16 April 2012

April 16, 2012   Today's Stories

George Zimmerman in Court--The New TV Trial of the Decade? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If George Zimmerman goes to trial for shooting Trayvon Martin in Florida, "it has the potential to be as big as the O. J. Simpson trial - and just as divisive," CNN's Piers Morgan tells the New York Times. Already, the fallout from the killing has become a prolonged and politically controversial news story. Along with giving Americans a shared national conversation, "it has filled the void left by a political process that lacks excitement or suspense," said Jonathan Wald, Morgan's executive producer. "The electronic media is thankful that this took place in Florida," said Jeffrey Toobin, The New Yorker staff writer and CNN legal analyst, "because Florida has the most open rules in the country about cameras in the courtroom." The Zimmerman trial almost certainly would be televised live on channels like HLN, a sibling of CNN that showed the Casey Anthony trial. HLN set a ratings record the day Anthony was judged not guilty of killing her daughter. "Could this be the trial of the decade?" the MSNBC host Ed Schultz asked, in a clip satirized by "The Daily Show." One of that show's correspondents, John Oliver, joked, "People are already calling it the trial of the millennium." New York Times

Experts Cautious About Finding Trend in Officer Killing, Assault Data ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two high-profile shootings of police officers in small towns are highlighting a sharp spike in police officer deaths nationwide during the past two years. Experts caution the Christian Science Monitor against the conclusion that criminals are ramping up a new "war on cops," instead suggesting that the statistics merely show an end to a 40-year decline in officer fatalities. Killed Thursday in Greenland, N.H., was Chief Michael Maloney, one week short of retirement; four other officers were shot. Also on Thursday in Modesto, Ca., a civilian and a sheriff's deputy were shot and killed by a homeowner who opened fire to avoid being evicted. Last year, 72 officers were killed in the line of duty, up from 41 in 2008. But the 2011 number is similar to 2001, when 70 officers were killed. In 1973, 143 officer deaths were reported. "Newton's law of criminology states that what goes down must eventually go up," says criminologist James Alan Fox of Northeastern University. "After that long a decline, it's not surprising at all that the number has finally jumped." The number of assaults against police officers has reached more than 50,000 per year, "and we think that is underreported. The FBI thinks that's only half the number," says John Firman of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The IACP runs the Center for Prevention of Violence Against Police, funded by the U.S. Justice Department. "We are taking an aggressive position against this kind of backlash against police in which a bad guy thinks he can just start shooting," he says. "We are out to change the police practices and protocols to deal with it." Christian Science Monitor

Obama: Drug Legalization Could Lead to More Corruption ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ President Obama said drug "legalization is not the answer" at a summit meeting of Western Hemisphere leaders in Colombia this weekend, the New York Times reports. The issue was placed on the agenda by Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos. Santos suggested he had in mind some middle ground short of fully decriminalizing the drug trade that for years has undermined societies in his region. "We have the obligation to see if we're doing the best that we can do, or are there other alternatives that can be much more efficient?" Santos said during a panel discussion with. Obama and President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil before the summit began. "One side can be all the consumers go to jail. On the other extreme is legalization. On the middle ground, we may have more practical policies." Obama said, "I think it is entirely legitimate to have a conversation about whether the laws in place are ones that are doing more harm than good in certain places." He added, "I personally, and my administration's position, is that legalization is not the answer." Drug operations could come to "dominate certain countries if they were allowed to operate legally without any constraint," he said, and "could be just as corrupting if not more corrupting then the status quo." New York Times

11 Secret Service Agents Off Obama Trip After Prostitution Reports ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The U.S. Secret Service has placed 11 agents on administrative leave amid allegations that the men brought prostitutes to their hotel rooms in Cartagena, Colombia, on Wednesday night and that a dispute ensued with one of the women over payment, the Washington Post reports. Secret Service Assistant Director Paul Morrissey said the agents had violated the service's "zero-tolerance policy on personal misconduct" during their trip to prepare for President Obama's arrival at an international summit. Rep. Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, said Secret Service officials conducting an internal investigation told him that the staff at the Hotel Caribe summoned local police after discovering a woman in the room of one agent after 7 a.m., against the hotel's policy for visitors of paying guests. King praised the agency for removing the men, but he added that "everything they did was a violation of proper conduct." He said, "First of all, to be getting involved with prostitutes in a foreign country can leave yourself vulnerable to blackmail and threats. To be bringing prostitutes or almost anyone into a security zone when you're supposed to protect the president is totally wrong." Washington Post

NRA's LaPierre: Media Focus on Florida, Ignore "Everyday Victims" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ National Rifle Association executive Wayne LaPierre accused the news media of engaging in sensationalized coverage of Florida's Trayvon Martin killing, the New York Times reports. Speaking at the NRA annual convention in St. Louis, LaPierre said, "In the aftermath of one of Florida's many daily tragedies, my phone has been ringing off the hook." He criticized news organizations for singling out one killing and ignoring many other violent crimes that happen every day in the U.S. "You manufacture controversy for ratings," he said. "You don't care about the truth, and the truth is the national news media in this country is a national disgrace, and you all know it." He added, "By the time I finish this speech, 2 Americans will be slain, 6 women will be raped, 27 of us will be robbed, and 50 more will be beaten. That's the harsh reality we face, all of us, every single day. But the media, they don't care. Everyday victims aren't celebrities. They don't draw ratings, don't draw sponsors. But sensational reporting from Florida does." He would not comment on the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman case in detail. New York Times

Romney Barely Mentions Guns at NRA; Group Vows to Beat Obama ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney mentioned guns only once in his speech to the National Rifle Association convention, which may have reflected a reluctance on Romney's part to delve into his record on firearms or credentials as an outdoorsman, which has generated criticism in the past, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. While running against Sen. Ted Kennedy in 1994, Romney supported the Brady Bill, which instituted background checks on gun purchases, and a federal assault weapons ban. Later, during his first campaign for president, Romney said he had been a hunter "pretty much all my life." It was later revealed that, at the time, he had been hunting only twice. Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Republican governors Bobby Jindal (LA), Rick Perry (TX), and Scott Walker (WI) also addressed the NRA convention. NRA leaders were blistering in their criticism of President Obama. "When the sun goes down on Election Day, Barack Obama will have us to thank for his defeat," said NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre. St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Bloomberg, NRA Members Throw Pot Shots at Each Other ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New York City Michael Bloomberg may be the most unpopular person at the National Rifle Association convention, and he isn't even there, says the New York Daily News. NRA members took aim at Bloomberg for his bold campaign against illegal guns. They called him a bastard, told him to mind his business and challenged his credibility. "Outlawing gun ownership or preventing people from defending themselves isn't going to solve any problems," said Tom Seeba, 67, an NRA member from Reno. "And I think Mayor Bloomberg is an arrogant bastard to try to implement such a strategy." Bloomberg drew the group's ire on Wednesday when he went to the National Press Club in Washington to announce a partnership with black leaders to reform or repeal stand-your-ground laws on the books in 25 states. "The NRA's leaders weren't even interested in public safety," Bloomberg told the Daily News. "They were interested in promoting a culture where people take the law into their own hands and face no consequences for it." New York Daily News

Study: Quick Eyewitness Identifications Are More Accurate ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More than 75,000 prosecutions every year are based entirely on the recollections of others, says the Wall Street Journal. While perjury is a felony, the overwhelming majority of eyewitness errors aren't conscious or intentional. Rather, they're the inevitable side effects of the remembering process. Neuroscientists have documented how mistakes happen. It turns out that the act of summoning the past to the surface actually changes the memory itself. Neil Brewer, a psychologist at Flinders University in Australia, studied police lineups, in which witnesses are asked to pick out a suspect from a collection of similar looking individuals. He knew that strong memory traces are easier to access than weak and mistaken ones, which is why he gave his witnesses only two seconds to make up their minds. He also asked them to estimate how confident they were about the suspects they identified, rather than insisting on a simple yes-no answer. He was able to get a large boost in accuracy, with improvements in eyewitness performance ranging from 21 percent to 66 percent. Even when subjects were quizzed a week later, those who were forced to choose quickly remained far more trustworthy. The larger lesson is that, when it comes to human memory, more deliberation is often dangerous. We can talk ourselves into having a memory that doesn't actually exist. Wall Street Journal

Capital Punishment Opponents Say CT Vote is Evidence They Are Succeeding ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The fight against the death penalty is gaining momentum, opponents of the practice say, with Connecticut's decision this month to abolish capital punishment making it the fifth state in five years to so do, reports the Los Angeles Times. Connecticut will be the 17th state to do away with capital punishment and the seventh state to stop the death penalty since it was reinstated as constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1976. Opponents of capital punishmentl cite moral and religious arguments, but another force behind the recent trend is cost. California spends an additional $184 million per year total on its more than 700 death row prisoners than if they had been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, said a study by Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. An Urban Institute study in 2008 found that a single death sentence in Maryland costs almost $2 million more per case than a comparable non-death-penalty case. In California, an initiative on November's ballot will allow voters to decide whether to repeal capital punishment. Oregon issued a moratorium on executions in 2011 and is conducting a study of alternatives to the death penalty. Pennsylvania also started a study of how the death penalty has been applied there. Los Angeles Times

How Much Gun Control Will the Supreme Court Allow? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Today marks five years since the massacre at Virginia Tech, where a mentally ill student used two legally-bought handguns to kill 32 people and wound 25 others. Other than a minor law to improve the national database used for background checks, no significant gun-control legislation followed, writes UCLA law Prof. Adam Winkler in the Washington Post. Since then, there have been several mass shootings. Gun control may be dead politically but it remains alive and well in the courts. Second Amendment experts predict that the next major gun case at the Supreme Court will be a challenge to one of the remaining state or local laws that effectively bar the carrying of concealed weapons. Given that most states allow almost anyone to carry guns on the streets, what the justices have to say about concealed carry will be less significant than what they say about the role of the courts in scrutinizing gun laws. Will the justices respect the long-standing tradition of gun control? Or will they create novel, untested hurdles for such laws? Winkler says that in a hostile political environment, the courts have been gun-control advocates' best friend. Whether that 200-year friendship can last much longer will be the question that next confronts the Supreme Court. Washington Post

GSA Official Seeks Criminal Probe of Conference Spending, Gifts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The U.S. General Services Administration's inspector general has asked the Justice Department to conduct a criminal investigation of the senior official at the center of an investigation into a lavish Las Vegas conference, the Washington Post reports. Jeffrey Neely, a senior official who hosted a four-day training conference for 300 staff members that cost $823,000, reportedly took electronic items for his personal use from a GSA storeroom. Inspector General Brian Miller asked prosecutors to review possible contracting improprieties and other violations in connection with the conference, Neely allegedly took gifts purchased for an employee rewards program in the San Francisco-based region, where he is on administrative leave from his role as acting regional commissioner. The gifts included an iPod and speakers, a Global Positioning System, camera and Sony eReader. Miller has turned over to prosecutors evidence that Neely, 57, and his staff approved contracts that were not competitively bid, as federal rules require. The sole-source deals included $59,000 to an audio-visual firm, a $12,500 commission to an outside event planner, and $75,000 to a company that led GSA staff members in a bike-building event. Washington Post

12 April 2012

April 12, 2012   Today's Stories
Zimmerman Murder Charge Carries Minimum 25-Year Prison Term ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forty-five days after police in Sanford, Fl., released neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman without charges after he shot unarmed black teen Trayvon Martin, a special prosecutor has charged him with second-degree murder. News that Zimmerman was in custody capped an emotional and tense three weeks that raised questions about racial injustice and sparked a fiery national debate about Florida's Stand Your Ground self-defense law, reports the Christian Science Monitor. under the Stand Your Ground law. A charge of second-degree murder involves a claim that death was caused by dangerous conduct and an obvious lack of concern for human life. Florida law requires a minimum punishment of 25 years and a maximum of life in prison without parole if convicted. Officials remained on high alert. On Monday, an empty police cruiser was riddled with bullets near where Martin was shot. Zimmerman was held in an undiscosed location for his safety and the safety of others. Christian Science Monitor
How NRA, ALEC Have Advanced Stand Your Ground Laws Nationwide ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The New York Times details the work of the National Rifle Association to advance the Castle Doctrine, otherwise known as "stand your ground" laws, in Wisconsin and other states. In Wisconsin, the idea was extended to include include self-defense on lawns, sidewalks, and swimming pools outside the residence, as well as vehicles and places of business. The expanded bill is the newest of more than two dozen stand your ground statutes that have been enacted around the U.S. in recent years. Those laws are coming under increased scrutiny after Trayvon Martin was shot to death by George Zimmerman in Florida. Critics see the laws as part of a national campaign by the NRA, which starts its annual meeting in St. Louis tomorrow, to push back against limits on gun ownership and use. That effort has been assisted by the American Legislative Exchange Council, which has promoted model legislation based on Florida's law; the council, known as ALEC, is a conservative networking organization made up of legislators, corporations like Walmart, a large retailer of long guns, and interest groups like the rifle association. Bills pending in several states that would allow concealed weapons to be carried on college campuses, in churches, and in bars. New York Times
Chicago Homicides Up 60% In Ist Quarter; Could Weather Be a Factor? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Homicides in Chicago soared by 60 percent in the first three months of 2012, continuing a troublesome trend that began late last year, reports the Chicago Tribune. Nonfatal shootings were up sharply. The worsening violence comes as the Rahm Emanuel administration touts its efforts to combat gang crime and add officers and resources to some of the city's most dangerous neighborhoods. Chicago police blame street gangs for much of the violence. Another contributing factor was the unseasonably warm weather this past winter, but police Superintendent Garry McCarthy has scoffed at that explanation. "In better weather, people are outside more, interacting more with neighbors, acquaintances, even strangers, and there's greater opportunity for conflict than when it's cold and windy," said Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox. Fox and other experts caution that concluding too much from a few months of crime statistics can be misleading and noted that in recent years Chicago has been at historic lows for homicides. In 2008, the city saw similar spikes early in the year and ended up with more than 500 homicides, the only time that has happened in the last nine years. Chicago Tribune
Another Look at Police Homicides: Dramatically Down This Year ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We said this week that the New York Times had reported "a 25 percent increase" in 2011 in police officer homicides. The Times didn't note that the number had dramatically declined this year, notes the Grits for Breakfast blog. There have been only 31 compared with 59 at this time last year, says the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. The blog accuses the Times of playing up the increase because "sensationalistic bad news draws more readers than stories about positive trends." Limiting the analysis to police homicides ignores most on-the-job police deaths, which much more frequently happen because of accidents, often in traffic. In 2010, 153 officers died on the job nationwide, but the FBI on which the Times based its analysis counted 56 officers "feloniously killed" that year. So when calculating the increase in the Times story, most on-the-job police deaths weren't counted. Special care is warranted when analyzing statistics involving such small numbers. With more than 700,000 sworn officers in the U.S., these small fluctuations are not necessarily statistically significant. Notably absent from the Times story was any analysis by a statistician on whether these short-term data fluctuations are meaningful. Instead, the article is filled with speculation about the reasons for a trend that may or may not exist, says Grits for Breakfast. Grits for Breakfast
Report on UC Davis: Police Shouldn't Have Pepper-Sprayed Occupy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ University of California Davis police violated policy and used poor judgment in pepper-spraying student demonstrators in November, while school leaders badly bungled the handling of that campus protest, according to a highly critical report quoted by the Los Angeles Times. "Our overriding conclusion can be stated briefly and explicitly. The pepper spraying incident that took place on November 18, 2011 should and could have been prevented," said a university-appointed task force chaired by retired state Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso. The study strongly rebutted campus police claims that Occupy demonstrators who had pitched tents on a quad posed a violent threat. It said administrators wrongly assumed that many protesters were off-campus troublemakers. The report, and an accompanying one by the Kroll security consulting firm, detailed "a cascading series of errors" and poorly timed efforts to evict the campers. It questioned the legal basis for the operation. The actions led to an international furor after an online video showing campus police Lt. John Pike repeatedly spraying the chemical irritant into the faces of seated students went viral. Pike contended that the spray was the "most appropriate" tool on hand to deal with what he described as an unruly mob encircling the officers. Los Angeles Times
Mitt Romney to Address NRA, but "He's Not a Gun Guy" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has had trouble demonstrating familiarity with hunting and firearms. His sometimes tenuous relationship with gun owners will be in the spotlight when he addresses the National Rifle Association tomorrow at its convention in St. Louis, says the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. NRA members who vastly prefer Romney to President Obama but look warily at his time as governor of Massachusetts, his support for certain gun control measures, and his sometimes half-cocked attempts to describe himself as an outdoorsman. At times, Romney has boasted of his independence from the NRA and once vowed that he would not "chip away" at tough gun laws in Massachusetts. As many NRA members see it, Romney is just not one of them. "He's not a sportsman. He's not a gun guy," said Ray Kohout, a lifetime NRA member and principal of Heizer Firearms, a pistol manufacturer in St. Louis. "He's trying to be one, and he'll try to be one at the NRA convention, but that's just not his real person." While running against Democratic icon Ted Kennedy in 1994, Romney supported the Brady Bill, which instituted background checks on gun purchases, and a federal assault weapons ban. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Feds Begin Penalizing States That Haven't Adopted U.S. Sex Offender Law ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nearly six years after the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act was enacted, the U.S. Justice Department is beginning to penalize many of the states that have failed to follow its provisions, says The Crime Report. The latest count shows that only 15 states are in "substantial" compliance with the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) parts of the Adam Walsh law, long after a deadline of last July. The 2006 law expanded the categories of crimes requiring registration and increased the length and frequency of registration for some adults and juveniles. Many states believe that the federal requirements are too costly and burdensome, deciding that they will give up some U.S. anticrime aid rather than retool their sex offender registries in line with the federal law. The Crime Report previously noted, for example, that Texas had estimated that it would have to spent nearly $39 million to comply with SORNA but would lose only $1.4 million in federal funds if it didn't act. Some states have declined to comply on policy grounds, most commonly disagreeing with the federal requirement that juvenile sex offenders involved in violent crimes be registered for life. Their first opportunity to ask a court to end their registration would not be available until 25 years after they are listed on a registry, a requirement that some states believe is too harsh. States had been threatened with a 10 percent cut in aid from Washington. In practice, the cuts ordered by Justice Department will not go so deeply. Only federal money going solely to state governments will suffer the 10 percent reduction, not the relatively large amount of U.S. aid destined for local governments. This was the course urged by the National Criminal Justice Association, representing states and localities, which argues that local programs "should not be penalized because of a state's policy on sex offender management." As a result, the potential penalty to most states will be cut roughly in half, depending on how much of the state's federal aid ends up in local hands. The Crime Report
As Edwards Trial Starts, Questions About Legitimacy of Charges ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Four years ago, John Edwards was running for the White House. Now, he's a defendant in a trial starting today, fighting campaign finance charges that could send him away for as long as 30 years, NPR reports. Melanie Sloan of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics thinks the Justice Department case against him is wrong. "John Edwards is a despicable and loathsome human being, but that doesn't also make him a criminal," she says. Prosecutors accuse Edwards of failing to report nearly $1 million that two old friends and campaign donors funneled through intermediaries to support a lavish lifestyle for his mistress. The donors themselves face no criminal charges. One of them, trial lawyer Fred Baron, has died. And the other - heiress Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, who looked upon Edwards as a sort of romantic hero - is 101 years old. New York University law Prof. Richard Pildes says, "No campaign finance lawyer can tell you they've seen any case in which the government comes anywhere close to the extremely aggressive use they're making here of the idea of a campaign contribution." Pildes says under this new Justice Department theory, almost anything could be considered a contribution, greatly expanding the legitimate uses of money in politics and confusing people about where prosecutors draw the line. NPR
iPhone App Can Help Report Sexual Violence, Access Hotlines ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A new iPhone app may help people report sexual violence, reports Youth Today. Circle of 6 uses GPS and text messaging to alert friends to your location if a date goes bad, says Nancy Schwartzman of the app's developer, the Line Campaign Inc. More than 19,000 users have downloaded the app since its release last month. Circle of 6 uses pre-installed short message service (SMS) notifications, which are mapped to six friends or family members on a user's smartphone. Using the phone's GPS, friends and family can locate the user. Additionally, the app allows users to quickly access national hotlines, as well as immediately notify several pre-programmed contacts that they need advice or someone to call them during the course of a date. Available as a free download at Apple's iTunes store, the application was honored as the winner of the 2011 White House Apps Against Abuse Technology Challenge. Youth Today
Texas Victim Compensation Fund Due to Run Out of Money Next Year ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The multimillion-dollar Texas fund that compensates crime victims is on track to run out of money next year, reports the Austin American-Statesman. Officials who oversee the Crime Victim Compensation Fund said it faces a "serious shortfall" in September 2013 because of declining revenue and will be unable to pay for services to victims. Created in 1979, the account reimburses violent crime victims for expenses not covered by insurance or restitution. It has been funded mainly through fines and court fees paid by lawbreakers across Texas - and reached its high point in 2005, when crime victims were paid $85 million. The problem: Legislative leaders, facing a severe budget crunch last year, raided the fund to pay for victim services programs provided by agencies and nonprofit organizations that had previously been paid for from the state's general fund. If the fund pays only victims, and stops paying for grants to victim services groups, it could satisfy all victim claims. That could decimate dozens of victim services programs across the state that have come to rely on the fund - to the tune of more than $36 million last year alone. Austin American-Statesman
U.S. Likely to Sue AZ's Arpaio as Settlement Efforts Fail ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The lead attorney in the U.S. Justice Department's efforts to resolve a civil-rights complaint with Maricopa County, Az., Sheriff Joe Arpaio has cut off verbal communication with Arpaio's attorney, saying the entire affair is best left for the courts to decide, reports the Arizona Republic. A Justice Department report in December accused the Sheriff's Office of rampant discrimination against Latinos in its police and jail operations, and asked the office to negotiate a solution to the problems or face legal action. The most recent exchange of letters between Arpaio's lawyers and federal civil-rights prosecutors contained dueling and now-familiar accusations about failures to negotiate an agreement in good faith. "It is clear that DOJ's concerted effort to attain voluntary compliance by your client has failed," Deputy U.S. Assistant Attorney General Roy Austin wrote to Arpaio attorney Joe Popolizio. "It is also clear that we should not discuss anything else by telephone because you will not accurately portray those conversations," Austin said. Arizona Republic
Philly Courts Crack Down on Fugitives After Paper Reports 47,000 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To stop criminal defendants from thumbing their noses at appearing in court, Philadelphia's criminal justice system is opening the door wider for private bail firms and starting a special court to crack down on fugitives, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. The changes are aimed at changing a toxic culture in which defendants felt - rightly - that they could duck court with impunity, say two state Supreme Court justices who pushed through the changes. Chief Justice Ronald Castille and Justice Seamus McCaffery have implemented many reforms in response to a 2010 Inquirer investigative series on the Philadelphia courts that documented widespread witness intimidation, a massive number of fugitives, and some of the nation's lowest conviction rates for violent crimes. McCaffery, a former Philadelphia homicide detective and city judge, said, "The bottom line is we no longer can allow our system to be run by people who show up when they want to show up - if they want to show up. They need to understand that there will be sanctions." The Inquirer disclosed that a staggering 47,000 defendants were long-term fugitives from the courts, and the system was owed $1 billion in forfeited bail. Philadelphia Inquirer

10 April 2012

April 10, 2012   Today's Stories

Tulsa Murder Suspects Confess; Clergy Calmed Potential Racial Strife ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The two Tulsa men arrested after a 17-hour manhunt over the weekend confessed to a series of Good Friday shootings, three of which were fatal, reports the Tulsa World. Jake England, 19, and Alvin Watts, 33, were arrested Sunday. They told police they each committed two shootings. A judge set each man's bail at $9.16 million. As word spread Friday that a white gunman had killed three black residents, fear also spread that the shootings could spark racial unrest and retaliation. Those fears were addressed Friday night at a meeting of about 20 lay and clergy church leaders called by Warren Blakney, the minister of the North Peoria Church of Christ. Blakney said he thinks the actions of the faith community had a calming effect on what could have been an explosive situation. "I feel that had we not addressed it and gotten on top of it quickly, the situation could have gotten out of control, and it could have become a very difficult time for the city of Tulsa," said Blakney, who is president of the local NAACP chapter. Tulsa World

No Grand Jury, No First Degree Murder Charge in Martin Killing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Critics who have demanded that George Zimmerman be arrested for killing Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black 17-year-old, waited another day yesterday as a special prosecutor said she would not take the case to a grand jury, the Orlando Sentinel reported. The move means that prosecutor Angela Corey will not charge Zimmerman with first-degree murder, which requires a grand jury indictment. A manslaughter case would carry a maximum sentence of 30 years. Martin family attorney Benjamin Crump said Trayvon's parents remain "hopeful that a decision will be reached very soon to arrest George Zimmerman and give Trayvon Martin's family the simple justice they have been seeking all along." Zimmerman shot Martin on Feb. 26, telling police he acted in self-defense. He had called police, identifying Trayvon as suspicious, then got out of his SUV and followed him on foot. Orlando Sentinel

Georgia Lawsuit Challenges "Stand Your Ground" Law ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A federal lawsuit asks that Georgia's "stand your ground" law be struck down because it's vague and could result in a disproportionate number of minorities being shot, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Markel Hutchins said in his suit that Georgia's law does not specify what circumstances justify deadly force being used in cases of self defense. "It is not clear what actions would create 'reasonable belief' that deadly force is necessary," said the suit. "An individual seeking to stand their ground and assert self-defense has no way of knowing if their 'reasonable belief' comports with the standards protected by the law and [they] want to ensure that they do not subject themselves to criminal penalties." The suit says that some courts have "accepted the race of a victim as evidence to establish the reasonableness of an individual's fear in cases of justifiable homicide." Hutchins said in those circumstances the law does not equally protect him and other African Americans. For more than a century, courts nationwide have said people have a right to "stand their ground" and use deadly force in certain circumstances. Atlanta Journal-Constitution

2011 Police Officer Killing Toll Highest in Nearly Two Decades ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As violent crime has decreased, rising numbers of police officers are being killed, says the New York Times. The FBI says 72 officers were killed by perpetrators last year, a 25 percent increase from 2010 and a 75 percent rise from 2008. Last year was the first time that more officers were killed by suspects than car accidents, says the International Association of Chiefs of Police. The number was the highest in nearly two decades, excluding those who died in the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 and the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. While a majority of officers were killed in smaller cities, 13 were killed in cities of 250,000 or more. New York City lost two officers last year. On Sunday four were wounded by a gunman in Brooklyn. "In this law enforcement job, when you pin this badge on and go out on calls, when you leave home, you ain't got a promise that you will come back," said Sheriff Ray Foster of Buchanan County, Va. Two of his deputies were killed in March 2011 and two wounded - one of them paralyzed - by a man with a high-powered rifle. "That was 80 percent of my day shift," he said. New York Times

NRA Meets in St. Louis; Romney, Santorum, Gingrich to Speak ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ About 70,000 National Rifle Association members are gathering this week in St. Louis, five years after the group's last meeting in that city, says the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Republican candidates Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich all plan to pump their Second Amendment pedigrees during a forum Friday. Other speakers include NRA favorites Oliver North and Glenn Beck. NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam says the group is back so soon for three big reasons: St. Louis is centrally located, has enough hotel rooms and attractions, and hosted a successful event in 2007. The NRA won't meet in some cities. "Chicago is a notoriously anti-gun city," Arulanandam said. "We refuse to spend our tens of millions of dollars in places like that." The NRA must contend with St. Louis' prohibition against carrying concealed weapons into public buildings, including America's Center, where the convention is being held. Gun-control advocates will hold a rally outside the convention on Saturday. St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Study Analyzes Police Officer Memory After High-Stress Incidents ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Moments after completing a traffic-stop training, Hillsboro, Or., police officer Dave Morse remembered clearly that the "suspect" suddenly pulled out a semi-automatic pistol. What he didn't remember is a key component of a national study in Hillsboro that drew more than 90 police officers from 22 agencies in Oregon and Washington, The Oregonian reports. Morse didn't remember flinching or hearing shots, or dashing behind a vehicle for cover, or jumping out to fire shots. It wasn't until he watched a video of his performance that he realized the discrepancy between his memory and what actually occurred. The way high-stress incidents affect an officer's memory is part of the study funded by the Force Science Institute of Mankato, Mn. and documented by the Canadian Discovery Channel. After traumatic incidents, some officers remember things that didn't happen. Some don't remember things that did happen. Others confuse the sequence of events. "What we find is that officers will have a lot of memory gaps," said Alexis Artwohl, a retired police psychologist and national expert on police stress. The Oregonian

WI Law Expands Officials' Access to Juvenile Criminal Records ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Under a new Wisconsin law, police, prosecutors, and judges will get faster, electronic access to juvenile criminal records, which should result in more accountability for juvenile criminals, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Gov. Scott Walker signed the bill yesterday. State Sen. Alberta Darling said she sponsored the bill because law enforcement's lack of access to juvenile records meant young criminals often got a ticket and were released to the streets although they had a prior record in the juvenile system and should have received harsher penalties for escalating offenses. The law will provide judges, prosecutors, and others in the system access to juvenile records, giving them a more complete picture of a defendant. One unknown is how much it will cost to implement the law. Start-up costs of a website would be $100,000. If a system of user IDs and passwords were created, a full-time staffer would be needed to administer it. There would be an annual cost of $15,000 to maintain a new system. Darling saw the need for the law in the Journal Sentinel's investigation into the case of Markus Evans, who faced few consequences as his violent behavior escalated. He was arrested at age 7 when he stabbed a teacher with a pencil. At 14, he shot his cousin in the back and spent 14 months in a juvenile facility. Two years later, he killed a 17-year-old girl who was walking home from school. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

FBI Analyst Sues, Says He Unfairly Missed Agent's Job by One Pushup ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An FBI intelligence analyst in Chicago who allegedly missed becoming an agent by a single pushup has filed a gender-discrimination lawsuit alleging that the FBI's fitness test is flawed and biased against men, reports the Chicago Tribune. Jay Bauer, a Northwestern University doctoral graduate, joined the FBI in 2009. He passed a fitness test before entering new-agent training at Quantico, Va., where he scored at or near the top of his class in everything from firearms training to academics, he says. Trainees must pass another fitness exam at the FBI Academy. Men must complete at least 38 situps in a minute and do 30 untimed pushups. Male candidates also must sprint 300 meters in 52.4 seconds and run 1.5 miles in 12 minutes and 24 seconds. Bauer allegedly fulfilled all the other requirements, but after managing to do only 29 pushups, he was forced to resign from agent training. He took an FBI analyst's job in Chicago, where he'd already relocated his wife and two young children. His attorneys argued that a female trainee who scored near the bottom of the class in firearms proficiency was given another attempt at the fitness test, but Bauer wasn't. They also argued that the FBI's fitness standards - which before 2003 required men to do 25 pushups - are comparatively harder for males. Chicago Tribune

Prosecutor Opposes Ex-OH Police Chief's Sex-Offense Expungement Plea ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For 11 days in 2003, Jeremy Alley served as the top cop in the village of Elmwood Place, Oh. Then he was branded a sex criminal, says the Cincinnati Enquirer. Alley was busted for using his police department computer to proposition someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl - but Alley was actually online chatting with a police officer pretending to be a teen. Now Alley wants a judge to wipe away his five sex-related convictions. In a rare move, prosecutors are fighting Alley's expungement request. The situation is unusual, says prosecutor Scott Heenan: "It's not every day you have a police chief do this and then later try to erase it." Heenan sees 500 to 1,000 felony expungement applications each year. He allows at least 90 percent of them to pass without a challenge. Alley, now 35, told the court that he now is employed as a paralegal and in retail sales Cincinnati Enquirer

California Prescription-Drug Database Not Effective Because It's Optional ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ California's prescription-drug database has not put a dent in drug abuse because enrollment is optional, reports The Bay Citizen. Of more than 30,000 doctors and pharmacists in the San Francisco Bay area, only 86 are signed up to use the system. Doctors say the system is slow and cumbersome and lacks the ability to analyze data systematically. The program shut down in November because of state budget cuts; it's back online now. Mike Small, a former administrator from the Investigation and Intelligence Bureau at the Department of Justice who inherited the task of running the California system from a former staff of 13, said that in just its third year, the system is already "old and falling apart." He added, "Doctors don't want to spend 10 minutes waiting when they have a patient in front of them." Sixteen states use their prescription monitoring programs to send reports proactively send to pharmacists and prescribers about patients who appear to be doctor shopping, said a 2011 survey of state programs. Eight states send such reports to law enforcement agencies, and seven states send reports to licensing agencies. The Bay Citizen

Wireless Carriers to Help Police in Crackdown on Cellphone Thefts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The nation's largest wireless carriers agreed to help federal regulators and local law enforcement crack down on cellphone theft by creating a centralized database to identify stolen phones and render them useless, the Washington Post reports. Within six months, consumers will be able to call Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile if their devices are stolen and the carriers will block the phones from being used again. Cellphone theft has been rampant. More than 40 percent of robberies in New York involve smartphones. In Washington, D.C., 34 percent of all robberies are of cellphones, and cellphone theft increased 54 percent between 2007 and 2011. Some carriers shut down voice and data service of stolen phones on request. They will use unique identifiers to keep track of stolen phones on their network. Within 18 months, companies will combine those individual databases in an effort to contain the widespread and fast-growing trade of stolen wireless devices inside and outside the U.S..The Federal Communications Commission announced the industry effort with D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier and New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. Washington Post

Carbon Exits U.S. Office of Violence Against Women; Hanson Steps Up ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Beatrice (Bea) Hanson has been named acting director of the United States Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). Hanson replaces Susan Carbon, who has stepped down to move back to New Hampshire. Hanson serves as the liaison between the Department of Justice and federal, state, tribal, and international governments on crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. The office has an annual budget exceeding $400 million. Hanson had been serving as principal deputy director of the office. In a a message announcing her departure after two years, Carbon cited the agency's work on the reauthorization of the federal Violence Against Women Act as well as "our innovative homicide reduction initiative, elevating the discourse of sexual violence to a new level, the new [Uniform Crime Report] Summary Reporting System definition of rape, launching the Sexual Assault Demonstration Initiative (SADI), exploring reform for family courts wrestling with domestic violence, our expansion of work in the international arena." U.S. Department of Justice

09 April 2012

April 9, 2012   Today's Stories

Two Whites Arrested In Killings of Three Tulsa Blacks--A Hate Crime? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Police in Tulsa say it's much too early in their investigation to describe the murder of three black residents and the wounding of two others as a hate crime, NPR reports. Two men were arrested early Sunday morning and are expected to face charges of first degree murder and shooting with intent to kill. "The crime-stopper tips were the biggest help to us," says police Maj. Walter Evans says. "From that, we were able to develop some really good suspect information on those two suspects and other associates that were involved with them." The suspects are Alvin Watts, 33, who is white according to court records and Jake England, 19, who is identified in some records as white and in others as Native American. The men share a home. Part of the investigation has focused on Facebook postings that appear to have been written by England, who used a racial slur and angrily blamed his father's death which occurred two years ago on a black man. The posting said "It's hard not to go off" given the anniversary and the death of his fiancee earlier this year, NPR

FL Justifiable Homicides Tripled After "Stand Your Ground" Passage ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Neither the state nor Florida's association of prosecutors declares the jump in justifiable homicides to be a direct result of the new law. The state public defender's association does draw that connection, as have advocacy groups opposed to Stand Your Ground laws. The Association of Prosecuting Attorneys argues that Stand Your Ground is not just a technical expansion of the castle doctrine, the ancient legal concept that allows property owners to defend their homes, but rather a barrier to prosecution of genuine criminals. "It's almost like we now have to prove a negative - that a person was not acting in self-defense, often on the basis of only one witness, the shooter," said Steven Jansen, the group's vice president. Washington Post

NBC Fires Producer Over Misleading Zimmerman Segment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NBC News fired a producer in the production of a misleading segment about the Trayvon Martin case, the New York Times reports. The segment strung together audio clips in such a way that made George Zimmerman's shooting of Martin sound racially motivated. Ever since the Feb. 26 shooting, there has been a debate about whether race was a factor in the incident. The segment was shown on the "Today" show March 27. It included audio of Zimmerman saying, "This guy looks like he's up to no good. He looks black." The comments had been taken grossly out of context by NBC. He told a 911 dispatcher of Martin, "This guy looks like he's up to no good. Or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around, looking about." The dispatcher asked, "O.K., and this guy - is he white, black or Hispanic?" Only then did Zimmerman say, "He looks black." New York Times

Shooting of 4 NYC Cops Has Kelly Talking About Gun Control ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the first moments of Easter Sunday, four New York City Emergency Service Unit cops were shot by what Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly called a "very bad dude" with a Browning automatic that was part of a multiple gun sale in North Carolina eight years ago. New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica quotes Kelly as saying guns "can be around a very long time, and then you load them and pull the trigger and they still work, against a cop or anybody else. These are the guns that are turning our city into a shooting gallery. We had three cops shot last year. This year we've had eight shot already, and it's only Easter." The guns keep coming into the city from North Carolina and Virginia. Says Lupica, "We constantly hear about how it gets easier to get guns now, not harder, and the laws go softer." Says Kelly: There is no easy solution to this problem absent a comprehensive anti-gun strategy throughout the country, as opposed to a pro-gun strategy. In New York, we have every law we need on the books. The problem isn't this state, it's all the other ones." New York Daily News

Drug Czar to Address National Summit on Prescription Drug Abuse ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Top health leaders, drug experts, and lawmakers from around the nation will meet in Orlando this week to tackle prescription drug abuse, reports the Louisville Courier-Journal. The National Rx Drug Abuse Summit, which runs tomorrow through Thursday, is being organized by the Eastern Kentucky anti-drug group Operation UNITE and is expected to draw about 700 people. The goal is to foster understanding and cooperation among those involved in the battle against the epidemic, such as law enforcement officials, medical professionals, educators, insurance managers, and others. White House drug czar R. Gil Kerlikowske is scheduled to speak at the summit tomorrow. Last year, Kerlikowske visited Kentucky, which loses about 1,000 residents a year to overdoses, and called the state "ground zero" for prescription drug abuse, along with Tennessee and West Virginia. Louisville Courier-Journal

States, Counties Must Maintain High-Tech Anti-Terrorism Gadgets ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Federal anti-terrorism grants have given Tennessee cities and counties emergency response equipment that, a decade ago, they couldn't have tried to buy in their dreams, The Tennessean reports. The money was real: $192 million from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that paid for remote-controlled bomb-handling robots; special equipment for collapsed building rescues; high-tech surveillance cameras; all sorts of boots, masks, and body armor; and food for police dogs. There was even a training seminar about how to apply for more money. Now, cities and counties are being asked to maintain all the high-tech gadgetry they obtained. Among the most coveted pieces is the armored Bearcat, a paramilitary vehicle with a gun turret on top and the ability to drive directly into an explosive or hazardous "hot zone." Nashville police got one funded for $89,000 and have rolled it out about 175 times since 2009, including during barricades and high-risk searches. Some equipment sits on shelves. "This year for the first time, DHS is encouraging sustainment," said Rick Shipkowski, deputy Homeland Security adviser for Tennessee. "They realize they have put billions of dollars into this program and have capabilities people couldn't have dreamed of years ago, and it would be a shame to see those go to waste if we don't prioritize sustaining them." The Tennessean

How Austin Police Will Try to Learn From Killing of Officer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ An event like the shooting death of Austin police officer Jaime Padron on Friday "will become part of the organizational narrative that will be communicated to young cops there forever," Vincent Henry, who wrote his doctoral dissertation on how police respond to death on the job, tells the Austin American-Statesman. "This guy is now part of the history of the agency. He'll be used to teach and train cops for generations." Police experts, psychologists specializing in working with law enforcement, and former officers said research and experience show that Austin police can expect to behave in predictable ways in the coming weeks and months as they process the violent death of one of their own. The reactions will range from heightened vigilance on calls that resemble Padron's final response at a Wal-Mart, to occasional anger, to what those who have studied the phenomenon describe as an almost obsessive quest to learn even the most insignificant details of the event in an effort not only to learn what happened, but also to convince themselves that it could not happen to them. "Cops are masters of second-guessing, third-guessing - 297th-guessing," said Daniel Clark, a department psychologist with the Washington State Patrol for the past 18 years. Austin American-Statesman

Why Ex-Advocates of California Death Penalty Seek to Repeal It ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A successful campaign to expand California's death penalty in 1978 was run by Ron Briggs, today a farmer and Republican member of the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors. It was championed by his father, state Sen. John Briggs. It was written by Donald Heller, a former New York City prosecutor. This year, reports the New York Times, Ron Briggs and Heller are advocating an initiative to repeal the death penalty and replace it with mandatory life without parole. Partly, they changed their minds for moral reasons. They also have a political argument to make. "At the time, we were of the impression that it would do swift justice, that it would get the criminals and murderers through the system quickly and apply them the death penalty," says Briggs, 54. "But it's not working. My dad always says, admit the obvious. We started with 300 on death row when we did Prop 7, and we now have over 720 - and it's cost us $4 billion. I tell my Republican friends, 'Close your eyes for a moment. If there was a state program that was costing $185 million a year and only gave the money to lawyers and criminals, what would you do with it?' " New York Times

Why Seattle Police Are in the Justice Department's Sights ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Police departments have come under increased scrutiny from the Obama administration as the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division steps up investigations of corruption, bias, and excessive force, NPR reports. Some of the targeted law enforcement agencies have had ethical clouds hanging over them for years, like New Orleans, but others, like Seattle, aren't exactly usual suspects. Seattle came to the Justice Department's attention a year and a half ago, after the shooting death of John Williams, a homeless man of Native Canadian descent. Chris Stearns, a lawyer on the city's Human Rights Commission, says Williams was killed for walking across a street carrying a carving knife and a piece of wood. The shooting was ruled unjustified, and the young cop involved left the force, though he was not prosecuted. "Seattle does have problems," Stearns says. "Anytime you've got the officers, you know, routinely - 20 percent of the time - violating our constitutional rights, that's a huge problem." U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan said, "We found in the cases that we reviewed that when officers used force, it was done in an unconstitutional and excessive manner nearly 20 percent of the time." Seattle Times

"Prison Consultant" Business Expanding--Can They Do Any Good? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The New York Times profiles the business of prison consulting," ex-cons' selling their advice to future inmates. "This industry's exploding," says one of the, Larry Levine, who runs two websites, American Prison Consultants and Wall Street Prison Consultants. More competition means rising tempers and flying accusations, the Times says. Some prison consultants say that others are so lacking in expertise that their businesses are practically criminal enterprises. The competitors walk a fine marketing line, bragging about an extensive criminal record to attract customers. That can make it tough for potential clients to choose: How much incarceration time is enough? What kind of experience is right for the job? Do the consultants make a difference? They can, say people who work in the criminal justice system. A sharp consultant can help with complicated paperwork, in much the same way that a college consultant can help a family navigate complicated financial aid forms. New York Times

AZ Prisons Contract With Health Care Provider Under Criticism ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The private contractor taking over health care in Arizona's prisons promises significant improvements in care while saving money, saying it will do more with less. Critics charge that Wexford Health Sources' record elsewhere suggests that sometimes it fails to live up to its promises and may do less with less, reports the Arizona Republic. Arizona's Department of Corrections, fighting a federal lawsuit that accuses it of providing grossly inadequate health care, issued a contract to Wexford this week as part of the state Legislature's attempts to save money by privatizing prison health care. There are reasons for great skepticism" that Wexford can deliver what it promises, said Caroline Isaacs of the American Friends Service Committee. "One is that Wexford has a clear pattern of not living up to its commitments in other contracts," and another is that the Department of Corrections has a history of failing to hold other contractors, such as private-prison operators, accountable when they haven't lived up to contract terms. Arizona Republic

Reports Find Confusion, No Intentional Lying on Secure Communities ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Investigators found no evidence that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials intentionally misled Congress or state and local officials about the controversial Secure Communities program that gives federal immigration authorities access to fingerprints of prisoners in local jails, say two new reports quoted by the Los Angeles Times. Secure Communities began with considerable fanfare in 2008 as a way to find violent criminals who should be deported. When deportations soared as a result of ICE's finding minor violations, some agencies sought to back out of the agreements, but were told by ICE that they could not. The acting inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, Charles Edwards, said initial "confusion" inside ICE about whether local approval was needed to join the federal effort resulted in a "lack of clarity" in explaining it to state and local officials. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Ca.), who requested the reports, said she was "frankly disappointed" that they failed to answer her questions about whether the program encouraged racial profiling or discouraged immigrants from reporting crimes to police. Los Angeles Times