David Simpson's bill would repeal all the Texas laws against marijuana because "everything that God made is good, even marijuana”
Texas State Representative David Simpson, a Republican from Longview, has introduced a bi that would repeal all the state’s laws against marijuana.
On March 2, when he filed House Bill 2165, the Christian conservative said:
"Everything that God made is good, even marijuana. The conservative thought is that government doesn't need to fix something that God made good. We should use our resources in law enforcement to deal with murder, with rape, with theft, but just possessing a substance that God made is not wrong. Putting people in prison and teaching them a whole lot about crime, separating them from the family, taking away the breadwinners simply for possessing a plant that God made - that's wrong."
Simpson said the state should regulate marijuana like the state regulates "tomatoes, jalapeƱos or coffee."
On Wednesday the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee unexpectedly voted 5-2 to support Simpson’s bill, with three Democrats and two Republicans voting in favor of the bill. However, it is predicted that HB 2165 will be DOA when it hits the House floor.
Me thinks the state representative from deep in the heart of the East Texas bible belt has been inhaling too much smoke from a crop which he believes is a gift from God, the same as tomatoes or jalapeƱos.
Friday, May 08, 2015
Thursday, May 07, 2015
TEXAS’ TOP OFFICER CALLS SNOOP DOGG A ‘DOPE SMOKING COP HATER’
The accusation was made before reprimanding a state trooper who posed for a picture with the rapper
By Paul J. Weber
Associated Press
May 6, 2015
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas’ chief law enforcement official called Snoop Dogg a “dope smoking cop hater” before reprimanding a state trooper who posed for a picture with the rapper, according to emails made public Wednesday.
Snoop Dogg posted a photo to Instagram with Department of Public Safety Trooper Billy Spears in March with the comment “Me n my deputy dogg.” It was taken during the South by Southwest music festival, where Spears was working off-duty as extra security.
Spears is now suing DPS after being disciplined for taking a picture with a public figure who has a several convictions for drug possession.
Emails obtained by Spears’ attorney through open records laws show that the incident went all the way to DPS Director Steve McCraw, who is best known for overseeing the state’s expansive border security operations.
“Apparently he would rather work the convention while on a week’s vacation to earn additional money rather than take an additional tour on the border,” McCraw wrote. “He must not understand that he was being lampooned by a dope smoking cop hater which reflects very poorly on the department.”
DPS spokesman Tom Vinger confirmed the authenticity of the email but did not comment on its content. He referred to the agency previously saying that DPS holds employees to high standards of conduct and judgment.
The emails include a DPS supervisor explaining that Spears and other troopers have routinely taken pictures with other celebrities at SXSW. He mentions actor Robert Duvall, former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal and musicians Cee Lo Green and Rob Zombie.
Spears is seeking unspecified damages in a Travis County court. He claims his discipline was retaliation for filing a complaint several weeks earlier against a superior.
EDITOR’S NOTE: When I was on the Board of Directors of the International Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association (INEOA), John Bellizzi, the association’s founder and executive director, attended one of those infamous parties at the Playboy Mansion and posed for arm-in-arm pictures with Hugh Hefne, pictures which he published in the INEOA publications. I thought it was inappropriate for the head of the INEOA to attend a party at the Playboy Mansion and to publish pictures of him arm-in-arm with Hefner who was widely known for smoking dope and as a proponent of pot, one of the drugs on the IENOA’s hit list. When I proposed that Bellizzi be reprimanded, all the DEA board member supported the motion, but a majority of the board, fearing that he would resign, voted it down.
As for DPD Trooper Billy Spears posing in uniform with Snoop Dogg, a convicted dope smoking celebrity, that was somewhat inappropriate. But since the picture was taken at a musical festival where Spears was working an extra job providing security, a littlr ass-chewing should have been all that was called for.
By Paul J. Weber
Associated Press
May 6, 2015
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas’ chief law enforcement official called Snoop Dogg a “dope smoking cop hater” before reprimanding a state trooper who posed for a picture with the rapper, according to emails made public Wednesday.
Snoop Dogg posted a photo to Instagram with Department of Public Safety Trooper Billy Spears in March with the comment “Me n my deputy dogg.” It was taken during the South by Southwest music festival, where Spears was working off-duty as extra security.
Spears is now suing DPS after being disciplined for taking a picture with a public figure who has a several convictions for drug possession.
Emails obtained by Spears’ attorney through open records laws show that the incident went all the way to DPS Director Steve McCraw, who is best known for overseeing the state’s expansive border security operations.
“Apparently he would rather work the convention while on a week’s vacation to earn additional money rather than take an additional tour on the border,” McCraw wrote. “He must not understand that he was being lampooned by a dope smoking cop hater which reflects very poorly on the department.”
DPS spokesman Tom Vinger confirmed the authenticity of the email but did not comment on its content. He referred to the agency previously saying that DPS holds employees to high standards of conduct and judgment.
The emails include a DPS supervisor explaining that Spears and other troopers have routinely taken pictures with other celebrities at SXSW. He mentions actor Robert Duvall, former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal and musicians Cee Lo Green and Rob Zombie.
Spears is seeking unspecified damages in a Travis County court. He claims his discipline was retaliation for filing a complaint several weeks earlier against a superior.
EDITOR’S NOTE: When I was on the Board of Directors of the International Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association (INEOA), John Bellizzi, the association’s founder and executive director, attended one of those infamous parties at the Playboy Mansion and posed for arm-in-arm pictures with Hugh Hefne, pictures which he published in the INEOA publications. I thought it was inappropriate for the head of the INEOA to attend a party at the Playboy Mansion and to publish pictures of him arm-in-arm with Hefner who was widely known for smoking dope and as a proponent of pot, one of the drugs on the IENOA’s hit list. When I proposed that Bellizzi be reprimanded, all the DEA board member supported the motion, but a majority of the board, fearing that he would resign, voted it down.
As for DPD Trooper Billy Spears posing in uniform with Snoop Dogg, a convicted dope smoking celebrity, that was somewhat inappropriate. But since the picture was taken at a musical festival where Spears was working an extra job providing security, a littlr ass-chewing should have been all that was called for.
A MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT HAS BEEN FILED OVER PACQUIANO’S SHOULDER INJURY
AFP
May 5, 2015
Two Nevada men filed a class-action lawsuit against Manny Pacquiao, seeking millions in damages because they say he fraudulently concealed a shoulder injury before his defeat to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
It is just the latest fallout from Mayweather's victory in Las Vegas on Saturday in a unanimous decision, with Pacquiao saying afterward that the shoulder complaint hampered his performance in the welterweight world title showdown.
The plaintiffs argue that by failing to go public with the injury before the feverishly anticipated bout, the Philippine icon and his camp violated the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
The suit filed in a US District Court in Las Vegas names Pacquiao, his manager Michael Koncz and promotional company Top Rank as well as Top Rank chairman Bob Arum and president Todd duBoef.
According to court documents available online, the lawsuit claims that when plaintiffs Stephane Vanel and Kami Rahbaran bought tickets, forked out pay-per-view fees, or bet on the fight, the defendants "knew and had full knowledge and information that defendant Pacquiao had been seriously injured and was suffering from a torn rotator cuff."
"Defendants further know that such injury would severely affect his performance," the lawsuit says.
"None of the defendants informed or apprised the public or even the Nevada Athletic Commission about the injury to defendant Pacquiao."
The clash between Pacquiao and Mayweather at the MGM Grand Garden Arena was billed as the "Fight of the Century."
It's certainly set to go down as the most lucrative bout in history, with possible revenue of $400 million.
That could include as many as 3 million pay-per-view purchases, at about $100 each.
The bout went the full scheduled 12 rounds, Mayweather easily winning on the judges' scorecards to take his perfect record to 48-0.
After the fight, Pacquiao and Top Rank revealed the 36-year-old had been injured in training camp some three weeks earlier.
They said he had been cleared by doctors to fight, though they had expected him to be able to take an anti-inflammatory injection on fight night, but the Nevada State Athletic Commission ultimately denied him.
Pacquiao attorney Daniel Petrocelli told The Los Angeles Times that he expected the lawsuit to be dismissed.
"It claims Pacquiao was injured (immediately) before the bout and that's not true — he was injured (nearly a month) before the bout, was examined by doctors and cleared to fight," Petrocelli said. "And he was examined by the commission right before he fought."
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Pac Man has been my favorite fighter for some years, but he clearly lost his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Manny Pacquiao’s complaint about his shoulder injury is just a ploy to get a big moneymaking rematch with Mayweather.
As for the lawsuit, it’s a big bunch of bullshit. This case should be thrown out of court forthwith!
May 5, 2015
Two Nevada men filed a class-action lawsuit against Manny Pacquiao, seeking millions in damages because they say he fraudulently concealed a shoulder injury before his defeat to Floyd Mayweather Jr.
It is just the latest fallout from Mayweather's victory in Las Vegas on Saturday in a unanimous decision, with Pacquiao saying afterward that the shoulder complaint hampered his performance in the welterweight world title showdown.
The plaintiffs argue that by failing to go public with the injury before the feverishly anticipated bout, the Philippine icon and his camp violated the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
The suit filed in a US District Court in Las Vegas names Pacquiao, his manager Michael Koncz and promotional company Top Rank as well as Top Rank chairman Bob Arum and president Todd duBoef.
According to court documents available online, the lawsuit claims that when plaintiffs Stephane Vanel and Kami Rahbaran bought tickets, forked out pay-per-view fees, or bet on the fight, the defendants "knew and had full knowledge and information that defendant Pacquiao had been seriously injured and was suffering from a torn rotator cuff."
"Defendants further know that such injury would severely affect his performance," the lawsuit says.
"None of the defendants informed or apprised the public or even the Nevada Athletic Commission about the injury to defendant Pacquiao."
The clash between Pacquiao and Mayweather at the MGM Grand Garden Arena was billed as the "Fight of the Century."
It's certainly set to go down as the most lucrative bout in history, with possible revenue of $400 million.
That could include as many as 3 million pay-per-view purchases, at about $100 each.
The bout went the full scheduled 12 rounds, Mayweather easily winning on the judges' scorecards to take his perfect record to 48-0.
After the fight, Pacquiao and Top Rank revealed the 36-year-old had been injured in training camp some three weeks earlier.
They said he had been cleared by doctors to fight, though they had expected him to be able to take an anti-inflammatory injection on fight night, but the Nevada State Athletic Commission ultimately denied him.
Pacquiao attorney Daniel Petrocelli told The Los Angeles Times that he expected the lawsuit to be dismissed.
"It claims Pacquiao was injured (immediately) before the bout and that's not true — he was injured (nearly a month) before the bout, was examined by doctors and cleared to fight," Petrocelli said. "And he was examined by the commission right before he fought."
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Pac Man has been my favorite fighter for some years, but he clearly lost his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Manny Pacquiao’s complaint about his shoulder injury is just a ploy to get a big moneymaking rematch with Mayweather.
As for the lawsuit, it’s a big bunch of bullshit. This case should be thrown out of court forthwith!
Wednesday, May 06, 2015
THIRTY YEARS IN JAIL FOR A SINGLE HAIR: THE FBI’S ‘MASS DISASTER’ OF FALSE CONVICTION
A ‘dirty bomb’ of pseudo-science wrapped up nearly 268 cases – perhaps hundreds more. Now begins the ‘herculean effort to right the wrongs’
By Ed Pilkington
The Guardian
April 21, 2015
George Perrot has spent almost 30 years in prison thanks to a single hair. It was discovered by an FBI agent on the bedsheet of a 78-year-old woman who had been raped by a burglar in her home in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1985.
Perrot, then 17, was put on trial, despite the absence of physical evidence tying him to the crime scene. There was no semen. There was no blood. And so there was no way to conduct a conclusive DNA test.
Even the victim testified that the defendant looked nothing like her attacker: he had a short haircut and was clean-shaven, while Perrot had a long shaggy mop, a moustache and a goatee beard.
But there was that strand of hair. At a key stage in the 1992 rape and burglary trial, an FBI agent named Wayne Oakes took the witness stand, describing himself to the jury as an expert in hair and textile fibers – as would so many of the agency’s trial witnesses, in condemning hundreds of people to long prison sentences.
Individual head or pubic hairs were distinctive, he told the court, to the extent that a well-trained specialist like himself could tell those belonging to one person from another. Oakes went on to bombard the jury with scientific jargon, referring to the medulla, the cortex and the cuticle of hair, likening the task of comparing individual strands to recognizing a specific person in a crowd.
“In 10 years, it’s extremely rare I will have known hair samples from two different people I can’t tell apart,” the self-proclaimed expert bragged.
The FBI agent’s conclusion in front of the jury was emphatic: “The hair found on the sheet exhibits all the same microscopic hair arranged in the same way as the characteristics present in the known hair from [Perrot]. I conclude that the hair was consistent with coming from the defendant,” he told the court.
That testimony, based on a single hair, was so strong, so wrapped in the certainties of science, that it wiped out all doubts and inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case – indeed, it eviscerated the presumption of innocence.
There was only one problem: the “expert” analysis, delivered by Wayne Oakes under oath and effective enough to obliterate one-third of a man’s life and counting, was wrong.
‘Potentially tens of thousands’ of cases gone wrong
In July 2013, the FBI admitted that the foundations of what it called “hair comparison evidence” – a technique that its agents had used in hundreds of criminal cases nationwide and spread through the training of state-based detectives potentially through tens of thousands of other cases – were scientifically invalid. A preliminary review of the FBI’s follicular flaws found that:
Microscopic hair analysis could not scientifically distinguish one individual to the exclusion of all others.
Statistical weight could not be given to comparisons to suggest a likelihood that the hair derived from a specific source.
Expert witnesses should not cite the number of hair analyses they had conducted in the lab to bolster the idea that they could definitively state that a hair belonged to a specific individual.
All three errors were made by Agent Oakes in front of Perrot’s jury.
Over the past few years, advanced understanding in the science of hair types has left hair analysis, as a forensic tool, in tatters. Today’s consensus by real experts is more straightforward than ever: there is nothing that can credibly be said, by FBI-approved analysts or anyone else, about about the frequency with which particular characteristics of hair are distributed in the human population.
In other words, microscopic analysis of hair – the very analysis that put George Perrot and so many people behind bars – is virtually worthless as a method of identifying someone. It can only safely be used to rule out a suspect as the source of crime-scene materials or in combination with the vastly more accurate technique of DNA testing.
As the scientific basis of hair analysis has crumbled, the scale of the judicial catastrophe caused by the FBI’s enthusiastic use of it for decades until about 2000 has now begun to emerge more fully. On Monday, the FBI and the US Justice Department, together with the Innocence Project and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, released the findings of the first stage of a joint investigation into these historic civil rights mistakes.
The results, first reported by the Washington Post, concluded that an astonishing 26 of the 28 FBI agents who had provided testimony as expert witnesses at trial based on microscopic hair analysis had made statements to juries that are now known to be false. Their erroneous evidence was found in a full 90% of the trial transcripts the team has studied.
The government has identified almost 3,000 cases in which FBI agents may have given testimony involving the now-discredited technique. So far only about 500 of those cases have been been reviewed.
Some 268 of those involved FBI examiners providing expert evidence in court that pointed to the guilt of the defendant – of which 257, or 96%, included false testimony.
Most shockingly, at least 35 defendants received the death penalty, 33 of which were the subject of false FBI testimony. Nine of the prisoners were executed and five died from other causes on death row.
Chris Fabricant, the Innocence Project’s director of strategic litigation who is representing Perrot in his ongoing struggle for freedom, called the FBI’s use of hair analysis a “mass disaster” for the criminal justice system.
“We have potentially tens of thousands of convictions tainted by false evidence,” he told the Guardian. “It’s going to take a herculean effort to right the wrongs in these cases, and so far we have made only a tiny start.”
In a paper published this month and written with William Tucker Carrington of the University of Mississippi law school, Fabricant traces the first reported use of hair analysis to 1855, when John Browning and his son, Gaston, were tried for murdering a plantation overseer. Hairs were found on a rope in the defendants’ home which were compared to the Brownings’ hair and found to be identical.
The pseudo-science deployed in 1855 changed little in over a century. What did change was that after the second world war, the FBI embraced the technique, giving it a professional veneer – a government stamp of approval.
“They began presenting false evidence to juries based on scientific language that was very impressive to juries. It was like a dirty bomb that went off in the criminal justice system – hair analysis was said to be objective, unbiased and definitive, so it was both very prejudicial against defendants and very powerful,” Fabricant said.
Admitting fault as a nation, as cold cases persist
Despite the FBI’s unqualified admission of error, George Perrot remains in prison, with no immediate resolution to his case in sight. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts continues to oppose a retrial, with a hearing scheduled for late this summer.
Fabricant said he is particularly anxious about the future for potentially thousands of people convicted for serious crimes such as murder and rape on the basis of false evidence given by detectives at state level, nearly all of whom were trained by the FBI in microscopic hair analysis. The federal agency has admitted its mistakes and is now working hard to address the miscarriages of justice on a national level, but state authorities are proving much more sluggish in their responses.
Typical is the case of Timothy Bridges, who is 23 years into his sentence in North Carolina. He was convicted of the 1989 sexual assault and beating of an elderly woman in Charlotte.
The criminal investigation uncovered no physical evidence of any sort to link Bridges to the scene – like Perrot, no semen or fingerprints were found, nor blood or DNA of any sort. But there were two hairs collected at the victim’s home and analyzed by an examiner for the state of North Carolina, who had been trained by the FBI in precisely the same now-discredited techniques.
The two hairs, the examiner told the jury at trial, had “likely originated” with the defendant. Bridges was sentenced to life in prison.
This month lawyers acting for Bridges, with the backing of the Innocence Project, petitioned the county court of Mecklenburg calling for a retrial. The state attorney general is opposing such a measure, but has initiated a search for the hairs in hopes that DNA testing could be carried out that would provide reliable clues. Previously, the state had indicated that the hairs had been destroyed, in violation of North Carolina law.
Fabricant, who is also acting on the Bridges case, said that states where examiners had been trained by the FBI in hair analysis had to act.
“Tens of thousands of people may have been caught in this trap,” he said. “When even the FBI has admitted liability, then states who were trained to use this discredited technique are now legally and morally obligated to step up to the plate.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: In my day, back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, hair evidence, bullet comparisons, shoe prints, and reconstruction of the crime from blood splatters were considered state of the art evidence. Now they seem to have fallen into some disrepute. Much of what used to be known as scientific evidence in criminal cases is now ridiculed as pseudoscience and junk science.
Jim Leitner, long a senior prosecutor in the Harris County [Houston] District Attorney's office and now General Counsel at the Harris County Sheriff's Department, says:
We had hair experts at Houston PD for years that were instrumental in getting people convicted.
We had blood spatter people who could tell an entire story of what happened from one drop of blood.
I had a DPS shoe print analysis who testified that she could make a 100% match of a shoe to a print with only ONE point of comparison.
Firearm experts routinely testify that every barrel makes different marking on a bullet and a shell casing. So you could take 100 Weatherby Rifles from the factory and match 100 bullets to each rifle without a doubt.
By Ed Pilkington
The Guardian
April 21, 2015
George Perrot has spent almost 30 years in prison thanks to a single hair. It was discovered by an FBI agent on the bedsheet of a 78-year-old woman who had been raped by a burglar in her home in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1985.
Perrot, then 17, was put on trial, despite the absence of physical evidence tying him to the crime scene. There was no semen. There was no blood. And so there was no way to conduct a conclusive DNA test.
Even the victim testified that the defendant looked nothing like her attacker: he had a short haircut and was clean-shaven, while Perrot had a long shaggy mop, a moustache and a goatee beard.
But there was that strand of hair. At a key stage in the 1992 rape and burglary trial, an FBI agent named Wayne Oakes took the witness stand, describing himself to the jury as an expert in hair and textile fibers – as would so many of the agency’s trial witnesses, in condemning hundreds of people to long prison sentences.
Individual head or pubic hairs were distinctive, he told the court, to the extent that a well-trained specialist like himself could tell those belonging to one person from another. Oakes went on to bombard the jury with scientific jargon, referring to the medulla, the cortex and the cuticle of hair, likening the task of comparing individual strands to recognizing a specific person in a crowd.
“In 10 years, it’s extremely rare I will have known hair samples from two different people I can’t tell apart,” the self-proclaimed expert bragged.
The FBI agent’s conclusion in front of the jury was emphatic: “The hair found on the sheet exhibits all the same microscopic hair arranged in the same way as the characteristics present in the known hair from [Perrot]. I conclude that the hair was consistent with coming from the defendant,” he told the court.
That testimony, based on a single hair, was so strong, so wrapped in the certainties of science, that it wiped out all doubts and inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case – indeed, it eviscerated the presumption of innocence.
There was only one problem: the “expert” analysis, delivered by Wayne Oakes under oath and effective enough to obliterate one-third of a man’s life and counting, was wrong.
‘Potentially tens of thousands’ of cases gone wrong
In July 2013, the FBI admitted that the foundations of what it called “hair comparison evidence” – a technique that its agents had used in hundreds of criminal cases nationwide and spread through the training of state-based detectives potentially through tens of thousands of other cases – were scientifically invalid. A preliminary review of the FBI’s follicular flaws found that:
Microscopic hair analysis could not scientifically distinguish one individual to the exclusion of all others.
Statistical weight could not be given to comparisons to suggest a likelihood that the hair derived from a specific source.
Expert witnesses should not cite the number of hair analyses they had conducted in the lab to bolster the idea that they could definitively state that a hair belonged to a specific individual.
All three errors were made by Agent Oakes in front of Perrot’s jury.
Over the past few years, advanced understanding in the science of hair types has left hair analysis, as a forensic tool, in tatters. Today’s consensus by real experts is more straightforward than ever: there is nothing that can credibly be said, by FBI-approved analysts or anyone else, about about the frequency with which particular characteristics of hair are distributed in the human population.
In other words, microscopic analysis of hair – the very analysis that put George Perrot and so many people behind bars – is virtually worthless as a method of identifying someone. It can only safely be used to rule out a suspect as the source of crime-scene materials or in combination with the vastly more accurate technique of DNA testing.
As the scientific basis of hair analysis has crumbled, the scale of the judicial catastrophe caused by the FBI’s enthusiastic use of it for decades until about 2000 has now begun to emerge more fully. On Monday, the FBI and the US Justice Department, together with the Innocence Project and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, released the findings of the first stage of a joint investigation into these historic civil rights mistakes.
The results, first reported by the Washington Post, concluded that an astonishing 26 of the 28 FBI agents who had provided testimony as expert witnesses at trial based on microscopic hair analysis had made statements to juries that are now known to be false. Their erroneous evidence was found in a full 90% of the trial transcripts the team has studied.
The government has identified almost 3,000 cases in which FBI agents may have given testimony involving the now-discredited technique. So far only about 500 of those cases have been been reviewed.
Some 268 of those involved FBI examiners providing expert evidence in court that pointed to the guilt of the defendant – of which 257, or 96%, included false testimony.
Most shockingly, at least 35 defendants received the death penalty, 33 of which were the subject of false FBI testimony. Nine of the prisoners were executed and five died from other causes on death row.
Chris Fabricant, the Innocence Project’s director of strategic litigation who is representing Perrot in his ongoing struggle for freedom, called the FBI’s use of hair analysis a “mass disaster” for the criminal justice system.
“We have potentially tens of thousands of convictions tainted by false evidence,” he told the Guardian. “It’s going to take a herculean effort to right the wrongs in these cases, and so far we have made only a tiny start.”
In a paper published this month and written with William Tucker Carrington of the University of Mississippi law school, Fabricant traces the first reported use of hair analysis to 1855, when John Browning and his son, Gaston, were tried for murdering a plantation overseer. Hairs were found on a rope in the defendants’ home which were compared to the Brownings’ hair and found to be identical.
The pseudo-science deployed in 1855 changed little in over a century. What did change was that after the second world war, the FBI embraced the technique, giving it a professional veneer – a government stamp of approval.
“They began presenting false evidence to juries based on scientific language that was very impressive to juries. It was like a dirty bomb that went off in the criminal justice system – hair analysis was said to be objective, unbiased and definitive, so it was both very prejudicial against defendants and very powerful,” Fabricant said.
Admitting fault as a nation, as cold cases persist
Despite the FBI’s unqualified admission of error, George Perrot remains in prison, with no immediate resolution to his case in sight. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts continues to oppose a retrial, with a hearing scheduled for late this summer.
Fabricant said he is particularly anxious about the future for potentially thousands of people convicted for serious crimes such as murder and rape on the basis of false evidence given by detectives at state level, nearly all of whom were trained by the FBI in microscopic hair analysis. The federal agency has admitted its mistakes and is now working hard to address the miscarriages of justice on a national level, but state authorities are proving much more sluggish in their responses.
Typical is the case of Timothy Bridges, who is 23 years into his sentence in North Carolina. He was convicted of the 1989 sexual assault and beating of an elderly woman in Charlotte.
The criminal investigation uncovered no physical evidence of any sort to link Bridges to the scene – like Perrot, no semen or fingerprints were found, nor blood or DNA of any sort. But there were two hairs collected at the victim’s home and analyzed by an examiner for the state of North Carolina, who had been trained by the FBI in precisely the same now-discredited techniques.
The two hairs, the examiner told the jury at trial, had “likely originated” with the defendant. Bridges was sentenced to life in prison.
This month lawyers acting for Bridges, with the backing of the Innocence Project, petitioned the county court of Mecklenburg calling for a retrial. The state attorney general is opposing such a measure, but has initiated a search for the hairs in hopes that DNA testing could be carried out that would provide reliable clues. Previously, the state had indicated that the hairs had been destroyed, in violation of North Carolina law.
Fabricant, who is also acting on the Bridges case, said that states where examiners had been trained by the FBI in hair analysis had to act.
“Tens of thousands of people may have been caught in this trap,” he said. “When even the FBI has admitted liability, then states who were trained to use this discredited technique are now legally and morally obligated to step up to the plate.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: In my day, back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, hair evidence, bullet comparisons, shoe prints, and reconstruction of the crime from blood splatters were considered state of the art evidence. Now they seem to have fallen into some disrepute. Much of what used to be known as scientific evidence in criminal cases is now ridiculed as pseudoscience and junk science.
Jim Leitner, long a senior prosecutor in the Harris County [Houston] District Attorney's office and now General Counsel at the Harris County Sheriff's Department, says:
We had hair experts at Houston PD for years that were instrumental in getting people convicted.
We had blood spatter people who could tell an entire story of what happened from one drop of blood.
I had a DPS shoe print analysis who testified that she could make a 100% match of a shoe to a print with only ONE point of comparison.
Firearm experts routinely testify that every barrel makes different marking on a bullet and a shell casing. So you could take 100 Weatherby Rifles from the factory and match 100 bullets to each rifle without a doubt.
Tuesday, May 05, 2015
BALI NINE: FUNERALS FOR ANDREW CHAN, MYURAN SUKUMARAN TO BE HELD IN SYDNEY THIS WEEK
Funeral services for Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran will be held in Sydney this week
ABC Australia News
May 5, 2015
The two men were executed along with six others by firing squad on the Indonesian prison island of Nusakambangan last Wednesday.
Chan's funeral service will be held at the Hillsong Church in Baulkham Hills this Friday.
Sukumaran will be farewelled this Saturday at the DaySpring Church in Castle Hill.
Both families have invited members of the public to attend the ceremonies.
The bodies of Chan and Sukumaran arrived back in Australia on Saturday, three days after the men were executed.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the executions were a "dark moment" in the relationship between Australia and Indonesia, and responded by withdrawing the Australian ambassador to Indonesia, Paul Grigson.
Since the executions, backlash against the Australian Federal Police intensified over the fact they did not arrest the two drug smugglers before they left for Indonesia in 2005.
This week, AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin explained police did not have enough evidence to arrest the men in Australia and it was "operationally appropriate" to cooperate with Indonesia.
Indonesia has staunchly defended the executions as a vital front of its "war" on drugs.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I think it is ridiculous for Australia to recall its ambassador from Indonesia over the executions of two sorry ass drug traffickers. Good riddance!
Dorina Lisson, my Aussie anti-death penalty crusader friend, says: “I have been invited [to the funerals] and I will be attending! Why? Not because they were convicted criminals but because they were 'legally murdered' !!!”
ABC Australia News
May 5, 2015
The two men were executed along with six others by firing squad on the Indonesian prison island of Nusakambangan last Wednesday.
Chan's funeral service will be held at the Hillsong Church in Baulkham Hills this Friday.
Sukumaran will be farewelled this Saturday at the DaySpring Church in Castle Hill.
Both families have invited members of the public to attend the ceremonies.
The bodies of Chan and Sukumaran arrived back in Australia on Saturday, three days after the men were executed.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the executions were a "dark moment" in the relationship between Australia and Indonesia, and responded by withdrawing the Australian ambassador to Indonesia, Paul Grigson.
Since the executions, backlash against the Australian Federal Police intensified over the fact they did not arrest the two drug smugglers before they left for Indonesia in 2005.
This week, AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin explained police did not have enough evidence to arrest the men in Australia and it was "operationally appropriate" to cooperate with Indonesia.
Indonesia has staunchly defended the executions as a vital front of its "war" on drugs.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I think it is ridiculous for Australia to recall its ambassador from Indonesia over the executions of two sorry ass drug traffickers. Good riddance!
Dorina Lisson, my Aussie anti-death penalty crusader friend, says: “I have been invited [to the funerals] and I will be attending! Why? Not because they were convicted criminals but because they were 'legally murdered' !!!”
RIOTING, LOOTING, BURNING AND DESTROYING PROPERTY WORKED
In announcing that she had charged six Baltimore cops in the death of Freddie Gta, prosecutor Marilyn Mosby said she heard the call ‘no justice, no peace’
Who says rioting, looting, burning and destroying property doesn’t work? It sure worked in Baltimore. Last Monday night mobs did just that in reaction to Freddie Gray’s death after a rough and tumble ride in an unpadded paddy wagon that led to the young black man’s death. On Friday, only four days after the riots., Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore’s chief prosecutor, announced that the six officers involved had been charged with various crimes, including murder.
In making her public announcement, Mosby said, "To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America, I heard your call for 'no justice, no peace.'"
Al Sharpton’s slogan “no justice, no peace” is clearly not a call for peaceful
demonstrations! Instead it signals to those who feel they are victims of injustice that it is okay to riot in the streets. Perhaps Mosby misspoke, but she seemed to accept the rioting, looting, burning and destruction of property as the ‘no peace’ part of Sharpton’s slogan.
Gray was arrested on the morning of Sunday, August 19. He died on Saturday, April 25. The riots took place Monday night, April 27. The charges were announced on Friday, May 1.
A special task force of at least 30 Baltimore police officers was put together to investigate Freddie Gray’s death. And still members of the task force were shocked by Mosby’s quick announcement. Had Freddie been white, there would have been no special task force and that investigation would have taken weeks.
In her announcement Mosby said, “The findings of our comprehensive, thorough and independent investigation, coupled with the medical examiner’s determination that Mr. Gray’s death was a homicide that we received today, has led us to believe that we have probable cause to file criminal charges.” Those charges ranged from official misconduct to manslaughter to murder.
The term homicide is frequently confused with the term murder, but the two are not alike. Homicide is a legal term for any killing of a human being by another human being, but it is not necessarily a crime. Murder is merely one type of homicide. For those eager to demonstrate no justice, no peace, homicide means murder.
The arrest of Freddie Gray was a bad arrest. It all started when Baltimore Police Lieutenant Brian W. Rice, while on bike patrol, made eye contact with Freddie, who promptly fled away. Rice chased Freddie on foot, calling for backup along the way. When Rice and two other officers caught up to Freddie he was forced down on the ground and handcuffed from behind. He was arrested for carrying a prohibited weapon, allegedly a switch blade knife.
Video shows a limp Freddie being dragged to a police van. He was placed unbuckled in the unpadded paddy wagon. He pleaded for medical help several times, but the officers disregarded his pleas until he became unresponsive. Paramedics then took him to a hospital where he died a week later.
Freddie’s neck may have been broken during his unbuckled rough and tumble ride in the unpadded paddy wagon. Baltimore Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr. the driver of the van was charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder, a charge used when a suspect is accused of reckless disregard for another person’s life. He was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree -assault, manslaughter by vehicle and misconduct in office. The other five officers are charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, and misconduct in office.
Oh, and what about that switchblade knife? It wasn’t a switchblade knife after all. It was a legal folded pocket knife.
Defense attorneys from across the country have come forward to say that the most serious charges against the six Baltimore cops will be hard to sustain in court. Here, from the transcript, is what ABC News Legal Analyst Dan Abrams said on Sunday’s This week With George Stephanopoulos:
STEPHANOPOULOS: And Dan, let me begin with you. These six charges came a lot faster than people expected on Friday. And more often than not, these police brutality cases end in acquittals.
DAN ABRAMS, ABC NEWS LEGAL ANALYST: Yeah. And I think that they're going to have some real issues here with some of the charges, meaning you have to look at each officer's actions separately. You can't say there are six officers. We're going to review all six cases together.
For example, I think that there's been some overreaching on the part of the prosecutor based on the facts as she laid them out with regard to two of the officers charged with manslaughter. Why? Because they arrive on the scene later and don't do enough. That's going to be a tough conviction for manslaughter.
The second degree murder charge for the driver also going to be tough.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me stop you there, because this is a pretty serious charge, Caesar Goodson, the most serious charge, second degree depraved heart murder. What does that mean?
ABRAMS: In effect, it means we think that he's more culpable. He was more indifferent. He took action and didn't care at all.
And so there's no sort of firm legal line where you cross from manslaughter to depraved murder. Neither one requires specific intent; it just says we think this one is so much worse.
And the reason I think the prosecutor thinks this one is worse is because he had opportunity after opportunity with each stop to end this.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Here's the one I don't understand. I understand perhaps false imprisonment for those two arresting officers.
But manslaughter for them?
ABRAMS: Well, look, I would argue that I think that the initial officers -- if they falsely arrested -- if they had no evidence to really arrest them, I think there's an argument to be made they're more culpable than someone who comes on the scene later, takes a look at him and doesn't take action, and one of the officers who initially arrested him not charged with manslaughter.
The police are within their rights to chase a man who flees after making eye contact with a cop. When they catch up to him, they have the right to frisk and question him. But if they find no evidence of a crime and he has no outstanding arrest warrants, they do not have probable cause for an arrest. Freddie’s arrest was clearly a bad arrest and some of the six officers involved are clearly guilty of misconduct in office. And if that misconduct led to the death of Freddie Gray, involuntary manslaughter charges may stand up for some of the officers.
But by her obvious rush to judgement and her acknowledgement of ‘no justice, no peace,’ State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby made it crystal clear that rioting, looting, burning and destroying property works.
Who says rioting, looting, burning and destroying property doesn’t work? It sure worked in Baltimore. Last Monday night mobs did just that in reaction to Freddie Gray’s death after a rough and tumble ride in an unpadded paddy wagon that led to the young black man’s death. On Friday, only four days after the riots., Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore’s chief prosecutor, announced that the six officers involved had been charged with various crimes, including murder.
In making her public announcement, Mosby said, "To the people of Baltimore and the demonstrators across America, I heard your call for 'no justice, no peace.'"
Al Sharpton’s slogan “no justice, no peace” is clearly not a call for peaceful
demonstrations! Instead it signals to those who feel they are victims of injustice that it is okay to riot in the streets. Perhaps Mosby misspoke, but she seemed to accept the rioting, looting, burning and destruction of property as the ‘no peace’ part of Sharpton’s slogan.
Gray was arrested on the morning of Sunday, August 19. He died on Saturday, April 25. The riots took place Monday night, April 27. The charges were announced on Friday, May 1.
A special task force of at least 30 Baltimore police officers was put together to investigate Freddie Gray’s death. And still members of the task force were shocked by Mosby’s quick announcement. Had Freddie been white, there would have been no special task force and that investigation would have taken weeks.
In her announcement Mosby said, “The findings of our comprehensive, thorough and independent investigation, coupled with the medical examiner’s determination that Mr. Gray’s death was a homicide that we received today, has led us to believe that we have probable cause to file criminal charges.” Those charges ranged from official misconduct to manslaughter to murder.
The term homicide is frequently confused with the term murder, but the two are not alike. Homicide is a legal term for any killing of a human being by another human being, but it is not necessarily a crime. Murder is merely one type of homicide. For those eager to demonstrate no justice, no peace, homicide means murder.
The arrest of Freddie Gray was a bad arrest. It all started when Baltimore Police Lieutenant Brian W. Rice, while on bike patrol, made eye contact with Freddie, who promptly fled away. Rice chased Freddie on foot, calling for backup along the way. When Rice and two other officers caught up to Freddie he was forced down on the ground and handcuffed from behind. He was arrested for carrying a prohibited weapon, allegedly a switch blade knife.
Video shows a limp Freddie being dragged to a police van. He was placed unbuckled in the unpadded paddy wagon. He pleaded for medical help several times, but the officers disregarded his pleas until he became unresponsive. Paramedics then took him to a hospital where he died a week later.
Freddie’s neck may have been broken during his unbuckled rough and tumble ride in the unpadded paddy wagon. Baltimore Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr. the driver of the van was charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder, a charge used when a suspect is accused of reckless disregard for another person’s life. He was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree -assault, manslaughter by vehicle and misconduct in office. The other five officers are charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, and misconduct in office.
Oh, and what about that switchblade knife? It wasn’t a switchblade knife after all. It was a legal folded pocket knife.
Defense attorneys from across the country have come forward to say that the most serious charges against the six Baltimore cops will be hard to sustain in court. Here, from the transcript, is what ABC News Legal Analyst Dan Abrams said on Sunday’s This week With George Stephanopoulos:
STEPHANOPOULOS: And Dan, let me begin with you. These six charges came a lot faster than people expected on Friday. And more often than not, these police brutality cases end in acquittals.
DAN ABRAMS, ABC NEWS LEGAL ANALYST: Yeah. And I think that they're going to have some real issues here with some of the charges, meaning you have to look at each officer's actions separately. You can't say there are six officers. We're going to review all six cases together.
For example, I think that there's been some overreaching on the part of the prosecutor based on the facts as she laid them out with regard to two of the officers charged with manslaughter. Why? Because they arrive on the scene later and don't do enough. That's going to be a tough conviction for manslaughter.
The second degree murder charge for the driver also going to be tough.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Let me stop you there, because this is a pretty serious charge, Caesar Goodson, the most serious charge, second degree depraved heart murder. What does that mean?
ABRAMS: In effect, it means we think that he's more culpable. He was more indifferent. He took action and didn't care at all.
And so there's no sort of firm legal line where you cross from manslaughter to depraved murder. Neither one requires specific intent; it just says we think this one is so much worse.
And the reason I think the prosecutor thinks this one is worse is because he had opportunity after opportunity with each stop to end this.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Here's the one I don't understand. I understand perhaps false imprisonment for those two arresting officers.
But manslaughter for them?
ABRAMS: Well, look, I would argue that I think that the initial officers -- if they falsely arrested -- if they had no evidence to really arrest them, I think there's an argument to be made they're more culpable than someone who comes on the scene later, takes a look at him and doesn't take action, and one of the officers who initially arrested him not charged with manslaughter.
The police are within their rights to chase a man who flees after making eye contact with a cop. When they catch up to him, they have the right to frisk and question him. But if they find no evidence of a crime and he has no outstanding arrest warrants, they do not have probable cause for an arrest. Freddie’s arrest was clearly a bad arrest and some of the six officers involved are clearly guilty of misconduct in office. And if that misconduct led to the death of Freddie Gray, involuntary manslaughter charges may stand up for some of the officers.
But by her obvious rush to judgement and her acknowledgement of ‘no justice, no peace,’ State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby made it crystal clear that rioting, looting, burning and destroying property works.
Monday, May 04, 2015
EXCLUSIVE LOOK INSIDE THE FREDDIE GRAY INVESTIGATION
Baltimore police sought to recreate Freddie Gray trip in police van
By Justin George
The Baltimore Sun
May 2, 2015
In a fourth-floor conference room at Baltimore police headquarters, two training officers in blue T-shirts and blue pants lowered themselves onto the carpeted floor to demonstrate the leg hold officers used to restrain Freddie Gray the day he was arrested — and sustained a fatal spine injury.
As one officer played Gray's role, lying face down on the floor, the other bent his crossed legs back toward his head. Watching closely were members of the police task force investigating Gray's death, and Dr. David L. Higgins, a Maryland orthopedic surgeon who has worked with the U.S. Olympic team.
Higgins had already reviewed cellphone video showing the 25-year-old's arrest in West Baltimore, including scenes with him yelling in pain or protest as officers dragged him to a transport van. Now, Higgins was asked what injuries a person could suffer in such a leg hold.
"From that maneuver, even if you slammed him or dropped him like a wrestling move, you still won't have a neurological injury," said Higgins, continuing to explain in more detail.
"OK," said Maj. Stanley Brandford, the Homicide Unit commander who led the task force. He marked another task complete. Another question about Gray was answered.
The scene on Thursday was part of a high-stakes police investigation — and came as Baltimore was reeling from protests that brought thousands of marchers, and some violence, to city streets. International attention was focused on the city, and many residents were protesting alleged police brutality and calling for criminal charges.
The Baltimore Sun was granted exclusive access to the task force and monitored the investigation for days. The Sun agreed not to publish details about the investigation until Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby decided whether to prosecute any of the officers involved in the Gray incident, though reporters continued to use other sources for information. On Friday, she announced charges against six officers.
Mosby's announcement came just a day after police provided her with a lengthy report on their probe, but prosecutors had conferred with police from time to time, and Mosby said she also used an independent team of investigators. Her announcement Friday took members of the police task force by surprise.
Officers assigned to the task force had been working for two weeks to complete an investigation that might otherwise have taken months. They canvassed West Baltimore for witnesses and mapped out the locations of security camera footage. To recreate Gray's 45-minute ride in a police van, plainclothes officers rolled a $250,000 laser imaging system on a tripod down potholed roads and cracked sidewalks, ready to tell residents who questioned them that they were city surveyors.
At least 30 members of the Police Department were pulled onto the task force, including staff from the crime lab, Force Investigation Team, Internal Affairs, Homicide, and automobile CRASH team. Each brought with them an expertise to help answer the questions a volatile city desperately needed: how Gray sustained the severed spine and other injuries that led to his death on April 19, a week after his arrest.
They all realized the importance of their investigation and that they were part of a pivotal moment in Baltimore history. There were no days off.
"As I've said before," Col. Garnell Green told the task force Thursday morning. "What happens ... rests on our shoulders."
145 tasks
The investigation was run out of Green's conference room in the Administrative Bureau. Members of the task force met there two, sometimes three times a day, gathering around two large tables that had been pushed together. They employed a checklist to keep track of their investigation, and the list grew daily until it had 145 tasks — many completed, some still open — on Thursday.
On one wall was a timeline that plotted Gray's arrest and all of the police van's stops. Each point on the timeline was outfitted with pictures of Gray, the officers who interacted with him at that location, time stamps and blurry screen shots taken from surveillance video. On another wall, autopsy photos of Gray stared back near a color-coded map listing all the private and public surveillance cameras along the van's route. In the back was a table with Gatorade and water bottles.
The task force worked while being unable to question the six officers, beyond initial statements the officers had provided. Detectives were told to reconstruct the officers' actions not only for April 12 but several days and even years earlier, using internal records and "run sheets," which log officers' daily actions.
While each task force member focused on a specific task — interviewing witnesses, serving search warrants, updating a "living" timeline of events — top-level commanders looked at the big picture with the Police Department's credibility in mind. They knew the investigation would be picked apart by many people in Baltimore, including the thousands of protesters outside their door. Amid the allegations of brutality, they wanted to show that they would leave no stone unturned. They wanted an answer for any question prosecutors, attorneys and the public might ask.
They focused on the task of gathering information, and showed no sign of discomfort while investigating colleagues on the police force — knowing that the decision to bring criminal charges would rest with Mosby and not them. Over and over, they said they "would follow wherever the evidence leads."
Investigators tried to determine what had happened during the foot and bicycle chase that preceded the takedown of Gray. Did he fall? Had Gray been in a fight prior to the arrest? Was the Internet rumor about an insurance settlement for a car accident true (it was not). When was he sitting and when was he "prone," without a seat belt, in the van?
Task force members continued to investigate all possibilities even though they felt confident that Gray had suffered a "catastrophic injury" while being taken from the arrest at Gilmor Homes to the Western District police station. They discovered that the van's video camera was broken and that one of the officers during the transport said Gray had "jailitis" — a faked illness — when he complained about his condition.
And they spent many hours retracing the actions of Officer Caesar R. Goodson, Jr., the wagon driver. Goodson, the investigators said, had heard Gray ask for medical help a number of times — a key factor in the charges Mosby would bring against him. Still, there were gaps along the route where no video or witness statements existed.
The investigators sought to understand why Goodson had made a stop that was discovered in a review of video camera footage. All they could determine was that Goodson looked into the back of the van, but did not touch Gray. But they wondered: Were there other stops?
To find out more about the van route, officers took to the streets.
Last Sunday, at the spot Gray had been arrested, a makeshift memorial included a sign that said "[Expletive] the Police. I would kill all 6 of u bitches." A half block away, crime lab technician Tom Wisner and detectives Michael Boyd and Timothy Hamilton rolled the laser imaging device along a wheeled yellow tripod. They wore T-shirts and cargo pants to keep a low profile and avoid long conversations or, worse, a confrontation in a neighborhood where residents' anger was still raw from violent protests the previous night.
"Google-team rollout," Boyd said — a joking reference to Google's mapping process — after the trio finished a section of streets.
They had nearly 70 scans to do, each taking a circular image as far as 850 feet away, and a tight time frame to complete them.
On the clear sunny day, they went about their work without any interference. One man walked by with a rose in a pint bottle that his girlfriend had given him. A man in a car slowed to a near stop, but then moved on. No one really asked what they were doing.
The "Google team" scanned streets and avenues: Presbury, Cumberland, Calhoun, Gilmor, Dolphin and Druid Hill.
Wisner, who is not a sworn officer, was tasked with creating detailed multi-dimensional maps that would show the route and terrain. His job was to painstakingly stitch the maps together until the van's path was recreated — a process that was only partially completed by the time Mosby announced the charges.
Taken by surprise
Late last week, Brandford, the homicide commander, said he felt "confident" about where his investigation was pointing, but he never locked onto an explanation for Gray's spine injury. He left open the possibility that Gray was beaten or handled too roughly.
"We're still going strong as far as this task force is concerned. We have to fight fatigue," he told his team. "I feel confident we have a solid case here but we still have things to do."
On Friday, more remained. The task force was planning to go full-bore straight through the weekend, feeding supplemental reports to Mosby's office, and the investigation was to remain active indefinitely, according to Brandford..
"Important that the state's attorney continue to get things as we collect them," Brandford told his tired members Friday morning.
Then his cellphone rang. He stepped into the hall and didn't return.
Minutes later, task force members found out why: Mosby was holding a news conference on the steps of the nearby Baltimore War Memorial. From a flat-screen television in Green's office, they watched a live broadcast.
They stood motionless as Mosby began speaking. A lieutenant wearing a suit and bow tie rested his left hand on a leather chair; Green stood in uniform against the wall, hands behind his back. As Mosby read off the charges — including second-degree depraved-heart murder, the most serious, against Goodson — stunned looks crossed their faces.
They had not expected the state's attorney's office to act so soon.
Later on Friday, Mosby said the charges were the result of prosecutors working 12- and 14-hour days alongside police investigators. She also said prosecutors had been working on a "parallel investigation" that included using city sheriff's deputies.
"This was not something that was quick, fast and in a hurry," she said. "We reviewed hundreds of hours of camera footage and statements. This is something we worked really hard to get to the bottom of."
Still, plenty of items remained on the police task force's checklist. Members soon were back to their investigation.
EDITOR’S NOTE: A special task force of at least 30 Baltimore police officers was put together to investigate Freddie Gray’s death. Would they have done that had Freddie been white? No! The investigation would have been conducted by the Internal Affairs Unit and it would have taken weeks to complete.
By Justin George
The Baltimore Sun
May 2, 2015
In a fourth-floor conference room at Baltimore police headquarters, two training officers in blue T-shirts and blue pants lowered themselves onto the carpeted floor to demonstrate the leg hold officers used to restrain Freddie Gray the day he was arrested — and sustained a fatal spine injury.
As one officer played Gray's role, lying face down on the floor, the other bent his crossed legs back toward his head. Watching closely were members of the police task force investigating Gray's death, and Dr. David L. Higgins, a Maryland orthopedic surgeon who has worked with the U.S. Olympic team.
Higgins had already reviewed cellphone video showing the 25-year-old's arrest in West Baltimore, including scenes with him yelling in pain or protest as officers dragged him to a transport van. Now, Higgins was asked what injuries a person could suffer in such a leg hold.
"From that maneuver, even if you slammed him or dropped him like a wrestling move, you still won't have a neurological injury," said Higgins, continuing to explain in more detail.
"OK," said Maj. Stanley Brandford, the Homicide Unit commander who led the task force. He marked another task complete. Another question about Gray was answered.
The scene on Thursday was part of a high-stakes police investigation — and came as Baltimore was reeling from protests that brought thousands of marchers, and some violence, to city streets. International attention was focused on the city, and many residents were protesting alleged police brutality and calling for criminal charges.
The Baltimore Sun was granted exclusive access to the task force and monitored the investigation for days. The Sun agreed not to publish details about the investigation until Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby decided whether to prosecute any of the officers involved in the Gray incident, though reporters continued to use other sources for information. On Friday, she announced charges against six officers.
Mosby's announcement came just a day after police provided her with a lengthy report on their probe, but prosecutors had conferred with police from time to time, and Mosby said she also used an independent team of investigators. Her announcement Friday took members of the police task force by surprise.
Officers assigned to the task force had been working for two weeks to complete an investigation that might otherwise have taken months. They canvassed West Baltimore for witnesses and mapped out the locations of security camera footage. To recreate Gray's 45-minute ride in a police van, plainclothes officers rolled a $250,000 laser imaging system on a tripod down potholed roads and cracked sidewalks, ready to tell residents who questioned them that they were city surveyors.
At least 30 members of the Police Department were pulled onto the task force, including staff from the crime lab, Force Investigation Team, Internal Affairs, Homicide, and automobile CRASH team. Each brought with them an expertise to help answer the questions a volatile city desperately needed: how Gray sustained the severed spine and other injuries that led to his death on April 19, a week after his arrest.
They all realized the importance of their investigation and that they were part of a pivotal moment in Baltimore history. There were no days off.
"As I've said before," Col. Garnell Green told the task force Thursday morning. "What happens ... rests on our shoulders."
145 tasks
The investigation was run out of Green's conference room in the Administrative Bureau. Members of the task force met there two, sometimes three times a day, gathering around two large tables that had been pushed together. They employed a checklist to keep track of their investigation, and the list grew daily until it had 145 tasks — many completed, some still open — on Thursday.
On one wall was a timeline that plotted Gray's arrest and all of the police van's stops. Each point on the timeline was outfitted with pictures of Gray, the officers who interacted with him at that location, time stamps and blurry screen shots taken from surveillance video. On another wall, autopsy photos of Gray stared back near a color-coded map listing all the private and public surveillance cameras along the van's route. In the back was a table with Gatorade and water bottles.
The task force worked while being unable to question the six officers, beyond initial statements the officers had provided. Detectives were told to reconstruct the officers' actions not only for April 12 but several days and even years earlier, using internal records and "run sheets," which log officers' daily actions.
While each task force member focused on a specific task — interviewing witnesses, serving search warrants, updating a "living" timeline of events — top-level commanders looked at the big picture with the Police Department's credibility in mind. They knew the investigation would be picked apart by many people in Baltimore, including the thousands of protesters outside their door. Amid the allegations of brutality, they wanted to show that they would leave no stone unturned. They wanted an answer for any question prosecutors, attorneys and the public might ask.
They focused on the task of gathering information, and showed no sign of discomfort while investigating colleagues on the police force — knowing that the decision to bring criminal charges would rest with Mosby and not them. Over and over, they said they "would follow wherever the evidence leads."
Investigators tried to determine what had happened during the foot and bicycle chase that preceded the takedown of Gray. Did he fall? Had Gray been in a fight prior to the arrest? Was the Internet rumor about an insurance settlement for a car accident true (it was not). When was he sitting and when was he "prone," without a seat belt, in the van?
Task force members continued to investigate all possibilities even though they felt confident that Gray had suffered a "catastrophic injury" while being taken from the arrest at Gilmor Homes to the Western District police station. They discovered that the van's video camera was broken and that one of the officers during the transport said Gray had "jailitis" — a faked illness — when he complained about his condition.
And they spent many hours retracing the actions of Officer Caesar R. Goodson, Jr., the wagon driver. Goodson, the investigators said, had heard Gray ask for medical help a number of times — a key factor in the charges Mosby would bring against him. Still, there were gaps along the route where no video or witness statements existed.
The investigators sought to understand why Goodson had made a stop that was discovered in a review of video camera footage. All they could determine was that Goodson looked into the back of the van, but did not touch Gray. But they wondered: Were there other stops?
To find out more about the van route, officers took to the streets.
Last Sunday, at the spot Gray had been arrested, a makeshift memorial included a sign that said "[Expletive] the Police. I would kill all 6 of u bitches." A half block away, crime lab technician Tom Wisner and detectives Michael Boyd and Timothy Hamilton rolled the laser imaging device along a wheeled yellow tripod. They wore T-shirts and cargo pants to keep a low profile and avoid long conversations or, worse, a confrontation in a neighborhood where residents' anger was still raw from violent protests the previous night.
"Google-team rollout," Boyd said — a joking reference to Google's mapping process — after the trio finished a section of streets.
They had nearly 70 scans to do, each taking a circular image as far as 850 feet away, and a tight time frame to complete them.
On the clear sunny day, they went about their work without any interference. One man walked by with a rose in a pint bottle that his girlfriend had given him. A man in a car slowed to a near stop, but then moved on. No one really asked what they were doing.
The "Google team" scanned streets and avenues: Presbury, Cumberland, Calhoun, Gilmor, Dolphin and Druid Hill.
Wisner, who is not a sworn officer, was tasked with creating detailed multi-dimensional maps that would show the route and terrain. His job was to painstakingly stitch the maps together until the van's path was recreated — a process that was only partially completed by the time Mosby announced the charges.
Taken by surprise
Late last week, Brandford, the homicide commander, said he felt "confident" about where his investigation was pointing, but he never locked onto an explanation for Gray's spine injury. He left open the possibility that Gray was beaten or handled too roughly.
"We're still going strong as far as this task force is concerned. We have to fight fatigue," he told his team. "I feel confident we have a solid case here but we still have things to do."
On Friday, more remained. The task force was planning to go full-bore straight through the weekend, feeding supplemental reports to Mosby's office, and the investigation was to remain active indefinitely, according to Brandford..
"Important that the state's attorney continue to get things as we collect them," Brandford told his tired members Friday morning.
Then his cellphone rang. He stepped into the hall and didn't return.
Minutes later, task force members found out why: Mosby was holding a news conference on the steps of the nearby Baltimore War Memorial. From a flat-screen television in Green's office, they watched a live broadcast.
They stood motionless as Mosby began speaking. A lieutenant wearing a suit and bow tie rested his left hand on a leather chair; Green stood in uniform against the wall, hands behind his back. As Mosby read off the charges — including second-degree depraved-heart murder, the most serious, against Goodson — stunned looks crossed their faces.
They had not expected the state's attorney's office to act so soon.
Later on Friday, Mosby said the charges were the result of prosecutors working 12- and 14-hour days alongside police investigators. She also said prosecutors had been working on a "parallel investigation" that included using city sheriff's deputies.
"This was not something that was quick, fast and in a hurry," she said. "We reviewed hundreds of hours of camera footage and statements. This is something we worked really hard to get to the bottom of."
Still, plenty of items remained on the police task force's checklist. Members soon were back to their investigation.
EDITOR’S NOTE: A special task force of at least 30 Baltimore police officers was put together to investigate Freddie Gray’s death. Would they have done that had Freddie been white? No! The investigation would have been conducted by the Internal Affairs Unit and it would have taken weeks to complete.
Sunday, May 03, 2015
DIVERSITY AMONG BALTIMORE COPS CHARGED IN FREDDIE GRAY’S DEATH
Of the six cops charged, three are white and three are black, with one of the black officers being a female
The clarion call by academics and race experts calling for police reform has been more diversity.
Of the six Baltimore officers charged in Freddie Gray’s death, three are white and three are black, with one of the black officers being a female.
Now you can’t get much more diverse than that, with the possible exception that one of the three white officers should have been a Hispanic woman cop.
But how do you explain that half of the cops being held responsible for Freddie’s death are black? My son says that Al Sharpton would say the black officers were only there to prevent three white racist cops from beating up that poor black man.
The clarion call by academics and race experts calling for police reform has been more diversity.
Of the six Baltimore officers charged in Freddie Gray’s death, three are white and three are black, with one of the black officers being a female.
Now you can’t get much more diverse than that, with the possible exception that one of the three white officers should have been a Hispanic woman cop.
But how do you explain that half of the cops being held responsible for Freddie’s death are black? My son says that Al Sharpton would say the black officers were only there to prevent three white racist cops from beating up that poor black man.
A LOOK AT THE SIX BALTIMORE POLICE OFFICERS CHARGED IN THE GRAY CASE
By Paul Schwartzman
The Washington Post
May 1, 2015
The six officers accused in the death of Freddie Gray face a litany of charges that include second-degree depraved-heart murder, involuntary manslaughter, false imprisonment and misconduct in office.
The officers — three white, three African American — represent a broad spectrum of experience on Baltimore’s police force. Three of them joined the force three years ago. The driver, who faces the most serious charges, is African American and has been on the force since 1999.
One officer had his weapons confiscated after a former girlfriend contacted the Carroll County sheriff’s office to say she feared for his safety.
The officers include one woman, a sergeant, who joined the force in 2010.
All six officers were taken into custody Friday and released after posting bail that evening, according to online court records. The police officers facing charges are:
Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., 45, who has been on the force since 1999, according to Baltimore police. An African American, Goodson drove the van that transported Gray to jail.
Goodson, whose bail was set at $350,000, is the only officer in the group facing a murder charge. He is charged with ¬second-degree depraved-heart murder, a charge used when a suspect is accused of reckless disregard for another person’s life, in addition to involuntary manslaughter, second-degree -assault, manslaughter by vehicle and misconduct in office.
WBAL-TV in Baltimore reported last week that Goodson is facing internal disciplinary proceedings in a separate case for allegedly allowing a prisoner to escape from a hospital.
Goodson is the grandson of a police officer, according to the obituary for his mother, who died in Baltimore in 2012. He lives in Catonsville in Baltimore County, where two of his neighbors said Friday that he had minimal interactions with them.
Frances Hubbard, who lives on his street, described the officer as a “family man, always polite, always speaks. I see him eating with the family.”
Lt. Brian W. Rice, 41, the ¬highest-ranking officer among those charged Friday, is a 17-year veteran of the department.
Rice was the first officer to make eye contact with Gray while on bike patrol, State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby said. Rice then chased Gray, calling for backup on his police radio. Mosby said Rice failed to establish probable cause for Gray’s arrest.
The lieutenant helped load Gray onto a police wagon, then he ordered the driver to stop the vehicle so he and other officers could remove Gray, handcuff him and place leg shackles on his ankles.
Rice, whose bail was set at $350,000, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and false imprisonment.
In 2012, Carroll County Sheriff’s deputies visited Rice at his Westminster home after a woman with whom he had a child asked officers to check on him, according to a report obtained by The Washington Post.
The woman, Karen Crisafulli, who also is a Baltimore police officer, told deputies that Rice had made statements that alarmed her. The details of those statements were blacked out by law enforcement.
The deputies confiscated Rice’s weapons, including two 12-gauge shotguns, an AK-47 ¬rifle, a small-caliber handgun, a BB gun and a Glock handgun he kept in a backpack inside his vehicle. The rifle and shotguns were kept in an unlocked safe.
Crisafulli, when reached by phone Friday, said she was under orders not to comment because of her position with the police department.
Officer William G. Porter, 25, who joined the force in 2012, became involved in Gray’s arrest after Goodson requested backup as he was driving to central booking, Mosby said. Porter, whose bail was set at $350,000, faces charges of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault and misconduct in office.
Porter, who is black, checked on Gray and asked him whether he needed medical assistance. When Gray said he could not breathe, Porter helped him off the van floor and onto a bench. The officer failed to restrain Gray with a seat belt, Mosby said. Nor did Porter call for medical help, despite Gray’s request.
Sgt. Alicia D. White, 30, joined the force in 2010. She was dispatched to investigate two citizens’ complaints abut Gray’s arrest. At one point, according to Mosby, she “spoke to the back of his head,”even though Gray was unresponsive.
The prosecutor said White made no effort to assess Gray’s condition despite having been told he needed medical assistance. White, whose bail was set at $350,000, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, ¬second-degree assault and misconduct in office.
White’s attorney left Baltimore’s Central Booking and Intake office a little before 8 p.m. “Our client is innocent,” he said. “This is ridiculous.” He would not comment further.
Michael Gross, who identified himself as White’s uncle, said the family is “devastated” by the arrests. He described his niece as “a very good person, a very religious person.” He said she was engaged to be married.
White, who is African American, grew up in Baltimore, Gross said, and went to the University of Maryland’s Eastern Shore campus. She worked in education before joining the police force.
White was promoted to sergeant in January. The family celebrated that day, Gross said. “She was a very happy individual.”
Officer Edward M. Nero, 29, who joined the force in 2012, was on bike patrol with Rice and another officer when they chased Gray. Nero handcuffed Gray and held him down until the police wagon arrived, Mosby said. Nero, who is white, is charged with second-degree assault, misconduct in office and false imprisonment. His bail was set at $250,000.
The officer lives in Bel Air, in Harford County. A neighbor, Krishna Pillalamarri, said Nero is married, has a young child and moved into his house less than a year ago.
Officer Garrett E. Miller is charged with second-degree ¬assault, misconduct in office and false imprisonment. Miller, 26, has been on the force since 2012. Miller was on bike patrol with Rice and Nero when they apprehended Gray, according to the prosecutor. Miller helped load Gray into a police wagon and failed to restrain him with a seat belt, Mosby said. His bail was set at $250,000.
Miller lives in a stone-and-frame house on a fenced wooded lot in Kingsville, Md., 25 miles north of Baltimore, on land his family has owned for more than a century, neighbor Dominic Martino said. A woman who answered the door said the family did not want to talk. A neighbor also said he would have no comment.
Several descendants of the original landowners live in a cluster on one end of Miller Road, Martino said, adding that the family tends to keep to themselves. “It’s a big family,” he said. “They have signs posted that they don’t want people driving back there.”
The Washington Post
May 1, 2015
The six officers accused in the death of Freddie Gray face a litany of charges that include second-degree depraved-heart murder, involuntary manslaughter, false imprisonment and misconduct in office.
The officers — three white, three African American — represent a broad spectrum of experience on Baltimore’s police force. Three of them joined the force three years ago. The driver, who faces the most serious charges, is African American and has been on the force since 1999.
One officer had his weapons confiscated after a former girlfriend contacted the Carroll County sheriff’s office to say she feared for his safety.
The officers include one woman, a sergeant, who joined the force in 2010.
All six officers were taken into custody Friday and released after posting bail that evening, according to online court records. The police officers facing charges are:
Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., 45, who has been on the force since 1999, according to Baltimore police. An African American, Goodson drove the van that transported Gray to jail.
Goodson, whose bail was set at $350,000, is the only officer in the group facing a murder charge. He is charged with ¬second-degree depraved-heart murder, a charge used when a suspect is accused of reckless disregard for another person’s life, in addition to involuntary manslaughter, second-degree -assault, manslaughter by vehicle and misconduct in office.
WBAL-TV in Baltimore reported last week that Goodson is facing internal disciplinary proceedings in a separate case for allegedly allowing a prisoner to escape from a hospital.
Goodson is the grandson of a police officer, according to the obituary for his mother, who died in Baltimore in 2012. He lives in Catonsville in Baltimore County, where two of his neighbors said Friday that he had minimal interactions with them.
Frances Hubbard, who lives on his street, described the officer as a “family man, always polite, always speaks. I see him eating with the family.”
Lt. Brian W. Rice, 41, the ¬highest-ranking officer among those charged Friday, is a 17-year veteran of the department.
Rice was the first officer to make eye contact with Gray while on bike patrol, State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby said. Rice then chased Gray, calling for backup on his police radio. Mosby said Rice failed to establish probable cause for Gray’s arrest.
The lieutenant helped load Gray onto a police wagon, then he ordered the driver to stop the vehicle so he and other officers could remove Gray, handcuff him and place leg shackles on his ankles.
Rice, whose bail was set at $350,000, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, misconduct in office and false imprisonment.
In 2012, Carroll County Sheriff’s deputies visited Rice at his Westminster home after a woman with whom he had a child asked officers to check on him, according to a report obtained by The Washington Post.
The woman, Karen Crisafulli, who also is a Baltimore police officer, told deputies that Rice had made statements that alarmed her. The details of those statements were blacked out by law enforcement.
The deputies confiscated Rice’s weapons, including two 12-gauge shotguns, an AK-47 ¬rifle, a small-caliber handgun, a BB gun and a Glock handgun he kept in a backpack inside his vehicle. The rifle and shotguns were kept in an unlocked safe.
Crisafulli, when reached by phone Friday, said she was under orders not to comment because of her position with the police department.
Officer William G. Porter, 25, who joined the force in 2012, became involved in Gray’s arrest after Goodson requested backup as he was driving to central booking, Mosby said. Porter, whose bail was set at $350,000, faces charges of involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault and misconduct in office.
Porter, who is black, checked on Gray and asked him whether he needed medical assistance. When Gray said he could not breathe, Porter helped him off the van floor and onto a bench. The officer failed to restrain Gray with a seat belt, Mosby said. Nor did Porter call for medical help, despite Gray’s request.
Sgt. Alicia D. White, 30, joined the force in 2010. She was dispatched to investigate two citizens’ complaints abut Gray’s arrest. At one point, according to Mosby, she “spoke to the back of his head,”even though Gray was unresponsive.
The prosecutor said White made no effort to assess Gray’s condition despite having been told he needed medical assistance. White, whose bail was set at $350,000, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, ¬second-degree assault and misconduct in office.
White’s attorney left Baltimore’s Central Booking and Intake office a little before 8 p.m. “Our client is innocent,” he said. “This is ridiculous.” He would not comment further.
Michael Gross, who identified himself as White’s uncle, said the family is “devastated” by the arrests. He described his niece as “a very good person, a very religious person.” He said she was engaged to be married.
White, who is African American, grew up in Baltimore, Gross said, and went to the University of Maryland’s Eastern Shore campus. She worked in education before joining the police force.
White was promoted to sergeant in January. The family celebrated that day, Gross said. “She was a very happy individual.”
Officer Edward M. Nero, 29, who joined the force in 2012, was on bike patrol with Rice and another officer when they chased Gray. Nero handcuffed Gray and held him down until the police wagon arrived, Mosby said. Nero, who is white, is charged with second-degree assault, misconduct in office and false imprisonment. His bail was set at $250,000.
The officer lives in Bel Air, in Harford County. A neighbor, Krishna Pillalamarri, said Nero is married, has a young child and moved into his house less than a year ago.
Officer Garrett E. Miller is charged with second-degree ¬assault, misconduct in office and false imprisonment. Miller, 26, has been on the force since 2012. Miller was on bike patrol with Rice and Nero when they apprehended Gray, according to the prosecutor. Miller helped load Gray into a police wagon and failed to restrain him with a seat belt, Mosby said. His bail was set at $250,000.
Miller lives in a stone-and-frame house on a fenced wooded lot in Kingsville, Md., 25 miles north of Baltimore, on land his family has owned for more than a century, neighbor Dominic Martino said. A woman who answered the door said the family did not want to talk. A neighbor also said he would have no comment.
Several descendants of the original landowners live in a cluster on one end of Miller Road, Martino said, adding that the family tends to keep to themselves. “It’s a big family,” he said. “They have signs posted that they don’t want people driving back there.”
Friday, May 01, 2015
AUSCHWITZ GUARD OFFERS GERMANS SOMETHING RARE
A Nazi who admits what he did
By Matthew Schofield
McClatchy DC
April 23, 2015
BERLIN — On the opening day of his trial on 300,000 counts of accessory to murder, the man known as the “accountant of Auschwitz” told of the moment he lost his “euphoria for Adolf Hitler.”
He was standing on a train platform after Hungarian Jews had been unloaded at the Nazi death camp. The unwitting condemned already had been sent to the gas chambers. The newly arrived slave laborers had been sent in a different direction.
Left behind on the platform was a crying infant. As the child cried, one of the now 93-year-old Oskar Groening’s fellow SS officers approached it, grabbed it by the leg, dashed its head against a nearby truck, then tossed the lifeless body into the truck.
As horrific as that story is, what might have been more shocking was Groening’s next observation.
“I don’t know what else I could have expected the guard to do with the baby,” he mused. “I suppose he could have shot it, though.”
The casual acceptance of brutality that the former Waffen SS officer displayed even 70 years after the Third Reich was destroyed provided a rare insight into the twisted nature of the Nazi death camp mindset. Even from a man who admitted in court that he carried “moral guilt” if not legal guilt for the Holocaust, there was no notion that, perhaps, the baby did not need to have been killed.
He made the same point in his testimony Thursday. “I did not expect any Jews to survive Auschwitz,” he said.
Efraim Zuroff, director and head Nazi hunter for the Israeli office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said Groening’s testimony, even in its cool detachment, is unique and historically important.
“In my 35 years of trying to bring Nazis to justice, I’ve not met one Nazi who expressed any regret,” he said. “Even now, his words show how deeply the attitudes that made the Holocaust possible run.”
Zuroff noted that Groening hardly deserves credit for coming forward, at 93. He said he once had hoped that nearing the ends of their lives, more old Nazis “would want to come clean before they had to meet their maker.”
That has not been the case with others. Zuroff noted that other Nazi war crimes defendants have tended to claim the wrong person was arrested or that they did not do what they were charged with doing. Groening, therefore, is different.
Still, his testimony exposes the flaws in a decades-long German policy of pursuing only Nazis who could be shown to have blood on their hands.
Groening fully admits he was enthusiastic in his backing of Hitler. He described standing with another guard as he dumped the poison Zyklon B into a panel above a mass “shower room” and how he could hear the screams diminish after that. He talked about how, upon arriving to work at Auschwitz-Birkenau for the first time, he was informed that a large part of the camp was devoted to “discarding” the arriving Jews deemed unfit for slave labor.
Groening knew about and watched all that happened at the death camp. He didn’t actively kill people, but as the prosecution in this case is arguing, his actions made what happened possible. In fact, prosecutors note that his collecting cash that the doomed Hungarian Jews carried when they arrived at Auschwitz, and eventually hauling boxes of it to Berlin, “made it possible for the Nazis not only to continue but to profit from mass murder.”
Previously, the attitude of the guards who staffed Auschwitz and other Nazi death camps has been inferred only from the experiences of survivors or liberators. That’s why Groening’s words fill a void, Zuroff said.
Groening is an important figure, others note, because he is German. Other recent trials have focused on Eastern Europeans. Groening was a proud product of Hitler’s Fatherland.
Michael Wolffsohn, a German historian and expert on German Jewish history, noted in an email answer to questions that Groening was “an exception to the rule. He DID admit his crimes.”
It’s difficult to see actual justice coming from the case, however, Wolffsohn said, when the defendant is 93.
“The trial as such is counterproductive,” he wrote. “A maximum sentence of six years for the murder of 300,000! It would have been better to just analyze Groening’s statement. Justice and law are not always identical.”
Still, the trial has had an impact. In a recent opinion poll, about half of all Germans said they believed it was time to “draw a line under the Holocaust” and move on. But the reaction to Groening’s testimony has overwhelmed such notions.
In particular, the German press has been highly critical that this case took decades to bring to trial. The influential Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper noted in an editorial that “German justice, after the court agreed to take this case, should have asked the victims and the world to be forgiven for having delayed the punishment of the Nazi killers for so long, and even until a point where punishment barely makes sense.”
The newspaper noted that one of the witnesses against Groening, Eva Moses Kor, 81, who was born in Romania, had been a 10-year-old who survived Auschwitz only because she was a twin, a class of people valued by Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele for medical experiments. During the trial, she stared at Groening and said, “Mr. Groening, I want you to come out clearly. Tell the young neo-Nazis that Auschwitz really existed and Nazi ideology has produced no winners, only losers.”
The neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers were not likely to listen, however. Ursula Haverbeck, one of Germany’s more infamous Holocaust deniers, was in court for Groening’s initial testimony. But after listening to his detailed description of what happened in the camp, she merely noted “he’s been turned.” To her, he’s now a traitor.
Thomas Wulff, a convicted German neo-Nazi, provided a similar view as he stood hoping to get in to see the trial. “This is a late, Allied revenge trial,” he said. “Groening was a victim of his time and now he’s a victim of the German justice system.”
Another newspaper, though, noted that the trial really isn’t about punishing an old man. “It’s about identifying the most severe injustice, as long as those responsible are still alive,” wrote the Stuttgarter Zeitung. “That this so far has not happened, as German justice was blind for so long, does not change the demands of justice.”
“Nazi perpetrators got away because statutes of limitations expired and the legislature failed to intervene,” added the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. “Cases were terminated, leaving historians and critical lawyers stunned. . . . Many trials of elderly offenders imploded. The reasons were profane: illness and death.”
And Pascal Durain, writing in the newspaper Mittelbayrische Zeitung, said the trial is a reminder that Germany has debts to pay, as do all former death camp workers.
“Groening owes the truth to the audience,” Durain wrote. “The court owes him a verdict. The state of law owes justice to the survivors. And Germany owes all a message that no perpetrator will get away.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: I lost both sets of grandparents in the Holocaust, but I do not know whether they were sent to an extermination camp like Auschwitz or died in a Nazi concentration camp.
By Matthew Schofield
McClatchy DC
April 23, 2015
BERLIN — On the opening day of his trial on 300,000 counts of accessory to murder, the man known as the “accountant of Auschwitz” told of the moment he lost his “euphoria for Adolf Hitler.”
He was standing on a train platform after Hungarian Jews had been unloaded at the Nazi death camp. The unwitting condemned already had been sent to the gas chambers. The newly arrived slave laborers had been sent in a different direction.
Left behind on the platform was a crying infant. As the child cried, one of the now 93-year-old Oskar Groening’s fellow SS officers approached it, grabbed it by the leg, dashed its head against a nearby truck, then tossed the lifeless body into the truck.
As horrific as that story is, what might have been more shocking was Groening’s next observation.
“I don’t know what else I could have expected the guard to do with the baby,” he mused. “I suppose he could have shot it, though.”
The casual acceptance of brutality that the former Waffen SS officer displayed even 70 years after the Third Reich was destroyed provided a rare insight into the twisted nature of the Nazi death camp mindset. Even from a man who admitted in court that he carried “moral guilt” if not legal guilt for the Holocaust, there was no notion that, perhaps, the baby did not need to have been killed.
He made the same point in his testimony Thursday. “I did not expect any Jews to survive Auschwitz,” he said.
Efraim Zuroff, director and head Nazi hunter for the Israeli office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said Groening’s testimony, even in its cool detachment, is unique and historically important.
“In my 35 years of trying to bring Nazis to justice, I’ve not met one Nazi who expressed any regret,” he said. “Even now, his words show how deeply the attitudes that made the Holocaust possible run.”
Zuroff noted that Groening hardly deserves credit for coming forward, at 93. He said he once had hoped that nearing the ends of their lives, more old Nazis “would want to come clean before they had to meet their maker.”
That has not been the case with others. Zuroff noted that other Nazi war crimes defendants have tended to claim the wrong person was arrested or that they did not do what they were charged with doing. Groening, therefore, is different.
Still, his testimony exposes the flaws in a decades-long German policy of pursuing only Nazis who could be shown to have blood on their hands.
Groening fully admits he was enthusiastic in his backing of Hitler. He described standing with another guard as he dumped the poison Zyklon B into a panel above a mass “shower room” and how he could hear the screams diminish after that. He talked about how, upon arriving to work at Auschwitz-Birkenau for the first time, he was informed that a large part of the camp was devoted to “discarding” the arriving Jews deemed unfit for slave labor.
Groening knew about and watched all that happened at the death camp. He didn’t actively kill people, but as the prosecution in this case is arguing, his actions made what happened possible. In fact, prosecutors note that his collecting cash that the doomed Hungarian Jews carried when they arrived at Auschwitz, and eventually hauling boxes of it to Berlin, “made it possible for the Nazis not only to continue but to profit from mass murder.”
Previously, the attitude of the guards who staffed Auschwitz and other Nazi death camps has been inferred only from the experiences of survivors or liberators. That’s why Groening’s words fill a void, Zuroff said.
Groening is an important figure, others note, because he is German. Other recent trials have focused on Eastern Europeans. Groening was a proud product of Hitler’s Fatherland.
Michael Wolffsohn, a German historian and expert on German Jewish history, noted in an email answer to questions that Groening was “an exception to the rule. He DID admit his crimes.”
It’s difficult to see actual justice coming from the case, however, Wolffsohn said, when the defendant is 93.
“The trial as such is counterproductive,” he wrote. “A maximum sentence of six years for the murder of 300,000! It would have been better to just analyze Groening’s statement. Justice and law are not always identical.”
Still, the trial has had an impact. In a recent opinion poll, about half of all Germans said they believed it was time to “draw a line under the Holocaust” and move on. But the reaction to Groening’s testimony has overwhelmed such notions.
In particular, the German press has been highly critical that this case took decades to bring to trial. The influential Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper noted in an editorial that “German justice, after the court agreed to take this case, should have asked the victims and the world to be forgiven for having delayed the punishment of the Nazi killers for so long, and even until a point where punishment barely makes sense.”
The newspaper noted that one of the witnesses against Groening, Eva Moses Kor, 81, who was born in Romania, had been a 10-year-old who survived Auschwitz only because she was a twin, a class of people valued by Nazi Dr. Josef Mengele for medical experiments. During the trial, she stared at Groening and said, “Mr. Groening, I want you to come out clearly. Tell the young neo-Nazis that Auschwitz really existed and Nazi ideology has produced no winners, only losers.”
The neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers were not likely to listen, however. Ursula Haverbeck, one of Germany’s more infamous Holocaust deniers, was in court for Groening’s initial testimony. But after listening to his detailed description of what happened in the camp, she merely noted “he’s been turned.” To her, he’s now a traitor.
Thomas Wulff, a convicted German neo-Nazi, provided a similar view as he stood hoping to get in to see the trial. “This is a late, Allied revenge trial,” he said. “Groening was a victim of his time and now he’s a victim of the German justice system.”
Another newspaper, though, noted that the trial really isn’t about punishing an old man. “It’s about identifying the most severe injustice, as long as those responsible are still alive,” wrote the Stuttgarter Zeitung. “That this so far has not happened, as German justice was blind for so long, does not change the demands of justice.”
“Nazi perpetrators got away because statutes of limitations expired and the legislature failed to intervene,” added the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. “Cases were terminated, leaving historians and critical lawyers stunned. . . . Many trials of elderly offenders imploded. The reasons were profane: illness and death.”
And Pascal Durain, writing in the newspaper Mittelbayrische Zeitung, said the trial is a reminder that Germany has debts to pay, as do all former death camp workers.
“Groening owes the truth to the audience,” Durain wrote. “The court owes him a verdict. The state of law owes justice to the survivors. And Germany owes all a message that no perpetrator will get away.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: I lost both sets of grandparents in the Holocaust, but I do not know whether they were sent to an extermination camp like Auschwitz or died in a Nazi concentration camp.
INDONESIA TAKING AIM AT THE BLACK MARKET IN DRUGS
No Forgiveness for Drug Dealers in Indonesia: Late night wake-up call
By Richard Krupp, PhD
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
April 30, 2015
While various efforts to legalize illicit drugs in the United States are underway, Indonesia continues with a different approach.
Evidently a different view of the war on drugs can be found in this southeast Asian country comprising thousands of islands with more than 250 million people.
Indonesia views drug dealing and trafficking as a very serious matter and is not very forgiving when it comes to punishment.
According to Wikipedia:
Capital punishment in Indonesia is restricted to 16 crimes. Though the death penalty existed as a punishment from the inception of the Republic of Indonesia, the first execution did not take place until 1973.
The Indonesian government does not issue detailed statistics about every person facing the death penalty in the country. In fact, “the search for precise ļ¬gures is hampered by prevailing state secrecy over the death penalty.” It is believed, however, that there are around 130 people, Indonesians and foreign nationals, currently (as of 2013) sentenced to die in Indonesia.
Prisoners (particularly those convicted of murder, terrorism or drug trafficking offences) spend a long time languishing in prison before their sentence is finally carried out. Usually their final appeal has been exhausted through the courts and President. Prisoners and their families are notified 72 hours in advance of their pending execution. They are usually transferred to Nusa Kambangan island. They are woken up in the middle of the night and taken to a remote (and undisclosed) location and executed by firing squad. The method has not changed since 1964.
Capital punishment is carried out in Indonesia by a firing squad. The prisoner blindfolded is led to a grassy area where they have an option to sit or stand. The 12 armed executioners shoot the prisoner in the chest from a range of five to ten meters. Only three fire live bullets and the rest fire blanks. If the prisoner does not die, the Commander is required to issue a final bullet to the prisoner’s head. (cited source at http://tinyurl.com/oq4xynw.)
Recently several inmates were on the wake-up call and caught some bullets. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reported:
Indonesia Executes Seven Foreigners in Drug Cases
The government executed eight people—seven of them foreigners—for their roles in drug crimes, after 11th-hour appeals for clemency by families, heads of state, and international organizations failed to sway President Joko Widodo.
Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo said Wednesday that the eight convicts were shot simultaneously at 12:35 a.m. local time and were declared dead three minutes later.
“All (shots) were successful, none missed (the targets),” he told reporters in Cilacap after he inspected the maximum security prison in central Java, where eight firing squads with 13 shooters each shot the prisoners.
“Executing drug convicts is not a pleasant thing to do, but we have to fight against drug trafficking,” he added.
Those executed included two Australians, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, who were convicted in 2006 as leaders of the “Bali Nine” heroin-smuggling ring. The others included four Nigerians, a Brazilian and an Indonesian. All eight had been in prison for years, convicted of possessing or trafficking drugs like heroin, cocaine and marijuana (for full story read http://tinyurl.com/p8844aj.)
Though Indonesia has been chastised by many countries, they have not backed down from the “unforgiving” approach to their drug problems. Is this a deterrent?
I don’t know if there are any studies, but I think the news of this event will certainly spread to those who are planning to get involved in drug dealing in Indonesia. Drug dealers/smugglers will find no forgiveness in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, various states in our country proceed to legalize marijuana, offer needle exchange programs, and various alternatives to incarceration.
EDITOR’S NOTE: During the past year, Dorina Lisson has sent me a number of Australian newspaper articles about the outrage and objections her government has expressed against the death sentences imposed on the two now executed Australian citizens. One report even said Indonesia was prepared to go to war against Australia over the issue. While Dorina is an outspoken opponent of capital punishment, she has no sympathy for the two Aussie drug traffickers.
And Bob Walsh says, “It [Indonesia’s policy on executing drug traffickers] might not be a deterrent, but it sure as hell cuts down on repeat offenders.”
By Richard Krupp, PhD
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
April 30, 2015
While various efforts to legalize illicit drugs in the United States are underway, Indonesia continues with a different approach.
Evidently a different view of the war on drugs can be found in this southeast Asian country comprising thousands of islands with more than 250 million people.
Indonesia views drug dealing and trafficking as a very serious matter and is not very forgiving when it comes to punishment.
According to Wikipedia:
Capital punishment in Indonesia is restricted to 16 crimes. Though the death penalty existed as a punishment from the inception of the Republic of Indonesia, the first execution did not take place until 1973.
The Indonesian government does not issue detailed statistics about every person facing the death penalty in the country. In fact, “the search for precise ļ¬gures is hampered by prevailing state secrecy over the death penalty.” It is believed, however, that there are around 130 people, Indonesians and foreign nationals, currently (as of 2013) sentenced to die in Indonesia.
Prisoners (particularly those convicted of murder, terrorism or drug trafficking offences) spend a long time languishing in prison before their sentence is finally carried out. Usually their final appeal has been exhausted through the courts and President. Prisoners and their families are notified 72 hours in advance of their pending execution. They are usually transferred to Nusa Kambangan island. They are woken up in the middle of the night and taken to a remote (and undisclosed) location and executed by firing squad. The method has not changed since 1964.
Capital punishment is carried out in Indonesia by a firing squad. The prisoner blindfolded is led to a grassy area where they have an option to sit or stand. The 12 armed executioners shoot the prisoner in the chest from a range of five to ten meters. Only three fire live bullets and the rest fire blanks. If the prisoner does not die, the Commander is required to issue a final bullet to the prisoner’s head. (cited source at http://tinyurl.com/oq4xynw.)
Recently several inmates were on the wake-up call and caught some bullets. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reported:
Indonesia Executes Seven Foreigners in Drug Cases
The government executed eight people—seven of them foreigners—for their roles in drug crimes, after 11th-hour appeals for clemency by families, heads of state, and international organizations failed to sway President Joko Widodo.
Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo said Wednesday that the eight convicts were shot simultaneously at 12:35 a.m. local time and were declared dead three minutes later.
“All (shots) were successful, none missed (the targets),” he told reporters in Cilacap after he inspected the maximum security prison in central Java, where eight firing squads with 13 shooters each shot the prisoners.
“Executing drug convicts is not a pleasant thing to do, but we have to fight against drug trafficking,” he added.
Those executed included two Australians, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, who were convicted in 2006 as leaders of the “Bali Nine” heroin-smuggling ring. The others included four Nigerians, a Brazilian and an Indonesian. All eight had been in prison for years, convicted of possessing or trafficking drugs like heroin, cocaine and marijuana (for full story read http://tinyurl.com/p8844aj.)
Though Indonesia has been chastised by many countries, they have not backed down from the “unforgiving” approach to their drug problems. Is this a deterrent?
I don’t know if there are any studies, but I think the news of this event will certainly spread to those who are planning to get involved in drug dealing in Indonesia. Drug dealers/smugglers will find no forgiveness in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, various states in our country proceed to legalize marijuana, offer needle exchange programs, and various alternatives to incarceration.
EDITOR’S NOTE: During the past year, Dorina Lisson has sent me a number of Australian newspaper articles about the outrage and objections her government has expressed against the death sentences imposed on the two now executed Australian citizens. One report even said Indonesia was prepared to go to war against Australia over the issue. While Dorina is an outspoken opponent of capital punishment, she has no sympathy for the two Aussie drug traffickers.
And Bob Walsh says, “It [Indonesia’s policy on executing drug traffickers] might not be a deterrent, but it sure as hell cuts down on repeat offenders.”
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
FARE THEE WELL DEAR MICHELE!
DEA head Michele M. Leonhart, who courageously exposed medical marijuana as a hoax, comes under fire for the misconduct of some agents in a far-away foreign country
Michele M. Leonhart was appointed DEA Administrator in 2010, after having acted in that capacity for three years. Michele, the first woman to hold the top spot in a federal law enforcement agency, has done an outstanding job, both as Acting Administrator and for the past five years as the official head of the DEA.
On June 21, 2011, Michele infuriated the pro-pot crowd and liberals by refusing to reclassify marijuana andfor exposing medical marijuana as a hoax. The federal government ruled that marijuana has no accepted medical use and should remain classified as a highly dangerous drug like heroin.
In a letter to organizations petitioning for a reclassification of marijuana, Michele Leonhart declared that marijuana "has a high potential for abuse," "has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States" and "lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision." The letter and 37 pages of supporting documents were published in the Federal Register.
Instead of being scorched for her positions on marijuana and medical pot, Leonhart deserves to be commended for having the courage to stand up against a rising tide of pro-pot sentiment.
But now it appears to be payback time. A senior administration official tells CBS News Senior White House Correspondent Bill Plante that Michele will be stepping down soon. It’s obvious that she will be forced out of office for the misconduct of some DEA agents stationed in a foreign country.
The DEA misconduct came to light when the Justice Department investigated the 2012 conduct of President Obama’s advance Secret Service security detail. Prior to Obama’s arrival in Cartagena, Columbia, quite a few of the Secret Service agents cavorted around and partied with local prostitutes. The misconduct became public when Dania Suarez, one of the hookers, went to the police to complain that Arthur Huntington, one of the agents, had refused to pay her for her services.
Subsequent investigations of that Secret Service scandal forced Director Mark Sullivan to retire in 2013. The investigations also uncovered the DEA misconduct.
As for the DEA scandal, CBS DC reports:
Leonhart came under fire after an internal report said government money was used to pay prostitutes at a farewell party for a high-ranking DEA official in Colombia.
DEA agents also rented undercover apartments in Colombia and used them for parties with prostitutes, the DEA said in an internal report.
Excerpts of the report were released last week by the oversight panel, which is investigating questionable behavior highlighted in a March report by the Justice Department’s inspector general that examined sexual harassment and misconduct allegations from 2009 to 2012.
The Justice Department report recounts allegations that DEA agents attended sex parties with prostitutes, funded by local drug cartels, in a foreign county. The report does not identify the country where the alleged sex parties occurred, but the DEA report identified it as Colombia.
Leonhart was scorched earlier this month by a Congressional oversight committee because none of the scandalous agents had been fired. One would expect the Democrats to jump all over her, which they did, but so did the Republicans. When Leonhart said that federal civil service regulations made it hard to fire agents, that she could not intervene in any disciplinary process, and in some cases cannot even revoke an agent’s security clearance, the Republicans pounced.
Rep. Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican, said it was “stunning” that no one had been fired and asked, “What would it take to get fired at the DEA?” Then he demanded to know,, “What the hell do you get to do?”
Rep. Mark Walker, aNorth Carolina Republican, charged that “From what we’ve heard, this reflects a ‘spring break frat party’ mentality for the last 15 years at the DEA.”
Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said Leonhart deserves much of the blame for a “cultural problem” at the DEA and concluded the hearing by saying, “You get called before this committee and say ‘Oh, it’s terrible, it’s awful.’ But you personally have been responsible for this for more than a decade and you didn’t do anything about it.”
Chaffetz told The Associated Press that Leonhart has ignored problems at the DEA for more than 10 years. “It’s time for her to go. I don’t have confidence in her, nor does the majority of the committee.”
Chaffetz, a Reagan convert to the Republican Party, has never spent one minute in a cop’s shoes. He has never faced the daily stress and occasional moments of sheer terror faced by law enforcement officers. Unlike the DEA agents in Columbia, Chaffetz, Gowdy, Walker and the other committee members have never been stationed thousands of miles away from home and family facing danger at every turn.
The ‘frat party’ culture they are complaining about is quite common throughout the law enforcement profession. Policing is still mostly a man’s job, and boys will be boys! The stress and occasional terror leads to a lot of drinking and debauchery. During my forty years of association with law enforcement – both as a cop and criminal justice professor – I have attended many parties which I will not describe so as not to embarrass myself and my fellow party goers. But that’s how many cops blow off steam.
The DEA agents stationed in Columbia and other far-away drug producing countries not only face danger on a daily basis, but they are also pretty well isolated from others. And when they’re working undercover, they are not going to play the roles of Boy Scouts.
As for the DEA misconduct, paying prostitutes with government money at a farewell party for a high-ranking officer is certainly not kosher. Renting undercover apartments for parties with prostitutes is not kosher either, unless those parties were part and parcel of an undercover operation. But attending sex parties that were paid for by the very people the agents are trying to bring down is strictly verboten. That should be a firing offense!
Even if the parties were part of a legitimate undercover operation, having sex with a drug cartel hooker could compromise a whole investigation. There’s always that inevitable pillow talk and there is no way of predicting what a drunken agent might tell his bedmate.
On April 10, in one of his last acts as Attorney General, Eric Holder issued the following warning to all Justice Department employees:
"The solicitation of prostitution threatens the core mission of the Department, not simply because it invites extortion, blackmail, and leaks of sensitive or classified information, but also because it undermines the Department's efforts to eradicate the scourge of human trafficking. I want to reiterate to all Department personnel, including attorneys and law enforcement officers, that they are prohibited from soliciting, procuring, or accepting commercial sex at all times, including while off duty or on personal leave."
Yeah, right Eric, lots of luck with that one. Let’s see now, you’ve been Attorney General for more than six years and it took you this long to learn that Justice Department employees have been cavorting with prostitutes.
There are about 5,000 agents in the DEA, with many of them stationed in the dangerous drug producing countries of Asia and Latin America. I do not for one second believe that Michele condones any misconduct within her agency. With 5,000 agents there is bound to be misconduct by some of them. And information about some misconduct never rises all the way to the top. So, should Michele be held accountable for the conduct of each and every member of the DEA? Not in my book!
The members of Congress who want Leonhart ousted are nothing more than political hacks who will cut your throat to get one more vote. I strongly suspect that whoever replaces Michele as DEA Administrator will be an Obama administration ass-kisser who is likely to please the pro-pot crowd and the liberals.
Although Leonhart has not submitted her resignation yet, it seems obvious that due to the unjust Congressional committee criticism, she will step down soon. The announcement of her resignation is merely being held up until President Obama and new Attorney General Loretta Lynch have decided on her successor.
So we say, fare thee well dear Michele! You have been both a foot-soldier and a commander in the war on drugs. You have done an outstanding job during your entire drug enforcement career. You can hold your head far higher than any of your shameless critics, both within and outside of the government. Those of us who are opposed to the liberalization and legalization of illicit drugs love you and will miss you.
Michele M. Leonhart was appointed DEA Administrator in 2010, after having acted in that capacity for three years. Michele, the first woman to hold the top spot in a federal law enforcement agency, has done an outstanding job, both as Acting Administrator and for the past five years as the official head of the DEA.
On June 21, 2011, Michele infuriated the pro-pot crowd and liberals by refusing to reclassify marijuana andfor exposing medical marijuana as a hoax. The federal government ruled that marijuana has no accepted medical use and should remain classified as a highly dangerous drug like heroin.
In a letter to organizations petitioning for a reclassification of marijuana, Michele Leonhart declared that marijuana "has a high potential for abuse," "has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States" and "lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision." The letter and 37 pages of supporting documents were published in the Federal Register.
Instead of being scorched for her positions on marijuana and medical pot, Leonhart deserves to be commended for having the courage to stand up against a rising tide of pro-pot sentiment.
But now it appears to be payback time. A senior administration official tells CBS News Senior White House Correspondent Bill Plante that Michele will be stepping down soon. It’s obvious that she will be forced out of office for the misconduct of some DEA agents stationed in a foreign country.
The DEA misconduct came to light when the Justice Department investigated the 2012 conduct of President Obama’s advance Secret Service security detail. Prior to Obama’s arrival in Cartagena, Columbia, quite a few of the Secret Service agents cavorted around and partied with local prostitutes. The misconduct became public when Dania Suarez, one of the hookers, went to the police to complain that Arthur Huntington, one of the agents, had refused to pay her for her services.
Subsequent investigations of that Secret Service scandal forced Director Mark Sullivan to retire in 2013. The investigations also uncovered the DEA misconduct.
As for the DEA scandal, CBS DC reports:
Leonhart came under fire after an internal report said government money was used to pay prostitutes at a farewell party for a high-ranking DEA official in Colombia.
DEA agents also rented undercover apartments in Colombia and used them for parties with prostitutes, the DEA said in an internal report.
Excerpts of the report were released last week by the oversight panel, which is investigating questionable behavior highlighted in a March report by the Justice Department’s inspector general that examined sexual harassment and misconduct allegations from 2009 to 2012.
The Justice Department report recounts allegations that DEA agents attended sex parties with prostitutes, funded by local drug cartels, in a foreign county. The report does not identify the country where the alleged sex parties occurred, but the DEA report identified it as Colombia.
Leonhart was scorched earlier this month by a Congressional oversight committee because none of the scandalous agents had been fired. One would expect the Democrats to jump all over her, which they did, but so did the Republicans. When Leonhart said that federal civil service regulations made it hard to fire agents, that she could not intervene in any disciplinary process, and in some cases cannot even revoke an agent’s security clearance, the Republicans pounced.
Rep. Trey Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican, said it was “stunning” that no one had been fired and asked, “What would it take to get fired at the DEA?” Then he demanded to know,, “What the hell do you get to do?”
Rep. Mark Walker, aNorth Carolina Republican, charged that “From what we’ve heard, this reflects a ‘spring break frat party’ mentality for the last 15 years at the DEA.”
Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said Leonhart deserves much of the blame for a “cultural problem” at the DEA and concluded the hearing by saying, “You get called before this committee and say ‘Oh, it’s terrible, it’s awful.’ But you personally have been responsible for this for more than a decade and you didn’t do anything about it.”
Chaffetz told The Associated Press that Leonhart has ignored problems at the DEA for more than 10 years. “It’s time for her to go. I don’t have confidence in her, nor does the majority of the committee.”
Chaffetz, a Reagan convert to the Republican Party, has never spent one minute in a cop’s shoes. He has never faced the daily stress and occasional moments of sheer terror faced by law enforcement officers. Unlike the DEA agents in Columbia, Chaffetz, Gowdy, Walker and the other committee members have never been stationed thousands of miles away from home and family facing danger at every turn.
The ‘frat party’ culture they are complaining about is quite common throughout the law enforcement profession. Policing is still mostly a man’s job, and boys will be boys! The stress and occasional terror leads to a lot of drinking and debauchery. During my forty years of association with law enforcement – both as a cop and criminal justice professor – I have attended many parties which I will not describe so as not to embarrass myself and my fellow party goers. But that’s how many cops blow off steam.
The DEA agents stationed in Columbia and other far-away drug producing countries not only face danger on a daily basis, but they are also pretty well isolated from others. And when they’re working undercover, they are not going to play the roles of Boy Scouts.
As for the DEA misconduct, paying prostitutes with government money at a farewell party for a high-ranking officer is certainly not kosher. Renting undercover apartments for parties with prostitutes is not kosher either, unless those parties were part and parcel of an undercover operation. But attending sex parties that were paid for by the very people the agents are trying to bring down is strictly verboten. That should be a firing offense!
Even if the parties were part of a legitimate undercover operation, having sex with a drug cartel hooker could compromise a whole investigation. There’s always that inevitable pillow talk and there is no way of predicting what a drunken agent might tell his bedmate.
On April 10, in one of his last acts as Attorney General, Eric Holder issued the following warning to all Justice Department employees:
"The solicitation of prostitution threatens the core mission of the Department, not simply because it invites extortion, blackmail, and leaks of sensitive or classified information, but also because it undermines the Department's efforts to eradicate the scourge of human trafficking. I want to reiterate to all Department personnel, including attorneys and law enforcement officers, that they are prohibited from soliciting, procuring, or accepting commercial sex at all times, including while off duty or on personal leave."
Yeah, right Eric, lots of luck with that one. Let’s see now, you’ve been Attorney General for more than six years and it took you this long to learn that Justice Department employees have been cavorting with prostitutes.
There are about 5,000 agents in the DEA, with many of them stationed in the dangerous drug producing countries of Asia and Latin America. I do not for one second believe that Michele condones any misconduct within her agency. With 5,000 agents there is bound to be misconduct by some of them. And information about some misconduct never rises all the way to the top. So, should Michele be held accountable for the conduct of each and every member of the DEA? Not in my book!
The members of Congress who want Leonhart ousted are nothing more than political hacks who will cut your throat to get one more vote. I strongly suspect that whoever replaces Michele as DEA Administrator will be an Obama administration ass-kisser who is likely to please the pro-pot crowd and the liberals.
Although Leonhart has not submitted her resignation yet, it seems obvious that due to the unjust Congressional committee criticism, she will step down soon. The announcement of her resignation is merely being held up until President Obama and new Attorney General Loretta Lynch have decided on her successor.
So we say, fare thee well dear Michele! You have been both a foot-soldier and a commander in the war on drugs. You have done an outstanding job during your entire drug enforcement career. You can hold your head far higher than any of your shameless critics, both within and outside of the government. Those of us who are opposed to the liberalization and legalization of illicit drugs love you and will miss you.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
DEADLY NEVADA PRISON BRAWL STOKES MYSTERY ABOUT GUARDS, GUNS
By Ken Ritter
Associated Press
April 27, 2015
LAS VEGAS -- This much is certain: Two handcuffed inmates at one of Nevada's toughest prisons brawled in a hallway, and one ended up dead from several shotgun blasts. The other was declared guilty of murder, even though he never touched a gun.
Prison officials acknowledged the death in November with only a short statement, and for months they never mentioned that a weapon was involved or that it had been fired by a trainee guard. Since then, the mystery of the shooting near the showers in a segregation unit at High Desert State Prison has only deepened.
Now attorneys for both inmates are accusing prison guards of instigating the fight to set up a gladiator-style contest and then trying to cover it up by blaming the surviving prisoner.
Prison officials have been slow to release essential details, and they recently withdrew the murder allegation after disclosing the trainee's involvement.
The many lingering questions have drawn in elected officials, too, with the attorney general reviewing an investigation and the governor promising to help get to the bottom of the incident.
"The shooting itself is highly disturbing," Alexis Plunkett, attorney for the surviving inmate, Andrew Arevalo, told The Associated Press. "But it's really over the top that (prison officials) immediately filed a murder charge against Andrew, who was absolutely the victim in every possible way."
It all started Nov. 12 deep inside the largest of Nevada's 22 prison facilities, which houses about a quarter of the state's 12,700 inmates.
Arevalo, 24, and Carlos Manuel Perez Jr., 28, were both released into the hall and soon were on the floor, kicking at each other with their hands cuffed behind their backs.
A Nov. 13 report by the trainee guard describes how he warned the men to stop fighting, fired one blank, issued more warnings and then fired three live rounds down the hall. At that point, he said, he stopped to reload.
"They continued kicking each other even though they were bleeding," the guard wrote.
Perez died of gunshot wounds to the head, neck, chest and arms. Arevalo suffered similar wounds but survived.
Guards have a history of using gunfire to control the 4,200 inmates at the prison about 45 miles outside Las Vegas.
Records show guards fired 215 shots in a five-year span, including 60 rounds in 2011, the latest year for which figures are available. That was nearly twice the total of 124 shots fired by guards during the same period at all the state's other prisons combined.
The practice continues. State prisons chief Greg Cox reported that several inmates were injured by a guard firing a shotgun to break up a fight Tuesday at Ely State Prison, the state's maximum-security facility. Most injuries were minor, Cox said.
Attorney Cal Potter, representing Perez's family in the wrongful-death lawsuit, alleges the High Desert trainee, another guard and a supervising lieutenant created a "gladiator-like scenario" before the shooting. He says they released Arevalo and Perez together into the shower hallway, where prisoners are supposed to walk alone.
By the end of January, prison administrators held a hearing and declared Arevalo responsible for murder, assault and battery. He was sentenced to 18 months in the isolation cell known as "the hole," according to prison disciplinary forms provided to the AP. The prison administrative process is separate from criminal courts.
Last week, months after Arevalo was put in isolation, prison officials withdrew the murder and assault allegations after objections from his lawyer and repeated questions from the AP.
"A review of the entire incident will result in some of the charges being reduced," prison Warden Dwight Neven wrote in an April 17 memo to Arevalo's lawyer. It said the hearing officer's Jan. 26 disciplinary decision was based on "some evidence," including the trainee's report. The memo did not say whether — or what — other evidence was considered.
"New information regarding the facts surrounding the charges" led to the reversal, the corrections department said Thursday in a statement.
Prison records provided by Plunkett show Arevalo's term in isolation was reduced from 18 months to 120 days. The battery charge is still pending.
Plunkett said she believes her client was blamed for Perez's death in a botched effort by prison officials to cover up the killing. She maintains that Arevalo did not kill Perez and only fought to defend himself.
Prison officials "never intended to make this shooting public," Plunkett said. "Andrew never had a gun in his hands. He was handcuffed."
Prisons officials have said little, citing the ongoing investigation.
The first news release, issued on Nov. 13, reported only that Perez had died. The 78-word announcement made no mention of a shooting or of Arevalo.
Prison officials did not publicly disclose that Perez had been fatally shot by a guard until March 25 — more than four months after the slaying and three weeks after a coroner declared the death a homicide caused by gunshot wounds.
In a March 27 interview, Brian Connett, the state's deputy prisons chief, said evidence gathered by state police, the coroner and Las Vegas police crime-scene investigators had been turned over to Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt.
A Laxalt spokeswoman, Patty Cafferata, has said the matter is being reviewed.
The three guards have remained on paid leave. Neither the Nevada Department of Corrections nor the attorney general has made their names public.
While filing the federal lawsuit, Potter called for an investigation by Gov. Brian Sandoval, who sits with Laxalt on the three-member Board of State Prison Commissioners.
The governor told the AP on April 17 — the same day Arevalo's murder charge was withdrawn — that he planned to get more information from his state prisons chief.
"Of course I'm concerned with what's going on within the walls of the prison," Sandoval said, "and I intend to get more details to see exactly what is going on and what the explanation is."
Associated Press
April 27, 2015
LAS VEGAS -- This much is certain: Two handcuffed inmates at one of Nevada's toughest prisons brawled in a hallway, and one ended up dead from several shotgun blasts. The other was declared guilty of murder, even though he never touched a gun.
Prison officials acknowledged the death in November with only a short statement, and for months they never mentioned that a weapon was involved or that it had been fired by a trainee guard. Since then, the mystery of the shooting near the showers in a segregation unit at High Desert State Prison has only deepened.
Now attorneys for both inmates are accusing prison guards of instigating the fight to set up a gladiator-style contest and then trying to cover it up by blaming the surviving prisoner.
Prison officials have been slow to release essential details, and they recently withdrew the murder allegation after disclosing the trainee's involvement.
The many lingering questions have drawn in elected officials, too, with the attorney general reviewing an investigation and the governor promising to help get to the bottom of the incident.
"The shooting itself is highly disturbing," Alexis Plunkett, attorney for the surviving inmate, Andrew Arevalo, told The Associated Press. "But it's really over the top that (prison officials) immediately filed a murder charge against Andrew, who was absolutely the victim in every possible way."
It all started Nov. 12 deep inside the largest of Nevada's 22 prison facilities, which houses about a quarter of the state's 12,700 inmates.
Arevalo, 24, and Carlos Manuel Perez Jr., 28, were both released into the hall and soon were on the floor, kicking at each other with their hands cuffed behind their backs.
A Nov. 13 report by the trainee guard describes how he warned the men to stop fighting, fired one blank, issued more warnings and then fired three live rounds down the hall. At that point, he said, he stopped to reload.
"They continued kicking each other even though they were bleeding," the guard wrote.
Perez died of gunshot wounds to the head, neck, chest and arms. Arevalo suffered similar wounds but survived.
Guards have a history of using gunfire to control the 4,200 inmates at the prison about 45 miles outside Las Vegas.
Records show guards fired 215 shots in a five-year span, including 60 rounds in 2011, the latest year for which figures are available. That was nearly twice the total of 124 shots fired by guards during the same period at all the state's other prisons combined.
The practice continues. State prisons chief Greg Cox reported that several inmates were injured by a guard firing a shotgun to break up a fight Tuesday at Ely State Prison, the state's maximum-security facility. Most injuries were minor, Cox said.
Attorney Cal Potter, representing Perez's family in the wrongful-death lawsuit, alleges the High Desert trainee, another guard and a supervising lieutenant created a "gladiator-like scenario" before the shooting. He says they released Arevalo and Perez together into the shower hallway, where prisoners are supposed to walk alone.
By the end of January, prison administrators held a hearing and declared Arevalo responsible for murder, assault and battery. He was sentenced to 18 months in the isolation cell known as "the hole," according to prison disciplinary forms provided to the AP. The prison administrative process is separate from criminal courts.
Last week, months after Arevalo was put in isolation, prison officials withdrew the murder and assault allegations after objections from his lawyer and repeated questions from the AP.
"A review of the entire incident will result in some of the charges being reduced," prison Warden Dwight Neven wrote in an April 17 memo to Arevalo's lawyer. It said the hearing officer's Jan. 26 disciplinary decision was based on "some evidence," including the trainee's report. The memo did not say whether — or what — other evidence was considered.
"New information regarding the facts surrounding the charges" led to the reversal, the corrections department said Thursday in a statement.
Prison records provided by Plunkett show Arevalo's term in isolation was reduced from 18 months to 120 days. The battery charge is still pending.
Plunkett said she believes her client was blamed for Perez's death in a botched effort by prison officials to cover up the killing. She maintains that Arevalo did not kill Perez and only fought to defend himself.
Prison officials "never intended to make this shooting public," Plunkett said. "Andrew never had a gun in his hands. He was handcuffed."
Prisons officials have said little, citing the ongoing investigation.
The first news release, issued on Nov. 13, reported only that Perez had died. The 78-word announcement made no mention of a shooting or of Arevalo.
Prison officials did not publicly disclose that Perez had been fatally shot by a guard until March 25 — more than four months after the slaying and three weeks after a coroner declared the death a homicide caused by gunshot wounds.
In a March 27 interview, Brian Connett, the state's deputy prisons chief, said evidence gathered by state police, the coroner and Las Vegas police crime-scene investigators had been turned over to Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt.
A Laxalt spokeswoman, Patty Cafferata, has said the matter is being reviewed.
The three guards have remained on paid leave. Neither the Nevada Department of Corrections nor the attorney general has made their names public.
While filing the federal lawsuit, Potter called for an investigation by Gov. Brian Sandoval, who sits with Laxalt on the three-member Board of State Prison Commissioners.
The governor told the AP on April 17 — the same day Arevalo's murder charge was withdrawn — that he planned to get more information from his state prisons chief.
"Of course I'm concerned with what's going on within the walls of the prison," Sandoval said, "and I intend to get more details to see exactly what is going on and what the explanation is."
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
IS MORE AND BETTER POLICE TRAINING THE ANSWER?
What good is more and better police training when no one is training blacks to obey police orders?
Ever since the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri last August, there has been a steady stream of news about the use of excessive force by the police, usually by white cops against black men. Turn on the evening TV news and you’re likely to see a video clip of cops kicking the shit out of someone or shooting at a fleeing man.
The latest incidents include:
A South Carolina white cop shooting a fleeing black man in the back
A horse thief being repeatedly beaten and kicked by sheriff’s deputies in the desert od San Bernardino County, California as the horse kooks down at the melee, probably wondering what’s going on.
A73-year-old Tulsa, Oklahoma reserve officer shot a fleeing man in the back. He says he confused his firearm with his Taser and only meant to tase the man.
An Arizona cop drove his police car onto a sidewalk and ran down an armed robber carrying a high powered rifle.
Baltimore, Maryland cops arrested a man who died because his spine had been severed. His spine may have been severed between the time he was taken into custody and when he arrived at a hospital.
Academics and other armchair experts say the solution to the problem of excessive and deadly force is more police training and better training in people skills. What do these experts think the police have been doing since the Vietnam protests and the civil rights movement?
It’s true that when I became a Galveston cop in the late ‘40s there was no training in most police departments. I was told to buy a uniform and gun, given a badge, and ordered to walk a beat or patrol in a cop car. I learned my job from veteran officers, some of them good cops and some of them piss-poor. If someone came to the cop shop to complain about police brutality, they often had the shit beaten out of them as they were thrown out of the door.
By the time I became a California cop in the mid ‘50s, formal training had become quite common and police applicants were required to undergo psychological evaluations. Those evaluations may have weeded out some ass kickers, but I suspect they also eliminated some potentially good cops. And the police academies at that time did not put a lot of emphasis on good police-community relations.
All that changed with the Vietnam War protests and the civil rights movement. Since then police agencies have been emphasizing good police-community relations and better people skills in both their pre-service and in-service training programs. And many agencies have adopted the use of community-oriented policing in an effort to eliminate the minority community’s mistrust of the cops.
I have always maintained that policing is much more about dealing with people than it is about solving crimes and disputes, arresting crooks, proper use of firearms and restraining devices, etc. Dealing with people during a highly emotional and/or adversarial situation makes policing the hardest job in our society.
In 1829 the father of modern policing, Sir Robert Peel, put forth the principle that “No quality is more indispensable to a policeman than a perfect command of temper.” While there have been several shooting incidents where officers claimed to have confused their firearm with their stun gun, could that 73-year-old Tulsa reserve officer have lost his temper and deliberately drawn his pistol instead of his Taser? But there can be no doubt that horse in the desert was being entertained by some angry San Bernardino who had completely lost it.
Many incidents of excessive or deadly force by the police would not have happened had a cop not lost his temper, and that includes good cops as well as bad cops. The experts keep calling for more and better training, but how do you train someone not to losing temper in a highly charged situation? Anger management programs may work in domestic disputes, but will they work in police encounters?
There is another problem even the experts seem to overlook. What good is more and better police training when no one is training blacks to obey police orders? No one is training black men not to flee from or become combative during a police stop.
No amount of more and better training is going to keep cops from losing their tempers. No amount of training is going to prevent cops from fearing for their lives. Anger management programs may reduce the loss of temper, but will not prevent it. And all the police training available to cops will not change the behavior of black men.
There are more than 800,000 state and local “sworn” police officers with general arrest powers in the United States. I am not about to throw out that horseshit about 99 percent, 95 percent, or even 90 percent of all those officers being good cops. However, I do believe that 85 percent are good cops trying to do their best in a hard and thankless job.
Sunday, I watched CBS Face the Nation from my hospital bed. Host Bob Schieffer said that after a break he would be back with some personal thoughts about the police. Here is what he said.
Don’t Overlook The Good Cops
By Bob Schieffer
CBS Face the Nation
April 19, 2015
I have always said the great thing about being a reporter is the adventure, getting to talk to the people who make the news, seeing things with your own eyes that other people see only through eyes and lens of others.
And I have always said, the best training to be a reporter are or anything else is to work the police beat, because every story you cover is the worst moment in someone's life.
If you can learn to get the right information under those circumstances, you won't be fazed by the high and mighty and certainly not by on-the-make politicians and spin doctors, which is why I want to add a paragraph or two to the rash of stories lately about cops gone wrong.
This is not about them. This is about all the cops you don't read about. They deal much of the time with the dregs of our society, the schemers, murderers, those who prey on the weak. And most of the time, the police deal with them humanely and as they should.
What we overlook is just how difficult that can be sometimes. It's not easy to remain passive when a child beater looks you in the eye and tells you, you have to understand the kid was keeping him awake. It takes a lot of professional training and strong character not to respond in anger. I know, because I spent my early years listening to some of these awful people. Sometimes, I wanted to hit them myself.
I didn't. But it helped me understand how hard it is to do a cop's job right. As hard as it is, the great majority the cops still do just that.
Bob Schieffer, a native Texan, has been a member of the hated mainstream media since 1969, but I have always found him to be reasonable in his assessment of controversial issues. I think every good cop in this country should take the time to send Bob a thank you note for the fine commentary he made in their behalf. It’s a shame that few, if any, will do so!
Ever since the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri last August, there has been a steady stream of news about the use of excessive force by the police, usually by white cops against black men. Turn on the evening TV news and you’re likely to see a video clip of cops kicking the shit out of someone or shooting at a fleeing man.
The latest incidents include:
A South Carolina white cop shooting a fleeing black man in the back
A horse thief being repeatedly beaten and kicked by sheriff’s deputies in the desert od San Bernardino County, California as the horse kooks down at the melee, probably wondering what’s going on.
A73-year-old Tulsa, Oklahoma reserve officer shot a fleeing man in the back. He says he confused his firearm with his Taser and only meant to tase the man.
An Arizona cop drove his police car onto a sidewalk and ran down an armed robber carrying a high powered rifle.
Baltimore, Maryland cops arrested a man who died because his spine had been severed. His spine may have been severed between the time he was taken into custody and when he arrived at a hospital.
Academics and other armchair experts say the solution to the problem of excessive and deadly force is more police training and better training in people skills. What do these experts think the police have been doing since the Vietnam protests and the civil rights movement?
It’s true that when I became a Galveston cop in the late ‘40s there was no training in most police departments. I was told to buy a uniform and gun, given a badge, and ordered to walk a beat or patrol in a cop car. I learned my job from veteran officers, some of them good cops and some of them piss-poor. If someone came to the cop shop to complain about police brutality, they often had the shit beaten out of them as they were thrown out of the door.
By the time I became a California cop in the mid ‘50s, formal training had become quite common and police applicants were required to undergo psychological evaluations. Those evaluations may have weeded out some ass kickers, but I suspect they also eliminated some potentially good cops. And the police academies at that time did not put a lot of emphasis on good police-community relations.
All that changed with the Vietnam War protests and the civil rights movement. Since then police agencies have been emphasizing good police-community relations and better people skills in both their pre-service and in-service training programs. And many agencies have adopted the use of community-oriented policing in an effort to eliminate the minority community’s mistrust of the cops.
I have always maintained that policing is much more about dealing with people than it is about solving crimes and disputes, arresting crooks, proper use of firearms and restraining devices, etc. Dealing with people during a highly emotional and/or adversarial situation makes policing the hardest job in our society.
In 1829 the father of modern policing, Sir Robert Peel, put forth the principle that “No quality is more indispensable to a policeman than a perfect command of temper.” While there have been several shooting incidents where officers claimed to have confused their firearm with their stun gun, could that 73-year-old Tulsa reserve officer have lost his temper and deliberately drawn his pistol instead of his Taser? But there can be no doubt that horse in the desert was being entertained by some angry San Bernardino who had completely lost it.
Many incidents of excessive or deadly force by the police would not have happened had a cop not lost his temper, and that includes good cops as well as bad cops. The experts keep calling for more and better training, but how do you train someone not to losing temper in a highly charged situation? Anger management programs may work in domestic disputes, but will they work in police encounters?
There is another problem even the experts seem to overlook. What good is more and better police training when no one is training blacks to obey police orders? No one is training black men not to flee from or become combative during a police stop.
No amount of more and better training is going to keep cops from losing their tempers. No amount of training is going to prevent cops from fearing for their lives. Anger management programs may reduce the loss of temper, but will not prevent it. And all the police training available to cops will not change the behavior of black men.
There are more than 800,000 state and local “sworn” police officers with general arrest powers in the United States. I am not about to throw out that horseshit about 99 percent, 95 percent, or even 90 percent of all those officers being good cops. However, I do believe that 85 percent are good cops trying to do their best in a hard and thankless job.
Sunday, I watched CBS Face the Nation from my hospital bed. Host Bob Schieffer said that after a break he would be back with some personal thoughts about the police. Here is what he said.
Don’t Overlook The Good Cops
By Bob Schieffer
CBS Face the Nation
April 19, 2015
I have always said the great thing about being a reporter is the adventure, getting to talk to the people who make the news, seeing things with your own eyes that other people see only through eyes and lens of others.
And I have always said, the best training to be a reporter are or anything else is to work the police beat, because every story you cover is the worst moment in someone's life.
If you can learn to get the right information under those circumstances, you won't be fazed by the high and mighty and certainly not by on-the-make politicians and spin doctors, which is why I want to add a paragraph or two to the rash of stories lately about cops gone wrong.
This is not about them. This is about all the cops you don't read about. They deal much of the time with the dregs of our society, the schemers, murderers, those who prey on the weak. And most of the time, the police deal with them humanely and as they should.
What we overlook is just how difficult that can be sometimes. It's not easy to remain passive when a child beater looks you in the eye and tells you, you have to understand the kid was keeping him awake. It takes a lot of professional training and strong character not to respond in anger. I know, because I spent my early years listening to some of these awful people. Sometimes, I wanted to hit them myself.
I didn't. But it helped me understand how hard it is to do a cop's job right. As hard as it is, the great majority the cops still do just that.
Bob Schieffer, a native Texan, has been a member of the hated mainstream media since 1969, but I have always found him to be reasonable in his assessment of controversial issues. I think every good cop in this country should take the time to send Bob a thank you note for the fine commentary he made in their behalf. It’s a shame that few, if any, will do so!
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
CAPITAL LIFE: ALTERNATIVE TO THE DEATH PENALTY
A living-death of imprisonment for life in absolute isolation without any of the privileges afforded the general prison population and no possibility of parole
As most of you know, I am a diehard supporter and proponent of the death penalty. With support for the death penalty in decline, I hereby offer an alternative that should be acceptable to my fellow hardcore proponents of the ultimate punishment. It is a special category of a life in prison sentence.
I’ve coined my proposal for a special category of life imprisonment as Capital Life.
Capital Life would be Imprisonment for life in absolute isolation without any of the privileges afforded the general prison population and no possibility of parole. No visitors, no mail, no TV or radio, no special meals for Thanksgiving or Christmas, no one-hour exercise period outside the cell.
Of course I realize Capital Life would never come to pass. Civil libertarians will oppose Capital Life with the same fervor they oppose Capital Punishment. The courts would rule that Capital Life violates the Constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
I agree that it’s cruel and unusual punishment. So what! The murders Capital Lifers committed were also cruel and unusual punishment and their victims did not have the benefit of trial by jury. And I also realize that Capital Lifers would have a high rate of suicide. So what! Good riddance of the vermin!
Absolute isolation for life without possibility of parole is the only alternative to the death penalty that I would accept. Come to think of it, a Capital Life sentence of living-death would be a far better punishment than the death penalty.
As most of you know, I am a diehard supporter and proponent of the death penalty. With support for the death penalty in decline, I hereby offer an alternative that should be acceptable to my fellow hardcore proponents of the ultimate punishment. It is a special category of a life in prison sentence.
I’ve coined my proposal for a special category of life imprisonment as Capital Life.
Capital Life would be Imprisonment for life in absolute isolation without any of the privileges afforded the general prison population and no possibility of parole. No visitors, no mail, no TV or radio, no special meals for Thanksgiving or Christmas, no one-hour exercise period outside the cell.
Of course I realize Capital Life would never come to pass. Civil libertarians will oppose Capital Life with the same fervor they oppose Capital Punishment. The courts would rule that Capital Life violates the Constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
I agree that it’s cruel and unusual punishment. So what! The murders Capital Lifers committed were also cruel and unusual punishment and their victims did not have the benefit of trial by jury. And I also realize that Capital Lifers would have a high rate of suicide. So what! Good riddance of the vermin!
Absolute isolation for life without possibility of parole is the only alternative to the death penalty that I would accept. Come to think of it, a Capital Life sentence of living-death would be a far better punishment than the death penalty.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
HOUSTIN’S 2009 OFFICER OF THE YEAR NOW A LOS ZETAS COCAINE TRAFFICKER
Houston police officer Noe Juarez got busted by the Feds for trafficking cocaine since 2012 for the Los Zetas drug cartel
The Feds announced April 8 that Houston police officer Noe Juarez has been indicted for “conspiracy to distribute five kilos or more of cocaine” and “conspiracy to possess firearms in connection with a drug trafficking offense.” The indictment came out of New Orleans and Juarez was busted April 7 at Houston’s police headquarters. He has been relieved of duty with pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
Juarez was honored as Houston’s Officer of the Year for 2009. According to the Feds, he began dealing cocaine for Mexico’s notorious Los Zetas drug cartel in 2012.
Perhaps Houston should take another look at what they pay their cops. When an Officer of the Year moonlights by dealing cocaine, “Houston, we have a problem.”
The Feds announced April 8 that Houston police officer Noe Juarez has been indicted for “conspiracy to distribute five kilos or more of cocaine” and “conspiracy to possess firearms in connection with a drug trafficking offense.” The indictment came out of New Orleans and Juarez was busted April 7 at Houston’s police headquarters. He has been relieved of duty with pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
Juarez was honored as Houston’s Officer of the Year for 2009. According to the Feds, he began dealing cocaine for Mexico’s notorious Los Zetas drug cartel in 2012.
Perhaps Houston should take another look at what they pay their cops. When an Officer of the Year moonlights by dealing cocaine, “Houston, we have a problem.”
ROBERT KENNEDY JR. BACKS OFF ‘HOLOCAUST’ IN VACCINE DEBATE
By Judy Lin
Associated Press
April 14, 2015
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Robert Kennedy Jr. on Monday apologized for describing the number of children injured by vaccines as "a holocaust" during a film screening last week.
The nephew of President John F. Kennedy and son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy used the term last week at a screening in Sacramento of the film "Trace Amounts." The movie links autism to a vaccine preservative, even though the medical community says such claims have been scientifically disproved.
Kennedy said he was struggling for a way to convey the effects of autism on children and their families.
"I want to apologize to all whom I offended by my use of the word holocaust to describe the autism epidemic," Kennedy said in a statement. "I employed the term during an impromptu speech as I struggled to find an expression to convey the catastrophic tragedy of autism which has now destroyed the lives of over 20 million children and shattered their families."
He said he will use other words to describe the autism crisis in the future.
Kennedy opposes a California bill that would limit vaccination waivers for schoolchildren. It has generated such an acidic debate that some opponents have compared the proposal's author online to Adolf Hitler.
State Sen. Richard Pan, a Democratic pediatrician from Sacramento, said he was under added security in response to his bill. The proposal will be heard Wednesday in a Senate education committee.
Thursday marks Holocaust Remembrance Day.
"The word holocaust should never be used as a flippant throwaway line to make a point in a debate," said Assemblyman Marc Levine, vice chair of the Legislative Jewish Caucus, during a Holocaust remembrance event on Monday in the California Assembly.
EDITOR’S NOTE: As someone who lost both sets of grandparents to the Holocaust, I am sensitive to any trivializing of the word “Holocaust.” While the number of Autism victims is enormous and the disease is indeed catastrophic, there is no way that it can compare to the Holocaust where six million Jews were slaughtered systematically.
As for Kennedy, I do not think he meant to trivialize the Holocaust. His faux pax is just an example of someone putting his mouth in motion before putting his brain in gear. Apology accepted.
Associated Press
April 14, 2015
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Robert Kennedy Jr. on Monday apologized for describing the number of children injured by vaccines as "a holocaust" during a film screening last week.
The nephew of President John F. Kennedy and son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy used the term last week at a screening in Sacramento of the film "Trace Amounts." The movie links autism to a vaccine preservative, even though the medical community says such claims have been scientifically disproved.
Kennedy said he was struggling for a way to convey the effects of autism on children and their families.
"I want to apologize to all whom I offended by my use of the word holocaust to describe the autism epidemic," Kennedy said in a statement. "I employed the term during an impromptu speech as I struggled to find an expression to convey the catastrophic tragedy of autism which has now destroyed the lives of over 20 million children and shattered their families."
He said he will use other words to describe the autism crisis in the future.
Kennedy opposes a California bill that would limit vaccination waivers for schoolchildren. It has generated such an acidic debate that some opponents have compared the proposal's author online to Adolf Hitler.
State Sen. Richard Pan, a Democratic pediatrician from Sacramento, said he was under added security in response to his bill. The proposal will be heard Wednesday in a Senate education committee.
Thursday marks Holocaust Remembrance Day.
"The word holocaust should never be used as a flippant throwaway line to make a point in a debate," said Assemblyman Marc Levine, vice chair of the Legislative Jewish Caucus, during a Holocaust remembrance event on Monday in the California Assembly.
EDITOR’S NOTE: As someone who lost both sets of grandparents to the Holocaust, I am sensitive to any trivializing of the word “Holocaust.” While the number of Autism victims is enormous and the disease is indeed catastrophic, there is no way that it can compare to the Holocaust where six million Jews were slaughtered systematically.
As for Kennedy, I do not think he meant to trivialize the Holocaust. His faux pax is just an example of someone putting his mouth in motion before putting his brain in gear. Apology accepted.
DOING COMMUNITY SERVICE
The Unconventional Gazette
April 14, 2015
One day a Washington, D.C. florist went to a neighboring barber for a haircut. After the cut, he asked about his bill, and the barber replied, 'I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week.' The florist was pleased and left the shop. When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.
Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week.' The cop was happy and left the shop. The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.
Then a Congressman came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week.' The Congressman was very happy and left the shop. The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were a dozen Congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut.
April 14, 2015
One day a Washington, D.C. florist went to a neighboring barber for a haircut. After the cut, he asked about his bill, and the barber replied, 'I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week.' The florist was pleased and left the shop. When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.
Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week.' The cop was happy and left the shop. The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.
Then a Congressman came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week.' The Congressman was very happy and left the shop. The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were a dozen Congressmen lined up waiting for a free haircut.
Monday, April 13, 2015
REMOVE LETOURNEAU FROM SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY
Mary Kay Letourneau still has to register as a sex offender because she had sex with a 13-year old student; even though she served 7-1/2 years in prison, bore him two daughters, and has been married to him for 10 years
In 1996, Mary Kay Letourneau, a 34-year-old married Seattle teacher and mother of four, got busted for having sex with a 13-year old student. She was put on probation and ordered not to have any contact the boy, Vili Fualaau. She was sent to prison after getting caught with him again. She gave birth to their love-child while in prison. She served 7-1/2 years. Mary Kay, now 53, and Vili, now 31, have been married for 10 years and are the parents of two teen-age daughters. Alas, Mary Kay is still required to register as a sex offender.
The story of Letourneau’s affair with Vili Fualaau was sensationalized by the media in a frenzy not often seen. That was in 1996, this is now. Hardly a day goes by now without some female teacher getting busted somewhere for having sex with one or more of her students. Most of these teachers, like Mary Kay, are married with children. Unlike with Mary Kay, their ‘victims’ are not 13, but rather 15-17. The teacher-student sex affairs are so frequent that in most cases they receive only local news coverage.
Friday night I watched an ABC-TV Barbara Walters special. During the hour-long program, Walters not only interviewed Mary Kay Letourneau Fualaau and her husband Vili Fualaau, but she was also able to talk to their daughters. On their 10th anniversary, the couple appear to happily married and their teen-age daughters appear to be happy and well adjusted. Given all that, why in the hell is Mary Kay still required to register as a sex offender?
The sex offender registration laws are primarily designed to protect children from sexual predators and women from rapists. Weenie wavers are also included. So are boys who get caught diddling underage girls. I cannot understand why in the world a man would have to be placed on a sex offender registry because he had a consensual sexual relationship with his underage sweetheart when he was 16. What threat does he pose to anyone?
Mary Kay has been punished with a prison term for her misdeed. She has been married to her victim for 10 years and they have been raising two well-adjusted teenagers. Under these circumstances, if there is any logical reason for her to have to register as a sex offender, I’ll eat my beloved John Deere cap.
Mary Kay plans to apply for removal from the sex offender registration list. While I strongly disapprove of her affair with a 13-year-old boy, considering that she was punished with a prison term and has now been happily married for 10 years, I firmly believe that justice demands she be removed from the sex offender registry.
In 1996, Mary Kay Letourneau, a 34-year-old married Seattle teacher and mother of four, got busted for having sex with a 13-year old student. She was put on probation and ordered not to have any contact the boy, Vili Fualaau. She was sent to prison after getting caught with him again. She gave birth to their love-child while in prison. She served 7-1/2 years. Mary Kay, now 53, and Vili, now 31, have been married for 10 years and are the parents of two teen-age daughters. Alas, Mary Kay is still required to register as a sex offender.
The story of Letourneau’s affair with Vili Fualaau was sensationalized by the media in a frenzy not often seen. That was in 1996, this is now. Hardly a day goes by now without some female teacher getting busted somewhere for having sex with one or more of her students. Most of these teachers, like Mary Kay, are married with children. Unlike with Mary Kay, their ‘victims’ are not 13, but rather 15-17. The teacher-student sex affairs are so frequent that in most cases they receive only local news coverage.
Friday night I watched an ABC-TV Barbara Walters special. During the hour-long program, Walters not only interviewed Mary Kay Letourneau Fualaau and her husband Vili Fualaau, but she was also able to talk to their daughters. On their 10th anniversary, the couple appear to happily married and their teen-age daughters appear to be happy and well adjusted. Given all that, why in the hell is Mary Kay still required to register as a sex offender?
The sex offender registration laws are primarily designed to protect children from sexual predators and women from rapists. Weenie wavers are also included. So are boys who get caught diddling underage girls. I cannot understand why in the world a man would have to be placed on a sex offender registry because he had a consensual sexual relationship with his underage sweetheart when he was 16. What threat does he pose to anyone?
Mary Kay has been punished with a prison term for her misdeed. She has been married to her victim for 10 years and they have been raising two well-adjusted teenagers. Under these circumstances, if there is any logical reason for her to have to register as a sex offender, I’ll eat my beloved John Deere cap.
Mary Kay plans to apply for removal from the sex offender registration list. While I strongly disapprove of her affair with a 13-year-old boy, considering that she was punished with a prison term and has now been happily married for 10 years, I firmly believe that justice demands she be removed from the sex offender registry.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
EXCLUSIVE: WALTER SCOTT ATTACKED OFFICER SLAGER
A new look at the cellphone camera video clearly shows Officer Slager being attacked by Walter Scott
By Ima Schmuck
The Unconventional Gazette
April 12, 2015
In an exclusive interview, NY police officer Sean Murphy declared that North Charleston, S.C. police officer Mike Slager did not murder Walter Scott.
Murphy, executive director of Peace Officers Are Right (POAR) said a new look at the cellphone camera video clearly shows Officer Slager being attacked by Walter Scott.
“When you run that video tape backwards,” Murphy said, “it clearly shows Scott charging at Slager as the officer fired his weapon in an obvious act of self-defense.”
Murphy condemned the authorities and the public for rushing to judgement upon viewing the video tape being run only in one direction. “When you reverse that tape,” he said, “you get an entirely different perspective.”
He also blasted the media for doing its “usual hatchet job” on the police and criticized Fox News for being “just like the rest of them” in crucifying Officer Slager.
POAR is a nationwide organization of rank-and-file cops. Murphy claims that more than 70,000 cops are members of POAR. “Our members demand that murder charges against Office Slager be dropped immediately,” he said.
Concerning the video tape, Murphy said “It all depends on how you look at it, and we see the shooting of Mr. Scott as a justifiable act of self-defense. When you see somebody running backwards straight at you as fast as Mr. Scott did, that will scare the shit out of anyone.”
By Ima Schmuck
The Unconventional Gazette
April 12, 2015
In an exclusive interview, NY police officer Sean Murphy declared that North Charleston, S.C. police officer Mike Slager did not murder Walter Scott.
Murphy, executive director of Peace Officers Are Right (POAR) said a new look at the cellphone camera video clearly shows Officer Slager being attacked by Walter Scott.
“When you run that video tape backwards,” Murphy said, “it clearly shows Scott charging at Slager as the officer fired his weapon in an obvious act of self-defense.”
Murphy condemned the authorities and the public for rushing to judgement upon viewing the video tape being run only in one direction. “When you reverse that tape,” he said, “you get an entirely different perspective.”
He also blasted the media for doing its “usual hatchet job” on the police and criticized Fox News for being “just like the rest of them” in crucifying Officer Slager.
POAR is a nationwide organization of rank-and-file cops. Murphy claims that more than 70,000 cops are members of POAR. “Our members demand that murder charges against Office Slager be dropped immediately,” he said.
Concerning the video tape, Murphy said “It all depends on how you look at it, and we see the shooting of Mr. Scott as a justifiable act of self-defense. When you see somebody running backwards straight at you as fast as Mr. Scott did, that will scare the shit out of anyone.”
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