Mar 31, 2008
Domestic Violence: The Criminal Justice Response
An excellent book, this is a link to many important excerpts from the E-book
Mar 29, 2008
Connecticut Superior Judge Spada on Voire Dire and Parole issues
Change Parole Rules - And Monitor Those Released by Arthur L. Spada
Note; Arthur L. Spada is a former Connecticut Superior Court judge as well as the former Connecticut State commissioner of public safety during the Rowland administration.
The Petit family tragedy is a metaphor for the pivotal failure of the Connecticut criminal justice system. Interlocking failures culminated in a night of terror orchestrated by recently paroled Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky. The use of electronic ankle bracelets would have prevented this carnage.
The federal government and many of our sister states now embrace the use of attached ankle bracelets for all released felons. Connecticut needs to adopt a similar program. To do otherwise endangers innocents.
The state's prisons have become revolving doors for career criminals. The great wash of criminals cannot be tried because of the state's anachronistic, time-consuming, protracted voire dire requirement. Voire dire is a procedure by which prospective jurors are questioned. In Connecticut, they are questioned individually rather than in a group. Neither the federal government nor any of our sister states employ Connecticut's individual voir dire selection for juries.
This results in an abnormally high rate of plea bargaining and an abysmally low rate of trials. Every defendant in a plea-bargained disposition negotiates his own sentence. The result? Excessively short sentences for serious crimes.
Hayes, harnessed with a conviction record of 20 robberies and six larcenies, had plea-bargained for a five-year sentence to a charge of burglary. Hayes served two years and was paroled administratively, without benefit of a public hearing; nor were his victims notified. This miscue was legitimized by the recent enactment of Public Act 04-234.
This law must be repealed or seriously amended. Its unabashed purpose is "to reduce by 20 percent the number of inmates jailed due to technical violations of probation or parole." The message to parolees is no re-incarceration unless you repeatedly violate your conditions of parole or commit a serious crime.
But Public Act 04-234 causes additional harm to our citizenry. Except for a handful of heinous crimes, sentenced inmates are now eligible for administrative parole almost immediately. A staff clerk reviews a file without notifying the victims and then submits a recommendation - but there is no public record of the reason for the recommendation.
There is even more harm contained in the law: Inmates can be transferred to halfway houses 18 months before their release date. The Department of Correction can release inmates charged with a misdemeanor and Class D felons who cannot make bail. (This raises a serious separation of powers issue because bail-setting is a judicial function.) The Correction Department can release inmates for work or educational purposes to a community or private residence. The commissioner can issue renewable 30-day furloughs. Drug-dependent sellers can twice enter a treatment program in lieu of prosecution or jail.
The most contemptible provision of Public Act 04-234 is the shift of responsibility: It places the onus on the parole board to show why it should not grant parole rather than putting the burden on the prisoner to prove why he should be released: "The Board must give specific reasons why the person and public would not benefit from the person's parole while transitioning to the community."
This new standard is a stark affront to the law-abiding citizens of our state.
Connecticut's prisons must accommodate the influx of 5,000 prisoners annually. Because the prison population is at near-maximum, that means 5,000 inmates must be transferred or paroled to the community. The political resistance to building new prisons or placing inmates in out-of-state prisons mandates the use of electronic ankle bracelets.
These bracelets are electronically connected to global positioning satellites. The satellite can continuously transmit digital radio signals pinpointing the parolee's location. Currently, 268 sex offenders are electronically monitored by the state's parole division.
To protect citizens and to ensure against another Cheshire redux, we now need to use electronic ankle bracelets on all released felons during their entire parole period and on career criminals during fixed time periods beyond parole.
Ironically, the GPS solution would save taxpayers money, although saving lives and property, not saving dollars, would be the reason to use ankle bracelets. Inmates cost an average $30,000 per year; the GPS system costs an average $4,650 per year. The GPS can help parole officers enforce curfews and keep parolees within circumscribed boundaries.
The repeal of Public Act 04-234, the removal of voir dire in criminal cases and the use of electronic ankle bracelets for all paroled and career criminals will usher a new day of domestic tranquility. Such changes would burnish the images of the Cheshire innocents. ________
This is a reprint of the article as it was originally published last august, just after the Petit family assaults and murders In Cheshire Ct. It was published as an Op-ed piece in The Hartford Courant and then posted on a website called The Real Cost of Prisons weblog
http://realcostofprisons.org/blog/archives/2007/08/ct_more_extreme.html
The Piece was written by a learned Superior Court Justice by the name of Spada who was also former director of Public safety during the Rowland administration.
Many of the issues broached within the article have yet to be resolved and many members of the public continue to be unaware that such things are even happening in this state., let alone why they are happening. I urge you all to read it and to get involved!
More on the Voire dire practices in Conn later...
Mar 26, 2008
Debate over three strikes bill not over
This article is dated from over a week ago, just prior to the three strikes bill last being voted down in the General Assembly. However, I so liked what State Representitive Adinolfi had to say (in the final paragraph of the article), that I am re-linking to it today...
In response to a statement re the inherent problematic nature of the 3 strikes law made by Conn Chief States Attorney Kane of the following approximation
"What about the defendant who has two burglary convictions on his record and then gets in a bar fight and breaks someone ribs? That guy could conceivably recieve a third strike (resulting in a possible sentence of 25 yr( with parole after 85 percent of sentence), via any of the four 3 strikes proposals before the GA ) I would not want to prosecute that case under a three strikes contingent." ...
Our insightful Representative Adinolfi responded in kind with "why don't you ask the guy who got his ribs broken in the bar how he feels !" And he elaborated of course with his own take on the crime situation in his nighborhood where folks have put deadbolts on thier bedroom doors and such. He has consistantly expressed his support of a three strikes law.Bravo to legislator aldinolfi, for This is where the thinking really needs to change regarding violence- in general; it is against the law, it is not acceptable, period. Not between a man and his wife or partner not between a parent and child and not between one man and another in a bar or anywhere else for that matter. There is almost always a victim whenever violence occurs,
It should be mentioned that Rep Aldinolfi resides in Cheshire in the very neighborhood where The Petit mother and children were assaulted and murdered, just a block or so from where the embers of what was once the Petits home, stands as a constant reminder of this horrible -and unneccesary tragedy. . To me, Mr Aldinolfi's opoinion on criminal/judicial matters should be that much more valued within the context of these Judicial reform sessions. States attorney Kane who is in effect the states top prosecutor, was asked to attend this session as a consultant in effect in order to testify about the effectiveness of a strict sentencing law such as three strikes.
In addition, the preceding statement is contains a rather misleading example by Connecticut's head State's Attorney- ie Since we've already learned since the Cheshire crimes, that house burglary was not considered a violent or serious felony in this state until just two months ago; And then directly as a result of those assaults and murders, our GA, under public pressure passed a bill making only night time home invasions "serious' felonies. Again, This, because it has been shown that this type of crime is committed by criminals who are willing to resort to violence, and thus murder within the commission of those crimes. Therefore, these, the most serious form of home burglary are the only type of burglary that would constitute the first two felony convictions that could be considered as two of the three strikes triad. Not just any ole burglary- as Mr Kanes statement would have us believe.
Furthermore, I can tell you that if a man starts a bar fight that results in broken ribs ("only")
and doesn't have a history of violent crime on his record, there is little chance that he will get convicted of felony assault in this state-- That is, if he is even charged with assault in the second degree, which is dubious, and Ill tackle that in a moment...
According to a former head prosecutor at Ga2 in Bridgeport Connecticut, in order for a felony assault to "stick" ie a conviction to be made (once the police have arrested and charged a person with such) the ownice is upon the victim to prove that he or she is permanently damaged by the injury sustained within that attack--permanently damaged.
Now I personally could find no such legal precedent anywhere in writing, regarding our Connecticut statutes on criminal assault charges in the 2nd or first degree, the two felonious versions of assault (assault in the first being with a deadly weapon.) So, I can only suppose that this is an unwritten prosecutorial "guideline" and perhaps exclusive to the prosecutors at Ga2 for that matter. In addition, depending on the jurisdiction and thus the responding Police dept on this bar fight scene, most likely this crime would result in an assault in the third charge which is a misdemeanor-not a felony and therefore not a candidate charge for the three strikes situation in any event.
But lets say, for sake of argument that somehow the police decided that the intent was serious physical harm to the victim within that broken rib bar fight --And, that there was a corresponding record of medical treatment and diagnosis that backed up a "serious" injury to this victims ribs. And Thus, the police did charge the attacker with the more serious- felony assault two.
When that charge gets to the courts, it is almost certain to be dropped right down to either a misdemeanor assault three within a plea deal, or very conceivably nolled altogether- the latter if that defendant has no history of violent crime or any "substantial" criminal record.
Substantial excludes conviction for crimes such as check forgery or D.U.I . A "Nollie" involves a criminal record becoming eradicated after 13 months if the defendant commits no other crimes within that 13 month period. If they do commit another crime they can be re-sentenced for the first a.r'd one.
It should also be mentioned that there is the a chance that this theoretical charge of assault could be dropped completely or the defendant given accelerated rehabilitation' if it is charged or decided by the prosecutor to be a non- felony assault- A.R is a sentencing program in Connecticut which is used for 1st time offenders and results in a sealed record for the defendant, whereby those charges may not ever be used against he/she in future court proceedings- if and when he breaks the law again.
So if this is the best argument that states attorney Kane could come up with as to why he feels that a three strikes sentencing law is not a good idea for prosecutors then I'd say that his argument does not have much merit.
The fight for a three strikes is not over; This legislative session is not over until early May and as the story linked to the previous Post explains, the last vote was 16 to 25 against, with the GA'S Republicans promising to attach the bill onto another one if need be, in order to force a re-vote.
We, the public-and our like minded legislators should use this time to band together and to avail ourselves of every bit of information we can garner about this kind of sentencing law.
Our leaders may then fine- tailor a state version that addresses and remedies any legitimate pitfalls that are being cited as roadblocks to this bills passage. As well, be readied to give sound intelligent response to the various invalid reasons being presented for not passing this bill.
This state must pass a viable Repeat violent offender law-one that is actually going to be used, not sit on the shelf gathering dust, as the one that is currently on the books seems to be doing. The law needs to be applied consistantly-not on a whim, with perhaps the ownice on a judge, as to why an exception should be be made in a particlular criminal case, where it doesnt serve Justice.
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com//ci_8554498
In response to a statement re the inherent problematic nature of the 3 strikes law made by Conn Chief States Attorney Kane of the following approximation
"What about the defendant who has two burglary convictions on his record and then gets in a bar fight and breaks someone ribs? That guy could conceivably recieve a third strike (resulting in a possible sentence of 25 yr( with parole after 85 percent of sentence), via any of the four 3 strikes proposals before the GA ) I would not want to prosecute that case under a three strikes contingent." ...
Our insightful Representative Adinolfi responded in kind with "why don't you ask the guy who got his ribs broken in the bar how he feels !" And he elaborated of course with his own take on the crime situation in his nighborhood where folks have put deadbolts on thier bedroom doors and such. He has consistantly expressed his support of a three strikes law.Bravo to legislator aldinolfi, for This is where the thinking really needs to change regarding violence- in general; it is against the law, it is not acceptable, period. Not between a man and his wife or partner not between a parent and child and not between one man and another in a bar or anywhere else for that matter. There is almost always a victim whenever violence occurs,
It should be mentioned that Rep Aldinolfi resides in Cheshire in the very neighborhood where The Petit mother and children were assaulted and murdered, just a block or so from where the embers of what was once the Petits home, stands as a constant reminder of this horrible -and unneccesary tragedy. . To me, Mr Aldinolfi's opoinion on criminal/judicial matters should be that much more valued within the context of these Judicial reform sessions. States attorney Kane who is in effect the states top prosecutor, was asked to attend this session as a consultant in effect in order to testify about the effectiveness of a strict sentencing law such as three strikes.
In addition, the preceding statement is contains a rather misleading example by Connecticut's head State's Attorney- ie Since we've already learned since the Cheshire crimes, that house burglary was not considered a violent or serious felony in this state until just two months ago; And then directly as a result of those assaults and murders, our GA, under public pressure passed a bill making only night time home invasions "serious' felonies. Again, This, because it has been shown that this type of crime is committed by criminals who are willing to resort to violence, and thus murder within the commission of those crimes. Therefore, these, the most serious form of home burglary are the only type of burglary that would constitute the first two felony convictions that could be considered as two of the three strikes triad. Not just any ole burglary- as Mr Kanes statement would have us believe.
Furthermore, I can tell you that if a man starts a bar fight that results in broken ribs ("only")
and doesn't have a history of violent crime on his record, there is little chance that he will get convicted of felony assault in this state-- That is, if he is even charged with assault in the second degree, which is dubious, and Ill tackle that in a moment...
According to a former head prosecutor at Ga2 in Bridgeport Connecticut, in order for a felony assault to "stick" ie a conviction to be made (once the police have arrested and charged a person with such) the ownice is upon the victim to prove that he or she is permanently damaged by the injury sustained within that attack--permanently damaged.
Now I personally could find no such legal precedent anywhere in writing, regarding our Connecticut statutes on criminal assault charges in the 2nd or first degree, the two felonious versions of assault (assault in the first being with a deadly weapon.) So, I can only suppose that this is an unwritten prosecutorial "guideline" and perhaps exclusive to the prosecutors at Ga2 for that matter. In addition, depending on the jurisdiction and thus the responding Police dept on this bar fight scene, most likely this crime would result in an assault in the third charge which is a misdemeanor-not a felony and therefore not a candidate charge for the three strikes situation in any event.
But lets say, for sake of argument that somehow the police decided that the intent was serious physical harm to the victim within that broken rib bar fight --And, that there was a corresponding record of medical treatment and diagnosis that backed up a "serious" injury to this victims ribs. And Thus, the police did charge the attacker with the more serious- felony assault two.
When that charge gets to the courts, it is almost certain to be dropped right down to either a misdemeanor assault three within a plea deal, or very conceivably nolled altogether- the latter if that defendant has no history of violent crime or any "substantial" criminal record.
Substantial excludes conviction for crimes such as check forgery or D.U.I . A "Nollie" involves a criminal record becoming eradicated after 13 months if the defendant commits no other crimes within that 13 month period. If they do commit another crime they can be re-sentenced for the first a.r'd one.
It should also be mentioned that there is the a chance that this theoretical charge of assault could be dropped completely or the defendant given accelerated rehabilitation' if it is charged or decided by the prosecutor to be a non- felony assault- A.R is a sentencing program in Connecticut which is used for 1st time offenders and results in a sealed record for the defendant, whereby those charges may not ever be used against he/she in future court proceedings- if and when he breaks the law again.
So if this is the best argument that states attorney Kane could come up with as to why he feels that a three strikes sentencing law is not a good idea for prosecutors then I'd say that his argument does not have much merit.
The fight for a three strikes is not over; This legislative session is not over until early May and as the story linked to the previous Post explains, the last vote was 16 to 25 against, with the GA'S Republicans promising to attach the bill onto another one if need be, in order to force a re-vote.
We, the public-and our like minded legislators should use this time to band together and to avail ourselves of every bit of information we can garner about this kind of sentencing law.
Our leaders may then fine- tailor a state version that addresses and remedies any legitimate pitfalls that are being cited as roadblocks to this bills passage. As well, be readied to give sound intelligent response to the various invalid reasons being presented for not passing this bill.
This state must pass a viable Repeat violent offender law-one that is actually going to be used, not sit on the shelf gathering dust, as the one that is currently on the books seems to be doing. The law needs to be applied consistantly-not on a whim, with perhaps the ownice on a judge, as to why an exception should be be made in a particlular criminal case, where it doesnt serve Justice.
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com//ci_8554498
Mar 22, 2008
Mar 16, 2008
Petit family basketball fund-raiser a success...
Looks like "The Dunk It" fund raiser for MS met its target objective and also served as a some collective healing for the Cheshire community...
http://www.wfsb.com/news/15608469/detail.html
http://www.wfsb.com/news/15608469/detail.html
Mar 14, 2008
The GE 5K Road Race
Reading about this latest benefit for The Petit family foundation made me weepy yesterday-
a good weepy however...http://www.petitroadrace.com/index.shtml
I'd heard Dr Petit speak in an interview a while back about the immense responsibility he
felt in trying to decide the best uses for the many donations that were coming in in his family's
name. I knew that a good deal of money was being channelled to The MS foundation-
this was a very important cause for the family while they were alive and Dr Petit wanted to continue this important work in their honor.
I'd watched, and indeed written about, the various philanthropic activities that honored and
kept alive the Petit's giving spirit. I knew that some of the donated monies were also going
to fund education for deserving young women, and that of course is always a good thing.
But I had quietly hoped in time to see what I am seeing now; the Petit family foundation has turned its collective attention to a need that is very close to my own heart, and that is
victims of violent crime. As violent crime, and indeed violence against women, was
at the very core
of what robbed this world of Jennifer, Haley and Michaela Petit, this is a beautiful way of
making good of something terrible and in this way, defeating the evil that brought this all to bear.
God bless this family and continue to heal them, and may we all continue the spirit of being
"the change that we wish to see in the world. "
(Mahatma Gandhi quoted by Michaela Petit in her Facebook page 2007)
The GE 5K Road Race
a good weepy however...http://www.petitroadrace.com/index.shtml
I'd heard Dr Petit speak in an interview a while back about the immense responsibility he
felt in trying to decide the best uses for the many donations that were coming in in his family's
name. I knew that a good deal of money was being channelled to The MS foundation-
this was a very important cause for the family while they were alive and Dr Petit wanted to continue this important work in their honor.
I'd watched, and indeed written about, the various philanthropic activities that honored and
kept alive the Petit's giving spirit. I knew that some of the donated monies were also going
to fund education for deserving young women, and that of course is always a good thing.
But I had quietly hoped in time to see what I am seeing now; the Petit family foundation has turned its collective attention to a need that is very close to my own heart, and that is
victims of violent crime. As violent crime, and indeed violence against women, was
at the very core
of what robbed this world of Jennifer, Haley and Michaela Petit, this is a beautiful way of
making good of something terrible and in this way, defeating the evil that brought this all to bear.
God bless this family and continue to heal them, and may we all continue the spirit of being
"the change that we wish to see in the world. "
(Mahatma Gandhi quoted by Michaela Petit in her Facebook page 2007)
The GE 5K Road Race
Mar 11, 2008
Mar 9, 2008
The Allstate Foundation Click to Empower Survivors of Domestic Violence
Hi Everyone!
Please visit this site http://www.clicktoempower.com/ and simply click on the empower link in order for Allstate to donate one dollar to help a victim of domestic violence to regain her life!
Each person may click once daily and for those of you with blogs, websites and/or facebook pages, you can follow this same link in order to copy and paste an html code for the "click to Empower" button on your own site:
Just follow the "spread the word" link at the top of the "Empower" webpage- You'll be helping a really good cause, as well as raising awareness about partner and domestic violence, the number one cause of homicide against women in this country.
Please visit this site http://www.clicktoempower.com/ and simply click on the empower link in order for Allstate to donate one dollar to help a victim of domestic violence to regain her life!
Each person may click once daily and for those of you with blogs, websites and/or facebook pages, you can follow this same link in order to copy and paste an html code for the "click to Empower" button on your own site:
Just follow the "spread the word" link at the top of the "Empower" webpage- You'll be helping a really good cause, as well as raising awareness about partner and domestic violence, the number one cause of homicide against women in this country.
Mar 5, 2008
Government Innovators Network: article re: judicial reforms
Although this is a dated article, Jan 21 to be exact- I'm linking to it because it is very well written and contains retrospectively, a good deal of information regarding Connecticut's Judicial Crisis, specifically as it relates to the legislative body and the Crime Reform Package.
As you'll recall, some of the proposed reforms were voted in during a January special session of the Gneral assembly, but others, such as the highly debated 3 strike law- were not passed.
And still other's yet were passed but in what many considered half-way measures; For example, the much anticipated new home Invasion law, created largely in response to the Petit family murders in Cheshire, this past July, was passed, but in a pared down version that designated only night time home break ins as a "serious" home invasion felony, which carries the correlating 10 years minimum sentence!
That version of the bill was voted in despite numerous sound arguments against the night time-only qualifier, which as some legislators pointed out, would leave-vulnerable any residents who are home during the day, such as stay at home moms, senior citizens and those who work third shift.
Obviously there is still a great deal of work to be done concerning our Connecticut's Judicial system. Please avail yourselves of knowledge and thus, the power to change. Read as much as you can about the issues before us, familiarize yourself with the players in our states general assembly. Find your own local area representitives-if you arent already familiar with them-_
( I wasn't for years) you can look them up online on the CONNECTICUT Government website. Then do a bit of research into what your rep's history has been regarding voting on issues within the general assembly; Do thier votes speak well of them, ie are they soft on crime-or tough... or worst of all- noncomittal. (I believe in taking a firm stand for what you believe in- whatever it is!)
Plainly speaking there is a lot of self eductating that the average citizen can do to find out how our states judiciary operates ---officially--- and then in actuality Once you understand what is actually happening on a day to day basis within our courts, then youre better able to judge what changes need to be made. things aren't likely to change very much.the fact that this is an election year also helps our case tremendously.Politicians are politicians and they want and need our votes;we can make it clear that we demand our reps to be tough on crime, or we will find another candiddate that is.
Government Innovators Network: Article re JUSTICE REFORM
As you'll recall, some of the proposed reforms were voted in during a January special session of the Gneral assembly, but others, such as the highly debated 3 strike law- were not passed.
And still other's yet were passed but in what many considered half-way measures; For example, the much anticipated new home Invasion law, created largely in response to the Petit family murders in Cheshire, this past July, was passed, but in a pared down version that designated only night time home break ins as a "serious" home invasion felony, which carries the correlating 10 years minimum sentence!
That version of the bill was voted in despite numerous sound arguments against the night time-only qualifier, which as some legislators pointed out, would leave-vulnerable any residents who are home during the day, such as stay at home moms, senior citizens and those who work third shift.
Obviously there is still a great deal of work to be done concerning our Connecticut's Judicial system. Please avail yourselves of knowledge and thus, the power to change. Read as much as you can about the issues before us, familiarize yourself with the players in our states general assembly. Find your own local area representitives-if you arent already familiar with them-_
( I wasn't for years) you can look them up online on the CONNECTICUT Government website. Then do a bit of research into what your rep's history has been regarding voting on issues within the general assembly; Do thier votes speak well of them, ie are they soft on crime-or tough... or worst of all- noncomittal. (I believe in taking a firm stand for what you believe in- whatever it is!)
Plainly speaking there is a lot of self eductating that the average citizen can do to find out how our states judiciary operates ---officially--- and then in actuality Once you understand what is actually happening on a day to day basis within our courts, then youre better able to judge what changes need to be made. things aren't likely to change very much.the fact that this is an election year also helps our case tremendously.Politicians are politicians and they want and need our votes;we can make it clear that we demand our reps to be tough on crime, or we will find another candiddate that is.
Government Innovators Network: Article re JUSTICE REFORM
Mar 3, 2008
Petit Family Memorial Basketball Tournament for M.S
On March: 15th
@ Cheshire High School, Cheshire Connecticut
http://www.petitmemorialbball.com/ for more information
@ Cheshire High School, Cheshire Connecticut
http://www.petitmemorialbball.com/ for more information
Feb 29, 2008
Dangerous Relationships - How To Spot an abusive Man
As my regular readers know
I do not promote products on this site, but today I am making a rare exception; clicking on the title header above will bring you to a very important e-book collection about the nature of abusive men. The books were written by Sandra Brown, therapist and counselor who has worked in the field with abusive men, and studied the machinations of their minds as well as their tactical behaviors with women; the choosing, ensnaring and subsequent "breaking down" of the women that they have determined to be " good victims."
Shocking yes, but as you will read these men actually have self admitted modes of operandi; They look for women that have "markers"; low self esteem issues and other characteristics that betray her as good prey for the abuser's wants and needs of the moment.
It should be noted that the term abuse need not always apply to physical abuse, there is a good deal of emotional and psychic abuse within the framework of these relationships.
This three e-book collection is 47.00 dollars, which is steep for most of us and utterly
prohibitive for many others that need it the most; I for one would like the author to condense the 3 part series into one less expensive book, and thus make it more available to all women
-
But for now it is what it is, and it still may be the smartest 50 dollars that any woman can spend. I feel that This series should be a staple for every woman in this country. It needn't be read on just an "as needed" basis --. It should become a young woman's guide to the types of
man that they need to avoid at all costs. This kind of information and education is best amassed before we-or someone we love, runs into this type of predator, but can also be a lifesaving tool if already entangles with just such a man.
You will hear from some of these men's own mouths how they have developed a built in radar for women that simply put, make good "victims". This includes women with excessively kind and forgiving natures, Rescuers, care-takers, the type of woman that believes that there is good in everyone and that if a person does terrible things, then they must have been mistreated themselves somehow, to become that way. Unfortunately this kind of thinking
And just as importantly, become the type of woman that is a terrible candidate for the predator's wish list. This means; learn to love yourself, whatever it takes, continuously avail yourself of new learning.. you will become a force to reckon with.
. And for the healthy, good-intentioned men out there ; This series is an important gift for any woman in your life that you care about. We need your involvement as healthy and aware men in dealing with this type of predator that happens to be the same gender as you; remember he doesn't always appear to be a controlling bully or an abusive lummox, and this is the difficulty with psychopaths- they are often charming and enigmatic-at first-even with men, in the sense that they will try to befriend via flattery or feigned common interests, any man that they perceive as in their way, within the periphery of any woman that they are "after" at the moment; for example, the father or brother of the young woman that he wishes to "date" Watch that charm turn into ugly fury if the predator is blocked in some way from his target, by that same person; this is when one will typically see the true nature of this dangerous predator.
The only way to combat this type of man is to be very aware of who and what he is from the earliest possible moment that he makes contact with you or your loved ones, life.
For Once he gets his talons into a woman , a psychological and emotional syndrome is consciously set into motion, whereupon the woman comes to develop a sick symbiotic attachment to her abuser/user, in much the same way surviving kidnap victims sometimes do for their captors; Most of this based upon a ill placed gratitude that the captor has magnanimously "allowed" the captive to live, in effect purchasing that victims loyalty as well as sometimes, their desire and will to leave. This seemingly bizarre attachment is what's at the heart of the battered woman's syndrome, and experts have come to understand well the powerful forces that drive otherwise sane, intelligent women into staying with abusive men.
For many many years until quite recently many people, even policemen and justice professionals, mistakenly believed that due to the fact that the abused woman didn't leave
their abusive partner, indeed often behaved in bizarre behavior, such as refusing to testify against him or even bailing their attacker out of jail after an arrest, she must either
a) like the abuse or
b) provoke/ instigate the abuse, and .
thus
c) in effect... deserve the abuse
Believe it or not This core belief system is still alive and well today within the construct and daily machinations of many court systems, This, as those systems are comprised of individuals-people, who are bound by their own personal prejudice and-ignorance or just plain apathy.
At the very heart of this is this grievous habit of others to place blame upon the victim of what are often physically brutal assault crimes, simply because the victim had been in some kind of relationship with her assailant at some point in time ie she knew him.
In no other area of violent crime would we ever think to blame the victim for crimes against them! And this blame, vocalized or not, is even more destructive to a victim of violence then the violence itself. If you consider that the type of woman who generally finds herself in an abusive relationship is typically suffering from low self esteem, she will often all too willingly enter that self blaming space that has been valiantly cleared for her by a helpful criminal judicial process. This is where her soul finally breaks upon itself and she is forever lost.
That is why understanding the patterns and cycles of abusive relationships, is so crucial and it must begin on an individual basis one by one until it becomes a social understanding.
Abusive Relationships - Dangerous Relationships - Domestic Violence - How To Spot A Dangerous Man
I do not promote products on this site, but today I am making a rare exception; clicking on the title header above will bring you to a very important e-book collection about the nature of abusive men. The books were written by Sandra Brown, therapist and counselor who has worked in the field with abusive men, and studied the machinations of their minds as well as their tactical behaviors with women; the choosing, ensnaring and subsequent "breaking down" of the women that they have determined to be " good victims."Shocking yes, but as you will read these men actually have self admitted modes of operandi; They look for women that have "markers"; low self esteem issues and other characteristics that betray her as good prey for the abuser's wants and needs of the moment.
It should be noted that the term abuse need not always apply to physical abuse, there is a good deal of emotional and psychic abuse within the framework of these relationships.
This three e-book collection is 47.00 dollars, which is steep for most of us and utterly
prohibitive for many others that need it the most; I for one would like the author to condense the 3 part series into one less expensive book, and thus make it more available to all women
-
But for now it is what it is, and it still may be the smartest 50 dollars that any woman can spend. I feel that This series should be a staple for every woman in this country. It needn't be read on just an "as needed" basis --. It should become a young woman's guide to the types of
man that they need to avoid at all costs. This kind of information and education is best amassed before we-or someone we love, runs into this type of predator, but can also be a lifesaving tool if already entangles with just such a man.
You will hear from some of these men's own mouths how they have developed a built in radar for women that simply put, make good "victims". This includes women with excessively kind and forgiving natures, Rescuers, care-takers, the type of woman that believes that there is good in everyone and that if a person does terrible things, then they must have been mistreated themselves somehow, to become that way. Unfortunately this kind of thinking
And just as importantly, become the type of woman that is a terrible candidate for the predator's wish list. This means; learn to love yourself, whatever it takes, continuously avail yourself of new learning.. you will become a force to reckon with.
. And for the healthy, good-intentioned men out there ; This series is an important gift for any woman in your life that you care about. We need your involvement as healthy and aware men in dealing with this type of predator that happens to be the same gender as you; remember he doesn't always appear to be a controlling bully or an abusive lummox, and this is the difficulty with psychopaths- they are often charming and enigmatic-at first-even with men, in the sense that they will try to befriend via flattery or feigned common interests, any man that they perceive as in their way, within the periphery of any woman that they are "after" at the moment; for example, the father or brother of the young woman that he wishes to "date" Watch that charm turn into ugly fury if the predator is blocked in some way from his target, by that same person; this is when one will typically see the true nature of this dangerous predator.
The only way to combat this type of man is to be very aware of who and what he is from the earliest possible moment that he makes contact with you or your loved ones, life.
For Once he gets his talons into a woman , a psychological and emotional syndrome is consciously set into motion, whereupon the woman comes to develop a sick symbiotic attachment to her abuser/user, in much the same way surviving kidnap victims sometimes do for their captors; Most of this based upon a ill placed gratitude that the captor has magnanimously "allowed" the captive to live, in effect purchasing that victims loyalty as well as sometimes, their desire and will to leave. This seemingly bizarre attachment is what's at the heart of the battered woman's syndrome, and experts have come to understand well the powerful forces that drive otherwise sane, intelligent women into staying with abusive men.
For many many years until quite recently many people, even policemen and justice professionals, mistakenly believed that due to the fact that the abused woman didn't leave
their abusive partner, indeed often behaved in bizarre behavior, such as refusing to testify against him or even bailing their attacker out of jail after an arrest, she must either
a) like the abuse or
b) provoke/ instigate the abuse, and .
thus
c) in effect... deserve the abuse
Believe it or not This core belief system is still alive and well today within the construct and daily machinations of many court systems, This, as those systems are comprised of individuals-people, who are bound by their own personal prejudice and-ignorance or just plain apathy.
At the very heart of this is this grievous habit of others to place blame upon the victim of what are often physically brutal assault crimes, simply because the victim had been in some kind of relationship with her assailant at some point in time ie she knew him.
In no other area of violent crime would we ever think to blame the victim for crimes against them! And this blame, vocalized or not, is even more destructive to a victim of violence then the violence itself. If you consider that the type of woman who generally finds herself in an abusive relationship is typically suffering from low self esteem, she will often all too willingly enter that self blaming space that has been valiantly cleared for her by a helpful criminal judicial process. This is where her soul finally breaks upon itself and she is forever lost.
That is why understanding the patterns and cycles of abusive relationships, is so crucial and it must begin on an individual basis one by one until it becomes a social understanding.
Abusive Relationships - Dangerous Relationships - Domestic Violence - How To Spot A Dangerous Man
Feb 25, 2008
Why won't our Ct Lawmakers get tough-enough on crime?
Hallelujah. Somebody finally zeros in on the crux of the problem with many of our Connecticut legislators as it relates to crime in this state. Click on this title header, its all there.
I can't help but wonder if the only way that anything substantial will ever change in this state regarding the way that they "process" crime, is via a costly lawsuit, as was illustrated by the case against the Torrington Police some years back- when they failed to protect a woman in imminent danger during a domestic dispute; as a result she was very nearly stabbed to death right in front of them.
The ensuing lawsuit brought against the very culpable Torrington Police Dept in effect rewrote the entire State's Police procedure regarding domestic violent crime, and subsequently law enforcements collective attitudes towards D.V. The Police certainly would seem to have learned a valuable and necessary lesson, yet only after being on the losing end of a highly publicized and costly lawsuit brought upon them by the victim and her family-Once again proving that in the end, the almighty dollar is a superior motivational force for change within a change resistant system, such as our Connecticut Justice system...
I can't help but wonder if the only way that anything substantial will ever change in this state regarding the way that they "process" crime, is via a costly lawsuit, as was illustrated by the case against the Torrington Police some years back- when they failed to protect a woman in imminent danger during a domestic dispute; as a result she was very nearly stabbed to death right in front of them.
The ensuing lawsuit brought against the very culpable Torrington Police Dept in effect rewrote the entire State's Police procedure regarding domestic violent crime, and subsequently law enforcements collective attitudes towards D.V. The Police certainly would seem to have learned a valuable and necessary lesson, yet only after being on the losing end of a highly publicized and costly lawsuit brought upon them by the victim and her family-Once again proving that in the end, the almighty dollar is a superior motivational force for change within a change resistant system, such as our Connecticut Justice system...
Feb 22, 2008
Victim Empowerment Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
There is some very helpful information at this site regarding Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as it affects victims of violent crime. There is a lot of academia to sift through and translate, but it is well worth the effort especially if you, or someone you care, about might be suffering from PTSD.
Take it from me, violent crime and PTSD can have debilitating effects on what is left of a victims life, and The way that it is treated, (or not treated) can have a profound effect on the outcome of that persons well being and restoration. Really important stuff.
I've copied an excerpt below outlining the basic steps that are now known to be essential in the process of recovery from Post trauma caused by a violent and traumatic event- or events, such as repeated assaults that can occur over time, as with partner/'domestic violence.
The steps outlined below are in essence the basic tenets of recovery from post trauma. And I must admit, I wish that someone had made me aware of their existence and guided me through them when I was struggling so in the aftermath of my own experience with violent crime. As it turned out I was one of the fortunate few that managed, in time, to make the transition from victim to survivor, despite a profound lack of viable support from my local judiciary, and the community in general--The latter was largely due to a prevailing ignorance and decided unease among many people in dealing with the sensitive issue of violent crime , and the emotional and spiritual toll that it takes on its victims.
Please bear in mind that victims of PTSD can include close family members and/or friends, that via their connection with the victim, have become privy to details of the crime, and thus the terror and pain experienced. In this, they unwittingly re-live the trauma and can experience not only the psychic pain, but even the symptoms of any injuries accrued within the incident. As such, they are often also in need of treatment and counseling
The truth is that I very nearly did not make it through the gates of hell back to wholeness: PTSD sufferers are terribly vulnerable to alcohol and substance abuse, incapacitatiNG depression,
anxiety conditions and often even suicide. The good news is that these fates needn't be inevitable for victims of violence, yet, as often is the case with any true change, that change needs to begin with awareness; starting with the individual, then the community and eventually, society as a whole.
I believe that we owe it to ourselves and to each other, to become more enlightened beings, that do better than putting our collective heads in the sand when something violent and horrible befalls one of us. "The least of our bretheran..."
I suggest following the link below and bookmarking the site to read in segments as it is next to impossible to digest in just one sitting.
Traumatic syndromes as well as the recovery processes have basic features. The primary stages of recovery are:
establishing safety
reconstructing the trauma story
restoring the connection between survivors and their communities
The challenge is to help survivors reconnect the pieces, rebuild history and make meaning of their current symptoms in the light of prior events.
Victim Empowerment Student Material Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Feb 13, 2008
Feb 10, 2008
"Forever Michaela" goes National !
This Channel Eight News clip is about eleven year old Elizabeth Ollero of Cheshire Connecticut and a website tribute she created for her best friend Michaela Rose Petit, who was tragically killed in a home invasion that occurred on July 23rd of this year.
Michaela's father, Dr.William Petit was severely injured in the attack, but managed to break partially free of his binds and escaped through a basement door rolling to a neighbors house calling for help. Noone including the police imagined the intruders had set the home afire mere seconds after his escape. He sustained serious head and brain injuries and lost dangerous amount of blood.
When I read the "Forever Michaela" website in December, I was so moved by this little girl's efforts, I was immediately compelled to write about it ( See December 07 archives )
Earlier today, I saw that a story about the website had made it's way to the national news media: I was thrilled to see what started as a humble little website written with such innocence goodness and love, now getting national media attention
.Not only will the Forever Michaela Website carry a message about violent crime and predators and the huge ripple effect that the trauma creates... that message is incidental to the websites existence, The websites main purpose, as it's young creator tells us, is to carry on the positive memories of who Michaela Petit was in life her kindness her compassion her altruism, these she wants to be Michaela's legacy, rather than focusing upon the nature of her violent death.
Michaela Petit was an unusually thoughtful eleven year old child, as was evidenced on her Face book page, where a quote by Mahatma Gandhi she cited as her favorite quote.
"You must be the change that you wish to see in this world"
This quote and it's message has become the mission statement for the Petit family foundation http://www.petitfamilyfoundation.org/ the non profit charity formed by Mr Petit in the wake of the crimes.
Eleven year old Elizabeth Bolero manged no small feat: she helped restore her friend Michaela Rose Petit back to who she was in life, and she thus will always be. Now, she circles arcs around us, inspiring us, aloft on angel's wings...
Note : If you haven't already done so, please visit the Forever Michaela website.
If you have, please remember to check back in from time to time as the website and the events and charities are fluid and ever changing.
There is a guest memorial, where people from literally all over the world, leave messages of sorrow and hope, comfort and love.
Please lend your support to at least one of the causes carried on in Michaela's name. There is no finer way to honor the life of this child and her family, than to help people in need, in her name.
Michaela's father, Dr.William Petit was severely injured in the attack, but managed to break partially free of his binds and escaped through a basement door rolling to a neighbors house calling for help. Noone including the police imagined the intruders had set the home afire mere seconds after his escape. He sustained serious head and brain injuries and lost dangerous amount of blood.
When I read the "Forever Michaela" website in December, I was so moved by this little girl's efforts, I was immediately compelled to write about it ( See December 07 archives )
Earlier today, I saw that a story about the website had made it's way to the national news media: I was thrilled to see what started as a humble little website written with such innocence goodness and love, now getting national media attention
.Not only will the Forever Michaela Website carry a message about violent crime and predators and the huge ripple effect that the trauma creates... that message is incidental to the websites existence, The websites main purpose, as it's young creator tells us, is to carry on the positive memories of who Michaela Petit was in life her kindness her compassion her altruism, these she wants to be Michaela's legacy, rather than focusing upon the nature of her violent death.
Michaela Petit was an unusually thoughtful eleven year old child, as was evidenced on her Face book page, where a quote by Mahatma Gandhi she cited as her favorite quote.
"You must be the change that you wish to see in this world"
This quote and it's message has become the mission statement for the Petit family foundation http://www.petitfamilyfoundation.org/ the non profit charity formed by Mr Petit in the wake of the crimes.
Eleven year old Elizabeth Bolero manged no small feat: she helped restore her friend Michaela Rose Petit back to who she was in life, and she thus will always be. Now, she circles arcs around us, inspiring us, aloft on angel's wings...
Note : If you haven't already done so, please visit the Forever Michaela website.
If you have, please remember to check back in from time to time as the website and the events and charities are fluid and ever changing.
There is a guest memorial, where people from literally all over the world, leave messages of sorrow and hope, comfort and love.
Please lend your support to at least one of the causes carried on in Michaela's name. There is no finer way to honor the life of this child and her family, than to help people in need, in her name.
Feb 7, 2008
Lawmaker's Wife Walks In On Burglary - Connecticut News Story - WFSB Hartford
Well I find this story very ironic indeed, when you consider that the largely democratic Connecticut General Assembly just voted down a proposed amendment that would have made any burglary of a home automatically classified as a class b felony, with an accompanying stiff minimum sentence.
The G.A decided instead to vote in an amendment with decidedly less teeth, whereby breaking into ones home at night-time only would be classified as that "home invasion" carrying with it the more serious felony charge with a minimum 10 yr sentence .
You will note that the man whose home was burglarized in the above article, was in fact broken into during the day, and the one thing that everyone fears in this situation, happened; his wife stopped off at her home between appointments and wound up walking straight into two men robbing her home. This scenario is precisely one of the reasons that many citizens in the general public were not satisfied with the burglary/home invasion amendment that was passed.
Reasons for the dissent varied, but a central theme was that any time a person enters a home surreptitiously and illegally, there is a huge risk for potential violence-- if anyone is home or comes home during the commission of that crime.
An important consideration in any decision regarding the crime of home break-ins, needs to include the well documented intell that shows a direct correlation between home burglaries/break ins and more serious crime, such as sexual assault, abductions and murder. There are many instances where a criminal is arrested for burglary or trespassing, when in reality his motivation was more sinister, and either something scared him off or)he got caught before anything happened or his desired target was not at home.
Thanks to the study of criminal psychology, we now know that there are stages in the evolution of sexual predators. They rarely simply leap straight to rape and murder, And one of the classic
earliest criminal behaviors of a sex offender/murderer is what used to be called peeping tom's but is now more aptly called stalking. With the advent of readily available tools to aid such criminals like night vision glasses (such as komisarjevsky used for many of his break ins while scoping out his targeted victims)and long range listening devices-(can be bought in children's science toy stores) as well as thousands of internet sources for obtaining surveillance equipment and methods, not to mention the same easy internet acquisition of personal information regarding home addresses with corresponding layouts of houses, its fair to say that we have entered a new arena for the predators of the world. We need to be armed with counter measures beginning with educating ourselves and making intelligent laws and strict well aimed sentencing provisions and seeing to it that they are actually used within our courts.
Within this same discussion regarding burglary reclassification, some inisghtful members of the senate and General assembly brought up the issue of the now vulnerable folks who work third shift and or stay at home moms and the elderly, in the institiution of the new proposed amendments limiting home invasion to evening only break ins. Despite these and other practical issues with the night only version of the law it was passed none the less.
And of course what this means is that we can expect a huge surge of break ins into our homes during the day, as word of the minimum 10 yr sentence for night break ins gets out. Not the best of reasoning regarding this amendment folks. The new law should have simply read that any illegal break in into a home-any-is now a serious felony carrying a minimum sentence, period. And if a compromise was absolutely neccesary, than at the very least it should have read that any break in where a person is home, will result in the same class b felony and minimum prison sentence.
The idea is supposed to be to deter crimes that can result in violence, we did the same for DUI, and DUI is a much more passive crime, usually lacking intent to harm, but putting people at risk for harm thru stupidity.and recklessness, While breaking into a home is much more purposeful, predatorial and consciously criminal .
I also couldn't help but notice the very high bail that these two burglars got on a "simple (ie daytime)burglary, albeit on a member of the Connecticut legislature-... 250,000 dollars each!!
The average bail for this type of crime historically run from 5,000 to 50 000 at the very highest end. NowThis bothers me for the following reasons; if the legislators as a body are choosing to take more lenient and less decisive action than thier citizen constituants clearly want for themselves, than by god, they should have to live with the choices they've made, and the same broken system (which they happen to be perpetuating with lack of decisive and intelligent action) that any victim of crime in Connecticut must contend with!
This means; no special conditions or punishment for the "alleged" criminals that broke into the legislators house. While of course as a compassionate human being I am sorry for this man and his wife, I am still very troubled by the double judicial standard that clearly exists for this man in the form of the obscenely high bail set for the two men that attempted to rob his home.
To give you an example of what the average bail for a residential burglary looks like; Mr komisarjevsky's( co murderer of the Petit woman and children) bail amount when he was caught for his last string of burglaries in 2003 -was 30,000. And remember he was a repeat offender at this point, having already served time for another string of break ins and before that a juvie record for arson
To put it into yet another perspective, a man who was charged with assault in the 2nd degree-felony-unlawful restraint in first degree-felony- terroristic threatening and stalking class a misdemeanors (all committed against me) was given a 50 000 bail at GA2 Bridgeport
in the year 2000. This was for brutally violent crimes folks, thus one can easily see
the disparity here.
Our assemblymen is already receiving special treatment as a victim of crime from the court-
and we haven't yet approached the actual judicial proceedings yet.
Needless to say, neither "defendant" in the legislator's break in made their 250 000 whopping bail ( which was the intention of such a high bail amount in the first place.) And I don't want to be misunderstood here-I am all for being tough on crime- and criminals- However I don't like it when people that work for the state, indeed help to make our laws, receive special treatment when they become the unfortunate victim of a crime here.
Its now more important than ever that they are treated as any other victim, as otherwise they will then never experience the frustrating, and at times heartbreaking reality of an indifferent, lackluster, and often inept judicial system. The very same that any victim of crime in this state must endure.
Bottomline is that it is up to our legislators and Governor Rell to break down the walls of Connecticut's broken Judicial system. In order for our courts to work properly, we must
clean house.
We will then need a clear presence in the form of a watchdog/oversight agency implemented for each courthouse in the state. This must include a valid system for victims of crime to file complaints against prosecutors that are handling thier cases in what they perceive as i
nadequate or irresponsible fashion. This includes proposed plea bargains for crimes against these victims. This is crucial as plea bargains are the standard way of resolving crime in our courts and this all takes place outside of the courtroom prior to the official resloution hearing. The victim of said crimes and criminal-often do not find out until it is too late, and even when they do know prior to the official resolution of the case they have no say whatsoever over a plea that the prosecuctor has offered to the defendent (ie criminal)
I amnjot talking about the current victim advocate offices that are operating in some Domestic violence dockets in the state. This agency clearly must reside outside of the states attorneys office in that court and AS timing in judicial procedure is so often essential, these compliants must be met with prompt attention. This court watchdog must be an independent agency that has no vested interest with the judicial system or the state politically. It must be accessible Its members must possess impartiality, criminal/ legal experience, and an established social conscience.
It would be unrealistic to assume that something that has clearly been broken for so long,
such as our court system, could simply right itself with a few amendments- and nary a look
over its collective shoulder henceforth. I liken it to a buch of teenagers run amock with power. Unfortunately its been the bodies and souls of victims of crime that have been the sacrificial lambs for this group of "teens" to act out, and to refuse to do their homework.
Governor Rell has promised that these few reforms are just the beginning and that an overhaul of our entire judicial system is forthcoming. All citizens, partcularly Victims of crime in this state, will be watching, counting on the fact that Governor Rell is a woman of her word.
Lawmaker's Wife Walks In On Burglary - Connecticut News Story - WFSB Hartford
The G.A decided instead to vote in an amendment with decidedly less teeth, whereby breaking into ones home at night-time only would be classified as that "home invasion" carrying with it the more serious felony charge with a minimum 10 yr sentence .
You will note that the man whose home was burglarized in the above article, was in fact broken into during the day, and the one thing that everyone fears in this situation, happened; his wife stopped off at her home between appointments and wound up walking straight into two men robbing her home. This scenario is precisely one of the reasons that many citizens in the general public were not satisfied with the burglary/home invasion amendment that was passed.
Reasons for the dissent varied, but a central theme was that any time a person enters a home surreptitiously and illegally, there is a huge risk for potential violence-- if anyone is home or comes home during the commission of that crime.
An important consideration in any decision regarding the crime of home break-ins, needs to include the well documented intell that shows a direct correlation between home burglaries/break ins and more serious crime, such as sexual assault, abductions and murder. There are many instances where a criminal is arrested for burglary or trespassing, when in reality his motivation was more sinister, and either something scared him off or)he got caught before anything happened or his desired target was not at home.
Thanks to the study of criminal psychology, we now know that there are stages in the evolution of sexual predators. They rarely simply leap straight to rape and murder, And one of the classic
earliest criminal behaviors of a sex offender/murderer is what used to be called peeping tom's but is now more aptly called stalking. With the advent of readily available tools to aid such criminals like night vision glasses (such as komisarjevsky used for many of his break ins while scoping out his targeted victims)and long range listening devices-(can be bought in children's science toy stores) as well as thousands of internet sources for obtaining surveillance equipment and methods, not to mention the same easy internet acquisition of personal information regarding home addresses with corresponding layouts of houses, its fair to say that we have entered a new arena for the predators of the world. We need to be armed with counter measures beginning with educating ourselves and making intelligent laws and strict well aimed sentencing provisions and seeing to it that they are actually used within our courts.
Within this same discussion regarding burglary reclassification, some inisghtful members of the senate and General assembly brought up the issue of the now vulnerable folks who work third shift and or stay at home moms and the elderly, in the institiution of the new proposed amendments limiting home invasion to evening only break ins. Despite these and other practical issues with the night only version of the law it was passed none the less.
And of course what this means is that we can expect a huge surge of break ins into our homes during the day, as word of the minimum 10 yr sentence for night break ins gets out. Not the best of reasoning regarding this amendment folks. The new law should have simply read that any illegal break in into a home-any-is now a serious felony carrying a minimum sentence, period. And if a compromise was absolutely neccesary, than at the very least it should have read that any break in where a person is home, will result in the same class b felony and minimum prison sentence.
The idea is supposed to be to deter crimes that can result in violence, we did the same for DUI, and DUI is a much more passive crime, usually lacking intent to harm, but putting people at risk for harm thru stupidity.and recklessness, While breaking into a home is much more purposeful, predatorial and consciously criminal .
I also couldn't help but notice the very high bail that these two burglars got on a "simple (ie daytime)burglary, albeit on a member of the Connecticut legislature-... 250,000 dollars each!!
The average bail for this type of crime historically run from 5,000 to 50 000 at the very highest end. NowThis bothers me for the following reasons; if the legislators as a body are choosing to take more lenient and less decisive action than thier citizen constituants clearly want for themselves, than by god, they should have to live with the choices they've made, and the same broken system (which they happen to be perpetuating with lack of decisive and intelligent action) that any victim of crime in Connecticut must contend with!
This means; no special conditions or punishment for the "alleged" criminals that broke into the legislators house. While of course as a compassionate human being I am sorry for this man and his wife, I am still very troubled by the double judicial standard that clearly exists for this man in the form of the obscenely high bail set for the two men that attempted to rob his home.
To give you an example of what the average bail for a residential burglary looks like; Mr komisarjevsky's( co murderer of the Petit woman and children) bail amount when he was caught for his last string of burglaries in 2003 -was 30,000. And remember he was a repeat offender at this point, having already served time for another string of break ins and before that a juvie record for arson
To put it into yet another perspective, a man who was charged with assault in the 2nd degree-felony-unlawful restraint in first degree-felony- terroristic threatening and stalking class a misdemeanors (all committed against me) was given a 50 000 bail at GA2 Bridgeport
in the year 2000. This was for brutally violent crimes folks, thus one can easily see
the disparity here.
Our assemblymen is already receiving special treatment as a victim of crime from the court-
and we haven't yet approached the actual judicial proceedings yet.
Needless to say, neither "defendant" in the legislator's break in made their 250 000 whopping bail ( which was the intention of such a high bail amount in the first place.) And I don't want to be misunderstood here-I am all for being tough on crime- and criminals- However I don't like it when people that work for the state, indeed help to make our laws, receive special treatment when they become the unfortunate victim of a crime here.
Its now more important than ever that they are treated as any other victim, as otherwise they will then never experience the frustrating, and at times heartbreaking reality of an indifferent, lackluster, and often inept judicial system. The very same that any victim of crime in this state must endure.
Bottomline is that it is up to our legislators and Governor Rell to break down the walls of Connecticut's broken Judicial system. In order for our courts to work properly, we must
clean house.
We will then need a clear presence in the form of a watchdog/oversight agency implemented for each courthouse in the state. This must include a valid system for victims of crime to file complaints against prosecutors that are handling thier cases in what they perceive as i
nadequate or irresponsible fashion. This includes proposed plea bargains for crimes against these victims. This is crucial as plea bargains are the standard way of resolving crime in our courts and this all takes place outside of the courtroom prior to the official resloution hearing. The victim of said crimes and criminal-often do not find out until it is too late, and even when they do know prior to the official resolution of the case they have no say whatsoever over a plea that the prosecuctor has offered to the defendent (ie criminal)
I amnjot talking about the current victim advocate offices that are operating in some Domestic violence dockets in the state. This agency clearly must reside outside of the states attorneys office in that court and AS timing in judicial procedure is so often essential, these compliants must be met with prompt attention. This court watchdog must be an independent agency that has no vested interest with the judicial system or the state politically. It must be accessible Its members must possess impartiality, criminal/ legal experience, and an established social conscience.
It would be unrealistic to assume that something that has clearly been broken for so long,
such as our court system, could simply right itself with a few amendments- and nary a look
over its collective shoulder henceforth. I liken it to a buch of teenagers run amock with power. Unfortunately its been the bodies and souls of victims of crime that have been the sacrificial lambs for this group of "teens" to act out, and to refuse to do their homework.
Governor Rell has promised that these few reforms are just the beginning and that an overhaul of our entire judicial system is forthcoming. All citizens, partcularly Victims of crime in this state, will be watching, counting on the fact that Governor Rell is a woman of her word.
Lawmaker's Wife Walks In On Burglary - Connecticut News Story - WFSB Hartford
Jan 26, 2008
Gov Rell clashes with legislators over three strikes bill
Two articles worth reading regarding the judicial reforms that were passed-and the ones that were not.
http://www.courant.com/news/custom/topnews/hc-ctthreestrikes0126.artjan26,0,3954376.story
http://www.courant.com/news/custom/topnews/hc-ctthreestrikes0126.artjan26,0,3954376.story
Press Release from State Senate Democratic Leadership
Above is an article with the basic highlights of the judicial reforms that actually passed the senate and the legislature this past week. As expected The three strikes ammendment did not pass the senate, nor the legislature. There are several reasons for this and none of them substantial.
And as much as I have been a non-advocate of a blanket three strikes law being the single fix it answer, the amin argument being that we've currently got a version of this that prosecutors do not use allegedly because it is so convoluted and poorly constructed, but in reality it is because it interferes with thier daily agenda's; power/ego mongeringng they do not wish black and white sentencing law as it robs them of the discretion of who will get a free pass and who will not.
Suffice to say, money and power are the two biggest reasons. Out of all of the proposed reforms, the three strikes bill seemed to be on its surface, the most potentially expensive- that is in the short term as presumably initially prisons would fill at a faster rate. However, bear in mind as it is all according to the proffesional bean -counters official fiscal layout-and I have a lot to say regarding both the methodology as well as the logic that is being used,in arriving at these statistics.
I need to make quick mention (the quick for practical reasons, but I promise to elaborate on this later) that I took great offense to the speech and the overall posturng of the female legislator in charge of the financial bottom lines for the State- more specificlly, the reform package before the GA for this whole special session.
Please be aware that there is still much more work to be done. This is in no way even a baby a fix. The main concern still is tomake certain that our current sentencing guidelines and laws are utilized consistantly by prosecutors and judges alike.
Judges need to be more pro-active in many Connecticut courts, particularly those that handle any violent crime. And all of this is dependent on thorough and careful record keeping from the arrest warrant all the way through the entire criminal judicial process-everyone involved in any of the descision making regarding how a violent criminal is to be handled, must have every piece of information about that defendent and his her record-Not merely what they wound up convicted of-
This is but a slice of incomplete and often misleading information and way too much action-or inaction by our collective Connecticut justice system -is based upon this. This has had disatrous consequences in the past and will again if not remedied. I mean c'mon people, for over 10 years the parole board was not recieving adequate records regarding any of the men and women they were paroling.
Supposedly members asked complained time andtime again and were still rebuked due to said copying costs involved! The states attorneys office did not want to pay the copying costs-this is the reason that we have been given for this gross deriliction of duty. I'm inclined to believe this, as I witnessed first hand the arrogance and utter non- cooperation of my states attorneys office in bridgeport GA2 regarding important life and death paperwork that I once needed; The following happened a year or so after my assault case was "resolved":
I was moving out of the town where the crimes against me had happened, trying to make a new start in a home that did not hold awful violent memories. I asked for an official copy of the standing criminal restraining order against my assailent from Ga2 court, via the victims advocates office. The order was standing-meaning for life and was the only solid thing that I had extracted from this court through the entire 10 month "judicial "process. The order stated that the man that had assaulted and stalked me , could not approach me or my dwelling within 100 yards. I needed the official copy to be filed with the police department of the town where I had just relocated. The police in the town where my new domicile was located told me explicately that I needed to obtain an official copy for them in the event that they had to act upon that order. They told me to get it from the court.
When I asked the victims advocates office for this official copy with noted address change on the order, they came back hanging thier heads a day later, telling me that the prosecutor refused to give this to them-or me-and the explanation from the prosecutor who had "resolved" the case was "that we dont change refile these orders everytime someone moves-otherwise we'd be making address changes and copies of restraining orders every five minutes if this were the case!
I actually had to complain to the head prosecutor within that office at ga2, after threatening to send a letter to his superior who ran the whole show over there but who was located in a seperate court building around the corner on Main st Bridgeport. He seemed more concerned that I not relay the ongoing difficulties that I had within that office to Mr Benidict, rather than desiring to truly help remedy my problem. But he did send the new order with a cover letter to the new police dept.
The fact that I had to go through all of this to obtain a peice of paper, that if not properly handled could mean my life, goes to show you how badly things are handled in some courts around the state. I recently read an article about ga2 court bridgeport-in it it said that the domestic violence docket at Ga2 was considered the gold standard for domestic violence within the state of connecticut. Of the two prosecuctors that handled my case-I complained about the first and was subsequently given another-a woman- that was even less prosecutorial and more insenstive and ruder-It was of course circle the wagons time, once I complained about one of thier own.
The first prosecutor who was buddies with my assailents attorney, who seems to specialize in defending men that batter women, has been promoted to head prosecutor in the state handling domestic violence, (oh this is so scary..) He actually spends half his time teaching-teaching other prosecutors and law enforcement about domestic violence!
The second prosecutor who technically made the plea agreement with my assailent, (although it was a forgone conclusion from what the first prosecutor promised the defense alreadyby the time she entered the picture) yes SHE, she is still at Ga2.
My case unfortunately was relegated to this docket-altho there was nothing domestic about my relationship with the man who assaulted me. He was someone I had dated and was now trying to extricate myself from.
What so many people dont know is that 9 out of 10 crimes committed in connecticut including violent crime) are handled by plea deals between prosecutor and defense attorney,( be he private or a public attorney such as we the tax payers are paying for for komisarjevsky and Hayes, killers of the petit women. ) And these are not just the so-called "lesser" crimes such as assault and burglary, (I am being facetious here-) murders are also handled with plea deals quite regularly as well.
And within this plea process, whatever actual crimes that the criminal committed and was properly charged with, are dropped down a notch -or two, as well as completely drop a charge altogether within a cluster of multiple charges committed within one episode of a criminal action- Case in point Mr Hayes convictions whereupon he broke a bunch of laws as at once, including two separate occasions of illegal gun possession-and two times the gun charges, which were serious charges, were dropped entirely by the prosecutor within the flurry of other charges
Meaning what cONNECTICUT and thus the public at large were left with as an official record of hayes's crimes, did not resemble at all what crimes he committed did and therefore what kind of criminal he was and thus the threat that he posed to the general public was again minimized with nary a thought about it. In fact the only reason that we know about tany of these lost charges of his is because much research is being done re this guys past, due to these brutal crimes of multiple rape murder and arson that he later committed. Normally the court, the parole board the public and police depts only see the end result convictions that formally exist after the plea wheeling and dealing and the concurrent dropping of charges
In Mr Hayes case alone that left approx 12 charges 12-that were completely dropped outright for no good reason other than this is the way we- the Conn judicial system- process our criminals take it or leave it. Well we are leaving it en masse.
And how does this tie in with the various judicial ammendments passed by The Connecticut General Assembly in this recent special session- This is how; In order to make these reforms work at all, we need to revamp our existing day to day modes of operating as well as the underlying core attitudes that fuel them. Not all Connecticut prosecutors are lackadaisical lazy indifferent or corrupt-but too many have become just that. And Corruption needn't always be in the form of a iteral bribes it can be the endorsing of a plea deal that is excessively lenient, as a favor to the defense attorney who the assist states attorney socializes with or ....they might hope for his support in future endeavors such as elections, promotions or perhaps even a career opportunities.. More often than not these deals are done out of laziness and utter disregard for the victims and possible future victims. Its easiest to make a plea deal than prepare for a trial, thus thedeal wins nearly every time, and they nearly always compromise the publics saftety.
And let me be clear regarding My definition of corrupt - Simply any corruption of the process of genuine justice- for any reason; this includes favor swapping cronyism, or simple laziness and indifference The lack of motivation to do more than the ABSOLUTE minimum required to simply keep one's civil service job be it prosecutor- judge or even court victims advocate-And although they rarely have any real power to trade or sell -they are capable of going along with the status -quo ,even when that requires turning a blind eye to the corruption that is aswirl all about them; violent crime cases being thrown out nolled and plead down to next to nothing at all, just because that is the "way it is' in that particular court, And remember they don't want to lose their jobs either by becoming too contrary with the prosecutors; As my victims advocate said once to me "laurel.... Ive got to work with these people every day, and long after your case is over...Ill still be here with them" My heart sank at that moment because i realized what she was saying to me, and why. It was thus not a surprise to me when that same victims advocate quit only 6 months after the final dispensation my case.
She was disgusted and disillusioned, I'm sure that like me she simply didnt know that this was how serious violent crime was to be treated in the state of Connecticut; little more than a wink and a nod between "prosecutor" and defense attorney, and the judge relegated to simply a symbolic figure who asked no questions and gives thier stamp of approval to the "deal " of the day.
Press Release from State Senate Democratic Leadership
And as much as I have been a non-advocate of a blanket three strikes law being the single fix it answer, the amin argument being that we've currently got a version of this that prosecutors do not use allegedly because it is so convoluted and poorly constructed, but in reality it is because it interferes with thier daily agenda's; power/ego mongeringng they do not wish black and white sentencing law as it robs them of the discretion of who will get a free pass and who will not.
Suffice to say, money and power are the two biggest reasons. Out of all of the proposed reforms, the three strikes bill seemed to be on its surface, the most potentially expensive- that is in the short term as presumably initially prisons would fill at a faster rate. However, bear in mind as it is all according to the proffesional bean -counters official fiscal layout-and I have a lot to say regarding both the methodology as well as the logic that is being used,in arriving at these statistics.
I need to make quick mention (the quick for practical reasons, but I promise to elaborate on this later) that I took great offense to the speech and the overall posturng of the female legislator in charge of the financial bottom lines for the State- more specificlly, the reform package before the GA for this whole special session.
Please be aware that there is still much more work to be done. This is in no way even a baby a fix. The main concern still is tomake certain that our current sentencing guidelines and laws are utilized consistantly by prosecutors and judges alike.
Judges need to be more pro-active in many Connecticut courts, particularly those that handle any violent crime. And all of this is dependent on thorough and careful record keeping from the arrest warrant all the way through the entire criminal judicial process-everyone involved in any of the descision making regarding how a violent criminal is to be handled, must have every piece of information about that defendent and his her record-Not merely what they wound up convicted of-
This is but a slice of incomplete and often misleading information and way too much action-or inaction by our collective Connecticut justice system -is based upon this. This has had disatrous consequences in the past and will again if not remedied. I mean c'mon people, for over 10 years the parole board was not recieving adequate records regarding any of the men and women they were paroling.
Supposedly members asked complained time andtime again and were still rebuked due to said copying costs involved! The states attorneys office did not want to pay the copying costs-this is the reason that we have been given for this gross deriliction of duty. I'm inclined to believe this, as I witnessed first hand the arrogance and utter non- cooperation of my states attorneys office in bridgeport GA2 regarding important life and death paperwork that I once needed; The following happened a year or so after my assault case was "resolved":
I was moving out of the town where the crimes against me had happened, trying to make a new start in a home that did not hold awful violent memories. I asked for an official copy of the standing criminal restraining order against my assailent from Ga2 court, via the victims advocates office. The order was standing-meaning for life and was the only solid thing that I had extracted from this court through the entire 10 month "judicial "process. The order stated that the man that had assaulted and stalked me , could not approach me or my dwelling within 100 yards. I needed the official copy to be filed with the police department of the town where I had just relocated. The police in the town where my new domicile was located told me explicately that I needed to obtain an official copy for them in the event that they had to act upon that order. They told me to get it from the court.
When I asked the victims advocates office for this official copy with noted address change on the order, they came back hanging thier heads a day later, telling me that the prosecutor refused to give this to them-or me-and the explanation from the prosecutor who had "resolved" the case was "that we dont change refile these orders everytime someone moves-otherwise we'd be making address changes and copies of restraining orders every five minutes if this were the case!
I actually had to complain to the head prosecutor within that office at ga2, after threatening to send a letter to his superior who ran the whole show over there but who was located in a seperate court building around the corner on Main st Bridgeport. He seemed more concerned that I not relay the ongoing difficulties that I had within that office to Mr Benidict, rather than desiring to truly help remedy my problem. But he did send the new order with a cover letter to the new police dept.
The fact that I had to go through all of this to obtain a peice of paper, that if not properly handled could mean my life, goes to show you how badly things are handled in some courts around the state. I recently read an article about ga2 court bridgeport-in it it said that the domestic violence docket at Ga2 was considered the gold standard for domestic violence within the state of connecticut. Of the two prosecuctors that handled my case-I complained about the first and was subsequently given another-a woman- that was even less prosecutorial and more insenstive and ruder-It was of course circle the wagons time, once I complained about one of thier own.
The first prosecutor who was buddies with my assailents attorney, who seems to specialize in defending men that batter women, has been promoted to head prosecutor in the state handling domestic violence, (oh this is so scary..) He actually spends half his time teaching-teaching other prosecutors and law enforcement about domestic violence!
The second prosecutor who technically made the plea agreement with my assailent, (although it was a forgone conclusion from what the first prosecutor promised the defense alreadyby the time she entered the picture) yes SHE, she is still at Ga2.
My case unfortunately was relegated to this docket-altho there was nothing domestic about my relationship with the man who assaulted me. He was someone I had dated and was now trying to extricate myself from.
What so many people dont know is that 9 out of 10 crimes committed in connecticut including violent crime) are handled by plea deals between prosecutor and defense attorney,( be he private or a public attorney such as we the tax payers are paying for for komisarjevsky and Hayes, killers of the petit women. ) And these are not just the so-called "lesser" crimes such as assault and burglary, (I am being facetious here-) murders are also handled with plea deals quite regularly as well.
And within this plea process, whatever actual crimes that the criminal committed and was properly charged with, are dropped down a notch -or two, as well as completely drop a charge altogether within a cluster of multiple charges committed within one episode of a criminal action- Case in point Mr Hayes convictions whereupon he broke a bunch of laws as at once, including two separate occasions of illegal gun possession-and two times the gun charges, which were serious charges, were dropped entirely by the prosecutor within the flurry of other charges
Meaning what cONNECTICUT and thus the public at large were left with as an official record of hayes's crimes, did not resemble at all what crimes he committed did and therefore what kind of criminal he was and thus the threat that he posed to the general public was again minimized with nary a thought about it. In fact the only reason that we know about tany of these lost charges of his is because much research is being done re this guys past, due to these brutal crimes of multiple rape murder and arson that he later committed. Normally the court, the parole board the public and police depts only see the end result convictions that formally exist after the plea wheeling and dealing and the concurrent dropping of charges
In Mr Hayes case alone that left approx 12 charges 12-that were completely dropped outright for no good reason other than this is the way we- the Conn judicial system- process our criminals take it or leave it. Well we are leaving it en masse.
And how does this tie in with the various judicial ammendments passed by The Connecticut General Assembly in this recent special session- This is how; In order to make these reforms work at all, we need to revamp our existing day to day modes of operating as well as the underlying core attitudes that fuel them. Not all Connecticut prosecutors are lackadaisical lazy indifferent or corrupt-but too many have become just that. And Corruption needn't always be in the form of a iteral bribes it can be the endorsing of a plea deal that is excessively lenient, as a favor to the defense attorney who the assist states attorney socializes with or ....they might hope for his support in future endeavors such as elections, promotions or perhaps even a career opportunities.. More often than not these deals are done out of laziness and utter disregard for the victims and possible future victims. Its easiest to make a plea deal than prepare for a trial, thus thedeal wins nearly every time, and they nearly always compromise the publics saftety.
And let me be clear regarding My definition of corrupt - Simply any corruption of the process of genuine justice- for any reason; this includes favor swapping cronyism, or simple laziness and indifference The lack of motivation to do more than the ABSOLUTE minimum required to simply keep one's civil service job be it prosecutor- judge or even court victims advocate-And although they rarely have any real power to trade or sell -they are capable of going along with the status -quo ,even when that requires turning a blind eye to the corruption that is aswirl all about them; violent crime cases being thrown out nolled and plead down to next to nothing at all, just because that is the "way it is' in that particular court, And remember they don't want to lose their jobs either by becoming too contrary with the prosecutors; As my victims advocate said once to me "laurel.... Ive got to work with these people every day, and long after your case is over...Ill still be here with them" My heart sank at that moment because i realized what she was saying to me, and why. It was thus not a surprise to me when that same victims advocate quit only 6 months after the final dispensation my case.
She was disgusted and disillusioned, I'm sure that like me she simply didnt know that this was how serious violent crime was to be treated in the state of Connecticut; little more than a wink and a nod between "prosecutor" and defense attorney, and the judge relegated to simply a symbolic figure who asked no questions and gives thier stamp of approval to the "deal " of the day.
Press Release from State Senate Democratic Leadership
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