U.S. News
Panel blasts Hastert in Foley scandal
LARRY MARGASAK
08 Dec 2006 6:43 pm
Former Rep. Mark Foley was described as a "ticking time bomb" for his sexual come-ons to male pages, but Republican lawmakers and aides for a decade failed to protect the teenagers vulnerable to his advances, the House ethics committee concluded Friday. Despite that finding, the panel said no rules had been broken and no one should be punished.
The committee harshly criticized Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., saying the evidence showed he was told of the problem months before he acknowledged learning of Foley's questionable e-mails to a former Louisiana page. It rejected Hastert's contention that he couldn't recall separate warnings from two House Republican leaders.
Overall, the evidence shows that "concerns began to arise about Rep. Foley's interactions with pages or other young male staff members" shortly after he took office in 1995, according to the committee report.
The report, prepared by a four-member subcommittee, described "a disconcerting unwillingness to take responsibility for resolving issues regarding Foley's conduct."
Lawmakers and aides "failed to exercise appropriate diligence and oversight" regarding the interactions between Foley and pages, the report said.
Although the committee recommended no punishments, it said the evidence would have subjected Foley to discipline if the Florida Republican had not resigned — taking himself out of the House's jurisdiction.
Foley received a subpoena, but his lawyer notified the committee the former lawmaker would invoke his Fifth Amendment rights if compelled to testify. The committee dropped the matter to avoid delays.
Speculating on the reason for Republicans' reluctance to act, the committee said: "Some may have been concerned that raising the issue too aggressively might have risked exposing Rep. Foley's homosexuality.... There is some evidence that political considerations played a role in decisions that were made by persons in both parties."
Traveler risk system may violate ban
MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN
08 Dec 2006 3:44 am
Officials are debating whether the Homeland Security Department's computerized risk assessments of international travelers violate a specific ban that Congress imposed on the agency's spending for the past three years.
Members of Congress and privacy advocates questioned the legality of the Automated Targeting System, or ATS, risk assessments that have been assigned to millions of Americans and foreigners who entered or left the United States over the past four years.
"It clearly goes contrary to what we have in law," Rep. Martin Sabo, D-Minn., said in an interview Thursday. He said ATS is the kind of computerized risk assessment "we have been trying to prohibit."
Department spokesman Russ Knocke said Congress had been informed many times since 2003 that ATS was being used to assess people.
Jayson P. Ahern, assistant commissioner of customs and border protection, told the AP all that passenger data is analyzed by ATS. Data on rail and some land travelers also have been assessed, he said.
ATS has operated with little public notice or understanding until a description was published last month in the Federal Register, a fine print compendium of federal rules.
The Homeland Security Department's notice said people could not see their assessments or directly challenge them. It plans to keep the assessments for 40 years and share data with state, local and foreign governments for hiring, contracting, licensing and other decisions. In some instances, data could be shared with courts and private contractors.
Sabo, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations homeland security subcommittee, wrote into the agency's spending bills the ban on computerized passenger risk assessments. For the past three budget years, the legislation has said no funds from the appropriations bill could be used to develop or test computerized data-mining tools "assigning risk to passengers whose names are not on government watch lists."
"There is growing concern in Congress that this program invites abuse, and that the administration is plowing ahead with it in apparent violation of the law," said Leahy, a member of the counterpart subcommittee in the Senate and incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Look for Danger When Good Guys Act Like Bad Guys
Ann Woolner
08 Dec 2006 12:00 am
At 90, give or take a couple of years, Kathryn Johnston had grown fearful living in her crime-ridden neighborhood, especially since hearing recently of the rape of an elderly woman.
So when she heard men bursting through the burglar bars on her front door, she opened fire. The men fired, too, and when the shooting stopped, three of the intruders had been wounded and the elderly lady lay dead.
The intruders turned out to be neither robbers nor rapists but cops, eight of them, from the Atlanta Police Department's narcotics unit. They had come looking for a man known only as Sam, who had supposedly sold an informant $50 worth of crack there at the tan brick, green-shuttered house with a long wheelchair ramp out front, a police affidavit says.
A cop's sworn statement claiming that a minor drug sale occurred is all it took for a magistrate to grant a no-knock warrant at the home of a scared old lady.
Okay, so sometimes mistakes occur, and occasionally tragedy results, right?
The truth is that errors in no-knock raids occur more often than most of us imagine, and no doubt more often than is ever reported.
And we aren't just talking about an unhinged door here or there. At various times, police, sometimes masked or hooded, have used tear gas, flash-bang grenades, explosives and battering rams. They have made pregnant women lie on the floor, dragged people out of showers and out of beds, cuffed toddlers, put guns to the heads of innocent people, stepped on backs and caused cuts, bruises, hospitalizations and trauma. A 9-year-old with Down Syndrome had a seizure during a Waco, Texas, raid at his grandparents' home.
And that is when no one fires a gun.
Click here for drug offenders in your area
Kari Huus
07 Dec 2006 9:47 am
Internet listings have popular appeal, but do they really protect the public?
Internet registries of rapists or pedophiles are available in every state, but a new breed of criminal now is experiencing the notoriety of being outed online — people convicted of making or selling methamphetamine.
"It lets the community know that there’s someone like this in their community, because the likelihood of them going back and doing it again is high," said Georgia state Rep. Mike Coan, who is spearheading meth registry legislation. "It’s no different, really, from the sex offender (registry). If there’s one living near me, I want to know it."
The idea of posting the names of meth offenders online is gaining momentum. Four states have put in place laws to create Internet meth offender registries, two are putting final touches on similar laws, and several other proposed bills are in limbo until the state legislatures start the new session.
But critics say the registries raise legal questions, do little to protect the public and may have unintended consequences.
"The problem with these registries is that we’re creating a class of untouchables within our society who cannot rent apartments or secure employment," said Jonathan Turley, a criminal defense attorney and law professor at George Washington University. “When you diminish the likelihood that ex-felons can live and work in society, you increase the chances that they will return to criminal behavior.”
LEAP Points Out The Dangers Of Prohibition
George Wallace and Michelle Pirraglia
06 Dec 2006 12:00 am
It’s not just the long pony tail that Christ, a retired police captain, sports these days. It’s his “10-story elevator” tale.
“It goes like this,” said Christ, one of several spokespeople in New York State for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. “Say I’m on an elevator in a 10-story building. I tell people on the elevator I’m in town to talk about drug legalization. The people say, ‘What?’ I tell them everybody agrees with me. And they say, ‘Well I don’t!’
“But then I tell them the sad truth — that there are drugs out there that have so much potential to do harm that they must be regulated and controlled ... but when you choose a policy of prohibition, you turn control over to gangsters in the street.”
It’s just the kind of scenario that Christ encounters all over the state when he speaks on behalf of LEAP, whether it is in Buffalo, Syracuse or Great Neck, where he appeared a year ago at a rotary and senior center.
This time around it is a Libertarian group he’ll be talking to, in Suffolk County. Christ will be present at the “Libertarian Meet-Up” for the Society of Individual Liberty of Suffolk County on Monday, December 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. The meeting will be held at the John Harvard Brew House, Route 347 in Lake Grove.
Founded on March 16, 2002, LEAP is made up of current and former members of the law enforcement and criminal justice communities who follow the dictum of Albert Einstein when he said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.”
A national organization, LEAP speaks out about the failures of existing drug policies. “Those policies have failed, and continue to fail, to effectively address the problems of drug abuse, especially the problems of juvenile drug use, the problems of addiction, and the problems of crime caused by the existence of a criminal black market in drugs,” said national representatives of the organization.
A Third Way on Drug Laws
Kevin A. Sabet
04 Dec 2006 5:27 pm
On the same day as the recent police killings in Mexico, the U.S. Sentencing Commission - an independent judicial body that advises Congress on sentencing laws - held hearings on the effectiveness of the federal cocaine law. Should five grams of crack cocaine continue to trigger the same sentence as 500 grams of powder cocaine? The answer is clearly no.
If current laws are unjustified, what are the alternatives?
There is, in fact, a comfortable position closer to the middle: We can reform the worst parts of our laws without fearing massive increases in drug use. Erasing or dramatically closing the gap between the sentences for crack cocaine and powder cocaine is a good example of this.
It sounds easier than it is, of course, but the current political climate may be just right. President Bush, two days before his first inauguration, expressed a desire for a change, telling CNN that the law "ought to be addressed by making sure the powder cocaine and the crack cocaine penalties are the same," because he didn't "believe we ought to be discriminatory." With the president now saying he is ready to work with the newly elected Democratic leadership, reform could be within reach.
Such a move would be more about making our drug policies "smart," and less about looking "tough." And it certainly would be about time.
VARIED VIEWPOINTS: Police, Parents, Patients, Physicians, Pastors
Nathan Diebenow
04 Dec 2006 12:00 am
A growing number of police, parents, patients, physicians, and pastors across the United States are all saying the same thing about their government’s so-called "War on Drugs":
"Shelf it!"
In this issue, the Lone Star Iconoclast has provided space for members of these groups to explain why they feel the way they feel about drug prohibition.
There’s a perspective from a parent who started Building BLOCK (Better Lives for Our Communities) based in Denton, Texas. Christopher Largen, himself a victim of sexual abuse, argues that the American criminal justice system unfairly demands more from non-violent marijuana consumers than from child predators.
Iconoclast readers should treat this issue as a sampler of stories of experienced professionals and concerned citizens whose opinions have been ignored, suppressed, and/or skewed in today’s mainstream media. In certain cases, federal government officials ignored our calls for interviews.
While Child Predators Walk, Marijuana Consumers Nailed
Christopher Largen
04 Dec 2006 12:00 am
For those of you who retain faith in our justice system, it may shock you to learn that my hometown of Denton, TX is home to dozens of predators convicted of sex crimes against children 13 and younger, all the way down to age 4, who never served a single day in jail. Some of these rapists have been convicted of multiple offenses against multiple children. This same dynamic is occurring across our nation.
Sit with that a moment. The system that sentences prostitutes, vandalists, and marijuana consumers to jail might release a convicted child rapist right back into your neighborhood — as if personal property and morality were more important than public safety, and pilferers and potheads were more threatening than perverted predators.
This disparity is not for lack of resources. The United States leads the world in incarceration rates. Thanks to Draconian penalties for consensual crimes (implemented in the name of "protecting the children"), we lock up more of our population than Iraq, China, Iran, and North Korea. Yet many of our judges go easy on child rapists.
Complacency in the face of evil is inexcusable. Children are being abducted, raped, videotaped for the perverse pleasure of predators, tortured, and murdered. Last year in Florida, a beautiful little girl named Jessica Lunsford was attacked by a previously convicted molester who was set free by the courts to enter her bedroom, abduct her, sexually assault her repeatedly, and bury her alive in her neighbor’s yard.
While Florida law enforcement officials failed to properly monitor and control the convicted predators in their communities, they had plenty of resources to set up reverse marijuana stings, dispatching officers to try and sell small bags of the outlawed herb to strangers on the street. It appears that inciting petty misdemeanors takes priority over preventing violent felonies. Jessica’s father Mark Lunsford, who has spent the past year traveling the country, tirelessly fighting for changes in the law, asked, "Where are our priorities as a nation? Where are our values? Sometimes it seems like we don’t value anything, least of all the children."
Also archived at:
Federal Medical Marijuana Patient Speaks Out
Stephen Webster
04 Dec 2006 12:00 am
George McMahon is no pothead. However, for the last 16 years, marijuana is the only thing that has kept him alive.
While some might find this hard to believe, McMahon cannot imagine why. To him, it is just medicine. "How many people take insulin to treat the symptoms of diabetes?" he wonders. "Same thing for me. I take this medicine to treat the symptoms of my disease."
Since he was a child, McMahon has been just a little bit different from everybody else.
"I have a slight genetic difference," he explained during an interview on August 18, 2006. "I have what’s called Nail Patella Syndrome. It is a genetic disorder. I was born in 1950, and back then, well, we weren’t as intelligent as we are now. As a kid I would be playing baseball, and when I ran from first base to second base, my leg might fracture. Or if I caught the ball, I’d break a couple fingers. I was constantly in pain."
Because of this disease, George is given 300 marijuana cigarettes every month, courtesy of the United States Government. He is one of only five individuals on the government’s "Compassionate Investigative New Drugs Program." At the program’s height, 17 individuals were smoking taxpayer-financed pot. That number has slowly dwindled, as no new patients are being accepted.
At its outset, the Compassionate IND program was to gather research on the potential medicinal uses of marijuana. No research is being conducted, and none of the patients have participated in any testing to those ends. The first Bush Administration, overwhelmed with applications to the 28-year-old program, decided to shutter it for good, and thousands of terminal patients were forced to continue breaking the law in order to treat their symptoms.
In fact, The Iconoclast solicited statements from the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Federal Drug Administration regarding the program. Both agencies denied its existence, and declined further comment.
"But it’s interesting," said McMahon. "They know about us, and they know about the program. They do not admit it because it would be disclosing my medical information, which is technically private."
McMahon does not take marijuana to treat the disease. In fact, he insists disease is not even a consideration.
"I take marijuana for muscle spasms, pain, and appetite management," he said. "It is the single most effective treatment we have in dealing with spasms and appetite management. When I was on dozens of mind-altering opiates, it completely killed my appetite. Now I can eat. I can sleep. I can be with my family. I can laugh, and work, and everything else a normal person can do. Because of that, I am much healthier. Because marijuana so effectively treats my symptoms, I am better."
Is Medicine Going To Pot?
Stephen Webster
04 Dec 2006 12:00 am
On June 28, 2006, the United Nations warned Britain, the United States, and Canada that new, highly potent strains of cannabis are just as dangerous as cocaine or heroine. According to statements by the international agency, the drug is no longer "soft and relatively harmless," as popular belief dictates.
The U.N.’s Office on Drugs and Crime claimed it was a mistake for the U.K. to reclassify cannabis from a Class B drug to a Class C, which constituted lower penalties for citizens caught in possession of the substance.
Along with Costa’s warnings, the United Nations delivered a report that claims over 160 million people worldwide use the drug. The study also claims that a "significant" number of those who use the potent strains of cannabis suffer from severe anxiety, panic attacks, extreme paranoia and "psychotic symptoms" during intoxication. They also claimed it has no medicinal value for society, and that to legalize its use for medicinal purposes would send the wrong message.
"Today the harmful characteristics of cannabis are no longer that different from those of other plant-based drugs such as cocaine and heroin," said Costa. "Policy reversals leave young people confused as to just how dangerous cannabis is."
However, an increasing number of scientific studies stand in stark contrast to the United Nations’ statements. Some of the most recent medicinal uses discovered include THC-based treatments for cancerous tumors and Alzheimer’s disease.
‘Good Samaritans’ Fight For Human Rights In Drug War
Nathan Diebenow
04 Dec 2006 12:00 am
The Revs. Alan and Nancy Bean never dreamed of being on the front lines of the "war on drugs" — let alone actually getting involved in it in their small West Texas town.
But in 1999, these two ordained Baptist ministers were called to form "Friends of Justice Tulia" to get the word out to the national media, NAACP, the ACLU, and the Justice Department that there was something fishy about a local drug sting.
The sting itself initially received glowing yet nasty coverage in their hometown newspaper.
"When I first heard about the drug sting, actually I didn’t know that everybody was black. The race of those arrested was not given in the newspaper account, which is what I was going on," Rev. Alan Bean told the Iconoclast. "What got me was that they were described as scumbags and known drug dealers in an editorial in the Tulia paper."
Indeed, 39 of the 46 people arrested for allegedly dealing cocaine were African American and so poor that they had no houses or cars of their own. Moreover, the "drug kingpin," a 57-year-old pig farmer who lived in a run-down shack, was convicted and given a 90-year sentence.
Yet as the first of the trials were happening, Rev. Bean questioned the verdicts more closely: Why should the sentences be so long? How could there be 46 drug dealers in a town of 5,000? How could any jury convict any alleged criminal on the testimony of a single narcotics agent?
Looking back on the case, Rev. Bean said he realized that the residents of Tulia were unfairly singled out as racists because the news media got the story wrong. Instead of sensationalizing the racial aspects of the case, though the effect of the "War on Drugs" has been catastrophic on the African American community, the media should have zeroed in on the injustice and failure of federal drug policy, he said.
"When you look at incarceration rates especially related to the ‘War on Drugs’ around the country, Tulia is hardly the only town that is locking up a bunch of black people and using the ‘War on Drugs’ as a proxy for racial profiling," he said. "I felt the real question was, ‘Why are we locking up so many people — period?’ And only secondly, ‘Why are we locking up so many people of color?’"
"Tulia is just a window on a national problem," he added. "Tulia tells you what the problem is because it’s such a small little town, and there are so few players in the story so you can see what’s going on."
Former Undercover Narcotics Officer Speaks Out Against War On Drugs
Stephen Webster
04 Dec 2006 12:00 am
Jack A. Cole is the Executive Director of a large-but-growing organization called L.E.A.P. – Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
Founded in March of 2002, L.E.A.P. started with just five members, but quickly swelled to over 5,000. The group now serves a mostly educational role, sending featured speakers around the country to discuss their views concerning the "War on Drugs."
The Lone Star Iconoclast recently had an opportunity so speak with Cole about his experiences and what led him to start this organization.
ICONOCLAST: What are some of the core tenants of L.E.A.P.’s argument? Why do cops say "legalize drugs"?
Basically, what it boils down to is today, drugs are cheaper, more potent, and they’re far easier to get than in 1970 when I was working under cover. That’s a failed policy, any way you look at it. So, we say it’s time to think of a new policy.
Race a complicated issue in NYC shooting
DEEPTI HAJELA
02 Dec 2006 3:17 pm
The similarities are striking: A young black man dies in a hail of police bullets, and when the chaos clears it turns out he was unarmed.
When 23-year-old Sean Bell was killed last weekend by officers who fired 50 shots, it brought to mind other police shootings, including another 23-year-old — Amadou Diallo, a West African immigrant shot to death by four white police officers in 1999 in the entrance to his apartment building. Diallo was struck by 19 of the 41 bullets fired at him.
Other killings of black men by police in New York also have provoked controversy, but there was a difference this time — while Bell and his two companions were black, the five officers were black and Hispanic as well as white.
But advocates and legal experts say that doesn't mean the shooting wasn't affected by race; it just makes it more difficult to talk about in a society that thinks of race literally in black and white terms.
"It doesn't matter what color cop it is," said Michael Meyers, the executive director of the New York Civil Rights Coalition. "The overwhelming number of victims of questionable police shootings have been young black men."
"There's a perception that black male youth are more dangerous, more violent and more likely to be armed than their white counterparts," said activist lawyer Ron Kuby. "That concern about young black men permeates the police department and results in police shooting black youth under circumstances where they would not shoot white people."
Bell was buried Saturday. After his burial, the New Black Panther Party organized a "March of Outrage" that wound its way from the strip club where he was shot to a police precinct.
While race plays a role, it's not the only issue that needs to be looked at, Kuby and other legal experts said. Police need to have serious conversations about violence and force, and also get better training in ways to deal with tense situations, experts say.
U.S. gov't terror ratings draw outrage
MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN
02 Dec 2006 6:16 am
A leader of the new Democratic Congress, business travelers and privacy advocates expressed outrage Friday over the unannounced assignment of terrorism risk assessments to American international travelers by a computerized system managed from an unmarked, two-story brick building in Northern Virginia.
Incoming Senate Judiciary Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont pledged greater scrutiny of such government database-mining projects after reading that during the past four years millions of Americans have been evaluated without their knowledge to assess the risks that they are terrorists or criminals.
"Data banks like this are overdue for oversight," said Leahy, who will take over Judiciary in January. "That is going to change in the new Congress."
The Associated Press reported Thursday that Americans and foreigners crossing U.S. borders since 2002 have been assessed by the Homeland Security Department's computerized Automated Targeting System, or ATS.
The travelers are not allowed to see or directly challenge these risk assessments, which the government intends to keep on file for 40 years. Some or all data in the system can be shared with state, local and foreign governments for use in hiring, contracting and licensing decisions. Courts and even some private contractors can obtain some of the data under certain circumstances.
"It is simply incredible that the Bush administration is willing to share this sensitive information with foreign governments and even private employers, while refusing to allow U.S. citizens to see or challenge their own terror scores," Leahy said. This system "highlights the danger of government use of technology to conduct widespread surveillance of our daily lives without proper safeguards for privacy."
LA archdiocese settles 45 abuse cases
GILLIAN FLACCUS
01 Dec 2006 6:52 pm
The nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese said Friday it will pay $60 million to settle 45 sex abuse lawsuits, the largest payout yet by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and among the biggest resulting from the molestation crisis that's plagued the church. The cases were among more than 500 abuse claims pending against the Los Angeles Archdiocese.
"It's a day of healing and reconciliation as we move forward with these 45 cases," Cardinal Roger Mahony told The Associated Press. "This is very special for these victims in their moment of healing."
The claims settled Friday involve 22 priests and include allegations from two periods when the archdiocese had limited or no insurance against sexual abuse claims — prior to the mid-1950s and after 1987.
Mahony said $40 million of the payment would come from the archdiocese, while $20 million would be from religious orders plus a small amount of independent insurance coverage.
Negotiations on the deal had been in progress for at least a year but were held up because attorneys for the plaintiffs wanted the church to release the accused priests' private personnel files.
The agreement calls for an independent judge to review those files and decide which documents can be released to the alleged victims. That process is expected to take several months.
Ray Boucher, the lead plaintiffs' attorney, said the settlement was the largest the Los Angeles Archdiocese had reached "by far." Boucher said at least two plaintiffs had died while awaiting the resolution.
"I wasn't certain we would ever get it done, but thankfully 45 very injured people will have a chance to begin to heal, particularly at this time of the year," he said. "The big concern is the 700 or 800 victims who are out there who still have claims pending."
TSA's revealing X-ray screening raises privacy concerns
Thomas Frank
01 Dec 2006 11:37 am
The federal government plans this month to launch the nation's first airport screening system that takes potentially revealing X-ray photos of travelers in an effort to find bombs and other weapons.
Transportation Security Administration screeners at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport will test a "backscatter" machine that could vastly improve weapons detection but has been labeled a "virtual strip search" by the American Civil Liberties Union. Backscatter can show clear images of nude bodies.
At Phoenix and another yet-to-be-decided test airport, the machines will blur or shade images to obscure body parts and medical devices. The TSA also will look at using the machines in subways.
"It's time to get them out and get feedback from [screeners] and the traveling public," said Randy Null, TSA assistant administrator. The TSA has been considering the machines since 2002 while struggling with privacy issues.
Null said the TSA is now "very comfortable" with privacy protections manufacturers have built into the machines, which scatter low-intensity X-rays to peer under clothing for hidden items.
Barry Steinhardt, head of the ACLU's technology and liberty program, said operating the backscatter machines at airports will pave the way for widespread use — and abuse. "As this technology becomes commonplace, you're going to start seeing those images all over the Internet," Steinhardt said. "These images are going to have high commercial value."
In the upcoming airport tests, the machines will be used only on travelers who require extra screening beyond a metal detector. Those passengers will be offered the option of being photographed from the front and back by the backscatter machine or undergoing the customary pat-down by a screener.
U.S. Hits Record for Incarcerated, Paroled -- At What Cost?
JASON RYAN
30 Nov 2006 12:00 am
According to a new Justice Department report, 7 million men and women, or 3 percent of the U.S population, are currently incarcerated, on probation or on parole — a new record that makes the United States the world leader in incarceration.
Aside from the huge financial cost of having so many people behind bars — it costs more than $20,000 per year for every incarcerated prisoner — experts say there are serious societal concerns that can have a lasting impact on American communities.
"Almost every major American city has some area or neighborhood where there are concentrations of 15 to 25 percent of the men being locked up at some time in the last few years," said Todd Clear, a professor with the John Jay School of Criminal Justice in New York.
Criminologists say released prisoners face a number of social issues assimilating back into society — problems can involve finding work, decreased earnings, finding housing, increased divorce rates, school performance issues for children of those incarcerated, juvenile justice problems and health or addiction problems.
"As you add up these little effects, it has a big affect socially," Clear said.
Research Your New Neighborhood or Risk Your Safety
ABC News
28 Nov 2006 12:00 am
While some new homeowners may feel comfortable in their neighborhoods, they may not be safe. "Good Morning America" safety contributor Bob Stuber found that's often because they're not questioning their surroundings.
Why are sneakers are hung from power lines? Why do burglars target homes near freeways? Are registered sex offenders living in the neighborhood too?
Police departments have answers to these questions, but too many too many homeowners don't ask, don't care, and don't know enough their neighborhoods until it's too late.
Crime cases were set back by Katrina
Ann M. Simmons
27 Nov 2006 12:00 am
As Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans, the body of Joe Wong was found in a warehouse-district apartment behind a restaurant, a single gunshot wound to the back of his head.
His was the last homicide recorded before the storm hit.
Police dusted for fingerprints, examined the scene for signs of a struggle, collected blood samples, and checked for hairs. They found one bullet casing on the floor of the apartment. It was placed in an evidence bag and taken to police headquarters. Wong's body was zipped into a bag and loaded into a coroner's van for the trip to the city morgue. The crime scene was sealed.
Detectives expected to be back as soon as the storm had blown over. They couldn't return for five months.
The onslaught of Katrina essentially shut down crime investigations in New Orleans for weeks, in some cases months. And when they were able to start up again, law enforcement officers faced unprecedented challenges.
Witnesses and suspects had moved to other cities. Evidence was damaged or lost after sitting in water for weeks. Crime scenes had been washed away or gutted.
And since the hurricane, the number of officers on the force has dropped from 1,668 to 1,424 — leading to a perception that the department is understaffed to deal with current and pre-storm crimes.
Ex-Aide Sentenced in Online Sex Case
Associated Press
17 Nov 2006 12:00 am
A 56-year-old former Homeland Security press aide was sentenced Friday to five years in prison after he pleaded no contest to sending sexually explicit Internet messages to someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl.
Brian Doyle, who resigned shortly after his April 4 arrest, also will have to serve 10 years of probation and register as a sex offender.
"I am profoundly sorry for everything. How I feel inside can't be described," Doyle told Circuit Judge J. Dale Durrance.
Doyle was immediately taken into custody.
The April arrest of Doyle, who had access to sensitive Homeland Security information, raised doubts about the agency's ability to ensure the security credentials of its own people.
Doyle pleaded no contest in September to seven counts of using a computer to seduce a child and 16 counts of transmitting harmful material to a minor.
Prosecutors said Doyle, of Silver Spring, Md., wrote graphic descriptions of sexual acts in online chats with a 14-year-old named "Ashlynne," who was actually a character created by sheriff's detectives.
According to court records, Doyle also bragged about his government connections, provided his government-issued phone numbers and showed off his department ID.
Judge Steadfast About Sex Offender Case
LISA RATHKE
13 Nov 2006 12:00 am
A judge who was widely vilified when he sentenced a sex offender to two months in jail said the case has been the highlight of his career.
Vermont District Court Judge Edward Cashman said the case enabled him to remain firm in his belief that the sentence was legal and that sentences must be concerned with more than just punishment.
"I think one of the risks a judge has to take is knowing that when you make a difficult decision it very well may be misunderstood," he said in an interview Sunday. "And then comes the real hard part: You gotta remain quiet."
Cashman had been berated by lawmakers, editorial writers and national cable news commentators for imposing the minimum sentence on Mark Hulett, who had been convicted for repeated sexual assaults on a young girl. The judge said the short sentence was the best way to get Hulett the sex offender treatment he needed.
State corrections officials later changed their policy for treating sex offenders, allowing Hulett to get treatment while in prison and prompting Cashman to increase the sentence to a three-year minimum.
Some critics who thought the original sentence was too short suggested that the judge had said he didn't believe in punishment. But a court transcript showed that Cashman said, "punishment is not enough."
"If there's any lesson that would be applicable judiciary-wise, (it) is the print media will straighten it out," Cashman said Sunday. "They will straighten it out given enough time, which is exactly what happened. And there was a big huge record for the public to take a look at. I feel very fortunate. I look at it as the highlight of my career … That you could stand up for something that was right."
