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A reminder that the 5k Road race, which is raising money for the Petit family foundation- is coming up on July 20th. There will be a separate run for children under eight years old as well as a 1.3 mile "fitness walk" for those who wish to participate who are not neccesarily long-distance runners.
Winners and awards will be given at a Post race ceremony which will include refreshments and other activities.
The race sponsored by GE and a gaggle of other Connecticut based companies is raising money for the Petit family foundation which donates to M.S research and those affected by violent crime, among several other important causes.
The foundation was set up by Dr William Petit after a violent series of crimes took the lives of his wife and two children in Cheshire last July. The entire state of Connecticut has been deeply affected by these crimes and the local support and charitable effort in the Petit and Hawke family names continues to be steadfast nearly one year after the crimes occurred.
There have been multiple memorials and honorariums raising both money and awareness for different charities over the past 11 months, each organized with the core intention of keeping the Petit women's memory and spirit of activism alive and in the forefront of our collective consciences.
A judge presiding over the criminal case placed a gag order on those involved with the case, and little has been written in the press regarding the crimes and the ongoing criminal case since the order took effect in October 07. There has however been a great deal of attention and debate over the States woefully ineffective criminal justice system, which in retrospect clearly aided and abetted these crimes in happening.
The Connecticut legislature, urged by Governor Rell met in a special session in January and managed to pass some immediate judicial reform bills, not without the customary dissent and grumbling by heads of the appropriations committee lamenting the costs to the state. They met again in their regular session early May and passed a snaller number of crime reform bills, including a persistent offender law that is more likely to actually be used than the convoluted version that has stood largely unused by prosecutors since its inception years ago.
Dr Petit has made it clear that he wishes to focus on who his family members were
and all that they stood for during their lives among us, rather than the focusing only upon the senseless violence of their deaths.
In this way he can restore them to a positive place in his and our memory, this rather than their being forever relegated to "victims" Area Connecticut residents have honored this and responded in kind-with events running the gamut from a town-wide candlelight display, to a basketball game fund raiser, the latter organized by friends of Haley Petit who was an avid basketball player and fan.
And most recently, Cheshire, Plainville and Litchfield were among several other towns where Volunteers turned out in record amounts for the annual"MS walk", an event that was a yearly tradition for the Petit clan.
This year, friends of the Petit children organized and sponsored walk groups in the Petits name and in doing so, helped the area raise record funds for the MS Society, a group in which the whole family was involved ever since Jennifer Hawke Petit was diagnosed with the disease at age forty.
See the link above and below for details regarding the upcoming Race--You may pre-register now for the race and the fitness walk via the Website, although same- day registration is also available, beginning 2 hours prior to the start of the Race.
Pre- race registrars and the first 100 same day counterparts will receive a Race day T-shirt
commemorating the event.
The GE 5K Road Race
May 16, 2008
May 11, 2008
May 10, 2008
Second suspect in new haven home invasion assault arrested
They arrested the second man -of three-believed to be responsible for the violent home invasion in New Haven weeks ago. The robbery/attack left the sole female homeowner badly injured. I am trying to find out if she is doing any better and what hospital she is at or where cards or letters of support can be forwarded to...I will report on this as soon as available, as well as the situation re the third man who is still at large.WTNH.com, Connecticut News and Weather - Second arrest in home invasion in New Haven
May 4, 2008
2008 MS Walk supports a cause and a tragedy
It looks like the Cheshire Connecticut MS walk a Thon was a great success today! I only wish that I could have been there to participate and show my support, for the petit hawke families as well as the MS society. As luck would have it, I had to Work .
Read about it here.
Travelers 2008 MS Walk supports a cause and tragedy
Read about it here.
Travelers 2008 MS Walk supports a cause and tragedy
May 3, 2008
May 2, 2008
National MS Society's Walk Event:
Elizabeth Ollero, a close Friend and schoolmate of Michaela Petit has formed a special M.S walk group in Michaela memory, to raise money in this Sunday's National MS Society's Walk- a thon being held in Litchfield Connecticut.
ELiz's group will walk in honor of Michaela, Jennifer and Haley Petit who were killed in a home invasion just this past July. As many in the community of Cheshire know, the Petit family was very involved with MS charity work, including Mrs Petit who struggled with the disease for the last eight years of her life.
Once made aware of the debilatating effects of this disease, the Petit's young daughters took up the cause in hopes of helping to find a cure for Multiple sclerosis.
It appears that ELizabeth has just met her orignial goal for sponsorship for her walk group. however she is still continuing to take new pledges as well as welcoming any willing and able walk volunteers for her team.; Please visit her Walk a thon site via the link above and follow the links on how become involved. This cause was EXTREMELY important to the Petit family, and as such, its a great way to honor their memory as well as continue to spread thier spirit of activism and kindness.
Thank you in advance for making even the smallest donation or pledge, every little bit helps this important fundations work. MS is an intractable often debilatating auto immune disease that targets the neurological system. Men can get MS, yet it favors mostly women and in their third and fourth decades of life. Most worrisome is that The nunber of people stricken with the disease seems to be growing exponetially with every year. There are a number of treatments available to abate excarbations or flare ups, but as of yet no cure exists.
. For information regarding Elizabeth's website that honors the memory of her life long friend Michaela Petit, Please click on the "Forever Michaela" link on the right sidebar of this site...
National MS Society - Walk Event:
ELiz's group will walk in honor of Michaela, Jennifer and Haley Petit who were killed in a home invasion just this past July. As many in the community of Cheshire know, the Petit family was very involved with MS charity work, including Mrs Petit who struggled with the disease for the last eight years of her life.
Once made aware of the debilatating effects of this disease, the Petit's young daughters took up the cause in hopes of helping to find a cure for Multiple sclerosis.
It appears that ELizabeth has just met her orignial goal for sponsorship for her walk group. however she is still continuing to take new pledges as well as welcoming any willing and able walk volunteers for her team.; Please visit her Walk a thon site via the link above and follow the links on how become involved. This cause was EXTREMELY important to the Petit family, and as such, its a great way to honor their memory as well as continue to spread thier spirit of activism and kindness.
Thank you in advance for making even the smallest donation or pledge, every little bit helps this important fundations work. MS is an intractable often debilatating auto immune disease that targets the neurological system. Men can get MS, yet it favors mostly women and in their third and fourth decades of life. Most worrisome is that The nunber of people stricken with the disease seems to be growing exponetially with every year. There are a number of treatments available to abate excarbations or flare ups, but as of yet no cure exists.
. For information regarding Elizabeth's website that honors the memory of her life long friend Michaela Petit, Please click on the "Forever Michaela" link on the right sidebar of this site...
National MS Society - Walk Event:
May 1, 2008
Apr 30, 2008
Home invasion Unnerves East Rock neighborhood in New haven
New Haven Independent: Home Invasion Unnerves East Rock
Another violent "home invasion" involving a 55 year old woman in her middle class neighborhood in New Haven. She was tied up and beaten with a bat and her home ransacked and robbed by three young men.
The police arrested one of the three perpetrators the following afternoon, the other two are still at large, although it is being said that the new haven police have been made aware of both of their identities via the assailent/thief arrested.
No word yet regarding any criminal record for the man who was arrested, we only know that he was only 17 years old. Hopefully he will be tried as an adult considering the level of violence against the homeowner, who offered all of her money valuables and her car to the intruders according to the New Haven Police. More as this case develops.
Another violent "home invasion" involving a 55 year old woman in her middle class neighborhood in New Haven. She was tied up and beaten with a bat and her home ransacked and robbed by three young men.
The police arrested one of the three perpetrators the following afternoon, the other two are still at large, although it is being said that the new haven police have been made aware of both of their identities via the assailent/thief arrested.
No word yet regarding any criminal record for the man who was arrested, we only know that he was only 17 years old. Hopefully he will be tried as an adult considering the level of violence against the homeowner, who offered all of her money valuables and her car to the intruders according to the New Haven Police. More as this case develops.
Apr 29, 2008
Bogus version of three strikes passes
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-3strikes0426.artapr26,0,6160516.story?page=2
Here are the highlights of the crime bill that finally managed to pass the house on Friday last week;
•$5,232,000 for improved supervision of sex offenders who are on probation, including upgraded lie-detector and global positioning system, or GPS, technologies. The money will also be used for truancy prevention and helping officials serve warrants on probation violators.
•$2,147,000 to hire more parole officers and prison guards, along with expanding the use of GPS technology to track criminals who are out on parole.•
$910,000 for the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for supportive housing and improving the women's jail-diversion program, among others.
•$681,000 for the Division of Criminal Justice for more prosecutors and better computers.
•$514,000 to hire more employees in the state police department's major crime squad.•
$512,000 for the Public Defender Services Commission for defense lawyers to handle more prosecutions and aid indigent criminals.
Please note the comparative amount of money designated for the adding of more Prosecutors to our Ct courts, this presumably so that we may begin to bring more cases to trial, as opposed to the current rote mode of adjudicating 96 percent of our violent crimes via the plea bargain model. Plea bargains involve dropping down a violent offender's original felony charges, the ones that the police have carefully and responsibly charged him/ her with, and in cases of multple charges some become completely dropped altogther, in the name of the deal" . These deals have historiclly served our Connecticut courts as a quick and easy compromise to avoid trials, save effort and money and still wind up with some kind of conviction on that prosecutors record-Albeit one that is substantially less serious than the crimes that were committed.
ThIs leaves a violent criminal with too light of a sentence for the seriousness of the crimes that he committed as well as a conviction record that does not reflect theseriousness of the violence that he is capable of and indeed has committed in the past! Its a lose lose for the citizens of connecticut in terms of violent criminals.
Plea bargaining is the number one enemy of any repeat offender sentencing bill, even the ones in name only such as was just passed by the Connecticut Legislature. All a prosecutor has to do to get around sentencing A a violent criminal under this the new repeat offender provision, is to simply drop the original charge or charges that qualified as a crime that fell under the persistent offender status, right down a notch or two to one that does not qualify ie sex assault 1 down to sex assault 2 or 3. Assault one or two both violent felonies down to assault three, and even an attempted murder can be dropped down to an assault, a client of mine on juryduty just related a story about,a case he was chosen for wherebythe state chose to plea brgain a case involving a man who was shot in the face down for the attempted murder charge to assault!
And now as in the past, no reason need be given for these kinds of pleas by the prosecutor offering it up.
Runaway plea dealing is the kind of thing that even the democratic chairs of the judiciary committee recently admitted is getting in the way of responsible sentencing in our Conn courts, opotentially leading to tragic consequences, such as the latest home invasion in New Britain last month, as well as the Petit family crimes where if either accused killer there had been convicted of all of the charges against them, they would have been in prison for a substantialy longer amount of time. These are but two case that had the most horrificv outcomes- hundreds of other violent crimes are committed by criminals our of prison too soon due to light sentencing via plea deals within our state every single year.
Approx 600,00 dollars allocated for hiring of new prosecutors equals at best with benefits etc. maybe 6 new additional prosecutors for the entire state of Connecticut! This is not likely to make a ding in our repeat violent crime problem.
And when Considering the amount of monies designated for much less essential things with this same reform package, see above list (See first item ie 7 million dollars for increased tracking of sex criminals etc etc once they leave prison ) only serves to draw glaring attention to the paltriness and unrealistic amount of funds that our legislative body saw fit to designate to something that is clearly at the very nucleus of the violent crime problem. I daresay that these two figures should have been inverted-with the 7 million going to new prosecutors and new public defenders to pick up the increased load that will result when they begin trying more violent crime cases rather than the speedier easier plea bargaining that they were accustomed to being offered for their clients.
This is a clear example of the seeming dis ingenuousness of some of these regform measures-they would appear to be an ineffective panacea for the Connecticut masses, this during an election year.
In order to make any kind of genuine difference in how our violent crime cases are handled in the future, each court will need at the very least, one more full time prosecutor , with our busier city courts needing 2 or more at minimum to handle what will intially surely be a considerable increase in time spent on each violent crime case that is assigned to them. Trial preparation is time consuming, particularly when done correctly and intelligently. This is what would be needed for any legitimate plan to overhaul our courts handling of all violent crime sentencing.
However I believe that in time as word gets out, these steps will begin to cause a drop in violent crime as common sense dictates that a deterrence factor will slowly take hold. If criminals see that they are definetely going to be put away for a very long time for any violent crime, violent crime will begin to abate in this state.
And for every horrible murder case such as the Petit family's, that Connecticut can prevent from happening via deterrence, we will save millions of dollars on public defender and prosecution fees, all court costs including 24 hour armed guards for the prisoners both in and out of court such as has become necessitated within these higher profile cases, not to metion the basic upkeep of these criminals in prison, as well as the succession of death penalty appeals that follow these kinds of heinous crimes. This is a great deal of money that can be saved by the state of connecticut.
And missing altogether from this reform package was an oversight committee or policing body for our existing and new prosecutors, in order to insure that they are held responsible for the life and death decisions that they choose to make to plea down any criminal's charges that should have been treated under repeat offender sentencing status. If there is no such body, our prosecutors are not going to be accountable in the future for the irresponsible decisions that have come to define our many of our courts sentencing procedure.
Here are the highlights of the crime bill that finally managed to pass the house on Friday last week;
•$5,232,000 for improved supervision of sex offenders who are on probation, including upgraded lie-detector and global positioning system, or GPS, technologies. The money will also be used for truancy prevention and helping officials serve warrants on probation violators.
•$2,147,000 to hire more parole officers and prison guards, along with expanding the use of GPS technology to track criminals who are out on parole.•
$910,000 for the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for supportive housing and improving the women's jail-diversion program, among others.
•$681,000 for the Division of Criminal Justice for more prosecutors and better computers.
•$514,000 to hire more employees in the state police department's major crime squad.•
$512,000 for the Public Defender Services Commission for defense lawyers to handle more prosecutions and aid indigent criminals.
Please note the comparative amount of money designated for the adding of more Prosecutors to our Ct courts, this presumably so that we may begin to bring more cases to trial, as opposed to the current rote mode of adjudicating 96 percent of our violent crimes via the plea bargain model. Plea bargains involve dropping down a violent offender's original felony charges, the ones that the police have carefully and responsibly charged him/ her with, and in cases of multple charges some become completely dropped altogther, in the name of the deal" . These deals have historiclly served our Connecticut courts as a quick and easy compromise to avoid trials, save effort and money and still wind up with some kind of conviction on that prosecutors record-Albeit one that is substantially less serious than the crimes that were committed.
ThIs leaves a violent criminal with too light of a sentence for the seriousness of the crimes that he committed as well as a conviction record that does not reflect theseriousness of the violence that he is capable of and indeed has committed in the past! Its a lose lose for the citizens of connecticut in terms of violent criminals.
Plea bargaining is the number one enemy of any repeat offender sentencing bill, even the ones in name only such as was just passed by the Connecticut Legislature. All a prosecutor has to do to get around sentencing A a violent criminal under this the new repeat offender provision, is to simply drop the original charge or charges that qualified as a crime that fell under the persistent offender status, right down a notch or two to one that does not qualify ie sex assault 1 down to sex assault 2 or 3. Assault one or two both violent felonies down to assault three, and even an attempted murder can be dropped down to an assault, a client of mine on juryduty just related a story about,a case he was chosen for wherebythe state chose to plea brgain a case involving a man who was shot in the face down for the attempted murder charge to assault!
And now as in the past, no reason need be given for these kinds of pleas by the prosecutor offering it up.
Runaway plea dealing is the kind of thing that even the democratic chairs of the judiciary committee recently admitted is getting in the way of responsible sentencing in our Conn courts, opotentially leading to tragic consequences, such as the latest home invasion in New Britain last month, as well as the Petit family crimes where if either accused killer there had been convicted of all of the charges against them, they would have been in prison for a substantialy longer amount of time. These are but two case that had the most horrificv outcomes- hundreds of other violent crimes are committed by criminals our of prison too soon due to light sentencing via plea deals within our state every single year.
Approx 600,00 dollars allocated for hiring of new prosecutors equals at best with benefits etc. maybe 6 new additional prosecutors for the entire state of Connecticut! This is not likely to make a ding in our repeat violent crime problem.
And when Considering the amount of monies designated for much less essential things with this same reform package, see above list (See first item ie 7 million dollars for increased tracking of sex criminals etc etc once they leave prison ) only serves to draw glaring attention to the paltriness and unrealistic amount of funds that our legislative body saw fit to designate to something that is clearly at the very nucleus of the violent crime problem. I daresay that these two figures should have been inverted-with the 7 million going to new prosecutors and new public defenders to pick up the increased load that will result when they begin trying more violent crime cases rather than the speedier easier plea bargaining that they were accustomed to being offered for their clients.
This is a clear example of the seeming dis ingenuousness of some of these regform measures-they would appear to be an ineffective panacea for the Connecticut masses, this during an election year.
In order to make any kind of genuine difference in how our violent crime cases are handled in the future, each court will need at the very least, one more full time prosecutor , with our busier city courts needing 2 or more at minimum to handle what will intially surely be a considerable increase in time spent on each violent crime case that is assigned to them. Trial preparation is time consuming, particularly when done correctly and intelligently. This is what would be needed for any legitimate plan to overhaul our courts handling of all violent crime sentencing.
However I believe that in time as word gets out, these steps will begin to cause a drop in violent crime as common sense dictates that a deterrence factor will slowly take hold. If criminals see that they are definetely going to be put away for a very long time for any violent crime, violent crime will begin to abate in this state.
And for every horrible murder case such as the Petit family's, that Connecticut can prevent from happening via deterrence, we will save millions of dollars on public defender and prosecution fees, all court costs including 24 hour armed guards for the prisoners both in and out of court such as has become necessitated within these higher profile cases, not to metion the basic upkeep of these criminals in prison, as well as the succession of death penalty appeals that follow these kinds of heinous crimes. This is a great deal of money that can be saved by the state of connecticut.
And missing altogether from this reform package was an oversight committee or policing body for our existing and new prosecutors, in order to insure that they are held responsible for the life and death decisions that they choose to make to plea down any criminal's charges that should have been treated under repeat offender sentencing status. If there is no such body, our prosecutors are not going to be accountable in the future for the irresponsible decisions that have come to define our many of our courts sentencing procedure.
Police search for Waterbury man they say killed his 20-year-old girlfriend
The Republican-American Police search for Waterbury man they say killed his 20-year-old girlfriend
Another persistant offender that should have been in prison where he clearly belonged with sexual assault and numerous assault convictions on his record, out and about free to escalate to the next predictable level of crime, murder.
In this case, He has allegedly killed his 2o year old girlfriend. He is still at large...
Another persistant offender that should have been in prison where he clearly belonged with sexual assault and numerous assault convictions on his record, out and about free to escalate to the next predictable level of crime, murder.
In this case, He has allegedly killed his 2o year old girlfriend. He is still at large...
Apr 28, 2008
Apr 25, 2008
Senate bill hikes repeat felon sentences
http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_9046643
And on it goes to the house...
You'd think that these guys could put the political agendas aside for the greater good when it involves life and death decisions such as those that are before them right now.
This is probably the single most important thing that any legislator could ever be involved with.
To put it into another light, statistically speaking, their actions or inaction, regarding our states judicial reform will undoubtedly touch them or someone they care about, within their lifetime here in Connecticut,
After the Cheshire assaults and murders, I, along with many other Connecticut citizens implored our lawmakers to take immediate measures to fix the lax sentencing issues that are at the core of so many of the violent crimes committed within the state.
What we got for an answer was a lot of spin rhetoric stating that a 'this law or that law wouldn't have prevented this crime or that crime anyway, and the most infuriating statement of all-"No one in the ct judicial system could have foreseen or prevented what happened in Cheshire". "
I personally recoiled every time I heard a legislator or criminal justice proffesional say something to the effect that 'this crime, was just one crime in the grand scheme of things within this state and ' hey, our system runs fine for the most part and We are talking about spending a lot of money on our criminal justice system over just this one single crime"...
. 'There were also insinuations and sideways accusations by some legislators that they were only being called in for this special session because this murder happened in the suburbs to an affluent family" There were numerous references to the 'elephant in the room" that 'no one is talking about' but in effect they were talking about it, by referencing it so many times.
It turns out the 'the elephant' was the fact that certain legislators felt that the only reason they were even there at this session called by the governor, was the same reason that so much attention was being given to this crime at all; affluence and yes, there was also an implication that race-ie Caucasian- was part of the motivation behind the entire push by our government to fix whatever was wrong with our system, that allowed this crime to happen.
Within this same session, The appropriations committee co chair, who happened to be African American, dramatically listed the cost projections for the proposed crime reform bill, which included such things as a full time professional parole board with at least one criminal physcholigist on reserve staff.
With a scolding narrative laced with a disapproving air, heavy throughout the entire lecture, she huffed and puffed about how cost inefficient and unneccesary this crime bill was, along with projected measurements in human lives to match the dollars spent, that would be likely be affected by each of the changes within the reform In other words; how many fewer people will be slaughtered, raped, beaten senseless. battered, kidnapped and molested as a result of each criminal judicial reform within the proposal package.
Her bottomline; not enough lives saved or affected to justify the reform remedies proposed in the bill!
This all took place in a special session of our Connecticut general assembly in January of this year. Three months later, two senior women were made victim of another brutal home invasion which included kidnapping sexual assault murder of an older ill woman and the near fatal gunshot injury sustained by the sole survivor of the ordeal. The defendant in this case; another repeat sex offender who was recently released from prison.
I've got to have a closer look at the actual legislation that did pass the senate, but I can only hope that somewhere in all of it they have addressed the fact that prosecutors can too
easily get around these enhanced repeat offender laws by simply doing what they've been doing way too much of for years now-plea bargaining the charges down, IE so that they do not qualify any longer for the repeat offender sentencing.
For example; a man gets arrested for sexual assault 1 or 2, and stalking 2, the state 0ffers him a deal whereby they drop the stalking completely and drop the assault 2 down to three-no longer qualifying this particular dangerous offender for enhanced sentencing. His conviction record will bear the end result of this deal ie a sexual assault 3, if we're lucky. These are probable outcomes folks I am not pulling these things from the air. In recent years I have formed my own court watch groups and followed many, many cases-this is the norm here in Connecticut.
Ct legislators have not afforded a piece of co-legislation that requires every Connecticut prosecutor who "deals" down felony charges for crimes that originally qualify for repeat offender status-to formally explain on record why they are doing so, and until they do they are rendering this repeat offender legislation near-useless;
We are currently plea bargaining approx 97 percent or more of our criminal cases here in Connecticut. That is a whole lot of serious felonies being routinely dropped down for no other reason than the offender being given a deal to avoid trial, simply to "keep things moving" within our courts. Sure he/she will plead guilty, but guilty to what?--Not the original charges that he/she committed, but instead reduced charges; This means that those charges will be lowered in class, ie from a class b felony to a class C, a felony C to a misdemeanor A and so on and so forth.
And in cases with multiple charges committed within one actionable crime, at least one charge altogether is often dropped, just for the sake of "dealing".
Now bear in mind that many of these prosecutors are going to want to plea most cases rather than prepare for a trial, its easier, faster and they still get paid, no matter how they "resolve" the violent crime on that piece of paper in front of them. Sounds awful yet too often true.
It seems that in too many cases we are unwilling to seriously prosecute in this state, until someone has been killed, and often even then, only if its in a particularly brutal manner. We must become a more evolved people than this!
At the center of serious assault and sexual assault cases are people-people whose bodies and lives have become desecrated by the crimes committed against them. This can and often does include close family members of the victim s as well. This is a huge chain of despair and suffering that is literally wrapping around our state---
What of their justice? Thier rights, thier healing? This lack of justice and thus validation only compounds the emotional and physical damage sustained from the crimes committed against them.
As well the men that commit these crimes almost always escalate to something more serious down the line, needlessly creating more victims, when we the state of Connecticut- had the chance to remove them from law abiding society-and we didn't. We see this over and over again. Our legislators must put a stop to this runaway plea dealing, whatever it takes.
Within this bill that just passed, some money has been allocated for the hiring of more prosecutors, and that's certainly a good start to be sure, because we will clearly need more manpower if we are to be trying more violent crime cases. But as plea bargaining violent crimes is not going to stop, there needs to be something in place that holds our prosecutors accountable for decisions regarding these plea deals for any and all violent crimes.
The trouble is that prosecutors are lawyers and as such, they are experts at rationalizing and blurring the lines of truth. They cannot be allowed to simply proclaim that a particular violent crime case had "weaknesses" and thus plea it down to lesser charges. As well we should be tracking the records
of our prosecutors in each court district. How many cases are they plea bargaining vs trying every year and where their are huge disparities, investigate.
You see, everyone keeps referring to judges discretion, but with a 97 per plea bargaining, it is the prosecutors that offer these deals and then present it to the judge, who usually gives a perfunctory nod. It has been my experience that when a judge does question the resolution of a case with clearly dropped down charges, the prosecutor then "sells it" to the judge. Once in a while you will see a tough judge who is not led by the states attorneys office within that court-even regarding cases that are still in pre-trial. They will simply not allow a plea bargain that involves ultra light or non existent prison sentences.
We need more of these judges, as well as a mechanism that insures one judge hearing one case through from beginning to end. The reason that one judge handling a case throughout the pre-trial process is important is because otherwise the various judges only hear bits of the picture, if that, especially one that comes onto a case months and months after its happened and the prosecutor is already poised to deal it down, then the judge may only hear what the prosecutor wants him/ her to hear regarding that case, ie because if the actual severity of the crimes is clear to the judge, they may very well question the prosecutors judgement regarding a plea decision.
To be continued..
And on it goes to the house...
You'd think that these guys could put the political agendas aside for the greater good when it involves life and death decisions such as those that are before them right now.
This is probably the single most important thing that any legislator could ever be involved with.
To put it into another light, statistically speaking, their actions or inaction, regarding our states judicial reform will undoubtedly touch them or someone they care about, within their lifetime here in Connecticut,
After the Cheshire assaults and murders, I, along with many other Connecticut citizens implored our lawmakers to take immediate measures to fix the lax sentencing issues that are at the core of so many of the violent crimes committed within the state.
What we got for an answer was a lot of spin rhetoric stating that a 'this law or that law wouldn't have prevented this crime or that crime anyway, and the most infuriating statement of all-"No one in the ct judicial system could have foreseen or prevented what happened in Cheshire". "
I personally recoiled every time I heard a legislator or criminal justice proffesional say something to the effect that 'this crime, was just one crime in the grand scheme of things within this state and ' hey, our system runs fine for the most part and We are talking about spending a lot of money on our criminal justice system over just this one single crime"...
. 'There were also insinuations and sideways accusations by some legislators that they were only being called in for this special session because this murder happened in the suburbs to an affluent family" There were numerous references to the 'elephant in the room" that 'no one is talking about' but in effect they were talking about it, by referencing it so many times.
It turns out the 'the elephant' was the fact that certain legislators felt that the only reason they were even there at this session called by the governor, was the same reason that so much attention was being given to this crime at all; affluence and yes, there was also an implication that race-ie Caucasian- was part of the motivation behind the entire push by our government to fix whatever was wrong with our system, that allowed this crime to happen.
Within this same session, The appropriations committee co chair, who happened to be African American, dramatically listed the cost projections for the proposed crime reform bill, which included such things as a full time professional parole board with at least one criminal physcholigist on reserve staff.
With a scolding narrative laced with a disapproving air, heavy throughout the entire lecture, she huffed and puffed about how cost inefficient and unneccesary this crime bill was, along with projected measurements in human lives to match the dollars spent, that would be likely be affected by each of the changes within the reform In other words; how many fewer people will be slaughtered, raped, beaten senseless. battered, kidnapped and molested as a result of each criminal judicial reform within the proposal package.
Her bottomline; not enough lives saved or affected to justify the reform remedies proposed in the bill!
This all took place in a special session of our Connecticut general assembly in January of this year. Three months later, two senior women were made victim of another brutal home invasion which included kidnapping sexual assault murder of an older ill woman and the near fatal gunshot injury sustained by the sole survivor of the ordeal. The defendant in this case; another repeat sex offender who was recently released from prison.
I've got to have a closer look at the actual legislation that did pass the senate, but I can only hope that somewhere in all of it they have addressed the fact that prosecutors can too
easily get around these enhanced repeat offender laws by simply doing what they've been doing way too much of for years now-plea bargaining the charges down, IE so that they do not qualify any longer for the repeat offender sentencing.
For example; a man gets arrested for sexual assault 1 or 2, and stalking 2, the state 0ffers him a deal whereby they drop the stalking completely and drop the assault 2 down to three-no longer qualifying this particular dangerous offender for enhanced sentencing. His conviction record will bear the end result of this deal ie a sexual assault 3, if we're lucky. These are probable outcomes folks I am not pulling these things from the air. In recent years I have formed my own court watch groups and followed many, many cases-this is the norm here in Connecticut.
Ct legislators have not afforded a piece of co-legislation that requires every Connecticut prosecutor who "deals" down felony charges for crimes that originally qualify for repeat offender status-to formally explain on record why they are doing so, and until they do they are rendering this repeat offender legislation near-useless;
We are currently plea bargaining approx 97 percent or more of our criminal cases here in Connecticut. That is a whole lot of serious felonies being routinely dropped down for no other reason than the offender being given a deal to avoid trial, simply to "keep things moving" within our courts. Sure he/she will plead guilty, but guilty to what?--Not the original charges that he/she committed, but instead reduced charges; This means that those charges will be lowered in class, ie from a class b felony to a class C, a felony C to a misdemeanor A and so on and so forth.
And in cases with multiple charges committed within one actionable crime, at least one charge altogether is often dropped, just for the sake of "dealing".
Now bear in mind that many of these prosecutors are going to want to plea most cases rather than prepare for a trial, its easier, faster and they still get paid, no matter how they "resolve" the violent crime on that piece of paper in front of them. Sounds awful yet too often true.
It seems that in too many cases we are unwilling to seriously prosecute in this state, until someone has been killed, and often even then, only if its in a particularly brutal manner. We must become a more evolved people than this!
At the center of serious assault and sexual assault cases are people-people whose bodies and lives have become desecrated by the crimes committed against them. This can and often does include close family members of the victim s as well. This is a huge chain of despair and suffering that is literally wrapping around our state---
What of their justice? Thier rights, thier healing? This lack of justice and thus validation only compounds the emotional and physical damage sustained from the crimes committed against them.
As well the men that commit these crimes almost always escalate to something more serious down the line, needlessly creating more victims, when we the state of Connecticut- had the chance to remove them from law abiding society-and we didn't. We see this over and over again. Our legislators must put a stop to this runaway plea dealing, whatever it takes.
Within this bill that just passed, some money has been allocated for the hiring of more prosecutors, and that's certainly a good start to be sure, because we will clearly need more manpower if we are to be trying more violent crime cases. But as plea bargaining violent crimes is not going to stop, there needs to be something in place that holds our prosecutors accountable for decisions regarding these plea deals for any and all violent crimes.
The trouble is that prosecutors are lawyers and as such, they are experts at rationalizing and blurring the lines of truth. They cannot be allowed to simply proclaim that a particular violent crime case had "weaknesses" and thus plea it down to lesser charges. As well we should be tracking the records
of our prosecutors in each court district. How many cases are they plea bargaining vs trying every year and where their are huge disparities, investigate.
You see, everyone keeps referring to judges discretion, but with a 97 per plea bargaining, it is the prosecutors that offer these deals and then present it to the judge, who usually gives a perfunctory nod. It has been my experience that when a judge does question the resolution of a case with clearly dropped down charges, the prosecutor then "sells it" to the judge. Once in a while you will see a tough judge who is not led by the states attorneys office within that court-even regarding cases that are still in pre-trial. They will simply not allow a plea bargain that involves ultra light or non existent prison sentences.
We need more of these judges, as well as a mechanism that insures one judge hearing one case through from beginning to end. The reason that one judge handling a case throughout the pre-trial process is important is because otherwise the various judges only hear bits of the picture, if that, especially one that comes onto a case months and months after its happened and the prosecutor is already poised to deal it down, then the judge may only hear what the prosecutor wants him/ her to hear regarding that case, ie because if the actual severity of the crimes is clear to the judge, they may very well question the prosecutors judgement regarding a plea decision.
To be continued..
Apr 24, 2008
Apr 22, 2008
"Petit case may be in court for years"
I will be posting about this article shortly, but for the moment; Suffice to say that it is a translucent-at best- attempt to inject anti death penalty propaganda, albeit in a seemingly roundabout way, under the skin of the local citizenry using this very painful and brutal set of crimes as the hypodermic.
And once again, what self appointed pundit has insinuated himself into the fray in this rather self serving way.. Why Rep. Mike Lawlor, who else?!
http://www.myrecordjournal.com/site/index.
And once again, what self appointed pundit has insinuated himself into the fray in this rather self serving way.. Why Rep. Mike Lawlor, who else?!
http://www.myrecordjournal.com/site/index.
Apr 13, 2008
The "Justice Journal"- Commentary Re Three Strikes Debate
The Following piece was excerpted from the "Versus" section in April's issue of "The Justice Journal", a Connecticut based newspaper dedicated to local Criminal Justice
issues, focusing on public safety and citizen involvement (see previous post for details)
"Deal-Away-a-Crime” System Needs Change
by Laurel O'keefe
This past July, one night of brutal criminal rampage brought to light the desperate need for much needed reform within our state’s criminal justice system;
The abduction, assaults, and eventual murders of three members of the Petit family by two career criminals, have come to stand as representative highlights of the endemic and pervasive flaws within this system.
In response to the growing public demand for criminal sentencing reform, many of our state's legislators would seem to be banging the table with their shoe, amid the hue and cry of their citizens, claiming that a "broad and sweeping" sentencing law, such as "three strikes", would
serve to deprive prosecutors and judges alike of their “discretion” in sentencing defendants of crime
This discretion is empirical, so it is argued, and at all costs must be preserved.
It needs to be clarified that in reality this concern is msotly about prosecutorial discretion; as Practically speaking, criminal judges in this state have very little to do with the actual charges with which most offenders are eventually “convicted” – And the same with their sentences.
That is.. unless there is a trial by judge or jury, and trials are extremely rare; Approximately96 percent of criminal cases in Connecticut never go to trial because they are routinely plea bargained by prosecutors, often resulting in a substantially lesser criminal record and corresponding sentence.
This of course leaves a formal record for the criminal that does not reflect the severity of the crimes that he or she has actually committed. And with few exceptions, Connecticut judges will rarely overrule what a prosecutor has already worked out with the defendant’s lawyer.
This deal -away- a -crime- system wouldn't be so abhorrent if it were limited to non-victim crimes, such as our overburdened motor vehicle dockets, petty larcenies and non-violent drug crimes-the latter in which treatment is often moew appropriate in any event.
Unfortunately, for all the wrong reasons, plea bargaining has become standard operating procedure within our Connecticut courts for dealing with violent crimes as well; This includes felony assault, sexual assault, kidnapping and yes, even murder.
A three strikes law or consiatntly utilized persistent offender law for violent offenders is one neccessary component in a multi-prong reformation of our Connecticut’s Judicial system.
There are several three strikes versions successfully being utilized in dfferent states and they do appear to be reducing violent crime if only as serving as a deterrent.
Some of the first broader versions created unforeseen issues, occasionally creating severe sentences for a third strike on a less serious non-violent felony, some of them drug-related and/or motivated.
The argument is made that a three strikes law will result in a disparity of high sentences for minority offenders-This perhaps is an unintended effect of the fact that many repeat minority and low income offenders rely on public defenders, who are either less motivated, adept, or simply lack the pull that an expensive private attorney may have with the local prosecutors office (ie in getting their charges reduced within Plea deals). Ironically, this is another essential reason that one strict sentencing system is needed; to ensure uniformity in sentencing for our states dangerous offenders.
There is no doubt that we must be diligent and meticulous in choosing and crafting our own version of a three strikes bill. We need to use our collective intellects, experience and conscience in devising a bill that makes sense in its practical application.
But there is one thing that I am certain of, as an activist and survivor of violent crime; the main reason that our lawmakers are reluctant to pass a strict sentencing law is the very same reason that it is so desperately needed; Something tangible needs to be stuck in the cogs of our run amok sentencing system.
And while the main argument seems to be that the three strikes bill take away judicial discretion- it is this very “discretion” that has become utterly misused and abused- leading to a system ruled by “discretion” rather than law and accountability.And The reasons for this misuse are many; professional laziness, apathy and cynicism-- cronyism,
favor swapping, and yes, things like directives regarding prison overcrowding. None of which
seem to belong in the sacred place where committed professionals are supposed to be battling the rigors of life and death crime.
The sad truth is that precious few would seem to be battling anything anymore in our Connecticut courthouses, and it is the victims of crime that are paying the heaviest price;
Not only the victims of the endless cases bargained down to next to nothing in viable punishment or culpabilityy, but also the future victims of these same offenders, who, after receiving little to no actual prison time, early parole, or irresponsibly low bail,go right back out, committing more violence, confident that they can depend on the same lackadaisical system which they have become experts at navigating, escalating their crimes, and more human suffering results.
Most of the victims of these countless bargained down” crimes are nameless, and their experiences forever invalidated by the “deal” that belies the reality of the crimes committed against them.
That is, until the next especially atrocious and brutal crime is committed by an irresponsibly paroled, low bailed or under-sentenced repeat offender; And precious lives are once again stolen, and nightmares and pain are what remain for those that survive.
Laurel O'keefe is a survivor of violent crime in Connecticut and writes the blog "Chasing Justice" http://www.chasingnormal.blogspot.com/
The Justice Journal -Three Strikes
Above is a link to the April issue of a newspaper called "The Justice Journal"which this month includes a Commentary piece that I wrote on the three strikes law debate, entitled "Deal-away-a-Crime-system must change'" The editors title choice, not mine)
It isn't possible for me to link directly to the article- because the papers online version is in adobe-acrobat Pdf format, follow the link I've posted to the homepage and then click on "current issue"..Then click on the April 2008 link and this will open up a pdf window to the front page.
The "Versus" section can be clicked to from the page number guide, and it starts on page 3. From there you can read all of the commentaries, beginning with the Republican legislator who is pro-three strikes-Or, you can skip ahead to my piece on page 26 .
The Justice Journal is a Connecticut based print newspaper that is devoted to Prevalent criminal justice issues within the State., with a focus on citizen involvement. They started their
distributuion in fairfied county are currently branching out to New haven county, with Hartford county distribution scheduled early 2009. They presently have an 80,000- paper distribution within the state of connecticut.
Their reporter staff is very impressive for a small free press newspaper, and includes, among others, the likes of Andy Thibault, famous writer and former journalist for The Connecticut Law Review, as well as regular commentary from criminal justice pros like Richard Meehan Jr, a well respected Bridgeport Attorney, author and Court TV consultant. The founder and publisher of the paper Doug Johnston was a top dog at Conde Nast publications and was charged with all of their new start-up ventures for many years. He is a long time Connecticut resident and involved with crime prevention journalism.
The paper can be found in locations where most free press small papers are; grocery stores, libraries, newsstands, as well as Police stations in all counties, including Hartford, New haven
and all State Police offices as well. Apparently, they also send out copies to every member of the Connecticut General Assembly, both houses, which means that some of them actually read it. This was my main impetus for writing the commentary-I hoped to at least plant a seed or two with even one legislator re the experience of crime victims in this state and the lack of prosecutorial conscientiousness that defines too many of our courts.
Now when I was asked to write the commentary I was under the impression that it was going to be their typical Point/counter-point format that was "The Versus" column format for all of the previous issues. ie Two opposing opinions on one subject concerning crime and punishment. Aprils issue had a total of five opinions published-with all but one in favor of three strikes law including a long time legislator in the Conn General assembly. The one opposition was not surprising coming from a member of the "Pardon Project" albeit a rambling and incoherent scolding of the Connecticut populas for threes trikes as well for " painting al criminals with the same brush" ummmm No-just the sociopaths that committ vciolent crimes over and over.
In any event, there is clearly strong feelings among the citizens of Connecticut regarding The whole three strikes issue And this passion is understandable when considering that there has been a veritable outbreak of sexual assaults, home invasions and murders which have stolen the lives of a bunch of innocent humna beings and left others wounded and grieving . And All of these crimes had one thing in common; they were all committed by recently paroled criminals with extensive criminal histories. All of thier previous criminal cases had been resolved via Plea deals.
I encourage everyone to get involved with these important issues in any way that you can. avial yourselves and your children about criminals that prey upon the public. It is a difficult and uncomfortable subject but we must Talk about it.
keep track of our state legislator's positions and voting history regarding all criminal judicial matters-Remember their words and their actions when it comes time for us to to vote for our area legislators. Let them squabble amongst themselves about taxes etc but matters of life and death such as laws and criminal sentencing, these are sacred issues surrounding life itself; bi partisan politics have no place here.
Write your local reps with your concerns and wishes. Organize neighborhood watches and develop a plan for encountering potential violence, both WITHIN your home or outside of it-while in your car for example.
Thank you for reading, be safe be well.
It isn't possible for me to link directly to the article- because the papers online version is in adobe-acrobat Pdf format, follow the link I've posted to the homepage and then click on "current issue"..Then click on the April 2008 link and this will open up a pdf window to the front page.
The "Versus" section can be clicked to from the page number guide, and it starts on page 3. From there you can read all of the commentaries, beginning with the Republican legislator who is pro-three strikes-Or, you can skip ahead to my piece on page 26 .
The Justice Journal is a Connecticut based print newspaper that is devoted to Prevalent criminal justice issues within the State., with a focus on citizen involvement. They started their
distributuion in fairfied county are currently branching out to New haven county, with Hartford county distribution scheduled early 2009. They presently have an 80,000- paper distribution within the state of connecticut.
Their reporter staff is very impressive for a small free press newspaper, and includes, among others, the likes of Andy Thibault, famous writer and former journalist for The Connecticut Law Review, as well as regular commentary from criminal justice pros like Richard Meehan Jr, a well respected Bridgeport Attorney, author and Court TV consultant. The founder and publisher of the paper Doug Johnston was a top dog at Conde Nast publications and was charged with all of their new start-up ventures for many years. He is a long time Connecticut resident and involved with crime prevention journalism.
The paper can be found in locations where most free press small papers are; grocery stores, libraries, newsstands, as well as Police stations in all counties, including Hartford, New haven
and all State Police offices as well. Apparently, they also send out copies to every member of the Connecticut General Assembly, both houses, which means that some of them actually read it. This was my main impetus for writing the commentary-I hoped to at least plant a seed or two with even one legislator re the experience of crime victims in this state and the lack of prosecutorial conscientiousness that defines too many of our courts.
Now when I was asked to write the commentary I was under the impression that it was going to be their typical Point/counter-point format that was "The Versus" column format for all of the previous issues. ie Two opposing opinions on one subject concerning crime and punishment. Aprils issue had a total of five opinions published-with all but one in favor of three strikes law including a long time legislator in the Conn General assembly. The one opposition was not surprising coming from a member of the "Pardon Project" albeit a rambling and incoherent scolding of the Connecticut populas for threes trikes as well for " painting al criminals with the same brush" ummmm No-just the sociopaths that committ vciolent crimes over and over.
In any event, there is clearly strong feelings among the citizens of Connecticut regarding The whole three strikes issue And this passion is understandable when considering that there has been a veritable outbreak of sexual assaults, home invasions and murders which have stolen the lives of a bunch of innocent humna beings and left others wounded and grieving . And All of these crimes had one thing in common; they were all committed by recently paroled criminals with extensive criminal histories. All of thier previous criminal cases had been resolved via Plea deals.
I encourage everyone to get involved with these important issues in any way that you can. avial yourselves and your children about criminals that prey upon the public. It is a difficult and uncomfortable subject but we must Talk about it.
keep track of our state legislator's positions and voting history regarding all criminal judicial matters-Remember their words and their actions when it comes time for us to to vote for our area legislators. Let them squabble amongst themselves about taxes etc but matters of life and death such as laws and criminal sentencing, these are sacred issues surrounding life itself; bi partisan politics have no place here.
Write your local reps with your concerns and wishes. Organize neighborhood watches and develop a plan for encountering potential violence, both WITHIN your home or outside of it-while in your car for example.
Thank you for reading, be safe be well.
Apr 11, 2008
Death Penalty Possible In Home Invasion Case
Death Penalty Possible In Home Invasion Case -- Social Issues, New Haven County -- Courant.com
http://www.courant.com/hc-homebox0401.artapr01,0,4175716.story
The states attorney's office has added Rape, kidnapping and capital murder charges in the Home invasion case in New Britain. I suspected that this was a sex crime once I learned of the abduction and subsequent murder of Mrs Welsh. Once again,violence against women is at the core of another "home invasion", committed by another repeat offender within our state.
The defendant, Leslie Williams was a convicted sex offender, having sexually assaulted a 5 yr old for which he served 8 years in a plea deal arrangement. The prosecutor in that case has since defended that deal which involved lowered charges and thus a more liberal sentence, declaring that the case had had"weaknesses". Here is a link to William's entire criminal history,
www.courant.com/hc-homebox0401.artapr01,0,4175716.story as you can see he is yet another career criminal who was consistently under-prosecuted except perhaps for the 8 year sentence for the sexual assault, which was relatively severe, especially for a plea deal.
Present at williams hearing this week was the family of murdered victim Mrs Welsh , as well as the half sister of the defendant, who offered explanation for her estranged brother's rape, murder and attempted murder rampage; His father was killed violently when he was a young boy by his own stepson, and Leslie reportedly "was never the same" after this.
She also mentioned that he was killing cats as a teenager and that this was obviously a cry for help-which she states he never got.
Knowing what we know about criminal sociopathology, the killing of cats sounds suspiciously like the beginnings of sociopathic behavior, the precursor of which is referred to as "conduct disorder" this, when the onset of symptoms begins prior to the age of 16, according to the Diagnostic statistical manual.
There are several red flags for early sociopathology in teens and children and two of the majors are cruelty towards and/or killing of animals, and fire setting. Another is physical aggression, fighting and a pattern of chronic disregard for rules, and violations of the rights of others.
As a teen develops into an adult, the diagnosis segue ways into anti-social personality disorder, also loosely referred to as a " psychopath".and sociopath which are one and the same. A profound lack of conscience and a highly deceitful and manipulative nature is another part of the constellation of symptoms.
Joshua komisarjevsky, one of the alleged Petit family assailant/killers was arrested for arson at a very young age. And his subsequent multiple break-ins to his neighbors homes starting as a teenager, would certainly qualify for a chronic disregard of rules and rights of others.
According to multiple sources, komisarjevsky was also very articulate, highly manipulative and often deceitful-again all hallmarks of the classic sociopath. This could be one reason that he managed to dupe our already permissive court system into lowered charges and lenient sentences, despite his incredibly high multitude of serious crimes, at such a young age.
As well perhaps how he also managed to ingratiate himself into an open relationship with, by all accounts a very conservative- minister's daughter who was also 6 yrs his junior. And this,despite their knowledge of his criminal past.
Anti-Social personality disorder is not insanity, nor is it a mental disease . It is however highly resistant, if not immune to psychiatric treatment/ and or cognitive therapy.
The level of manipulation which is a hallmark of the disorder, does not lend itself well to treatment. Control is of paramount importance to the sociopath and They have even been known to avail themselves of in depth study regarding psychiatric disorders, prior to any forced or expected- psychiatric evaluation. This in an effort to either draw attention away from, or towards, a more innocuous or more serious diagnosis, whichever benefits their needs and wants within that particular circumstance. They will use behaviors and verbiage that is likely to ensure a predictable and desired diagnosis . These are the more highly evolved and thus most dangerous types of sociopath. They are usually quite adept at avoiding detection, arrest or criminal prosecution, despite having committed many serious crimes against others. (Think of Ted bundy as a classic example of this at work.
This particular personality disorder has been referred to by some psychiatrists and criminal pro filers, as a "disease of the soul" as The normal human conscience that regulates decision and human behavior is overtly shallow- or completely absent, However, when put on the spot or when caught committing an offense, they are not above emulating what they perceive is the expected appropriate human reaction; ie guilt or remorse and or a feigned compassion-
again only if they believe that this will possibly gain them favor or personal benefit. But typically the only remorse that they are capable of, is a remorse over having gotten caught This often includes an open loathing and disdain for their victims, both for "allowing themselves" to become victims, and for causing them-the sociopath- all of this trouble.
It is for all of these reasons that the average human being, and even some experienced legal professionals often do not recognize the sociopath for what he is, as most people cannot fathom such...well, simply put- evil.
Psychologists do not believe that Sociopaths are "made" as the products of upbringing, as Leslie Williams sister alluded to within her statements regarding her brothers unfortunate childhood experiences-If anything this is a disorder more of nature, less of nurture.
A similar inference was made regarding Petit family co-killer Josh Komsarjevsky regarding his alleged sexual molestation as a teen and the discovery that he was adopted at opposed to his parents genetic son.
Tragically, according to statistics there are many children and teens experience sexual abuse within their lifetimes: I personally know many adults who have been so victimized, both through my work and my own circle of friends, As well there are many children who learn that they were adopted, And yet... they do not go out on a hunt at local supermarket stalking and following women and their children to their home, and return later to restrain, assault, and rape them- and then as a final act, murder them all in one of the cruelest, most terror- filled methods imaginable!
And remember that this young man and his accomplice walked among so-called evolved and educated people, and fooled most of them. This evil was brewing beneath the surface all along. Our judicial system had many many chances to diagnose ONE OR BOTH of these men, and keep each one locked away from civilized society for quite a long time. But they didn't.
Instead, they were given one tenth the sentence that the law allowed, and then with further insult they were both paroled- recklessly, with little to none of the essential documentation needed for such an important decision.
As a society of mostly decent people who would like to believe that evil behavior must be the result of hopelessness, lack of opportunity or education-we have an obligation to understand that while this may sometimes be the case, it is a far cry from always the case. That distinction must be made. There is a different type of criminal out there and this one doesn't play by any of the rules that we know and understand as human, and they cannot be "FIXED". This is a disease of core character, not mental illness.
This is why it is imperative that when our judicial system fairly obtains the opportunity to incarcerate this criminal offender for his crimes- hopefully before those crimes involve the loss of life/lives-This is when our courts need to act, not after the 4th or 5th or 20th felony.
Remember, as Voltaire said "Evil exists when Good men do nothing"
http://www.courant.com/hc-homebox0401.artapr01,0,4175716.story
The states attorney's office has added Rape, kidnapping and capital murder charges in the Home invasion case in New Britain. I suspected that this was a sex crime once I learned of the abduction and subsequent murder of Mrs Welsh. Once again,violence against women is at the core of another "home invasion", committed by another repeat offender within our state.
The defendant, Leslie Williams was a convicted sex offender, having sexually assaulted a 5 yr old for which he served 8 years in a plea deal arrangement. The prosecutor in that case has since defended that deal which involved lowered charges and thus a more liberal sentence, declaring that the case had had"weaknesses". Here is a link to William's entire criminal history,
www.courant.com/hc-homebox0401.artapr01,0,4175716.story as you can see he is yet another career criminal who was consistently under-prosecuted except perhaps for the 8 year sentence for the sexual assault, which was relatively severe, especially for a plea deal.
Present at williams hearing this week was the family of murdered victim Mrs Welsh , as well as the half sister of the defendant, who offered explanation for her estranged brother's rape, murder and attempted murder rampage; His father was killed violently when he was a young boy by his own stepson, and Leslie reportedly "was never the same" after this.
She also mentioned that he was killing cats as a teenager and that this was obviously a cry for help-which she states he never got.
Knowing what we know about criminal sociopathology, the killing of cats sounds suspiciously like the beginnings of sociopathic behavior, the precursor of which is referred to as "conduct disorder" this, when the onset of symptoms begins prior to the age of 16, according to the Diagnostic statistical manual.
There are several red flags for early sociopathology in teens and children and two of the majors are cruelty towards and/or killing of animals, and fire setting. Another is physical aggression, fighting and a pattern of chronic disregard for rules, and violations of the rights of others.
As a teen develops into an adult, the diagnosis segue ways into anti-social personality disorder, also loosely referred to as a " psychopath".and sociopath which are one and the same. A profound lack of conscience and a highly deceitful and manipulative nature is another part of the constellation of symptoms.
Joshua komisarjevsky, one of the alleged Petit family assailant/killers was arrested for arson at a very young age. And his subsequent multiple break-ins to his neighbors homes starting as a teenager, would certainly qualify for a chronic disregard of rules and rights of others.
According to multiple sources, komisarjevsky was also very articulate, highly manipulative and often deceitful-again all hallmarks of the classic sociopath. This could be one reason that he managed to dupe our already permissive court system into lowered charges and lenient sentences, despite his incredibly high multitude of serious crimes, at such a young age.
As well perhaps how he also managed to ingratiate himself into an open relationship with, by all accounts a very conservative- minister's daughter who was also 6 yrs his junior. And this,despite their knowledge of his criminal past.
Anti-Social personality disorder is not insanity, nor is it a mental disease . It is however highly resistant, if not immune to psychiatric treatment/ and or cognitive therapy.
The level of manipulation which is a hallmark of the disorder, does not lend itself well to treatment. Control is of paramount importance to the sociopath and They have even been known to avail themselves of in depth study regarding psychiatric disorders, prior to any forced or expected- psychiatric evaluation. This in an effort to either draw attention away from, or towards, a more innocuous or more serious diagnosis, whichever benefits their needs and wants within that particular circumstance. They will use behaviors and verbiage that is likely to ensure a predictable and desired diagnosis . These are the more highly evolved and thus most dangerous types of sociopath. They are usually quite adept at avoiding detection, arrest or criminal prosecution, despite having committed many serious crimes against others. (Think of Ted bundy as a classic example of this at work.
This particular personality disorder has been referred to by some psychiatrists and criminal pro filers, as a "disease of the soul" as The normal human conscience that regulates decision and human behavior is overtly shallow- or completely absent, However, when put on the spot or when caught committing an offense, they are not above emulating what they perceive is the expected appropriate human reaction; ie guilt or remorse and or a feigned compassion-
again only if they believe that this will possibly gain them favor or personal benefit. But typically the only remorse that they are capable of, is a remorse over having gotten caught This often includes an open loathing and disdain for their victims, both for "allowing themselves" to become victims, and for causing them-the sociopath- all of this trouble.
It is for all of these reasons that the average human being, and even some experienced legal professionals often do not recognize the sociopath for what he is, as most people cannot fathom such...well, simply put- evil.
Psychologists do not believe that Sociopaths are "made" as the products of upbringing, as Leslie Williams sister alluded to within her statements regarding her brothers unfortunate childhood experiences-If anything this is a disorder more of nature, less of nurture.
A similar inference was made regarding Petit family co-killer Josh Komsarjevsky regarding his alleged sexual molestation as a teen and the discovery that he was adopted at opposed to his parents genetic son.
Tragically, according to statistics there are many children and teens experience sexual abuse within their lifetimes: I personally know many adults who have been so victimized, both through my work and my own circle of friends, As well there are many children who learn that they were adopted, And yet... they do not go out on a hunt at local supermarket stalking and following women and their children to their home, and return later to restrain, assault, and rape them- and then as a final act, murder them all in one of the cruelest, most terror- filled methods imaginable!
And remember that this young man and his accomplice walked among so-called evolved and educated people, and fooled most of them. This evil was brewing beneath the surface all along. Our judicial system had many many chances to diagnose ONE OR BOTH of these men, and keep each one locked away from civilized society for quite a long time. But they didn't.
Instead, they were given one tenth the sentence that the law allowed, and then with further insult they were both paroled- recklessly, with little to none of the essential documentation needed for such an important decision.
As a society of mostly decent people who would like to believe that evil behavior must be the result of hopelessness, lack of opportunity or education-we have an obligation to understand that while this may sometimes be the case, it is a far cry from always the case. That distinction must be made. There is a different type of criminal out there and this one doesn't play by any of the rules that we know and understand as human, and they cannot be "FIXED". This is a disease of core character, not mental illness.
This is why it is imperative that when our judicial system fairly obtains the opportunity to incarcerate this criminal offender for his crimes- hopefully before those crimes involve the loss of life/lives-This is when our courts need to act, not after the 4th or 5th or 20th felony.
Remember, as Voltaire said "Evil exists when Good men do nothing"
Apr 9, 2008
Apr 8, 2008
Journal Inquirer > Connecticut has lost any right to be shocked
This was an excellent article by Chris Powell making some very astute points--until the last paragraph where it almost sounds as if he is suggesting that the murderer of a New Britain woman had no choice but to kill someone eventually, that it was inevitable This due to his unfortunate plight in life (having accrued an extensive criminal record, and thus having such limited opportunities ) He even offers a supposition that this man had a fatherless upbringing with little hope in life prior to his first crimes, something that has yet ot be established factually, rendering it a painting of all criminals with the same seemingly guilt ridden broad brush.
Truth be known this article took such a strange and unexpected turn at the end that I was left dumbfounded and asking myself -and Mr Powell-'umm...what is your stance on crime then-That we're too tough or not tough enough?
And while many of us have mixed feelings about crime and inwardly walk that fine line between compassion for the criminal who truly wishes to revamp his life after paying his debt to society, and wanting and needing laws and sentencing that are consistantly imposed, in order in keep the public as safe as possible from becoming victimized by crime, I feel that last few paragraphs go beyond this somewhat natural human ambivalance. But, have a look for yourself.
Journal Inquirer > Chris Powell > Connecticut has lost any right to be shocked
Truth be known this article took such a strange and unexpected turn at the end that I was left dumbfounded and asking myself -and Mr Powell-'umm...what is your stance on crime then-That we're too tough or not tough enough?
And while many of us have mixed feelings about crime and inwardly walk that fine line between compassion for the criminal who truly wishes to revamp his life after paying his debt to society, and wanting and needing laws and sentencing that are consistantly imposed, in order in keep the public as safe as possible from becoming victimized by crime, I feel that last few paragraphs go beyond this somewhat natural human ambivalance. But, have a look for yourself.
Journal Inquirer > Chris Powell > Connecticut has lost any right to be shocked
Apr 4, 2008
The Budget Connection
Good article in the Courant regarding budgetary issues connected to the States handling of the judicial crisis.
In Killing's Aftermath, State's Penal System Again hotly debated
Stances over violent crime clash once again between the Governor and high profile house democrats, after another home invasion that ended in murder and severe injury...
http://www.courant.com/news/local/nb/hc-polreax0401.artapr01,0,455472.story
Representative Mike Lawlor was uncharacteristically forthcoming re the states problem with plea bargaining within a recent press interview following the home invasion, citing , in effect, that the three strikes law that the governor has been strongly advocating is not the answer, and that she should instead be focusing on the issue that some prosecutors are dropping down criminal charges within plea deals -with the insinuation that this is reckless-and in doing so are dropping down the co-occurring appropriate sentencing for the crimes that were actually committed . IE the case in New Britain involved a criminal just released from an 8 yr sentence for sexually assaulting a child-Rep McDonald and Lawlor both have implied that the prosecutor who made the plea deal with that defendant resulting in the charges being dropped down a level and thus a relatively light sentence imposed. As I have repeatedly stated myself this rote plea bargaining practice put our citizens needlessly at risk constantly in effect, the law abiding public becomes prey for all of these irresponsibly sentenced, potentially dangerous criminals.
My question is, why is this the first time that Representative Lawlor is addressing this longstanding problem within our courts, framed as it was within a defensive retort to Governor Rell's insinuation that the democrats within the Assembly are not tough on crime, in part due to their refusal to pass a strict three strikes bill?
This plea deals with compromised sentences and charges are effected time after time again by our courts after the state has gone through all of the effort of apprehending and arresting the criminal, gathering evidence & witnesses, crafting warrants and carefully building a case.
All of this, only to have the courts squander the opportunity that they've finally been presented with-they've got him dead to rights- a dangerous criminal, and most fortunate to have done so before he or she has caused loss of life; This is when we expect our prosecutors and judges to appropriately convict and sentence and get them off the streets where they can do no more harm.
As as we've seen illustrated by this recent rash of violent crimes, the severity of the crimes committed by these repeat offenders invariably escalates-they rarely move down the criminal food chain. This translates into the the state of connecticut being given a heads up for future lives lost or more violence against innocent citizens being committed-And yet, they continue to throw away this opportunity to prevent future crimes from happening at the hands of these criminals and the cost in human suffering is staggering.
It is really no wonder that so few people want to think about all of this, let alone actively participate in remedying it. But citizens of Connecticut, we must! For if we do not address and remedy this dire situation, it will surely arrive upon our own doorstep (or someone that we love) sooner or later.
I found this very appropos quote last year and although it is somewhat simplistic, I feel that it is most applicable here. I wish I could find out who said it.
" Evil exists when good men do nothing."
http://www.courant.com/news/local/nb/hc-polreax0401.artapr01,0,455472.story
Representative Mike Lawlor was uncharacteristically forthcoming re the states problem with plea bargaining within a recent press interview following the home invasion, citing , in effect, that the three strikes law that the governor has been strongly advocating is not the answer, and that she should instead be focusing on the issue that some prosecutors are dropping down criminal charges within plea deals -with the insinuation that this is reckless-and in doing so are dropping down the co-occurring appropriate sentencing for the crimes that were actually committed . IE the case in New Britain involved a criminal just released from an 8 yr sentence for sexually assaulting a child-Rep McDonald and Lawlor both have implied that the prosecutor who made the plea deal with that defendant resulting in the charges being dropped down a level and thus a relatively light sentence imposed. As I have repeatedly stated myself this rote plea bargaining practice put our citizens needlessly at risk constantly in effect, the law abiding public becomes prey for all of these irresponsibly sentenced, potentially dangerous criminals.
My question is, why is this the first time that Representative Lawlor is addressing this longstanding problem within our courts, framed as it was within a defensive retort to Governor Rell's insinuation that the democrats within the Assembly are not tough on crime, in part due to their refusal to pass a strict three strikes bill?
This plea deals with compromised sentences and charges are effected time after time again by our courts after the state has gone through all of the effort of apprehending and arresting the criminal, gathering evidence & witnesses, crafting warrants and carefully building a case.
All of this, only to have the courts squander the opportunity that they've finally been presented with-they've got him dead to rights- a dangerous criminal, and most fortunate to have done so before he or she has caused loss of life; This is when we expect our prosecutors and judges to appropriately convict and sentence and get them off the streets where they can do no more harm.
As as we've seen illustrated by this recent rash of violent crimes, the severity of the crimes committed by these repeat offenders invariably escalates-they rarely move down the criminal food chain. This translates into the the state of connecticut being given a heads up for future lives lost or more violence against innocent citizens being committed-And yet, they continue to throw away this opportunity to prevent future crimes from happening at the hands of these criminals and the cost in human suffering is staggering.
It is really no wonder that so few people want to think about all of this, let alone actively participate in remedying it. But citizens of Connecticut, we must! For if we do not address and remedy this dire situation, it will surely arrive upon our own doorstep (or someone that we love) sooner or later.
I found this very appropos quote last year and although it is somewhat simplistic, I feel that it is most applicable here. I wish I could find out who said it.
" Evil exists when good men do nothing."
Apr 3, 2008
Statement of Governor M. Jodi Rell on the Home Invasion and Shootings in New Britain
Very pointed words from the Governors office re the home invasion in New Britain
here
here
Apr 2, 2008
Apr 1, 2008
Courts fail to make violent crimes a priority
This Article by Chris Powell in the Stamford times is right-on...
Another deadly home invasion committed by repeat offender
Terrible news today...This past Sunday morning, a 58 yr old woman was murdered and her Friend shot and left for dead in a home invasion that was allegedly committed by a newly released repeat offender.
The suspect broke into an occupied home where the two women were sharing a cup of coffee together. He robbed a small amount of cash proffered by one of the woman who also gave him the keys to her car. The suspect proceeded to shoot one woman and abducted the other, escaping in the stolen car.The kidnapped hostage was later found in some brush just a few miles from the home.
The intruder's criminal record most recently included sexual assault of a minor, for which he received 8 years in prison and was just released. A very upset and clearly angry Governor Rell announced today in effect this is it, the time to act is now' -- referring to the general assembly and their unwillingness to approve a viable three strikes law for repeat offenders. Both the governor and most of the republican legislators are pushing for the law
The issue has grown within the public sphere since the July assaults and murders of three members of the Petit family of Cheshire. When it was uncovered that the two defendants in those murders were both newly paroled chronic offenders, an outcry for state judicial reform began in earnest.
Both men had been paroled, when it was clear that they were not good candidates for such, and one of the men had served less than half his recommended prison sentence. They had over 40 felony convictions between them and this led to a push for a three strikes sentencing law, such as the ones utilized in the states of California and Washington.
Public Rallies were held, massive petitions were signed and the idea was bandied about by our legislators during a special session concerning the Petit crimes and the states entire judicial process.
Several versions, perhaps more than 4, of a three strikes and/or persistent offender law have been proposed and discussed amongst both houses of the general assembly. In January a reform package of sorts was passed by both houses, yet with the overt absence of any three strikes law-this was voted down in a largely democratic split,
Democratic legislator and co-chair of the judiciary committee, Mike Lawlor has been one of the loudest opponents of a three strikes law within the state. He has stated repeatedly that the prosecutors that he has spoken with say that they would never use such a sentencing law.
And this makes perfect sense as evidence keeps pointing to the fact that many of our prosecutors aren't using the sentencing laws that are already available to them-Time after time they are opting instead to systematiclly drop charges down to lesser levels and completely drop other charges altogether within plea-deals, which have clearly become an albotross around the neck of our citizens.
The special session ends in may and we can be certain that this will continue to be a huge issue for the people of this state.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/01/home.invasion.arrest.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest
The suspect broke into an occupied home where the two women were sharing a cup of coffee together. He robbed a small amount of cash proffered by one of the woman who also gave him the keys to her car. The suspect proceeded to shoot one woman and abducted the other, escaping in the stolen car.The kidnapped hostage was later found in some brush just a few miles from the home.
The intruder's criminal record most recently included sexual assault of a minor, for which he received 8 years in prison and was just released. A very upset and clearly angry Governor Rell announced today in effect this is it, the time to act is now' -- referring to the general assembly and their unwillingness to approve a viable three strikes law for repeat offenders. Both the governor and most of the republican legislators are pushing for the law
The issue has grown within the public sphere since the July assaults and murders of three members of the Petit family of Cheshire. When it was uncovered that the two defendants in those murders were both newly paroled chronic offenders, an outcry for state judicial reform began in earnest.
Both men had been paroled, when it was clear that they were not good candidates for such, and one of the men had served less than half his recommended prison sentence. They had over 40 felony convictions between them and this led to a push for a three strikes sentencing law, such as the ones utilized in the states of California and Washington.
Public Rallies were held, massive petitions were signed and the idea was bandied about by our legislators during a special session concerning the Petit crimes and the states entire judicial process.
Several versions, perhaps more than 4, of a three strikes and/or persistent offender law have been proposed and discussed amongst both houses of the general assembly. In January a reform package of sorts was passed by both houses, yet with the overt absence of any three strikes law-this was voted down in a largely democratic split,
Democratic legislator and co-chair of the judiciary committee, Mike Lawlor has been one of the loudest opponents of a three strikes law within the state. He has stated repeatedly that the prosecutors that he has spoken with say that they would never use such a sentencing law.
And this makes perfect sense as evidence keeps pointing to the fact that many of our prosecutors aren't using the sentencing laws that are already available to them-Time after time they are opting instead to systematiclly drop charges down to lesser levels and completely drop other charges altogether within plea-deals, which have clearly become an albotross around the neck of our citizens.
The special session ends in may and we can be certain that this will continue to be a huge issue for the people of this state.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/01/home.invasion.arrest.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest
Mar 31, 2008
Domestic Violence: The Criminal Justice Response
An excellent book, this is a link to many important excerpts from the E-book
Mar 29, 2008
Connecticut Superior Judge Spada on Voire Dire and Parole issues
Change Parole Rules - And Monitor Those Released by Arthur L. Spada
Note; Arthur L. Spada is a former Connecticut Superior Court judge as well as the former Connecticut State commissioner of public safety during the Rowland administration.
The Petit family tragedy is a metaphor for the pivotal failure of the Connecticut criminal justice system. Interlocking failures culminated in a night of terror orchestrated by recently paroled Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky. The use of electronic ankle bracelets would have prevented this carnage.
The federal government and many of our sister states now embrace the use of attached ankle bracelets for all released felons. Connecticut needs to adopt a similar program. To do otherwise endangers innocents.
The state's prisons have become revolving doors for career criminals. The great wash of criminals cannot be tried because of the state's anachronistic, time-consuming, protracted voire dire requirement. Voire dire is a procedure by which prospective jurors are questioned. In Connecticut, they are questioned individually rather than in a group. Neither the federal government nor any of our sister states employ Connecticut's individual voir dire selection for juries.
This results in an abnormally high rate of plea bargaining and an abysmally low rate of trials. Every defendant in a plea-bargained disposition negotiates his own sentence. The result? Excessively short sentences for serious crimes.
Hayes, harnessed with a conviction record of 20 robberies and six larcenies, had plea-bargained for a five-year sentence to a charge of burglary. Hayes served two years and was paroled administratively, without benefit of a public hearing; nor were his victims notified. This miscue was legitimized by the recent enactment of Public Act 04-234.
This law must be repealed or seriously amended. Its unabashed purpose is "to reduce by 20 percent the number of inmates jailed due to technical violations of probation or parole." The message to parolees is no re-incarceration unless you repeatedly violate your conditions of parole or commit a serious crime.
But Public Act 04-234 causes additional harm to our citizenry. Except for a handful of heinous crimes, sentenced inmates are now eligible for administrative parole almost immediately. A staff clerk reviews a file without notifying the victims and then submits a recommendation - but there is no public record of the reason for the recommendation.
There is even more harm contained in the law: Inmates can be transferred to halfway houses 18 months before their release date. The Department of Correction can release inmates charged with a misdemeanor and Class D felons who cannot make bail. (This raises a serious separation of powers issue because bail-setting is a judicial function.) The Correction Department can release inmates for work or educational purposes to a community or private residence. The commissioner can issue renewable 30-day furloughs. Drug-dependent sellers can twice enter a treatment program in lieu of prosecution or jail.
The most contemptible provision of Public Act 04-234 is the shift of responsibility: It places the onus on the parole board to show why it should not grant parole rather than putting the burden on the prisoner to prove why he should be released: "The Board must give specific reasons why the person and public would not benefit from the person's parole while transitioning to the community."
This new standard is a stark affront to the law-abiding citizens of our state.
Connecticut's prisons must accommodate the influx of 5,000 prisoners annually. Because the prison population is at near-maximum, that means 5,000 inmates must be transferred or paroled to the community. The political resistance to building new prisons or placing inmates in out-of-state prisons mandates the use of electronic ankle bracelets.
These bracelets are electronically connected to global positioning satellites. The satellite can continuously transmit digital radio signals pinpointing the parolee's location. Currently, 268 sex offenders are electronically monitored by the state's parole division.
To protect citizens and to ensure against another Cheshire redux, we now need to use electronic ankle bracelets on all released felons during their entire parole period and on career criminals during fixed time periods beyond parole.
Ironically, the GPS solution would save taxpayers money, although saving lives and property, not saving dollars, would be the reason to use ankle bracelets. Inmates cost an average $30,000 per year; the GPS system costs an average $4,650 per year. The GPS can help parole officers enforce curfews and keep parolees within circumscribed boundaries.
The repeal of Public Act 04-234, the removal of voir dire in criminal cases and the use of electronic ankle bracelets for all paroled and career criminals will usher a new day of domestic tranquility. Such changes would burnish the images of the Cheshire innocents. ________
This is a reprint of the article as it was originally published last august, just after the Petit family assaults and murders In Cheshire Ct. It was published as an Op-ed piece in The Hartford Courant and then posted on a website called The Real Cost of Prisons weblog
http://realcostofprisons.org/blog/archives/2007/08/ct_more_extreme.html
The Piece was written by a learned Superior Court Justice by the name of Spada who was also former director of Public safety during the Rowland administration.
Many of the issues broached within the article have yet to be resolved and many members of the public continue to be unaware that such things are even happening in this state., let alone why they are happening. I urge you all to read it and to get involved!
More on the Voire dire practices in Conn later...
Mar 26, 2008
Debate over three strikes bill not over
This article is dated from over a week ago, just prior to the three strikes bill last being voted down in the General Assembly. However, I so liked what State Representitive Adinolfi had to say (in the final paragraph of the article), that I am re-linking to it today...
In response to a statement re the inherent problematic nature of the 3 strikes law made by Conn Chief States Attorney Kane of the following approximation
"What about the defendant who has two burglary convictions on his record and then gets in a bar fight and breaks someone ribs? That guy could conceivably recieve a third strike (resulting in a possible sentence of 25 yr( with parole after 85 percent of sentence), via any of the four 3 strikes proposals before the GA ) I would not want to prosecute that case under a three strikes contingent." ...
Our insightful Representative Adinolfi responded in kind with "why don't you ask the guy who got his ribs broken in the bar how he feels !" And he elaborated of course with his own take on the crime situation in his nighborhood where folks have put deadbolts on thier bedroom doors and such. He has consistantly expressed his support of a three strikes law.Bravo to legislator aldinolfi, for This is where the thinking really needs to change regarding violence- in general; it is against the law, it is not acceptable, period. Not between a man and his wife or partner not between a parent and child and not between one man and another in a bar or anywhere else for that matter. There is almost always a victim whenever violence occurs,
It should be mentioned that Rep Aldinolfi resides in Cheshire in the very neighborhood where The Petit mother and children were assaulted and murdered, just a block or so from where the embers of what was once the Petits home, stands as a constant reminder of this horrible -and unneccesary tragedy. . To me, Mr Aldinolfi's opoinion on criminal/judicial matters should be that much more valued within the context of these Judicial reform sessions. States attorney Kane who is in effect the states top prosecutor, was asked to attend this session as a consultant in effect in order to testify about the effectiveness of a strict sentencing law such as three strikes.
In addition, the preceding statement is contains a rather misleading example by Connecticut's head State's Attorney- ie Since we've already learned since the Cheshire crimes, that house burglary was not considered a violent or serious felony in this state until just two months ago; And then directly as a result of those assaults and murders, our GA, under public pressure passed a bill making only night time home invasions "serious' felonies. Again, This, because it has been shown that this type of crime is committed by criminals who are willing to resort to violence, and thus murder within the commission of those crimes. Therefore, these, the most serious form of home burglary are the only type of burglary that would constitute the first two felony convictions that could be considered as two of the three strikes triad. Not just any ole burglary- as Mr Kanes statement would have us believe.
Furthermore, I can tell you that if a man starts a bar fight that results in broken ribs ("only")
and doesn't have a history of violent crime on his record, there is little chance that he will get convicted of felony assault in this state-- That is, if he is even charged with assault in the second degree, which is dubious, and Ill tackle that in a moment...
According to a former head prosecutor at Ga2 in Bridgeport Connecticut, in order for a felony assault to "stick" ie a conviction to be made (once the police have arrested and charged a person with such) the ownice is upon the victim to prove that he or she is permanently damaged by the injury sustained within that attack--permanently damaged.
Now I personally could find no such legal precedent anywhere in writing, regarding our Connecticut statutes on criminal assault charges in the 2nd or first degree, the two felonious versions of assault (assault in the first being with a deadly weapon.) So, I can only suppose that this is an unwritten prosecutorial "guideline" and perhaps exclusive to the prosecutors at Ga2 for that matter. In addition, depending on the jurisdiction and thus the responding Police dept on this bar fight scene, most likely this crime would result in an assault in the third charge which is a misdemeanor-not a felony and therefore not a candidate charge for the three strikes situation in any event.
But lets say, for sake of argument that somehow the police decided that the intent was serious physical harm to the victim within that broken rib bar fight --And, that there was a corresponding record of medical treatment and diagnosis that backed up a "serious" injury to this victims ribs. And Thus, the police did charge the attacker with the more serious- felony assault two.
When that charge gets to the courts, it is almost certain to be dropped right down to either a misdemeanor assault three within a plea deal, or very conceivably nolled altogether- the latter if that defendant has no history of violent crime or any "substantial" criminal record.
Substantial excludes conviction for crimes such as check forgery or D.U.I . A "Nollie" involves a criminal record becoming eradicated after 13 months if the defendant commits no other crimes within that 13 month period. If they do commit another crime they can be re-sentenced for the first a.r'd one.
It should also be mentioned that there is the a chance that this theoretical charge of assault could be dropped completely or the defendant given accelerated rehabilitation' if it is charged or decided by the prosecutor to be a non- felony assault- A.R is a sentencing program in Connecticut which is used for 1st time offenders and results in a sealed record for the defendant, whereby those charges may not ever be used against he/she in future court proceedings- if and when he breaks the law again.
So if this is the best argument that states attorney Kane could come up with as to why he feels that a three strikes sentencing law is not a good idea for prosecutors then I'd say that his argument does not have much merit.
The fight for a three strikes is not over; This legislative session is not over until early May and as the story linked to the previous Post explains, the last vote was 16 to 25 against, with the GA'S Republicans promising to attach the bill onto another one if need be, in order to force a re-vote.
We, the public-and our like minded legislators should use this time to band together and to avail ourselves of every bit of information we can garner about this kind of sentencing law.
Our leaders may then fine- tailor a state version that addresses and remedies any legitimate pitfalls that are being cited as roadblocks to this bills passage. As well, be readied to give sound intelligent response to the various invalid reasons being presented for not passing this bill.
This state must pass a viable Repeat violent offender law-one that is actually going to be used, not sit on the shelf gathering dust, as the one that is currently on the books seems to be doing. The law needs to be applied consistantly-not on a whim, with perhaps the ownice on a judge, as to why an exception should be be made in a particlular criminal case, where it doesnt serve Justice.
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com//ci_8554498
In response to a statement re the inherent problematic nature of the 3 strikes law made by Conn Chief States Attorney Kane of the following approximation
"What about the defendant who has two burglary convictions on his record and then gets in a bar fight and breaks someone ribs? That guy could conceivably recieve a third strike (resulting in a possible sentence of 25 yr( with parole after 85 percent of sentence), via any of the four 3 strikes proposals before the GA ) I would not want to prosecute that case under a three strikes contingent." ...
Our insightful Representative Adinolfi responded in kind with "why don't you ask the guy who got his ribs broken in the bar how he feels !" And he elaborated of course with his own take on the crime situation in his nighborhood where folks have put deadbolts on thier bedroom doors and such. He has consistantly expressed his support of a three strikes law.Bravo to legislator aldinolfi, for This is where the thinking really needs to change regarding violence- in general; it is against the law, it is not acceptable, period. Not between a man and his wife or partner not between a parent and child and not between one man and another in a bar or anywhere else for that matter. There is almost always a victim whenever violence occurs,
It should be mentioned that Rep Aldinolfi resides in Cheshire in the very neighborhood where The Petit mother and children were assaulted and murdered, just a block or so from where the embers of what was once the Petits home, stands as a constant reminder of this horrible -and unneccesary tragedy. . To me, Mr Aldinolfi's opoinion on criminal/judicial matters should be that much more valued within the context of these Judicial reform sessions. States attorney Kane who is in effect the states top prosecutor, was asked to attend this session as a consultant in effect in order to testify about the effectiveness of a strict sentencing law such as three strikes.
In addition, the preceding statement is contains a rather misleading example by Connecticut's head State's Attorney- ie Since we've already learned since the Cheshire crimes, that house burglary was not considered a violent or serious felony in this state until just two months ago; And then directly as a result of those assaults and murders, our GA, under public pressure passed a bill making only night time home invasions "serious' felonies. Again, This, because it has been shown that this type of crime is committed by criminals who are willing to resort to violence, and thus murder within the commission of those crimes. Therefore, these, the most serious form of home burglary are the only type of burglary that would constitute the first two felony convictions that could be considered as two of the three strikes triad. Not just any ole burglary- as Mr Kanes statement would have us believe.
Furthermore, I can tell you that if a man starts a bar fight that results in broken ribs ("only")
and doesn't have a history of violent crime on his record, there is little chance that he will get convicted of felony assault in this state-- That is, if he is even charged with assault in the second degree, which is dubious, and Ill tackle that in a moment...
According to a former head prosecutor at Ga2 in Bridgeport Connecticut, in order for a felony assault to "stick" ie a conviction to be made (once the police have arrested and charged a person with such) the ownice is upon the victim to prove that he or she is permanently damaged by the injury sustained within that attack--permanently damaged.
Now I personally could find no such legal precedent anywhere in writing, regarding our Connecticut statutes on criminal assault charges in the 2nd or first degree, the two felonious versions of assault (assault in the first being with a deadly weapon.) So, I can only suppose that this is an unwritten prosecutorial "guideline" and perhaps exclusive to the prosecutors at Ga2 for that matter. In addition, depending on the jurisdiction and thus the responding Police dept on this bar fight scene, most likely this crime would result in an assault in the third charge which is a misdemeanor-not a felony and therefore not a candidate charge for the three strikes situation in any event.
But lets say, for sake of argument that somehow the police decided that the intent was serious physical harm to the victim within that broken rib bar fight --And, that there was a corresponding record of medical treatment and diagnosis that backed up a "serious" injury to this victims ribs. And Thus, the police did charge the attacker with the more serious- felony assault two.
When that charge gets to the courts, it is almost certain to be dropped right down to either a misdemeanor assault three within a plea deal, or very conceivably nolled altogether- the latter if that defendant has no history of violent crime or any "substantial" criminal record.
Substantial excludes conviction for crimes such as check forgery or D.U.I . A "Nollie" involves a criminal record becoming eradicated after 13 months if the defendant commits no other crimes within that 13 month period. If they do commit another crime they can be re-sentenced for the first a.r'd one.
It should also be mentioned that there is the a chance that this theoretical charge of assault could be dropped completely or the defendant given accelerated rehabilitation' if it is charged or decided by the prosecutor to be a non- felony assault- A.R is a sentencing program in Connecticut which is used for 1st time offenders and results in a sealed record for the defendant, whereby those charges may not ever be used against he/she in future court proceedings- if and when he breaks the law again.
So if this is the best argument that states attorney Kane could come up with as to why he feels that a three strikes sentencing law is not a good idea for prosecutors then I'd say that his argument does not have much merit.
The fight for a three strikes is not over; This legislative session is not over until early May and as the story linked to the previous Post explains, the last vote was 16 to 25 against, with the GA'S Republicans promising to attach the bill onto another one if need be, in order to force a re-vote.
We, the public-and our like minded legislators should use this time to band together and to avail ourselves of every bit of information we can garner about this kind of sentencing law.
Our leaders may then fine- tailor a state version that addresses and remedies any legitimate pitfalls that are being cited as roadblocks to this bills passage. As well, be readied to give sound intelligent response to the various invalid reasons being presented for not passing this bill.
This state must pass a viable Repeat violent offender law-one that is actually going to be used, not sit on the shelf gathering dust, as the one that is currently on the books seems to be doing. The law needs to be applied consistantly-not on a whim, with perhaps the ownice on a judge, as to why an exception should be be made in a particlular criminal case, where it doesnt serve Justice.
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com//ci_8554498
Mar 22, 2008
Mar 16, 2008
Petit family basketball fund-raiser a success...
Looks like "The Dunk It" fund raiser for MS met its target objective and also served as a some collective healing for the Cheshire community...
http://www.wfsb.com/news/15608469/detail.html
http://www.wfsb.com/news/15608469/detail.html
Mar 14, 2008
The GE 5K Road Race
Reading about this latest benefit for The Petit family foundation made me weepy yesterday-
a good weepy however...http://www.petitroadrace.com/index.shtml
I'd heard Dr Petit speak in an interview a while back about the immense responsibility he
felt in trying to decide the best uses for the many donations that were coming in in his family's
name. I knew that a good deal of money was being channelled to The MS foundation-
this was a very important cause for the family while they were alive and Dr Petit wanted to continue this important work in their honor.
I'd watched, and indeed written about, the various philanthropic activities that honored and
kept alive the Petit's giving spirit. I knew that some of the donated monies were also going
to fund education for deserving young women, and that of course is always a good thing.
But I had quietly hoped in time to see what I am seeing now; the Petit family foundation has turned its collective attention to a need that is very close to my own heart, and that is
victims of violent crime. As violent crime, and indeed violence against women, was
at the very core
of what robbed this world of Jennifer, Haley and Michaela Petit, this is a beautiful way of
making good of something terrible and in this way, defeating the evil that brought this all to bear.
God bless this family and continue to heal them, and may we all continue the spirit of being
"the change that we wish to see in the world. "
(Mahatma Gandhi quoted by Michaela Petit in her Facebook page 2007)
The GE 5K Road Race
a good weepy however...http://www.petitroadrace.com/index.shtml
I'd heard Dr Petit speak in an interview a while back about the immense responsibility he
felt in trying to decide the best uses for the many donations that were coming in in his family's
name. I knew that a good deal of money was being channelled to The MS foundation-
this was a very important cause for the family while they were alive and Dr Petit wanted to continue this important work in their honor.
I'd watched, and indeed written about, the various philanthropic activities that honored and
kept alive the Petit's giving spirit. I knew that some of the donated monies were also going
to fund education for deserving young women, and that of course is always a good thing.
But I had quietly hoped in time to see what I am seeing now; the Petit family foundation has turned its collective attention to a need that is very close to my own heart, and that is
victims of violent crime. As violent crime, and indeed violence against women, was
at the very core
of what robbed this world of Jennifer, Haley and Michaela Petit, this is a beautiful way of
making good of something terrible and in this way, defeating the evil that brought this all to bear.
God bless this family and continue to heal them, and may we all continue the spirit of being
"the change that we wish to see in the world. "
(Mahatma Gandhi quoted by Michaela Petit in her Facebook page 2007)
The GE 5K Road Race
Mar 11, 2008
Mar 9, 2008
The Allstate Foundation Click to Empower Survivors of Domestic Violence
Hi Everyone!
Please visit this site http://www.clicktoempower.com/ and simply click on the empower link in order for Allstate to donate one dollar to help a victim of domestic violence to regain her life!
Each person may click once daily and for those of you with blogs, websites and/or facebook pages, you can follow this same link in order to copy and paste an html code for the "click to Empower" button on your own site:
Just follow the "spread the word" link at the top of the "Empower" webpage- You'll be helping a really good cause, as well as raising awareness about partner and domestic violence, the number one cause of homicide against women in this country.
Please visit this site http://www.clicktoempower.com/ and simply click on the empower link in order for Allstate to donate one dollar to help a victim of domestic violence to regain her life!
Each person may click once daily and for those of you with blogs, websites and/or facebook pages, you can follow this same link in order to copy and paste an html code for the "click to Empower" button on your own site:
Just follow the "spread the word" link at the top of the "Empower" webpage- You'll be helping a really good cause, as well as raising awareness about partner and domestic violence, the number one cause of homicide against women in this country.
Mar 5, 2008
Government Innovators Network: article re: judicial reforms
Although this is a dated article, Jan 21 to be exact- I'm linking to it because it is very well written and contains retrospectively, a good deal of information regarding Connecticut's Judicial Crisis, specifically as it relates to the legislative body and the Crime Reform Package.
As you'll recall, some of the proposed reforms were voted in during a January special session of the Gneral assembly, but others, such as the highly debated 3 strike law- were not passed.
And still other's yet were passed but in what many considered half-way measures; For example, the much anticipated new home Invasion law, created largely in response to the Petit family murders in Cheshire, this past July, was passed, but in a pared down version that designated only night time home break ins as a "serious" home invasion felony, which carries the correlating 10 years minimum sentence!
That version of the bill was voted in despite numerous sound arguments against the night time-only qualifier, which as some legislators pointed out, would leave-vulnerable any residents who are home during the day, such as stay at home moms, senior citizens and those who work third shift.
Obviously there is still a great deal of work to be done concerning our Connecticut's Judicial system. Please avail yourselves of knowledge and thus, the power to change. Read as much as you can about the issues before us, familiarize yourself with the players in our states general assembly. Find your own local area representitives-if you arent already familiar with them-_
( I wasn't for years) you can look them up online on the CONNECTICUT Government website. Then do a bit of research into what your rep's history has been regarding voting on issues within the general assembly; Do thier votes speak well of them, ie are they soft on crime-or tough... or worst of all- noncomittal. (I believe in taking a firm stand for what you believe in- whatever it is!)
Plainly speaking there is a lot of self eductating that the average citizen can do to find out how our states judiciary operates ---officially--- and then in actuality Once you understand what is actually happening on a day to day basis within our courts, then youre better able to judge what changes need to be made. things aren't likely to change very much.the fact that this is an election year also helps our case tremendously.Politicians are politicians and they want and need our votes;we can make it clear that we demand our reps to be tough on crime, or we will find another candiddate that is.
Government Innovators Network: Article re JUSTICE REFORM
As you'll recall, some of the proposed reforms were voted in during a January special session of the Gneral assembly, but others, such as the highly debated 3 strike law- were not passed.
And still other's yet were passed but in what many considered half-way measures; For example, the much anticipated new home Invasion law, created largely in response to the Petit family murders in Cheshire, this past July, was passed, but in a pared down version that designated only night time home break ins as a "serious" home invasion felony, which carries the correlating 10 years minimum sentence!
That version of the bill was voted in despite numerous sound arguments against the night time-only qualifier, which as some legislators pointed out, would leave-vulnerable any residents who are home during the day, such as stay at home moms, senior citizens and those who work third shift.
Obviously there is still a great deal of work to be done concerning our Connecticut's Judicial system. Please avail yourselves of knowledge and thus, the power to change. Read as much as you can about the issues before us, familiarize yourself with the players in our states general assembly. Find your own local area representitives-if you arent already familiar with them-_
( I wasn't for years) you can look them up online on the CONNECTICUT Government website. Then do a bit of research into what your rep's history has been regarding voting on issues within the general assembly; Do thier votes speak well of them, ie are they soft on crime-or tough... or worst of all- noncomittal. (I believe in taking a firm stand for what you believe in- whatever it is!)
Plainly speaking there is a lot of self eductating that the average citizen can do to find out how our states judiciary operates ---officially--- and then in actuality Once you understand what is actually happening on a day to day basis within our courts, then youre better able to judge what changes need to be made. things aren't likely to change very much.the fact that this is an election year also helps our case tremendously.Politicians are politicians and they want and need our votes;we can make it clear that we demand our reps to be tough on crime, or we will find another candiddate that is.
Government Innovators Network: Article re JUSTICE REFORM
Mar 3, 2008
Petit Family Memorial Basketball Tournament for M.S
On March: 15th
@ Cheshire High School, Cheshire Connecticut
http://www.petitmemorialbball.com/ for more information
@ Cheshire High School, Cheshire Connecticut
http://www.petitmemorialbball.com/ for more information
Feb 29, 2008
Dangerous Relationships - How To Spot an abusive Man
As my regular readers know
I do not promote products on this site, but today I am making a rare exception; clicking on the title header above will bring you to a very important e-book collection about the nature of abusive men. The books were written by Sandra Brown, therapist and counselor who has worked in the field with abusive men, and studied the machinations of their minds as well as their tactical behaviors with women; the choosing, ensnaring and subsequent "breaking down" of the women that they have determined to be " good victims."
Shocking yes, but as you will read these men actually have self admitted modes of operandi; They look for women that have "markers"; low self esteem issues and other characteristics that betray her as good prey for the abuser's wants and needs of the moment.
It should be noted that the term abuse need not always apply to physical abuse, there is a good deal of emotional and psychic abuse within the framework of these relationships.
This three e-book collection is 47.00 dollars, which is steep for most of us and utterly
prohibitive for many others that need it the most; I for one would like the author to condense the 3 part series into one less expensive book, and thus make it more available to all women
-
But for now it is what it is, and it still may be the smartest 50 dollars that any woman can spend. I feel that This series should be a staple for every woman in this country. It needn't be read on just an "as needed" basis --. It should become a young woman's guide to the types of
man that they need to avoid at all costs. This kind of information and education is best amassed before we-or someone we love, runs into this type of predator, but can also be a lifesaving tool if already entangles with just such a man.
You will hear from some of these men's own mouths how they have developed a built in radar for women that simply put, make good "victims". This includes women with excessively kind and forgiving natures, Rescuers, care-takers, the type of woman that believes that there is good in everyone and that if a person does terrible things, then they must have been mistreated themselves somehow, to become that way. Unfortunately this kind of thinking
And just as importantly, become the type of woman that is a terrible candidate for the predator's wish list. This means; learn to love yourself, whatever it takes, continuously avail yourself of new learning.. you will become a force to reckon with.
. And for the healthy, good-intentioned men out there ; This series is an important gift for any woman in your life that you care about. We need your involvement as healthy and aware men in dealing with this type of predator that happens to be the same gender as you; remember he doesn't always appear to be a controlling bully or an abusive lummox, and this is the difficulty with psychopaths- they are often charming and enigmatic-at first-even with men, in the sense that they will try to befriend via flattery or feigned common interests, any man that they perceive as in their way, within the periphery of any woman that they are "after" at the moment; for example, the father or brother of the young woman that he wishes to "date" Watch that charm turn into ugly fury if the predator is blocked in some way from his target, by that same person; this is when one will typically see the true nature of this dangerous predator.
The only way to combat this type of man is to be very aware of who and what he is from the earliest possible moment that he makes contact with you or your loved ones, life.
For Once he gets his talons into a woman , a psychological and emotional syndrome is consciously set into motion, whereupon the woman comes to develop a sick symbiotic attachment to her abuser/user, in much the same way surviving kidnap victims sometimes do for their captors; Most of this based upon a ill placed gratitude that the captor has magnanimously "allowed" the captive to live, in effect purchasing that victims loyalty as well as sometimes, their desire and will to leave. This seemingly bizarre attachment is what's at the heart of the battered woman's syndrome, and experts have come to understand well the powerful forces that drive otherwise sane, intelligent women into staying with abusive men.
For many many years until quite recently many people, even policemen and justice professionals, mistakenly believed that due to the fact that the abused woman didn't leave
their abusive partner, indeed often behaved in bizarre behavior, such as refusing to testify against him or even bailing their attacker out of jail after an arrest, she must either
a) like the abuse or
b) provoke/ instigate the abuse, and .
thus
c) in effect... deserve the abuse
Believe it or not This core belief system is still alive and well today within the construct and daily machinations of many court systems, This, as those systems are comprised of individuals-people, who are bound by their own personal prejudice and-ignorance or just plain apathy.
At the very heart of this is this grievous habit of others to place blame upon the victim of what are often physically brutal assault crimes, simply because the victim had been in some kind of relationship with her assailant at some point in time ie she knew him.
In no other area of violent crime would we ever think to blame the victim for crimes against them! And this blame, vocalized or not, is even more destructive to a victim of violence then the violence itself. If you consider that the type of woman who generally finds herself in an abusive relationship is typically suffering from low self esteem, she will often all too willingly enter that self blaming space that has been valiantly cleared for her by a helpful criminal judicial process. This is where her soul finally breaks upon itself and she is forever lost.
That is why understanding the patterns and cycles of abusive relationships, is so crucial and it must begin on an individual basis one by one until it becomes a social understanding.
Abusive Relationships - Dangerous Relationships - Domestic Violence - How To Spot A Dangerous Man
I do not promote products on this site, but today I am making a rare exception; clicking on the title header above will bring you to a very important e-book collection about the nature of abusive men. The books were written by Sandra Brown, therapist and counselor who has worked in the field with abusive men, and studied the machinations of their minds as well as their tactical behaviors with women; the choosing, ensnaring and subsequent "breaking down" of the women that they have determined to be " good victims."Shocking yes, but as you will read these men actually have self admitted modes of operandi; They look for women that have "markers"; low self esteem issues and other characteristics that betray her as good prey for the abuser's wants and needs of the moment.
It should be noted that the term abuse need not always apply to physical abuse, there is a good deal of emotional and psychic abuse within the framework of these relationships.
This three e-book collection is 47.00 dollars, which is steep for most of us and utterly
prohibitive for many others that need it the most; I for one would like the author to condense the 3 part series into one less expensive book, and thus make it more available to all women
-
But for now it is what it is, and it still may be the smartest 50 dollars that any woman can spend. I feel that This series should be a staple for every woman in this country. It needn't be read on just an "as needed" basis --. It should become a young woman's guide to the types of
man that they need to avoid at all costs. This kind of information and education is best amassed before we-or someone we love, runs into this type of predator, but can also be a lifesaving tool if already entangles with just such a man.
You will hear from some of these men's own mouths how they have developed a built in radar for women that simply put, make good "victims". This includes women with excessively kind and forgiving natures, Rescuers, care-takers, the type of woman that believes that there is good in everyone and that if a person does terrible things, then they must have been mistreated themselves somehow, to become that way. Unfortunately this kind of thinking
And just as importantly, become the type of woman that is a terrible candidate for the predator's wish list. This means; learn to love yourself, whatever it takes, continuously avail yourself of new learning.. you will become a force to reckon with.
. And for the healthy, good-intentioned men out there ; This series is an important gift for any woman in your life that you care about. We need your involvement as healthy and aware men in dealing with this type of predator that happens to be the same gender as you; remember he doesn't always appear to be a controlling bully or an abusive lummox, and this is the difficulty with psychopaths- they are often charming and enigmatic-at first-even with men, in the sense that they will try to befriend via flattery or feigned common interests, any man that they perceive as in their way, within the periphery of any woman that they are "after" at the moment; for example, the father or brother of the young woman that he wishes to "date" Watch that charm turn into ugly fury if the predator is blocked in some way from his target, by that same person; this is when one will typically see the true nature of this dangerous predator.
The only way to combat this type of man is to be very aware of who and what he is from the earliest possible moment that he makes contact with you or your loved ones, life.
For Once he gets his talons into a woman , a psychological and emotional syndrome is consciously set into motion, whereupon the woman comes to develop a sick symbiotic attachment to her abuser/user, in much the same way surviving kidnap victims sometimes do for their captors; Most of this based upon a ill placed gratitude that the captor has magnanimously "allowed" the captive to live, in effect purchasing that victims loyalty as well as sometimes, their desire and will to leave. This seemingly bizarre attachment is what's at the heart of the battered woman's syndrome, and experts have come to understand well the powerful forces that drive otherwise sane, intelligent women into staying with abusive men.
For many many years until quite recently many people, even policemen and justice professionals, mistakenly believed that due to the fact that the abused woman didn't leave
their abusive partner, indeed often behaved in bizarre behavior, such as refusing to testify against him or even bailing their attacker out of jail after an arrest, she must either
a) like the abuse or
b) provoke/ instigate the abuse, and .
thus
c) in effect... deserve the abuse
Believe it or not This core belief system is still alive and well today within the construct and daily machinations of many court systems, This, as those systems are comprised of individuals-people, who are bound by their own personal prejudice and-ignorance or just plain apathy.
At the very heart of this is this grievous habit of others to place blame upon the victim of what are often physically brutal assault crimes, simply because the victim had been in some kind of relationship with her assailant at some point in time ie she knew him.
In no other area of violent crime would we ever think to blame the victim for crimes against them! And this blame, vocalized or not, is even more destructive to a victim of violence then the violence itself. If you consider that the type of woman who generally finds herself in an abusive relationship is typically suffering from low self esteem, she will often all too willingly enter that self blaming space that has been valiantly cleared for her by a helpful criminal judicial process. This is where her soul finally breaks upon itself and she is forever lost.
That is why understanding the patterns and cycles of abusive relationships, is so crucial and it must begin on an individual basis one by one until it becomes a social understanding.
Abusive Relationships - Dangerous Relationships - Domestic Violence - How To Spot A Dangerous Man
Feb 25, 2008
Why won't our Ct Lawmakers get tough-enough on crime?
Hallelujah. Somebody finally zeros in on the crux of the problem with many of our Connecticut legislators as it relates to crime in this state. Click on this title header, its all there.
I can't help but wonder if the only way that anything substantial will ever change in this state regarding the way that they "process" crime, is via a costly lawsuit, as was illustrated by the case against the Torrington Police some years back- when they failed to protect a woman in imminent danger during a domestic dispute; as a result she was very nearly stabbed to death right in front of them.
The ensuing lawsuit brought against the very culpable Torrington Police Dept in effect rewrote the entire State's Police procedure regarding domestic violent crime, and subsequently law enforcements collective attitudes towards D.V. The Police certainly would seem to have learned a valuable and necessary lesson, yet only after being on the losing end of a highly publicized and costly lawsuit brought upon them by the victim and her family-Once again proving that in the end, the almighty dollar is a superior motivational force for change within a change resistant system, such as our Connecticut Justice system...
I can't help but wonder if the only way that anything substantial will ever change in this state regarding the way that they "process" crime, is via a costly lawsuit, as was illustrated by the case against the Torrington Police some years back- when they failed to protect a woman in imminent danger during a domestic dispute; as a result she was very nearly stabbed to death right in front of them.
The ensuing lawsuit brought against the very culpable Torrington Police Dept in effect rewrote the entire State's Police procedure regarding domestic violent crime, and subsequently law enforcements collective attitudes towards D.V. The Police certainly would seem to have learned a valuable and necessary lesson, yet only after being on the losing end of a highly publicized and costly lawsuit brought upon them by the victim and her family-Once again proving that in the end, the almighty dollar is a superior motivational force for change within a change resistant system, such as our Connecticut Justice system...
Feb 22, 2008
Victim Empowerment Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
There is some very helpful information at this site regarding Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as it affects victims of violent crime. There is a lot of academia to sift through and translate, but it is well worth the effort especially if you, or someone you care, about might be suffering from PTSD.
Take it from me, violent crime and PTSD can have debilitating effects on what is left of a victims life, and The way that it is treated, (or not treated) can have a profound effect on the outcome of that persons well being and restoration. Really important stuff.
I've copied an excerpt below outlining the basic steps that are now known to be essential in the process of recovery from Post trauma caused by a violent and traumatic event- or events, such as repeated assaults that can occur over time, as with partner/'domestic violence.
The steps outlined below are in essence the basic tenets of recovery from post trauma. And I must admit, I wish that someone had made me aware of their existence and guided me through them when I was struggling so in the aftermath of my own experience with violent crime. As it turned out I was one of the fortunate few that managed, in time, to make the transition from victim to survivor, despite a profound lack of viable support from my local judiciary, and the community in general--The latter was largely due to a prevailing ignorance and decided unease among many people in dealing with the sensitive issue of violent crime , and the emotional and spiritual toll that it takes on its victims.
Please bear in mind that victims of PTSD can include close family members and/or friends, that via their connection with the victim, have become privy to details of the crime, and thus the terror and pain experienced. In this, they unwittingly re-live the trauma and can experience not only the psychic pain, but even the symptoms of any injuries accrued within the incident. As such, they are often also in need of treatment and counseling
The truth is that I very nearly did not make it through the gates of hell back to wholeness: PTSD sufferers are terribly vulnerable to alcohol and substance abuse, incapacitatiNG depression,
anxiety conditions and often even suicide. The good news is that these fates needn't be inevitable for victims of violence, yet, as often is the case with any true change, that change needs to begin with awareness; starting with the individual, then the community and eventually, society as a whole.
I believe that we owe it to ourselves and to each other, to become more enlightened beings, that do better than putting our collective heads in the sand when something violent and horrible befalls one of us. "The least of our bretheran..."
I suggest following the link below and bookmarking the site to read in segments as it is next to impossible to digest in just one sitting.
Traumatic syndromes as well as the recovery processes have basic features. The primary stages of recovery are:
establishing safety
reconstructing the trauma story
restoring the connection between survivors and their communities
The challenge is to help survivors reconnect the pieces, rebuild history and make meaning of their current symptoms in the light of prior events.
Victim Empowerment Student Material Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Feb 13, 2008
Feb 10, 2008
"Forever Michaela" goes National !
This Channel Eight News clip is about eleven year old Elizabeth Ollero of Cheshire Connecticut and a website tribute she created for her best friend Michaela Rose Petit, who was tragically killed in a home invasion that occurred on July 23rd of this year.
Michaela's father, Dr.William Petit was severely injured in the attack, but managed to break partially free of his binds and escaped through a basement door rolling to a neighbors house calling for help. Noone including the police imagined the intruders had set the home afire mere seconds after his escape. He sustained serious head and brain injuries and lost dangerous amount of blood.
When I read the "Forever Michaela" website in December, I was so moved by this little girl's efforts, I was immediately compelled to write about it ( See December 07 archives )
Earlier today, I saw that a story about the website had made it's way to the national news media: I was thrilled to see what started as a humble little website written with such innocence goodness and love, now getting national media attention
.Not only will the Forever Michaela Website carry a message about violent crime and predators and the huge ripple effect that the trauma creates... that message is incidental to the websites existence, The websites main purpose, as it's young creator tells us, is to carry on the positive memories of who Michaela Petit was in life her kindness her compassion her altruism, these she wants to be Michaela's legacy, rather than focusing upon the nature of her violent death.
Michaela Petit was an unusually thoughtful eleven year old child, as was evidenced on her Face book page, where a quote by Mahatma Gandhi she cited as her favorite quote.
"You must be the change that you wish to see in this world"
This quote and it's message has become the mission statement for the Petit family foundation http://www.petitfamilyfoundation.org/ the non profit charity formed by Mr Petit in the wake of the crimes.
Eleven year old Elizabeth Bolero manged no small feat: she helped restore her friend Michaela Rose Petit back to who she was in life, and she thus will always be. Now, she circles arcs around us, inspiring us, aloft on angel's wings...
Note : If you haven't already done so, please visit the Forever Michaela website.
If you have, please remember to check back in from time to time as the website and the events and charities are fluid and ever changing.
There is a guest memorial, where people from literally all over the world, leave messages of sorrow and hope, comfort and love.
Please lend your support to at least one of the causes carried on in Michaela's name. There is no finer way to honor the life of this child and her family, than to help people in need, in her name.
Michaela's father, Dr.William Petit was severely injured in the attack, but managed to break partially free of his binds and escaped through a basement door rolling to a neighbors house calling for help. Noone including the police imagined the intruders had set the home afire mere seconds after his escape. He sustained serious head and brain injuries and lost dangerous amount of blood.
When I read the "Forever Michaela" website in December, I was so moved by this little girl's efforts, I was immediately compelled to write about it ( See December 07 archives )
Earlier today, I saw that a story about the website had made it's way to the national news media: I was thrilled to see what started as a humble little website written with such innocence goodness and love, now getting national media attention
.Not only will the Forever Michaela Website carry a message about violent crime and predators and the huge ripple effect that the trauma creates... that message is incidental to the websites existence, The websites main purpose, as it's young creator tells us, is to carry on the positive memories of who Michaela Petit was in life her kindness her compassion her altruism, these she wants to be Michaela's legacy, rather than focusing upon the nature of her violent death.
Michaela Petit was an unusually thoughtful eleven year old child, as was evidenced on her Face book page, where a quote by Mahatma Gandhi she cited as her favorite quote.
"You must be the change that you wish to see in this world"
This quote and it's message has become the mission statement for the Petit family foundation http://www.petitfamilyfoundation.org/ the non profit charity formed by Mr Petit in the wake of the crimes.
Eleven year old Elizabeth Bolero manged no small feat: she helped restore her friend Michaela Rose Petit back to who she was in life, and she thus will always be. Now, she circles arcs around us, inspiring us, aloft on angel's wings...
Note : If you haven't already done so, please visit the Forever Michaela website.
If you have, please remember to check back in from time to time as the website and the events and charities are fluid and ever changing.
There is a guest memorial, where people from literally all over the world, leave messages of sorrow and hope, comfort and love.
Please lend your support to at least one of the causes carried on in Michaela's name. There is no finer way to honor the life of this child and her family, than to help people in need, in her name.
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