February 16, 2012 Today's Stories |
| Huge Media Interest In Huguely Trial: A Question of Race? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More than 200 reporters, photographers, and TV producers are credentialed to cover the George Huguely-Yeardley Love murder trial in Charlottesville, Va., says the Washington Post. Among those who've registered to cover it are representatives from the three broadcast networks' morning shows, CNN, "48 hours," "Dateline," "20/20," the New York Times, the New York Post, the Wall Street Journal and several authors researching books on the case. The Times of London is covering it, too. (Huguely and victim Love were young white college students.) The only thing that's stopped the case from turning into a full-blown circus is Judge Edward Hogshire's decision to ban TV cameras from his courtroom. Why, in a nation that averages more than 15,000 murders a year, do a few crimes or trials gain such attention? Scot Safon of the HLN cable network denies that factors such as the race, wealth, age and telegenic qualities of the victim or the accused are critical, but the Post says the almost all of the media spectacles surrounding crime and punishment have involved young white women, celebrities, or wealthy people. Says Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox: "Most readers and viewers are white. They identify with crimes involving white people. When it's a black person, unfortunately, they don't identify with the victim." |
| TX Woman Wins $20 Million For Landlord Not Warning Of Rape Risk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Houston jury awarded $20 million in damages yesterday to a rape victim who sued her apartment complex for failing to notify residents about previous sexual attacks on the property, the Houston Chronicle reports. The woman lwas raped and sodomized for more than 10 hours at a west Houston complex in 2009. She charged that complex officials knew about a break-in next door to the woman's unit a few weeks before her ordeal in which a man tried to rape that resident and failed to notify other tenants about a sexual predator. The woman renewed her lease shortly after the earlier incident without being told about its severity, said her lawyer, Troy Chandler. After a weeklong trial, the jury awarded $7 million for physical pain and mental anguish, $5 million for future mental anguish and $8 million for conduct forbidden by the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Police, on notice about a possible serial rapist, arrested Darryl Martin shortly after the woman's attacker fled and she called 911. Martin, now 24, pleaded guilty to sexual assault and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. |
| Some States Pursue New Ways of Fighting Prescription Drug Abuse ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Governors and legislators in some states are taking steps to tackle the growing scourge of prescription drug abuse, says Stateline.org. All but two states and the District of Columbia have enacted some kind of prescription drug monitoring program, but many state officials argue that this is not enough. "This growing problem is so frightening because while FDA-approved prescription opiates are easy to get, many are just as addicting and dangerous as street heroin and crack cocaine," says Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin. Shumlin has proposed giving law enforcement personnel access to the state's prescription drug monitoring system, currently accessible only to doctors and pharmacists, who enter a record in the database any time a patient is prescribed a potentially-addictive drug, classified as a schedule II, III, or IV controlled substance. Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam also is taking aim at his state's prescription drug database, which only requires prescribers to record that they've written a prescription. In a Haslam-backed bill, all prescribers and drug dispensers would be required to check the database prior to prescribing a controlled substance, and Tennessee would be able to share data with other states to cut down on doctor-shopping. |
| DE Halts Medical Pot Plan; U.S. Threatens State-Worker Prosecution ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Delaware's legalization of medical marijuana has fizzled amid legal opinions that growers, distributors, and state employees could be prosecuted under federal drug laws, reports the Wilmington News Journal. Gov. Jack Markell suspended the regulation-writing and licensing process for medical marijuana dispensaries -- effectively killing the program -- and criticized the federal government for sending mixed signals on law enforcement. "[G]rowing, distributing and possessing marijuana, in any capacity, other than as part of a federally authorized research program, is a violation of federal law regardless of state laws permitting such activities," said U.S. Attorney Charles Oberly. "Moreover, those who engage in financial transactions involving the proceeds of such activities may also be in violation of federal money laundering statutes." Markell's office said that prevents the state from issuing licenses to medical marijuana dispensaries, whose employees and owners may be subject to federal raids and prosecution. |
| Group Contends AZ Private Prisons Not Cost Effective, Hard to Monitor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arizona's private prisons are not cost-effective for taxpayers and are more difficult to monitor than state prisons, says a new report by a prison watchdog group that is calling for a moratorium on any new private prisons in the state, says the Arizona Republic. The report examined the five prisons that have contracts to house Arizona prisoners and six private prisons that house federal detainees or inmates from other states, including California and Hawaii. Based on public-information requests and other data, the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group that works on criminal-justice reform, concluded that Arizona paid $10 million more for private prison beds between 2008 and 2010 than it would have for equivalent state beds. Arizona's pending plan to contract for another 2,000 private-prison beds would cost taxpayers at least $38.7 million a year, at least $6 million a year more than incarcerating those inmates in state prisons. Plans to add 500 maximum-security beds in state prisons would add almost $10 million a year. The report questioned whether those beds are needed, since the prison population has declined over the past two years by more than 900 inmates, to 39,854. |
| Sen. Paul Blocks Bill To Outlaw Synthetic Recreational Drugs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Three senators took the unusual step of going to the Senate floor to denounce a "hold" by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on bills to outlaw synthetic recreational drugs across the U.S., reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "Let's hear what the objections are, and then pass these bills," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), who has been taking aim at a group of chemical compounds marketed as so-called bath salts, herbal incense, and research chemicals. Despite a bipartisan coalition for anti-drug legislation -- a House version passed by wide margin in December -- Klobuchar and her allies find themselves bollixed by Paul, who by Senate tradition can single-handedly hold up legislation. Paul spokeswoman Moira Bagley said he believes "law enforcement of most drug laws can and should be local and state issues." She said that Paul's hold does not prevent Senate leaders from bringing the bills up for a vote, however it might be delayed. Long-time congressional watchers say the tactic has been used with increasing frequency in recent years, particularly by Paul, a libertarian Republican who, like his father, presidential candidate Ron Paul, is unafraid of challenging the Washington establishment. |
| Serpas Quickly Drops Idea of Orange Stickers on Homes Searched for Drugs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas has cancelled what the New Orleans Times Picayune calls a "dreadful idea" of plastering bright orange stickers on homes that were searched for drugs based on anonymous tips. In an editorial, the newspaper says that "shining the light of public suspicion on someone's home -- even in cases where police found no drugs and made no arrests -- could have unfairly subjected innocent people to ridicule and embarrassment without accomplishing any real good." Public reaction to the program was quick and negative. Serpas cited lack of support as a reason for not going forward. "I recognize that without widespread community support, the placarding strategy will not be successful, so we will not move forward,'' he said. Declares the Times Picayune: "A modern-day scarlet letter isn't necessary. Arresting drug dealers and putting them behind bars is the best way to show people that their tips matter." |
| Denver Wrongful Arrest Cases Top 600; City Vows Fixes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ At least 600 times since 2002, Denver authorities, armed with warrants, arrested or jailed the wrong person, the American Civil Liberties Union tells the New York Times. As described in a lawsuit, similar names, stolen identities, and inaccurate records were sometimes the source of errors made by the police and jailers. In other cases, the arrests and detentions seemed inexplicable. "Denver law enforcement has knowingly tolerated an unjustifiable risk and frequency of these mistaken identity arrests, causing hundreds of innocent persons to be jailed for hours, days, even weeks on warrants for someone else," said the ACLU's Mark Silverstein. In one case, the Denver police mistakenly arrested a man on three different occasions who had a name similar to the actual suspect's. Even after a warning was inserted into a criminal database, the wrong man was arrested a fourth time and jailed for eight days in 2007, says an ACLU lawsuit. Since 2009, the Denver police and the sheriff's department here have set up a system in which claims of wrongful arrest and detention are investigated immediately; fewer than 10 officers are either disciplined or retrained each year because of such mistakes, said Police Lt. Matt Murray. A group of local police experts who specialize in the process of identifying criminals is studying how to reduce the problem, said David Edinger, chief performance officer for the city. The findings are expected within the next three weeks. |
| Amid Misinformation On Islam, Who Should Do Anti-Terrorism Training? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tennessee police officers and deputies will gather in Nashville in two weeks for training on how to fight terrorism, reports The Tennessean. They'll hear from experts from the national Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council and the Combating Terrorism Task Force at West Point. Muslim speakers will explain Islam and its code of conduct. What they won't hear at the event, organized by the U.S. Attorney, is anyone from Strategic Engagement Group, the Virginia-based nonprofit that is training the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office this week. Its leaders have drawn criticism for painting Muslims as violent believers who follow a law not protected by the Constitution. Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold defended a training event led by the group this week, saying there are few courses available about Islam and terrorism. Finding training isn't a problem, anti-terrorism experts say. Finding the right training is. "There is a lot of misinformation out there from people who don't understand Islam," said Jonathan White of the Homeland Defense Initiative at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mi. Last year, the New York City Police Department showed the film The Third Jihad, which says Muslims are waging a modern holy war, to nearly 1,500 officers as part of its anti-terrorism training. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg denounced that move. |
| MA Agrees To Provide Better Care to Mentally Ill Inmates ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Years after an alarming series of suicides by inmates in state prison segregation units, Massachusetts has reached a landmark agreement with advocacy groups to provide better care for prisoners with severe mental illnesses, the Boston Globe reports. The agreement, which needs a judge's final approval, calls for the Department of Correction to maintain two new units at high-level security prisons as alternatives to disciplinary segregation for prisoners with mental illness. The full article is available only to paid subscribers. |
| PA Jails Not Meeting Reproductive Health Needs of Women: ACLU ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In a report, Reproductive Health Locked Up: An Examination of Pennsylvania Jail Policies, the American Civil Liberties Union says Pennsylvania jails "are not meeting the reproductive health needs of incarcerated women," reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Jails built largely for men face a changing demographic: The rate of incarceration among women has increased twice as much as that for men since 1977, says the Institute on Women and Criminal Justice. That's driven largely by a steep increase in drug charges against women. More than half of women in prisons are there for drug or property crimes. Health care for women at the Allegheny County Jail has come under criticism. Amy Lynn Gillespie, a 27-year-old pregnant inmate, died in 2010 after her pneumonia was misdiagnosed, charges a federal lawsuit filed by her mother. "We're open enough to say, 'How can we do better,'" said Bruce Dixon, director of the Allegheny County Health Department, which created the nonprofit agency that handles health care at the jail. |
| Sentencing Inconsistent For MA Teens Convicted of Murder ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One Massachusetts teen served nine years in prison for killing her mother. Another fatally stabbed a schoolmate and is serving life without the possibility of parole. The cases illustrate profound inequities in the Massachusetts juvenile justice system since the passage of a tough sentencing law enacted 15 years ago and designed to punish the most depraved "super-predators" among teen killers, reports the New England Center for Investigative Reporting. The law is not being applied consistently to the most horrific juvenile murder cases, as it was intended. The U.S. Supreme Court will consider this spring whether it is "cruel and unusual" punishment to sentence juveniles 14 and under to life without parole for murder. In Massachusetts, there is no obvious pattern as to why some killers are sentenced to life without parole and others - who committed shocking, grisly crimes such as fatally beating a 2-year-old - escaped the harsh sentence. Juveniles whose crimes approach the cruelty of the teen whose case triggered the the 1996 law, Edward O'Brien, have escaped the severe sentence, while spontaneous acts of violence by teenagers with little prior record are punished with life behind bars |
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