The Media and Gun Sales

Today's issue of Crime and Justice News included an excerpt from an article in Slate that reiterates the way numbers can be blown out of
proportion to create a non-existent perception of fear.

The article discusses the numerous newspaper headlines and news stories that recently indicated that the nation was busy buying guns in fear that the new administration would place limits upon the 2nd Amendment. Slate analyzes the actual number of sales in comparison to past years.

A major point made is that we do not know how many are new purchasers v those who have guns and want to add to the collection. Additionally the increase in population must be factored in.

This is but another of too many instances where statistics are utilized to support a position without considering all the factors.

When a gunshop owner is interviewed about the increase in sales, we never hear him/her asked if other gunshops in the area have closed. With fewer gunshops, doesn't it make sense that those remaining will see an increase in sales?

When I first read about the increase in gun sales, I wondered if this time of year isn't when hunters make purchses.

I certainly accept the fact that there probably are some who, for whatever reason, headed to the local gunshop when the election results were announced. But to headline this into a show of national fear is unwarranted.

Freedom can be painful

In 2003 PBS did a documentary about the lives of men who had been exonerated in the months after their release. There is a chart of the amount of money, none in some states, that these innocent individuals may receive for the injustice they endured.

Keep in mind that 5 more years have gone by since this was shown and some states have revisited compensation issues in the intervening years. The number of those innocents who have been released has more than tripled in the intervening years.

Unless we can provide psychiatric/psychological assistance along with housing assistance and jobs, these individuals are being revictimized in many way. As we face economic and budgetary problems, the funds will not be there.

How do you think we might address this issue?

Should Those Writing Lab Reports be Required to Testify

Should Writer of Lab Report testify

Exonerations have risen dramatically as Project Innocence groups have expanded
and new DNA testing has become available. Quite often the innocent was convicted
using unreliable eye witness accounts, jailhouse snitches whose testimony
became equivalent to a get out of jail soon key,or even defense counsel
without the resources to challenge evidence.

The United States Supreme Court granted cert
and heard oral arguments this week in a case that centers around
the 6th Amendment's confrontation clause. The issue before the court:
Must lab technicians be available
for cross-examination when states introduce drug, blood,
or other forensic reports at trial?

In the past few years major deficiencies in the laboratory work done in Dallas, Houston, and
other cities has been revealed and resulted in overturned convictions. In some instances
the technicians were not trained in the newest techniques and protocols. The examples
are numerous. By allowing cross-examination some problems may be revealed that
allow an innocent person to be acquitted because of faulty lab work. Fingerprint evidence
and gun casings have been the focus of recent scientific papers.

This is a case that should be watched carefully since its decision will effect criminal trials
across the county.

Taking Best From Both SIdes

In their respective platforms both the Democrats and Republicans addressed criminal justice issues.

I plan to simply list the ones I personally would like to see implementated by bipartisan legislatures.
Because of economic shortfalls for the states as well as the federal government, many worthy projects
will undoubtedly have to be postponed.

My list is NOT prioritized, but I would like to see your responses list your first 3-5 priorities.


Support for local law enforcement by providing additional funding for equipment and manpower.

Support for prison-to-work programs.

Assist all levels of government, including tribes, with funding to combat and prevent drug crimes.

Assist all levels of government to combat and prevent drug and alcohol abuse.

Support programs aimed at ending violence against women.

Back victims' rights legislation.

Support programs aimed at ending child pornography

Support programs providing stronger enforcement against gangs

Support legislation providing for the immediate deportation of illegal aliens who are involved in gangs

Support legislation providing for the immediate deportation of illegal aliens who commit violent crimes

Support legislation providing for the immediate deportation of illegal aliens who commit sex offenses

Reform the prisons

Support drug courts and other alternative court plans

Which 3-5 of these do you feel needs immediate implementation. Why do you select these above others?

This is scary

More reports of violence point to ailing federal prison system

By Erin Rosa 10/30/08 8:36 AM

(Photo/Todd Ehlers, Flickr)

Deadly assaults in federal penitentiaries are on the rise and they aren’t exclusive to Colorado. Following reports that an inmate was stabbed to death in August at the U.S. Penitentiary in the southern city of Florence, there is news from another federal lockup that a guard was assaulted and stabbed multiple times this month, lending credence to correctional workers’ claims that the entire system is an understaffed tinderbox.

The Bureau of Prisons, the agency overseeing the lockups, has confirmed that a correctional guard was stabbed by an inmate multiple times in the head and lower back at the U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy in Kentucky, sustaining injuries that required medical attention. Workers at the facility claim that the guard was stabbed with a makeshift “shank” weapon, but the bureau has not yet confirmed that detail.

Bureau officials state that the guard was released from hospital care on Oct. 21, the same day the assault happened. The prison has been on lockdown status since the incident, which means that inmates are generally confined to their cells and not allowed to visit with family members.

Bureau employees familiar with the situation, who commented on an anonymous basis, stated that the guard was “stabbed five times with the weapon” and sustained “3-inch stab wounds to the head area and three stab wounds to the lung and back area,” by an “inmate refusing to be restrained, due to being intoxicated” and that the “officer had blood streaming from the head wounds.”

So far, the bureau has not confirmed the workers’ claims.

The fact that the inmate was able to hide a weapon in the first place, coupled with the bellicose assault on a staff member, are indications that understaffing has created a dangerous environment for both guards and inmates in the federal prison.

In Colorado, at the high-security penitentiary in Florence, three inmates have died in less than four months. Two prisoners were killed by guard gunfire when a massive 200-person riot broke out on the recreation yard of the prison in April after inmates were again allegedly intoxicated on self-brewed alcohol. Another inmate was killed in August in what workers say was a stabbing by another inmate. The prison has been on lockdown since the most recent killing.

Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar, a Democrat, sent a letter to bureau head Harley Lappin in September demanding that the agency publicly disclose the results of an investigation into the riot. However, the bureau has not yet responded to the lawmaker.

It’s not the first letter that has been sent to the bureau, either.

In February Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., sent a brief memo to Lappin, commenting on increasing violence against correctional workers in the nation’s prisons:

I am concerned about reports of increasing violence in the Federal Prison System, including recent assaults and homicides at [U.S. Penitentiary] Hazelton, [U.S. Penitentiary] Beaumont and [Federal Correctional Institution ] Allenwood. Incidents such as these are particularly troubling given the funding limitations in the Bureau of Prisons in fiscal year 2008, and the impact such constraints may have on the Bureau’s ability to respond to violent threats and attacks.

The violence reached a pinnacle in June when José Rivera, a 22-year-old correctional worker, was stabbed to death by an inmate at the U.S. Penitentiary Atwater in California.

Inmate-on-inmate assaults are also on the rise. According to federal data and media reports, 12 inmates in federal prisons lost their lives due to inmate-on-inmate violence in 2007, and the number has already reached at least 11 in 2008.

Correctional workers have been blowing whistles for years over what they claim are dangerously low staffing levels at government lockups. Employees claim that the low number of guards has made it increasingly difficult to spot contraband like alcohol and weapons.

In March 2005, the bureau implemented a directive called “mission critical,” that ordered all agency institutions to come up with staffing rosters that listed the bare-minimum needed to run each prison safely. Workers contend that the bureau isn’t even fulfilling obligations for the bare-minimum and is vacating units for hours at a time.

Clarification: Story edited to further distinguish claims made from the bureau and workers at the Big Sandy USP relating to statements about a makeshift “shank” weapon.

Decriminalizing marijuana in MA

QUESTION 2

Voters approve marijuana law change

By David Abel, Globe Staff | November 5, 2008

Voters yesterday overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, making getting caught with less than an ounce of pot punishable by a civil fine of $100. The change in the law means someone found carrying dozens of joints will no longer be reported to the state's criminal history board.

With about 90 percent of the state's precincts reporting last night, voters favored the Question 2 proposition 65 percent to 35 percent.

"The people were ahead of the politicians on this issue; they recognize and want a more sensible approach to our marijuana policy," said Whitney Taylor, chairwoman of the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy, which campaigned for the ballot initiative. "They want to focus our limited law enforcement resources on serious and violent crimes. They recognize under the new law that the punishment will fit the offense."

The proposition will become law 30 days after it is reported to the Governor's Council, which usually meets in late November or early December. But the Legislature could amend or repeal the new law, as they have done with prior initiatives passed by the voters, said Emily LaGrassa, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Opponents of the proposition said they are concerned about the potential consequences of the vote. "The administration is clear in its opposition to the decriminalization of marijuana, and we are concerned about the effects of ballot Question 2's passage," Kevin Burke, secretary of the state's Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, said in a statement.

He would not comment on whether the administration will try to repeal the law, which will require violators younger than 18 to complete a drug awareness program and community service. The fine would increase to as much as $1,000 for those who fail to complete the program.

Proponents of the initiative, who spent about $1 million promoting it, argued the change in the law would maintain the state's existing penalties for growing, trafficking, or driving under the influence of marijuana, while ensuring that those caught with less than an ounce of pot would avoid the taint of a criminal record.

The opponents, who include the governor, attorney general, and district attorneys around the state, argued that decriminalizing marijuana possession would promote drug use and benefit drug dealers at a time when they say marijuana has become more potent. They warned it would increase violence on the streets and safety hazards in the workplace, and cause the number of car crashes to rise as more youths drive under the influence.

In a statement, the Coalition for Safe Streets, which opposed the initiative, blamed the loss on being outspent by supporters of Question 2, which included the billionaire financier George Soros, who spent more than $400,000 in favor of decriminalizing marijuana.

"Now these pro-drug special interests will move on to another state as part of their plan to inflict a radical drug-legalization agenda on as many communities as possible," said the statement.

The Rev. Bruce Wall, pastor of Global Ministries Christian Church in Dorchester, was among several prominent black ministers in Boston who called on fellow clergy to oppose the initiative.

"I guess there are a lot of people smoking the stuff, and they don't see what we see," Wall said.

The initiative's success last night sparked loud cheers from supporters gathered at the Silvertone Bar & Grill in downtown.

"I think this points to how our Legislature is unwilling to represent their constituents on these issues," said Bill Downing, president of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition.

Another chance to voice your opinion on this hot button issue

Citizens speak on proposals and amendments

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Stem cell, medical marijuana props approved

Charlie Cain / Detroit News Lansing Bureau

Michigan voters easily approved a law Tuesday to allow the seriously ill to smoke marijuana, while a proposal to ease restrictions on stem cell research research won by a tighter margin.

Michigan became the 13th state -- and first in the Midwest -- to legalize medical marijuana. While backers said it would help as many as 50,000 residents ease the pain of cancer, Hepatitis C, HIV/AIDS and other illnesses, Proposal 1 drew widespread opposition from law enforcement, business groups and health organizations.

Dianne Byrum, spokeswoman for Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care which championed the proposal, said the opposition ads didn't work.

"This is a victory for the patients and their stories resonated with voters," she said. "The scare tactics from the opposition were over the top and not believable."

Said Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Bill Schuette, spokesman for the group opposed to medical marijuana: "We waged a good fight and talked about the unintended consequences. But we were underfunded and came up short."

Mike Chaffee, 48, an accountant from Troy , said medical marijuana is an "alternative to high-cost drugs" and allows patients to "decide what's best for them."

Good chance to voice your opinion