tagged w/ Justice
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Justice for Three Murdered Family Dogs in San Diego
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Why this is Important
San Diego man "Patrick Caleb Land" , 25 was charged with brutally beating to death his girlfriend's three dogs.
According to investigators, Land was living with his girlfriend and her three dogs,
Josh, Pikanik and Jackie.
In September, Land called his girlfriend at work and told her that he found one of her dogs, "Josh", 8yrs old - a Great Pyrenees and Golden Retriever mix ... dead in the bedroom of the house.
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On October 14 , three weeks after the death of the first dog, Land called the woman again and said he found her other two dogs dead in a bedroom.
This time, she became suspicious and took the animals to a veterinarian for a necropsy.
One was a 9-year-old white shepherd mix named Jackie, and the other was a 4-year-old black and tan mixed breed named Pikanik.
"Jackie and Pikanik both died from severe trauma with apparent intention to kill them," from a report from the veterinarian that examined the dogs.
"They both appear to have been brutally beaten while restrained with something over their heads to keep them quiet and unable to bite defensively."
According to investigators, Pikanik suffered more severe injuries, suggesting he struggled more and was harder to silence.
Animal Service officers interviewed Land about the dogs' deaths on Oct. 15.
Land fled San Diego the next day and was arrested April 19 in Greensboro, N.C., officials said.
Investigators eventually tracked him down in North Carolina and extradited him to San Diego.
Land, who had scratches on him after Jackie and Pikanik died, said they happened when he fell into a bush, according to the prosecutor Randall.
However investigators believe DNA evidence found on Pikanik's nails links Land to the killings.
"The dog's front claws were preserved. (Land's) DNA was found under Pikanik, the younger dog's nails," said Randall.
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Sentencing DATE IS SET: Tuesday November 8th at 1:30pm,
Department 31 #rd Floor
Hall of Justice -
330 W. Broadway San Diego, Ca 92101
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PETITIONED BY THE MAYOR OF SAN DIEGO
QUICK-SIGN PETITION HERE:
http://www.change.org/petitions/justice-for-three-murdered-family-dogs-in-san-diego
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Justice for Three Murdered Family Dogs in San Diego
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Why this is Important... more
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Oct. 27 -- The launch of a nationwide tour, “Prosecutorial Oversight: A National Dialogue in the Wake of Connick v. Thompson,” to explore policy reforms to prevent prosecutorial misconduct.Oct. 27 -- The launch of a nationwide tour, “Prosecutorial Oversight: A National... more
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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Wednesday that his legal team will weigh his options now that he has lost his appeal against extradition to Sweden, where he faces charges of sexual assault.
In an uncharacteristically brief statement on the steps of Britain's High Court, Assange tried to downplay the decision to uphold his extradition order, saying that the proceedings and conclusions were "merely technical" in nature.
"No doubt there’ll be many attempts made to try and spin these proceedings as they occurred today, but they are merely technical," Assange said, adding that people should visit his website to know "what's really going on in this case."
The two High Court judges said their decision to reject Assange's appeal against extradition was based on points of law and procedure -- in other words, whether the arrest warrant was properly issued and executed -- and not on the strength or weakness of the evidence.
The arrest and extradition proceedings were "lawful" and "proportionate" for a case that centered on "serious sexual offenses," the judges said.
Assange, 40, looked on impassively in court when the ruling was handed down. His lawyers now have 14 days to decide whether to try to take the case to Britain's Supreme Court.
(more at link)WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Wednesday that his legal team will weigh his... more
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High court judges rule the WikiLeaks founder should face accusations of rape in Sweden.
The WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has lost his high court appeal against extradition to Sweden to face rape allegations.
Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Ouseley handed down their judgment in the 40-year-old Australian's appeal against a European arrest warrant issued by Swedish prosecutors after rape and sexual assault accusations made by two Swedish women following his visit to Stockholm in August 2010.
The decision means Assange could be removed to Sweden within 10 days, though it is more likely that the earliest time he would find himself on Swedish soil would be around 26 November.
Assange has 14 days to seek leave to appeal to the supreme court if he believes there is a wider issue of "public importance" at stake in the decision. If he is successful in persuading the high court of that, he is likely to remain on conditional bail until a hearing, which is unlikely to take place until next year.
If he is denied the right to appeal then British law enforcement officers will be responsible for arranging his removal to Sweden within 10 days.
(click on the link for the whole article)High court judges rule the WikiLeaks founder should face accusations of rape in... more
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HONOLULU (AP) — Nicole Leszczynski couldn't imagine that two chicken salad sandwiches would land her and her husband in jail and her 2-year-old daughter in state custody. But it happened five days ago, when the 30-weeks-pregnant woman forgot to pay for her snack while grocery shopping.
"It was the most ridiculous chain of events that happened," she said while sobbing Monday. "It's still hard to believe what happened."
Leszczynski, 28, and her husband Marcin, 33, were handcuffed, searched then released on $50 bail each. Their ordeal at the police station lasted a few hours, but their daughter Zofia spent the night away from her parents in a case that has sparked nationwide outrage and forced the Safeway supermarket chain to review the incident.
The family had moved to an apartment near downtown Honolulu from California two weeks ago. Still settling in, they ventured out Wednesday to stock up on groceries, took the bus, got lost, and ended up at a Safeway supermarket.
Famished, the former Air Force staff sergeant picked up the two sandwiches that together cost $5. She openly munched on one while they shopped, saving the wrapper to be scanned at the register later.
But they forgot to pay for the sandwiches as they checked out with about $50 worth of groceries.
"When the security guard questioned us, I was really embarrassed, I was horrified," she said. They were led upstairs, where the couple expected to get a lecture, pay for the sandwiches, and be allowed on their way.
But store managers wouldn't allow them to pay for the sandwiches, she said.
"I asked to talk to a manager and he said it was against their policy to pay for items that left the store," she said. "The security guard said we were being charged with shoplifting."
Four hours later, a police officer arrived and read them their rights. A woman from the state Child Welfare Services arrived to take Zofia away.
The pregnant mother said she tried to keep her composure until Zofia, who turns 3 in December, left the store. "I didn't want Zofia to be scared because she's never spent a night away from us. She didn't have her stuffed animal. She didn't have her toothbrush."
But as soon as her daughter left, "I got completely hysterical. I went to the bathroom and I threw up," she recalled.
A Honolulu police spokeswoman said it was procedure to call Child Welfare Services if a child is present when both parents are arrested. The store's management did not know the girl would be taken away, said Susan Houghton, a spokeswoman for California-based Safeway Inc.
The national supermarket chain said it was looking into the incident. "It was never our intent to separate a mother from her child. That was a very unfortunate consequence to this situation," Houghton said. "We understand the outrage. We are concerned about how this was handled."
Leszczynski called the incident "so horrifying, it seemed to escalate and no one could say, 'this is too much.'"
The couple was handcuffed and driven separately to police headquarters a few blocks away, where they were searched, had their mug shots taken and then released after paying bail. A police officer escorted them back to the store — which banned them for a year, Leszczynski said — where they picked up their groceries and walked home just before midnight.
"We basically stared at each other all night. We woke up at the crack of dawn and called (the state child welfare office)," Leszczynski said. While they waited, Leszczynski vented about the experience on babycenter.com and contacted a lawyer for help with being reunited with Zofia. At the lawyer's suggestion, they took their story to the media.
Zofia was returned after an 18-hour separation from her parents.
The couple is charged with fourth-degree theft, a petty misdemeanor, and has a court date on Nov. 28, according to the city prosecutor's office. The family hasn't decided whether it will pursue legal action against Safeway.
Houghton said the company will review the police report and store security footage before deciding whether to press charges.
http://news.yahoo.com/pregnant-mom-says-sandwich-arrest-horrifying-214407004.htmlHONOLULU (AP) — Nicole Leszczynski couldn't imagine that two chicken salad... more
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The love so many had for Michael Jackson, reminds me that we deserve to know what happened to Michael. Even if no questions are answered or no conspiracy unveiled. Michael said it himself “It’s conspiracy”, and since it is “his” point of view it is worth analyzing. This article will explore the many sides of the artist, the industry and the supernatural. In most music, and with certain artists, the message of the song is a purely negative, one directed straight toward you.
Read the full article and watch the videos that tell the hidden story. Will there be Justice for Michael?
http://inspiregrowchange.blog.com/2011/10/25/to-kill-a-king/The love so many had for Michael Jackson, reminds me that we deserve to know what... more
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mab001
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7 months ago
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We in the Jamaica Alliance Movement know that the Occupiers of Jamaica is denying us the people of social justice. During the past several decades we have witnessed an historic growing inequality where wealth has been diverted from working people and channeled into the hands of bankers, corporate CEOs and the rich. Government policies of deregulation and its relentless lowering of taxes on corporations and the rich have simply accelerated these tendencies.
We the Jamaican people have grown increasingly resentful of a political system that has abandoned us. Corporate money has penetrated both the Peoples Nation Party and Jamaica Labour Party. Consequently, politicians from both parties have routinely lowered taxes on the corporations and the rich, while they have laid off public workers, slashed public education, health care, and social services, threatened Social Justice, Healthcare, and Education, and done little to stem environmental devastation.
The grievances of Occupy Jamaica are just and represent the interests of the vast majority of the population. The overwhelming majority wants a massive jobs creation program, they want taxes on the rich raised, they want Social Justice, Healthcare preserved and expanded, they want public education and social services to be fully funded, and they want the tourism dollars to be brought home now. By maintaining political independence, and remaining in the streets -- and refusing to be co-opted by either corporate political party -- this movement has the potential to inspire millions of ordinary people across the Island and become truly massive. Its numbers will be its strength.
http://nowjam.org/We in the Jamaica Alliance Movement know that the Occupiers of Jamaica is denying us... more
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Affaire Florence Cassez: l'enquête de France 5
Mardi 15 novembre, France 5 diffusera “Florence Cassez, l’ultime recours”. Réalisé par Patrice du Tertre et Othello Khanh, ce film prétend sensibiliser les pouvoirs publics mexicains dans l’espoir d’infléchir le sort de la jeune Française, détenues depuis maintenant six ans. Condamnée à 60 ans de prison pour kidnapping, elle clame son innocence depuis le début de l’affaire.
Les deux réalisateurs se sont rendus l’été dernier au Mexique, où ils ont rencontré Florence Cassez, ainsi qu’un certains nombre de témoins de l’affaire. Ils ont exploré de nouvelles pistes, ignorées jusqu’à ce jour, et apportent de nouveaux témoignages qui confirment les dysfonctionnements de la justice mexicaine lors du premier procès en mai 2008.
La jeune femme avait alors été condamnée à 96 ans, ramenés à 60 ans après un procès en appel. Après avoir perdu son recours en cassation en février 2011, il ne reste à Florence Cassez qu’un ultime recours: la décision de la cour suprême mexicaine. Son dossier est, en effet, entre les mains des juges de la haute cour, indépendante du pouvoir exécutif. Mais, indique sa famille, aucune date n’a été fixée quant à cette décision.
Diffusion: mardi 15 novembre 2011 à 20h35 sur France 5
http://teleobs.nouvelobs.com/articles/affaire-florence-cassez-l-enquete-de-france-5?xtor=RSS-2Affaire Florence Cassez: l'enquête de France 5
Mardi 15 novembre, France... more
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If you're convicted of a crime you didn't commit, good luck getting compensation for your time behind bars.
Take the case of Eric Caine. Last week, I wrote about Caine, a Chicago man tortured by police under the command of Lt. Jon Burge, wrongfully convicted of a double murder, and finally freed last March after 25 years of prison hell -- only to be legally screwed once again.
The latest travesty: a Cook County judge on October 12th rejected Caine's request for the certificate of innocence necessary to ensure compensation for his unjust imprisonment, a tidy sum of $199,000 that would have helped the penniless Caine start a new life.
Judge Michael McHale's interpretation of the state law governing such certificates was worthy of the Queen of Hearts in Alice's Wonderland. "Petitioner [Caine] must prove his innocence independent of the fact that the State currently has no evidence against him for the crimes for which he was originally tried," McHale opined. Caine's lawyers may ask the judge to stop reading Lewis Carroll and reconsider his decision, or file an appeal.
Unfortunately, Caine is not alone. Meet Nathson Fields.
Fields and another man were charged with a 1984 double homicide on Chicago's South Side. The trial judge, Thomas J. Maloney, didn't care whether Fields and his co-defendant were innocent. But the judge was perfectly willing to find them not guilty -- in exchange for a $10,000 bribe from the co-defendant's lawyer. The lawyer delivered the cash, and things were looking up.
Trouble was, Maloney discovered he was under investigation by the FBI and prudently returned the money. To further cover his tracks, Maloney found Fields & Co. guilty -- and sentenced them to death.
It turned out poorly for everyone. As the two men languished on Death Row, Maloney was convicted of conspiracy to commit extortion and obstruction of justice for fixing cases, and the lawyer was convicted of bribery.
The principals remained locked up until Fields won a new trial. He eventually was released on bond, breathing free air for the first time in 18 years. In 2009, a judge finally acquitted Fields in a bench trial. This time the verdict was legit.
Seeking restitution, Fields requested a certificate of innocence to qualify for the six figures he was owed under state law. The not guilty verdict convinced a Cook Co. judge to approve the certificate, and last year Fields got his check from the state.
But unhappy prosecutors appealed, and on September 30th a three-judge panel ruled that finding reasonable doubt at Field's re-trial wasn't good enough for him to collect. Now Fields will have to prove his true innocence -- or he could be forced to return the money.
Under the circumstances, what are wrongfully convicted prisoners like Eric Caine and Nathson Fields supposed to do? Confined most of their lives for crimes they did not commit, should they be saddled with law enforcement's job -- to track down the actual killers? From eight-by-twelve prison cells?
As for DNA, the magic bullet in undisputed exonerations, expecting to find it at most crime scenes is a television myth. (Sorry, CSI fans.) New alibi evidence is unlikely to emerge decades later. Recanting witnesses? Cook Co. prosecutors are threatening them with perjury for changing their stories.
Judges like Michael McHale in Caine's case, and the appellate justices in Fields' case, say they are simply following the letter of the law that compensates exonerated prisoners. Prove your innocence (or starve).
To some extent, they are right. Illinois lawmakers must amend the statute by guaranteeing funds to prisoners who are found not guilty, or whose convictions are vacated, or whose indictments are dropped. It would be inexcusable not to enact these simple remedies.
On the other hand, judges shouldn't be so quick to pass the buck. The current law recognizes that "... the court, in exercising its discretion... shall, in the interest of justice, give due consideration to difficulties of proof caused by the passage of time, the death or unavailability of witnesses, the destruction of evidence or other factors not caused by such persons or those acting on their behalf." So judges, many of whom were prosecutors (including McHale), are selectively interpreting the law.
The result is that only a handful of certificates of innocence have been approved in Cook Co., while many who should qualify are deterred from filing because of the way our state's law has been written and applied.
Nationally, the situation is worse. Only 27 states compensate innocent prisoners, and many of these states have laws with more hurdles than Illinois'.
What can you do? Plenty. Judges are elected in Illinois. If you don't believe they are acting "in the interest of justice," remember them when you go to the polls. State legislators are also elected. Support those who vote for legislation that is just. For a litmus test, tell your elected representatives about the plight of Eric Caine and Nathson Fields. More broadly, demand passage of the model legislation proposed by The Innocence Project.
Meanwhile, scream about a system that pays torturer Jon Burge his monthly $3,000 police pension while he is in prison, but robs the innocent of the restitution they deserve.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-protess/illinois-wrongful-conviction-restitution_b_1014368.html?ir=CrimeIf you're convicted of a crime you didn't commit, good luck getting... more
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Very reputable physicist, engineers, and architects examine the collapse of the World Trade Center on 911.Very reputable physicist, engineers, and architects examine the collapse of the World... more
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For Sexual Assault Of A Child (VIDEO)
First Posted: 10/20/11 09:57 AM ET Updated: 10/20/11 10:24 PM ET
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/20/stefanie-dickinson-mother_n_1021612.html
Stefanie Dickinson, 37, a former Ellicot School District treasurer and mother of two accused of sexting a 14-year-old student, was arrested again Wednesday, this time for sexual assault on a minor,Fox31 reports. This second arrest comes just one month after her arrest for charges that she sexted her son's friend.
According to the arrest affidavit, during the sexting investigation, sheriffs received multiple tips that there was another victim of sexual assault from 2008,KRDO reports. Just last week, a 17-year-old male student admitted to having sex with Dickinson on at least five occasions during the summer of 2008 as well as during his senior year of high school.
The victim said that he regularly spent time at Dickinson's house -- his own father was a single parent and Dickinson helped take care of the victim and his younger brother. Later, the victim occasionally spent the night after baby-sitting Dickinson's own children.
The affidavit goes on to state that the pair had sex in Dickinson's car in a parking lot as well as in a children's "playhouse" at her home where, according to 7News, Dickinson gave the victim oral sex before engaging in sexual intercourse. The former student also told authorities that he received explicit text messages and pictures from Dickinson during that period. Dickinson asked the victim to not tell anyone about their relationship because it could ruin her marriage and relationship with her children.
If convicted of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, a Class 3 felony, Dickinson could spend the rest of her life in prison, according to The Gazette.
Police first arrested Dickinson back in September for sexting a 14-year-old student, a friend of her son.
The sexts were discovered by the victim's sister, who became suspicious after witnessing Dickinson hugging her brother multiple times. At the time, Dickinson was a sitting board member and treasurer of Ellicot School District-22, near Colorado Springs.
Deputies told the Colorado Springs Gazette that they believe Dickinson had been texting the boy since he accompanied her, her husband and two sons on a camping trip to Lake Meredith in mid or late August. After the trip Dickinson allegedly asked the boy for his cell phone number so that she could send him photos from the trip, but the arrest warrant says that Dickinson texted him that she wanted to sneak out of the house to meet with him.
Other text messages found on the boy's phone said, "I just want u," and on Sept. 2 they got more explicit. In the message, Dickinson talks about having sex and texts, "Baby I will rock ur f***ing world!"
In another message Dickinson's text reads, "You can't tell anyone about this at all because I could lose my family."
A report cited by KDVR says that the boy told deputies that he felt uncomfortable, and says in the arrest warrant that she would frequently come to his football games and "would always tell me I have a sexy smile".
Dickinson resigned from the Ellicot school board shortly after the sexting allegations and arrest.For Sexual Assault Of A Child (VIDEO)
First Posted: 10/20/11 09:57 AM ET Updated:... more
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/21/azura-lakin-21-will-not-b_n_1024428.html?icid=maing-grid10|htmlws-main-bb|dl2|sec1_lnk1|106499
A woman who caused fatal injuries to her ex-boyfriend with a broken beer bottle will not face any charges under Colorado's Make My Day law.
On Oct. 2, Azura Lakin, 21, slashed her ex-boyfriend's throat with a broken bottle after a fight during which he choked her and tried to re-enter her house. According to police reports the ex-boyfriend, Shaun Cassidy, 23, was with Lakin and friends at a downtown Fort Collins bar called the Drunken Monkey. Witnesses there told police that Cassidy "began to act hostile," was intoxicated and smashed Lakin's phone before returning to her Fort Collins apartment to take back his things.
Once at the apartment, the two got into another argument and Cassidy started choking Lakin. He was pushed out by Lakin and her sister, but kept banging on the door so Lakin says she opened it again. When he moved towards her as if to choke her again, Lakin says she hit him with the broken bottle cutting him.
Cassidy died on Oct. 9 from a stroke resulting from his blood loss and blunt force head injury.
Though the Larimer County Coroner ruled Cassidy's death a homicide, District Attorney Larry Abrahamson says the Make My Day law applies in this case. Cassidy unlawfully entered Lakin's home, committed a crime of assault, and, Abrahamson says, Lakin had a reasonable expectation of Cassidy causing her harm.
The Make My Day is intended to insure Coloradans their right to self-protection at home, and Lakin says she was acting in self defense.
"We came to the unanimous conclusion that criminal charges could not be sustained beyond a reasonable doubt," Abrahamson told 7News.
Cassidy's relatives however, are not satisfied with the decision.
"She was mad over a broken cell phone. So my nephew is gone because of a cell phone that was broken. It's not right," Cassidy's aunt, Colleen Countryman told CBS4 News, as quoted in Westword.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/21/azura-lakin-21-will-not-b_n_1024428.html?icid=... more
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GENEVA — The U.N. human rights office called Friday for an investigation into the death of ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, noting that his death robbed his victims of a chance at "cathartic" justice in the courts.
Gadhafi was captured alive Thursday in his hometown of Sirte before shaky amateur footage showed rebel fighters standing over his bloodied body.
"We believe there is a need for an investigation," said Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. "More details are needed to ascertain whether he was killed in some form of fighting or was executed after his capture."
"The two cell phone videos that have emerged, one of him alive, and one of him dead, taken together are very disturbing," he told reporters in Geneva.
A Libyan official said Friday that the burial of Gadhafi has been delayed until his death can be examined by the International Criminal Court – though it was not immediately clear if he was referring to a look at the dictator's body or a probe into what led to his death.
The U.N. Human Rights Council established an independent panel earlier this year to investigate abuses in Libya, and Colville said it would likely examine the circumstances of the 69-year-old leader's death.
He said it was too early to say whether the panel – which includes Canadian judge Philippe Kirsch, the first president of the International Criminal Court – would recommend a formal investigation at the national or international level.
"The dust hasn't settled yet," Colville told The Associated Press when asked if Libya was capable of conducting an independent probe into the death.
"You can't just chuck the law out of the window," he added. "Killing someone outside a judicial procedure, even in countries where there is the death penalty, is outside the rule of law."
Colville said the victims of Gadhafi's despotic 42-year-rule deserved to see proper judicial procedures followed and perpetrators of abuses brought to trial. "It can be a rather cathartic exercise as well as being a fundamental tenet of rule of law," he said.
"Of course there are many others apart from Col. Gadhafi, so there may at least be some kind of court proceedings where we do all learn what happened and who is responsible."GENEVA — The U.N. human rights office called Friday for an investigation into... more
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The Ukrainian authorities must act immediately to deal with endemic police criminality, widespread torture, extortion, and arbitrary detention.
The Amnesty International report, No evidence of a crime: Paying the price for police impunity in Ukraine, reveals how police are rarely punished for these crimes because of high levels of corruption, non-existent or flawed investigations, harassment and intimidation of complainants, and a low level of prosecutions for such crimes.
"Twenty years after the demise of the Soviet Union, the Ukrainian police are still serving the state instead of the public. Ordinary Ukrainians are paying the price, many of whom have become victims of bribery and forced confessions," said Heather McGill, Amnesty International's expert on Ukraine.
"It is high time the Ukrainian authorities set up an independent agency to investigate all allegations against police officers and tackled the culture of impunity and corruption that prevails.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QseiZlDz5AIThe Ukrainian authorities must act immediately to deal with endemic police... more
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NASHVILLE, Tenn | Wed Sep 28, 2011 5:38pm EDT
(Reuters) - A year to the day after she was supposed to have been executed for the killing of her husband, Tennessee officials announced on Wednesday that Gaile Owens will be freed from jail.
The Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole said Owens, 58, will be released sometime within the next three weeks.
"We don't have a date for certain," said Melissa McDonald, spokeswoman for the board.
"She has to get her release plan approved," she said. Owens will have to provide information about where she is planning to live and, if applicable, where she will be working, prior to her release. McDonald also said arrangements must be made for her regular meetings with a parole officer.
Owens would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than a century.
She was sentenced to die after being found guilty in 1986 of arranging to have her husband killed. She was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on September 28, 2010.
But then-Gov. Phil Bredesen stepped in before the execution date to commute her sentence, which made parole a possibility.
Parole was recommended by the single member of the board who was at her first parole hearing September 7. That recommendation was forwarded to other members of the board, who considered the case and recommended 4-2 to parole her.
During her parole hearing, Owens testified about sexual assaults and physical abuse she suffered from her husband that she said led her in 1984 to contract a man to kill him. Ron Owens died from 21 blows with a tire iron.
The man who actually killed her husband, Sidney Porterfield, now 68, also was sentenced to death and has been on death row since, according to Dorinda Carter, spokeswoman for the state Department of Correction. Owens was a convicted in 1986 of being an accessory to first-degree murder.
http://www.nashvillescene.com/pitw/archives/2011/09/28/gaile-owens-once-scheduled-for-execution-gets-parole
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/28/us-deathrow-tennessee-woman-idUSTRE78R5YS20110928NASHVILLE, Tenn | Wed Sep 28, 2011 5:38pm EDT
(Reuters) - A year to the day after she... more
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ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Two North Carolina men walked free Thursday when a panel of judges ruled they didn't kill a man during a home invasion despite their guilty pleas a decade earlier.
Kenneth Kagonyera and Robert Wilcoxson said they felt pressure to plead guilty to second-degree murder for the shooting of Walter Bowman so they wouldn't have to face the death penalty or life in prison. A later confession by a prisoner led to DNA testing that excluded five men, including Kagonyera and Wilcoxson, who served time for the crime.
"It's been a long time," said the 32-year-old Wilcoxson, who embraced his daughter and father as he walked out of a county lockup after 11 years behind bars.
The case was heard by the judges after intervention by the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission — the country's only state agency dedicated to investigating claims of innocence.
"This is a moment we've been waiting for 11 years," said Wilcoxson's mother, Rhonden Finch. "He hasn't been able to sit down and eat breakfast with his daughter. So much has changed in 11 years. So much has changed. He's missed birthdays, graduations. This is a time to celebrate."
The judges announced their decision in Asheville following over a week of testimony.
"It was a blessing. I'm very grateful," said Kagonyera, 31, as he left the lockup walking arm-in-arm with his mother and grandmother.
The release comes a day after Troy Davis was executed in Georgia, despite his insistence that he was innocent of killing a policeman in 1989. Prosecutors stood by his guilt and several courts upheld his conviction.
"I think it's interesting that this exoneration comes the day after the Troy Davis execution in Georgia," said Mary Pollard, director of North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services. "We're lucky to live in a state that, like any human system, admits we're not perfect here and we provide avenues for folks to get relief if they were wrongly convicted."
Bowman was killed when several gunmen wearing bandanas over their faces stormed into his house. Three other people were in the home during the botched robbery and during the chaos, someone fired a shot that killed Bowman. The robbers fled.
Kagonyera and Wilcoxson were among six men charged. Five pleaded guilty to various charges related to Bowman's death and the case was dropped against the sixth man. The other three men served time and were released before Kagonyera and Wilcoxson.
Although Wilcoxson had no prior criminal record, Kagonyera had faced charges in the past including assault with a deadly weapon. But the arrests turned out to be cases of mistaken identity, as a man who later confessed to the crime had not been among those convicted of it.
Kagonyera testified to the panel that he felt pressured by his attorney and family members to accept a plea bargain in order to avoid a possible death sentence. Wilcoxson feared a life sentence that would prevent him from ever seeing his daughter again.
In 2003, federal prisoner Robert Rutherford confessed to the crime and named two different people who were part of the home invasion. DNA was found on the bandanna of one of the people Rutherford named as a suspect, but that evidence excluded any of the five men who had been convicted in connection with the murder and home invasion.
Wilcoxson's father, Robert Wilcoxson-Bey, said he never doubted his son was innocent.
"Justice is always good when it comes right," he said.
Asked what he would do on his first night of freedom, Wilcoxson said, "Pray."
He then walked away with his attorney without answering any other questions. His family said they would gather somewhere and celebrate the decision.
"I'm just so happy. I gave it to God and put it in his hands," said Charlene Holmes, Kagonyera's mother, who cried when the verdict was read. "I can't wait for him to come home."
Dea Johnson, Wilcoxson's ex-girlfriend and mother of his daughter, said her daughter, Taneea, could now see her father as a free man for the first time.
"I just want him to see his baby," she said. "This is his pride and joy. This is what he fought for."
The innocence commission has heard three other cases, one of which resulted in the release of a man who served almost 17 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. A three-judge panel found Greg Taylor innocent in February 2010.
Messages left with the Buncombe County District Attorney's Office were not immediately returned Thursday. No one responded to knocks at the door of the office in the county courthouse.
"I'm just so excited. My son is coming home. It's just overwhelming," Wilcoxson-Bey said. "It's been a long, long road. He claimed he was innocent from the beginning, but nobody believed him. Nobody but his family."
http://news.yahoo.com/2-nc-men-walk-free-murder-exoneration-222600983.html
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/NC-s-unique-process-spotlights-innocence-efforts-2185750.phpASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Two North Carolina men walked free Thursday when a panel... more
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http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/21/justice/georgia-execution/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
CNN...
Troy Davis put to death in Georgia
By the CNN Wire Staff
updated 11:56 PM EST, Wed September 21, 2011
Davis case to become global 'scandal'
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Inmate tells victim's family he was not guilty
Troy Davis put to death late Wednesday
U.S. Supreme Court denied stay of execution
The original prosecutor says the facts support Troy Davis' sentence
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PART ONE...
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Jackson, Georgia (CNN) -- Troy Davis, whose case drew international attention, was put to death by lethal injection for the 1989 killing of an off-duty police officer in Savannah, Georgia, prison officials announced Wednesday night.
Davis was defiant to the very end. After he was strapped to the death gurney, he lifted his head to address the family of the slain officer.
He told the family of Mark MacPhail that he was not responsible for the officer's death and did not have a gun at the time, according to execution witnesses.
Davis said the case merited further investigation, talking fast as officials prepared to give him the lethal cocktail.
The execution followed the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of a stay, allowing the state to proceed. Davis was declared dead at 11:08 p.m. ET.
Throughout the day, Davis' lawyers and high-profile supporters had asked the state and various courts to intervene, arguing he did not murder MacPhail in 1989.
Davis initially had been scheduled to die by lethal injection at 7 p.m. ET. But the proceeding was delayed more than three hours as the justices pondered a plea filed by his attorney.
Several hundred people, most of them opposing the proceeding, gathered outside the state prison in Jackson where Davis, 42, awaited his fate. Others held a vigil in a nearby church.
The inmate's sister, Martina Davis-Correia, was among those who held a vigil outside the prison. Before the U.S. Supreme Court's decision, she said officials needed to take more time to examine the case. "When you are looking at someone's life, you can't press rewind."
More than 100 officers, many in riot gear, stood guard over the largely-quiet gathering, which featured candles, occasional prayers and songs. At least three people who crossed the street had been taken away in handcuffs.
"Tonight the state of Georgia legally lynched an innocent man," Davis' lawyer Thomas Ruffin Jr. said. "Tonight I witnessed something tragic."
Davis' supporters, who also rallied outside the U.S. Supreme Court building, argued that his conviction was based on the testimony of numerous witnesses who had recanted, including a jailhouse informer who claimed Davis had confessed.
"There's a genuine feeling among people here and across the nation that we're about to do the unthinkable," said Isaac Newton Farris Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
But prosecutors have stood by the conviction, and every appeal -- including the last-minute petitions filed Wednesday -- has failed.
Davis's supporters cheered and hugged each other when news of the earlier delay reached them. But it did not sit well with McPhail's mother, who remained at home.
CONTINUED...
.http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/21/justice/georgia-execution/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
CNN...... more
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The Ironic News Report is a satirical news parody that skewers politics and current events. This weeks edition talks of tea party economics, Republican Candidates, and even Alex Trebek!
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This week's Question: The Italian Prime Minister called his own country 'shitty'. Here in the US, TX governor Rick Perry wanted to secede from the union. Is that the same insult?The Ironic News Report is a satirical news parody that skewers politics and current... more
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