Most people imprisoned for low-level felonies have several prior convictions, according to a new study from the Center for Criminal Justice Research at Indiana University’s Public Policy Institute. The finding could change the state legislature’s effort to reform criminal sentencing.
Governor Mitch Daniels tried to push through prison reform legislation in 2011 to reduce the number of people held in state prisons and limit the amount of money Indiana spends on inmates. The idea was that many people who are put in prison for low-level felonies such as theft would be better off in treatment or on probation.
But the new study from the Center for Criminal Justice Research shows people who commit those low-level felonies often have been convicted of other crimes. John von Arx is the project manager for the study. He says the data shows prison time isn’t being used for first-time offenders.
Read more here.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
Texas inmate prepares for 3rd trip death house
What Cleve Foster remembers most about his recent brushes with death is the steel door, the last one condemned Texas inmates typically walk through before their execution.
"You can't take your eyes off that door," he says.
But twice over the past year and a half, Foster has come within moments of being escorted through the door, only to be told the U.S. Supreme Court had halted his scheduled punishment.
On Tuesday, Foster, 48, is scheduled for yet another trip to the death house for participating in the abduction and slaying of a 30-year-old Sudanese woman, Nyaneur Pal, a decade ago near Fort Worth.
Read more here.
"You can't take your eyes off that door," he says.
But twice over the past year and a half, Foster has come within moments of being escorted through the door, only to be told the U.S. Supreme Court had halted his scheduled punishment.
On Tuesday, Foster, 48, is scheduled for yet another trip to the death house for participating in the abduction and slaying of a 30-year-old Sudanese woman, Nyaneur Pal, a decade ago near Fort Worth.
Read more here.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
In U.S. executions, decades of delay, last-minute stays called cruel
Texas convicted murderer John Balentine made the round trip of 100 miles from death row to the execution chamber and back last week, a journey most condemned inmates make one way. Set to be executed on Wednesday shortly after 6 p.m. local time, Balentine was transported from his cell in Polunsky, Texas to the execution facility in Huntsville and placed in a small holding cell outside the death chamber.
Just after 5 p.m., he was informed that the U.S. Supreme Court had stayed his execution. He smiled but showed no other emotion, said Jason Clark, spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. In 2011, Balentine was also one hour away from execution when he received a stay. A delay was granted less than 24 hours before Balentine was to die in 2009. While three stays of execution for one person is unusual, some Americans say the slow grind of legal justice, sometimes followed by appeals that result in last-minute stays of execution, are cruel both to inmates and the families of their crime victims.
Read more here
Just after 5 p.m., he was informed that the U.S. Supreme Court had stayed his execution. He smiled but showed no other emotion, said Jason Clark, spokesman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. In 2011, Balentine was also one hour away from execution when he received a stay. A delay was granted less than 24 hours before Balentine was to die in 2009. While three stays of execution for one person is unusual, some Americans say the slow grind of legal justice, sometimes followed by appeals that result in last-minute stays of execution, are cruel both to inmates and the families of their crime victims.
Read more here
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Millions of mentally ill missing from background check system
Nothing in the public record would have stopped alleged Aurora theater shooter James Holmes from legally obtaining guns. He had never been found criminally insane by a judge or convicted of a felony, both of which could have resulted in his name being entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). And even if he had been adjudicated as mentally defective, there is no guarantee his name would have been added to the database against which gun-purchase applications are compared.
More than 2 million qualifying mental-illness records are missing from the NICS index, according to the National Center for State Courts and SEARCH, the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics. Judges who find a defendant mentally defective under the law are required to add that person's name to the index.
"Part of the reason they don't report is lack of funding, and part is they just don't make this system a priority," said Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Read more here
More than 2 million qualifying mental-illness records are missing from the NICS index, according to the National Center for State Courts and SEARCH, the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics. Judges who find a defendant mentally defective under the law are required to add that person's name to the index.
"Part of the reason they don't report is lack of funding, and part is they just don't make this system a priority," said Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Read more here
Thursday, September 13, 2012
In justice system, life is cheaper than death
Ector County may be saving taxpayers and the state money by not seeking the death penalty on accused killer James Doyle Burwell. District Attorney Bobby Bland on Tuesday waived the death penalty in Burwell’s capital murder case, in which he is accused of slaying Dick and Peggy Glover in May 2011 in their home. Bland said the family requested that it be waived. The Glover family declined to comment Tuesday.
According to state and national advocacy groups, everything about death penalty cases, including sentencing someone to death, could be as much as three times more costly than sentencing a person to life in prison in a capital case. Richard Dieter, the director of the national nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center, said costs vary not only state-by-state, but also locally.
Although it’s impossible to estimate a national average of costs for capital cases, Dieter said studies done across the United States allow him to safely estimate that a death sentence costs three times more than a capital case in which life in prison is the sentence.
Read more here
According to state and national advocacy groups, everything about death penalty cases, including sentencing someone to death, could be as much as three times more costly than sentencing a person to life in prison in a capital case. Richard Dieter, the director of the national nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center, said costs vary not only state-by-state, but also locally.
Although it’s impossible to estimate a national average of costs for capital cases, Dieter said studies done across the United States allow him to safely estimate that a death sentence costs three times more than a capital case in which life in prison is the sentence.
Read more here
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Cycle of Mistrust Leaves Crimes Unprosecuted in the Bronx
Walk around Forest Houses, a public housing complex in the South Bronx, and people will say they’ve been stabbed, robbed, beat up — even shot. But most never wanted to get police involved, and many say they wouldn’t go to prosecutors either — even if their attackers were arrested. They say they fear retaliation.
“If I knew the dude that did it, I wouldn’t tell on him,” said James Johnson, a 17-year-old who lives in Forest Houses, “because that’s how people come looking for you. It’s the truth. I’m telling you.”
Around here, residents say they don’t trust law enforcement to protect them because criminals keep coming back to the neighborhood, even after they’ve been locked up.
“They can start all over again harassing you, and you’re not getting relocated. You’re gonna still be in your hood, dealing with the problem again,” said Melissa White, 30, another resident of Forest Houses. “At the end of the day, this is why people don’t want to talk. Because they have nowhere to go.”
Read more here
“If I knew the dude that did it, I wouldn’t tell on him,” said James Johnson, a 17-year-old who lives in Forest Houses, “because that’s how people come looking for you. It’s the truth. I’m telling you.”
Around here, residents say they don’t trust law enforcement to protect them because criminals keep coming back to the neighborhood, even after they’ve been locked up.
“They can start all over again harassing you, and you’re not getting relocated. You’re gonna still be in your hood, dealing with the problem again,” said Melissa White, 30, another resident of Forest Houses. “At the end of the day, this is why people don’t want to talk. Because they have nowhere to go.”
Read more here
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
9/11 -- 11 years later: A nation pauses to reflect and mourn anew
With bagpipes and somber bells sounding a sharp counterpoint to the commemorative moments of silence, the nation on Tuesday marked the 11th anniversary of the terrorist attack that brought down the World Trade Center in Manhattan and shattered the country’s political psyche.
At ceremonies in New York, at the Pentagon and in Washington, relatives and friends mourned the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack by Islamic terrorists. The scenes were as moving as those from previous ceremonies, though they also seemed more personal than in the past, especially compared to last year’s 10th anniversary. Unlike past events, authorities did not raise any special security alerts this year.
The sun rose on a cool, crisp morning, remarkably similar to that which dawned 11 years ago. At all three sites -- the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in Manhattan, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pa. -- the focus was on the victims who died when terrorists hijacked four commercial jetliners. The Manhattan ceremony also honored the six people killed on Feb. 26, 1993, when attackers set off a truck bomb beneath the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
Read more
At ceremonies in New York, at the Pentagon and in Washington, relatives and friends mourned the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack by Islamic terrorists. The scenes were as moving as those from previous ceremonies, though they also seemed more personal than in the past, especially compared to last year’s 10th anniversary. Unlike past events, authorities did not raise any special security alerts this year.
The sun rose on a cool, crisp morning, remarkably similar to that which dawned 11 years ago. At all three sites -- the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in Manhattan, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pa. -- the focus was on the victims who died when terrorists hijacked four commercial jetliners. The Manhattan ceremony also honored the six people killed on Feb. 26, 1993, when attackers set off a truck bomb beneath the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
Read more
Monday, September 10, 2012
Using Supportive Housing to Help Solve the Prison Problem
Throughout the country, prisons are stressing state budgets. Recidivism rates are high, driving costs even higher and reducing public safety. And for the small cohort of state inmates who have very high health care needs, the costs are higher still. Those men and women have histories of mental illness, substance use, chronic illness and homelessness -- and they cycle between the streets and expensive institutions, jails and prisons. But there's a solution that works to tackle the seemingly insurmountable problem of this high-need, high-cost group: supportive housing.
One state has already taken the lead in demonstrating the potential of supportive housing to reduce recidivism and costs. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC) saw the problem and built a supportive housing program for the men and women coming out of Ohio's prisons that would help keep them housed, healthy and stable. The Returning Home Ohio initiative focuses on people being released from prisons who have been chronically homeless -- with priority given to those with severe mental illness, a developmental disability or other ongoing challenges that make services necessary to maintain housing.
Read more here
One state has already taken the lead in demonstrating the potential of supportive housing to reduce recidivism and costs. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC) saw the problem and built a supportive housing program for the men and women coming out of Ohio's prisons that would help keep them housed, healthy and stable. The Returning Home Ohio initiative focuses on people being released from prisons who have been chronically homeless -- with priority given to those with severe mental illness, a developmental disability or other ongoing challenges that make services necessary to maintain housing.
Read more here
Friday, September 7, 2012
Windsor's forensic unit: Putting bad guys behind bars
"Dead bodies don't speak but they tell an incredible story.”
As stated in part one of the series, the Windsor Police Forensic Identification Branch may not be as glamourous as television – but there are still many stories to be told in Windsor. Just recently, Forensic Identification officers were able to obtain latent fingerprints from a scene and that led to the suspect's identity. They helped the Windsor Police arrest a 17-year-old who committed a string of sexual assaults. Further investigation revealed that the suspect was also responsible for two other sexual assaults that occurred in July.
The Forensic department handles much more than just homicides – they're at every crime. They always have cases to work on. According to Sgt. Douglas Cowper, their “bread and butter” are break and enters. It's what we do day in and day out. Finger prints and foot prints can be found around every scene. They photograph many scenes for the Windsor Police – the need for photos will always be there. They deal with assaults, sexual assaults, traffic accidents, grow-ops and much more, but it's the crimes involving death that is the most challenging.
“There are a lot of awful things in this job,” Cowper said. “Other officers look at us and say they can never do our job. We see a lot of death. We deal with a lot of autopsies. Death is messy, gross and smells awful, and I give my officers a lot of credit.”
Read more here
As stated in part one of the series, the Windsor Police Forensic Identification Branch may not be as glamourous as television – but there are still many stories to be told in Windsor. Just recently, Forensic Identification officers were able to obtain latent fingerprints from a scene and that led to the suspect's identity. They helped the Windsor Police arrest a 17-year-old who committed a string of sexual assaults. Further investigation revealed that the suspect was also responsible for two other sexual assaults that occurred in July.
The Forensic department handles much more than just homicides – they're at every crime. They always have cases to work on. According to Sgt. Douglas Cowper, their “bread and butter” are break and enters. It's what we do day in and day out. Finger prints and foot prints can be found around every scene. They photograph many scenes for the Windsor Police – the need for photos will always be there. They deal with assaults, sexual assaults, traffic accidents, grow-ops and much more, but it's the crimes involving death that is the most challenging.
“There are a lot of awful things in this job,” Cowper said. “Other officers look at us and say they can never do our job. We see a lot of death. We deal with a lot of autopsies. Death is messy, gross and smells awful, and I give my officers a lot of credit.”
Read more here
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Texas prison population shrinks as rehabilitation programs take root
In July, Texas' prison system posted its lowest head count in five years, even as the state's overall population continued to grow at a fast clip. Instead of 156,500 prisoners behind bars in Texas' 111 state prisons a year ago, the lockups now hold just over 154,000 — a drop of about 2,500, according to state statistics. Texas, which historically has had one of the highest incarceration rates per capita of the 50 states, is now in fourth place, down from second two years ago.
Whether the declining prison population is the start of a long-term decrease or a short-lived dip is a matter of debate that will be settled only by time. Still, experts say, prison population declines are occurring in other states, too.
"It's real. It's happening, not only in Texas, but around the country," said Tony Fabelo, an Austin-based criminal justice consultant who coached Texas officials during the 1990s as the state tripled the size of its prison system and is now advising other states on how to decrease their prison populations.
Read more here
Whether the declining prison population is the start of a long-term decrease or a short-lived dip is a matter of debate that will be settled only by time. Still, experts say, prison population declines are occurring in other states, too.
"It's real. It's happening, not only in Texas, but around the country," said Tony Fabelo, an Austin-based criminal justice consultant who coached Texas officials during the 1990s as the state tripled the size of its prison system and is now advising other states on how to decrease their prison populations.
Read more here
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
The cost of a murder
A few minutes after sunset on June 12, 2010, three shots rang out in Allens Alley on Wilmington’s East Side, and a young man lay dying. It was a drug deal gone bad, the kind of violence that’s become so pervasive in the city that police say it can be tough to tell victims, suspects and witnesses apart. Cynics in the criminal justice system sometimes dismiss such murders as “thug-icide,” and the public rarely sheds a tear.
But the murder of 28-year-old Anthony Bing that Saturday night took a financial toll on every person in Delaware.
Taxpayers got the bill for the police investigation, plus the work of paramedics and hospital staff who tried to save Bing’s life and the work of a medical examiner after he died. They paid both for prosecutors and defense attorneys in two murder trials. They’ll be paying for the incarceration of three killers for decades to come. Taxpayers may also foot the bill for social services for Bing’s family.
Read more here
But the murder of 28-year-old Anthony Bing that Saturday night took a financial toll on every person in Delaware.
Taxpayers got the bill for the police investigation, plus the work of paramedics and hospital staff who tried to save Bing’s life and the work of a medical examiner after he died. They paid both for prosecutors and defense attorneys in two murder trials. They’ll be paying for the incarceration of three killers for decades to come. Taxpayers may also foot the bill for social services for Bing’s family.
Read more here
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