Criminal Justice eJournalling at its Best!

While attending Kaplan University one of my courses requires that keep a journal. Since I have become a blogger during the past year (it will be a year in June 2005), it only seemed natural that I utilize the blogsite venue to post my journal entries. While I am going back from having written journal to this point in time and re-entering my journal on the blogspot, it will be a time before I truly catch up on all my journal entries. I should have done this venue in the first place and I wouldn't have had to worry about lugging around the journal notebook; and, I would have had access to my eJournal any time that I was near a computer with internet access. WOW! I have taken my blogwebs to new heights now -- as part of my education courses' fulfillment!! hee hee.... Who would have guessed five years ago that we would be utilizing technology to the extent that we do today -- especially, with the advent of Blogger!!


More about the CJ eJournal blog page reason for existing:

READ ABOUT THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT JOURNAL:


The Professional Development Journal serves three functions. First, it is a place for you to record critical reflections on your education and to define its value in relation to your personal and professional growth. Second, it serves as a valuable tool in assessing your comprehensive knowledge of the field of criminal justice. Last, based on your critical reflections and learning assessment, it helps you outline a plan for lifelong learning and development that meets your goals with respect to academic, professional, and personal success.

Rather than waiting until the end, you should work on the journal throughout the course, adding and refining your thoughts as a part of a process of discovery.

The Professional Development Journal is due at the end of the Final Exam Reading Week.

Ltr to Governor Bush re Terri Schiavo

This is my letter to Governor Bush that is being emailed simultaneously as the posting of the letter on my blogsite.

*********************************************

February 23, 2005


Governor Bush (jeb.bush@myflorida.com):

I hope that you will "stop the insanity" as Susan Powers is known to say.

I am, and have been, a member of NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) for quite some time, as well as a cousin of a brain aneurysm survivor, a student at Kaplan University studying criminal justice, a Night/Weekend Manager at a DVSA shelter, and so much more.

I do hope that you will put a stay on this matter until more details can be examined and explained. In accordance with the attached email that has been sent throughout the world, it puts a disturbing perspective on what the media has been portraying from the husband's perspective.

I sincerely believe that everyone should have the right to life. If the right to life is just supported by the pumping of air and food into the body, then it does seem senseless to keep the body function if the brain is simply not functioning and while the body continues through the motions; however, the gist of this email sent out indicates that there is some degree of a function of the brain in the sense that Terri appears to be responding to her family.

I am not a doctor, but this response goes beyond just an arm or eye movement which could be caused by sporatic nerve impulses; this response that Terri is having with her family includes a speech pattern and puckering up the lips for the kiss, which would seem to indicate a marked improvement in Terri's life, albeit small steps.

I am not sure what is "up" with the husband. Is he tired of being there for his wife? Does he simply feel that he cannot go through the motions??? I hope that he will get some counseling to help him through these roughest of times for him. Perhaps, he needs to be not so involved with his wife and allow her family to take over the responsibilities for the support and love that Terri needs. Perhaps, with the support and love continuing to flow from her family, Terri will continue to see more marked improvement although she may never ever fully recover to pre-trauma state that she suffered.

I sincerely believe that it would be a travesty for the feeding tube to be removed unless they were comfortable that she could now be sustained without it and continue to receive nutrients on her own accord.

Please, Governor Bush, life exists on this earth; everyone deserves to take part in that life; no one should have that right taken away from them. Please, Governor Bush, give lots of thought and prayer to the issue of approving the removing the feeding tube before it is too late. Please, Governor Bush, have due consideration for the life of Terri Schiavo. After all, if it were your very own relative, would you truly be for removing of the feeding tube under the circumstances as they stand today????

Thank you, in advance, for listening to yet one more concerned United States citizen today.

Sincerely,


Kathryn
Cedar Park, TX
www.bluebonnetfields.blogspot.com

(note: I have removed some contact information from the letter I actually sent to Governor Bush for the strict purposes of posting of the letter on this website. However, I do sincerely hope that others will write Governor Bush as well. Thank you.)

Catholic Answers: A Woman About to be Murdered!

This is a disturbing email that I received today. Terri Schiavo has been in the news for quite some time. I thought I would share this with you so that you could enact upon it as well.

Kathryn

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Catholic Answers"
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2005 19:33:45 -0800
Subject: A WOMAN IS ABOUT TO BE MURDERED!
A woman is about to be murdered, and you probably already know her name--Terri Schiavo.

Please help us rescue Terri from a horrible death by starvation! The moment her feeding tube is removed, Terri will begin a long, slow, painful death by starvation and dehydration.

We need your help NOW to rescue Terri from her cruel executioners. They've already tried to kill her once before, and she fought to stay alive. But this may be the last chance Terri gets. Will you help save her life?

MEDIA LIES

If you've heard about Terri only through the news media, you've probably been led to believe things like this:

* Terri brain dead.
* She is in a coma.
* She's a vegetable.
* Extraordinary means are being used to keep her alive.
* She wants to die but her parents stubbornly won't let it happen.

None of these things are true!

Terri is NOT brain dead. She is NOT in a coma. She is NOT in a "persistent vegetative state." And she is not on ANY life-support system.

THE FACTS THE MEDIA HIDES FROM YOU

When her parents visit her, Terri laughs, she cries, she moves, and she makes child-like attempts at speech with her mother and father. Sometimes she will say "Mom" or "Dad" or "yeah" when they ask her a question. And when they kiss her hello or goodbye, she looks at them and "puckers up" her lips.

She's able to sit in a chair, she loves to listen to her favorite music, and she recognizes her brother and sister when they come to visit.

Board-certified neurologist Dr. Jacob Green of Jacksonville, Florida, who examined Terri, said unequivocally: "She is not in a vegetative state." When asked if it would be ethical to remove her feeding tube, he said, "I'd call it murder."

Terri receives food and liquid through a feeding tube because she can't swallow. In other words, Terri depends on food and water to stay alive-just like everybody else!

But her husband, Michael, wants to disconnect her only means of food so that she will slowly starve to death.

Medical experts all agree that death by starvation and dehydration is perhaps the most painful, the most tortuous, and the most agonizing way to die.

Yes, Terri's injury left her disabled. But there are tens of thousands of disabled people who depend on gastro feeding tubes every day, and they live otherwise normal lives.

Terri can breathe for herself. She is not on a ventilator. Her vital organs are working fine, which means she is not hooked up to a machine. Furthermore, she is NOT dying or being "kept alive" by artificial means. She does not have a terminal disease, and she will be able to feel pain if she is starved to death.

And that could start to happen in the next few days.

THE IMMEDIATE CRISIS

Time is running out for Terri. Her feeding tube could be removed THIS WEEK!!!

There is one last court procedure that is being tried to save Terri's life, but if it fails her feeding tube could be removed Wednesday.

If that happens then only thing that may save her might be action by Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

Governor Bush has already fought to save Terri's life. The last time her feeding tube was removed he stepped in and snatched her back from the brink of death. The Florida legislature even passed a special law--"Terri's Law"--to give him the authority to keep her alive.

But then the law was struck down by a judge, putting Terri's life on the line once again.

If the courts continue their anti-life crusade against Terri and others like her, the only thing that may save her would be action by Governor Bush.

WHERE YOU COME IN

The attorneys who are fighting for Terri's life have a few more possible ways to prevent Terri's murder. But these are last-ditch efforts that may or may not work. The courts are decidedly on Michael's side--not Terri's.

So that means we have to come to Terri's aid-especially through the amazing power of prayer and sacrifice--but also by sharing this story with everybody you know, and encouraging Governor Jeb Bush to do everything he can to rescue Terri once again.

Here's what you can do . . .

1.) First, PRAY for Terri--harder than ever before! Not enough people are praying for Terri right now. And she needs our prayers now more than ever.

2.) Second, FAST along with Terri if and when her feeding tube gets removed--and then offer up your sacrifices for her.

3.) Third, please ENCOURAGE Governor Bush to do everything he can to rescue Terri. Since time is of the essence, we recommend that you send him an e-mail by clicking this link:

mailto:jeb.bush@myflorida.com

Or, if you prefer, you can call his office at the Florida State Capitol at (850) 488-4441.

4.) And finally, please FORWARD this e-mail to everyone on your e-mail list. The more people who know the true story about Terri Schiavo and how she is in imminent danger of being murdered, the greater our chances of achieving a victory in this life-or-death struggle between good and evil.

It's hard to believe, but there are many hard-hearted people out there who believe that, due to Terri's condition, she is "better off dead." Words cannot describe the pain and anger such sentiments cause Terri's family.

This is their daughter, their little girl. And even in her disabled condition, she still has the right to life and the right to be loved and cared for by her family.

Terri doesn't have to die. If you'll carry out the steps above, we can win this battle and save Terri's life.

Please do your part--immediately--because tomorrow may be too late.

Sincerely,

Catholic Answers
http://www.catholic.com

(CJ Paper) Balancing Para-Military...

Balancing Para-Military and Community Policing Styles

ToughLOVE® is a program designed for parents/caregivers of children to strengthen the parenting skills to be firm with their children – especially, the adolescents during their awkward ages of passing from the rite of passage of being children into young adults. Having been a facilitator of a ToughLOVE® parent support group in Montgomery County, Texas, I have seen and appreciated the many different parenting styles of the parents. In the groups, we discussed what seemed to have worked, why they worked, and other creative suggestions to establish firm control in the home environment while completely understanding that the parent has rights too, and maintaining open communications with their children. Likewise, the police authorities are torn between their styles of establishing peace and control, while keeping friendly, open communications with the community.

The basic styles of policing (based on dominating administrative approaches to the police operations) are: (1) political era (around the 1840’s to 1930) where the agencies tended to serve the interests of the politicians first and foremost, then looking towards the interests of the citizens; (2) reform era (1930’s – 1970’s) where the police focused on solving the traditional crimes (i.e. murder, rape, and burglary) or capturing offenders; and (3) community problem solving era (1970’s – present) where the service role is stressed and a partnership role is envisioned between the police officers and the community; however, many policing entities often use a combination of these approaches. (Schmalleger, pgs 122-123)Police reform throughout the eras worked to take the “good ol’ boy” attitude out of the policing authorities and refocused it on the citizen’s rights and concerns. Additionally, the 20th century police reform developed two primary functions – that of (1) efficiency of the police officers, which directed them to look at redefining the management approaches and ridding of the “good ol’ boy” images, and (2) focus upon being a social servant. Although the social environment was not new , it did require the police officers to be trained in social work (especially with the rise of new social welfare agencies in the 1930’s). (Johnson & Wolfe, pgs 286-287) A growing emphasis on eliminating crime resulted, as well as increasing efforts to build confidence and pride in the police; through the use of the sunrise court and the golden rule policy, more time focused upon the prosecution of major criminal activity and minor criminal activities were diverted from the criminal system. (Johnson & Wolfe, pg 303)

Socialization involves changes in status or roles or experiences. (Golden, pg 326) Because keeping up with the changes is essential for a police department to stay with the times, it is essential that the police department keeps in touch with the “mode” of the community – its concerns and interests. Cedar Park Police Department (out of Cedar Park, Williamson County, Texas) is a good example of doing just that through its various special events (i.e. 4th of July, National Night Out, Blue Santa, and Shattered Dreams), various community events (i.e. Cedar Park Expo, Summerfest, Bicycle Rodeo, Spring/Fall Fests, Home Depot Safety Day, and Santa’s Workshop), School Resource Officers, Victim Services Program, and various networking opportunities (i.e. Neighborhood Crime Watch, Police Department Tours, Show and Tell (at the schools), Home Inspections, Citizen’s Police Academy, Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association, and Seniors & Law Enforcement Together). (Brown, CPCPA Manual – “Community Services Division”, 2/15/05) In fact, the Cedar Park Police Department’s Mission Statement states, “Community policing is an organization-wide philosophy and management approach that promotes community, government and police partnerships; proactive problem solving; and, community engagement to address the causes of crime, fear of crime, and other community issues.” (Brown, CPCPA Manual – “Orientation” by Chief Fluck, 2/1/05)

Sometimes, change can arrive with shocking waves – such as the 911 events in New York City and the Pentagon that rocked the world off of their feet. Enhanced security measures demands became widespread, as well as airport security moving into the control of federal law enforcement and heightened concerns over immigrants and the immigration activities. (Johnson & Wolfe, pg 303) In regards to the support of American’s expansion of military action (resulting from the aftermath of the 911 events), Johnson and Wolfe state:

“While other nations have indicated reluctance to support American expansion of military action, it is noteworthy that there has been substantial cooperation in the investigation of al Queda activities leading up to the September 11 attacks. Antiterrorist investigations in the United States, Europe, and Asia have identified al Queda cells and operatives, leading to their arrest and detention. As this effort continues, it is becoming clear that multinational police and intelligence cooperation has been vastly accelerated in response to these disasters. Of course, in the year following the attacks there has been little opportunity to implement new systems for the cross-national exchange of police intelligence, nor has there been time for the negotiation of multilateral international conventions and treaties dealing with this worldwide threat to national and personal security.”

(Johnson & Wolfe, pg. 324)

Since 2003 (the year the Johnson & Wolfe book was last published), the militarilistic approach in policing has become quite the norm in fighting many crimes, as well as almost expected for the public to feel most secure. Often this is done through moving the security levels to federal levels (like the airport screening/security), or even a matter of presentation with crisp, clean, pristine militarilistic type of uniforms or BDU’s – especially in the war on drugs or other similar war on crime modes.

Image IS everything. If you teach, if you manage a business, if you are a parent (whatever the case may be), if you don’t come out strong initially, you will lose control of your students, employees, or children. Likewise, to have crisp uniforms, mannerisms of professionalism, and a sense of precision can make or break the tone of any security or policing entity; lack of these characteristics will often present an weak image of not caring, not being precise/accurate in the work product/services, and not being sincere in the protection of those in the business or community the security or policing entity is hired to protect. As a result, the tough guy image emerges, similar to the ToughLOVE® philosophy.

This “new cop” image, according to a study by sociologist Peter Kraska, is on the rise and “more than 30,000 heavily armed, militarily trained police units in the United States”, and, the fact that “the number of paramilitary police missions quadrupled between 1980 and 1995”, which CBS supported with a survey on S.W.A.T. (“special weapons and tactics”) encounters stating that “police use of deadly force increased 34% between 1995 and 1998.” (New Cop, “Paramilitary Policing”) In 1982, only 59% of the police departments had SWAT teams; there were 90% by 1995. As a result, findings reflect an aggressive turn towards having SWAT teams in their forces behind the “rhetoric” of community and problem-oriented policing reforms. (Schmalleger, pg 131) The SWATs began in the 1960s in Los Angeles after the shoot-outs with the Black Panthers; until recently, they were primarily involved in hostage or terrorist situations; however, they have seem to be increasingly targeting the smaller communities – especially, carrying out drug raids, with a “zero-tolerance” stance on crime versus the community policing policy of cops becoming a part of the neighborhoods to prevent mountains stemming from mole hills. The New Haven police began restructuring their police department, in 1999, to get away from the “brute” image created by the SWAT teams; while they still have their SWAT-type unit, Lt. Atunes of the New Haven Police Department claimed that they only had four tactical calls last year. (New Cop, “Paramilitary Policing”)

Peter Kaska and Victor Kappeler, professors at Eastern Kentucky University’s School of Police Studies, found that:

“…police paramilitary units are now called in to perform relatively mundane police work – such as patrolling city streets and serving warrants. Indeed, with the mainstreaming of police paramilitary units, cities (including Fresno, California, and Indianapolis, Indiana) send police to patrol non-emergency situations in full battle dress – giving these communities all the ambience of the West Bank. Of 487 departments answering questions about deployment scenarios, more than 20% said that their tactical teams were used for community patrols. Ironically, the rise in the number of PPUs (paramilitary units) is occurring at the same time as the concept of ‘community policing’ is gaining in popularity. One commander of a paramilitary unit in a Mid-western town of 75,000 described how his team patrols in BDU, cruising the streets in an armored personnel carrier. ‘We stop anything that moves. We’ll sometimes even surround suspicious homes and bring out the MP5s (an automatic manufactured by gun manufacturer Heckler and Koch and favored by military special forces teams). We usually don’t have any problems with crackheads cooperating.’ Just 15 years ago, city departments called out their tactical units little more than once a month on average, usually for those rarest of situations – hostage situations, terrorist events, or barricaded suspects. The mean number of call-outs for these units rose precipitously to 83 events – or about 7 a month – in 1995. Of that sample, more than 75% were for thrilling, no-knock drug raids like Operation Readi-Rock (in North Carolina).”

(Cassidy, “Rise in Paramilitary Policing”)

Joseph McNamara (research fellow in the Hoover Institution at Stanford University who served as a police chief in San Jose and Kansas City after 15 years in New York City’s Police Department) adds that:

“One of the greatest costs of this militarization of local law enforcement has been in the loss of public trust in police institutions, alienating communities from those resources. … [A] rotation onto these units is often given as a reward. ‘When you have police in military uniforms with military weapons sometimes with tanks and armored personnel carriers, this reinforces the idea that the police are an occupation army as opposed to partners in the community [and] people often feel these raids do not take place in white middle class neighborhoods and, by and large, that is accurate.”

(Cassidy, “Rise in Paramilitary Policing”)

He further states that:

“As the army assumes civilian police functions, the police are acting – and looking – more like soldiers. … [T]he militarization of the police forces [is to be blamed] on the proliferation of assault weapons: ‘I predicted a long time ago, the failure to control military-style weapons into the general population would lead to further militarization of police.’ The drive toward high-tech weaponry was facilitated soon after the end of the Cold War when military spending reductions brought cheap war-surplus material into the market. … Gun companies, perceiving a profitable trend, began aggressively marketing automatic weapons to local police departments, holding seminars, and sending out color brochures redolent with ninja-style imagery. … The greatest concern is that these paramilitary forces will eventually be seen and perceived as an occupying army.”

(Cassidy, “Rise in Paramilitary Policing”)

Is this a good balance to the community-policing role that the policing entities are trying to project?

To examine the websites of various security companies too, one sees that they too are trying to project this militaristic image because it portrays a sense of being tough on protection to the residential and/or commercial consumer. Worldwide Security Associates does a fine example of this on their website. Having been raised in San Antonio, Texas, with five air force and army bases stationed there, there was a degree of a sense of security with the military there. Is that, though, a false sense of security with the presence of the military uniformed clad men/women? When is “enough” security? When is “enough” military presence in our communities? Do we actually need the police entities to take a role of militaristic approaches as well? What does this say about our communities? Does this really project the image environment that we only feel safe in? If we are going to have militaristic policing styles, then why not just call in the National Guard to fill those positions? While the community does want the policing entities to get “tough” on crime, do they really want to walk down the streets to see the “tough guy” image in action???

The new paramilitary police technology and advances project a “culture of militarism”, which:

“[I]n reality, … do not make the people safer. Military gear brings embedded in it a set of militaristic social relations. Aggressive group tactics, automatic weapons, and infrared scopes all displace and preclude the social skills, forbearance, and individual discretion essential to accountable and effective civilian policing. The metaphor of war also implies the possibility of victory in which one side vanquishes another. Thus, one impact of the [culture of militarism] gestates in the world of tactical policing … and [arguably] the young officers find the military regalia of SWAT ‘culturally intoxicating’ … because ‘the elite self-perception and status granted these police units stems from the high status military special operations groups have in military culture.”

(Unknown Author, “A War for All Seasons: the return of law and order”)

Even, as of September 2004, there are 5 countries (France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain) members of the EU (European Union) through the establishment of the EGF (European Gendarmerie Force) under a French 2003 proposal agreed to in Noordwick, Denmark, by these 5 countries’ defense ministers, which establishes a paramilitary police force to be used for public order and backing up the military. These EFGs are based in their own member countries; however, they are available for deployment outside of the EU borders within a month for EU peace maintenance or crisis management missions, or at the request of the UN, NATO, OSCE, or other international bodies. The fact that not all European countries joined this pact demonstrates the level of discontent within the remaining countries regarding the usage of paramilitary forces. (Unknown Author, “EU: Five countries establish a European paramilitary police force”)

When I was in Guatemala in the Summer of 2003 with a Presbytery mission group, I witnessed some effects of the paramilitary policing styles there. They had been getting out of a 36-year civil war though and trying to establish safety and a sense of law and order in the community. However, to see policing entities guarding the fast food restaurants, for example, with rifles, seemed quite overpowering and a bit too much for the way we have been brought up. Are we to see more of that in our future in the United States? Are they actually moving towards that direction – especially, in the wake of 911 events? And, are we going a bit overboard as a result of the 911 events?

What I witnessed in Guatemala in the Summer of 2003 was in no comparison, though, to what had happened in 1954 as a result of a coup of a law created in 1952, the Decree 900 “Law of Agrarian Reform”, as recanted by David Wilkinson in his book:

“Long before any houses burned, there had been a law that could have made a difference in Guatemala. Or rather there had been a law that, for a brief two years, did make a difference – such a difference that even after it was revoked and its authors were in exile or unmarked graves, it continued to shape the way Guatemalans understood their place in the world. The law was Decree 900, the 1952 ‘Law of Agrarian Reform’. Its overarching aim, set forth in its opening paragraph, was to ‘overcome the economic backwardness’ of the country and ‘improve the quality of life of the great masses.’ Whether it could have achieved these ambitious ends will never be known. In 1954, the CIA toppled Guatemala’s reform government. A military regime took power. The reformers were driven underground. And the country began its long terrifying descent into a state of lawlessness, cruelty, and despair.

“The United States celebrated the coup as a triumph for democracy. For years to come, the cold warriors in Washington held it up as a model for what covert operations could accomplish overseas. Yet few Americans really knew what had taken place in Guatemala in 1954. The press coverage had been carefully choreographed by the CIA. Even the New York Times had complied with the agency’s request to keep its correspondent from the country so that he could not give a firsthand account of the coup and its aftermath.”

(Wilkinson, pg 83)

This is an example where the militaristic approach has drastically altered history by suddenly halting a reform in progress and created a 36-year civil war that has left Guatemala forever scarred with remainders of unmarked and clandestine gravesites serving as constant reminders of the torments they lived with throughout those years. It is no wonder that they lived in fear of crimes (including many killings/murders of reformers and innocent grandparents and children) for so very long.

Fear of crime has probably been the root of the crime methodology resources; after all, the policing entities are trying to meet the demands of the public in ensuring their safety and protection from crime. It has been noted that some groups, like women and the elderly, are actually more afraid of being a victim to crime than men or the young; however, a perplexing “paradox of fear” is then created when studying the findings to see that women and the elderly are actually less likely to be victims of crime. (Rafter, pg 63)

That paradox of fear, along with those questions presented on the militaristic presence in the wake of the 911 events, are certainly some questions that may never be fully answered in the near future. While Americans desire to live the American Dream in their safe world, reality says that our world may never be safe as it was before; however, is it as bad as we perceive it as well (just because of the events of 911)??? In the end though, a balance must be achieved in the policing world to ensure the public’s safety, as well as enable a true partnership footing in the community. Part of this balance is achieved through a degree of “moral sensibility” as best described by John Rawls:

“A conception of justice characterizes our moral sensibility when the everyday judgments we do make are in accordance with its principles. These principles can serve as part of the premises of an argument which arrives at the matching judgments. We do not understand our sense of justice until we know in some systematic way covering a wide range of cases what these principles are.”

(Rawls, pg 41)

Further, Abraham Lincoln once said, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter, and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” As such, the paramilitary policing styles may be too strong of a management type; on the other hand, community policing may present its own array of issues. Margaret Mead also stated that, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The community policing approaches are softening the “tough guy” image projected by the para-militaristic approach. In taking advantage of the opportunities of the policing entities reaching out to the communities, we, as citizens, should voice our opinions to the Chiefs in our communities and express our concerns, request to join their Citizen’s Academy, and take an interest in what is happening in your community, as well as advocating for less of a “macho” militaristic approach in our communities and get tough with some ToughLOVE® approaches. Perhaps, in the end, the policing entities can take lessons from the principles provided in the ToughLOVE® program????

Bibliography

Brown, Sgt. Darlene, Cedar Park Citizen’s Academy Manual, established by the Cedar Park Police Department: Cedar Park, Texas (Spring 2005).

Cassidy, Peter (w/assistance of Jim Pate and Karen DiMattia), “Operation Ghetto Storm: The Rise in Paramilitary Policing”, TriArche Research Group

Chamelin, Neil C., Criminal Law for Police Officers (8th Ed), Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey (2003).

Golden, M. Patricia (Editor), The Research Experience (8th Printing), F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc.: Itasca, Illinois (1976).

Johnson, Herbert A. and Nancy Travis Wolfe, History of Criminal Justice (3rd Ed), Anderson Publishing Co.: Cincinnati, OH (2003).

Kraska, Peter B, “SWAT in the Commonwealth: Trends and Issues in Paramilitary Policing”, Kentucky Justice & Safety Research Bulletin, Justice & Safety Research Center, Eastern Kentucky University (1999).

Krause, Mike, “Opinion Editorial: Drug War Casualties”, Independence Institute (11/15/2000).

McCulloch, Jude, “Counter-terrorism and (in)security: fallout from the Bali bombing”, Borderlands eJournal: Deakin University (2002).

Rafter, Nicole Hahn, Encyclopedia of Women and Crime, Checkmark Books (an imprint Facts on File, Inc.): New York, New York (2003).

Rawls, John. A Theory of Justice (Revised Ed), The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts (1999).

Satterfield, (Ret) Lt Phillip M., The Security Officer’s Field Training Guide (2nd Ed), Lt. Phillip M. Satterfield (2004).

Schmalleger, Frank, Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction (Custom Ed) (Taken from Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction (4th Ed Update), Pearson Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. (2002).

Shusta, Robert, Deena R Levine, Philip R. Harris, and Herbert Z. Wong. Multicultural Law Enforcement: Strategies for Peacekeeping in a Diverse Society (2nd Ed). Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey (2002).

Siegel (PhD), Larry J., Criminology: Theories, Patterns, and Typologies (7th Ed), Wadsworth: United States. (2001).

Unknown Author, War All Seasons: the return of law and order”, excerpted from the book – Lockdown America: Police and Prisons in the Age of Crisis – by Christian Parenti, Verso Books (1999)

Unknown Author, “EU: Five countries establish a European paramilitary police force – What will be its ‘rules of engagement’? What lines of accountability for its actions are there to be?”

Unknown Author, “New Cop: Paramilitary Policing”

Unknown Author, “New Cop: The Basic Tenets of Community Policing”

Unknown Author, “New Cop: The Story”

Unknown Author, “The Militarization of Policing”

Wilkinson, David, Silence on the Mountain: Stories of Terror, Betrayal and Forgetting in Guatemala, Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, Massachusetts (2002).

(CJ Paper) 007 Criminal Evidence

007 Criminal Evidence

As advanced as our criminal evidence laboratories are these days, they may never exceed the standards of technology found throughout the James Bond 007 movie series. In the previews to the 007 movie, “The World is Not Enough”, they paid homage to the character “Q”, as played by Desmond Llewelyn (b 1913 – d 1999), ending with his quote of, “Now pay attention, 007. I have always tried to teach you two things. First, never let them see me. [James Bond asking, “And the second?”] The second. Always have an escape plan.” An escape plan, in the collection of criminal evidence could be perceived as playing one’s own devil’s advocate while collecting the evidence – asking oneself, if I collect the evidence in this manner, is it going to truly make a difference by being admissible in the Court of Law; otherwise, more harm than good can be had if the collected process is tainted in any sense of the fashion.

In our class, we are given the following scenario to explore:

Mary Ellis, a widow, lives in a townhouse that she shares with her adult son, William, who does not pay rent. Mrs. Ellis awakens on a Saturday morning and goest to her walk-in closet, where she finds a man whom she recognizes as a neighbor, Clyde Stevens, lying on the floor unresponsive. Mrs. Ellis calls 911. Minutes later, police and EMS personnel arrive. Mr. Stevens is pronounced dead from an apparent stabbing, as he has a large butcher knife protruding from his back. Mrs. Ellis, a senior citizen, is transported to the hospital for observation, quite distraught.

Police establish a crime scene and call for detectives and crime scene specialists, who arrive and begin to investigate. Detectives begin a canvass and interview Clyde Steven’s wife, Sheila. Mrs. Stevens tells police that William Ellis has entered her townhouse several times unannounced and on one occasion appeared to be trying to ge6t into her bed. Mrs. Stevens gives the police consent to search the house for any potential evidence that might identify her husband’s killer.

Crime scene investigators actively process the scene. In William’s bedroom, technicians develop a blood fingerprint adjacent to a light switch, using an amino acid stain, after locating the print using the absorptive properties of blood and a portable argon laser. The crime scene investigator photographs the print and recovers a sample of the blood for DNA analysis. The print is from the right index finger of William Ellis, and DNA analysis matches the blood to Clyde Stevens. On the basis of this and associated evidence from the Stevens and Ellis residences, an arrest warrant is issued for William Ellis. William is arrested in Utah and extradited to Illinois to stand trial. The lawyer files a motion to exclude evidence.

To thoroughly understand what is going on here, it helps to break it down piece by piece:

Mary Ellis, a widow, lives in a townhouse that she shares with her adult son, William, who does not pay rent. The fact that William does not pay rent should not be a huge factor here because he is her son, but, because he is an adult son, he should have a certain degree of privacy even though he is not paying rent. Curious though, too, is why an adult child is still living with his parent; it is not the expected norm of society and, often, an adult child still living with his/her parents would indicate some degree of mental incapacity/disorder/illness. What was the mental status of William Ellis and why was he requiring living arrangements still with his mother? Mrs. Ellis awakens on a Saturday morning and goes to her walk-in closet, where she finds a man whom she recognizes as a neighbor, Clyde Stevens, lying on the floor unresponsive. Some questions occur here, for example: How does Mrs. Ellis seem to sleep through an entire event begging on the premise that, before Mrs. Ellis would go to bed in the first place, she would have more than likely gone to her closet before changing her clothes to her night clothes before retiring for the night? How does someone that she knows ends up in HER bedroom? And, the fact that it is her BEDROOM, does that likely suggest that she might have been intimate at some point in time with Mr. Stevens? Also, nowhere is it mentioned for how long Mr. Stephens was dead. Mrs. Ellis calls 911. Okay, while this is an expected reaction, is this a more staged event after the fact? After all, I am still having trouble understanding how Mrs. Ellis didn’t hear anything and suddenly “discovered” the body after she woke up in the morning. And, if it is staged, is it done to protect herself or, even possibly, her son? And, what is she protecting about her son? Was this, in a sense, a sense of duty or moral obligation to keep the morally weak (perhaps William) from doing evil? (Johnson and Wolfe, pg 12) Minutes later, police and EMS personnel arrive. Again, this is an expected reaction with the policing and EMS authorities in any area these days. Mr. Stevens is pronounced dead from an apparent stabbing, as he has a large butcher knife protruding from his back. Should I say, duh, here??? This does seem to state the obvious since Mr. Stephens had a butcher knife in his back and, apparently, wasn’t discovered by Mr.s. Ellis until she awoke in the morning. However, no mention was made of the time frame. Having found my own husband dead in our apartment a little over two years ago in The Woodlands, Montgomery County, Texas, the Justice of the Peace Judge was called to make the pronunciation of his death, which took about an additional hour for her to arrive at the scene and it was another few hours before the coroners arrived at the scene before he was finally taken away. Mrs. Ellis, a senior citizen, is transported to the hospital for observation, quite distraught. A comment here: Although Mrs. Ellis is transported to the hospital because of her mental status (being “quite distraught”), no mention was mentioned if the paramedics had to sedate her and/or (especially before they sedated her, if indeed she was) whether or not a statement was taken from her. It is said that a statement of confession, even in the initial moments at the scene, are admissible as facts in the Court of Law. If Mrs. Ellis is in a distraught state of mind, it would be interesting to explore whether or not, even if she did give permission for the police to investigate her home, if that would be allowable; although, by pure invitation of the police and EMS in her home to see the deceased Mr. Stevens in her closet, she probably gave them permission by invitation.

Police establish a crime scene and call for detectives and crime scene specialists, who arrive and begin to investigate. With my experience of my own husband being found dead in our own apartment two years ago, this seems out of place. It would seem that the crime scene should have been established upon arrival and a call for detectives and crime scene specialists to arrive to investigate the crime scene should have been done immediately and during the waiting period of the arrival of the Justice of Peace Judge or death pronunciation authority to make the pronunciation of death of Mr. Stevens official. Because of this statement being made after the statement of the pronunciation of death of Mr. Stevens, I certainly would question as to whether the crime scene was appropriately established immediately upon arrival to prevent from any evidence being tampered with by any unauthorized and untrained personnel. Detectives begin a canvass and interview Clyde Steven’s wife, Sheila. Again, I am hoping that this is done actually while they were waiting for the official pronunciation of death by the official authority, ie the Justice of the Peace Judge. Sheila, Mr. Steven’s wife, certainly should be investigated. Why did she not report her missing husband? Why did she not miss him? Where was she when this was occurring? How intimate was she still with her husband? Did she know of any improprieties that Mr. Stevens might have had with Mrs. Ellis? Mrs. Stevens tells police that William Ellis has entered her townhouse several times unannounced and on one occasion appeared to be trying to get into her bed. Okay, how did William Ellis enter their home? Did he break in? Did he have a key from the Stevens in order to, perhaps, tend to their plants and house when they were away on vacations (for instance) and overstepped his boundaries on using the key at unauthorized times? By giving William Ellis the key (if indeed that is what happened), that may be difficult to prove that he had no permission to be in the house. If William did not break into the house nor use a key, did the Stevens leave their door unlocked (as they often do in the country – after all, we do not know the environment exactly and the distance between the neighbor’s houses), and, if by leaving it unlocked did it actually deny entry to William Ellis? And, if it actually did not deny entry to William Ellis, did he have the malice and aforethought to commit the murder? (Chamelin, pg 133) Mrs. Stevens gives the police consent to search the house for any potential evidence that might identify her husband’s killer. This statement says that she gave the police consent to search “the” house for any potential evidence that might identify her husband’s killer – is this referring to the Stevens’ house (which she has authority to give consent to) or to the Ellis’ house (which she has no authority to give consent to). The way that this is written certainly gives one pause for concern to which house was approval for the consent to search was intended for in this particular case.

Crime scene investigators actively process the scene. This is as they should. The longer evidence is left, the more likely it is to be overlooked and/or tainted in the process. The faster that they can obtain the evidence, the better and fresher it will be. In William’s bedroom (Have they actually obtained a search warrant for this room when they began exploring, investigating, and gathering evidence? Were they actually allowed in his bedroom? Did they have consent from William? There was nothing established that there was probable evidence suggesting that William was at home at the time of the crime in order to establish him at the scene.), technicians develop a blood fingerprint adjacent to a light switch (It is suggested that, because this is a bedroom light (right?) that this light switch was inside the bedroom and not in the hallway, which brings us back to the question as to whether or not they had permission to be in William’s room in the first place.), using an amino acid stain, after locating the print using the absorptive properties of blood and a portable argon laser. Not working in a crime lab, I would have to wonder about the accessibility of the accuracy of the results from this method of obtaining the evidence. Would this be the most accurate method to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is the blood and fingerprint associated with the killing of the victim, Mr. Stevens? The crime scene investigator photographs the print and recovers a sample of the blood for DNA analysis. The print is from the right index finger of William Ellis, and DNA analysis matches the blood to Clyde Stevens. Again, how accurate is this method? Are the police authorities collecting this evidence using the most accurate method known, and will it stand up in Court as evidence beyond any shadow of a doubt? On the basis of this and associated evidence from the Stevens and Ellis residences, an arrest warrant is issued for William Ellis. Again, was this legally obtained without a search warrant? William is arrested in Utah and extradited to Illinois to stand trial. Okay, William is arrested in Utah, but was any investigation done to prove that he was at the scene of the crime beyond the “evidence” of the bloody fingerprint? When did William go to Utah? Was there a plane or train or bus ticket that would prove that he left after the estimated time of death of Mr. Stevens (and, by the way, what time did Mr. Stevens die? Was it a slow or fast death?). It would seem that they would prefer building a sound case that would be able to prove guilt of William Ellis beyond any preponderance of a doubt, as is typically required in the criminal court processes. The lawyer files a motion to exclude evidence. There are a lot of unanswered questions of the scenario, as evidenced by my commentaries above. At an initial glance, they have only the bloody fingerprint, which appears to have been retrieved without a search warrant (to cover their butts), and the statement by Mrs. Stevens that William has entered her home on several occasions to substantiate the probability that William Ellis had anything to do with the death of Mr. Stevens, in the first place. Even Mrs. Stevens’ statement is basically hearsay, at this point in time, because Mr. Stevens could not possibly verify this if he is dead, no confirmation or knowledge from Mrs. Ellis of this fact is known, and no known statements from neighbors confirming/verifying this information is known.

There are other questions too, such as:

(1) Will William’s lawyer be successful in having the physical evidence excluded? If so, will the exclusion pertain to all of the evidence, or is there a difference between the evidence collected from the Ellis’ and Stevens’ homes? It is perfectly conceivable that William’s lawyer will be successful based on the fact that a search warrant was obtained for William’s room since William is an ADULT child and is protected under the Fourth Amendment, which asserts that, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” (Schmalleger, pg 151). Without having going into William’s room they had no idea that they would have found a bloody fingerprint; and, because William had a reasonableness of privacy in his room as an adult, the police authorities collecting the evidence, should have secured a search warrant – especially, if William was not there to allow him into his room. Also, the substance behind the “evidence” collected at the Stevens’ home – especially, if they are basing it solely on the statement that Mrs. Stevens made about William coming to her home unannounced and, at one time, tried to get into her bed. Was this with or without Mrs. Stevens in the bed? Who can substantiate her statement? Otherwise, it is just a story waiting to be verified and substantiated. This would be, then, circumstantial evidence because it requires an interpretation to conclude as to what the “evidence” actually indicates (Schmalleger, pg 282), as well as considered hearsay because it is not based upon the personal knowledge of a witness (Schmalleger, pg 286). Although Mrs. Stevens is associated with the murder crime scene as she is Mr. Stevens’ (the victim) wife, but she holds no testimony that would prove as a direct witness to the scene of the crime (only possible presumptions that could lead one to more direct evidences of the crime scene). No other physical evidence is noted in our scenario; however, if there were physical evidence obtained from Mrs. Stevens’ home, it would certainly be admissible because she did give consent to the search of her house. It would be particularly interesting, for example, had the butcher knife been from the Stevens’ home this certainly might show connectivity between the homes and may give some plausibility to Mrs. Stevens’ story, and even more interesting if the knife (from Mrs. Stevens’ home) was found to have William’s fingerprints on it!

(2) What are the legal justifications for a search in this scenario? The most obvious justification for a search in this scenario was the fact that Mr. Stevens was found in the Ellis’ home dead with a butcher knife stabbed into his back, which definitely rules out the likelihood (not the improbability) that Mr. Stevens had killed himself. Often times, the fact that the stab wounds are in the back would indicate that the victim was being chased by his own assailant. There was a death with no one confessing to the murder and no immediate evidence of who the murderer was (ie no one hovering over the body in the act of performing the murder). Although mens rea could be demonstrated through Mrs. Stevens’ statement, it couldn’t be verified to provide validity to the culpability to the actual intent. Additionally, William could always claim justification through a variety of defenses such as necessity, duress, self-defense, and entrapment; as long as the physical or mental elements of the crime cannot be proven, then William could not be necessarily convicted – especially, upon the “evidences” as thus far presented in this scenario. (Siegel, pg 41)

(3) What role(s) do the “exclusionary rule” and “fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine” have in this scenario? The exclusionary rule is, based upon the Weeks v. U.S. (1914) case-matter wherein a judge agreed with the attorney representing that the client, Weeks, had his Fourth Amendment Rights violated because the investigators had not used warrants in obtaining the evidences to be used in his trial. (Schmalleger, pg 151) The fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine is based upon the Silverthorne Lumber Co v. U.S. (1918) case-matter wherein a judge agreed with the defense attorney that his client’s Fifth Amendment Rights were violated because of due process – meaning that, just as the evidence illegally obtained for use in a trial cannot be used, nor can case be based upon or derived from evidence of an illegally obtained evidence be implied as evidence in the trial (once evidence has been tainted, it remains tainted). (Schmalleger, pg. 151) John Rawls was quoted once as saying:

“…[T]here are those precepts defining the notion of natural justice. These guidelines intended to preserve the integrity of the judicial process. A conscientious effort must be made to determine whether an infraction has taken place and to impose the correct penalty. Thus a legal system must make provisions for conducting orderly trials and hearings; it must contain rules of evidence that guarantee rational procedures of inquiry. While there are variations in these procedures, the rule of law requires some form of due process: that is, a process reasonably designed to ascertain the truth, in ways consistent with the other ends of the legal system, as to whether a violation has taken place and under what circumstances. For example, judges must be independent and impartial, and no man may judge his own case. Trials must be fair and open, but not to prejudice by public clamor. The precepts of natural justice are to insure that the legal order will be impartially and regularly maintained.”

(Rawls, pgs 209-210)

In this scenario, this means that neither the actual evidence of the bloody fingerprint be used in the potential trial of William, nor could the knowledge of the fact that the bloody fingerprint was taken be used in the potential trial of William be used because it had already been tainted once; therefore, it will always be tainted. It would be unlikely that this case would get past the Grand Jury even if William was arrested in Utah and brought back to Illinois.

and, (4) Would this have been how it should have been proceeded to investigate the crime? There are just way too many questions left unanswered in this scenario and things probably should have been proceeded with more precaution and care than presented in this scenario – especially, with the containment of the scene. A retired police officer in Orange County, California, instructs the importance of the crime scene by emphasizing that the “important process in the investigation of criminal activity should always be taken seriously and conducted in a professional manner.” (Satterfield, pg 77) It is questionable here how professional a manner that the investigation was actually carried out, and the core of professionalism reflects upon the ethics of the officer. (Shusta, Levine, Harris, and Wong, pg 393) He goes further to outline certain steps that must be followed to ensure that they scene remain undisturbed including, but not necessarily limited to, the following: (1) boundary containment of the scene, (2) evidence protection, (3) crime scene diagram, (4) crime scene photography, (5) access control to the crime scene. (Satterfield, pgs 77-83) There was no apparent immediate containment of the scene. Although there is seemingly somewhat a certain degree or level of chaos at any crime scene, it is expected that investigations are begun immediately including the securing of the scene, canvassing those on the scene and those in the surrounding areas, etc.; instead it appears, aside from whisking Mrs. Ellis away to the hospital because of her “distraught” emotions, they waited until after the victim was pronounced dead in order to begin any investigation. It is said that, often times, a killer may remain at the scene of crime to see what happens and/or ensure that his/her victim is truly dead. What if Mr. Stevens’ was recoverable, would they have been able to catch the perpetrator who had attempted to murder him (in that case)???

Collection of evidence should fall upon due diligence and care in the process of collecting evidences to be utilized in the conviction of the right person for the commission of the crime; it should not take a rocket scientist or “Q” from the Bond movies to figure that one out. The Harris County Crime Lab fiascos in the past few years resulting in DNA testings, that were either inaccurately done or not investigated properly, are now finding inmates innocent of their alleged crimes and being released from the Harris County (and surrounding) prisons emphasize the importance of the accuracy of the evidences obtained. How much of the inequities found in these DNA testings is actually due to human error or the lack of appropriate technology may never really be known; however, with the advancements made in technology, and the care in making sure that the quality of the standards and guidelines established of those working in the crime labs will ensure the accuracy of the human factor, will certainly aid in the protection and the accuracy levels of the evidence, as well as the ensurance that the right perpetrator is actually convicted. Perhaps, the motivation of the 007 movies to strive for sheer perfection in their every moves will also wear off on the crime labs and all officers who collect evidences at the crime scenes to strive for their own levels of sheer perfections by playing their own devil’s advocate each and every time that they collect the evidences and ask themselves whether or not what they are collecting at that moment is being collected legally and accurately – or, perhaps, we need to take more lessons from Bond, James Bond!! 


Bibliography


Chamelin, Neil C. (2003). Criminal Law for Police Officers (8th Ed), Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.


Johnson, Herbert A. and, Wolfe, Nancy Travis (2003). History of Criminal Justice (3rd Ed.), Cincinnati, Ohio: Anderson Publishing Co.


Rawls, John (1999). A Theory of Justice (Revised Ed.). Cambridge, Massachussets: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.


Satterfield, (Ret) Lt Phillip M. (2004). The Security Officer’s Field Training Guide (2nd Ed), Lt. Phillip M. Satterfield.


Schmalleger, Frank (2002). Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction (Custom Ed) (Taken from Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction (4th Ed Update), Pearson Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. (2002).


Shusta, Robert, Deena R Levine, Philip R. Harris, and Herbert Z. Wong (2002). Multicultural Law Enforcement: Strategies for Peacekeeping in a Diverse Society (2nd Ed). Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.


Siegel (PhD), Larry J. (2001). Criminology: Theories, Pattern, and Typologies (7th ed). United States: Wadsworth Thompson Learning.

(CJ Paper) Capital Punishment: A Deterrence to Crime

Capital Punishment: A Deterrence to Crime?

The punishment should always fit the crime, or, at least, that is what the public says when people discuss criminalistic behaviors. Humanity is supposed to be a big concern; however, the Biblical adage, “an eye for an eye” and “a tooth for a tooth”, gets the public in a quandary that may never find an answer that will apply to all those parties on both sides of the fence. What is the answer to true deterrence of crime? We may never really know; however, a better understanding of the terms may aid us in a better understanding.

“Deterrence” means, as discovered through Merriam Dictionary (Online), “the inhibition of criminal behavior by fear especially of punishment.” The trick is often determined by coming up the right “fear of punishment” in order to deter the criminal act in the first place. Often times, that right form of punishment is something that is had to be tried by trial and error, similar to the economic’s theory of supply and demand. If there is too little threat of the punishment, there is too much demand upon cell housing within the penal system; too much of a threat, our penal system is not receiving enough to warrant keeping them operational (and then the criminals act out more knowing that there is no threat of going into the penal system due to lack of cell housing options within the penal system). Fear (albeit it is a powerful influence) though, in the wrong hands, can backfire cause fear within the community and the criminal activity can increase, producing even more fear in a never-ending loop. (Siegel (2001), p. 198)

Siegel, in his Criminology text (Siegel (2001), pgs. 129-135), he further defines “deterrence” into two spectrums – the “general deterrence” and the “specific deterrence”. What is indicated by the “general deterrence” is that crime rates are controlled by the mere threat of criminal punishment and “specific deterrence” is that the sanctions, or punishments, placed so high that it would be all that would be required to prevent people from performing criminal acts for a specific crime. When it comes to the effectiveness of the basis for capital punishment, two theories pose opposing stances – Robert Dann (1935) suggested that the homicides might actually increase after an execution as an average 4.4 more homicides occurred when examining 60 days before and 60 days after several executions he studied; and Isaac Ehrlich (of University of Chicago, 1975) suggested that, through his statistical techniques, homicides end up being a product of interpersonal conflicts and the perception can actually deter murder (although subsequent researchers suggest that Ehrlich had actually made significant errors in his research). It is thought that the failure of capital punishment as a deterrent is due to the nature of the beast, so-to-speak, of the homicide itself.

Even so, while we think it may be plausible at the possibility of innocents being affected by the criminal punishment laws, it was no less severe in the Revolutionary times; in fact, there was a growing sentiment that they wanted the laws to change, which were advocated by an Italian philosopher, Cesare de Beccaria, who believed in the punishment should fit the crime, although in a period where they realized that harsh penal laws didn’t discourage crime. In the History of Criminal Justice text (Johnson & Wolfe (2003), pg. 171-172), one example was given where in (in 1767) a notice was posted in the New York Mercury telling about a pick pocket that occurred in a crowd assembled to watch a hanging of a pick-pocketer. The audacity of a pick-pocketer willing to commit the crime in the midst of the punishment of the crime which was supposed to have acted as a deterrent was a clear blatant farce. It was not until 1785 when Beccaria’s view on equally administered justice, a Bill was proposed based on a principle of proportionality in the assignment of punishments for the various crimes. This proposal was further revised into a Bill (1796) and enacted into law through limiting the death penalty to murder in the first degree (including pre-meditated murder and murder by poisoning).

It would be wrong to presuppose that capital punishment is affecting only men; after all, at the end of 1999:

• 50 women were on death row in 17 State prisons and none were on death row in Federal prisons;
• Ages range between 23 and 70;
• Over half were white;
• Included housewives, prostitutes, a police officer, and a serial killer;
• Had been on death row from times of just a few months to over 17 years;
• All were convicted of murder;
• Victims included their farmhands, husbands, grandchildren, and entire families;
• Although “awaiting execution”, almost all will have their death sentences converted life imprisonment through commutation or through legal proceedings that vacate the sentence or conviction;
• In 1999, only 0.5% of all executions since 1900 had been women. (Rafter, Nicole Hahn (2003), pg. 45)

Barbara Graham was an example of one of four women that were executed via the gas chamber in California before the United States’ Supreme Court ruled the death penalty was unconstitutional in 1972; no California woman had been executed since 1962, although the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. (Rafter, Nicole Hahn (2003), pg. 103)

NAMI - National Alliance for Mental Illness advocates absolutely no death penalty for the mentally ill as they feel that a person can be reintegrated into society after performing even violent acts as a direct result of his/her behavior. Additionally, they advocate the restructuring of the sentencing phraseology to “not guilty by reason of insanity”, “guilty except for insanity” or any other similar terminology because there are systems that provide comprehensive, long-term care and supervision in hospitals and in the community to individuals; while supporting the retention of the “insanity defense” and favoring the two-prong test that includes the volitional as well as the cognitive standard, NAMIadvocates against the adoption of “guilty but mentally ill” statues which stigmatize the defendant. One wouldn’t necessarily execute a cat simply because it jumped into your lap and scratched the heck out of you; you would instead seek treatment for that cat (or, in reality, give it to another family to possess thinking it may act less violent towards them than it does to you). It is the same reasoning that NAMI essentially has when considering the validity in imprisoning the mentally ill instead of allowing them to seek treatment. They even go so far as to describe a jail diversion technique that has been modeled in San Antonio’s Bexar County facilities recently and presented at the Capitol’s Visitor Center earlier this week. Of course, the jail diversion technique is designed for the non-felonious offenders to be eligible for immediate consideration in this program and looks towards getting the treatment for the mental illness before it is too late – thereby, hoping by treating the illness, the offender would not be a repeat offender (since often the criminal acts are out of total character of the individual and pose irrational behavior, sometimes as a result of not having the proper medications or no medications or counseling treatments at all). Perhaps, if this jail diversion model really works everywhere else as it has in Bexar County, Texas, we may see a lower recidivism rate, and perhaps their rage would never lead them towards the path of killing anyone. At this time, it is truly too early to tell the possible affects the jail diversion program will have on ultimately even seeing the mentally ill in the Court Room for a crime that could be punishable by capital punishment; however, having stones in place that can lead to recovery of their illnesses, as well as reintegration of the mentally ill in the society is a very humanistic approach to the capital punishment issue. After all, does Beccaria’s belief in the punishment fitting the crime really hold true in the case of the mentally ill? We may never really know the answers to those questions, but, in the meantime, studies move forward to document and try to come to some sort of a conclusion.

One has too many faulty measurements to really determine if the guilty are truly guilty and the insane are truly insane – or so say the prosecutors, attorneys for the victims of the defendants, attorneys for the defendants, etc. In Harris County, Texas, the Crime Lab is being for-ever picked upon because of the DNA testing that they are finding where there are truly innocents in jails – some even holding sentences on death row! This has been an ongoing battle for more than 2 years; and, simply gives more energy to the opponents of capital punishment. This being said, though, there is a place for the capital punishment to be effected – such in the history of McDuff, who was released early from prison during the late 70’s – early 80’s and killed at least three other ladies soon after his release. McDuff should have never been reintegrated into society; however, should we be forever providing a roof over their heads, three meals a day, and more services than even our poor and middle class society receives to survive the daily rituals of life? And, insofar as the “humanistic” approach, where was their concern for humanity when they were killing? Is their life any more valuable than anyone else’s?

John Rawls is quoted as saying:

“A conception characterizes our moral sensibility when the everyday judgments we do make are in accordance with its principles. These principles can serve as a part of the premises of an argument which arrives in the matching judgments. We do not understand our sense of justice until we know in some systematic way covering a wide range of cases what these principles are.”

(Rawls, John (1999), pg. 41)

In reading about Guatemala’s history, principles, and civil war (and taking a personal mission trip in the Summer of 2003 wherein I learned more), David Wilkenson (a human rights worker) tells a story in his book, Silence on the Mountain: Stories of Terror, Betrayal, and Forgetting in Guatemala, about, in 1979, when the Sandinistas marched triumphantly following the fall of the Somoza dictatorship where Silverio recalled a poem,

“History says, Don’t hope on the side of the grave”:

“But then once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up,
And hope and history rhyme.”

( Wilkinson, David (2002), pg. 342)

While the graves were dug in a little different sense than the act of capital punishment, one can always hope that there is a rhyme and reason behind this form of punishment and its impact upon deterring crime. Guatemala had, in its thirty-six or some-odd years of civil war history, many clandestine graves; it is hoped that the capital punishment in its killing of innocents leave an equally bad taste in the history of any State within the United States who advocates for capital punishment as an absolute deterrent in crime – especially with murders. Can we honestly state that everyone on death row has had a punishment sentenced that fits the crime? One may never know for certain, but as our systems and methods get more and more refined, one truly hope that the rhyme and reason come together and we can vehemently state that the punishment does fit the crime.

Bibliography

Johnson, Herbert A. and, Wolfe, Nancy Travis (2003). History of Criminal Justice (3rd Ed.), Cincinnati, Ohio: Anderson Publishing Co. (pgs. 171-172).

Julia C. Butridge Gallery at the Dougherty Arts Center. “Recent Works by Malaquias Montoya” located at 1110 Barton Springs Road, Austin, Texas, an exhibit from January 5th through January 30th 2005, as sponsored by the Center for Mexican American Studies, College of Liberal Arts, The University of Texas at Austin, in collaboration with La Pena and Resistencia Bookstore/casa de Red Salmon Arts (The Center for Mexican American Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station F9200, Austin, TX 78712).


NAMI - National Alliance for Mental Illness

Rafter, Nicole Hahn (2003). Encyclopedia of Women and Crime. NYC, New York: Checkmark Books (an imprint from Facts on File). (pg. 45).

Rawls, John (1999). A Theory of Justice (Revised Ed.). Cambridge, Massachussets: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Siegel (PhD), Larry J. (2001). Criminology: Theories, Pattern, and Typologies (7th ed). United States: Wadsworth Thompson Learning. (p. 198).

Wilkinson, David (2002). Silence on the Mountain: Stories of Terror, Betrayal, and Forgetting in Guatemala. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. (pg. 342).

Dictionary.com source: Merriam-Webster's Medical Desk Dictionary, Revised Edition © 2002 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.

Legislature Ltr re S338/HR985 Bill

This is a letter I wrote 02/18/05 and sent to my legislatures regarding this upcoming bill submitted urging the creation of a Commission to evaluate the Medicaid program and recommend improvements thereof:

I am writing tonight to urge you to please cosponsor the S338/HR985,
bipartisan legislation proposed by Senators Gordon Smith and Jeff Bingaman and Representatives Heather Wilson and Donna Christensen
regarding the imperative creation of a commission of experts to
evaluate Medicaid and recommend improvements, prior to altering the program or implementing funding cuts.

Medicaid is the dominant source of funding for treatment and support
services for children and adults in this country living with mental
and whole health illnesses. Medicaid is projected to cover 60% of
public mental health spending as of 2010 and currently covers 50% of
spending. Additionally, it is a safety net program protecting the most
vulnerable populations who are struggling with chronic and severe
disabilities, such as mental illness.

Unfortunately, at our state level, Medicaid is under severe stress,
and state spending will likely continue to decrease in the near
future. In light of these cuts, the long-term health of the Medicaid
program is of great concern to NAMI (the National Alliance for Mental Illness) and to myself and my family as
well. It is of critical importance that Medicaid remains a core
funding source for people in need of mental and whole health care.
Action must be taken to ensure that the program is reformed
efficiently and effectively to meet the needs of all of those who rely
on it for their treatment needs.

The harsh economic times even have people who do not qualify for
Medicaid because they work; even if their "work" entails being
underemployed and barely able to scrape enough to make ends meet in
the first place. Medicaid, as it stands today, does not even but meet
a very small portion of the society who needs health care assistance.
Presently, in order to qualify, you must be near desitute -- and, it
forms a catch- 22 aspect in that, while you finally get the health
care assistance, it doesn't mean that it will necessarily help you
with the rest of the cost of living expenses as well. What does that
say about the quality of life that we, as a society, put upon the care
and life standards of each member of the society. Soon, it will become
just a matter of the survival of the fittest. Is that how we want to
be remembered -- a heartless, uncaring society????

Of course, we don't want fraudulant claims nor those who just take the
easy way out; however, there are many who go unserved by the way the
Medicaid program is presently structured. Something MUST be done to
regain a healthy society. After all a healthy society also makes a
strong, vibrant workforce; and, a strong, vibrant workforce is, in
turn, a good influence upon a strong economy. Everything dominoes upon
one another; to have a strong economy once again, we must look at the
roots of the problem - - and Medicaid reform is one of the many
solutions that will aid in bringing back our economy.

There is a Bible story that, in the end, the person who was most
prosperous had given the most; well, the Medicaid situation is a very
similar situation. I sincerely, believe that we will never regain our
economic strength, unless there is something given. With so many cuts
in the financial fundings, there is nothing left to give any more
(just like the gambit played in the DVSA (domestic violencem, sexual
assault) matters where the funding for the shelters is quite dismal at
this point in time and reaching critical need to help the DVSA victims
(but, that is another pulpit for another day!!).

S338/HR985 is intended to establish a bipartisan commission on
Medicaid. This is a critical step in helping the federal government
and the states promote policies that will improve the program and
ensure that it maintains its role in serving the needs of low-income
Americans with severe disabilities and health needds. I urge you to
support this important legislation. A Bipartisan Commission on
Medicaid is key to maintaining this vital program serving the nation's
most vulnerable citizens.

Please consider this legislation as a means to many ends; to help fix
the medicaid issue (along with some other issues as well) will aid to
put the whole picture of our strong economic system back together.
Right now, we need to start putting the pieces back together and one
of the best ways to do so is by restructuring the Medicaid program so
that it may continue to help those who are deserving of doing so,
which it was originally designed to do. The function has truly been
lost and needs desperately to find its footing in society once again.

Thank you, in advance, for taking these important issues into
consideration and for doing your part to make our society a better
place to live in.

Legislature Ltr 020105 re Domestic Violence

This is a letter I wrote to my legislatures because of the crunch felt by the crisis shelters providing relief for DVSA (Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault) victims and in reaction to the news that SafePlace, one of the many DVSA shelters that was having to close half of its facilities due to the lack of funding. This has affected many shelters throughout the area because each shelter is experiencing its own lack of funding for the victim needs and put a strain on each shelter to "make do" for the victims:

In 1986, I was a victim of domestic violence wherein my then husband beat me while I was 4 months pregnant. I thought I lost the baby, but the doctors at Round Rock Hospital assured me that my baby, Amanda Nicole, was very resilient. My husband stayed at the jail in Georgetown for a few days and was released. His psychiatrist tracked me down convinced me that he would change and everything would be okay. In fact, he made it through Crisis Center’s phone lines and got hold of me at the hotel I was staying at, which would not happen that way these days. At any rate:

Amanda was born on 8/3/87, a beautiful girl.

By 2/14/89, I found out that change didn’t mean for-ever, and he tried to choke me – only to be stopped by our crying daughter saying, “Don’t hurt my Mama!”. This time, I put a plan into action. I was not going to put my daughter in that situation again, and I coordinated a move, service of papers, on March 9, 1989. He went to his regular poker game ritual and my neighbors helped me and my daughter to move out.

Unfortunately, many years later, I found myself in a similar relationship with another man. This is something that often happens to the victims if they go untreated in counseling services, etc. However, in the second time, I was able to see some red flags and was able to get out of that relationship too in 1999.

My third husband was a dream – very attentive, doted on me, respected me, and loved me dearly. Unfortunately, some good things have to come to an end and he died in November 11, 2002. This didn’t happen though without my finding the taste of a life without domestic violence and abuse; it was wonderful and I truly look forward someday to finding another husband, perhaps, to share the rest of my life with (again, without domestic violence or abuse).

In the meantime, I am working on myself. I am working on a degree in criminal justice and mediation. Working at the shelter giving back in some way to those who are presently being tormented by the life of domestic violence/abuse or sexual assault.

Today, I am finding myself being able to give back so-to-speak by being a Shelter Wknd Manager; however, the shelters are in a grave danger of either closing or limiting their services even more than they have in the past because a decrease in funding. In fact, SafePlace in Austin was faced to close one of their smaller shelters, which has put an impact on other shelters in the community.

At the shelter I am presently working at, they were not able to get the much needed FEMA Grant money that would allow us to house in emergencies DV/Sexual Assault victims and their children in a hotel in the event that (a) the shelter is full to the brim or (b) the shelter cannot feasibly house the victim because he is a male. Typically, through last year, we had funding for the hotel spaces for such emergency situations and aided in the housing while the shelter had to be re-wired for upkeep because of the age of the electrical system. This year, we don’t.

Being a weekend shelter manager and a hotline response team member, I have seen the influx of the hotline calls that we have been getting – especially those we have had to turn away because we are full or we can’t house a male victim and his children at our facility as it is presently set up.

With Governor Perry’s budget set that he can spend a little more, I would implore you to consider the need of the shelters and aid them to be in a situation to offer the services that are in an immediate need – more counseling and outreach service programs, staffing the night workers at greater than just $8/hr, providing emergency shelter space for overflows and/or male victims and their children, etc.

Chances are that you have either experienced domestic violence and/or sexual assault either directly or indirectly through an immediate or distant relative or friends. Think of what it would be like if they had no where to go to have a safe haven, to separate themselves from the abuser, and have an opportunity to move forward in their lives. Without the increased funding, it will be next to impossible for the shelters to continue their growth and ability to reach these victims. Please have a heart and think of the victims and what you could do to help – have an impact on them by aiding in increasing the funding for the shelters.

Thank you. I look forward to seeing the increased funding go to the shelters within this legislation.