Philadelphia Courts Move Aggressively To Collect Bail, Fines, Restitution ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Philadelphia courts, reversing a long pattern of lax financial collections, will aggressively go after more than $1.5 billion in forfeited bail, fines and restitution owed by thousands of defendants, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. Starting Monday, courts will phase in a system to dun debtors and deploy collection lawyers to go after the worst deadbeats. Those who have not made arrangements to pay could find themselves facing liens, attached wages, even sheriff's sales of their property. The courts yesterday announced the imminent end of a "penalty-free period" to encourage more than 400,000 people to pay up. That program included a temporary waiver of the steep collection costs associated with pursuing such debt. It will be replaced by a three-tier program that steadily rachets up the pressure and penalties on debtors. "These people have been thumbing their noses at us," said David Wasson, chief deputy court administrator. For decades, court officials have presided over an ineffective bail system that allowed accused criminals to skip court virtually without consequence. Defendants routinely failed to appear in court and just as routinely, failed to pay the forfeited bail that was supposed to come due as a result. As the Inquirer reported in November, the courts have been similarly lenient in collecting tens of millions of dollars in restitution owed to crime victims, and they have lagged in dunning criminals for millions more in fines and court costs. |
Pirates Who Killed 4 Americans Near Somalia Could Be Sent To U.S. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A U.S. military spokesman said it was possible that 15 pirates detained after the killing of four American yacht enthusiasts could be sent to the United States to face trial, the Associated Press reports. The military and Justice Department are working to figure out the next steps for the pirates, said Bob Prucha, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command in Florida. The 15 are being held on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise off East Africa. The International Maritime Organization says that in the last year, there have been 286 piracy-related incidents off the coast of Somalia resulting in 67 hijacked ships, with 1,130 seafarers on board, the Christian Science Monitor reports. In 2009, four Somali pirates seized the cargo ship MV Maersk Alabama and its crew of 20. After several days, during which ship captain Richard Phillips was held hostage in a lifeboat, Navy SEAL snipers killed three of the pirates. The surviving pirate, Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, was brought to New York for prosecution. He pleaded guilty to two felonies, and last week got the maximum prison sentence of 33 years and nine months. Federal Judge Loretta Preska said, "It is this marked uptick in piracy and armed robbery at sea and the need to deter other individuals from undertaking this kind of conduct" that "makes the higher sentence absolutely necessary." |
New MA Sheriff Plans to Clean Up Scandal-Plagued Office, Jail ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peter Koutoujian, the new sheriff of Middlesex County, Ma., is unveiling sweeping reforms meant to clean up the scandal-plagued department, vowing to bar jailhouse staffers from giving to his campaign and to take politics out of promotions, says the Boston Herald. In his first extensive interview since taking over the 780-employee department after the suicide of former Sheriff James DiPaola, he said, "If there is a need I will not hesitate to move people around or bring in new people." Koutoujian, a former state representative and prosecutor, said he's seeking to restore public confidence in a department under investigation by the attorney general over allegations that staffers paid DiPaola for promotions and other considerations. He pledged to refuse campaign donations from employees and he will require promotional exams. For jail inmates, he wants to start certificate programs for custodial jobs, printing, and graphics. He wants to open a post-release resource center and bring at-risk youth into the jail to see life behind bars. "I don't envision myself as being a police officer here," said the married father of three. "You've got different models of sheriff. You've got some that are more law enforcement driven and others that are driven more on the issues of preparation for re-entry. Between those two is an appropriate direction to follow." |
Texas Executes Its 466th Murderer in the Last Three Decades ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Capital punishment is waning in some parts of the U.S., but executions continue in Texas. Timothy Wayne Adams was put to death last night for the 2002 murder of his 19-month old son, reports. the Houston Chronicle. He was the 466th killer to be put to death since the state resumed executions in 1982, and the second this year. In a witness room, Adams' former wife Emma Adams wept softy as the killer stopped breathing. Adams, 42, shot his son, Timothy Adams Jr. during a 2½-hour police standoff at his Houston home. Adams' attorneys contended the shooting came during an emotional crisis prompted by his wife's decision to leave him. He had no prior criminal record, and exhibited exemplary behavior in his seven years on death row, they said. As the execution date approached, members of his family and church publicly pleaded with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to spare him. Emma Adams did not join in their call for mercy. The pardons board unanimously rejected the killer's appeal, as did courts. |
Texas Advances Bill To Prevent Eyewitness Identification Errors ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Texas House committee has approved a measure meant to streamline eyewitness identification procedures, reports the Dallas Morning News. Under the legislation, police departments would have to adopt uniform standards for eyewitness identification. The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee approved the bill unanimously after hearing from criminal justice officials and emotional testimony from half a dozen exonerees who spent years in prison for crimes they did not commit. James Giles, a Dallas man exonerated in 2007, said he was picked out of a lineup and accused of rape, although he had never seen the victim before. He spent 10 years in prison and 14 years as a registered sex offender on parole. Policies for gathering eyewitness identification would have to be based on scientific research on memory, along with policies and guidelines developed by the federal government and other states. Policies would have to address the selection of photographs, lineup filler photographs or participants and instruction given to witnesses. The Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas at Sam Houston State University would create a model policy to be distributed to local law enforcement agencies. Texas has had 42 exonerations, 38 in cases that had been based on false eyewitness identification. Four states - Ohio, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Wisconsin - have implemented legislation similar to the eyewitness identification bill. |
Maryland Rape Victim Helps Deny Parole To Assailant 37 Years Later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Washington Post tells the story of how a Maryland rape victim, now in her 40s, was persuaded by prosecutors to tell a parole board why the man who raped her 37 years ago should not be released. Maryland holds 10,000 parole hearings annually. Fewer than three rape victims a year typically come to speak, because doing so means reliving the assault in front of the attacker. "It takes more courage than anything I can think of," said David Blumberg, commission chairman, "and that is why it doesn't happen very often." It almost didn't happen in the case of Bill Wallshleger case, either. First the woman, who was not identified by the Post, declined to testify. Then the prosecutor called. She started to feel selfish: What if Wallshleger got out and hurt someone else? She grew uncomfortable with how scared she was to confront him. "Being that affected," she said, "meant that that day, that event and that person still had power over me." She finally testified, and the board denied Wallshleger parole for another three years. |
Suspect in St. Petersburg Officer Killing, 16, Struggled in School ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nicholas Lindsey, the 16-year-old accused of killing a St. Petersburg police officer, was described as a quiet kid who was struggling in school, says the St. Petersburg Times. His family said they did not know he had a gun or how he would have come up with the $140 he apparently paid for it. A woman who knew him at his middle school and high school said he was "always polite" and not a "thug." Said Sherry Howard, volunteer coordinator, "I know some thugs here, that kid is not. When I saw him on the streets, he'd say, 'Ms. Howard, how are you doing?' Always polite." "What made him that angry? What made him snap? He doesn't seem like he wouldn't respect or comply with the officer," she continued. "What was the catalyst that made him get to the point that he had to shoot this man? Because that's not him. That's not this child." Principal Kevin Gordon said Lindsey, a 10th-grader, missed 42 days this school year and attended only seven class periods this month |
Another Increase In Domestic Anti-Government "Hate Groups" Reported ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A new study by the Southern Poverty Law Center describes a big rise in hate groups, NPR reports. It counts more than 1,000 active extremist groups in the U.S. The largest increase may come from militias that consider the federal government their enemy. Mark Potok, head of the center's Intelligence Project at the law center, said there was an "absolutely explosive growth of these groups in 2009, and what we have now found is that that growth continued through 2010." The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist movements, says there are three major reasons for the increase: the bad economy, the wide reach of the Internet, and changing racial patterns in the country. The most negative energy seems to be coming from people who think the federal government is conspiring to take away their freedom. "The patriot movement has produced a great deal of criminal violence," Potok says. "There were an enormous number of plots that came out of the patriot movement, particularly in the late 1990s, and we're beginning to see that again." |
New York Times Reports on Some Celebrities with Handgun Licenses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Among the more than 37,000 people licensed to have a handgun in New York City are dozens of public figures: prominent business leaders, elected officials, celebrities, journalists, judges, and lawyers, reports the New York Times. Some express pride in their gun ownership, like divorce lawyer Raoul Felder, who posed with his .38-caliber Smith & Wesson. Several well-known lawyers were irked to learn they would be included in an article based on the public records. Alexis Stewart, a radio hostess and daughter of Martha said, "I don't believe people should be allowed to have guns in America," but explaining she bought a .357 Magnum after 9/11. Getting a handgun legally in New York is a two-step process. Applicants must obtain a license, which costs $340, takes about 12 weeks to process, is good for three years and requires a police background check. Those who pass that hurdle must get a purchase authorization from the police for the weapon they intend to buy. One handgun license may list up to 25 weapons (so far, no one has tried to register more than that, officials said), but buyers must wait 90 days between purchases. The 41,164 registered handguns include those owned by more than 2,400 people who live outside the city but have permission to bring their weapons in, like Roger Ailes, president of Fox News, and Sean Hannity, the conservative talk-show host. |
Judge Decides New York City Must Release Reports on 850 Police Shootings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A judge ruled that official reports written whenever a New York City police officer fired at a civilian in the last 13 years must be turned over to the New York Civil Liberties Union, the new York Times reports. The ruling, unless blocked by an appellate court, means that a trove of internal police documents could soon be thrust into public view. The ruling by judge Emily Goodman gives police officials 60 days to turn over two sets of the documents for each shooting dating back to 1997 - a period covering roughly 850 shootings. The ruling could provide the public new details about such recent police scandals as the 2006 shooting death of Sean Bell and the 1999 killing of Amadou Diallo. "There are going to be a lot of big cases in these reports," said Christopher Dunn of the civil liberties group, who said he would make the reports public. "There will also be a lot of cases nobody ever heard of." Police spokesman Paul Browne said, "These are interim reports that shouldn't be made public for reasons that have been argued in the case, and especially considering the fact that our annual firearms report is already so comprehensive and that we already provide regular press briefings after each police-involved shooting." |
At Media Request, Marshals Service Issues New Mugshots of Jared Loughner ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The U.S. Marshals Service released a new set of Jared Loughner mugshots, reports Politico.com. Loughner's attorneys and prosecutors opposed the release; U.S. District Court Judge Larry Burns in San Diego refused to block disclosure of the mugshots, which had been requested by media outlets under the Freedom of Information Act. Loughner is charged with shooting U.S. Rep.Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and killing six people in Tucson last month. The new pictures, a head-on and profile shot, show bruising around Loughner's left eye and an abrasion above his right temple. The photos were taken as part of the U.S. Marshals Service booking process for federal prisoners. (An earlier mugshot from the Pima County Sheriff's Office got large play in the media. |
Reporting On WI Gun Sales, New Orleans Police Win Awards ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two other criminal justice stories have won Polk journalism awards. John Diedrich and Ben Poston of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel were named winners , for "Wiped Clean." an investigation into violations by gun dealers, including how "more than 50 gun shop owners facing federal scrutiny wiped away years of gun sale violations simply by changing ownership on paper, such as from father to son or from husband to wife." In the category of television reporting, A.C. Thompson of ProPublica, Raney Aronson-Rath and Tom Jennings of PBS' "Frontline," and Laura Maggi and Brendan McCarthy of The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, won for "Law & Disorder," an investigation into abuses by New Orleans police following Hurricane Katrina. The judges said that, "The news project revealed that in the midst of post-Katrina chaos, law-enforcement commanders issued orders to ignore long-established rules governing use of deadly force, reporting that a police captain told a group of officers that they had the authority "by martial law to shoot looters." Yesterday's Crime and Justice News reported a Polk award to the Newark Star-Ledger for reporting on steroid abuse by police officers and firefighters. |
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California Runs Out of Money to Fund Mandated 1st-Offender Drug Treatment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ California county officials who administer the state's treatment-not-jail program for certain drug offenders are struggling with a lack of funding that's not likely to improve, but advocates say ignoring the mandate simply isn't an option, reports the Contra Costa (CA) Times. Officials are trying to figure out how they'll continue to provide the same treatment without the money to pay for it. Enacted by 61 percent of voters in November 2000 as Proposition 36, the law says first- and second-time nonviolent, simple drug possession offenders must be given the opportunity to receive substance-abuse treatment instead of jail time. It would take another voter-approved ballot measure to undo it. Prop. 36 allocated $120 million per year for only five years, and as the state's budget crisis worsened, the legislature and governor declined to ante up. They set aside $108 million in 2008-09 but just $18 million in 2009-10, and then zeroed it out for this current fiscal year. Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal includes no money for it in 2011-12. A $45 million infusion of federal economic stimulus funds in 2009 is now all but gone, and the coffers are empty. It's a mandate with no money. |
Questions on $100,000 Per Predator Cost Of Locking up VA Sex Offenders ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nearly a decade ago, Virginia launched a program to keep sexual predators locked up once their prison sentences ended after learning that a serial child rapist who had kidnapped and brutalized a boy and then buried him alive might go free. State legislators are struggling with the escalating cost of the program that has kept hundreds of felons detained as the state faces growing needs in education, health care, and transportation, reports the Washington Post. As of January, 252 sex offenders had been indefinitely committed, costing more than $100,000 per felon every year. That population is expected to more than double within five years, causing even the program's biggest supporters to question whether the state can afford to keep so many sexual predators locked up for so long. "Are we being too aggressive in this?" asked Paul Martin Andrews, 51, whose harrowing experience as the young captive of Robert Ausley in 1973 led him to lobby the state to fund indefinite civil commitment for dangerous criminals. "It looks like someone is being overzealous or committing everyone they can." |
Chemical Weapons Case At High Court Tests Reach Of Federal Prosecutions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A criminal case before the Supreme Court today sounds like a soap opera, NPR reports. In 2005, Carol Anne Bond, a Philadelphia suburbanite, was sentenced to prison for six years for violating U.S. laws to carry out a 1993 chemical weapons treaty for attempting to harm her husband's mistress with chemicals. Bond cites the 10th Amendment to the Constitution - a Tea Party favorite because it highlights states' rights. It says that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution [] are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." She argues that Congress exceeded its authority by using a chemical weapons treaty to criminalize the kind of activity routinely dealt with under state law. In short, she maintained that the federal government had treated a simple assault as if it were a terrorist attack. If Bond had faced state instead of federal charges, she would likely have been subject to three months to two years in prison, rather than six years |
IL Crime Victims: Evaluate Inmates Before Any Early Release ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the second article in a series, the Bloomington (IL) Pantagraph examines the 2009 move by former state corrections director Michael Randle to change a policy that inmates must serve at least 60 days in prison before release. The action, "and the often-misinterpreted publicity about it - lit a political firestorm that cost him a promising career in Illinois, added an unexpected controversy to Pat Quinn's race for governor, and forced the ouster of several senior [corrections] staff members." "We shot ourselves in the foot by ending [a 'good-time' release program]," corrections official Cory Foster said. Victims' rights advocates want to see a thorough evaluation before inmates are released. "We're not wed to a specific number of days. The real issue is that people were released before they had time to be adequately evaluated," said Jennifer Bishop-Jenkins, founder of www.illinoisvictims.org,a victims rights group. Notification rules should be strictly followed so victims know when offenders are released, she said. |
Ohio Gov. Kasich Launches Attack On Prescription Drug Abuse ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ohio Gov. John Kasich came to Portsmouth, a community ravaged by the abuse of opiate-based prescription drugs and illegal opiates such as heroin, to announce creation of a multiagency drug task force guided by former Attorney General Betty Montgomery, reports the Columbus Dispatch. He signed an order allowing treatment agencies to use a new generation of medications to wean people off opiate addiction, and announced a $100,000 grant for the Counseling Center, a private, nonprofit drug-treatment agency in Portsmouth. "The devil was running rampant in this county," Kasich said. "We really believe that Scioto County can be the tip of the spear to engage this battle that a lot of Ohioans don't know is going on. We need a focused attack on the evil that lurks in this county that's destroying families." Orman Hall, director of the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, was enthusiastic about the governor's order, which will allow treatment agencies to use new drugs such as Suboxone to treat people addicted to painkillers or heroin. |
Series On NJ Cop, Firefighter Steroid Use Wins Polk Award For Star-Ledger ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Amy Brittain and Mark Mueller of the Newark Star-Ledger were named winners of a 2010 George Polk Award in Journalism for "Strong at Any Cost," their series that "revealed rampant steroid use and fraud among cops and firefighters in New Jersey." The judges said that, "the tenacious work of the Star-Ledger tandem resulted in a wave of action from state lawmakers and the presidents of New Jersey's two largest police unions - including an investigation by the state Attorney General's Office and calls for random drug testing for steroids." The George Polk Awards have been administered by Long Island University since 1949. They memorialize CBS correspondent George W. Polk, who was slain covering the civil war in Greece in 1948. |
Super Bowl Proved a Bust As a Center for Sex Trafficking ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Before the Super Bowl in Dallas, Harriet Boorhem of the Promise House children's shelter, was told by the Dallas Police Department to expect thousands of underage prostitutes picked up during the sporting event. "We didn't get any," Boorhem tells Youth Today. "It seems the number was really inflated [] I don't know how it got blown up so big." A police spokesman said there was a total of one arrest for trafficking. That result defied the expectations of many. In November, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott labeled the Super Bowl "one of the biggest human-trafficking events in the United States." The KlaasKids Foundation reported 23 direct contacts with potential commercial sexual exploitation victims during the 2010 Super Bowl in Miami. The organization also reported recovering six missing children and "intervening in four potentially dangerous situations, removing five girls from potential recruitment or exploitation by pimps." |
Third St. Petersburg Officer Shot Dead In A Month; Manhunt Underway ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A massive manhunt was under way today for the killer of St. Petersburg police officer David Crawford, a 25-year police veteran who was shot dead last night as he investigated a report of a prowler downtown, reports the St. Petersburg Times. Crawford, 46, was shot about 10:30 p.m. when he confronted a man walking on the street. A resident in the area had reported a suspicious man wearing a hoodie and carrying a brick walking in his yard. The shooting came one month after two St. Petersburg police officers were shot to death, the city's first police fatality in 31 years. "This is too much, not again," resident Don Enge said today. "I can't stand to see this. It's just not fair." |
NY Wrongful Conviction Panel Urges Reforms On Witness ID, DNA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A New York State task force examining the causes of wrongful convictions and ways to prevent them has recommended improving eyewitness identifications and expanding the state's DNA databank, reports the Albany Times-Union. The panel has a list of other issues to tackle, such as videotaping suspects' statements and interrogations by police and further discussion on DNA evidence. Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman created the New York State Justice Task Force in 2009. It is co-chaired by Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore and Court of Appeals Associate Judge Theodore Jones. In his State of the Judiciary address last week, Lippman said, "Nothing is more damaging to the pursuit of justice than the conviction of an innocent person." Since DNA was first used over 20 years ago, 266 DNA exonerations have been documented nationwide -- 27 of them in New York. "Every wrongful conviction is a double injustice that punishes the innocent and allows the guilty to go free, and an ugly stain on the reputation of the courts, chipping away at our legitimacy in the public eye," he said. Lippman said DNA samples are collected from those convicted of a felony or one of 35 misdemeanor offenses, which covers fewer than half the convictions in the state. |
Is California County's Early Inmate Release Causing Auto Thefts to Rise? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In Fresno County, Ca., the financial crisis caused deep budget cuts at the sheriff's office, says California Watch. The sheriff laid off corrections officers and reduced the number of jail inmates. Now, some argue, auto thefts are on the rise because there are more criminals on the streets. While this scenario plays out in Fresno, some version of it could be coming to communities all over California. One of Gov. Jerry Brown's key budget fixes is shifting non-violent, low-level inmates from overcrowded state prisons to county jails - many of which are crowded too. It is cheaper for California to house them locally and the governor's office estimates saving $458 million with the change. It's not clear exactly how the county facilities will take these thousands of felons. Even if state officials avoid an early release program, local agencies might enact some kind of initiative themselves. In 2009, the Fresno County Sheriff's Office decided it could not afford to hold the inmates it already had after a round of funding cuts. The Fresno Bee reported that Sheriff Margaret Mims eliminated 75 jobs, with jail staffing taking the brunt of the hit to protect regular patrol jobs. Over the past year and a half, 15,000 inmates have been released early. Car thieves exit jail immediately after being booked as part of the sheriff's policy of not holding suspects on property crimes |
Another MA Parolee Arrest Prompts Calls To Re-Examine The Release System ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two recent cases in which men paroled from multiple life sentences went on to re-offend has a member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council questioning whether the state needs to scrap the entire parole system, says the Salem (MA) News. Mary Ellen Manning, e member of the board that approves judicial and parole board appointments, said the system "is a sad mess" that ought to be replaced with something similar to the federal parole system. Sentencing ought to be done within strict guidelines, she believes. The arrest last week of Charles "Chucky" Doucette, 51, on domestic abuse charges raised questions about the parole board's controversial 2006 decision to parole him. Doucette was serving seven life sentences for an execution-style shooting and a pair of home invasions he committed while out on bail awaiting a retrial. He received a second-degree murder conviction, making him parole-eligible after 15 years. Doucette made parole on his first try and was released in 2007, over the objections of two parole board members and prosecutors, who argued against his release. |
Utah Prosecutor Upholds Police Fatal Killing Of Man Who Had Knife ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, in his first use-of-force ruling, said a West Valley City police officer was justified by law in shooting Brandon Chief to death, says the Salt Lake Tribune. The family attorney is calling for more oversight of officers and prosecutors who investigate fatal police shootings. "They wouldn't tell us anything," said Etta Chief, Brandon's mother, who arrived at her home Dec. 17 to learn her 21-year-old son had been taken to a hospital. Gill said police were called to the Chiefs' house, Brandon threatened them with a knife, and an officer shot him three times. Brandon's niece, 15, said, "it took 3 seconds" for the gunfire to start, she said. Jim Slavens, the family's attorney, said police could have done more to assess or de-escalate the situation before going into the house. "Nobody asked if he had a weapon, if anyone else was in there with him, what room he was in, what he had done," Slavens said. "Nobody tried to talk to anyone first." In large counties nationwide, it is the norm for prosecutors to review uses of force by police within their own county, said Scott Burns of the National District Attorneys Association, a former prosecutor. |
Articles for 21 Feb 2011
House Votes to Block U.S. Action Aimed At Gunrunners to Mexico ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In its flurry of action to cut federal spending, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to block the Obama administration from implementing a controversial plan meant to give federal authorities a new tool to catch gunrunners to Mexico, reports the Washington Post. The proposed rule was strongly opposed by the National Rifle Association. The measure passed with bipartisan support, 277 to 149. The amendment by Rep. Dan Boren (D-Ok.), bars the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from using federal money to require licensed firearm dealers to report multiple sales of assault weapons. Under the proposed rule, 8,500 gun dealers near the U.S.-Mexico border would be required to alert authorities when they sell within five consecutive business days two or more semiautomatic rifles greater than .22 caliber with detachable magazines. Arturo Sarukhan, Mexican ambassador to the U.S., called the vote "unfortunate." |
Shooting Deaths Show Heightened Risk For Federal Law Enforcers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The shooting deaths of three federal agents in two months highlight the heightened risk to federal investigators who are confronting increasingly violent fugitives, drug traffickers, and other criminals, the Washington Post reports.The killing of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Mexico on Tuesday was followed by the slaying of a deputy U.S. marshal in West Virginia on Wednesday, an unusual confluence of events. A Border Patrol agent was fatally shot in Arizona in December. The killings, while not connected, come amid a broadening federal role in fighting violent crime that was once left mainly to state authorities. Federal-state task forces on violent crime have multiplied since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, bringing federal agents in closer contact with dangerous criminals. The government says it is pouring resources into fighting drug trafficking and other crimes along the border with Mexico. "You're seeing feds playing a much more active role in fighting violent crime, and that's putting us in harm's way,'' said Jon Adler, president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association. "We're getting a lot more dangerous people off the street, but the more you do, the more you are exposed.'' Overall, deaths of officers in the line of duty are rising nationwide. About 160 died in 2010, a nearly 40 percent increase from the year before, says the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. |
Arizona Called A Gun "Shopping Bazaar For Mexican Drug Lords" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Over several months, federal agents say, Uriel Patino of Phoenix came to Lone Wolf Trading Co. 18 times, buying a total of 42 handguns and 190 semiautomatic rifles, says the Arizona Republic. Patino told clerks that all 232 guns are for his personal use. Federal authorities say he was acting as a straw buyer of guns for the Sinaloan drug cartel in Mexico. He has been charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, money laundering and lying on federal firearms applications. For advocates of tougher gun control, Patino's purchases represent a shortcoming in federal and state laws that allows people to buy as many rifles as they can carry out the door at a time - without any report to law-enforcement agencies. Licensed gun dealers must notify federal and local authorities anytime a person buys two or more handguns in the same week. For so-called long guns, there are no similar reporting requirements. Some states limit the sale of multiple rifles, but Arizona has no such restriction. Buyers must pass a federal background check, but the decision to sell dozens, even hundreds, of rifles to the same customer is up to gun dealers. So too is any decision to notify authorities of any repeat customers or suspicious purchases. Federal authorities say the lack of laws limiting sales or requiring reports has turned Arizona into a shopping bazaar for Mexican drug lords. |
Texas Seems Poised to Give Students, Profs Gun-Carrying Rights on Campus ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Texas may soon give college students and professors the right to carry guns on campus, adding momentum to a national campaign to open academic institutions to firearms, the Associated Press reports. More than half the members of the Texas House have endorsed a measure directing universities to allow concealed handguns. The Senate passed a similar bill in 2009 and is expected to do so again. Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who sometimes packs a pistol when he jogs, favors the idea. Texas has become a prime battleground for the issue because of its gun culture and its size, with 38 public universities and more than 500,000 students. It would become the second state, following Utah, to pass such a broad-based law. Colorado gives colleges the option and several have allowed handguns. Supporters of the legislation argue that gun violence on campuses, such as the mass shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007 and Northern Illinois in 2008, show that the best defense against a gunman is students who can shoot back. "It's strictly a matter of self-defense," said Texas state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio. "I don't ever want to see repeated on a Texas college campus what happened at Virginia Tech, where some deranged, suicidal madman goes into a building and is able to pick off totally defenseless kids like sitting ducks." |
Prisons Near Full, Illinois Nears New "Good Time" Release Plan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Illinois' prison population is exploding. With 48,760 inmates, the state is on track to fill 52,000 beds, the maximum capacity of the Illinois Department of Corrections, reports the Bloomington Pantagraph. The census has climbed steadily, by more than 3,000 inmates, since January 2010, when public outcry pushed Gov. Pat Quinn against a wall during a tight election. New inmates formerly were required to spend at least 60 days in prison before they were considered for Meritorious Good Time credit. Quinn ended that longtime practice, leading to the surge in the state's prison population. Finding a replacement for the Meritorious Good Time and MGT-Push programs is a top priority for corrections officials. "This is job one," said Cara Smith, the department's new chief of staff. Last September, Quinn named Gladyse Taylor as acting director of IDOC. She replaced Michael Randle, who now directs a juvenile corrections facility in Ohio. Taylor is close to having a short- and long-term plan ready for in-house review that would overhaul the MGT program, "The Department of Corrections doesn't have the luxury of saying 'no' to inmates sent to it. We have to make do," said Smith."This population is a classic example of the sentencing policy in Illinois. This is not a Department of Corrections problem. This is a criminal justice problem," said Smith. |
In Budget Move, Cincinnati May Merge Its Police Department With County's ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cincinnati could be the first major U.S. city to give up control of its police department voluntarily, says the Cincinnati Enquirer. Experts question whether local leaders are rushing it and if it could even work. Negotiations started in earnest last week on a proposal that seemingly popped up out of the blue during tough city budget talks. The city is considering two alternatives: either contract with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office for street patrols or merge the departments. Only two other major cities - St. Louis and Kansas City - pay for police departments they don't control, both done long ago against the cities' will. Elsewhere, mergers have not saved significant amounts and, in fact, cost more initially. Contracting out the patrol officers could save the city money in salaries because the county pays about 20 percent less, but it could cost more in benefits and in the switchover of uniforms, cruisers, and equipment. Former Cincinnati City Manager Jerry Newfarmer, a consultant who helped guide a city/county police merger in Louisville, said a Cincinnati merger could happen as soon as next January. |
Critics: PA Juvenile Justice Reform Still Needed After Judge's Conviction ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A former Pennsylvania judge faces a prison term for his role in a $2.8 million scandal known as "cash for kids" after a jury convicted him of taking kickbacks from the developer of a private detention center, reports NPR. Critics of the state's juvenile justice system say more reforms are still needed. Marsha Levick of the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia says kids routinely appeared in Judge Mark Ciavarella's courtroom without defense lawyers and received draconian sentences for minor infractions. Many were led out of the courtroom in shackles. On Friday, a jury in Scranton, Pa., convicted Ciavarella on 12 counts, including racketeering. They found him guilty of taking kickbacks from a developer who built two private detention centers in Pennsylvania, but acquitted him of charges that he took bribes in exchange for sending juveniles to detention. A Pennsylvania government commission conducted its own investigation of the scandal last year. Many courthouse employees told the commission they were afraid to speak up for fear of retribution. "There was a total collapse of the rule of law," said Judge John Cleland, the commission's chairman. His panel issued a report in May 2010 that included 44 specific recommendations for reform. So far, only a few have been adopted. |
Judge Won't Order Release Of Second Jared Loughner Mug Shot ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ News organizations failed to persuade a federal judge Larry Burns in San Diego to release a second mug shot and search-warrant records involving Jared Loughner, the defendant in the Arizona shooting rampage that killed six people and wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), the Associated Press reports. Burns said he was leaving it up to the U.S. Marshals Service to decide whether to release the mug shot of Loughner, 22, taken in Phoenix while in the custody of the agency. Burns also held off on unsealing search warrant records that show what was seized from the home of Loughner after the Jan. 8 shooting. Defense attorneys argued releasing the second photo would invade Loughner's privacy and doesn't serve a legitimate public interest. Prosecutors described the photo as showing Loughner with abrasions on his face and a cinderblock-wall background. Burns said he did not agree the photo would invade the suspect's privacy or harm his chance at a fair trial, but he said he didn't have the authority to rule on the matter. David Bodney, an attorney representing The Arizona Republic and Phoenix TV station KPNX, argued that there is no basis for the documents to remain sealed. |
After "Ecstasy" Errors Found, Nassau County, N.Y., Closes Crime Lab ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nassau County, N.Y., closed its problem-plagued crime lab after court testimony suggested that drug-testing screw-ups were allegedly ignored for years, leaving thousands of cases in jeopardy. The New York Post calls it an unprecedented move that is the latest black mark on the beleaguered county. The drastic step means that Nassau, drowning in an ocean of red ink, will ship its drug evidence to a private lab in Pennsylvania. Ballistics evidence will go to a state police lab until a new Nassau County facility can be staffed and equipped -- which may take months, says District Attorney Kathleen Rice. Defense attorneys have filed motions in more than a dozen cases questioning whether clients got fair treatment. Rice conceded that some convictions could be overturned. So far, only drug purity tests have been found inaccurate; they can mean the difference between felony and misdemeanor charges. Nearly 9,000 drug cases dating to late 2007 are being reviewed for signs of errors after a spot check last week of nine cases involving ketamine or "ecstasy" found that six of them were inaccurately analyzed. |
How $31 Pot Sale Landed OK Woman In Prison for 10 Years; Judge Defends Term ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Part of a series on why Oklahoma has such a high rate of female incarceration, Oklahoma Watch tells the story of Patricia Marilyn Spottedcrow, who is serving 10 years in prison, has been taken away from her four young children and husband, and has ended her work in nursing homes because of $31 in marijuana sales. On Dec. 31, 2009, Spottedcrow and her mother, Delita Starr, 50, sold a "dime bag" of marijuana to a police informant at Starr's home. "It just seemed like easy money," said Spottedcrow. "I thought we could get some extra money. I've lost everything because of it." He will not be eligible for parole until 2014. Susie Pritchett, who sentenced Spottedcrow before she retired as a judge, said the women were conducting "an extensive operation" and included children in the business. "It was a way of life for them. Considering these circumstances, I thought it was lenient. By not putting the grandmother in prison, she is able to help take care of the children." |
Seattle Police Union Leader Advises Officers to Lay Low After Criticism ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After a controversial police killing of a civilian in Seattle, Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat says a patrol officer tells him he frequently hears people ask, "Are you going to murder me, too?" Said the officer: "People we stop at some point say, 'Don't shoot me, man!' I try to have thick skin and not let it get to me." A steady drip-drip of videos highlighting strong-arm police tactics, coupled with the pointless killing of an Indian woodcarver, have left cop and citizen alike angry or, at the least, eyeing one another suspiciously, Westneat says. Seattle Police Officers' Guild president, Sgt. Rich O'Neill, told officers, ""You are paid to use your discretion and there are many ways to do police work. Recent events should show us that many in the city really don't want aggressive officers who generate on-view incidents. They want officers who avoid controversy and simply respond when summoned by 911." He's saying, in other words: "Lay low," Westneat says. O'Neill adds: "If there's borderline criminal or suspicious activity, I say let it go. Don't go out on a limb. It's not worth it, because if it goes sideways, you're going to be the latest poster child on the news." |
House Appropriations Chair To FL Gov: Take Pill Mill Crisis Seriously ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Florida must not back away from implementing a monitoring system to help cut the flow of pills from its pain clinics that are feeding addiction and death in Kentucky and other states, House Appropriations Committee chairman Harold Rogers (R-KY) told Florida Gov. Rick Scott, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. Rogers said Florida has become a key source of illegally diverted pills for Appalachia and the entire East Coast. "Governor, your state, more than any other, must take this crisis seriously," Rogers told Scott. State monitoring programs, such as the one Florida has approved but not implemented, help combat diversion of pills at a time when abuse of prescription drugs is the fastest-growing drug problem in the country, Rogers said. He said he was "alarmed and dismayed" at reports indicating Scott wants to repeal Florida's monitoring program. Rogers represents the 5th District in Southern and Eastern Kentucky, where abuse of prescription drugs has been described as an epidemic. |
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