tagged w/ Crime and Punishment
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RIVERHEAD , N.Y., Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Authorities say a New York man convicted in the 1992 kidnapping and abuse case of 9-year-old Katie Beers has died in a Suffolk County jail.
Sal Inghilleri, who suffered from heart disease, diabetes and other ailments, died Saturday, apparently from a heart attack, said Chief Michael Sharkey of the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department.
Inghilleri, 55, participated in a kidnap case considered one of the most shocking crimes in Long Island history, Newsday reported Sunday.
In December 1992, John Esposito, a family friend, kidnapped Katie Beers from an amusement park and for 16 days kept her in a bunker he had built to hide her under his house.
Beers testified she was molested by Esposito and Inghilleri, the husband of her godmother.
Esposito pleaded guilty to kidnapping, was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison and remains at Sing Sing Correctional Facility.
Inghilleri was sentenced to 12 years and finished his sentence in 2006. He was re-arrested in 2007 for failing to register as a sex offender, Sharkey said.RIVERHEAD , N.Y., Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Authorities say a New York man convicted in the... more
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I think this is a great Idea
Killers could be ordered to pay for the funeral expenses of their victims under legislation drafted by the Scottish government.
The measure, expected to be introduced in the Scottish Parliament next month as part of the Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill, would apply to those who cause fatal car crashes as well as those convicted of homicide, The Scotsman reported Saturday.
"We aim to give criminal courts more flexibility to award compensation against an offender, and update the remit of compensation orders so they can reflect changes in the means of the offender, and be used to pay funeral and bereavement expenses to the relatives of a deceased victim," said Kenny MacAskill, the justice secretary. "If supported by parliament, these important changes will help more victims and their families."
Some victims' advocates do not support the measure. Cynthia Barlow, whose daughter was killed at age 26 in a collision with a cement mixer, works with RoadPeace, group counseling bereaved families, and says monetary compensation is not their major concern.
"They are much more interested in remedial action, making sure the incident does not happen to someone else if it could have been prevented," she said.I think this is a great Idea
Killers could be ordered to pay for the funeral... more
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Searched 21 times because of his Race
A native New Yorker of South Asian descent claims police have stopped and searched him 21 times in the subway because of his race.
In a lawsuit filed Thursday by the New York Civil Liberties Union, Jangir Sultan, 32, says he is of Kashmiri descent and has dark eyes and brown skin and looks Middle Eastern. The occupational therapist says he was born in Brooklyn and has lived in New York nearly his entire lifeSultan says he was stopped at various subway stations around the city after the New York Police Department implemented a search program in response to bombings in London in 2005.
At first, he said, he regarded the searches as a necessary part of life to prevent another terrorist attack. But then he started asking around, and realized none of his friends were being stopped with the same frequency, according to the lawsuit against the city and the NYPD filed in Brooklyn's federal court.
Police conduct subway stops at random times in stations around the city, setting up a table and a sign with the NYPD crest where bags are searched. Straphangers are told consistently by transit workers that all bags are subject to search by police. Paul Browne, the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner for Public Information, said the checks are conducted without regard to ethnicity or race.
The city law department said two federal courts have already determined the subway bag searches are constitutional because they properly balance subway security and civil liberties.
“It is an important anti-terror program that enhances the safety of millions of New Yorkers,” the law department said in a statement. “The NYPD has made every effort to make the program as minimally intrusive as possible.”
But Sultan says he has been stopped wearing scrubs, gym clothing and business attire, with several different bags, and has been singled out at different stations around the city. The only plausible reason he continues to be stopped is because of his race, according to the suit.
“Mr. Sultan began looking at himself in the mirror in the mornings before he left for work, wondering what about him provoked the officers to search him so frequently. He tried carrying a different type of bag, but the stops continued,” the lawsuit says.Searched 21 times because of his Race
A native New Yorker of South Asian descent... more
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NASA's Phoenix lander may have captured the first images of liquid water on Mars - droplets that apparently splashed onto the spacecraft's leg during landing, according to some members of the Phoenix team.
The controversial observation could be explained by the mission's previous discovery of perchlorate salts in the soil, since the salts can keep water liquid at sub-zero temperatures. Researchers say this antifreeze effect makes it possible for liquid water to be widespread just below the surface of Mars, but point out that even if it is there, it may be too salty to support life as we know it.
A few days after Phoenix landed on 25 May 2008, it sent back an image showing mysterious splotches of material attached to one of its legs. Strangely, the splotches grew in size over the next few weeks, and Phoenix scientists have been debating the origin of the objects ever since.
One intriguing possibility is that they were droplets of salty water that grew by absorbing water vapour from the atmosphere. Arguments for this idea are laid out in a study by Phoenix team member Nilton Renno of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and co-authored by 21 other researchers, including the mission's chief scientist, Peter Smith of the University of Arizona in Tucson. The study (pdf) will be presented in March at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas.NASA's Phoenix lander may have captured the first images of liquid water on Mars... more
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RECESSION! WE ARE INSIDE OF ONE RIGHT NOW. As tired as I am of having this recession jammed down my throat at every opportunity (I am a firm believer that if the press didn't tell us we were in a recession we wouldn't be in one), it has produced some interesting phenomenon.
While crimes like... Say.... Murder might be on the rise during a recession - capitol punishment is in the red.
http://current.com/items/89611772/executions_at_14_year_low_as_costs_rise.htm
It seems we can no longer afford to execute the people that are robbing/killing us for the money we don't have. US executions are at a 14 year low citing the cost of execution as a reason for the slump. Ok, fair enough - I've never been pro-death penalty... Maybe this recession isn't so bad I'm thinking - WRONG!
http://current.com/items/89604616/prostitution_suffering_from_economic_crisis.htm
Ain't this recession just a kick in the pants! The global economy is in such a crisis that industries such as 'sex-tourism' are turning belly up. So now when I go to Prague I'm going to have to enjoy the local culture and cuisine... Greaaaaaat......
Ok so, we can't execute people, we can't travel internationally to pay for sex... Things are getting pretty bad. Any solutions? How bout we just print new money!
http://current.com/items/89593120/neighborhoods_printing_their_own_money.htm
Neighborhoods in Milwaukee are discussing printing their own nifty little money in order to combat the lack of real money and encourage local spending. I think I might have came up with this idea when I was 6. Well Milwaukee, more power to you! If you can get people to spend Milwaukee fun-bucks then I will be the first person to counterfeit them and buy all your stuff.
Pictured: Me trying to look more laid off by licking my chops at the sight of canned food, wearing a knit cap and growing 'recession stubble' -
http://current.com/items/89612758/the_laid_off_beard.htmRECESSION! WE ARE INSIDE OF ONE RIGHT NOW. As tired as I am of having this recession... more
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For many Americans, the sentence awaiting OJ Simpson from a Nevada judge today is justice delayed after he was acquitted of a double murder years ago.For many Americans, the sentence awaiting OJ Simpson from a Nevada judge today is... more
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Lake County Sheriff Mark C. Curran Jr. sentenced himself today to a week in his own jail, saying he believes spending time behind bars will make him a better cop and a better person.
"I believe that I can be a better sheriff by having a better understanding of jail operations from the perspective of an inmate in the Lake County Jail," Curran said before being locked up. "I believe that I will receive significant introspection from staying in the jail with inmates for a week."
Curran plans to live in a cell, eat jail food, mingle and talk with other inmates in common areas, while also attending numerous programs offered in the facility, including substance abuse counseling, parenting and educational classes, along with religious services.
That immersion, he said, should give him more insight into everything from safety issues to what programs may be needed help inmates straighten out their lives and avoid future crimes.
"My experience in the jail will help me to better understand our existing programming, as well as any possible unmet needs that exist in our programming,'' said Curran, a 45-year-old former prosecutor elected sheriff in 2006.
But Curran, a Roman Catholic, also frequently cited a spiritual desire to understand what inmates are going through and how their lives may be turned around.
"In Lake County, we have embraced the scriptural mandate to love our neighbor. Your neighbor must be everyone if we are truly going to see peace on Earth," he said. "In the eyes of society, I may be sheriff, but in God’s eyes, I am no better than anyone else."
He said he wasn’t worried that his stay would be criticized by some as a publicity stunt.
"I don’t live my life for other people," Curran said. "I do what’s right and let the chips fall."Lake County Sheriff Mark C. Curran Jr. sentenced himself today to a week in his own... more
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The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has unanimously denied clemency for Jeff Wood, a man who killed no one. This cannot be tolerated.
Imagine being 14 years old and waiting to learn whether your father is going to live or die. Only you're not in a hospital waiting room, or anticipating dreadful news from a war zone. You are in Texas, and your father is on death row. His life is in the hands of seven people who will sit around a table and, in a deliberate manner, officially decide whether he should, indeed, be strapped to a gurney and injected with lethal chemicals, as planned. On the narrow chance that they decide to grant clemency, it is then up to the governor, a man who has signed off on more executions than any other in the country, to follow through.
This is what Paige Lynn Wood went through all day yesterday, which also happened to be her father's 34th birthday. In the end, her worst fears were realized: On Monday afternoon, the board decided, in a vote of 7-0, to execute her father, Jeff Wood. Wood is scheduled to die by lethal injection Thursday night for a murder he did not commit. It's not just that he has a strong innocence claim, or that his state-appointed council was completely incompetent during his capital trial. The fact is, Wood did not kill anyone -- and no one argues that he did. The person who committed the murder for which he is scheduled to die was already executed, six years ago.
The Crime, an Overzealous Prosecutor and a Man Named "Dr. Death"
On New Years Day 1996, 22-year-old Jeff Wood was in on a plot to rob a Texaco convenience store in Kerrville, Texas, along with a man named Daniel Reneau. The store's assistant manager was an accomplice in the robbery: He was going to help Reneau navigate the store. But things didn't go according to plan, and in the early hours of Jan. 2, Reneau shot their friend Kriss Keeran, who was working behind the counter, in the face, killing him instantly.
Wood was startled when he heard the gunshot, but he reportedly helped carry out the subsequent robbery anyway, stealing several thousand dollars. He and Reneau were arrested within 24 hours. They confessed to the crime, and Wood led police to the murder weapon.
While it remains unclear to what extent Wood was supposed to participate in the robbery, what is absolutely undisputed is that Wood had no role in Keeran's murder. According to his attorneys, he was not even aware that Reneau was carrying a gun. After all, the robbery was supposed to be an inside job. As reiterated in the clemency brief filed by Wood’s defense attorneys early this month, "Reneau -- the only person inside the store and who carried a weapon -- alone made the decision to take Keeran's life. Mr. Wood was outside the store in his brother's truck."
Months later, during the trial of Daniel Reneau, there was no ambiguity over who had killed Keeran. According to Jordan Smith of the Austin Chronicle, "the state argued that he was responsible for Keeran's murder and portrayed Wood as little more than a sap, steamrolled by the villainous Reneau."
Renaeu was sentenced to death in March 1997. He was executed in 2002. Following the execution, the Dallas Morning News reported that when "asked on death row last week to identify the shooter, Reneau had a one-word reply: 'Me.'"
Having locked in a death sentence for Reneau, it should have defied logic and legal ethics for prosecutors to change the story to make Wood the real villain. But that's what happened. "At Wood's trial," reports Smith, "prosecutors reversed their strategy, arguing that Wood deserved to die because he'd gotten Reneau to 'do his dirty work.'"
Tell Gov. Rick Perry Not to Execute Jeff Wood.
Jeff Wood's supporters are urging the governor of Texas to grant a 30-day stay of execution. Call or fax the governor today:
Phone: (512) 463-2000
Fax: (512) 463-1849
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Wood's execution is scheduled for tonight (8/21/08) so let's vote this up today with hopes and prayers for justice.The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has unanimously denied clemency for Jeff Wood,... more
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Michael Rodriguez remembers the exhilaration of new found freedom as he rode in the back of a stolen truck, knowing he and six of his fellow convicts had staged an improbably successful escape from a maximum security Texas prison.
This week, Rodriguez, a participant in one of Texas' most notorious prison breaks, is set to become the first of the six surviving members of the infamous "Texas 7" — all of them now on death row — to go to the death chamber.
"I'm glad we got caught, so no one else would get hurt," Rodriguez said, discussing with a reporter for the first time his involvement in the crime spree eight years ago.
"It was so thrilling that we actually got away with it," he said of the December 2000 break from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Connally Unit in South Texas. "But after Mr. Hawkins got killed, and I saw Peter Jennings on the TV news with our pictures, I thought: 'Oh my God, Oh my God. Am I in trouble!' "
After some six weeks on the lam, the gang finally was captured in Colorado. One of the seven escapees killed himself as authorities closed in.
A judge finally signed off on his decision to die last year, two days after the U.S. Supreme Court imposed a de facto nationwide moratorium on the death penalty while it considered whether lethal injection was unconstitutionally cruel.
When the justices upheld in April the method as proper, a judge in Dallas County reset the execution date for this week.
"I'm just moving forward," he said from a small visiting cell at the Polunsky Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, home to the state's death row. "Look. I'm guilty of what they said — everything."
And he said he wants the family of his former wife, Theresa, and the relatives of Hawkins, the slain Irving police officer, "to know how truly sorry I am, and I am willing to pay."
"I think it's a fair sentence," he added. "I need to pay back. I can't pay back monetarily. This is the way."
Lori Hawkins, whose husband was killed, calls Rodriguez's apologies "a little too late."Michael Rodriguez remembers the exhilaration of new found freedom as he rode in the... more
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Decatur,Illinois on the south side by the lake exists a humble white house I moved in to last month.
I felt inside however that this house my new home, wasnt always just a humble structure.
And through Interviews with locals ranging from bus drivers, to neighbors, and finally, my landlord,
I confirmed my the vibes I felt.
You see this house was once ground zero for the Decatur drug war.
Well actually the whole area was. a house just a few doors down sits to this day, a burned out structure.
It was firebombed by rival drug dealers /gangs.
Even more alarming on our porch a fourteen year old girl was murdered.
All because of narcotics.
Pretty sad , and overwhelming.
Untill you realize that thanks to the Decatur Police doing their jobs by conducting raids,stamping out corruption, hence, keeping their staff up to par, brought a war zone into a neigborhood in which children such as my seven month old ,and three year old neices can not merely live, but play.
Where neighbors can smile at each other like in those olden days our grandparents tell us of.
Rather than hanging their heads, avoiding ANY eye contact, nor give off body energy for fear they may be targeted for harrasings, muggings and even murder..
In short, YES change can come about but only if we DEMAND it.
Not just for ourselves but for the next generations being born and raised...
After all how can one look in your childs eyes and truthfully say you love them yet you show NO concern for the society in which they will eventually have to live in long after you have passed on.
This is Crista Sadler
Reporting on Crime and Punishment in Decatur, Illinois.
Decatur,Illinois on the south side by the lake exists a humble white house I moved in... more
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Texas is set to defy the World Court and anger Mexico on Tuesday by executing a Mexican national who was not informed of his right to consular services after his arrest.
Texas, by far America's most active death penalty state, condemned Jose Medellin for the 1993 rape and murder of 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena in Houston. Another girl was killed in the vicious gang-related assault but Medellin was convicted only of Pena's murder.
The World Court last month ordered the U.S. government to "take all measures necessary" to halt the upcoming execution of five Mexicans until it makes a final judgment in a dispute over suspects' rights.
Medellin is the first of those scheduled to be put to death and the only one so far with a 2008 execution date, according to the . Death Penalty Information Center
Alison Castle, a spokeswoman for Republican Gov. Rick Perry, said the state's Board of Pardons and Paroles was considering the case and the governor would most likely make his decision based on its recommendation on Tuesday.
She emphasized the brutal nature of the crime.
"It's very important for the citizens of Texas to remember that Jose Medellin ... brutally and viciously gang raped, stomped, kicked, slashed, strangled and murdered two teenage girls in Houston," Castle said.Texas is set to defy the World Court and anger Mexico on Tuesday by executing a... more
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