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Source: Crime and Justice News -- November 26, 2008

By David Badertscher, PLL

<p>Source: Crime and Justice News -- November 26, 2008</p> <p>" </p><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="600" border="0"><tbody><tr><td><font color="#000000" size="2"> <div>-- Attorney General Choice Eric Holder's "Unlikely Array of Critics"</div> <div>-- FL Leads Nation In Linking Felons' DNA To Crime-Scene Evidence</div> <div>-- Advocates Seek Funding For Federal Second Chance Act</div> <div>-- L.A. County Official Vows Fewer Mental Health Referrals To Cops</div> <div>-- Training On Handling Mentally Ill Cuts MN Jail Use-Of-Force Cases</div> <div>-- PERF's Timoney Urges Action On Disenfranchisement, Crack</div> <div>-- Verdict Seems Near In "Cyber-Bullying" Trial</div> <div>-- "Safe Surrenders" Overwhelm Authorities In Camden NJ</div> <div>-- Black-On-Black Violence "Everybody's Problem"--Columnist</div> <div>-- After Mall Death, Writer Says Gang Violence "Puts Us All At Risk"</div> <div>-- Judge Frees LA Convict Awaiting Prison Guard Murder Retrial</div> <div>-- GPS Data Evidence Can Be Important; Privacy Fears Cited</div></font></td></tr><tr><td><font color="#000000" size="2"><br/><font color="#000000" size="2">Attorney General Choice Eric Holder's "Unlikely Array of Critics" <div>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div></font>Expected Attorney General nominee Eric Holder already has an 'unlikely array of critics from the left and the right,' says Law.com's Legal Blog Watch. The Republican Liberty Caucus says: 'For years, Eric Holder has worked to degrade our civil liberties and weaken the Constitution and the values on which our nation was founded.' TalkLeft objects to Holder's efforts while U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., 'to raise marijuana penalties and restore mandatory minimum penalties for drug crimes.' NORML Blog cites Holder's 'long history of opposing drug policy reforms, perceiving cannabis smoking by adults as a public nuisance worthy of constant harassment, promoting violent governmental intervention into the private lives of citizens who consume cannabis.' <p>The blog Wizbang Blue accuses Holder of 'pandering to religious right organizations' on separation of church and state. Trial lawyer Gerry Spence says that when a lawyer works long enough for big corporations, as Holder did, 'the human psyche begins to dry up and one day will fall out on the carpet of the boardroom floor [] like a dried up old prune.' Despite all of this, Holder's prospects for confirmation are good. </p><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001tBY9zCsYo_WSpfOYyKv0fLOZXgHWW8xODBT1R4cLLoHcnj89OWuIOLOxt9cxDOX-LaEgByuNDw6zo0PF2mzbzaRIvqo4WEGHrJ4twBra5ouktQZjQcNYxxOhY7UWhPkAtcm7Vvjsny3Nc0DfJyDJBd3QCNMGmeih7uIwJcylTP20Uv7qUp8ZDp_6tnFJuN3TRkF_nmMABmmkiBVfVfaPj8gzFMSDBEByaiJ7GmGQuJSxBiAIRqKE7Ze4wX6iS65A7P8jw66DD1VuyMn2RwA0rle1NvgjmDUduF3CrtV-PBaVHpRnw8vhBXEcpSKaD7Wn8Jla_egeUrH-P9ky1qKdyg==" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank">Law. com</a> </font></td></tr><tr><td><font color="#000000" size="2"><br/><font color="#000000" size="2">FL Leads Nation In Linking Felons' DNA To Crime-Scene Evidence <div>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div></font>After someone broke into a Lake County, Fl., real- estate office and stole two computers last year, investigators found the burglar's calling card: a bloodstain, reports the Orlando Sentinel. A sample was entered into the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's DNA database. The database, the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, came back with a match: Stacy Freeman, who was in jail on unrelated burglary charges. "It was pretty much CODIS that gave us the ability to arrest him on those charges," Lake County Detective Billy Walls said. <p>Florida's CODIS has linked more felons' DNA samples to crime-scene evidence than any other comparable database in the nation, FBI statistics say. Of eight Florida regional labs, Orlando's is the busiest, making 453 hits in the past fiscal year. High- profile rapes and murders that grab headlines when they're solved by CODIS make up only a small percentage of the hits. From July 2007 through June 2008, 52 percent of the system's 2,328 hits linked felons' DNA to burglary scenes. Nineteen percent linked felons to sexual assaults, and 5 percent linked them to murders. Database officials say connecting felons to unsolved burglaries is important. Solving burglaries doesn't just prevent future thefts; it prevents more serious crimes. 'When we were trying to expand the database, when we were looking at the sexual- assault and murder hits, 60 percent of the guys had prior burglary convictions," said Chris Carney, the state DNA database supervisor. "It's kind of like the gateway crime -- if you're going to break into someone's house, you're just as likely to kill them.' </p><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001tBY9zCsYo_VtxZ78xTXTdXmwIqAkzSliMynjVumI2YKOZyyOuwUFVP2qzQrM9pPQwbHGX8r6dQupwGssqGLymmsT-PCV2l3_zqf-P4uedQJHq7DHiVTncI9rxZaqpdoRZegL9JcnAXYNXrnsCdwoNpQrrsmc6Lq5uqEuF90PTIwI-UvI-cJ_w5njj5c-48ePY3ZJqdoLiNU=" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank">Orlando Sentinel</a> </font></td></tr><tr><td><font color="#000000" size="2"><br/><font color="#000000" size="2">Advocates Seek Funding For Federal Second Chance Act <div>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div></font>With correctional facilities teeming with repeat offenders, state and local officials hope the federal Second Chance Act will be a priority under the Obama administration, reports Stateline.org. The law authorizes $165 million in annual grants to states, localities, nonprofits, and religious groups to build programs that help current and ex-offenders find jobs and housing, overcome drug and alcohol addictions, receive mentoring, and return to society as law- abiding residents. When he signed the bill, President Bush called it a sign of support for the 700,000 released from prison each year. More than two thirds of ex-inmates are rearrested for serious crimes within three years. <p>Congress has not funded the law. State and local lawmakers, corrections officials, advocacy groups and others are pushing Congress and Obama to provide funding. 'States are very anxious for the Second Chance dollars because of how high a priority reentry and recidivism is,' said Jessica Nickel of the Justice Center of the Council of State Governments. She said the nation's economic slide - which has battered state budgets and threatens funding for anti- recidivism initiatives - "makes the need for these dollars a little more pressing." Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden backed the Second Chance Act as senators. Not everyone favors it. 'This bill would provide more benefits to felons than are available to those risking their lives in the service of the United States military,' U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) said in debate on the measure. </p><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001tBY9zCsYo_U32J6_wjQpXV5Fz7nnesD3JxpjPXxs7oPj0mvTFp7gJjQ_oxmh8MsiXF6NT7MxoacQy9RGV-XmWy_m_hOJ_UuE8GqNHTmQHVhXs9Y2Nordl9HsRnJ1JyWYWImdSoRGNMVfDpXQrGjadwiHVOL8UEwr6uVD2vms20o=" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank">Stateline.org</a> </font></td></tr><tr><td><font color="#000000" size="2"><br/><font color="#000000" size="2">L.A. County Official Vows Fewer Mental Health Referrals To Cops <div>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div></font>Los Angeles County's chief mental health official is working to reduce the number of emergency calls his staff forwards to police, a practice that has grown over the last year as fewer hospital beds have been available to treat such patients, reports the Los Angeles Times. Hospitals are required by law to take emergency mental health patients transported by police. If a county mental health worker brings people in for treatment, facilities are not compelled to accept them. <p>There are 2,562 beds available for mental health patients in Los Angeles County, and only about 200 of them were at county hospitals, which are required to admit poor and uninsured patients. Mental health staff responded to 10,003 calls this year. The increased police response to mental health emergencies was first reported in the Los Angeles Daily Journal. Critics of the current emergency response system for the mentally ill, including law enforcement officers, said county supervisors should demand a more immediate fix. </p><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001tBY9zCsYo_UGbbyy9mSe1qeKM6PC7MTtksXnrBLEdhWOaWClgDpQoFuoGtqcs-ASWCOeOB_gdIozRXmo2KEWkP29rA7pdKdvbHTJ_cCLYPCVtGsgjSPPQ_gVS1to_TWxUZ6dilInbnjkeRfWVx4onznL-00N8CG-teYXMiCTrSfW4lKZoE9VkOtY8X7SvhFa" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank">Los Angeles Times</a> </font></td></tr><tr><td><font color="#000000" size="2"><br/><font color="#000000" size="2">Training On Handling Mentally Ill Cuts MN Jail Use-Of-Force Cases <div>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div></font>Last week, a sobbing, suicidal inmate barricaded herself in a Minneapolis jail cell and refused to come out. Another inmate did likewise in another cell; she requested medical care as she showered jail officers with the kind of crude and sexually tinged language that would make even a street pimp blush. Four floors below, a clearly agitated inmate named "Michael'' held a physician hostage in a locked room. 'I'm not going to hurt him. I just need new medication,'' the hostage taker bellowed to a sweaty-palmed-but-composed jail negotiator on the other side of the locked door. <p>Luckily, this was all theater, says St. Paul Pioneer Press columnist Ruben Rosario. The inmates were actors playing roles in a four-day crisis-intervention team training session put on by the Barbara Schneider Foundation. The Twin Cities-based nonprofit is named after a mentally ill woman fatally shot by police during a standoff in 2000. In recent decades, jails and prisons have become the largest psychiatric hospitals and the repositories of last resort for mentally ill offenders. The response in places like Minnesota such offenders can raise has been: Raise awareness. Change the mind-set. Cut through the entrenched cultural stigma about the mentally ill without sacrificing officer safety. Embrace de- escalation techniques while toning down the traditional law-and-order use-of-force continuum. Hennepin County Sheriff's Lt. Randy Carroll says use- of-force incidents - in which officers physically subdue or restrain inmates - have plunged 40 percent in the county jail in the two years since the training was introduced. </p><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001tBY9zCsYo_W5AFY6DlHrY9KkrDm5iIlPH4Q8vkM6_Ze2T5gIg7bmuQypQ8RsEjAEDZlsWe6el0KKs7MtFV0MdrBOVyj1nVoG20YJR1BVo-HNxW48V1jAgmCuT_BC-c_2O2M_Pj_Scviq3qcaRbwV3PfcYiCwUc58D0LYoE8-KymtS_aHxfl-rbw20fnZ9vM-mEcL9zI8qh4=" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank">St. Paul Pioneer Press</a> </font></td></tr><tr><td><font color="#000000" size="2"><br/><font color="#000000" size="2">PERF's Timoney Urges Action On Disenfranchisement, Crack <div>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div></font>The administration of President-elect Barack Obama should give 'serious attention' to the issues of disenfranchisement of felons and sentencing disparities for crack and powder cocaine, says Miami Police Chief John Timoney, president of the Police Executive Research Forum. Timoney write in the PERF newsletter that former prisoners 'should be restored to full citizenship as much as possible.' Timoney says we should not "give criminals an excuse for not reforming themselves because they are bitter about having had one of their most important rights-the right to vote-taken away." <p>The cocaine sentencing issue, says Timoney, 'undermines trust in the criminal justice system and [] has strong racial effects that are unhealthy to our society.' He notes that the U.S. Sentencing Commission has urged Congress to reduce the 100-to-1 crack-powder sentencing-law disparity. The commission, says Timoney, is 'not a bunch of bleeding-heart liberals.' Noting that 82 percent of crack cocaine defendants in 2006 were African-American, the law "creates a perception of intentional racism in the justice system.' </p><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001tBY9zCsYo_W6xU1xFv4QXsP2n7qyjztJc1g2RvGa8r29zc7oRoZ6OG-xI2OOT5bSVbJxv4V1vKariVU00J04fOkjjCVI1IxKnW8F_oYjJ8wIfzDzIFEdCFjhbiWV7tewgrfoK5_dI7M8tYkL9QbYJU0uT65czTGsU9AADWGQq9exGC4KbOjrPw==" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank">Police Executive Research Forum</a> </font></td></tr><tr><td><font color="#000000" size="2"><br/><font color="#000000" size="2">Verdict Seems Near In "Cyber-Bullying" Trial <div>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div></font>A verdict seems near in the unusual 'cyber-bullying' trial playing out in Los Angelles. Jurors said yesterday they had resolved three counts, and were ordered by U.S. District Judge George Wu to resume deliberating today on the fourth, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Lori Drew, 49, of O'Fallon, Mo., faces four felony charges involving illegally accessing MySpace's protected computers. <p>Prosecutors said Drew and two others created a fake account on MySpace, pretending to be an attractive 16- year-old boy named Josh Evans. They planned to find out what Megan Meier, a 13-year-old neighbor of the Drews, had been saying about Drew's daughter. Prosecutors said the trio decided to use Megan's conversations to humiliate her. On Oct. 16, 2006, the online conversations turned into a name-calling brawl. Megan was left in tears and hanged herself shortly after receiving this message: "The world would be a better place without you." </p><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001tBY9zCsYo_WwV7hKkVhT0n4BZDmZVJtgMKasQINVQV08dYKeDNF8DrFI8hfsMLUrT0z2aaTIFUJm5PPg3G093UsLuM1n8XzduatnfNL70gA3MNxOcQfOmTXlO22H6AUlECJcZDYYpQjmxORkGDkHpnCjxO02Wxhrkg9mxo4Tx6FCAAK_cMUop0f2KvSf86dEDAoHD7VFuRD2VeCQetgNwJNA14PN2lm51UKS37oCOUjiXW7CkflEqA==" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank">St. Louis Post-Dispatch</a> </font></td></tr><tr><td><font color="#000000" size="2"><br/><font color="#000000" size="2">"Safe Surrenders" Overwhelm Authorities In Camden NJ <div>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div></font>Almost 4,000 people - more than authorities could process - turned themselves in during last week's Fugitive Safe Surrender in Camden, N.J., reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. During the four days of the program, law enforcement agencies processed 2,245 people. In addition, 1,563 people were given vouchers and asked to appear at court dates next month because there was not enough time for authorities to hear their cases. 'We were overwhelmed,' U.S. Marshal James Plousis said. The turnout was nearly triple what some agencies had expected and was the second-largest in the program's history. <p>Camden is the 12th city to host a surrender program, aimed at giving nonviolent offenders a chance to confront unresolved legal issues. Only Detroit has had a bigger turnout. There were 8,000 to 10,000 outstanding warrants in Camden County before the program began. When all of those who surrendered are processed, authorities estimate that more than 6,000 of the warrants will have been cleared. Camden was the nation's number two ranked crime city in the annual City Crime Rankings issued this week by CQ Press. </p><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001tBY9zCsYo_VerFbyEEasCmKsw9LXN647Iks0EA-f25X23ioDe4ve8FIOqRPzZgdB6sonXhBOFj8N00zYmwzAFKC_Dby3rm3vlhqpj4l7eOAGvoQpB7ODWEeJ35itLYGYCh6JAmqCvdzRbEqDTnAFUHYJEkSCgn7C5tEeKx9NAPInBfpAVKyvgRdqihTF64ZZQEF3-X8XwCU=" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank">Philadelphia Inquirer</a> </font></td></tr><tr><td><font color="#000000" size="2"><br/><font color="#000000" size="2">Black-On-Black Violence "Everybody's Problem"--Columnist <div>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div></font>When a mother is accused of giving her son a handgun to settle a neighborhood confrontation with other teenagers, that is considered "ghetto" behavior, particularly when you think about how many mothers have lost their sons to gunfire in Milwaukee, says Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Eugene Kane, who is black. Kane also cites a fight during the funeral for a 13-month-old boy allegedly killed by his foster mother. The boy's father was injured during the melee, which took the focus off the dead child and turned it on some pretty inappropriate behavior during a time of mourning. <p>Many local 'tragic stories,' Kane says, 'end up defining each and every black person in Milwaukee, regardless whether most are hardworking, law- abiding, churchgoing people who can't be described as ghetto at all." "Where is the outrage in the black community?!' asked readers, wanted to know why more black leaders didn't show up beside Mayor Tom Barrett and Police Chief Edward Flynn in a news conference about the mother who gave her son a gun to settle a personal score. Some people 'use any incident of violence in the black community as fodder for their harsh appraisal of black leaders, black youth and black people in general,' says Kane. When authority figures with real power like Barrett and Flynn speak out, that helps send the message it's everybody's problem, he concludes. </p><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001tBY9zCsYo_WK6lcneoeSkLSoaOZbpYvNYQJB5qcB3DWhB3ilh7lMW8WPAFNbImJAr1lBIHflnC3K4cchhxH96P8-bB1fZdFHfT-Tk1ny1nUdOVqH6P88wFNL1IGttAQTwxUPC6UhVv6tqMhOif2ubTNeIiABwNoN" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank">Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</a> </font></td></tr><tr><td><font color="#000000" size="2"><br/><font color="#000000" size="2">After Mall Death, Writer Says Gang Violence "Puts Us All At Risk" <div>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div></font>Much of what is deplorable about the fatal shooting at a Seattle-area mall over the weekend is summed up in the words of one woman, says Seattle Post- Intelligencer columnist Robert L. Jamieson Jr. She rushed to a hospital after two 16-year-olds were struck down by bullets in a gangland dispute that had shoppers scurrying. The woman, who was close to one of the teens, told a TV reporter: 'Red. Blue. Crips and Bloods. They did what they had to do. But I am letting you guys know, it's not over. When a family member gets hurt and they start bringing the gang members in, it's on.' <p>Jamieson says her 'chilling words are a wake-up gong for everyone, starting with Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, who, until recently, snoozed through a string of fatal shootings involving teens and gangs in the city.' They should prompt Gov. Chris Gregoire to fix flawed gang legislation she signed this year that is long on punishing youths in gangs and "criminally short" on prevention and means to address the roots of the violence -- broken families, broken schools, broken souls. Jamieson cites 'a multigenerational attitude in which adults seemingly condone retribution -- you put one of us in the hospital, we put one of yours in the funeral home -- to handle disputes. If adults think that way, what hope is there for impressionable youths?' He adds, 'The blind pursuit of street justice -- cycles of revenge followed by counterrevenge -- puts us all at risk.' </p><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001tBY9zCsYo_VosA4EcdRlFiKNyjIF5nawbXLUru4Q43N9MvWD_Uzti88br-dsvxbqJCXa91LiPN0trRrNnJREzd7THS9xjeWWKoYNUvW-VMsXW_C8B6j0AmG-XUBjyHWxuWIS7FnVR0BJdjdBLXIi2cUgfY0aovCp" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank">Seattle Post-Intelligencer</a> </font></td></tr><tr><td><font color="#000000" size="2"><br/><font color="#000000" size="2">Judge Frees LA Convict Awaiting Prison Guard Murder Retrial <div>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div></font>A federal judge ordered Louisiana to release one of the "Angola 3" inmates, freeing Albert Woodfox from a maximum security cell for the first time in 37 years, reports the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Woodfox, 61, awaits a third trial for the 1972 murder of a state prison guard during a tumultuous time when Woodfox and others were organizing as Black Panthers to end inmate-gang rapes and other violence. The case was featured in a recent series on National Public Radio. <p>U.S. District Court Judge James Brady said Woodfox has the right to freedom while awaiting the state's appeal. Brady had overturned Woodfox's conviction for Miller's murder and ordered the state to either retry or release Woodfox within 120 days. Prison Warden Burl Cain said Woodfox is a danger to the community 'because he is not a rehabilitated prisoner. He will be a predator when the opportunity comes his way." "I still know that he is still trying to practice Black Pantherism, and I still would not want him walking around my prison because he would organize the young new inmates,' Cain said. </p><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001tBY9zCsYo_UVGBwinsMX_wCEBCuS6hlnYPpd5BSohcexj3bb4CeRVtDlrPB-EcKE62UeKU3whFwxF-QnKUkMbcteBdYZmg4xEpkcJTLi8dTMj0XLn4pjmbVFSrioQ5JHo1IOds2sz3nSWdivmC-xpJW1QC9N7kx5m0Afq7nHXaCS9rDNoFO3FVU0aZ8B3v5f" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank">New Orleans Times-Picayune</a> </font></td></tr><tr><td><font color="#000000" size="2"><br/><font color="#000000" size="2">GPS Data Evidence Can Be Important; Privacy Fears Cited <div>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div></font>Global positioning systems and factory- installed 'black box' event data recorders effectively keep recently-manufactured vehicles under 24/7 surveillance, providing evidence that can place a suspect at a crime scene, undermine an alibi, expose a cheating spouse, or prove liability in an accident, says the Los Angeles Times. Although privacy rights advocates warn that the devices augment an intrusive network of security cameras, speed-monitoring radars and instantly available databases, police and prosecutors hail them as powerful investigative and forensic tools. <p>A man suspected of robbery was tracked by Los Angeles Sheriff's detectives who planted a GPS unit in his car, mapping his movements and using the evidence to convince a jury he was guilty of assault with a deadly weapon. In murder cases in Illinois, Washington, and California, including the trial of Scott Peterson for killing his wife and unborn son, the technology has been credited with helping establish guilt. Advocates of the new investigative tools say the evidence cuts both ways. In a recent trial, an 18-year- old driver was acquitted of speeding charges after data retrieved from his car's GPS unit refuted police contentions. As with DNA evidence, lawyers must rely on expert witnesses to interpret for a jury the data provided by GPS or automotive black boxes. </p><a href="http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001tBY9zCsYo_UgAD2-ULPaApFB4-JKnJ6OHIsqXbeLe63hHz5bXoAzmETt195r2Jn4k7tWGQ4JL1g8WuCpDX1ootGVk7JEBYJCHKQkFaGz8ULgmMEERlSDx0jFStCehJNtSlLZG27oabqQh5fOZH-ZiJ0kUieD8v1KBVqfcQFy8-C12xssfiD-zzBypgdI1SW5" shape="rect" color="#0000FF" target="_blank">Los Angeles Times</a> "</font></td></tr></tbody></table>

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on December 01, 2008 (boomark / email).