reductions of sentences for some defendants. The changes are nationwide, and are spurred by concerns that crack laws are more severe than for power cocaine, resulting in racial disparities. Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod Rosentstein objected to the changes, saying that often his office gets convictions in drug cases that are easier to prosecute than violent offenses. The long sentences means justice is served either way. That tool may now be gone. "In some cases, their record may not reflect the violent crimes in which they were engaged," Rosenstein said. "When prosecutors had these crack penalties, they used those to incarcerate people for lengthy periods of time without proving the violence. It's much more complicated to prove that somebody's involved in shootings and murder." Baltimore Sun

Do Suspensions for Minor School Offenses Do More Harm than Good? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A boy, 11, was expelled for the rest of the school year in Bakersfield, Ca., for "slapping a girl on the buttock and running away laughing," His pro bono attorney, a retired FBI agent, was appalled, reports the Center for Public Integrity. "This, on his record, puts him right up there next to the kid who raped somebody behind the backstop," said Tim McKinley. Kern County, Ca., is at the leading edge of a contentious debate over where to draw the line in exacting school discipline. Teachers want a safe environment. Parents want to know their children are secure and not getting bullied. No-nonsense school districts in this conservative oil and agribusiness region are suspending and expelling students for a broad range of indiscretions. Meanwhile, a national reform movement is growing, fueled by reports that suspension and expulsion policies are disproportionately targeting minorities, and doing more harm than good by killing kids' attachment to school and putting many on a fast track to failure. Since the 1970s, multi-day, at-home suspensions and long-term expulsions have been on the rise nationally, many of them meted out not for violence, but for lesser violations like insubordination, says the Civil Rights Project of the University of California at Los Angeles. Center for Public Integrity

Five Candidates Interviewed to Replace Fired Miami Chief Exposito ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Five candidates have been named as finalists to become Miami's top cop, and a decision may be made by Friday, reports the Miami Herald. The finalists are: Adam Burden, Michael J. Gugliotti, Rafael Hernandez Jr., Manuel Orosa, and Amos Rojas Jr. Former Chief Miguel Exposito was booted for insubordination after months of picking fights with politicians and fellow law-enforcement officials. In open-to-the-public interviews, the candidates - all well-known figures in law enforcement circles in South Florida and the Northeast U.S. - echoed similar themes. They stressed the importance of mending tensions among factions within the department, emphasizing the need for community-oriented policing, and building transparent relationships with the local news media. Adam Burden, the lone black finalist, is a former Miami assistant chief, retired in 2009 after Exposito demoted him and a slew of other high-ranking staffers hailing from the administration of former police chief John Timoney. Gugliotti is chief of police in Waterbury, Ct. Hernandez, a former Miami-Dade officer, has served as chief of police in Sweetwater, South Miami and Chelsea, Ma. Manuel Orosa, a longtime Miami officer and command staffer, is the current interim police chief. His critics have pointed out that he was temporarily relieved of duty in 1988 after the infamous beating death of drug dealer Leonardo Mercado. Rojas is a longtime Florida Department of Law Enforcement special agent who headed Miami's field office for eight years before retiring earlier this year. Miami Herald

Man Accused in NYC Cop Killing Should Have Been Extradited: Kelly ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Despite his being wanted for a shooting in North Carolina, the man accused of killing New York City police officer Peter Figoski on Monday was twice released from jail in New York this fall because the authorities in North Carolina declined to have him extradited, the New York Times reports. New York police had arrested Lamont Pride for possession of a knife and for possession of crack cocaine and endangering the welfare of a child. Each time, said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, police noticed that Pride was wanted in North Carolina, but that the arrest warrant could be served only in that state. A New York police officer called the authorities in Greensboro, N.C., after the second arrest, in November, because of "a concern about a violent felon going back on the streets of New York City." By the time the Greensboro police requested extradition, Pride had already been freed, Kelly said, "He should not have been out on the streets. He should ideally have been extradited to North Carolina. But that did not happen." New York Times

TX, Other States Taking Blood Tests In DWI Cases: If It Bleeds, It Pleads ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Texans arrested for drunken driving should be prepared to give blood this holiday season, reports the Wall Street Journal. The state's cities and counties are demanding that suspects who refuse to take breathalyzer tests give blood samples that measure the amount of alcohol in their systems. The blood-test policy-dubbed "no refusal" because it prevents drivers from refusing to provide evidence of intoxication-has grown from a novel procedure used in a few places to an initiative used by police statewide, particularly during weekends and holidays when drunken driving is most common. The no-refusal initiative has caught on in other states, including Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, and Missouri. The attraction for law enforcement and prosecutors is that blood evidence is a powerful tool in front of juries. Armed with blood evidence of intoxication, prosecutors can win convictions in more than 90% of drunk-driving cases, said Houston police Capt. Carl Driskell. Defendants faced with blood evidence often admit guilt. "If it bleeds, it pleads," said Fort Worth prosecutor Richard Alpert. Wall Street Journal

Ex-Inmate Wins $2.3 Million in D.C. for Wrongful Parole Revocation ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A federal jury in Washington, D.C., awarded man $2.3 million in damages for 10 years he spent in prison after his parole was wrongfully revoked, reports Legal Times. Charles Singletary was paroled in 1990 after serving a 7-year term for armed robbery. In 1996, the District of Columbia Board of Parole - a body that no longer exists - revoked his parole and re-imprisoned Singletary after he was accused of being involved in a murder. The charges were dropped. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in 2006 that Singletary had been denied due process at his parole-revocation hearing. He sued D.C. in 2009. "We think that it fairly compensates Mr. Singletary for what was a terrible wrong. said one of his attorneys, Edward Sussman. The District of Columbia is expected to appeal. Legal Times

Sandusky's Waiving Preliminary Hearing Seen as Plea-Deal Prelude ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When ex-Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky waived a preliminary hearing this week, for prosecutors the move is a clear sign the defense is preparing for a plea deal, says the Christian Science Monitor. Despite the overwhelming evidence against Sandusky, the 50 counts of abusing 10 boys, and his missteps in recent media interviews, the case will not be open and shut. "I know there's this perception that this is a slam-dunk case for the prosecutors. But there are icebergs out there that can sink this case," says Andrew Stoltmann, a Chicago lawyer. Sandusky says he is innocent of charges he sexually abused boys over a 15-year window. He remains under house arrest on $250,000 bond and is wearing an ankle monitor. A preliminary hearing is meant for the judge to determine probable cause. Despite that being very likely, locking in victim testimony under oath would have provided an advantage for the defense, which could then wield it against the alleged victims in a trial, says Andrew Pollis, a law professor at Case Western University. Why is Sandusky giving media interviews? "There are very, very few lawyers who aren't scratching their heads and wondering why this is happening. The cardinal rule of criminal defense is not to let the client talk." Christian Science Monitor

Oregon Stops Temporarily Holding Juveniles In Adult Prison ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oregon will stop temporarily holding juveniles in an adult prison after federal auditors questioned the practice, the Oregonian reports. About 100 youths a year had spent up to a week at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, said the nonprofit Partnership for Safety and Justice. Federal auditors questioned why 15-year-olds convicted as adults went directly to Oregon Youth Authority facilities while 16- and 17-year-olds first spent time at Coffee Creek. Youths were held in segregation cells up to 23 hours a day and mixed with adult prisoners at times, such as meals, while being processed to serve sentences. "Housing youth for any period of time in adult prisons and jails can be detrimental to their physical or mental health," said Shannon Wight of the safety partnership. The Oregonian