Two Months After Tucson, Obama Seeks Better Gun Buyer Checks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
Kerry Assails GOP Cuts in COPS; "I Didn't Know We Had Ended Crime" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Senator John Kerry (D-MA), speaking to the Fraternal Order of Police in Boston, blasted House Republicans for taking a "meat ax'' to crucial items in the proposed federal budget, including education, research, infrastructure, and public safety, and he vowed to continue to fight for unions, reports the Boston Globe. The FOP endorsed Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) for president in 2008, but members now say they are deeply concerned about the Republican-led House's plans to slash anticrime programs in the federal budget. Kerry said Republicans are attempting to dismantle a program he helped spearhead in 1994, with GOP support, to put as many as 100,000 additional police officers on the streets. He said crime decreased 1.5 percent since then, and violent crime dropped 2.5 percent. "Well, I didn't know that we had ended crime in America," Kerry told FOP members. "But some of our Republican friends evidently think that none of this matters. I mean, none of it. We're caught up now in one of the most ridiculous moments that I've ever seen in all the time that I've been in public life." |
Will Emanuel Lure Ramsey Back to Head Chicago Police? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Will Philadelphia Police Chief Charles Ramsey be lured back to Chicago? The Chicago Sun-Times quotes Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel as saying Ramsey has "great strengths" that would be "natural for the job" of Chicago Police superintendent. Said Emanuel: "From Chicago. Two proven departments under his belt of leadership. A proven record on community policing, which is important to us. The trust of the department [to solve] the morale issue, which is essential." Ramsey, 63, is the former head of Chicago's community policing program who left the city in a huff after Mayor Richard Daley's surprise choice of Terry Hillard in 1998. He spent nine years as Washington, D.C., police chief before moving on to Philadelphia in 2008. Ramsey has told associates he would love to come home to run the Chicago Police Department, but probably won't apply without assurances he is Emanuel's choice. The mayor-elect wouldn't go that far. He still has to wait for the nine-member Police Board to conduct a nationwide search for a new police superintendent, then give him three finalists from which to choose. |
Schumer Presses for NYPD's Kelly to Succeed Mueller at FBI ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is pushing for New York City police commissioner Raymond Kelly to head the FBI when Robert Mueller's term ends in September, the New York Daily News reports. "I think the country needs him," said Schumer. "Ray Kelly is a world-class choice, and he's at the top of the list, whether it's fighting terrorism, drug crime or street crime." Schumer will strenuously advocate for Kelly in both the Justice Department and the White House. "He's the preeminent law enforcement person in the country," said Schumer. "He knows more about this than anyone." Kelly rejected overtures to head the FBI before Mueller was appointed. Schumer touted Kelly's experience keeping the city safe from terrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks. New York police have had a hand in thwarting at least 13 potential plots since the 2001 attacks and has established international outposts in cities like Tel Aviv, Paris, and Madrid. Kelly, 69, has spent 31 years in the NYPD, including two stints as commissioner. He ran the department from 1992 to 1994 under Mayor David Dinkins and reclaimed the top spot when Michael Bloomberg became mayor in 2002 |
Ohio Gov. Kasich Likely to Propose Selling Prisons to Private Operators ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ohio Gov. John Kasich's may propose Tuesday to sell three to five state prisons to private entities, reports the Columbus Dispatch. Kasich's first budget proposal will roil the landscape, the paper says, especially the public, nonprofit and private entities that count on the state's largesse. There is a projected $8 billion hole in the next two-year state budget, and Kasich won't fill it with tax increases. He will cut, cut and then cut some more. Services will be consolidated and privatized. Some user fees probably will be raised. Mandates will be lifted. Far more than previous state budgets, Kasich's will include significant policy changes with the usual taxing and spending decisions. In his State of the State speech last week, Kasich provided a partial roadmap for where cuts will be made. He warned government entities that used their one-time shares of the roughly $5.7 billion Ohio received in federal stimulus funds for operating costs to expect that money to be eliminated |
Patrol Officers Increasingly Trained in SWAT-team Skills ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Portland, Or., police officers are trained with advanced stills that traditionally have been reserved for police tactical teams, reports The Oregonian. After the Columbine school shooting -- when the nation watched in horror as police waited for SWAT teams to rescue the wounded -- larger police agencies have been providing more intensive training for the patrol officers first on the scene. "If a citizen or officer is in a field of fire, it's our obligation to remove them as fast as we can," said Ronald McCarthy, a police consultant who retired as an assistant commander from the Los Angeles Police Department. "Sometimes SWAT teams aren't there when the world is coming down." Thomas Aveni, a New Hampshire officer who serves as executive director of the Police Policy Studies Council, said there's been a greater emphasis over the last decade on preparing all ranks of police for what's called "active shooter" situations, from issuing patrol officers rifles to teaching how to rescue a wounded officer. "Especially post-Columbine, there's been a trickle down of SWAT techniques to patrol officers," Aveni said. Portland police have been teaching the officer-evacuation training for at least a decade in its advanced academy. It was developed specifically for street officers to remove a wounded cop from a shooting zone to a safe location and into the hands of emergency medics as quickly as possible. In such a situation, police are taught to fill three roles: one to fire rounds toward the suspect's location to neutralize the threat; at least one to carry out the wounded officer; and a lead-out officer to help guide the cover-fire officer out of the area once the wounded cop is removed. |
Ex-Federal Judge Gets 30 Days in Prison for Crimes with Stripper ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Telling him he has "a scarlet letter chiseled on his forehead the rest of his life," a federal judge sentenced disgraced ex-federal trial judge Jack Camp of Atlanta to 30 days in prison for committing repeated crimes with a stripper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. "He has disgraced his office," Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan said of Camp. Camp was arrested Oct. 1 in an undercover drug sting. Hogan also ordered Camp to serve 400 hours of community service, pay a $1,000 fine, and reimburse the government for the cost of its prosecution. Camp, 67, was appointed to the bench by President Ronald Reagan in 1987. He resigned before pleading guilty to drug charges and to giving the stripper his $825 government-issued laptop computer. Camp met the exotic dancer when she did a table dance for him. He then paid her for sex and together, they began smoking marijuana and snorting cocaine and a synthetic form of heroin. |
Behind the Debate Over Florida's Missing Prescription-Drug Database ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not long after Anna Nicole Smith's 2007 death in a Florida hotel room, authorities declared legal narcotics were killing three times as many people as street drugs in Florida. Those events combined to give the Sunshine State an embarrassing new nickname: Pill Mill Capital of the nation, says the St. Petersburg Times. It wasn't until 2009, after seven deadly years of political stalemate, that lawmakers approved a database to thwart drug-seekers who go from doctor to doctor, and pharmacy to pharmacy, filling multiple prescriptions for powerful narcotics. The database still doesn't exist. Florida's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program is the subject of a battle that pits Republicans against Republicans, politicians against major campaign contributors, and at least one legislator against his own vote. As Gov. Rick Scott and opponents work to kill the program, an unlikely coalition of pain clinic doctors, police officers, and grieving mothers are united in distress. Politicians from New York to Kentucky are begging the state to stop the drug pipeline that sends deadly narcotics across their borders. Even the nation's drug czar recently implored Florida to enact the monitoring system. |
Abuse of NY Group-Home Residents Rarely Leads to Charges, Firings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A New York state network of small group homes for the developmentally disabled operates with scant oversight and few consequences for employees who abuse the vulnerable population, reports the New York Times. The newspaper found widespread problems in the more than 2,000 state-run homes. In hundreds of cases, employees who sexually abused, beat, or taunted residents rarely were fired, even after repeated offenses. Then often were transferred to other state-run group homes. Despite a law requiring that incidents in which a crime may have been committed be reported to law enforcement, referrals are rare. Of 13,000 allegations of abuse in 2009 in state-operated and licensed homes, fewer than 5 percent were referred to law enforcement. The cases included shocking examples of abuse of residents with conditions like Down syndrome, autism, and cerebral palsy. |
Mexican Drug Gang Makes North Texas a Key Hub ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Zetas drug cartel, a shadowy Mexican gang, has made north Texas a key hub in a criminal enterprise extending through Central America, reports the Dallas Morning News in a series of articles available only to paid subscribers. Dallas Morning News |
Federal Budget Cut Could Curtail State, Local Money Laundering Probes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A looming cut to the federal financial crime agency's budget could cripple state and local investigations that depend on transactions monitored via the anti-money laundering Bank Secrecy Act, Reuters reports. The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) decided to save nearly $1.4 million by doing away with jobs that facilitate state and local law enforcers' access to the coveted data, often used in fighting drug trafficking, fraud and terrorism finance. "For very, very small savings, we're looking at having a very major negative impact on investigations," Cameron Holmes of the Arizona Attorney General's Office, told Complinet. "It is far, far, far out of proportion to the savings." The data include reports that financial institutions like banks, broker-dealers, and money services firms file on transactions deemed suspicious, or those involving large amounts of cash. Millions of such reports are filed with the Treasury Department each year and are stored electronically in FinCEN databases. Financial investigators and others rely on these documents to help them track suspicious money flows. In recent years, investigators with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies have been able to access Bank Secrecy Act data instantly online at their workstations. FinCEN spokesman Steve Hudak said that as a result of deficit concerns, all federal agencies were asked to "prioritize their capabilities." |
NY Times Ombudsman Assails Unbalanced Story on Rape of TX Girl ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Arthur Brisbane, the "public editor' of the New York Times, has taken his own paper to task for this week's story about a gang rape of an 11-year-old girl in the East Texas town of Cleveland. The story, headlined "Victious Assault Shakes Texas Town," got "viral distribution" that was due partly to intense outrage among readers who thought the piece pilloried the victim, Brisbane says. "My assessment is that the outrage is understandable," says the ombudsman. "The story dealt with a hideous crime but addressed concerns about the ruined lives of the perpetrators without acknowledging the obvious: concern for the victim."He continues that, "It was not enough to simply report that the community is principally concerned about the boys and men involved - as this story seems to do. If indeed that is the only sentiment to be found in this community - and I find that very hard to believe - it becomes important to report on that as well by seeking out voices of professional authorities or dissenting community members who will at least address, and not ignore, the plight of the young girl involved." |
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Monday, March 14, 2011
Articles for 14 March 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Articles for 13 March 2011
Ohio Uses Animal Drug In Execution; Legal Challenges Likely Elsewhere ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ohio executed an inmate with a single drug previously used to euthanize animals, the first execution of its kind in the U.S. and a potentially pivotal development in the emotional battle over capital punishment, reports the Washington Post. Johnnie Baston, 37, got an infusion of the powerful barbituate pentobarbital. Capital punishment was thrown into disarray in January when the only U.S. company that makes sodium thiopental, which Ohio and other states had long used with two other drugs for lethal injection, said it would no longer produce the drug. Opponents and supporters of the death penalty predicted that other states would follow Ohio and adopt the new one-drug approach, alleviating delays in executions in the short-term but potentially leading to legal challenges that could mire the system in the long term. Some capital punishment opponents condemned the new protocol, saying too little is known about how pentobarbital works for this purpose in people. "Ohio is gambling blindly in its rush to execute," said law Prof. Deborah Denno of Fordham University. "There is no reason why Ohio cannot take the time to devise a constitutionally acceptable execution procedure in the way so many experts have recommended." |
Mexican Official: 150 Killed, Hurt With Guns Trafficked in U.S. Probe ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mexican legislators are demanding an investigation into a U.S. law enforcement operation that allowed hundreds of weapons to flow into the hands of Mexican drug cartels amid claims from a ranking legislator that at least 150 Mexicans have been killed or wounded by guns trafficked by smugglers under the watch of U.S. agents, the Los Angeles Times reports. U.S. authorities say manpower shortages and the high number of weapons sold resulted in their losing track of hundreds of guns, from pistols to .50-caliber sniper rifles. A federal agent deeply involved in the Phoenix-based operation said it was "impossible" that U.S. authorities did not know the weapons were headed for Mexico. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has acknowledged that at least 195 weapons sold in Arizona under Operation Fast and Furious have been recovered in Mexico, traced as a matter of routine via serial numbers after their recovery from crime scenes, arrests and searches. The Mexican lawmaker, Huberto Benitez Trevino, did not say how the new casualty statistics were calculated. A U.S. law enforcement official on the border, a defender of the ATF program, didn't know how Mexican officials came up with the casualty figure, saying, "It's probably just a good political thing to say, and how are you going to refute it?" |
Oakland Police, Firefighters Devour City Budget (Deficit $46 Million) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A database of local government salaries and compensation compiled by California Controller John Chiang shows just how out of whack pay for some California police and firefighters has become in the state's largest cities, says San Francisco Chronicle columnist Chip Johnson. In San Francisco, a deputy chief earning $250,666 a year collected more than half a million dollars when he retired in 2009. In San Jose, nine of the top 10 earners were Police or Fire Department employees. None made less than $275,000. In Oakland, a police officer whose listed salary ceiling was $98,000 a year was paid $245,432. The data show some police and fire departments devouring local public dollars. In Oakland, the starting pay for police officers - $70,044.96 - is higher than most other police jobs in the state. It's no wonder Oakland can no longer afford to keep a minimum force of 832 officers and was forced to lay off 80 officers last year, Johnson says. This year's budget deficit is $46 million. The Oakland police officer who earned $245,432 isn't an anomaly. Oakland police officers and firefighters constituted 440 of the city's 500 highest-paid employees in 2009. |
Prison, Jail Bed Glut In Texas May Hurt County Finances ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quite a few Texas jail and prison facilities - many owned by counties - overbuilt, banking on ever-growing inmate populations that haven't materialized and now appear unlikely, says the Grits for Breakfast blog, which lists 13 and says there may be others. In most cases they were built with taxpayer backed bonds which must be paid whether or not the beds are leased. Texas state officials last year cancelled contracts with counties for 1,900 beds and doesn't plan to rent beds from counties under the new budget. The underfilled facilities hope the feds will bail them out by leasing more immigration detention beds, but they won't bail out all of them and might not contract with any of them, given that there's lots of competition from other parts of the country. Corrections Corporation of America alone has 12,500 empty beds nationwide. Just five years ago there was excess demand for private prison capacity; today there is a glut. |
Durbin Believes U.S. Will Buy IL Prison Despite Gitmo Controversy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nearly a year ago, inmates at Illinois' Thomson Correctional Facility were moved out in anticipation of the federal government's buying the underused prison for detainees from Guantanamo Bay. That plan has been blocked by congressional opposition to transferring any Gitmo prisoners to the United States. The St. Louis Beacon quotes U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) as being optimistic that the U.S. Bureau of Prisons is close to finalizing a deal to buy Thomson from Illinois for $170 million. He believes Congress eventually will fund conversion of the prison for inmates other than the Gitmo detainees. Durbin noted strong local backing because a reopened prison would create more than 1,100 jobs. "Our federal prisons are overcrowded, and if we can get a good price for the Thomson prison -- and I think we can -- it would be a good investment for the federal government, instead of building a new prison," Durbin told the Beacon. "It would also be some money for the state of Illinois, and we sure need it." |
Conyers' Wife Complains About Food, Lack of Work in U.S. Prison ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some call it Camp Cupcake, but Alderson Federal Prison in West Virginia is no cakewalk, ex-Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers tells the Detroit News. The incarcerated wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, former House Judiciary Committee chairman, wrote a letter to the newspaper saying she's keeping her spirits up, loves Detroit, and hates prison chow. "It's over-crowded and they barely have food to feed the people," Conyers wrote. "The portions are smaller and no seconds when it's something good. Most of the women are here for drugs!" Conyers is federal inmate No. 43693-039 after pleading guilty to accepting $6,000 in bribes for switching her vote on a $1.2 billion sludge contract. She still signs her correspondence "Councilwoman Monica."In prison, Conyers said, "It's not a lot to do here. The main place of employment closed down [ ] It's mainly recreation choices because classes are filled." |
Insider View Of CA Pelican Bay Prison: Guards Fear "Gassing" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A corrections officer at California's Pelican Bay Prison told his story to radio station KALW's blog The Informant, reports NPR. Asked why anyone would take such a job dealing with some of the most dangerous criminals, the officer, whose name is not given in the piece, says it was a matter of needing a job - fast. "You don't grow up wanting to be a correctional officer," he said. The officer's original goal of joining the highway patrol was put on hold when his wife became pregnant. It would have taken him six months to finish training for the highway patrol. But the department of corrections' academy took only six weeks. The officer paints a picture of an emotionally charged environment, where guards are sometimes pelted by balls of feces and other bodily materials, hurled by inmates who may have hepatitis or AIDS. The attack, he says, is called "gassing." Said the officer: "We've probably had more officers lose their mental well being because of a gassing than anything else." |
Congress May Cut Funds For Law Enforcement Hand-Held Radios ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A key post-Sept. 11 security priority is on the federal budget chopping block: hand-held radios that allow officers from different law enforcement agencies to talk to each other, reports the Washington Times. House and Senate spending plans would slash up to $100 million for the Justice Department's Integrated Wireless Network (IWN), which would replace the mis-matched radios that were in use during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "The quality of the radios they have now is horrible," said James Craig, former chief information officer for the Drug Enforcement Administration, of the often incompatible radio systems still being used by the FBI, DEA and U.S. Marshals Service. "There's a potential for agents to be hurt or killed" because of the limitations of these systems, some of which are almost 20 years old, he said. Outside of the Washington, D.C., area, where IWN came on line last year, the plan is set to become a victim of bipartisan efforts to tackle the spiraling deficit by cutting government spending in the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. "The agencies finally got together and have a plan, and everybody's on the same page [ ] and now the rug's been pulled away," Craig said of the proposed cuts. |
Obama Adviser Cites Increasing Federal Role Fighting School Bullying ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yesterday's White House conference on bullying had a single goal - to "dispel the myth that bullying is part of a normal rite of passage" - President Obama said, reports Youth Today. "No family should have to go through what these families had to go through," the president said, singling out several families in the room whose children recently committed suicide after being targeted by bullies. One speaker, University of Connecticut education professor George Sugai, said there must be school-wide measures in order to reduce bullying. Success in minimizing bullying at the individual level is linked to "the larger school climate," Sugai said his research has shown. Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett touted the increasing role the federal government is playing, mentioning two letters the Department of Education sent to schools urging them to strictly enforce anti-bullying measures; a new technical assistance center on bullying prevention run by the Education Department; and the launch of a new website, Stopbullying.gov. Sen. Al Franken (D-Mn.) and Rep. Jared Polis (D-Co.) introduced the Student Non-Discrimination Act, which would require that schools not discriminate against students based on sexual orientation or identity, and risk losing federal funds if such discrimination is found to exist on school grounds. |
NY Times Accused of "Blaming the Victim" In Story on Rape Of Girl, 11 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The New York Times is under attack from bloggers who assert that a March 8 article about the alleged gang-rape of an 11-year-old girl Texas laid blame on the prepubescent victim, says Yahoo News. The social justice website Change.org started an online petition to "Tell the New York Times to issue a published apology for their coverage of this incident and publish an editorial from a victim's rights expert on how victim blaming in the media contributes to the prevalance of sexual assault." The Times has not apologized but did publish a letter to the editor from a woman who was "shocked to see the article report that town residents said the 11-year-old girl 'dressed older than her age, wearing makeup and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her 20s.' The article continued, 'She would hang out with teenage boys at a playground, some said.' " The writer asked, "How is this relevant except to subtly blame the victim?" The Times told Yahoo News that, "Neighbors' comments about the girl, which we reported in the story, seemed to reflect concern about what they saw as a lack of supervision that may have left her at risk." |
Congressional Hearing Shows Partisan Split On Terror Probes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A congressional hearing yesterday on homegrown Islamic terrorism featured divergent portraits of Muslims in America: law-abiding people who are unfairly made targets, and people ignoring radicalization among their own and failing to confront what one witness called "this cancer that's within," the New York Times reports. Four hours of sometimes emotional testimony showed a deep partisan split in lawmakers' approach to terror investigations and their views on the role of mosques in America. Democrats cited the lone law enforcement witness, Sheriff Lee Baca of Los Angeles, who testified that Muslims do cooperate, and they cited a Duke University study that found that 40 percent of foiled domestic terror plots had been thwarted with the help of Muslims. Other witnesses - Melvin Bledsoe, a Memphis businessman, and Abdirizak Bihi of the Somali Education and Social Advocacy Center in Minneapolis - offered compelling narratives of how their relatives embraced Islamic extremism. |
David Simon Offers Sympathy For "The Wire" Actress After Arrest ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, an actress in "The Wire" who was arrested this week on drug charges in Baltimore, has "had one of the hardest lives imaginable," says "The Wire" creator and producer David Simon in the Baltimore Sun. He notes that "the entertainment industry as a whole does not offer a great many roles for those who can portray people from the other America. There are, in fact, relatively few stories told about the other America." Simon notes that writers of "The Wire" said in a Time magazine essay that "the war on drugs has devolved into a war on the underclass, that in places like West and East Baltimore, where the drug economy is now the only factory still hiring and where the educational system is so crippled that the vast majority of children are trained only for the corners, a legal campaign to imprison our most vulnerable and damaged citizens is little more than amoral." Simon said that drug defendants, absent proof of violent acts, should be acquitted. He acknowledged that he does not know the details of the Pearson charges, such as what drug is involved and whether violence is alleged. |
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Articles for 8 March 2011
Insider: ATF Has Allowed More Guns Into Mexico Than It Has Stopped ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ U.S. authorities in Mexico charged with stemming the flow of U.S. weapons to drug cartels have been hampered by shortfalls in staffing, agents with limited Spanish skills, and the difficulty of recruiting new agents to the dangerous posting because they can't officially carry weapons, current and former staff members tell the Los Angeles Times. Facing new accusations that investigators with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allowed buyers to funnel high-powered assault weapons into Mexico, a senior agent posted to Mexico before 2010 said the agency had not fielded the resources necessary to block mass movements of weapons across the Southwest border. These movements have come under scrutiny amid revelations that ATF investigators delayed for months the arrests of suspected cartel gun buyers, allowing the flow of hundreds of weapons to Mexico in the hope of catching bigger buyers. The policy has outraged many agents and prompted a Senate investigation. Yesterday, most architects of the Phoenix-based operation, known as "Fast and Furious," were called to Washington to discuss it. Rene Jaquez, a former ATF attache in Mexico, said U.S. agents there did not have the resources to run down gun smugglers effectively. Jaquez said ATF offices in Mexico were so short-staffed that agents were either forced to spend most of their time on paperwork or didn't have necessary backup to safely do street work. "ATF has put all this money into Mexico, what have we done? How many guns have we stopped from coming into the country? Well, this whole scandal shows we've probably allowed more guns into the country than guns we've stopped," Jaquez said |
E. Coast Serial Rape Suspect: "What Took You So Long To Get Me?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Suspected serial rapist Aaron Thomas said he had a "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality when it came to women," prosecutor David Strollo said yesterday in New Haven, Ct., reports the Hartford Courant. Police say he climbed into the window of a woman's New Haven apartment in 2007 and raped her while her baby slept nearby. Thomas, 39, is a suspect in a doz en sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults in four states from 1997 to 2009. He was arrested Friday after police learned that DNA taken from a cigarette he tossed the day before matched that of the man police dubbed the "East Coast Rapist." When Thomas was apprehended, he asked, "What took you so long to get me?" Strollo said. His public defender, Joseph Lopez, told him to wear a hat and glasses in court to avoid any identification by victims in cases that do not involve DNA. Judge Bruce Thompson set bail at $1.5 million in cash. |
MI YouTube Child Porn Case Question: Were Children Abused? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Muskegon, Mi., is divided over the case of Evan Emory, 21, a singer and songwriter, who became a household name last month when he edited a video to make it appear that local elementary school children were listening to him sing a song with graphic sexual lyrics, reports the New York Times. He showed the video in a nightclub and posted it on YouTube. Prosecutor Tony Tague charged Emory with manufacturing and distributing child pornography, which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. Emory's supporters, including the almost 3,000 people who have "liked" a "Free Evan Emory" Facebook page, say the case is a vast overreaction to a prank gone astray, and a threat to free expression.. "I think they're making a very huge deal out of it ,and it's really not that big of a deal," said Holly Hawkins, 27, a waitress. "None of the kids were harmed in any way." Legal experts say the case underscores the evolving nature of the law when it comes to defining child pornography in the age of Facebook, YouTube, and sexting. With the rise of technology, said Carissa Hessick of the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State, "now we have situations where people are being arrested and charged" in connection with digitally altered images, where no child was abused. |
No Compensation for 44 Wrongly Convicted In CA; Is Process a "Mess"? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forty-four Californians released from prison since 2000 have been denied compensation after a hearing before the state's victim compensation board, which can award $100 a day for each day spent behind bars after a wrongful conviction, reports California Watch. Of the 132 people who have filed claims since 2000, 11 former inmates have been awarded compensation, with payments ranging from $17,200 to $756,900, for a total cost to taxpayers of more than $3 million. Those who received compensation typically relied heavily on the testing of DNA evidence, which may not be as readily available to inmates who lack legal resources. "The whole process is a mess," said Jeff Chinn of the California Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal clinic at the California Western School of Law in San Diego that handles compensation claims on behalf of the wrongfully convicted. "Our clients are asked to prove things far beyond what is reasonable." The Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board must approve compensation claims before they are sent to the state Legislature for a final vote. Board officials say they analyze each case fairly and permit evidence that typically would not be considered in a criminal or civil trial, such as hearsay. |
New Baltimore Prosecutor May Eliminate Police-Misconduct Unit ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As the Baltimore Police Department faces one of its largest corruption scandals in history, the new city prosecutor is revamping the way prosecutors deal with police wrongdoing, reports the Baltimore Sun. Gregg Bernstein, who took office in January, is considering eliminating a decade-old division that is devoted to police misconduct cases. He has abolished a controversial list kept by his predecessor that banned certain officers from testifying at trial. Such moves appear contrary to national trends "in larger jurisdictions" like Baltimore, says Scott Burns of the National District Attorneys Association. Most cities have a separate prosecutor's unit to investigate criminal allegations against police, he said, and everyone keeps tabs on officers who might have credibility issues. "Whether by formal policy or by common sense, you try to make sure that person isn't the lead investigator on every case," Burns said. Law enforcement analysts said Bernstein's moves are likely to be geared toward preserving positive relations with police. Bernstein campaigned on a platform of better relations with law enforcement, which roundly endorsed him after years of butting heads with predecessor Patricia Jessamy, who wasn't shy about criticizing the department. Bernstein refused to be interviewed. |
Seattle Cop Training: Win Fights Quickly, Don't Shoot to Wound ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seattle cops aren't trained to fight fair, nor are they taught to shoot to wound, says a Seattle Police Department report on officers' use of force between 2006 and 2009, according to the Seattle Times. When officers find themselves in violent encounters, they're trained to win the fight quickly, said the report. Police use of force dropped 37 percent in the four-year period, from 872 incidents in 2006 to 549 in 2009. The four-year period covered in the report does not include a series of high-profile incidents between officers and minorities last year, including the ftal shooting of woodcarver John Williams. Those incidents prompted the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a preliminary review of Seattle police practices. The Justice Department review, requested by the American Civil Liberties Union and 34 other community groups, is to include scrutiny of instances of alleged criminal civil-rights violations by individual officers as well as a "global" look at the department to determine whether, as the ACLU and others allege, there exists a "pattern and practice" of civil-rights violations by officers. |
Justices May Use NJ Case to Rule on Jail Strip Searches for Minor Crimes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Supreme Court may use the New Jersey case of Albert Florence to decide whether jails can order strip searches of people accused of minor offenses, says the New York Times. Florence was strip-searched twice while jailed on an erroneous charge of failing to pay a fine. Federal appellate courts are divided on whether blanket policies requiring jailhouse strip-searches of people arrested for minor crimes violate the Fourth Amendment. Eight courts have ruled that such searches are proper only if there is a reasonable suspicion that the arrested person has weapons or contraband. More recently, courts in Atlanta, San Francisco, and Philadelphia have allowed searches no matter how minor the charge. Some potential examples cited by dissenting judges in those cases: violating a leash law, driving without a license, failing to pay child support. Judges in Florence's case said they had been presented with no evidence that the searches were needed, but ruled that they would not second-guess corrections officials who said they feared that people like Florence would smuggle contraband into their jails. |
High Court Ruling May Allow More Convicts to Get DNA Evidence Tests ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Supreme Court pried open the courthouse door a crack for prisoners who after their convictions seek access to evidence for DNA testing, says NPR. By a 6-3 vote, the court ruled that prisoners have a right to use federal civil rights law to get such material. Texas leads the nation in the number of prisoners freed by DNA testing, with 41 DNA exonerations, but its state law imposes limits on such post-conviction testing. The Supreme Court's ruling yesterday allowed prisoners to challenge those limits in federal court. The court ruled in favor of Henry "Hank" Skinner, was 45 minutes away from execution last March when the high court granted a stay to hear his case. Outside Texas, barriers to inmate DNA testing have been tumbling down of late. Just last week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court invalidated a provision in that state's law that barred post-conviction testing in cases where the defendant had confessed. Prosecutors were dismayed by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Scott Burns of the National District Attorneys Association, says that "in the real world, people in prison have a lot of time on their hands" and "they now have an entire new avenue" to bring legal challenges. |
Obama to Resume Military Trials For Guantanamo Detainees ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ President Obama will resume military-commission trials for detainees at the Guantánamo Bay facility. The White House also said it remains committed to trying some terrorist suspects in federal courts, which that has met vehement bipartisan opposition in Congress, says the Christian Science Monitor. "I strongly believe that the American system of justice is a key part of our arsenal in the war against Al Qaeda and its affiliates, and we will continue to draw on all aspects of our justice system," Obama said. In restarting the military tribunal process after a two-year hiatus, the administration did not opt for a carbon copy of the process used under President Bush. The proceedings will not be able to use any information obtained via a process determined to be cruel or inhuman. Handling of classified information will be revamped. Obama issued an executive order setting up a review process for Guantánamo detainees who have yet to face a full tribunal or who are being detained indefinitely as military combatants. These moves mark "a substantial improvement over the status quo," said University of Texas law professor Robert Chesney. |
Feds Prosecuting Violent Mexican-Based Document-Fraud Ring ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When Israel Cruz Millan sensed that competitors were moving in on his thriving criminal enterprise, he stopped at nothing to protect the business, say federal prosecutors quoted by USA Today. A small army of enforcers allegedly carried out savage beatings of rivals, some of whom were bound and gagged prior to assaults that left at least one dead. The brutal conduct of Millan's operation bears the hallmarks of international drug and gun trafficking cartels. Prosecutors say Millan's group dealt in a much more benign product rarely linked to such startling violence: Phony identification cards. Millan and an accused top associate are due today in a Richmond, Va., federal court. The 28-year-old illegal immigrant, also known as "El Muerto" (The Dead One), is charged with managing a far-reaching document fraud business with cells in 19 cities and 11 states that funneled at least $1 million to its top leaders in Mexico. "We've never seen anything like this," said U.S. Attorney Neal MacBride, adding that the enterprise functioned in some ways like a "multinational corporation." |
Texas May Cut Prison Officials' Housing Perks In Budget Crisis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rick Thaler, who makes $133,301 as director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's prison division, lives in a state-owned, single-family house on prison grounds that costs him $75.65 a month, to help cover the cost of utilities, says the Austin American-Statesman. He is among more than 2,500 employees of Texas' corrections system who are getting free or discounted rent in state housing. Such housing is the costliest of several employee perks that range from use of the prison system's 11 employee-only swimming pools to free meals in prison mess halls to more than 2,100 state-issued cell phones to a $7-a-month haircut and laundry service provided by convicts for prison guards. Top prison officials say the housing program essentially breaks even, but the American-Statesman says it lost about $900,000 in 2010 - at a time when the agency, to save money, is laying off 400 employees and cutting inmate treatment and rehabilitation programs that could make prison operations even more costly. In recent days, prison employee perks have been targeted by legislative leaders, who say that, with the state facing the largest revenue shortfall in more than two decades, costly employee entitlements need to go. "We should be cutting perks, not people," said state Rep. Jerry Madden, who heads the House Corrections Committee. "Before one state employee is laid off, we need to look at cutting a lot of these perks - including the housing. |
Texas Balks At Adam Walsh Law Rules, Could Forfeit $2.2 Million ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Texas, with the nation's second-largest sex offender database (63,000 registered) is balking at federal Adam Walsh Act's requirements, citing unacceptably high costs of implementing the law's provisions, reports the Houston Chronicle. The legislature has not approved changes, saying the cost for Texas to comply would be $38.8 million, a significant amount with the state facing a budget crisis. After highly publicized showdowns with the federal government over Texas pollution-control efforts and education funding, the Walsh standoff is yet another issue in Gov. Rick Perry's ballyhooed war on Washington. If Texas does not comply with the federal mandate by July 26, the state will lose 10 percent of its federal funding under the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant, which provides assistance to crime victims and witnesses. The penalty would amount to an estimated $2.2 million in 2012. The crux of the dispute that Texas' sexual offender registry is based on risk assessment; the federal law requires registration based on offenses committed. |
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