Support bill -H.B. No. 6705 Conn. Residents

Dear concerned Connecticut residents,

The link above brings you to on extremely important proposed crime bill ( HB 6705 )
It needs to reach the pending legislative session in order to be a voted on, and it is in danger of not getting in front of them for another year, as it now sits at the mercy of The Connecticut Judiciary Committee.

The bill proposes reform measures for our states habeas corpus writ, which in its present form is unfortunately serving as a vehicle for unscrupulous defense attorneys and violent criminals alike to abuse our current appeals process. Used mostly as a stalling tactic of sorts, it can drag out the resolution of violent crime cases and the imposition of sentencing.

This bill for habeus is also an important step in reforming our states death penalty, which is rarely if ever actually used, partly because of the abuse of habeas corpus. Like many well intentioned writs, habeas was designed to protect the basic rights of those wrongly accused of a crime, but as it is currently written, it has since become a loophole for murderers and rapists to manipulate our courts and stead off their sentences indefinitely. It also clogs up the courts and costs the state and the taxpayers a good deal of money in the process.

Please read up on this reform bill ASAP and email the judiciary committee and/ your local Representative in the legislature,-this includes your town's selectman, assemblyman, and area Senators-(You can look them up online if you're not certain who they are; (every town has one or two reps on the general assembly) Please tell them that you support the bill and ask them to vote on the bill in the immediate upcoming session.

This is one of those bills that really affects the people of this state, and and it can ease a great deal of suffering on behalf of crime victims and their families.
It is time to take back our judicial system, too many lives have been lost due to Connecticut court's many inefficiencies.,And many more lives destroyed by a terrible lack of justice for murdered and victimized loved ones.
Let us bring some peace to those who already have suffered so much, by helping impose a reasonable and timely resolution of thier loved ones murder cases.

CSAO: Judiciary Committee - March 26, 2009 - H.B. No. 6705

Teens and Lawmakers Talk About Dating Violence (CT News Junkie)

An excellent idea that will save lives, please read about this important proposed legislation, and voice your support to the Connecticut General Assembly. This is where we can instill the most change regarding partner violence, with our youth, the men and women of tommorow!

Victim's Voice Day in Connecticut

Today is the first annual Victim's Voice day throughout the state of Connecticut. From 10-2 PM at various locations in each county there will be an input-focused meeting- of- minds for crime victims and residents interested in learning and sharing about victim's rights in our state.
There will be representatives from the Office of Victim Advocate as well as the Governors office and other arms of the State's Judicial System, including Domestic Violence specialists.

If you are unable to attend in person please take the time to click on the State of Connecticut Victim Voice Day website linked above. There are online forms that can be printed up and mailed out so that your opinions can be given equal time. There are also listings for Victim's Voice locations in each county for those who are able to attend in person.

You will also find descriptions of new legislation that will affect all Connecticut residents as well as victims of crime and their loved ones -- so please take the time to learn about it and share your input.

If you are a surviving victim of crime or you know someone who is, please make your opinions, your feelings and your experience known. There are a great deal of problems within our State's criminal justice system, particularly within our courts - this is a rare opportunity for victims of crime to share about these issues first hand.

Below is a link to a downloadable adobe PDF format of The Victim's Voice Day flyer that is being distributed at all of the statewide locations today .

www.ct.gov/ova/lib/ova/Victims%27_Voice_Day_Flyer_color_banner_%282%29.doc

Petit Family Foundation wins FBI Community Service Award

Congratulations to Dr Bill Petit for winning the FBI Connecticut Community service award for his work with the Petit Family Foundation. The foundation was formed after the murders of his wife and two daughters in a 2007 home invasion. Dr Petit was badly injured himself within the crime, but miraculously managed to survive. After the crimes, outpourings in the form of letters and unsolicited donations began to trickle in from people all over the country. After careful consideration, Dr Petit decided to form The Petit family foundation,
www.Petitfamilyfoundation.org/ a multi-directional Community based non-profit that donates to, and raised money for, a smattering of good causes such as The multiple Sclerosis Foundation and Those affected by violent crime., including Domestic Violence.

PFF also provides multiple scholarships to deserving young women, and recognizes and rewards local youths for exemplary community service involvement.

It would seem that Dr Petit is living by example, his own words at a memorial service for his lost loved ones;

" If there is anything to be gained from the senseless deaths of my beautiful family, let it be for us all to go forward and live with a faith that embodies action: help a neighbor, love your family, fight for a cause."

Clearly, those words struck a deep chord in a great many people, both within, and beyond the borders of Connecticut; A kind of en- masse altruism has sprung forth in the form of soaring volunteerism, community outreach and a general raised consciousness towards others who are in pain or in need .

Twenty months after the crimes, the good works steadfastly grow as many continue to be inspired by Dr Petit's words and moreover, the life examples of he,Jennifer, Haley and Micheala, each one uncannily kind and committed to making this world a better place.

Petition for keeping the Death Penalty In Connecticut

It has recently been brought to the attention of the Connecticut Judiciary Committee that getting rid of the death penalty would save the state a good deal of money In fact There is currently a bill in the house that proposes the complete abolition of the penalty within the state to be replaced with life sentences with no possibility of parole in its stead.

And with the current climate surrounding all things money, being what it is, more than a few members of the committee and the legislature would seem to think that this bill is worth considering. After all, they point out, the death penalty, although legal in Connecticut, is rarely awarded here by a jury or judge The parameters that a crime or crimes must be defined within in order to qualify for this, the ultimate punishment are far from commonplace -- they must be in effect the worst of the worst capital murder cases, having one or more particularly heinous attributes in order to be eligible for a death sentence.

For these and other reasons, the death penalty sentence is rarely given in the state of Connecticut, and with its endless automatic appeals process, the actual penalty itself, death by lethal injection, is even more rarely carried out.
Once, to be exact within the past 2 decades, and this was a case whereby the criminal in question had to petition the courts to have his sentence actually carried out! He didn't wish any more state-financed appeals slowing down his jury awarded sentence. His name was Michael Ross, he was a serial murderer and rapist, but thankfully, he plead guilty and accepted his sentence for brutally raping and murdering 7 women,including two fourteen year old girls.

Or at least he tried to accept it, but ironically the same state that gave him the sentence, would seem to do all they could to delay it, he was finally put to death 2 years ago.

These plethora of appeals that occur once a death penalty sentence is given in Connecticut are ironically required within our current system, whether or not the defendant wants to appeal. This is what wastes money, not the death penalty itself . Its clear to almost everyone that the judicial process surrounding all death penalty cases desperately needs restructuring so that we are no longer rendering our most serious criminal penalty useless via what amounts to bureaucratic, state financed stalling tactics.
While many of the opponents of the death penalty blithely claim that the death penalty is an insanely expensive prospect, once you look closely, this is mostly due to the dragged out appeals process which indeed, bogs down the courts, slows up the process and takes up our state-paid attorneys and prosecutors valuable time in the meantime.

And so, where does this leave us? While many of us agree that the death penalty is not working in its present form here in Connecticut, we recognize that the main reason is not an inherent flaw with the concept itself but rather because its been literally hijacked by defense attorneys, and swallowed up in bureaucracy, thereby collecting dust at the bottom of our states judicial broom closet.

As a survivor of violent crime,and one who advocates for crime victims, I adamantly believe that we must preserve the right to exercise this, our most serious of sentences, for the most serious of crimes committed against us.
The "us" here represents our neighbors, our loved ones, our brethren-our friends. No one ever thinks that violent crime will come to visit upon them, yet we are the people that comprise this state and as such, we are all potential victims.
As a state and a people, we cannot afford to continue drawing the line of criminal accountability farther and farther away from anything resembling justice.

The old adage ' give an inch, take a mile' would seem to be written with defense attorneys and violent criminals in mind; experience has shown us that many will take whatever they can get -and then some-- out of our justice system. There is no moral compass, no reasonableness, none of the decency that we are accustomed to expect from fellow human beings. Certainly accountability and justice are merely vapid words to most lawyers. They often hide manipulation and deceitfulness behind the mantra that "every person deserves a fair trial .." and our courts have literally followed suit, As the lawyers manipulated the law and the process, our prosecutors and judges had to scramble to "keep up" in effect. The result is what we see today a system that has become corrupted. It didn't happen all at once, it happened in small increments, bit by bit.

If we make life without parole the worst possible sentence in the state of Connecticut, it is only a matter of time before lawyers and other like- minded individuals will be insisting that a life sentence with zero possibility of parole is cruel and unusual. And following suit, there will be a move to ban this punishment in lieu of life sentence with the possibility of parole. And on it will go.

And this is saying nothing of the deterrence effect that the death penalty may have upon a would be criminal, And what might happen when the possibility of garnering this severe sentence is no longer a viable concern to any would be murderer. As it is now, It certainly has not helped our states present situation that we so rarely impose the death penalty here; career criminals are well aware of this, they are aware of the rarity of the sentence itself as well as the obscenely long time that murderers languish on "death row" once they have been actually sentenced. Decades and decades. Many die in prison whilst waiting for that sentence, which is never delivered.
In a recent public meeting concerning the Death Penalty abolition, Connecticut's head prosecutor Kevin Kane, shared about having to stand by and watch while years and years go by and the fathers and mothers of murder victims die themselves, often from natural causes, long before their loved ones killer is given his sentence!

These families lives are first utterly traumatized by the horror of the violent crimes against their loved ones, and then put on a terrible stasis, waiting for a trial that takes years before even commencing. Case in Point, Dr William Petit will have to wait at least 3 years before the trial begins for the two men accused of killing his wife and children in July 2007. The current word is that Jury selection is slated to begin early 2010.

Again, experience dictates that in most criminal cases, the first estimates for trial dates are almost always pushed back several times over. This is usually at the bequest of the DEFENSE and again, acquiesced to by the presiding judge, who is in effect blackmailed in granting these delays, lest a mistrial later be awarded, due to a claim (by the defense) of inadequate trial preparation time.

The incessant delays that have become rote practice within our courts leave the victims and thier families in a state of suspended healing, forced to hold onto vivid memories of the crimes and the emotions connected to them during a time period where they should be allowed their already- difficult healing process.

This process will be unnaturally put on hold the moment a jury selection begins for the criminal trial of his families killers. And With this current DP abolition proposal, people like Dr Petit and his family may have to suffer the additional emotional insult of having the original death penalty sentence that was officially sought by the states attorneys handling the case, thrown out and changed to a life term in prison in its stead/ Although the death penalty was not going to bring the Petit and hawke families a perfect sense of solace or closure, it would serve as a viable sense of justice for their family members cruelly robbed lives.

Chief prosecutor kevin kane also concurred that the lengthy appeals process is but one of several areas that needs to be revamped within the states current death penalty system. While clearly a believer in the death penalty and against statewide abolition, he realizes that it isnt working in its current form.


I will be writing more about this crucial issue over the following days and weeks. For those of you who feel strongly about keeping the death penalty sentence as an option in Connecticut's courts, please click on the link below and sign your name to the petition, it will be presented in the near future to the lawmakers of the state.

www.gopetition.com/online/25840.html

Let your voice be heard.

Lawmakers revisit death penalty -- Newsday.com

Another article about the 2 death penalty bills currently being discussed by the Ct judiciary committee...

Dr. William Petit Testifies In Support Of Death Penalty -- Courant.com

I will be Posting in depth about this important issue shortly
(here is the link to later)
http://chasingnormal.blogspot.com/2009/04/committee-pushes-to-abolish-death.html


Please keep a watchful eye on our Connecticut legislature and let them know how you feel about the death penalty for capital crimes, such as the Petit family murders.

Debate over death penalty in the house

"Justice" Sought for Petit Family - News- msnbc.com

Domestic Abuse Linked to Poor Health, Years Later

Content below excerpted from US News and World report April 2008

I didn't want to read the news story about Amy Castillo, the Maryland mother whose estranged husband drowned their three young children in a hotel room last Saturday. I didn't want to read that the family court judge refused to deny the father unsupervised visitation because Castillo continued to have sex with him after he talked about killing the children just to hurt her.

I can only surmise what this poor woman would have done had she known that he would most certainly carry out his threats. Shooting him in cold blood would have been an understandable option. (I say this as a mother of three kids.)

No one wants to read these stories, and no one wants to talk about them beyond expressing pity for this now childless mother. Amy Castillo said she shared her fears and no one listened to her. But even she may not have realized that what her husband was doing was a form of psychological abuse. And all women who live under a threat from a loved one, even when it doesn't erupt into violence, need to start having these conversations with their friends and family, not only to protect themselves but also to educate judges and doctors who all too frequently miss the signs in their female patients. A World Health Organization study published in today's Lancet found that women currently being abused were more likely to have memory loss, difficulty walking, dizziness, and vaginal discharge. Even those who hadn't experienced violence over the past year were more likely to be in poorer health overall, which the researchers write "suggests that the effect of violence might last long after the actual violence has ended."

Yet many doctors fail to connect the dots between partner abuse—including threats of violence—and unexplained health problems like chronic headaches, insomnia, painful sex, and gastrointestinal complaints, according to Janice Asher, a domestic violence expert and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "All too frequently, women will get CT scans, MRIs, and other tests that go nowhere when doctors don't take the time to ask if they're in an unsafe relationship," she laments. While abuse itself can obviously cause injuries, psychologists have found that the pain often lingers after the body heals due to "memories" stored in nerve cells. This could explain why a woman might suddenly develop pelvic pain after entering a new relationship when her last boyfriend forced her to have a type of sex she didn't want.

With 2 million American women abused by their partners every year, doctors are doing a huge disservice when they don't screen for domestic violence—especially, Asher adds, since most women won't talk about abuse unless they're asked. (And even then, many won't discuss it until they've established a trusting relationship with their doctor.)

"I'm so glad you're covering this!" she tells me. I told her that I heard a great presentation she gave two years ago on screening for domestic violence. What struck me at the time was how few doctors at the gynecology conference were in attendance to hear her remarks. "Yes," she sighs, "doctors tell me they're too pressed for time to ask about abuse." So, women may have to take it upon themselves to speak up about prior abuse if they're experiencing unexplained pain or other symptoms.

The first priority for a woman in danger, of course, is to get away from the source. Unfortunately, as Amy Castillo learned, the system doesn't always make that possible. Organizations like the National Coalition Against Domestic violence

What Rihanna Can Teach Us About Domestic Violence

Remembering Colette, Kimberley and Kristen

When I read this article I was heartened to know that I was not alone in still thinking about, and mourning the MacDonald family murders. After all, it did happen over thirty years ago, and most people don't hold onto deep feelings of grief over crimes that they are not personally connected to. It might stay in ones temporal memory bank, but the natural course of thingsseems to be that the passage of time dissapates the worst of the pain we felt in reaction to such "tragedies." But then again, I've always different in this regard

This crime has probably so long haunted me for a few reasons; First, was the barbaric level of violence that was committed against the victims which included two small children. This is something that I can never scrub out of my mind- or my heart, no matter how much time passes. Also murdered that night was a lovely young woman, the mother of those two little girls, twenty six years old Collette MacDonald. She along with her children, was literally butchered to death in her home one rainy summer night in north Carolina, the year was 1970.

Sadly enough, statistics bear out that 8 out of 10 murders such as these wind up being committed by the father of the children, the husband of the slain wife.
This story would have been yet another tragic domestic violence case that ended in murder had it not been for a few factors that wound up transfixing the nation's attention. First and foremost was the severe nature of the murders, the clear rage behind them, and the fact that the man of the house, a green beret military MD, was home and survived the nights carnage with relatively slight injuries, especially in such sharp contrast to what befell his wife and children.
They were literally unrecognizable from multiple stab wounds and severe blunt force trauma caused by brutal blows to their faces and heads. Complete overkill.

And Why was Dr MacDonald spared the savagery that was wielded upon his entire family? Why would the killers leave him, the biggest threat in the house, alive and nearly unscathed? Forensic science shows that when there is a home invasion or murders of a family like this, the intruder or intruders almost always kill the man of the house first,or at least ties him up and disables him. They logically want to get rid of the strongest person right off the bat in order to be unhindered with the rest of the occupants, be it to rob or rape if that is the motive. That should have meant that Dr MacDonald was killed and killed first. Not only was he not dead or tied up but rather lucid whenparmdics arrived with three small puncture wounds one of which caused a very neatly collapsed lung. Bear in mind that an army MD would know exactly where to self inflict such a wound in order to collapse a lung And this of course would help give him much needed credibility in his role as co- victim
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The killers, according to MacDonald were a"wild eyed group of hippies" who he claimed broke into the family's home late that night, while he slept on the couch unawares, they assaulted the girls first-he heard his children screaming, he lept up to help them and was attacked by 3 hippie men and a blond haired woman who was carrying a candle (yes, that's right -a candle.) And, one of them chanted "acid is groovy, kill the pigs" He managed to ward all of them off with his pajama top.(Yes his pajama top.!)

In case some of this sounds vaguely familiar its because it is; In 1970 the Manson family murders had just happened (aug 1969 ) The story of those horrific crimes had been all over the media and and printed press- In fact an extensive article about the tate labianca cases was publised in a Vanity fair article, the very same issue that just happened to be sitting on the MACDonald family coffeetable. Apparently the pages containing the story, including a photo of the door with the word Pig written in blood. were dog=eared and looked well worn to any objective party.

The police already knew that something was very wrong with this crime scene. macdonalds family was brutally murdered and somehow the assailants decided to leave him with 3 small and neat puncture wounds, wounds that appeared to be from a small ice pick , not a large knife, as his family had used against them. ---

In fact, The three girls had over 60 deep knife stabs and slashes between them and many severe blunt force blows made with a heavy object This object turned out to be a piece of wood which was found at the crime scene. There appeared no motive for the crimes, no sexual assault of any of the victims and no robbery.
The " traumatized "MacDonald managed to somehow call an ambulance before "passing out".

Although I was a little girl at the time of these murders I can recall hearing about them on the news and being very very disturbed at the prospect that the father of those children could have killed his own family-this suspicion was literally swirling just beneath the surface of many of the news stories.
However, so convincing was the bereaved husband and father, who happened to be a military Doctor, and so poor was the police work, that the original charges were dropped for lack of evidence.

MacDonald was and is a classic sociopath; intelligent,articulate, even charming when he needed to be, so much so, that at the time of the media blitz surrounding the murder, his slain wife's dad, fred kasab, was quoted as saying "this man was the perfect son in law and if I had another daughter I would be thrilled if she were to bring him home" How awful to hear this in retrospect.

Kassab knew there was some suspicion still being directed at MacDonald (he naively thought it was simply because he survived and his family didn't) and as such, he was ready to help deflect any concerns that MacDonald might have committed these heinous acts.

Fortunately, being a prototypical sociopath , MacDonald could not keep his big mouth shut and it would lead to his undoing; Once the original charges were dropped for insufficient evidence, he obviously felt that he was in the clear and began to make public appearances on various talk shows as well as several magazine interviews. He was actually becoming some kind of sick celebrity. ie"the doctor falsely accused of killing his family is on TV tonight!..."

Many People were very discomfited over the lack of resolution of the case and suspicion against MacDonald was still palpable, Yet there were also those that were charmed by the handsome young doctors loquaciousness and charm and based on this shallow kind of reasoning, they refused to believe that anyone who looked liked this and sounded like this, could commit such vile acts- especially against his own children!

The media, as always, saw the public's interest in MacDonald and latched right onto it, television networks competed to bring him on their talk shows, they knew the controversy surrounding him would mean big ratings-and it did. They didn't know however that their shows would be the key to re-opening the MacDonald family murder case within the course of merely a few months time.

The irony is that MacDonald could have chosen to lay low after the murders, perhaps changed his name, and started a new quiet life in another state, having basically gotten away with a triple murder. But being the classic sociopath he thrived on attention as well as the allure of an infinite number of female admirers-and some men, who he figured he could probably dupe out of anything and everything that they'd be willing to part with.

Sociopaths see other human beings as little more than marks-sources for obtaining whatever gratification they want at that moment, be it money, sex, attention, favors and yes, fame , Even when it is highly impractical to be in the spotlight ,they often cant resist )
They are unable to have real attachments with other human beings, but they do know how to fake the intimacy that eludes them, because they realized early in life that a certain degree of "humanness" is expected. They hone these skills and they become consummate deceivers and manipulators, It is little more than a game to them and it is a complete lack of conscience that totally sets them apart from us, and this gives them an advantage. They have no moral compass, the only thing they do care about is not being detected, found out, or, worst of all, caught or held accountable.

They feel disdain and disgust for the people that they steal from, manipulate and victimize-In their inner world you are foolish for falling for their B.S and thus you deserve whatever they do to you or steal from you or use you for..
In the realm of hurting others or taking lives, either you insulted their ego, somehow "made a fool of them" or...you become a liability in some way to them or outgrown your usefullness... Or, you are simply worth more dead then alive.

Some sociopaths also kill because they are sexual sadists,they get off on sexual assault which is about power and control not sex, and from a practical standpoint they realize that the only way to insure that they get away with raping is kill their victims. They certainly are not going to go to prison for their crimes- rules and laws don't apply to them-- they're "special"

A smaller but very dangerous subtype of sociopath derive pleasure what they see as the ultimate control over another human being- taking someones life. (think of the btk killer et al) In MacDonald's case, i BELIEVE his wife had outgrown her usefulness to him and was becoming a liability in his mind and he resented her and his children- Collette was 4 months pregnant at the time of her death and pregnancy is a statistically bad time for assault and murder for women by an intimate partner.

I surmise that MacDonald wound up having some kind of violent assault against his wife that night and his older daughter saw some of the attack. He knew at 6 she was a witness even just to say 'I saw daddy hurting mommy ' And thus, he killed her, with little compunction, and then worst of all after hed killed his wife and older daughter, he went to his littlest girls room and he proceeded to kill her in complete cold blood. Kimberly was only 2 years old. Two years old. It completely breaks my heart,

Apparently, the televised interviews that McDonald was doing were quickly showing him as a less than sympathetic figure . Even those who had stalwartly stood by him believed in him in the many years after the crimes, began to falter as they watched a man who was not in the least bit bereaved or grieving what was a horrific massacre of his family.

He was responding to questions about the murders in what can only be called an extremely inappropriate manner, in fact he bordered on downright giddy at times. When Collette MacDonald's father, fred kasab , saw one of these interviews, he was convinced then and there that his son in law had been putting on a helluva an act for him; He began to look through the police transcripts, pictures and evidence files, anything related to the case, and he quickly saw that there was zero evidence supporting MacDonald's version of events that fateful night;There were no intruders in the house that night, and based upon this alone, MacDonald had to be the killer.

With Collette's fathers on the hunt, the district attorney resumed interest in the case and managed to get enough evidence together for an indictment. Thankfully, the jury saw the truth and convicted MacDonald of first degree murder for his wife and second degree for his two daughters, this nearly 10 years after the crimes occurred. He received 2 life sentences and he is currently serving them. but as expected-not quietly.

In classic sociopath fashion, McDonald has never admitted his guilt. He continues to collect outside sympathizers while in prison, conning them via letters phone calls, that he is innocent, he has been railroaded"
Sooner than later he tells them how special they are and how he wants to get out of prison mostly to be with them, to marry them and live happily ever after.

There are a bunch of women who have come forward admitting that they fell for his BS for a time, until they began to see the emotional shallowness and manipulation behind the flowery words. His fans are mostly women , but he is reportedly not opposed to manipulating men if it will gain him something; Through these misguided minions He manages to pay for attorneys to file appeals and continues to shout from the proverbial roof tops THAT his life has been wrecked and that he will prove his innocence.

The sad thing is that with violent crimes like this families have a very hard time with a true sense of closure if they don't know the truth about what happened to their loved ones. There is a driving need to know how the crimes happened pehaps even why-And in this case, the truth is forever locked up inside a psychopaths belligerent mind.

In any case, please say a prayer if you are so inclined for Colette ,Kimberly and Kristan, this week is the 38th anniversery of thier deaths, may they rest in peace in Gods loving arms.

Remembering Colette, Kimberley and Kristen

Judge: Duncan should stand trial in CA boy's death | Seattle Times Newspaper

http://www.pe.com/localnews/beaumont/stories/PE_News_Local_S_duncan04.4418da8.html

It looks like Joseph Duncan will in fact stand trial for the 1996 murder of Anthony Martinez after all-if youll recall Duncan was convicted last year for the kidnapping and murder of sweet little nine year old Dylan Groene as well as the kidnapping and assault of Dylans younger sister Shasta, who ultimately became the lone survivor of a criminal rampage that included the murder of her mother, her mothers boyfriend and her two brothers.
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Duncan was tried and convicted in 2007 for the mass murders of the groene family, crimes that hed committed in order to abduct the two youngest children for sex. He was given a life term for those crimes within a plea deal which somehow reserved the right to pursue the death penalty if duncan did not in fact recieve one in the second group of crimes which had yet to be tried at that point.. This caveat proved unneccesary as he indeed eventually recieved the death sentence for the murder of Dylan and the assaults kidnapping and assorted other charges involving both children.

While awaiting the long process that runs its course prior to actiually being put to death in this country.... the state of California announced their plans to extradite Duncan from his Idaho prison cell in order to stand trial for the 1996 abduction and murder of 11 year old Anthony Martinez.

The Martinez case had long gone unsolved until Duncans capture in the Groene's Kidnapping. Apparently, Duncan confided to his then 8 year old captive, Shasta that he had killed other children in the past and elaborated with details of Anthony's kidnapping and murder, even sharing his victims name with poor little shasta. This gives me pause as I know that this means that duncan had fully intended to kill shasta when he was done with her, otherwise he would never have confided this.

Shasta, who proved an invaluable witness to the crimes against she and her family, kept a vivid recollection of every conversation with Duncan, relating it all to the policemen once rescued from that famous Denny's restaurant. .

Word is also that while he was in custody, Duncan was asked about any other crimes that he may have committed and he confessed to Anthony's murder as well as the murder of two half sisters in the Seattle area. However, when the authorities returned to interview him, reportedly he clammed up and would not answer any questions.

Luckily, a formal confession-was not needed; A small piece of duct tape that was found on anthonys body all those years ago had been carefully stored in a Police evidence file-it carried on it one single partial fingerprint- That print matched Joseph Duncan III.

Also Included in the indictment evidence was a web blog that duncan maintained in the time period following his paroled release from prison for the kidnapping and rape of a 14 year old boy at gunpoint. He committed this crime at the tender age of 17 and was given a stiff sentence thanks to a discerning judge It was during his parole for this crime that he reportedly abducted and killed 12 yr old Anthony as well as possibly the two little Seatle girls mentioned earlier.

Somewhat of a computer maven DUNCAN had taken computer courses during in his long stint in prison and later attended computer school doing well academically until he inexplicably went on his most recent criminal rampage which culminated in the murder of 5 members of the Groene family

Duncans blog, entitled the blogging the fifth nail, was purportedly a self proclaimed chronicle of a level 3 sex offender trying to live in today's society." If you detect some martyrdom here you are most astute as this indeed was the angle that Duncan was working;the poor harassed sex offender who is forever marked by society for his past "mistakes", ie felonious sexualt assault and torture of a minor at gunpoint.

This was the official version presented by duncan but many believe that he originally created the blog as an alibi device, a concocted "record" of his whereabouts and activities on any given day, in order to clear him in any local disappearances or crimes against children. He claimed within the blog to be harrassed continuously by local police "every time a child went missing"

Ironically, in the end, the blog served the opposite purpose- It corroborated duncan's activities and whereabouts in relation to several cases of assaulted and murdered.children, Unfortunately, this occurred long after those crimes happened, rather than during the time period that this level 3 sex offender was was blogging online about things like "having gotten back at society twice now and not having been caught for it.....!"

Duncan did wind up getting caught for violating the technical terms of that parole and was sent back to prison to finish up the entire original complete 17 year sentence because of this. Sadly it had nothing to do with the three abductions sexual assaults and murders that he clandestinely committed at that point unbenownst to the state judicial system. The ultimate reasons for that violation_?; marijuana use (a random urine test caught that) and not checking in with his parole officer multiple times IE this was during the time period where he was stalking and murdering children.


He was reportedly arrested on the parole violations out of state at his step sisters house in washington, which also equated to another parole violation= traveling out of state without permission of his parole officer. In reality it is said that duncan had in fact left the state many times while stalking and committing the three child murders, which according to his blog records mustve been commiited while he was on various recreational mini vacation road trips made with "friends" for the purpose of trying out exciting new hobbies like scuba diving and sky diving.

I'll tell you, the boundless evil that comprises the minds of these sexual predators never ceases to amaze me. Its always the exact same qualities of deceptiveness and manipulativeness that we see time and again in the worst of these reprobates.

They usually wind up being articluate- which most people associate with intelligence or education ...- this of course serves them well blending in and getting close to thier perpective victims- How many times do we hear people say after a crime that this now= murderer was someone they trusted , or someone who seemed so "normal"

And even when we are confronted with the knowledge that this person does indeed have a criminal record, such as duncan who shared this with almost everyone it seems, We want to believe that they were either; very young at the time and or abused themselves prior to committing the crime ...Or...
'they didnt really do it but had to plead guilty/ no contest because they couldnt afford a trial-"or the age old my lawyer made me plead out" This one Ive heard so many times before that it has become a refrain, the banal lament of the abuser/ predator.

Even knowing that this man had done serious prison time for a sexual assault on a much younger boy when he was nearly eighteen, so many otherwise sane people were willing to suspend common sense, even going so far as to offer to serve as his guarantor/sponsor for his parole, this was reportedly the case with a pediatric doctor named Dr Wacksman, a supposed 'friend" of duncans) or even bailing him out of jail for newly committed sex offenses that he was arrested for after his release from prison for the same type of crime- North Fargo BUSINESSMAN ROBERT MCCRARY=the MAN THAT purportedly loaned Duncan 15,000 for bail for molesting two boys-
Duncan proceeded to write a bad check to the courthouse and used the money instead to finance an out of state kidnap- murder rampage that started with the murders of three members of Greone family.

It boggles the imagination and raises our rackles and yet I can see how these people became unwitting accomplices in Duncans predation I know what masters of deceit and treachory these men can be. Joseph Duncan is merely a classic sadistic sexual sociopath and our system should have never released him upon back upon our unwitting society.
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Violence, sickness, chance wipe out Miss. family

A domestic violence case with shakesperean overtones, this is a very sad story.

New program aims to better protect victims of domestic violence in Connecticut

The title of this article in the Republican American is a bit misleading. The program in question, designed to keep the addresses of sexual assault, stalking and Domestic violence victims confidential, is not "new"It was in fact created via the passage of a bill by the Conn legislature in 2004. And though clearly an important program that could help save lives, it has not been used by Connecticut's crime victims simply because our courts have been remiss in informing them that the program existed.

While The article does make mention of the fact that the bill has not been utilized much, they cite shelters and local agencies as the culprits in not passing the info along to the many victims that they deal with- In reality it is the victims advocates and prosecutors in the state of Connecticut who should have been recommending this program to all victims of stalking and/or sexual and partner violence whenever there was a history of threats and/or the possibility of future violence (and as you might imagine, this is quite often.)

Unfortunately, this under-utilized program is reminiscent of many other state and federal "programs" that have become programs in name only simply because victims are not made privy to their existence by the very people charged with ensuring their future safety.
As reluctant as I am to bring up my own experience with Connecticut's judicial system, every so often it is imperative to certain discussions regarding the experience of crime victims in this state.; A number of years ago I was a victim of violent crimes and although the crimes occurred in my home in the suburbs, the case fell to the nearest presiding GA city court-As luck would have it a busy courthouse that had recently lost a savvy and tough judge who had been presiding over its domestic violence docket for several years. Connecticut's criminal judges only serve 2 years stints and for the relatively short time that he presided, this court had secured a reputation as one of the toughest- and best DV dockets in the state. However, once this judge left, it was as if the teacher had left the building and the lackadaisical apathy that had dominated the court in the past, resumed its hold once again.

I daresay that my experience within the Connecticut judicial system was far more damaging to me than the brutal violence of the assault itself . and I do not say this lightly.The treatment that I received within the court was utterly spirit crushing and it far surpassed mere negligence, but for the purposes of this post Ill stick with the most pertinent transgressions;
First I was never informed that there was a state and a federal programs available to help reimburse victims for medical costs and lost wages due to injuries sustained within their crimes. I was never even asked if or how I was managing these things, especially as I was unable to work at all for well over a month and only part time for many months after that, due to a traumatic brain injury and a cochlear concussion inflicted by my assailant.

It was also never mentioned ti me that the court could order my assailant to pay restitution for my medical costs and/or my lost work time, as part of any "plea deal" approved by the states prosecutors. Restitution is indeed an important part of accountability and as such is standard procedure in many state courts for most cases involving assaults

The most serious insult committed by this court occurred when I was moving out of the town that my restraining order was filed in; I asked via the victims advocates office ,to have the restraining order re-filed with my new address and sent to the appropriate new police department- I was instructed to do this by the very Police dept that presided over my new home address. They informed me that if my assailant were to violate the order at my new address, they would be unable to arrest him without an official copy of the standing criminal restraining order on file with them with my new address on it. They suggested getting this done asap.

The victims advocate called me back to tell me that the prosecutor refused to refile the order saying that "if they did this every time a victim with a standing criminal restraining order moved ,they'd be filling out paperwork forever".
When I asked if she'd informed the prosecutor that the local police dept instructed me to do this, she'd answered yes, but they didn't care.

"They didn't care." This was a case where stalking was one of four charges, as well as terroristic threatening-I had been told by my assailant that if I reported him to police he would "finish the job, no matter how long it took" Indeed, one of the reasons I was moving at all was that this dangerous man had only received a suspended sentence with probation within a deal, and had already broken the restraining order several times and it was clear to me that something very drastic would have to happen before the court took any viable action..

Luckily at this point I had had some time to heal from my injuries as well as a pretty severe case of post traumatic stress which had consumed me for months after the crimes and the lackluster resolution of my case. I was beginning to get back some of my signature strength and tenacity, I placed a call with the assistant to the prosecutors supervisor who worked in a seperate courthouse and explaining all of the difficulties that I'd encountered as a victim of crime within his court. For whatever reason this compel the and my prosecutors boss filed a certified copy of the order to the proper police dept, but did not explain nor apologize for the prosecutors refusal to do this in the first place. There is not doubt that the address confidentiality bill would have served me very well had I ever been made aware that it was an option. As it was, I had enough problems being afforded my basic rights as a victim of crime in Connecticut.

Unfortunately, my experience is far from an isolated case within Connecticut's courts-in fact some have said that it is one of the better resolutions! I have since spoken to hundreds of women in Connecticut who have been given what would appear, the rote treatment for victims of intimate violence; lack of communication, lack of respectful treatment and almost without fail, dragged out adjudication of their cases, ending with a plea bargain, no trial and always reduced charges and dropped charges. Many other cases still are nolled and all charges dropped completely, presumably for lack of evidence or due to the defendants status as a "first time offender." Thus, a first strike long before any official first strike.

To be fair, there are some tough, committed prosecutors within our state Domestic violence dockets,but they are theexception. Anytime a victim knows her attacker, albeit someone she dated once for a short time, it falls under the Domestic crime umbrella.

And where judges once ruled the courtroom, with a 96 percent plea bargain ratio, most judges have become figureheads, giving an obligatory nod to whatever deal was worked out by the prosecutor, whose motivation is often clearing the daily docket as quickly as possible.

New Coulter Voter Fraud Investigation Reveals Danger To Domestic Abuse Victims

Rell taps two ex-lawmakers for revamped parole board

Joseph Duncan moved to federal penitentiary to await Death Penalty

I have been giving this a lot of thought and I can honestly say that knowing that Joseph Duncan III is one step closer to receiving the death penalty does bring me some solace-but its an uneasy solace.Even when this monster is actually put to death, and with our system's plethora of auto-appeals for its death penalty cases, this will be a ridiculously long time, I still wont feel that "justice has now been"done".
The awful truth is there is no justice to be had for what this man did, He killed an entire family in coldblood in a most cruel and brutal way, just to abduct the two youngest children for his sick pedophiliac purposes.
We came to find out that the children witnessed some of their family' members being murdered after which the terrified pair were taken far away deep into a isolated forest campground by thier family's killer. Then Duncan abused and brutalized the children for 7 weeks before inexplicably killing the little boy with a shotgun in front of his sister.

That sweet faced little eight year old girl is about to become a teenager-She somehow survived this nightmare and lived to tell authorities the entire horrible tale, serving as a very competent sole eye witness to all of the crimes.


Joseph Duncan will be allowed to live for at least 10-15 more years while the obligatory succession of court appearances and filings are meted out and dealt with. His Government financed attorneys will do their best to slow down even further the already creeping process that precludes the actual administration of a death penalty.

Over the course of these years Duncan now 45 ,will have a decent clean place to sleep and plenty of food to eat. He'll have books and magazines to read, along with many letters--most from disturbed women (and men) who will profess their undying love, devotion and understanding for his plight-He may even be allowed to wed one of these fans depending on that prisons regulations .It happens all the time in prisons, and the word is that he has already had one female fan -on the "outside"-offer to marry him.

He will undoubtedly spend some time blogging as he did for years between his crime sprees and recently on and off since his capture,( Purportedly an anonymous party posts for him after receiving his Duncans handwritten blog entries via the snail mail.)
He will surely be interviewed regularly by the media, FBI and forensic shrinks, the latter who will try to pick his brain in order to better understand the pedophile criminal sociopath-Either way, its attention that he's getting and socio's thrive on attention.

When he is ill he will receive good medical care and GIVEN proper medicines as needed-the same with his psychiatric issues-he is most likely already on an anti-anxiety/psychotic meds.
He will be kept in solitary confinement for his own protection for the duration of his time and As such he will not have to fear, as other inmates do, attacks by fellow inmates-for any reason, including but not limited to the fact that he raped and killed children - a frowned upon group of crimes in the world of incarceration. There is some kind of honor, as it turns out ,"among thieves"

When his appeals are finally exhausted, assuming that none of them are successful IE his sentence gets reduced, he will be given a last meal of whatever he wishes and as plenty of visits with a religious advisor of his choice. He will be given opportunity's to spend time and say goodbye to his family members. And when the hour comes he will be put on a gurney and considerately put to sleep with an iv medication. Once sleeping he will be administrated a medication that causes his heart to stop.

Now I ask myself,,,Is this Justice?

Great actions and Good ideas:"Cut it out" Program

Next time you visit your favorite salon, ask whether its hairdressers participate in a national program called "Cut It Out" www.cutitout.org/ a great new program that trains hair care professionals to weed out and refer clients who might be in abusive relationships to local domestic violence programs.

Featured in a November 20, 2008 New York Times article, the program which is based in Chicago has trained 40,000 salon workers in all 50 states to recognize signs of domestic abuse. According to the article, Cut It Out has been adopted by the Empire Education Group which has 87 cosmetology schools and endorsed by the American Association of Cosmetology Schools, which represents 800 schools.


"The privileged, often therapeutic relationship between hairdressers and clients has long been the subject of magazine articles and movies. A growing movement in New York and across the nation tries to harness that bond to identify and prevent domestic violence, a pervasive problem that victims are often too ashamed to reveal to law enforcement or other public officials," according to Leslie Kaufman who wrote the article.


If you would like to know more about "Cut It Out," contact Dianne Mooney, Co-Founder, 2201 Fifth Avenue South, Suite 100, Birmingham, AL 35233.

Violent partner crimes by Connecticut resident finally lead to severe prison sentence

Another near fatal partner-violence case was committed by a local Hartford man who was well known to Connecticut's criminal justice system. A repeat offender with a specialty in stalking and battering women, the assailant had thus far managed to avoid any serious prison time for a series of violent crimes over the past 10 years.

The by now familiar theme of 'Ill decide when its over, not you...!". was once again at the nucleus of this latest bout of violence--If not for the quick action of the victim, this assault very easily could have become another domestic homicide in our area.

This time however, a decidedly intelligent and appropriately tough Massachusetts judge presided over the case; After scrutiny of the defendants criminal history, she over-ruled the prosecutor's recommendations for sentencing and gave the defendant a much stiffer prison sentence. It feels good to say that justice was served today.

Equal pay for Women before Congress

While this blog is generally aimed at issues surrounding violent crime, particularly those against women and children, I received an email yesterday that I considered important enough to deviate a bit from the status quo. Moreover, the issue at hand requires prompt action on behalf of as many readers as possible, thus I wanted to get it out there asap. Your involvement may help determine the future of gender- equitable pay in our country. Please read the letter below and click on the link on the title header above in order to contact your appropriate congress member before the approaching deadline, when it will be voted upon.

Dear laurel,
Congress is slated to act as soon as this week on fair pay for women — and we need your help.
The House is expected to vote later this week on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act — key bills that would give women the tools they need to challenge pay discrimination. The Senate may follow with a vote as soon as early next week.

Please contact your Members of Congress today with a clear message: It’s time to raise our voices in support of pay equity for all women by passing pay equity legislation immediately, so President-Elect Obama can sign it into law during his first few days in office.
CLICK HERE TO WRITE/CALL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS

Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Irasema Garza
President


Founded in 1970 as the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, Legal Momentum is the nation's oldest legal advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the rights of women and girls.
New York: 395 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014
Washington D.C.: 1101 14th Street, NW, Ste 300, Washington, DC 20005
www.legalmomentum.org/ .

Kids & Charitableness

I found this very poignant post today (above) whilst perusing the Connecticut blogosphere-And yes, there is a Connecticut- specific blogosphere believe it or not. First I found this blog www.thisisct.net/2006/11/12-noteworthy-connecticut-blogs.html entitled " This is Connecticut"

where I read about their "noteworthy blogs", some of which I was already familiar with and a few other worthy ones that I was not. From there, I linked to"Connecticut Weblogs" www.ctweblogs.com/?page , a site whose sole purpose would seem to be the gathering of all blogs that are Connecticut-based and listing them by category and most recently updated- a style akin to the mainstream blog directories like Technorati, etc

However as I scanned the listings of blog titles at the Connecticut Weblogs site, I couldn't help but notice that somehow my blog had been shall we say... overlooked-?.An oversight that I hope to remedy shortly with a shout out to that Blog's webmaster. It could be that they will be hard pressed to fit Chasing Justice into any of the Blog categories that they presently use, as it easily vacillates from "Opinion" to "Politics" with occasional wanderings into Religion/ spiritual for good measure. Perhaps I can convince the owner to open up a new category or two just for me- like Activism or Crime/Justice or even Woman's issues. Who knows, perhaps the advent of new category will encourage other new blogs about you know...deeper stuff.

In any event... throughout this veritable labyrinthine of blogs, Posts and bloggers, I stumbled upon some very good sites, mostly by following interesting blog titles that I noticed within each blogs"blogroll", eventually landing on this so called "mommy blog" which pleasantly surprised me by containing a very relevant and very poignant story about the blog owners recent experience bringing her two young children to a Domestic violence center over the holiday, in order to hopefully foster the beginnings of social conscience and a lifetime involvement helping those that are in need. I'm sure most of you will be as moved as I was.
Kids & Charitableness BlogHer

Soaring Rates of Violence Against Women

A 42 percent increase in partner violence, and a 25 percent increase in sexual assault over a two year period is staggering -
And even if, as suggested in the article, the numbers are being affected somewhat by a change in the methodology of the survey taking, and presumably are thus more accurate now, this only means that our previous reports in 2005 and earlier, greatly underestimated the degree of intimate violence that was happening in our country.-Either way we have a much more widespread problem with violence against women than we were aware of.

Our incoming administration needs to address this issue straight away. In fact I was very disappointed that there was little to no mention of this country's problem with violent crime, and specifically crime against women, within the Obama' campaign or within any of his very memorable speeches about the change that our country so needs and desires.
This was especially puzzling to me as Vice president elect Joe biden has had a heavy hand for many years in the entire violence against women movement; He co-authored, lobbied heavily for, and pushed through congress, the first ever"violence against women act"(VAWA) in 1996.
This was a major accomplishment that has been a pet project of bidens since the late eighties.
VAWA was passed again in 2006 and signed by president Bush -but with several cutbacks in funding. (surprise surprise)

Truth be told, Joe Bidens devotion and hard work with Domestic violence, among other things, was one of the main reasons that I voted for the Obama/Biden ticket Although extremely intelligent and articulate, Obama had yet to really prove himself via amassed experience, as a devoted and capable leader. I did however have faith that he would not be an autocratic leader by any means, he had humility, he knew his strengths and his weaknesses and would thus collect the most capable minds in every area of political expertise, surround himself with these folks, deferring to them freely and often in the daily business of the running our country.

I certainly hope that this issue is treated by our new leaders as seriously as it deserves to be. The results of this survey suggest a spiraling epidemic, and it is our beloved women's bodies and souls that are at stake here.
http://www.truthout.org/122208WA

Elderly Woman Attacked in Waterbury home

This is absolutely heartbreaking, more as developments occur.

How Much is a Petit Murder Suspect Costing You?

This latest soapbox of Mike Lawlor is rather puzzling to me, the general public has known about the obscene amount of money being spent on Joshua komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes,' (defendents in the Petit murders) for many months now indeed there have been a myriad of articles in mainstream publications citing the maddening details of those costs since mid-August. Yet, Lawlor, a well known assemblyman and vice chair of the Connecticut Judiciary Committee, chooses now to seize upon all of this and be publically outraged.

It certainly would seem like yet another politically motivated opportunity to inject himself, in a favorable fashion, into the fray of the state's hotly debated criminal justice issue.

An aside; To give you an example of just how far he is willing to go to mislead the public and ride the political wave de jour; In One of his recent election time mailers it stated that he was, among other things , "the author of a brand new three strikes legislation" for the state of
Connecticut. This after he has pontificated ad nauseum, for a solid year, that a three strikes law a)"wouldn't have prevented the Petit crimes anyway",
b) would not be used by prosecutors even If passed ..

And c) is in fact just a political gimmick of house republicans to appear tough on crime in the wake of the Petit Crimes hysteria and court scrutiny.

lawlor also voted against the bills passage a total of three times and even more importantly influenced a great many other legislators in voting against it.
He was also quoted within an interview as saying that all the attention that was being given Connecticut's criminal judicial system after the Petit crimes was ill placed and that "our judicial system works pretty well." The inference was that The Petit crimes and the other two murders that occurred within that same short time period in 07, eac one committed by paroled repeat offenders who were given lenient plea deals,were isolated incidents .

Now its one thing to be a politician in the worst sense of the word, when it comes to more innocuous issues like taxes and such, but this is far too important. How we decide to handle Violent criminals in this state will directly effect how many more innocent lives are snuffed out, and others maimed. Persistant violent offenders are people who repeatedly inflict terror and brutality upon vulnerable human beings, often leaving a veritable trail of broken bodies and broken lives in their wake. This is what the three strikes issue is about.

Its too easy for politicians and laypeople alike, to gloss over the awful reality of violent crime with words like "tragedy" "persistent offender' "home invasion" and even "three strikes law".
These words make more antiseptic and palatable, the terror and pain that is violent crime, They help people to distance themselves emotionally from the human suffering that is at the core of this entire discussion.

I propose that we ask and expect more from our public servants, our presumed leaders and lawmakers; They should not be allowed to squirm away from the cost of thier actions or inaction regarding this issue- this currency is human lives. I daresay, as lawmakers they will never have a more important task.

The worst part of this is that Mr Lawlor clearly has the intelligence, the leadership skills, and the political influence to do right by the people of Connecticut regarding this critical issue.- I can only hope that he is comprising a New years resolution list that includes less posturing and
photo-ops and more empathy and intelligent action on behalf of victims of violent crime in this state, past, present and future. Fixed and Consistent sentencing will serve as a deterrent for all violent crime as well as insurance that violent offenders are kept in prison where they may not continue to violate, maim and kill .

Women Self Defense info and Videos

While I wish that we lived in a world where it wasn't necessary to become adept at defending oneself from physical attack, the reality is that it is.
And due to our size, comparable strength and other factors, women are simply at greater risk than our male counterparts, as potential victims of such attacks.

Some of these attacks will be fatal. We"Fortunate" victims will live to tell about it, unwittingly becoming "survivors" in the process. That survival often comes with a heavy price; Post traumatic stress disorder is a common seleque of any life threatening happenstance, and it often carries with it significant life changing symptoms that include severe anxiety, depression, suicidal desires and more.

In P.T.S.D the severity of the lasting trauma, as well as the length of time that it takes to heal, is often much greater for victims of events that are inflicted purposefully by fellow human beings as opposed to natural and unnatural disasters; war, car accidents, plane crashes etc. Violent crime is one of the hardest to come back from. It only makes sense that the emotional insult is far worse when we are assailed not only physcially but physchologically-with the personal knowledge that our fellow man is capable of wreaking such brutality. Although we see such crimes on the news and in the papers, it is quite different to live through one. There is an emotional and spiritual crisis that often accompanies surviving violent crime and It is safe to say that however one deals with its aftermath, they are forever changed.The world will never seem a safe place again.

The self defense videos at the link above are available free of charge and I strongly suggest that all women- including teenage girls- familiarize themselves with the basic maneuvers shown, using an actual male partner acting as the "bad guy." These are relatively straightforward defense moves that most of us are physically capable of practicing until we know them instinctively.

For those who would like to go a step further, there are self defense classes specifically for women in every city and most townships across the country. These are not elaborate martial arts programs, but rather short term classes that will teach basic self-defense methods and how to "think" and carry yourself defensively This includes\how to deal with the typical adrenaline rush that accompanies any incident where we believe we are fighting for our life. Too often, this surge of adrenaline can hamper a victims reaction and may cost them their lives. Any quality class will address this issue and help the student to contend with this inevitable physical reaction.

For the sake of our children, let us be examples of strong, empowered women that for all appearances would make " bad victims"( read the linked information regarding what makes a "good" and "bad" prospective victim in the eyes of an assailant.)

holiday donations domestic violence hotline

Luminaries Light Town In Honor Of Petits

I think its beautiful that this has become an annual event in Cheshire-Not only does it raise good money for the MS foundation, it creates an atmosphere of faith and healing, and augments an entire communities sense of connectedness. God bless all of the volunteers who worked so hard to make this happen, and may the New Year bring much peace to the people of Cheshire.

domestic violence and brain injury

wcbstv.com - Reliving And Outlasting The Cheshire Murders

Jury selection for Petit crimes begins in January.

Judge tosses Duncan appeal

Good news. Now Let's say our prayers for Shasta and the entire Groene/mckenzie family,
that this appeal shall stand, as friday is the deadline for re-applying for one.

This brave young girl deserves to heal and recover and re-claim her life. The never ending
auto-pilot appeals process for death penalty cases in this country is ludicrous and flies in
the face of decency,especially for the victims of these crimes.

Criminal Justice in Crisis

Here is an interesting study that was conducted across the country concerning our criminal justice system; What the public perceives the problems to be with it-and what criminal justice professionals within the system pinpoint the problems as.

As Studies go It is informative and fairly accurate, but in the end it is a study-neat and tidy, devoid of the human suffering that is at the very core of its findings. In the end we are left with the crucial question; Since we now know what the problems are, will we finally commit to fixing them? How many lives must be lost, and destroyed, how much unnecessary grief and collective suffering before the various arms of our governments see fit to take action?
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An Effort to Integrate Crime Data in Conn Gets a Chief - NYTimes.com

Good news; a new chief has been appointed to head up the States brand new centralized criminal data base.

The database was conceived of and passed into legislation during last years emergency session called over the states criminal judicial crisis-The sessions were a direct outgrowth of several murders that occurred over a short time span in the second half of 2007. In each case the crimes were committed by recent parolees, all of whom had lengthy criminal records, were given plea deals that involved reduced prison time and charges, and then in some instances paroled after less than half of their already- reduced sentences.

Although there were clearly several missteps in the judicial handling of nearly every one of the criminals involved in these crimes, lack of communication between the states various judicial arms was a central theme.

Many state residents have been waiting to see the myriad of criminal/ judicial changes that were voted into legislation last year, become a reality. Among these, a new parole board, which was to include at least one full time criminal psychologist, as well as monies allocated for the hiring of new prosecutors, and presumably the re-training of existing ones.

This last reform is of critical importance and needs clearer clarification for the people of this state; The wording of the bill was extremely vague, especially considering the amount of money that was involved. Ie When the bill was first proposed it was to be for the hiring of more prosecutors period-the logic being that our courts were going to be trying more criminal cases in the future and plea bargaining less-this as information re the states inordinately high percentage of plea bargaining -96 percent of all criminal cases) came to light after the home invasions and murders in Cheshire and new Britain.Since is original inception however, I have seen the verbage of this bill twisted this way and that until one can no longer be certain exactly what those monies, specifically 600,000, is allocated to.

One thing remains clear and that is that we, the conscientious citizens of this state must keep a vigilant eye on the legislature and our courts for the practical application of each and every bill that was passed in the wake of last years tragic murders. The price paid for these measures were human lives and suffering. This includes the so called persistent offender bill that was passed in lieu of a public backed true three strikes bill; I have seen virtually nothing insofar as any data gathered regarding how -and indeed if, our courts are implementing this critical piece of new legislature. I hope this law is not rendered merely another phantom bill passed in what we can presume is good faith by the house, with no actual usability in our recalcitrant Connecticut courts.

A Sanguine Birthday

The following Birthday memorial was taken from this weeks Hartford Courant; It was written and posted by Dr Bill Petit for his daughter Michaela who was taken from this world far too soon. Eleven years old at the time of her murder she would have been 13 years old this November.
Rest in peace and Happy Birthday Michaela, we are all striving to honor your memory by living the ideals that you so clearly prized,


MICHAELA ROSE PETIT Nov 17 1995-July 23 2007

"Happy 13th Birthday, You were starting to try to be the change you wanted to see in the world. At the end of your 5th grade year you asked me about Barack Obama. Today you would be whooping it up with your friends, as your candidate won it all. Elizabeth is trying to keep your memory alive with http://www.forevermichaela.com/ and she is doing a great job. Your simple beauty and kindness is juxtaposed. "Deeds of kindness are equal in weight to all the commandments." (The TALMUD) Your cousins Andrew Paige Brooke Abby Molly Jacob Lydia Evan Michael Tristan Katherine Josh and Hannah, all miss you and think of you as their hero.
Your classmates and friends from Cheshire Academy Cheshire United Methodist Church and Chase Collegiate School as well as your "big sisters" from Miss Porters think of you every day. Your scholarship fund purchased a book of some of the poems of Robert Frost for all the 7th graders at Chase; the first stanza of " RELUCTANCE"

"Out through the fields and woods And over the walls I have wended;
I have climbed the hills of view And looked at the world and descended;
I have come by the highway home And lo it is ended. "

Our time with you ended far too soon and I still look over the walls and hills to see you.
I miss you and love you but know you are in the God's loving embrace. "

All My Love,
Your Dada"

Suggestions To Help State Budget

The excerpt below was taken from the linked article in this weeks Hartford Courant. Its
about about the obscene money that the state of Connecticut is spending on things like 24 hr prison guards who are posted on the two men that are awaiting trial for the murder and assaults of the Petit family in July 2007.

The costs of the guards alone is over 300, 000 year and this does not include the additional monies spent on roof snipers, special guards and deputies that accompany both men individually to every single court date related to thier respective cases.

As well we should consider that the state is also paying for an exhaustive criminal defense for what is a death penalty capital murder case; Both have public attorneys that are high up on the states pay-scale, due to their longevity and position---
And rather ironically we are of course also paying to prosecute these same men that we are paying to defend so vigorously-this is being handled by one of the top prosecutors in the state and his team of lawyers, investigators, paralegals and clerks, And the word is that the actual trial for this case is not expected to ven begin until sometime in 2010! Besides that fact that this time period is a travesty of justice for Dr Petit and the family of the victims, That's also another 2 years of paying for their prison upkeep; their food. tioletries, television, books and of course their dental and medical needs-something that many hard working and law abiding citizens cannot afford for themselves and thus must do without. Steven Hayes the older of the two defendents has reportedly been given anti-anxiety and pain medication on a daily basis for unknown"conditions" since he was first incarcerated.

The truth be told, this is just the tip of the iceberg re the state money spent on these two men,- And thus, each time I hear a legislator say something to the effect of how much money a three strikes law would cost the state-I say... take a look at what not having a repeat offender law or responsible senetencing practices, has cost us .! Just look at this case alone; if we had kept even one of these two men in prison, where they both clearly belonged, regardless of whether they committed the crimes against the Petit family or not, (noone should serve 3 1/2 years for over 20 felony convictions and even more actual charges as Komisarjevsky did ) we would have saved millions of dollars and much more importantly, Hayley, Michaela and Jennifer Petit would still be alive, spreading their goodness and compassion all around them.


"I understand that Hayes has been under a one-to-one watch since July 2007. That means each day, one correction officer on each eight-hour shift is assigned to watch Hayes in his cell. The person assigned to it is either on overtime or someone is called in to fill the regular job of the person assigned to Hayes and is paid overtime. That's time and a half most days, and double time and a half on some holidays. If a chemical agent has to be used in a nearby cell, that officer is not allowed to move. He or she sits there.

Here's the stupefying math: With regular overtime, we can estimate it's costing $40 an hour to watch Hayes for 168 hours a week . That's $6,720 a week, $349,440 a year. No other Northern prisoner has ever been on a one-to-one watch for more than a couple of weeks.

Hayes is neither an assaultive inmate nor a gang member. If he's a suicide risk, there's a medical unit at Northern. There's also Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown where, according to the DOC website, "adult male offenders with significant mental health issues have been consolidated at this Level 4 high-security facility."

Some spending cuts will be painful. Plenty, however, won't hurt at all. Start with Steven Hayes. Spending $350,000 a year on a fiend taunts taxpayers.

• Kevin Rennie is a lawyer and a former Republican state legislator. He can be reached at kfrennie@yahoo.com.

Suggestions To Help State Budget --

"Operation Fuzzy"

Just when I think I simply cannot bear another day of bad news about yet another violent crime, along comes a hero or two just in the nick of time, to reaffirm my faith in the basic goodness of mankind.

Today this story was about an organization called the Frank Foundation and their project to help child victims of sexual abuse called "Operation Fuzzy." I stumbled upon a story about it
on former FBI profiler John Douglas's Mind hunter website www.johndouglasmindhunter.com/ and was at once saddened and moved by the back story, as is usually the case when reading about any victim support programs for children. On one hand I despise the fact that a program of this sort is even needed for children who have been sexually abused -while at the same time, the me that is grounded in reality, knows too well that there are hundreds of kids that will benefit from just such a program this year alone.

Needless to say, it's a thoughtful and wonderful program that helps fulfill a sad and unfortunately viable need; helping children to cope with the aftermath of sexual abuse crime. And like most programs of its kind, it is in dire need of funding, especially during these difficult economic times when donations and funding are at their thinnest.

The program, like so many others like it, was founded by people who have lived through their own life changing experience with crime; Two mothers of children whoe were victims of sexual abuse decided to take their mutual pain and turn it into effort, in order to fulfill a need that they were both intimately aware existed; helping children to better communicate, and cope with the painful aftermath of sexual abuse.

To read more about the Frank foundation and Operation Fuzzy, and/or to make a donation, please visit their website The Franks Foundation

Bloggers Against Abuse revisited

http://c/Documents%20and%20Settings/user/My%20Documents/The%20Cycle%20of%20Violence.doc

The above link will bring you to a very good article that helps explain how and why abusive relationships happen and evolve. We often hear " why does she stay with the abuser, she must want to be abused.... right? An emphatic no is the answer to this question!

It is not true that if the victim REALLY wanted to leave, she simply would for There is an emotional and psychological breaking down of the abuse victim that typically occurs long before the physical abuse begins, And this is then only excarcerbated as a result of the physical brutalization and ithe inherent fear involved with knowing what the batterer is capable of-
And it is this cycle that keeps the victim in the grasp of her batterer.

In order to understand how this happens, we would all do well to give ourselves and our loved ones a short course on the" battered woman syndrome", a term coined by psychologist Lenore walker, a therapist who has studied thousands of battered women as well as men that batter, and has made landmark discoveries about the nature of abusive relationships as a result.
She has written several books compiling all of the information that she has gleaned thru hundreds of studies and interviews. The books are very readable, easily teaching the average person about the previously mysterious nature ofdoestic violence. Walker has changed the way that partner violence is understood and to a lesser extent, how it's handled within our criminal justice system.

There is a quote by Voltaire 'that says "Evil exists when good men do nothing" and in the case of domestic violence and violent crime in general, this sentiment is especially apt/
So much pain and suffering could be avoided if more people would simply become involved when they see or hear of abusive situations within the realm of thier daily lives. In fact If I could have one wish for the coming new year it would be for all of us to make the following pledge...

'If I suspect that someone I know is being abused or is in danger of being abused, I will report the abuse or the potentialr abuse to the appropriate authorities. I will thus avail myself of the local agencies and authorities for Domestic and partner violence, and educate myself and my(age appropriate) loved ones about the methods for safe intervention on behalf of an abused or endangered person.

All change must begin on an individual and community level Violent predators and batterers are out there and they are not going away- our complacency and our unwillingness to think about these"unpleasant things" have been their accomplice for too many years. From serial rapists and murderers to domestic batterers, these people often live among us. They are not the bogeymen of our childhood fairytalesand imaginations, in fact, they are often innocuous and unassuming in appearance, which only serves to aid and abet their predatory habits--They are more likely to be trusted because they blend in.. To see a terrible example of this in action, watch the next episode of dateline's "To catch a Predator" The would- be pedophiles that are nabbed in the midst of trying to seduce underage children for sex, are consistently average- looking men, usually middle Class to upper middle class. many are married, with children of their own, including the men who were trying to seduce very young boys.
This show only proved that predators are manipulative-and very good at playing the part of responsible "normal "people These are traits that are hallmarks of the sociopath persona -a personality disorder that is a common thread in sex criminals and Batterers.

The good news is that with a shift in awareness, we can begin to re-shape our societys attitudes surrounding this issue and we will then see a sharp decline in the violence that seems to be growing upon itself in our suburbs and our cities, in our streets and our living rooms. As the message gets carried forth that any and all violent crime will be treated the most severely no matter the relationship between assailant and victim, that it will result in a dogged pursuit of conviction and a maximum prison sentence, it will soon become more and more of a rarity. And the entire landscape of this country will change. This is my hope anway--Please do your part.

National Domestic Violence Hotline Desperately Needs Money

On September 30th, the National Domestic Violence Hotline (NDVH) answered its two millionth call. This milestone represents two million families that have received help and hope since the Hotline’s inception in 1996

Now, the National Domestic Violence Hotline needs our help. It is running out of money at a time when it will be most needed. With weather disasters, economic displacement and the approaching holidays, the Hotline will be challenged more than ever as families cope with mounting financial and emotional strain.

Their goal is to raise $1 million by the end of the year so the Hotline can continue to answer the ever-increasing calls from those in need. Plain and simple, more people will die if there is no one to answer the phones.

The Hotline’s success underscores the importance of helping our friends and neighbors when they are most vulnerable. Domestic violence does not discriminate among its victims. It has devastating consequences for families who endure it and communities that tolerate it.

You’ve seen the recent headlines in the news. Domestic violence and the tragedy it entails can happen to anyone from the Hudson family to your own friends and family.

During 2008, call volume for the Hotline rose by approximately 1,000 more calls each month as a direct result of the country’s worsening financial conditions and the burden this places on family and relationships. At the same time, funding from private sources has been cut dramatically. A staff reduction was implemented in October, but the Hotline will be forced to lay off many of its advocates without immediate emergency funding.

You can help right now. All contributions are tax deductible. Please send contributions to: National Domestic Violence Hotline, P.O. Box 161810, Austin, Texas 78716. or give on-line at http://www.ndvh.org/
Or for more information, you may contact Ann Dowdy at 800-525-1978.

You can also help by forwarding this Post to friends, family and colleagues. You will be helping people break the cycle of domestic violence to build a more stable and joyful future for themselves and their families.

Riverside County Cal to pursue extradition trial for Joseph Duncan

It looks like the state of California is trying to extradite Joseph Duncan from Idaho in order to try him for the 1997 assault and murder of little Anthony Martinez. Duncan just began serving 6 life sentences as well as awaiting a death sentence, all of which were bestowed for the crimes he committed against the Groene/Mackenzie family, including the kidnap and murder of 9 year old Dylan Groene in June 2005.

Duncan allegedly confessed to the 1996 murder of Anthony Martinez, as well as two other child murders, all committed while he was on Parole for the aggravated rape of a 14 year old boy.
The Martinez case is historic in that it was actually solved well before Duncan's confession, by of all things, an amateur crime blogger, by the name of Steve huff, who had been closely following the Groene case on his blog.

Huff used the Internet as his primary source for tracking Duncan's whereabouts in relation to various unsolved child murders that had occurred in the same geographic areas that Duncan was known to have been within the proper time frame of those murders. What made this possible at all was the fact that Joesph Duncan was keeping a blog himself in which he recounted many of his travel and vacation activities. This, amid self persecutory rants that were supposed to enlighten society to the sex offenders terrible plight.

There were those in fact that felt thatDuncan was actually using the blog as an alibi measure in case he was "accused" of any child crimes in his area. The problem is that he was in fact guilty of just such crimes and thus, inevitably his online journal helped to place him in several crime scene vicinities; That is, if anyone was compelled to put the information together. Steve huff did just that, and as one of his original readers, I was privy to the entire thing as it unfolded.
It was impressive for a so-called amateur.

Where does all of this leave little Shasta Groene, the now 11 year old lone survivor of a quadruple murder/ kidnapping? She is finally done with the criminal cases connected to those crimes and is reportedly beggining to heal. No easy task considering that she has had to hold on to the horrible memories of the entire experience in case she was needed to testify against the man that had committed such brutality against her and her beloved family.

On Monday, the very last group of charges against Joseph Duncan were adjudicated with a heaping of 4 more life sentences added atop the 3 he already was serving for the first murders of Shasta's mom, step dad and older brother Slade.

According to Police sources, Duncan reportedly also told the then 8 year old Shasta that he killed Anthony Martinez , going so far as to give details of the crime, this while he had shasta in captivity! And thus, she may very well be called to testify in Anthony's murder trial in California next year. Her dad Steve Groene, wants to avoid this at all costs and he has made it very clear that he thinks that a trial for Anthony is unnecessary, in that it is redundant and costly in terms of both money and pain to all the families involved.

The state of California in turn believes that it owes Anthony and his family, a trial whereby his murderer is formally brought to justice for kidnapping assaulting and taking his life.
This is a tough one and I personally feel that the parents of little Anthony should decide
if there is a trial or not. For some people it would be a pointless formality, but for others, the only way that they can feel a sense of closure. Either way, let the family decide.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/hemet/stories/PE_News_Local_S_duncan05.38a607a.html

Time and Old Wounds: Dr. Petit's Strikes

Below in the italicized text is an article culled from a Blog called "Red Notes from a blue state" written by writer/ columnist Don Pesci.

I particularly identified with the closing statement of Dr Petit's, for indeed so many crime victims feel once again victimized by the very system that is in place to protect and provide justice for them. There is even a name for it now its called legal abuse syndrome.
Perhaps in 2009 Connecticut will address this in a viable, honest fashion.

Time and Old wounds; Dr Petit's "strikes"
There are some wounds time won’t heal. Such is the murder of three members of Dr. William Petit’s household.

The household -- Dr. Petit, his wife and two daughters – was attacked by two career criminals, Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky, both on parole.

A recent news story – “Second look, A Year After Cheshire Home Invasion, William Petit Speaks Up For Tougher Crime Laws” – pithily describes what happened: “On a July night in 2007, intruders clubbed and trussed Petit at his home in Cheshire, the start of an ordeal that ended with the deaths of his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and their daughters, Hayley, 17, and 12-year-old Michaela.

“Hawke-Petit and Michaela were raped. The mother was strangled. Both daughters were left bound in their beds, the house doused with gasoline and set afire.”

The scene of the crime has since disappeared. Where before there was a house and a family, now there is nothing. The erasure process, sometimes confused with a healing process, has now begun. It is as if Huns had appeared out of the black night, destroyed a village, burnt it to the ground and sowed the scene of the devastation with salt, so that not even the memory of the village would survive.

Since the commission of the crime, Dr. Petit has given up his practice and devoted himself to a worthy cause: He has become, according to one news story, “an activist now, willing to stand with any candidate who pledges to support a mandatory life sentence on violent three-time felons.”

"I support the Three Strikes Now Coalition and the concept because I feel it's the government's first duty to protect its citizens," Petit said. "I'm not sure we need much government if the government can't protect us."

The two vandals will be prosecuted under Connecticut’s Rube Goldberg-like death penalty process, and by the time justice is finally served, there will be, it may be safely predicted, dozens of “second looks.” Dr. Petit, the sole survivor of the murder of his family, will have miles to go before he sleeps. Ahead of him lies the trial of the two career criminals, a series of appeals, a mandatory sentencing, common in death penalty cases, trial appeals, sentencing hearing appeals, and finally, at the end of a seemingly interminable string of trials, re-trials, hearings, rehearings, appeals and unexpected interventions, Dr. Petit may, if he is not by that time spiritually exhausted, receive an approximation of justice.

We have seen this process in play during the trial and execution of Michael Ross, a legally twisted affair in which a judge philosophically opposed to the death penalty intervened in the case at the last moment and bullied Ross’ lawyer with the suspension of his law license until he agreed to yet another death penalty hearing. Even Ross, by this time, was exhausted: He wanted the death penalty imposed, if only to spare the families of his eight victims further unnecessary emotional suffering.

One of the fathers of the last 14 year-old girl murdered by Ross weathered all the media hoopla, all the trials and hearings, many more than three, and after Ross’ execution was delayed once again by the intervening judge, some solicitous reporter stuck a mic in his face and asked him for his “reaction.”

The face that looked out at the camera was spiritually wasted.

“Everything has been said.”

The dogged reporter asked him again for his reaction, and she was greeted with an exhausted silence.

No one was counting the number of strikes, many more than three, the man had been lashed with.

The Ross trial now has become a distant memory. It will appear in reports during the Hayes and Komisarjevsky trial as a piquant statistic.

"Even now,” Dr Petit said in a recent interview, “you feel like you are being abused. Somebody murders your family in 2007, and they tell you they're going to go to trial in 2010. Wow, what a great system we have."
Posted by Don Pesci at 11:47 PM
Time and Old Wounds: Dr. Petit's Strikes

Mike Lawlor: Soft On Crime

Very good, and timely, article in this week's "headless horseman"