19 March 2012

March 19, 2012   Today's Stories

U.S. Wins Long Custody Of Only 15 "Dangerous" Sex Offenders in 6 Years ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Six years ago, the federal government set out to detain indefinitely some of the nation's most dangerous sex offenders, keeping them locked up even after their prison sentences had ended. The government has won court approval for detaining just 15 men, reports USA Today. Far more often, men the U.S. Justice Department called "sexually dangerous" predators remained imprisoned for years without a mandatory court hearing before the government was forced to let them go. The Justice Department has lost or dropped cases against 61 of the 136 men it sought to detain. Some were imprisoned for more than four years without a trial before they were freed. Dozens of others are waiting for their day in court. They remain in a prison unit in Butner, N.C., where authorities and former detainees said explicit drawings of children are commonplace, but where few of the men have received any treatment for the disorders that put them there. Neither the Justice Department nor other watchdog agencies have offered any public assessment of how well the federal civil commitment law works. USA Today

More Cyberbullying Cases Seen After "Jerky Kid Defense" Failure ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The defense that Jharun Ravi was a "jerky kid" failed miserably with his conviction in the Tyler Clementi suicide case, says the New York Times. Lawyers said the result gave new potential to hate-crime prosecutions for cyberbullying and digital spying because it seemed to repudiate the notion that youth was a defense. "The debate in this case was, Was this a stupid college prank or criminal intimidation? And the jury gave a clear answer," said Suzanne Goldberg, a gender law expert at Columbia Law School. Lawyers said the verdict would encourage other hate-crime prosecutions involving young defendants. Reluctance by prosecutors in the past had suggested that there were few legal consequences to online prying or to social-media irreverence that became abusive. The failure of the jerky-kid defense is likely to change the legal landscape, the Times said, by showing that jurors can conclude that young people who are sophisticated enough to spy on, insult, and embarrass one another electronically are sophisticated enough to be held accountable. The verdict showed that the notion of innocent youth as a shield to culpability might not hold as much sway as it once did in court, said former federal prosecutor Marcellus McRae: "Jurors will say their kid or kids they know are more sophisticated than that. For jurors, it doesn't pass the common-sense test." New York Times

Bias Intimidation Verdict in NJ Webcam Suicide Case ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dharun Ravi was found guilty in New Jersey of bias intimidation by using a webcam to spy remotely on an intimate tryst between Rutgers University roommate Tyler Clementi and an older man, the Newark Star-Ledger reports. The crime is a second-degree felony indicating he targeted Clementi because he was gay and knew his actions would hurt him. Ravi was convicted of three other crimes as well. Three days after that encounter in 2010, the distraught teen leaped to his death from the George Washington Bridge. It was a precedent-setting verdict that legal experts and advocates say draws a firm line against bullying and harassment in a wired world. "This verdict, combined with New Jersey's new anti-bullying law, sends a powerful signal across the state and, frankly, across the country that the days of a kids-will-be-kids defense to brutal bullying are now over, and thank God for that," said Steven Goldstein of the advocacy group Garden State Equality. Newark Star-Ledger

How Drugs, Alcohol Figure Into Most Big-City Oklahoma Felonies ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Of all felonies in Oklahoma's two biggest counties on a single day chosen at random, six out of 10 were linked to drugs or alcohol, a review by the Tulsa World and The Oklahoman found. Of 62 felony cases filed in the two counties on a random day last year, 38 people were either charged with crimes directly involving drugs or alcohol, used substances while on probation or deferred sentences, or committed crimes while under the influence. Nearly all of the 38 people had been convicted of prior crimes. Several had been kicked out of drug court or sober living programs while others committed new crimes after they had been granted deferred sentences. Tulsa prosecutor Doug Drummond called the figure low, estimating that "80 to 90 percent of our cases, including homicides and robberies, involve some link to illegal drugs or alcohol." Oklahoma City prosecutor Scott Rowland said people who possess drugs for personal use are not likely to wind up in prison, especially on first offenses. "Contrary to popular belief, you have to work pretty hard to go to prison for possession of drugs in Oklahoma," he said. The Oklahoman

911 Call Release Fuels More Rage in Florida's Trayvon Martin Killing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A series of 911 calls from the last moments of Trayvon Martin's life in Florida were supposed to shed light on why police have not arrested the shooter, crime-watch volunteer George Zimmerman. Instead, they have fueled even more rage, says the Orlando Sentinel. Trayvon's family and supporters vow they won't give up until Zimmerman is charged with the 17-year-old's slaying late last month. At the heart of this maelstrom - in which the thorny issues of race and justice have surfaced as themes - is a boy who dreamed of becoming a pilot and liked to work with his hands. Police said they hoped releasing the 911 calls surrounding the altercation and shooting would help clarify why they didn't arrest Zimmerman. In a call to the Police Department's non-emergency line, Zimmerman can be heard pursuing the boy, even after dispatchers tell him not to. He describes Trayvon as a black male who looked like he was "up to no good." He begins the call by saying there's been a rash of break-ins in the neighborhood. At one point in the call, Zimmerman says: "These assholes, they always get away." Orlando Sentinel

Needed for Drivers: Legal Threshhold for Pot-Like Blood Alcohol Limit ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How do you tell if someone is too stoned to drive? The Associated Press reports that states that allow medical marijuana have grappled with determining impairment levels. Voters in Colorado and Washington state will decide this fall whether to legalize the drug for recreational use, bringing a new urgency to the issue. A Denver marijuana advocate says officials are scrambling for limits because more drivers acknowledge using the drug. "The explosion of medical marijuana patients has led to a lot of drivers sticking the (marijuana) card in law enforcement's face, saying, 'You can't do anything to me, I'm legal,'" said attorney Sean McAllister, who defends people charged with driving under the influence of marijuana. Driving while impaired by any drug is illegal in all states. Law enforcement officers face challenges using old tools to try to fix a new problem. Most convictions for drugged driving now are based on police observations, followed by a blood test. Authorities envision a legal threshold for pot that would be comparable to the blood-alcohol standard used to determine drunken driving. Associated Press/Salt Lake Tribune

Early Results Encouraging From D.C. Juvenile Mental Health Court ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JM-4 in Washington, D.C.'s Superior Court isn't your typical courtroom, says the Washington Post. No one is on trial. Defendants, called "respondents," are surrounded by social workers, psychologists and, often, family members. There's no mention of the criminal charges against them. It is the home of a 14-month-old juvenile court intended to help minors with mental health problems avoid the harsh consequences and limited rehabilitation opportunities in the juvenile system. Known as the juvenile mental health diversion court, it is the latest stop for Magistrate Judge Joan Goldfrank, who has spent much of her career navigating the intersection of mental health and criminal justice. "The message I want to give them is that they are supported," Goldfrank said. "The whole point of juvenile justice is rehabilitation. How could we not do it on the kids' side?" The court, one of about a dozen similar courts around the U.S., is part of a broader movement toward "problem-solving" courts that try to tackle social problems such as drug use and prostitution without incarceration. The D.C. Department of Mental Health said 56 juveniles were enrolled in diversion in 2011. Eight, or 14 percent, were re-arrested, compared with 40 percent in regular court. Nationally, the re-arrest rate is 60 percent. Washington Post

News Investigation Questions Basis of Charges Against PA Prison Guards ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With 188 charges of abuse, the case launched last year against seven State Correctional Institution Pittsburgh prison guards has attracted national attention. The Department of Justice has opened a federal civil rights investigation. So far, says the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and PublicSource, a nonprofit investigative news group, neither court documents nor testimony at preliminary hearings has revealed any physical, video, audio or documentary evidence to bolster the prisoners' claims. A three-month examination of the case by the two journalism organizations has found that some of the accusations of Department of Corrections investigators were based on secondhand accounts that were not corroborated by the alleged victims, or tales told by inmates who later said they'd been pressured by investigators. The case's foundations are accusations from a sex offender, a robber, and a mentally challenged man. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Philly Cop, With 700 Twitter Followers, Taken Offline and Sent to Training ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In West and Southwest Philadelphia, sounds of sirens or gunfire send some citizens rushing to a laptop or smartphone, for a direct line to the Fuzz, says the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Fuzz is police detective Joseph Murray, 32, who for two years has used his Twitter account - @TheFuzz9143 - to blast crime-fighting updates. Murray, a third-generation police officer, has used the social-media tool to cultivate a dialogue with those he protects and serves. Murray tells his 700 followers where and when crimes are happening, very often crimes that don't make the evening news. He's ahead of the digital curve in policing - perhaps a little too far ahead. His superiors asked him to suspend tweeting while they develop departmentwide policies and training - a directive Murray does not question. His approach may serve as a road map. Murray has been off-line recently, which put a scare into his loyal followers. In January, a new police mandate required officers to get departmental permission before using their official titles on social-media sites. Philadelphia Inquirer

ICE Flagging Minor Offenders for Deportation in Austin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Despite repeated statements from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that its main deportation targets are undocumented immigrants considered threats to the public or national security, more than 1,000 people have been flagged for deportation in Austin's Travis County in the past three years after arrests for minor infractions like traffic tickets or public intoxication, an Austin American-Statesman analysis found. ICE data show that the Travis County Jail has become one of the busiest - and most efficient - deportation hubs in the U.S. since federal immigration agents boosted their presence in the jail about four years ago and later began using a controversial program known as Secure Communities to check the immigration status of everyone booked into the jail. Since its 2008 launch in Harris County, Secure Communities - which helps agents identify potential deportation targets by comparing fingerprints against immigration databases - has been promoted as a tool to help target "the most dangerous and violent offenders" in the nation's jails and prisons. ICE says it has the money and manpower to deport about 400,000 people a year, so it focuses on serious felons, repeat offenders, gang members, and other public threats, and instructed its employees last year to use more discretion in deciding who to flag for deportation. In Travis County, twice as many people have been deported after a misdemeanor arrest in recent years than have been deported after a felony arrest. Austin American-Statesman

Division Over Leaving Kids in Hot Cars to Die: Should It Be a Crime? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last June, Virginia veterinarian Karen Murphy mistakenly left her infant son, 2, in a hot car to die. Last week, Murphy 41, was permitted to plead guilty to misdemeanor child neglect, says the Washington Post. She faces 400 hours of community service, six years of probation, and a lifetime of grief and shame. There are 15 to 30 cases like this around the U.S. each year. The parent usually is an ordinary, responsible person who was under unusual stress - stress that neuroscientists have found can trigger a hiccup in the memory system of the brain. Should these cases, with no intent to harm and no additional contributory negligence such as substance abuse, where the event was triggered entirely by a lapse of memory, be treated as crimes? Nationally, there is no consensus. Kids and Cars, a child-safety advocacy group, in roughly 40 percent of these cases, the death is declared accidental and no charges are filed. The other 60 percent - with nearly identical facts, and under nearly identical state laws - are aggressively prosecuted on charges ranging from child neglect to murder. Washington Post

How Child Abuse-Psychology Expert Gets The Truth Out of Kids ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ University of Southern California law Prof. Thomas Lyon, a Harvard-trained attorney with a doctorate in psychology, has helped show that open-ended, nonjudgmental questions can prompt more detailed narratives from children, reports the Los Angeles Times. His federally funded research shows that getting a child to promise to be honest actually makes it more likely that they will tell the truth. Lyon, 52, says, "Actually I find abuse work often terribly depressing, but what keeps me in it is how great the kids are despite the abuse they suffer. They still tend to be really resilient, really interested in things, really excited about stuff. And that's inspiring." His field has generated debate among psychologists and lawyers for decades. "Anyone who works with abused kids knows the kids are afraid and threatened and reluctant and ashamed," said Lyon. Critics say he tends to be too pro-prosecution. Lyon said he is not out to convict the innocent but wants the criminal justice system to understand how memories of childhood abuse can last through adulthood. Lyon is among the experts who have trained sheriff's deputies in interviewing methods that they've subsequently used in recent abuse cases in the Los Angeles schools. Los Angeles Times