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Outrage Of The Month |
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| Police
investigate, prosecutors try the cases, juries determine guilt and fix the
punishment, and judges sentence criminals to prison. NOW the
political appointees on the Parole Board are showing disrespect to police,
prosecutors, juries and judges and shortening those sentences.
It's time to abolish the Parole Board. |
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Public Defender Ernie Lewis claims Senator Robert Stivers is "out of step with the people of Kentucky." If Lewis has so much confidence in his public defender funded poll, maybe he ought to run for the Senate on the issue of abolishing the death penalty. Let the public decide! Senator Robert Stivers, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, stated in response to the public defender-funded poll, "Polls are done in a vacuum, but when people hear about the things these people have done, it would be interesting to see how their opinions change." Source: Louisville Courier-Journal, 10/25/02. |
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New York - Students headed back to school will get one of the biggest history lessons of their lives on the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, but many parents are wondering which interpretation of events their children are going to get. The National Education Association is compiling ideas for ways to teach Sept. 11 and some of them are coming under fire. The program is called "Remember Sept. 11" and the classroom lessons are available to millions of teachers. It's even accessible on the Web. In the program, the NEA suggests kids think about tolerance and diversity and not blame all Arabs for the actions of a few. "We have over 100 linked sites that I'm hoping will have lots and lots and lots of diverse opinions because public schools should be about teaching kids to analyze to think, to be critical thinkers, to not believe everything they read or everything they hear on the radio or TV," said Jerald Newberry of the National Education Association. But critics of the teachers union say some of the lesson plans place the blame on America, and suggest diversity and tolerance will overcome terrorism. "They're putting it out there and it's got their political spin all over it. The sentiment is what is wrong with America, and that's what I object to," said Jan La Rue of Concerned Women of America. Among the messages on the Web site is advice from the Red Cross: "You will not be effective if you purposely or inadvertently take one side over another." Another snippet: "Model respect for and tolerance of all the views and feelings that your students share." One plan previously on the site suggested that the teachers discuss "historical instances of American intolerance" and cites the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II as an example. After many objections, the NEA said it removed that link, but there are dozens of other lesson plans available to teachers. The NEA said teachers will ultimately decide how to teach their students about Sept. 11. They say their Web site is only a clearinghouse for the lessons and they are not actually being written by the union. They say it will be up to the teachers to decide what lessons are best. Source: Fox News, August 21, 2002 |
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Boston, MA - Nine years ago, Robert Kosilek was sentenced to life in prison without parole for murdering his wife by wrapping a wire around her neck and strangling her. Kosilek filed suit in federal court asking the Massachusetts Department of Corrections to pay for a sex-change operation and hormone therapy to allow him to live as a woman.
Kosilek, who uses the name Michelle, describes his condition as "biological claustrophobia." He claims in his lawsuit that the department is violating his civil rights and subjecting him to cruel and unusual punishment by refusing to provide treatment for his gender-identity disorder. Source: www.boston.com, 2/4/02. |
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According to BostonHerald.com, Bristol County, Massachusetts District Attorney Paul Walsh asked New Bedford, Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Ernest B. Murphy to impose a sentence of 7 to 10 years in prison on a defendant who confessed to raping a 14-year-old girl. Instead, thanks to Judge Murphy, the rapist was probated and walked out of the courtroom a free man, leaving the 14-year-old victim to try to understand why the person who committed the crime didn’t suffer any consequences, while she is left to try to cope with the trauma of a rape. If probating the rapist wasn’t enough, Murphy said to the prosecutor about the victim, "Listen she got raped, she’s 14, she’s got to get on with her life. She’s got to get over it." Walsh said Murphy, who, in 2000, was appointed to a life-time term as Superior Court Judge, should not be allowed to handle criminal cases. He wants him re-assigned to civil courts. Walsh said he took the unusual step of publicly criticizing Murphy only after a string of lenient sentences and rulings. Other decisions by Judge Murphy, according to the www.bostonherald.com and www.boston.com:
Editor’s comment: The Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (March 4, 2002 edition) in an editorial citing the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct, wondered why the prosecutors in a recent rape case were talking about a judge’s comments in the first place. (The editorial writer ignores the fact that the case was completed, and not pending). They further opined that the debate over Murphy’s rulings should re-invigorate discussion over the proposed sentencing guidelines. Maybe that discussion should be more fundamental than sentencing guidelines. Like, whether citizens should have a right to vote for judicial candidates. Unfortunately, the editorial writers ignore the voices of crime victims and, for that matter, the rest of the citizens of Massachusetts. Apparently in Massachusetts, Superior Court Judges are appointed for life by the Governor. It’s just a wild guess, but I suspect that if the voters of Massachusetts were given the ability to vote for their judges, neither Judge Murphy nor his sentencing decisions would ever be the center of any controversy. |
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Now they want to blame obesity on
restaurants and advertisers. |
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From The Wall
Street Journal:
From the Washington
Times:
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Today there are 101 vacancies on the federal bench. That’s 11.8 percent of the federal judgeships in the United States. 20 of these vacancies are considered "judicial emergencies." 46 men and women have been nominated by President Bush to fill some of those vacancies. Only 10 have been confirmed . Consideration of the nominations of the remainder languish before the Senate Judiciary Committee because the Chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, appears to be playing politics. Unfortunately, his partisan politics is being played at the expense of America’s Justice System, and he is adversely affecting the very people he is supposed to be representing, the American people. How does Leahy’s record in considering the nominees of President George W. Bush compare with other recent Presidents? By the end of their first year in office:
In 1998, when the federal judicial vacancy rate was much smaller, and when Leahy was not the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he said, "Any week in which the Senate does not confirm three judges, is a week in which the senate is failing to address the vacancy crisis." In light of Leahy’s prior statement, his present refusal to permit the Judiciary Committee to vote on President Bush’s nominations appears hypocritical. No wonder many politicians rank so low in the opinion of the public. Source: Washington Times, November 21, 2001. |
It's ironic that American soldiers are going off to defend the very freedoms that permit some journalists to assume their "holier-than-thou" tone. Michelle Malkin, syndicated columnist, says,
In the midst of the terrorist attack on America, many citizens just didn't understand why some American journalists seemed so opposed to patriotism. We didn't understand when ABC News, among others, issued a directive against on-air personnel displaying American flag lapel pins. "We cannot signal how we feel about a cause, even a justified and just cause, through some sort of outward symbol," said ABC News spokesman Jeffrey Schneider. Or when Seattle Times executive editor, Mike Francher said, "We serve public best by clothing ourselves in neutrality, not pins." Average Americans just didn't understand. However, some other journalists explained the situation to the rest of us. The following is what they say about the state of American journalism today.
All that having been said, the lack of patriotism of some journalists should not surprise any of us. It does seem a bit ironic however, that our soldiers are going off to defend the very freedoms that permit those journalists to assume their "holier-than-thou tone?" Fox News' Brit Hume, got it right, and stands out. In response to the journalistic refusal to "take sides," on the attack on America by terrorists by not wearing ribbons or lapel pins, Brit Hume, Washington Managing Editor of The Fox News Channel, said: and Fox News is not located in Switzerland." Editor's Comment: Any wonder why Fox News is gaining viewers and the others aren't? |
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Just What We Need
-- Syndicated columnist Linda Chavez said: "The National Organization for Women has gone off the deep end by embracing Andrea Yates, the Texas woman who drowned her five children a few months ago. It's a little like making Jeffrey Dahmer the national poster boy to draw attention to eating disorders." Click here to read article. |
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Many Prisoners,
Some Defense Attorneys, As usual, they blame everybody but the criminals. Check out the August 6, 2001, Minneapolis StarTribune editorial. The Minneapolis StarTribune claimed in it's August 6, 2001 editorial that "innocent people end up behind bars all the time. . . . they linger behind bars by the thousand (sic)." The Minneapolis StarTribune has obviously swallowed, hook, line and sinker, the claims of America's prison inmates and self-promoting defense attorneys who blame the incarceration of practically all of America's criminals on "crooked cops, mistaken eyewitnesses, fraudulent labs, sneaky prosecutors, sloppy defense lawyers and clueless judges." Fortunately, average Americans who make up the juries across the country and who hear and see the evidence realized that these criminals put themselves in prison. They listen to and read the rantings of the StarTribunes of America and shake their heads in disbelief. Their response, according to recent surveys of newspaper readership, has been to simply stop reading newspapers. If these trends continue, editorial writers will soon only have each other to communicate with. Then they can meet and try to convince one another that not only is everyone in prison innocent, but that the crime was really never committed in the first place. In the meantime, we "sneaky prosecutors and crooked cops" will continue to prosecute those criminals who have chosen to violate our laws. We will continue to do our best to protect the public by asking "clueless judges" to send law-breakers to prison. |
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Our criminal justice system gambles with the safety of the public by the early release of so many prisoners. The price of this "wholesale probation and parole" is too high. The safety of the public must come first. For complete story, see www.lexingtonprosecutor.com/newsandviews.htm#Public Safety. |
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Northern Kentucky University professor under fire for statements he made at a student forum, calling for the family of Timothy Thomas to stalk a Cincinnati police officer and "take him out.'" The Cincinnati Enquirer For complete story, see enquirer.com/editions/2001/04/27/loc_remarks_on_shooting.html. |
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Condemned
Killers Seek Sympathy Again Cyberspace-Inmates.com seeks pen-pals for prison inmates. They say, "Rehabilitation Through Correspondence. Mail is important to them; remember everyone makes mistakes." Three of Kentucky's death row inmates are on the web-site. Not surprisingly, none of them even mention the victims of their acts that caused them to be on death row in the first place.
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Billionaire Uses Fortune To Try To Change Our Laws. Who
Is Behind The Decriminalization Of Drugs Push? Who is George Soros? He is a world-wide currency speculator. He has made lots of money in the international money markets. He is a Hungarian-born businessman who contributed millions of dollars into Eastern Europe after the cold war to promote democracy-strengthening initiatives in previous former totalitarian governments. Lately he has decided that he wants to "fix" what he sees as America’s problems. He has declared war on the "war on drugs." In Massachusetts, Soros, of New York, and two other large donors, billionaires John Sperling, head of the University of Phoenix, and Peter B. Lewis of Cleveland have contributed heavily to support a ballot initiative which would ostensibly expand drug-treatment programs. Every Massachusetts DA opposed the initiative. Geline Williams, Executive Director of the Mass. District Attorney’s Association, said, "If you put a microphone up to George Soros and asked him if he supports drug decriminalization, he would say no. But if you look at the fine text of what he is putting forward, that’s exactly what he accomplishes." Williams claims that under Soros’ Mass. proposal, drug-dealers could pass themselves off as addicts, enter treatment programs, and avoid criminal prosecution. Even the Boston Globe in an editorial said,
The initiative in Massachusetts was defeated. Source: "The Money Behind Question 8," by Alex Beam, 11/2/00 edition of the Boston Globe. |
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Death Penalty Opponents Don't Seem To Want The Public To Know The Brutal And Vicious Facts Of Murders. We’ve finally figured out why:
Kentuckians have never understood why the anti-death penalty bunch never mentions the victims of these killers, or what was done to them. They refuse to acknowledge the horrible things done to innocent murder victims. Instead they do all they can to try to focus the public’s attention on the plight of these condemned killers. Somehow they want us to feel sorry for these vicious murderers. They don’t want the public, whose support they seek, to know about the vicious, horrible, violent things that these condemned killers on death row did to some innocent victim that caused them to be sentenced to death. They do that for good reason. They know that if Kentuckians knew of the horrible things that these innocent people had to endure before their lives were brutally snuffed out by these condemned killers, they would lose any chance of any public support. We cannot and will not let these victims, and what happened to them, be forgotten. |
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The
Invisible Crime: Drivers Who Continue To Drive Every week many defendants are charged with Driving On A Suspended Driver's License, 3rd Offense - a felony - and referred to the Fayette County Grand Jury. Most of these people have lost their privilege to drive because they have been convicted of DUI. They lose their license, and their right to drive, but, unfortunately, far too often, that doesn't stop them. Most just continue to drive. Because they lose their license, they are also uninsured if they drive without a license. The invisible crime. As a result, the licensed and insured drivers and the law-abiding public are put at risk by these lawbreakers. There is no way to identify them from any other driver, until they are in a wreck or stopped by the police for another traffic violation. Make them turn in their license plate. It is time to change that. Our Legislature should require an identifying tag on the license plate of a car whose driver has had their driver's license suspended. Why not require them to turn their license plate in to the Court upon a conviction that suspends driving privileges? The legal driving public deserves to be protected from these people. |
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Parole
Board Ignores Jury Verdict Of 120 Years For Murder Of Officer In The Line
Of Duty
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Anti-Death
Penalty Activists Never Mention The Murdered
Hardly a day goes by that some newspaper story, editorial or television report appears about some anti-death penalty group’s attempt to keep some killer, who has been sentenced to death, from being executed. Others claim that the death penalty is too cruel and unfair to murderers, and should be abolished. The essence of most of these reports or opinions in Kentucky is that, because the killer had a hard life or a sad childhood, he shouldn’t have to face a death sentence for slaying another innocent human being. Over and over we are told by these anti-death penalty activists that a grim upbringing somehow excuses a vicious, brutal and senseless murder. They tell us if we don’t feel compassion for these condemned killers, that we are somehow not as righteous as them. We never hear one word from them about the innocent victims of these killers; only that we should show sympathy and understanding for the murderer, or that we should agree that the death penalty should be abolished. Where is their compassion for the lost life of their victims, or the families and friends whose lives have been permanently shattered by the murderer? They appear to believe that we, as a society, should show more concern for the killer than the person they murdered. They somehow feel that the lives of the killers are worth more than the lives they snuffed out. |
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Is Anyone Watching The Felons We Put Back On Our Streets? Experts say that the nation's probation
system is in urgent need of repair. Source: John Dilulio (Manhattan Institute) and Joseph P. Tierney (Private/Public Ventures), "An Easy Ride for Felons on Probation," New York Times, August 29, 2000. |
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Death
Row Inmate Attacks Volunteer Minister Huntsville, Texas. A death row inmate who had recently attacked a volunteer chaplain, and severely cut the minister's right arm, was executed on July 26th, according to Texas authorities. William Paul Westbrook, 78, was doing volunteer ministry on death row when he was attacked by Juan Soria, 33, who had been convicted for a 1985 robbery-slaying in Fort Worth, according to Texas Department of Justice. "The inmate pulled the chaplain's arm into the cell, tied a sheet around the arm and pulled the arm into the cell up to the elbow," according to those Texas authorities. "Then he took out two razor blades and started cutting." Soria refused to back off until guards fired gas into the cell. Soria was executed in Texas on July 26, 2000. Source: excerpts from The Daily Oklahoman, June 10, 2000. |
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Robbery
Victim Shot By Man On Probation. The price
of probation & parole may be too high. Over and over we hear the anti-punishment gang shout: "It costs too much to keep a convicted criminal in prison. We could save lots of tax dollars if only we would put convicted criminals on probation and just have a probation officer supervise them." After all, they say, it costs about $15,000 to keep a prisoner in prison each year, and it would only cost $1,200 to supervise that same prisoner if he was back on the streets on probation. Think of the cost savings, they say. They seem to be placing a price-tag on the safety of the public. For too many of our law-abiding citizens, that price is too high. Like Alan Porter, Jr., 29, who was employed as a clerk at a BP Station in 1996. During an armed robbery, he was shot in the face and chest by Conrad "Kato" Flood III, who happened to be on probation for a previous assault conviction. Porter was described by his doctor, William Schreiber as, ". . .a decent kid who was trying to make his way in the world. Now he is hurt and beat up." Schreiber wrote in a report, "this gunshot wound has been devastating to his life. He is fearful, unable to sleep and depressed . . . . The traumatic event essentially ruined this young man’s life." Alan Porter’s total medical expenses, so far, are $642,202. So much for saving all that money by putting a convicted assaulter on probation and back on the streets. That, of course, doesn’t even consider the devastation of Mr. Porter’s quality of life. Flood pleaded guilty to attempted murder and robbery and was sentenced to 20 years. He is now serving 25 years, including time on another offense, and will be eligible for parole next May, 2001. If he is forced to serve his entire sentence, he would be released in 2021. Alan Porter, a totally innocent victim, has been sentenced to a life of pain and disability, thanks to a previously convicted criminal, who should have been in prison at the time of the robbery anyway. Is crime by probationers and parolees a problem? According to Civic Report No. 7, August, 1999, by the Center For Civic Innovation, Manhattan Institute:
In addition, Morgan Reynolds, a Texas A&M economics professor and director of criminal justice at the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas, recently reported:
So what are the costs of crimes committed by criminals while they are on probation or parole? Isn’t the government obligated to provide, as best it can, for the safety of the public? What does the public expect? According to Civic Report No. 7, August, 1999. Id., the public wants:
The safety of the public must be the paramount consideration before any convicted criminal is released on probation or parole. Don’t just tell us that we will save a great deal by placing convicted criminals on probation in our communities. The public deserves more than that. And certainly don’t tell that to Alan Porter, Jr. Source: Louisville Courier-Journal and National Center For Policy Analysis. |
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| Killers Making Money Off The
Innocent Victims they Murdered EBay, an internet auction site, allows the sale of collectibles associated with serial killers and notorious murders. Items currently for sale at the EBay site include T-shirts and other items bearing the names or faces of infamous killers, as well as items such as the autograph or artwork of a killer. While the sale of such items is not illegal, many consider it to be immoral and are offended that someone can profit from the murder of innocent victims. Many states have enacted laws that prohibit criminals from profiting from their crimes. Murderers should not be able to profit from their crimes, nor should businesses like EBay. THE MARKETING OF MURDERABILIA, by Andy Kahan, Crime Victims' Director, Office of The Mayor of Houston, Texas, is an outstanding description of this outrageous practice. Mr. Kahan's article is reprinted below and can also be found at www.jfa.net.
By
ANDY KAHAN In late September of 1999, I innocently typed the words "serial killer" into the Ebay online auction's search engine and was surprised when about 35 items popped up. I began to monitor the site on a daily basis. I have seen a high of 189 items, with the norm usually in the low 100's. Items for sale include serial killer dolls, snow-globes, clocks, t-shirts, calendars and psycho killer comic books. The above are manufactured items. Items produced by the killers themselves to include artwork, hand prints, autographs, hair samples, autographed socks and fingernail clippings. Clumps of hair have been sold by the likes of cannibalistic serial killer Arthur Shawcross of New York, Florida's Highway Killer Glenn Rogers, Railway Killer Angel Ramirez, currently on trial in Texas, California serial killers Lawrence 'Pliers' Bittaker, Roy Norris, William Suff, Douglas Clark and Charles Manson. Dirt from John Wayne Gacy's crawl space was even auctioned off. The sale of criminal collectibles is not a new phenomenon, but the Internet makes it possible for dealers to reach a wider and more public market. Believe it or not, there is nothing illegal. There are no laws on the books to prevent killers from profiting from their notoriety. Ebay's party line is that as long as it is legal, we are not the morality police. The marketplace will determine whether an item can be sold. Ebay has refused all requests to shut down the serial killer auction site. Keep in mind that not only do the killers and their agents profit; so does Ebay. Ebay receives percentages of every sale - so they too profit from murderabilia. Several months ago I requested that Ebay donate all proceeds received from murderabilia back to victim service groups. I have yet to receive a response. The so-called Son-of-Sam laws were enacted in 1977 due to outrage over reported book deals offered to New York serial killer David Berkowitz. The law allowed authorities to seize profits and give them to the victims of the crime. In 1991, the United States' Supreme Court voted 8-0 to strike down the law. The law was challenged by the publishing company Simon & Schuster, who paid former mafia informant Henry Hill (Goodfellas) for his story. Thus, each state was advised to construct more narrowly defined laws to restrict criminals from profiting. Essentially, the Son-of-Sam laws are dormant; subject to challenge. A recent example would be that of convicted child-rapist Mary Kay Latourneau. The Washington State Court of Appeals ruled she may earn royalties from books, movies and interviews. The court overturned the judge's sentence which barred her from profiting. Serial killer Roy Norris wrote several letters which were published in a book appropriately titled Serial Killer Letters. His letters discussed business dealings with an outside agent. In return for providing items such as fingernail clippings, hair, hand prints, artwork and letters, he would receive profits. Norris wrote that he was upset because the dealer owed him $7500 and had not paid him. Norris's items can be found on the Ebay auction site. I recently won a bid for his fingernail clippings. Other items of note include a recently released documentary movie called COLLECTORS. The movie focuses on two of the country's premiere serial killer art collectors. The movie involves serial killer art collectors, those who promote it and those who detest it. (I am the character in the film who detests.) A hard to find board game titled SERIAL KILLERS was marketed in a body bag for fifty dollars. The object was to kill as many babies (game pieces) as possible and become the king of serial killers. The game is banned in Canada. Over the last ten months, I have actively bid on and won numerous items on the Ebay serial killer auction site. I am now the dubious owner of hair samples of the likes of Angel Resendiz Ramirez, Douglas Clark, Glenn Rogers and Lawrence Bittaker. I own letters from Henry Lee Lucas, John King (Jasper dragging death), Coral Eugene Watts, Arthur Shawcross, Bettie Beets and Richard Davis. Even the autopsy report of murder victim Nicole Brown Simpson and the death certificate of homicide victim Sharon Tate were auctioned off. I can't fathom a more nauseating feeling than to find out the person who murdered your loved one is now making a buck off of his dastardly deed. I encourage each of you to contact your elected officials and implore them to sponsor legislation similar to what California's State Senator Adam Schiff is currently championing. It takes all of us working together to put a stop to this nonsense. LET US JOIN FORCES IN EVERY STATE AND CURB THIS ABHORRENT INDUSTRY OF MURDERABILIA - SAY NO TO KILLERS MAKING MONEY OFF THE INNOCENT VICTIMS THEY BRUTALLY MURDERED. Update: California's notoriety for profit law had its first hearing several weeks ago - it passed unanimously out of the Public Safety Committee and is hopefully on its way to becoming a law. |
