8 Dec 2011

Illinois Prosecutor to Retire After Controversial Comments About DNA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Michael Mermel, the longtime Lake County, Ill., prosecutor under fire for "inappropriate" comments he made to the New York Times about DNA evidence, will retire in January. The announcement by State's Attorney Michael Waller came days after Sheriff Mark Curran called for Mermel's dismissal over controversial statements dating to 1995 that Curran said reflect poorly on the county's criminal justice system, reports the Chicago Tribune. Mermel, 60, has been a prosecutor since 1990. He was quoted extensively in a Nov. 27 New York Times article challenging DNA tests. Some DNA tests have shown that sperm found inside several rape and murder victims did not come from men he prosecuted. The Tribune said he has made controversial statements for years. In October 2010, Mermel was quoted as saying: "The taxpayers don't pay us for intellectual curiosity. They pay us to get convictions." Chicago Tribune

Police Unions Dominate Florida Commission That Disciplines Cops ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Florida lawmakers created the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission in 1977 to police the police. But in 1999 Gov. Jeb Bush and state lawmakers began making appointments to the commission to repay police unions for their endorsements, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports in its series on bad cops. Bush put Ernie George, then the president of the Police Benevolent Association, on the 19-member panel that decides officer discipline. George is still there today, as chairman, in the one spot state law reserves for a "Florida citizen." With George in place, police unions pushed for changes over the past decade that made it harder to discipline officers. New laws and rules put more union representatives on the disciplinary panel, gave union officials more authority over who can be on the panel, limited the amount of negative information available to the commission and even eliminated the ability to punish officers who lie while under investigation. In a message to his membership in 2006, George summed up the accomplishments: "We were able to lobby the Legislature and pass major pieces of legislation other unions only dream about." Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Newsweek: Were Accused Coaches' Wives Complicit or 'In the Dark'? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sexual abuse allegations against coaches Jerry Sandusky of Penn State and Bernie Fine of Syracuse University prompt what Newsweek calls "perplexing questions about the women who shared the alleged molesters' beds while it was all happening. How on earth could they not have known? Does it take a certain kind of woman to live this kind of lie?" The magazine explores whether Dottie Sandusky and Laurie Fine were complicit since Fine was recording talking about her husband's abuse and some of the incidents alleged against Sandusky happened in the basement of that couple's home. Yet researchers say that cluelessness is typical: pedophiles' wives are usually in the dark. What seems to fool the women over and over, says University of Arizona psychologist Judith Becker, is that the abusers are usually charismatic and popular. "They don't come across as angry or aggressive," says Becker, who has evaluated more than 1,000 of these men. "And they tend to be kind and loving around children." Newsweek

Soros Taps Chris Stone to Lead His 'Complex' Philanthropies ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ George Soros, the billionaire investor, on Wednesday named Christopher Stone, a well-known expert on criminal justice, the new leader of his unconventional philanthropic empire. Stone, a professor at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, will fully take the helm in July of the Open Society Foundations, a sprawling constellation of more than 30 organizations that operate in places as diverse as Baltimore, Jakarta, the Kremlin and Congress. He will succeed Aryeh Neier, who is retiring at 74 after serving as the Open Society's president since 1993. Soros said Stone will be charged with unifying and streamlining the "very complex organization." Soros has never endowed his collection of foundations, but he often gives away enough money in a year to make Open Society the most generous philanthropy in the country after the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It is on track to give away about $860 million this year. New York Times

New Orleans Tries New Strategies on Its Old Homicide Problem ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New Orleans is taking new steps to deal with a longstanding crime problem: its high homicide rate. Adopting a program from Milwaukee, the city is setting up a commission to analyze past killings and try to prevent violence, says the New York Times. Businessmen have pledged to find work for people returning from prison. A few hundred volunteers have begun training to set up neighborhood watches or become mentors. It has also borrowed a Chicago program that recruits people who have experience in violent neighborhoods and sends them out to counsel and intervene. City officials have been pushing what they call a public health approach, a "paradigm shift," they say, in a city that has been known for soaring arrest and incarceration rates. There were 51 homicides per 100,000 residents there last year, compared with less than 7 per 100,000 in New York or 23 in similar-size Oakland, Calif. The killers and their victims are overwhelmingly young black men. Most victims and offenders had prior contacts with the police, often for violent crimes. Less than a quarter were listed as having a steady job. Many killings in New Orleans are a result of conflicts and vendettas among small, loosely organized groups. Only about half the homicide cases are cleared. New York Times

Since 1977, Virginia Has Set a Swift, Certain Pace for Executions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Since executions resumed in 1977, Virginia has put to death nearly three out of four of its condemned prisoners, the nation's highest rate, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Texas, which leads the United States in number of executions, is second to Virginia, carrying out less than half its death sentences. In most death-penalty states, the ratio is fewer than 1 in 10. Virginia authorities say its capital-murder law was tightly written and that trial and appeal courts there do a better job than elsewhere; critics argue Virginia trials have plenty of errors that appeals courts fail to catch. Virginia inmates spend half the time, 7.1 years, from sentencing to execution than the average wait nationally, and the relatively large number of executions and fewer death sentences here has left just 11 killers on death row. Virginia's tally through 2010 - 108 executions out of 149 death sentences - is in large part a result of fewer reversals, historically at least, by the Virginia Supreme Court and the 4th U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals. By comparison, California, which has conducted just 13 executions since 1977. Richmond Times-Dispatch

With Guns Allowed in FL Capitol, Senators Get 'Panic Buttons' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two months after a new Florida law made it easier to bring concealed guns into the Capitol, the Senate security force has installed special alert buttons on the phone of every senator and staffer, reports the Miami Herald. At the touch of a button, an unseen officer in the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Office can instantly monitor a conversation in Senate offices and respond if needed. "Instead of reversing what we did, we're resorting to panic buttons," said Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich of Weston, who opposed the new gun law. "It's unnerving. My staff is very nervous." For years, Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents asked concealed weapons permit holders entering the Capitol to surrender their weapons and store them in a police lock box. If they refused, FDLE agents would notify the sergeant's office, which would assign a guard to follow the person through the building. But a law that took effect Oct. 1 pre-empts city and county governments from regulating guns except where the state expressly allows it. That includes the state Capitol, where guns are prohibited only in the House and Senate chambers and committee rooms. Miami Herald

Experts See Improvements Since 1960s in Police Behavior at Protests ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Except for a few well-publicized incidents, most law enforcement experts say the tactics for policing Occupy Wall Street protests have changed dramatically for the better compared with how they might have been handled in the 1960s and 1970s, during the height of the anti-Vietnam War and the Civil Rights-era demonstrations. "There is a world of difference," said Samuel Walker, an emeritus professor of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska Omaha, told The Crime Report. "It's like night and day. In terms of police policy, command-and-control and accountability, (the 1960s) were the dark ages. There were almost no written policies or training on how to handle these kinds of situations." William J. Bratton, a former police chief of Los Angeles and a former police commissioner in Boston and New York City, characterized the shift in protest policing as a "sea change." "The changes have been significant," said Bratton, who is now the chairman of Kroll, a subsidiary of the international private security firm Altegrity. "The training of police officers is more significant than it was. One thing police seek to do now is to have more dialogue, a lot more engagement with people they are trying to deal with." The Crime Report

Blagojevich Gets 14-Year Sentence; Will Join Ex-Gov. Ryan Behind Bars ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A contrite former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in federal prison. He will join ex-Gov. George Ryan, serving 6 1/2 years for corruption, behind bars when he surrenders on Feb. 16, notes the Chicago Tribune. Four former governors in the state have been imprisoned in the past 35 years. "When it is the governor who goes bad, the fabric of Illinois is torn and disfigured and not easily repaired," U.S. District Judge James Zagel told Blagojevich. "You did that damage." Blagojevich won't be eligible for release until 2024, when he is 67 years old. The former governor was sentenced after making a final plea to Zagel that saw him apologize but seemingly stop just short of fully admitting he had done something criminal. "I'm here convicted of crimes. The jury decided I was guilty," Blagojevich said. "I am accepting of it. I acknowledge it and I, of course, am unbelievably sorry for it." Chicago Tribune

State Officials Meet in D.C. to Discuss Recidivism-Reduction Strategies ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Policymakers from all 50 states, including corrections directors, legislative leaders, judges and governors' staff, gathered today in Washington, D.C., to discuss strategies to reduce recidivism through better work on prisoner re-entry into society. Laurie Robinson, assistant attorney general for Justice Programs, talked about four "core strategies": using good risk-measurement instruments to focus on those most likely to re-offend, basing programs on "sound science," promoting "effective community supervision," and "targeting resources to places where most crime is committed." The session aims to have states set goals or expand on existing goals "for reducing reincarceration rates for individuals committing new offenses or violating the conditions of their release." A.T. Wall, corrections director in Rhode Island and president of the Association of State Correctional Administrators, said, "We in corrections accept the challenge and the opportunity that this unprecedented forum highlights." The event is sponsored by the Council of State Governments Justice Center and was planned with the Association of State Correctional Administrators; the U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Public Welfare Foundation, and the Pew Center on the States. Crime & Justice News

Judicial Salaries Have Grown Stagnant as States Cut Budgets ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Judicial salaries across the country have grown stagnant as states have been forced to cut budgets, reports Stateline.org. The pay of state judges increased by less than one percent nationally from 2010 to 2011, according to the National Center for State Courts. The NCSC says judicial salaries have increased less than three percent overall since 2008. Some of the least attractive salaries are in states with the highest cost of living. Salaries for general state trial court judges range from $178,835 per year in Illinois to $104,170 per year in Mississippi. While judges' salaries have generally kept up with the modest rates of inflation in recent years, they continue to lag behind those of their peers in the private sector of the legal profession. It adds up to a troubling situation, says Greg Hurley of NCSC. "While you'll always get enough people that want to sit on the bench," Hurley says, "you need to have a big enough pool.().a good bench will have judges from all practice backgrounds-we want big firm players too, not just people who can afford to take the lower salary." Stateline

Following CA's Lead, Illinois to Crack Down on Prison Phones ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Illinois is cracking down on people who try to smuggle portable phones into the state's 30 prisons, reports the Bloomington Pantagraph. The state Department of Corrections is asking companies how much it would cost for them to install equipment to detect whether illegal cellphone calls are being made from within prison walls. California recently approved similar measures designed to stop the flow of cellphones into their prison system, where the number of cellphones confiscated grew from 261 in 2006 to more than 10,700 in 2010. The problem is much smaller in Illinois, where just eight phones have been confiscated so far this year. Bloomington (Ill.) Pantagraph