The MPAA has successfully shut down an entire town's municipal WiFi because a single user was found to be downloading a copyrighted movie. Rather than being embarrassed by this gross example of collective punishment (a practice outlawed in the Geneva conventions) against Coshocton, OH, the MPAA's spokeslizard took the opportunity to cry poor (even though the studios are bringing in record box-office and aftermarket receipts).
The unjust and absurd death of Stefano Cucchi, and the suicide of the new Red brigade militant Diana Blefari have served at least to talk about the prison problem in Italy, ignored and censored for years. Art. 27 of the italian Constitution, not applied as unfortunately happens to most of our basic charter, states that "Punishment cannot consist of treatment contrary to human dignity and must be aimed at rehabilitation of the offender." http://www.inaltreparole.net/en/news/carceriitalia051109.htmlThe unjust and absurd death of Stefano Cucchi, and the suicide of the new Red brigade... more
Christopher Miller, 25, had knifed 30-year-old Mohanty in the neck as he walked to a restaurant with his friends in Glasgow in March this year. Miller claimed in court that the incident was 'botched mugging' but a jury at the High Court in Glasgow returned a unanimous verdict of murder. The judge said the killing was as "incomprehensible as it was evil" and “racially aggravated”.
Lawyers for two Florida men who were sentenced to life without parole as juveniles will argue to the U.S. Supreme Court Monday that the penalty is cruel and unusual.
With those words, a deeply divided U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 declared that the execution of adolescents was cruel and unusual punishment, and, hence, a violation of the U.S. Constitution. The ruling halted capital punishment for juveniles in 25 states.
On Monday, the lawyers for two Florida men who, as juveniles, were sentenced to life without parole for nonhomicides will ask the nation's highest court to declare the practice of incarcerating juveniles for the rest of their lives cruel and unusual, as well.
Life, the lawyers say, is different, too.
The Supreme Court will hold oral arguments on the two cases:. The case of Terrance Jamar Graham, convicted of armed robbery in Duval County, will be heard first at 10 a.m.; the appeal of Joe Sullivan, a convicted rapist from Pensacola, will be heard an hour later.
``What's at stake is that we have children who will die in prison because they have no right to parole, and there is no other option,'' said Paolo Annino, a Florida State University law professor who has been researching juvenile lifers for more than a decade. ``What's at stake is life and death.''
But for prosecutors, and some judges, the penultimate penalty of lifelong imprisonment is an important part of the nation's criminal justice tool box -- even for kids.
``Sentencing a juvenile to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is a weighty matter. Prosecutors do not seek such punishment lightly, nor do courts impose it without careful consideration,'' the National District Attorneys Association wrote in a ``friend of the court'' brief.
``But youthful offenders sometimes commit heinous crimes -- rapes, kidnappings, and violent robberies and assaults that may leave the victim maimed for life, or worse.''
For almost two decades, lawmakers and state juvenile justice administrators have mounted an unprecedented assault on youthful offenders -- prosecuting teens in adult court, sending them to military-style boot camps and imposing long sentences as their weapons.
"MADISON - Daryl Strenke called to his former girlfriend to come out of her Comstock mobile home so the two, who had recently broken up, could talk. Samantha "Sam" Verby told him to come inside. As Verby blurted out, "What are you doing?" Strenke aimed his 12-gauge shotgun at her head and fired, killing her.
Verby's two friends ducked for cover as Strenke then turned the gun on himself, blowing away the lower part of his face.
The crime left the Verbys without a daughter and a 7-year-old girl without her mother. But Strenke, of Turtle Lake, survived the shotgun blast, eventually pleading guilty to second-degree intentional homicide for the June 30, 2002, shooting. Strenke sustained significant injuries that make it impossible to eat or speak normally."
Am I cruel to say, "let the bastard keep eating through a straw?"
I don't really have the desire to hear him speak normally. And he should have to look at his handiwork, until the day he dies. I don't think taxpayers money should be spent in this manner. Do you?"MADISON - Daryl Strenke called to his former girlfriend to come out of her Comstock... more
The U.S. terror war as seen through the eyes of a prisoner
When we first began corresponding with Khalid Awan in 2007, we had no idea why he was serving time in U.S. federal prison. We soon discovered Awan was one of the first of thousands of Muslims taken prisoner in the post-9/11 U.S. “terror war.” As the story began unfolding in our letters, we began to realize that this honest, humble and sincere man was not only innocent, but the ongoing injustice being done to him provides critical insight into the mindless, meanspirited, bureaucratic-yes-men idiocy fueling the illegal U.S. “war on terror” (and just about everything else that is going wrong in this country). At our insistence, Awan wrote his story and supplied us with whatever documents we requested. And now, after three months of cooperative efforts, the story of Khalid Awan can be told. We have come to know Awan as a peaceful man engaged in peaceful work who has been wrongfully accused, detained and repeatedly convicted of crimes he did not commit because he was a Muslim with international connections and an office in New York on 9/11. We present this to you in faith that you will realize a deeper understanding of the levels of complicity necessary for the “land of the free” to tolerate the phony war on terror year after year and in hope that Awan—and all the other million or more political prisoners being held by this country—will one day be reunited with their families.
Khalid Awan # 50959-054
USP Marion
P.O.BOX : 1000
Marion, IL 62959
USA http://www.freekhalidawan.com/, http://blogs.amnesty.org.uk/blogs_entry.asp?eid=3759, http://awankhalid.com/, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=60600467317The U.S. terror war as seen through the eyes of a prisoner
When we first began... more
Did you ever get in trouble at school and think the punishment was unfair? Chances are your penalty wasn't equivalent to the one Charity Walka's 10-Year-Old son received last month for disrupting class.Did you ever get in trouble at school and think the punishment was unfair? Chances are... more
This is a brief about the outrageous decision a by a US judge. I've only seen it on Fox News.This is a brief about the outrageous decision a by a US judge. I've only seen it on... more
In a move to prevent moral degradation, Aceh has instituted the ultimate penalty for adultery.In a move to prevent moral degradation, Aceh has instituted the ultimate penalty for... more
Federal agents carrying John Demjanjuk in a wheelchair put him on a small jet Monday to be deported to Germany, where the retired autoworker is accused of being a Nazi death camp guard in World War II.
Demjanjuk, 89, arrived in an ambulance at Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport after spending several hours with U.S. immigration officials at a downtown federal building. Airport commissioner Khalid Bahhur confirmed Demjanjuk was on the plane and that its destination is Germany.
The deportation came four days after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider Demjanjuk's request to block deportation and about 3 1/2 years after he was last ordered deported.Federal agents carrying John Demjanjuk in a wheelchair put him on a small jet Monday... more
Saturday's edition of my three times a week talk show.Watch or listen to the show on Tues, Thurs & Sats here at WWW.UNITEDKINGDOMTALK.CO.UK
In today's show :
Win a prize.
Wireless.
Organic tea.
I frighten them.
I had to force myslef.
Chris Willis podcast : www.the-rant.co.uk
Where are the flashing lights ?
Cutting down.
Don't change your mobile number.
Glasses of water.
Gwen is still a child.
Texting & driving.
Plastic bottles.
Make me a promise.
Randomness.
New camera.
Tap water.
Ross likes the drink. www.rosspatzelt.co.uk
Terrible for the enviroment.
Greyed out.
Punishment for me.
He moves onto another subject quickly.
Stop throwing them away.
Trying other brands.
Any aliens watching ?
Find my music mixes at www.chrisreardonshow.co.uk
Batteries & Christmas.
Why should it be you ?
Health insurance.
I've been technical.
Saturday's edition of my three times a week talk show.Watch the show here on CURRENT TV on Tues, Thurs & Sats.
In today's show :
Someone has been very naughty.
Toilets.
More pigeon news.
Sunglasses.
Forgiveness.
Panels.
A cloudy summer.
How can I show my face in public.
You think they don't know.
You don't want to get the red paper.
Chicago.
I don't like waste.
Not enough ticks.
The karaoke night.
Mother's day.
Welcome Tom.
Wrong coloured pens.
Anyone want a lift home ?
Plastic flowers.
What bad things did you do at school ?
2 years of no smoking in clubs.
Lunch at Asda.
What punishments did you get ?
One long soap opera.
Mini daffs.
Hiding in the cloakroom.
Returning to your home town.
Wobbling cane.
I don't recognise anyone.
Talking at the back.
My church.
Hold on to your wallet.
A plume of smoke.
chris@unitedkingdomtalk.co.uk
WWW.UNITEDKINGDOMTALK.CO.UKSaturday's edition of my three times a week talk show.Watch the show here on CURRENT... more
Whether castration can help rehabilitate violent sex offenders has come under new scrutiny after the Council of Europe’s anti-torture committee last month called surgical castration “invasive, irreversible and mutilating” and demanded that the Czech Republic stop offering the procedure to violent sex offenders. Other critics said that castration threatened to lead society down a dangerous road toward eugenics.Whether castration can help rehabilitate violent sex offenders has come under new... more
Amenah Bahrami, a 31-year-old Iranian woman, is demanding an eye for an eye - literally. Bahrami was blinded when a rejected suitor threw acid on her face, and she is planning on doing the same to him. She says she is not looking for revenge, but is hoping to teach a lesson.Amenah Bahrami, a 31-year-old Iranian woman, is demanding an eye for an eye -... more
Roberto Calderoli, an Italian government minister has said that rapists should be surgically castrated.Roberto Calderoli, an Italian government minister has said that rapists should be... more
Mexican police punished graffiti-ing teens by spray-painting their hair, shoes, and bottoms.Mexican police punished graffiti-ing teens by spray-painting their hair, shoes, and... more
Charles Platt has written an excellent and very personal account of what it's like to visit a friend serving a lengthy sentence for murder in a Texas prison.
"The man by the metal detector looks like somebody’s benevolent uncle. White-haired, folksy and jovial, he could be in a TV commercial selling hearing aids. You’d never guess he controls access to a concrete-walled correctional facility.
"Getting into this Texas prison is turning out to be more difficult than I expected. First I had to submit a written application with a photocopy of my driver’s license, for a background check. After I was approved, I had to establish the date of my arrival, and when I drove out here this morning my car was subjected to some truly amazing security theater, as one humorless uniformed guard stared solemnly at all the stuff in the trunk while another peered under the hood at the engine.
Finally I was allowed to park in the visitor lot, after which I walked into a little fortified bunker at one corner of a huge perimeter fence topped with coils upon coils of razor wire. This is where I am now, with white-haired Mr. Friendly asking me—in the nicest possible way—to empty my pockets. Since inmates are not allowed to possess money, I’m not allowed to carry any in—with the exception of two rolls of quarters, which I was advised that I actually should bring with me, for purposes that I do not yet understand."
[read more at link]Charles Platt has written an excellent and very personal account of what it's like to... more
Joe Hanson has certainly done a number of questionable things over the course of the Joe Gets series. But he's never done anything to get in trouble with the law. That's why he took a ride down to the station to find out what happens when Joe Gets Arrested.Joe Hanson has certainly done a number of questionable things over the course of the... more
A judge has found success in punishing noise violators. He is making them listen to music that they do not like. Perhaps an hour of the hot sounds of Barry Manilow or the edgy theme to "Barney and Friends."
Judge Paul Sacco said that this approach has reduced repeat offenders.
If the offenders are found to enjoy the music, they will have the songs removed because the poin, says Sacco, is to have people listen to music they don't like.A judge has found success in punishing noise violators. He is making them listen to... more
