Better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer - William Blackstone
Sam Hurd Arrested and Charged with Federal Drug Distribution
Sam Hurd, wide receiver for the Chicago Bears, was arrested December 15, 2011 and charged with violation of 21 U.S.C. section 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(ii)(II), conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. Hurd is charged in the United States District Court fort the Northern District of Texas, and he faces up to 40 years in prison.
There may be other charges to follow. The criminal complaint filed against Hurd alleges that Hurd ran a large drug distribution network in Texas, while he was a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys. A member of Hurd's organization, identified as "TL,"tried to buy large quantities of cocaine from federal investigators, and gave information to a Confidential Informant that led to Hurd's arrest. TL alleged that Hurd attempted to buy 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds) of cocaine in Texas in July of 2011. Hurd's statements to TL were that he was going to transport the cocaine to a "northern destination," which coincided with Hurd's signing with the Chicago Bears.
Amanda Knox Freed
Amanda Knox was freed after serving years in an italian prison for the murder of her roommate. Knox, was originally convicted at trial and sentenced to serve 28 years, appealed her case in an attempt to overturn the verdict. The Italian legal system allows for a new trial of sorts on appeal, and the blended judge and jury panel can hear new evidence and argument in the case.
On October 3rd, 2011 Knox delivered her final statement to the panel, pleading for her freedom, and stating that her life was being taken from her for something that she did not do. After hours of deliberation, the panel returned a verdict of not guilty on all of the serious charges, and affirmed her conviction of defamation against her former employers.
Knox was freed that day and returned to her home in Seattle, Washington. She was in Italy on a one year program to study at a university there.
Among the problems in the prosecutor's case was the fact that the murder weapon was never found. The DNA on a knife found at a co-defendant's home could not be linked to the victim, Meridith Kercher. Kerchner's blood stained bra clasp was sought to be used as evidence but it had laid on the floor in her room so long that it was useless. No DNA from Knox was found in the room where Kerchner was killed. There were no witnesses that could place Knox at the scene.
Drivers Find Marijuana on Highway
Last month in California a truck carrying a large amount of marijuana wrecked on the highway. The driver fled, leaving behind a handgun in the cab. The marijuana was spread all over the road from the wreck.
What followed next is described as a "feeding frenzy." Motorists stopped and scrambled to collect the marijuana from the roadway. The accident happened at 1:00 am but most of the marijuana was collected by passing cars before police could arrive and secure the scene.
Police have no suspects or descriptions for the driver of the truck or the drivers who stopped to collect the marijuana.
Drivers scramble for free weed after drug smuggler wrecks truck
Woman makes Bomb Threat to Airline to stop family from flying
Mary Purcell is a resident of New York. She was upset that her mother and brother had planned to fly just before the 10 year anniversary of 9-11. Purcell called Soutwest Airlines and claimed that she had overheard her boyfriend discussing placing a bomb on the flight from New York to Albuquerque.
The airport notified a bomb squad who brought equipment and dogs and searched the plane. The flight was cleared to depart, with only a 15 minute delay.
FBI investigators traced the telephone call to Mary Purcell. When she was confronted with the information they had gathered, she claimed at first that she had called the airline to learn why the flight was delayed. Apparently it was revealed to her that she called the airline before the flight was delayed, and she confessed to trying to stop the flight.
She is charged with making a bomb threat, a felony that caries up to 10 years in prison. At some point during the time her case winds its way through the courts prosecutors are going to have to consider how they are going to deal with her charge and what consequences Purcell should face. If she has no prior record, Purcel, who is 37 years old, should be treated with some mercy.
Florida Drug Testing of Welfare Recipients Shows Much Lower Drug Use Than US Average
In July 2011 Florida began drug testing of welfare applicants. The applicants paid for their own drug tests, and were reimbursed by the state if the results were negative. Applicants with positive results were denied welfare benefits for a year, and were not reimbursed for their costs.
This new law came into effect as an initiative by Governor Rick Scott on the pretense that the state would save money. Scott also claimed that welfare recipients are more likely to abuse illegal substances than normal.
Both statements have turned out to be untrue. The state has experienced only about 2% positive drug screen results in early analysis of the thousand or so applicants in the first month. Drug use as a percentage of the population of people aged 15-64 years in the US is 12.6% for marijuana alone. Florida welfare recipients 2% is less than the 2.8% of americans that use cocaine. Clearly drug use is not a big problem among Florida's welfare recipients. Because of the low percentage of positive drug screens, the state has to reimburse more people than expected and is barely breaking even on the new law. The cost of the tests is offset by benefits denied to families with children, which does not satisfy the mission of Florida's Department of Children and Families not does it serve the public good in any way.
Arizona Charges $25 to Visit Inmates
In order to make up part of their state budget shortfall, Arizona prisons will now charge all visitors a fee of $25 so that a background check can be performed. This is a one time fee at the present but possibly Arizona could come back to the trough for a background check "update" once a year or so. The state admits that it costs noting to perform a background check. They also can't point to any security concerns that would justify imposing a fee on visitors. They claim that the action is needed to ensure inmate safety, as if the inmates need to be protected from their visitors! Perhaps Arizona's prisons are built not to keep the prisoners from society, but to protect them from the general public.
The canard of inmate safety doesn't explain the amazing coincidence that Arizona faces a 1.5 billion budget shortfall, and the prison system needed an additional $150 million for repair and maintenance of its buildings that it wasn't going to get from the state. It doesn't explain why the law that puts the fees into place also directs the proceeds to be deposited into a fund that was to be used for - prison system building maintenance and repair.
Ohio Woman Convicted of Felony for Lying to get Her Kids into a Better School
Kelly Williams-Bolar was convicted by a Ohio jury on a felony charge of falsifying public documents. Williams-Bolar wanted to get her children into a better school district. In her own school district the schools were underfunded, overcrowded and she had concerns about her children's safety there. In the neighboring school district, Copley-Fairlawn, the schools were highly ranked and very desirable. Williams-Bolar's father lived in the Copley-Fairlawn school district, so she registered her children at her father's address and transported them herself from her home.
The school board was apparently hyper-vigilant about people who were sneaking their children into their highly rated schools, because they hired a private investigator to follow Williams-Bolar. They discovered that she was transporting the children from her home in the other school district and made a criminal complaint against her. The school board also asked her to pay $30,000 for the children's tuition in their district.
Judge Orders Children to Continue Living with Child Killer
In one of the strangest custody cases ever to unfold a Washington State judge has ordered that two teenage boys continue living with their father and step-mom, despite the fact that the step-mother murdered her own children 20 years before.
Kristin and John Cushing were married and had two daughters aged 4 and 8 years old. Kristin Cushing was the typical soccer mom, driving the girls to their activities and taking care of the young family while the father was overseas serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. One night she used a .38 caliber revolver to kill both children as they slept. She was tried by a court in Orange County, California and found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Kristen Cushing underwent years of therapy and medication. While it seems that she has a clean bill of health currently, she may have been hospitalized for her mental health issues as recently as 2008.
After the couple divorced, John Cushing married Trisha Conlon and had two more children, boys who are now teenagers. When Cushing and Conlon later divorced, they agreed on a split custody situation where the boys alternate living with each parent.
Deferred Disposition, Community Service in Haynesworth plea
Albert Haynesworth, defensive lineman for the Patriots (formerly of the Redskins) pled no contest to reduced charges in a D.C. court Monday as part of a plea deal that reduced the charges of sexual assault against a cocktail waitress.
Haynesworth is accused of assaulting the waitress who was working at the W Hotel. He was scheduled for trial on August 23rd but entered a plea agreement the day before.
Under the plea agreement the charge was amended to simple assault, and Haynesworth was ordered to complete 160 hours of community service. He also has to return to court every six months for the next 18 months and be of good behavior during that period. If he complies with those conditions, the assault charge would be dismissed.
Haynesworth, who had no prior record other than traffic offenses, pled no contest to the amended charge. He could face suspension from the NFL for several games.
Albert Haynesworth pleads no contest to misdemeanor assault charge
U.S. Crime Rate at 48 Year Low: No One Knows Why
English newspaper Guardian printed an article by Chris McGreal Sunday August 21, 2011 titled "America's serious crime rate is plunging, but why?" Washington D.C. had 482 homicides in 1991. Last year there were 131 murders in the city. New York City had the lowest number of murders in 2009 than at any time since 1963. FBI crime statistics show that serious crime - including murder, rape and robbery are at the lowest level in 48 years.
This topic has been covered in depth by many commentators, but the Guardian article looks at several competing theories to explain the reasons for the decrease in U.S. crime rates over the past 20 years. Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer at this point.
Some of the factors that contribute to the crime rate reduction are: increases in medical technology that have saved more lives of victims of violent assault; increased police intelligence and communication between agencies; cars that are more difficult to steal; the fact that people use bank and credit cards and do not carry cash as often, making robberies unproductive; homes and businesses are more likely to have alarm systems; and the popularity of crack cocaine, and the gang violence that came with it, has hugely decreased in the last two decades.