30 April 2012

April 30, 2012   Today's Stories

Racial Issues Loom as Sanford, Fl., Seeks Temporary Police Chief ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sanford, Fl., is searching for an outsider to run its troubled Police Department temporarily, and whoever takes the job will face a deeply divided community and little time to build trust, criminal-justice experts and community leaders tell the Orlando Sentinel. On one side are those demanding the firing of police Chief Bill Lee, who stepped aside temporarily after a storm of criticism over the way his department handled the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. On the other side are residents - many of them police officers - who support Lee and want to see him return. In the background are long-standing complaints of police racism and recent scandals involving officers. "Any interim chief coming into Sanford is certainly going to face challenges," said Kenneth Adams, a professor of criminal justice at the University of Central Florida. "He will have to deal with a community that is very divided, so it will become a challenge to bring them together in such a short time." City Manager Norton Bonaparte wants someone who has served as chief of another agency for several years and is able to evaluate the day-to-day functions of the police department, which has 137 employees. Sanford has contracted with the Police Executive Research Forum in Washington, D.C., to find candidates for the job. The department has a history of racial incidents. Sanford's previous chief, Brian Tooley, was criticized when his department did not arrest a police officer's son captured on video punching a homeless black man. Orlando Sentinel

Charles Colson's Prison Legacy: Experts Differ on Impact ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Charles W. Colson, Richard Nixon's "hatchet man," who died last week, founded in 1976 what became Prison Fellowship, the world's largest Christian outreach to prisoners. Historians of penology remembered Colson as someone who, in a small way, pointed American prisons back toward their roots, writes Mark Oppenheimer in the New York Times. A spokesman for Prison Fellowship pointed to studies by New York Theological Seminary and the University of Pennsylvania, among others, finding that prison ministry turns inmates away from crime. Not all scholars are convinced. "Criminologists have convincingly shown that inmates involved in religious programming have fewer infractions while inside," said Jennifer Graber, who wrote a book on religion in prisons. "The data outside is much more difficult to interpret." Winnifred Sullivan, a professor at the University of Buffalo and the author of "Prison Religion," said, "Nobody knows if this stuff works. Because prisoners must request to be part of Colson's programs, they may be a more motivated population, Sullivan said, making it hard to determine the source of any eventual success. New York Times

Prediction: No Prison Terms in Wal-Mart Mexican Bribery Scheme ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If past history is a guide, no one is likely to go to prison in the Wal-Mart Mexican bribery scheme, James B. Stewart writes in the New York Times. News reports say the case may involve millions of dollars in illegal payoffs to Mexican officials and evidence of a cover-up scheme that went all the way to Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville, Ar. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which outlaws the bribery of foreign officials by U.S. executives, carries stiff penalties for those convicted: fines of up to $5 million and up to 20 years in prison. Like Wal-Mart, Tyson Foods employees bribed Mexican officials. Tyson covered up the scheme. Worse, they tried to keep the bribes going by changing the nature of the illegal payments. The scheme reached into Tyson's headquarters, also in Arkansas. Last year, the Justice Department charged Tyson with conspiracy and with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Tyson didn't contest the facts, agreed to resolve the charges, and paid a $4 million criminal penalty. Qi Chen, working with Prof. Andrew Spalding at the Chicago-Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology, found that 37 of the 57 companies involved in bribery enforcement actions from 2005 to 2010 settled bribery accusations and had no related individuals charged. New York Times

Philadelphia Murder Victim Families Raise Funds to Solve Cases ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With Philadelphia's yearly murder tally consistently passing 300, and with a murder clearance rate of about 60 percent, hundreds of families around the city know what it's like when the leads dry up and the killer of their daughter, or son, or brother roams free as if nothing happened, reports the Philadelphia Daily News. Disheartened relatives of murder victims have built their lives around bringing the killers to justice, putting up rewards out of pocket, organizing fundraisers, and canvassing some of the city's roughest neighborhoods. "It has to be me, because no one else is going to do it," Janice Collins said of her efforts to push for closure in the case of her murdered daughter, Ericka Brair. "I feel like I just relive it and relive it. It's been a rough road." Right after her daughter's murder five years ago, Collins, 59, and her mother put up a $2,000 out-of-pocket reward through the Citizens Crime Commission and raised more by selling "Justice 4 Ericka" bracelets and holding a beef-and-beer fundraiser at a place where Ericka worked with a friend, making the reward $10,000. Philadelphia Daily News

Maryland Appeals Court Rules Against DNA Collection from Suspects ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Top Maryland law enforcement officials are pushing back against a Court of Appeals decision that prohibits DNA collection from suspects charged - but not yet convicted - of violent crimes, saying the ruling will allow dangerous criminals to go undetected by authorities, the Washington Post reports. Gov. Martin O'Malley, police chiefs, and prosecutors are urging the state's attorney general to challenge the ruling, which found that swabbing criminal suspects for DNA samples after they are charged is a violation of the suspects' constitutional rights. Police and prosecutors say the case could jeopardize the convictions of 34 robbers, burglars, and rapists whose genetic samples were taken after they were charged in separate cases. They also said it will hamper detectives' ability to solve cold cases."It really sets Maryland back in the crime fight," said Col. Marcus L. Brown, superintendent of the Maryland State Police. The case puts Maryland at the center of a brewing national debate that raises the question of how to balance privacy rights and public safety. Federal and state courts across the country have issued mixed opinions on when DNA collection is legal. The governor's office says 26 states have legislation similar to Maryland's. The issue seems destined to be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court. Washington Post

U.S. Drops Conviction Over Hair Evidence, Critics Seek National Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Federal prosecutors acknowledged errors in the scientific evidence that helped send Santae Tribble of Washington, D.C., man to prison for 28 years for murder and took the extraordinary step of agreeing to have his conviction overturned, reports the Washington Post. U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen stopped short of declaring him innocent. Tribble, 51, was found guilty of the 1978 murder of a taxi driver. His case was featured last week by the Post, which said that Justice Department officials have known for years that flawed forensic work might have led to convictions of innocent people. In Tribble's case, prosecutors and the FBI lab were incorrect in linking a hair found near the murder scene to Tribble. Three former senior FBI lab experts and a national civil liberties group joined calls for the Justice Department to review testimony in all convictions nationwide that depended on FBI hair evidence before 1996. U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) urged the Justice Department to review its handling of 250 questionable convictions identified by the Post, most of which relied on hair comparisons. "Obviously, if there are problems in D.C., there are problems across the country," said Virginia Sloan, president of The Constituion Project. "To think this kind of testimony or potentially flawed evidence is limited to a particular location makes no sense." Washington Post

Texas Murder Exoneree Michael Morton Tries to Fix Justice System ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The past few years in Texas have seen a parade of DNA exonerations: more than 40 men so far, says NPR. The first exonerations were big news, but the type has grown smaller as Texans have watched a dismaying march of exonerees, their wasted years haunting the public conscience. The Michael Morton case in Williamson County, north of Austin, is raising the ante. Morton had been sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife. He was released six months ago - 25 years after being convicted - when DNA testing proved he was not the killer. Instead of merely seeking financial compensation, Morton is working to fix the system. His lawyers, including The Innocence Project, want to hold the man who put him behind bars accountable. They want new laws to make sure Morton's story is never repeated. NPR

Seattle Police Drone Looks Like a Toy, Raises Privacy Issues ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Seattle Police Department's drone doesn't look like much of a threat in person--it looks like a toy, says the Seattle Times. Officer Reuben Omelanchuk demonstrated how the unmanned aerial vehicle hovers and flies. "It's very fun," said Omelanchuk, one of two officers trained to fly the vehicles. "But doing it safely can be stressful at times." The 3.5 pound Draganflyer X6 Helicopter Tech cost $41,000 and is operated with a handheld controller and two joysticks. It has cameras that take still pictures, videos, and infrared shots that can be viewed live, but it has a battery life of less than 10 minutes. It can't carry anything that weighs more than 35 ounces. It can't be flown around people or over crowds. The approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to operate the drone has raised issues about privacy, the use of technology in law enforcement and the alleged militarization of police work. The American Civil Liberties Union says current laws are inadequate to safeguard citizen privacy. The proposed use of drones in Seattle should prompt city leaders to draft policies and procedures that set strict guidelines on when and how the vehicles can be used, what information will be gathered, with whom it will be shared and how long it will be stored, said the ACLU's Doug Honig. Seattle Times

U.S. Sentencing Commission Weighs Proposed Changes In Child-Porn Cases ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Child-pornography offenders are the focus of an intense debate within the legal community as to whether the federal sentences they face have become too severe, the Associated Press reports. By year's end, the U.S. Sentencing Commission plans to release a report that's likely to propose changes on child-porn sentencing guidelines. The issue "is highly charged, both emotionally and politically," said a commissioner, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell. Many federal judges and public defenders say repeated moves by Congress to toughen the penalties over 25 years have badly skewed the guidelines, to the point where offenders who possess and distribute child pornography can go to prison for longer than those who actually rape or sexually abuse a child. Some prosecutors and members of Congress, as well as advocates for sexual-abuse victims, oppose any push for leniency. At a public hearing in February, a victim lamented to the Sentencing Commission that child pornography offenders "are being entertained by my shame and pain." The commission report will be submitted to Congress, which could shelve it or incorporate its recommendations into new legislation. Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle

Security Firms Rely on Fear to Get Business for GOP Convention ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With the Republican National Convention four months away, private security firms, lawyers, and bodyguard training companies are relying on fear to sell their services, reports the Tampa Bay Times. "The RNC is coming [ ] Is your security ready for it?" says a mailer to 5,000 downtown businesses from a Lutz security installation company. "At the 2004 RNC there were 1,800 arrests, in 2008 there were 800 arrests. What kind of mayhem will Tampa see in 2012?" A former Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy offers "armed executive personal security and transportation" on his investigations and security consulting company website, while a Tampa insurance claims adjustor is circulating a news release explaining how companies should protect themselves in case mayhem occurs. Of the 50,000 visitors expected for the RNC, police said 15,000 will be protesters. ASI Consultants & Associates, a. Fort Lauderdale bodyguard training firm. advertises three-day sessions to train and license bodyguards with as many as six certifications and prerequisites to get RNC-related security jobs. "I've gotten probably about 40 phone calls," said owner Bill Ferrell. "We actually had that class filled within the three weeks of advertising it, and we actually turned down some people." Tampa Bay Times

Steven R. Schlesinger Dies; Former U.S. BJS Director, Court Official ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Steven R. Schlesinger, director of the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics from 1983 to 1988, died last week in Washington, D.C., at 68. For the past 13 years, Schlesinger was chief of the statistics division of the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts. He also had been a professor of political science at Rutgers and Catholic universities, and was director of the Justice Department's Office of Policy Development after leaving BJS. The SEARCH organization said Schlesinger had worked with it on improving the data quality of criminal history records. SEARCH general counsel Robert Belair said, "Steve believed that complete and accurate criminal history record information is essential in order for the nation to make smart and effective criminal justice decisions." Schlesinger had bachelor's and master's degrees from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in political science from the Claremont Graduate School in California. He is survived by his wife, Lesley Solomon, two sons, and a grandson. SEARCH

After Cartagena, Secret Service Imposes New Rules, Ethics Training ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The U.S. Secret Service imposed new rules aimed at tightening oversight of its employees on international trips, banning staff members from bringing foreigners into their hotel rooms, drinking alcohol within 10 hours of duty, and visiting "non-reputable establishments," the Washington Post reports. The agency distributed the list of 10 rules in a memo to employees, codifying what traditionally had been a largely unwritten code of conduct. The changes were deemed necessary after 12 agents and officers were implicated in an incident that involved heavy drinking and payments to prostitutes in advance of President Obama's visit to Cartagena, Colombia, two weeks ago. Next week, the agency will hold ethics training for more than 100 employees, and more mandatory courses will be scheduled. The agency hopes to put all of its 3,500 agents and 1,400 uniformed officers through the training. Washington Post