Mar 26, 2009
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!
Mar 25, 2009
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
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
Mar 22, 2009
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.
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.
Mar 14, 2009
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.
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.
Mar 5, 2009
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.
(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.
Mar 4, 2009
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
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
Feb 19, 2009
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
.
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
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
.
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
Feb 14, 2009
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.
.
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.
.
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.
.
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.
.
Feb 13, 2009
Violence, sickness, chance wipe out Miss. family
A domestic violence case with shakesperean overtones, this is a very sad story.
Jan 27, 2009
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.
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.
Jan 13, 2009
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?
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?
Jan 9, 2009
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.
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.
Jan 7, 2009
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.
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/ .
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/ .
Dec 28, 2008
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
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
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