An investigation by the Boston Herald shows that Massachusetts defense lawyers make, on average, twice as much as prosecutors. It seems that many people, from reporters and editors at the Herald (the headline is "Scales of injustice") to District Attorneys to victims' family members to the (mostly) brainless and cruel people who leave comments on the Herald's website, are outraged at this. I don't see anything unjust about it, however.
People who bash defense lawyers need a reminder about the Constitution of the United States. According to the Constitution, people are presumed innocent until proven guilty. A founding principle of this country is that it is worse for an innocent person to be convicted than for a guilty person to go free. Defending the constitutional rights of the accused is the most basic part of the Americcan legal system and is one of the noblest jobs I can imagine.
Plus, despite the Herald's use of words such as "whopping" and "megabucks," defense attorneys don't make huge amounts of money. The article cites the sums of money that various lawyers made in 5 years while acting as court-appointed defense attorneys. The amounts are all between $200,000 and $600,000, which is pretty good, but hardly exorbitant for a 5-year period.
The article mentions that the budget of the Committee for Public Counsel Services has gone from $95.5 million in 2003 to $185 million last year. As an ardent opponent of big government spending and taxation, I admit that it's generally not good for any part of the government's budget to increase. However, the Mass. state government spends at least $869 a year for its unjust universal health care program. This, not defense lawyers' salaries, is what people should be complaining about. The government should be spending $0 on health care each year, because people should be responsible for paying for their own health care, just like any other product. I cannot understand why people throw fits over defense lawyers being compensated for the difficult, brave job they do, yet seemingly have no objection to welfare programs that give people free money for doing no work whatsoever.
Defense lawyers' pay should not be decreased. They earn every penny of it. Preserving defendants' constitutional rights is one of the few things I don't mind paying taxes for.
Showing posts with label law/crime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label law/crime. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Copyright craziness
In case you haven't heard, Viacom is suing YouTube for allowing users to upload copyrighted video clips of TV shows and movies. Recently, Viacom requested that Google (the owner of YouTube) turn over logs showing which video clips users view.
Privacy advocates are understandably concerned about this. Viacom claims they are not requesting any personally identifiable information, but they're asking for records that show people's usernames and IP addresses, and which videos each person has viewed. With most Internet service providers, each computer has a unique IP address. Plus, many people are bound to have told friends and acquaintances what their YouTube usernames are. Even though it would probably be only Viacom, not the general public, who sees the records, it still sounds awfully personally identifiable to me.
In addition to the privacy issues, this case really demonstrates, at least to me, that copyright laws need to change. According to U.S. copyright law, it is virtually forbidden to use pictures of celebrities, clips from movies, or audio files of songs on a website unless you took the pictures, made the movie, or wrote the song yourself. This means that if you have a site dedicated to your favorite celebrity, you probably won't be able to have any pictures of that celebrity on your site! Home videos cannot even use a popular song as background music. Making music videos by blending clips of a favorite actor or movie with a song, as many people do on YouTube, is legally out of the question.
The Internet would truly be a worse place if these laws were consistently enforced. For many people, copyrighted clips are by far the most useful content on YouTube. I don't enjoy watching other people's home movies, so there are only about 2 or 3 videos I enjoy on YouTube that don't violate copyright law. An exception to this is the growing number of news outlets and musical artists creating their own YouTube accounts, where they display news clips and music videos perfectly legally because they own the content. This is a great trend that has resulted in lots of legal and valuable videos being uploaded to YouTube. However, not all copyright holders have YouTube accounts. People have a right to access news and informational videos, and regular people should be allowed to upload these videos if TV stations fail to. Similarly, people who make fan sites dedicated to a particular actor, actress, or singer should be legally able to display image galleries and movie clips related to their favorite celebrity. Fan sites are a great source of information, and people should not have to rely on a celebrity's official site, if one even exists, as their sole source.
The purpose of copyright law when it was written into the Constitution in 1776 was to encourage progress in science and art by ensuring that creators would be able to profit from their works. Today, however, copyright law bans many activities that do not affect anyone's profits. Yes, uploading a whole movie to YouTube might diminish the movie studio's profits, but displaying a few short clips is likely to make more people go see the movie, if anything. Additionally, a YouTube user was recently banned for uploading clips of the Neil Entwistle trial, which aired on TruTV. But when I go to TruTV's website, I don't see any way to purchase DVDs or tapes of the trial footage. If they were selling such a thing, I would probably be interested in buying it, but because they're not, the YouTube user isn't depriving them of any revenue by making it available for free.
Copyright law should achieve its purpose of encouraging artistic and scientific achievement. Right now, however, it is depriving the public of valuable pictures, videos, and information, as well as stifling creativity by restricting people from building on others' works. Copyright law needs to be fair to regular people instead of giving large companies all the power as it does now.
On an unrelated note, check out this great editorial published in the Herald by Randy S. Chapman, president of the Mass. Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys: "To demonize a defense attorney is unjust."
Privacy advocates are understandably concerned about this. Viacom claims they are not requesting any personally identifiable information, but they're asking for records that show people's usernames and IP addresses, and which videos each person has viewed. With most Internet service providers, each computer has a unique IP address. Plus, many people are bound to have told friends and acquaintances what their YouTube usernames are. Even though it would probably be only Viacom, not the general public, who sees the records, it still sounds awfully personally identifiable to me.
In addition to the privacy issues, this case really demonstrates, at least to me, that copyright laws need to change. According to U.S. copyright law, it is virtually forbidden to use pictures of celebrities, clips from movies, or audio files of songs on a website unless you took the pictures, made the movie, or wrote the song yourself. This means that if you have a site dedicated to your favorite celebrity, you probably won't be able to have any pictures of that celebrity on your site! Home videos cannot even use a popular song as background music. Making music videos by blending clips of a favorite actor or movie with a song, as many people do on YouTube, is legally out of the question.
The Internet would truly be a worse place if these laws were consistently enforced. For many people, copyrighted clips are by far the most useful content on YouTube. I don't enjoy watching other people's home movies, so there are only about 2 or 3 videos I enjoy on YouTube that don't violate copyright law. An exception to this is the growing number of news outlets and musical artists creating their own YouTube accounts, where they display news clips and music videos perfectly legally because they own the content. This is a great trend that has resulted in lots of legal and valuable videos being uploaded to YouTube. However, not all copyright holders have YouTube accounts. People have a right to access news and informational videos, and regular people should be allowed to upload these videos if TV stations fail to. Similarly, people who make fan sites dedicated to a particular actor, actress, or singer should be legally able to display image galleries and movie clips related to their favorite celebrity. Fan sites are a great source of information, and people should not have to rely on a celebrity's official site, if one even exists, as their sole source.
The purpose of copyright law when it was written into the Constitution in 1776 was to encourage progress in science and art by ensuring that creators would be able to profit from their works. Today, however, copyright law bans many activities that do not affect anyone's profits. Yes, uploading a whole movie to YouTube might diminish the movie studio's profits, but displaying a few short clips is likely to make more people go see the movie, if anything. Additionally, a YouTube user was recently banned for uploading clips of the Neil Entwistle trial, which aired on TruTV. But when I go to TruTV's website, I don't see any way to purchase DVDs or tapes of the trial footage. If they were selling such a thing, I would probably be interested in buying it, but because they're not, the YouTube user isn't depriving them of any revenue by making it available for free.
Copyright law should achieve its purpose of encouraging artistic and scientific achievement. Right now, however, it is depriving the public of valuable pictures, videos, and information, as well as stifling creativity by restricting people from building on others' works. Copyright law needs to be fair to regular people instead of giving large companies all the power as it does now.
On an unrelated note, check out this great editorial published in the Herald by Randy S. Chapman, president of the Mass. Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys: "To demonize a defense attorney is unjust."
Thursday, August 23, 2007
OJ has rights too
Barnes & Noble recently announced that it would not stock copies of O.J. Simpson's book "If I Did It" in stores, but would make the book available over the internet. I think the book store made the right decision. Although Barnes & Noble claims that there is little demand for O.J.'s book, I think people who want to buy it have a right to do so. Heck, I am actually considering getting it at some point; it would probably be interesting.
Denise Brown, the sister of O.J.'s ex-wife and (alleged) victim is wrong to argue that the book should not be published. Everyone is (and should be) protected by the First Amendment, and that includes murderers and accused murderers. The Son of Sam law was ruled unconstitutional, as it should be. Not liking a book gives you no right to prevent it from being published. Plenty of people hate the Harry Potter books, yet J.K. Rowling continued to write them to the delight of fans worldwide. There are a lot of books I hate, but I am powerless to stop them from being published. Denise Brown is no more important than you or me, and just like you or me she shouldn't be able to stomp on someone's First Amendment rights just because she doesn't like what they have to say. It's not up to me to say who should receive the profits from O.J.'s book, but I believe that he has a right to write and publish it, and that anyone who wants to has a right to read it.
Denise Brown, the sister of O.J.'s ex-wife and (alleged) victim is wrong to argue that the book should not be published. Everyone is (and should be) protected by the First Amendment, and that includes murderers and accused murderers. The Son of Sam law was ruled unconstitutional, as it should be. Not liking a book gives you no right to prevent it from being published. Plenty of people hate the Harry Potter books, yet J.K. Rowling continued to write them to the delight of fans worldwide. There are a lot of books I hate, but I am powerless to stop them from being published. Denise Brown is no more important than you or me, and just like you or me she shouldn't be able to stomp on someone's First Amendment rights just because she doesn't like what they have to say. It's not up to me to say who should receive the profits from O.J.'s book, but I believe that he has a right to write and publish it, and that anyone who wants to has a right to read it.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Justice for the Duke lacrosse players
Justice seems to have returned to North Carolina. Prosecutor Mike Nifong of the Duke "rape" case was recently disbarred, and just today Duke University announced that it would pay a cash settlement to the three falsely accused young men who were unfairly kicked off their lacrosse team. Dave Evans, Collin Finnerty, and Reade Seligmann explained their opinions quite nicely in a joint statement:
"The events of the last year tore the Duke community apart, and forcibly separated us from the university we love. We were the victims of a rogue prosecutor concerned only with winning an election, and others determined to railroad three Duke lacrosse players and to diminish the reputation of Duke University."
Although it was a nice gesture of Nifong to apologize to the three young men and their families, the lacrosse players have every right to sue him, and it seems they may be preparing to do just that. In addition to Nifong, they most definitely have the right to sue Crystal Mangum, the stripper and accuser. Can anyone say slander? These boys paid millions of dollars in legal fees because of Nifong's and Mangum's lies, not to mention the emotional distress and damage to their reputations that they endured. Because they did nothing wrong, the lacrosse players deserve to be recompensated for their suffering and financial losses, and the people who caused this whole fiasco should be the ones to pay.
"The events of the last year tore the Duke community apart, and forcibly separated us from the university we love. We were the victims of a rogue prosecutor concerned only with winning an election, and others determined to railroad three Duke lacrosse players and to diminish the reputation of Duke University."
Although it was a nice gesture of Nifong to apologize to the three young men and their families, the lacrosse players have every right to sue him, and it seems they may be preparing to do just that. In addition to Nifong, they most definitely have the right to sue Crystal Mangum, the stripper and accuser. Can anyone say slander? These boys paid millions of dollars in legal fees because of Nifong's and Mangum's lies, not to mention the emotional distress and damage to their reputations that they endured. Because they did nothing wrong, the lacrosse players deserve to be recompensated for their suffering and financial losses, and the people who caused this whole fiasco should be the ones to pay.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
All Duke charges dropped
Thank goodness! Prosecutors have finally decided to drop all charges against the three Duke lacrosse players who were falsely accused of raping a stripper. I never believed her story for one minute. For the full story, see Court TV.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Justin Barber's jailhouse interview
Convicted murderer Justin Barber has given an interview from jail to Jean Casarez, a reporter for CNN and Court TV. He was the focus of tonight's Nancy Grace episode - you can read a transcript of it here. I can't believe Nancy decided to hold the judge in contempt for sentencing Justin to life in prison instead of death. The jury voted in favor of death by just an 8 to 4 majority, so although the judge did overrule their recommendation, I think Nancy's "ruling" was a bit excessive.
Also, while you're at the CNN web site, go to Nancy Grace's home page and vote in the nifty new poll, which happens to be about Scott Peterson!
Also, while you're at the CNN web site, go to Nancy Grace's home page and vote in the nifty new poll, which happens to be about Scott Peterson!
Friday, December 15, 2006
From tragedy to comedy
The rape case against three Duke lacrosse players grows more ridiculous by the day. Not only has DNA from several other men, but no one from the lacross team, been found in the accuser's body and underpants, but the accuser is also nine months pregnant! The "rape" occurred about nine months ago. However, a pregnancy test on the night of the "rape" demonstrated that the stripper was not pregnant. Hmmm. My question is, what kind of person gets raped and shortly afterward decides to have consensual sex? My answer: certainly a very bad one! Or maybe a bad one who didn't even get raped at all.
Executions halted
After the botched execution of convicted killer Angel Diaz, governor Jeb Bush of Florida has enacted a moratorium on all executions. It took 34 minutes for Diaz to die, most likely because medical technicians stuck the needle through his vein and into other tissue. During the execution, he appeared to be gasping for breath and even saying a prayer.
Unrelatedly, a federal judge has ruled that lethal injections in California are unconstitutional as well. There has been a moratorium on executions there since February, but I bet California lawmakers will slightly alter the three-injection system currently in use and resume executions some time in the slightly near future. Until then, the 650 or so California death row inmates can breathe a small sigh of relief.
For more, see CNN.
Unrelatedly, a federal judge has ruled that lethal injections in California are unconstitutional as well. There has been a moratorium on executions there since February, but I bet California lawmakers will slightly alter the three-injection system currently in use and resume executions some time in the slightly near future. Until then, the 650 or so California death row inmates can breathe a small sigh of relief.
For more, see CNN.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Longo's death sentence upheld
The Oregon Superme Court has upheld the death sentence of Christian Longo, a man convicted of killing his wife and three children. Longo fled to Mexico in December 2001 after killing his wife, MaryJane, and three children, ages 2, 3, and 4, and dumping the bodies in two different bays. His defense lawyer argued that he should be spared from death because Mexico usually does not extradite criminals if there is any chance that they'll receive the death penalty. However, Longo agreed voluntarily to return to the U.S., waiving his right to extradition proceedings. Read the full story at Court TV.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Moussaoui, Duke case, and "Idol" picks
Sorry for not posting for a while. Here's a rundown of some recent, monumental events in the news:
Like many people, I was shocked by Chirs Daughtry's eviction from "American Idol." Now that he's gone, I predict that Taylor Hicks will take the top prize. Taylor, with his gray hair and jerky dance moves, has been my favorite since Kellie left. I'm going to guess that Elliott Yamin will be the next to go, and Katharine MacPhee will finish as runner-up.
In other news, a second round of DNA tests in the Duke rape case have shown no match with any of the players on the Duke lacrosse team. This news supports my theory that the accuser was simply making her story up.
Finally, Zacharias Moussaoui, who was recently sentenced to life in prison for his role in the 9/11 attacks, was transported to the federal supermax prison on Florence, Colorado today. He will spend 23 hours each day in a soundproof cell, with one hour of exercise each day. Moussaoui is hardly the first notorious criminal to reside in the supermax: the prison is home to shoe bomber Richard Reid, unabomber Ted Kaczynski, Oklahoma bombing conspirator Terry Nichols, World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef, American terrorist Eric Rudolph, and notorious gang leader Luis Felipe. The supermax was also home to Timothy McVeigh, who became friends with Kaczynski, Yousef, and Felipe while the four of them lived in a especially high-security part of the prison known as "bombers' row."
To learn some fascinating facts about life in the supermax, go to Court TV.
Like many people, I was shocked by Chirs Daughtry's eviction from "American Idol." Now that he's gone, I predict that Taylor Hicks will take the top prize. Taylor, with his gray hair and jerky dance moves, has been my favorite since Kellie left. I'm going to guess that Elliott Yamin will be the next to go, and Katharine MacPhee will finish as runner-up.
In other news, a second round of DNA tests in the Duke rape case have shown no match with any of the players on the Duke lacrosse team. This news supports my theory that the accuser was simply making her story up.
Finally, Zacharias Moussaoui, who was recently sentenced to life in prison for his role in the 9/11 attacks, was transported to the federal supermax prison on Florence, Colorado today. He will spend 23 hours each day in a soundproof cell, with one hour of exercise each day. Moussaoui is hardly the first notorious criminal to reside in the supermax: the prison is home to shoe bomber Richard Reid, unabomber Ted Kaczynski, Oklahoma bombing conspirator Terry Nichols, World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef, American terrorist Eric Rudolph, and notorious gang leader Luis Felipe. The supermax was also home to Timothy McVeigh, who became friends with Kaczynski, Yousef, and Felipe while the four of them lived in a especially high-security part of the prison known as "bombers' row."
To learn some fascinating facts about life in the supermax, go to Court TV.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Ace and Adolf
As most of America knows, Ace Young was voted off "American Idol" last night. Although I wasn't extremely disappointed, I think that Elliott, Paris, and Katharine should have gone home before Ace. At this point, Taylor might be my favorite, with Kellie a close second. In my opinion, Wednesday's show was pretty dull, partly because Bucky wasn't there and partly because I didn't like the genre of songs. Taylor's performance was the only one that I actually liked.
On a completely different topic, today is a momentous day in history, as it is Adolf Hitler's birthday. Although extremely unpopular, Hitler is undoubtedly one of the most important people who ever lived. He is either number one or number two on my list of the most important people of all time, with Jesus possibly beating him. A remarkable (although not necessarily good) fact that I calculated is that Hitler killed over one percent of Earth's population at the time! It is astounding that one individual could be responsible for as much death and destruction as Hitler was, and quite amazing that in an age when most people wanted to outlaw war and work for world peace, Hitler was able to create a Reich larger than any other empire in history besides that of Genghis Khan.
Also today in history was the Columbine High School massacre, in which students Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed twelve fellow students, a teacher, and themselves. Klebold and Harris, who were fascinated by Hitler, were originally planning to carry out their attack yesterday on the anniversary of the Oklahoma bombing and the battles of Lexington and Concord, but they changed their minds and decided to stage the massacre on Hitler's birthday instead.
Following are some fascinating links related to Hitler and Columbine:
http://www.columbine.free2host.net -- a thorough Columbine site
http://www.therebeldomain.com -- this site presents unusual opinions about Columbine, which most people do not agree with!
http://thirdreichpages.com -- an informative, interesting site about Hitler, his henchmen, and his empire
http://hitler.org -- the web site of a museum about Hitler
http://www.adolfhitler.ws -- the most thorough Hitler site I've seen
http://historyplace.com -- scroll down to the bottom for excellent Hitler and World War II information
On a completely different topic, today is a momentous day in history, as it is Adolf Hitler's birthday. Although extremely unpopular, Hitler is undoubtedly one of the most important people who ever lived. He is either number one or number two on my list of the most important people of all time, with Jesus possibly beating him. A remarkable (although not necessarily good) fact that I calculated is that Hitler killed over one percent of Earth's population at the time! It is astounding that one individual could be responsible for as much death and destruction as Hitler was, and quite amazing that in an age when most people wanted to outlaw war and work for world peace, Hitler was able to create a Reich larger than any other empire in history besides that of Genghis Khan.
Also today in history was the Columbine High School massacre, in which students Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed twelve fellow students, a teacher, and themselves. Klebold and Harris, who were fascinated by Hitler, were originally planning to carry out their attack yesterday on the anniversary of the Oklahoma bombing and the battles of Lexington and Concord, but they changed their minds and decided to stage the massacre on Hitler's birthday instead.
Following are some fascinating links related to Hitler and Columbine:
http://www.columbine.free2host.net -- a thorough Columbine site
http://www.therebeldomain.com -- this site presents unusual opinions about Columbine, which most people do not agree with!
http://thirdreichpages.com -- an informative, interesting site about Hitler, his henchmen, and his empire
http://hitler.org -- the web site of a museum about Hitler
http://www.adolfhitler.ws -- the most thorough Hitler site I've seen
http://historyplace.com -- scroll down to the bottom for excellent Hitler and World War II information
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Lies at Duke
The episode of "Larry King Live" that is airing at this moment has prompted me to write this brief editorial. Mark Geragos, who is, in my opinion, probably the best lawyer in the world, is on the show to discuss the allegations of rape against members of the Duke lacrosse team. I fully agree with Mark's point, namely that the accusations are false. No DNA evidence linked any members of the team to the woman in question, who happens to be a stripper. I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but I think this woman's occupation probably says a great deal about her moral caliber. I will post again on this topic if I change my opinion; I have another important topic that I have not yet reported on.
Edit: I just heard on the show that the accuser is a mother of two. Considering the woman's likely young age and the fact that no husband has been mentioned, this revelation says even more about her moral caliber.
Edit: I just heard on the show that the accuser is a mother of two. Considering the woman's likely young age and the fact that no husband has been mentioned, this revelation says even more about her moral caliber.
Big news day
What a big day it's been in the news! I have neglected to update my blog for over a week, and today's events especially merit an update.
First of all, the Red Sox won their home opener 5 to 3 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Although I miss Arroyo, Damon, Bellhorn, Millar, Mueller, and the rest, I must admit the team seems great, especially Papelbon and Schilling! With today's win the Sox have improved their record to 6 out of 7.
In (sort of) more serious news, shoe bomber Richard Reid will be testifying in the penalty phase of Zacharias Moussaoui's trial. I don't know if he'll be testifying for or against Moussaoui, but I'm guessing against. Wouldn't it be funny if he testified in Moussaoui's favor about how good a friend and fellow terrorist Moussaoui was?
Another monumental event of today was Iran's announcement that it has produced uranium of high enough quality to make nuclear weapons. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed that he will only use the uranium for peaceful means, but I don't think I believe him!
Finally, I realize that I failed to comment on last week's "American Idol" results. I was not extremely disappointed with Mandisa's ouster. I didn't consider her one of the best or one of the worst, but my respect for her increased when I learned that, being a woman of strong religious convictions, she would be unwilling to perform at any event that benefited gay rights. I just finished watching tonight's "Idol," and I think I liked Kellie's performance the best. However, Bucky, Ace, and Taylor were close behind.
First of all, the Red Sox won their home opener 5 to 3 against the Toronto Blue Jays. Although I miss Arroyo, Damon, Bellhorn, Millar, Mueller, and the rest, I must admit the team seems great, especially Papelbon and Schilling! With today's win the Sox have improved their record to 6 out of 7.
In (sort of) more serious news, shoe bomber Richard Reid will be testifying in the penalty phase of Zacharias Moussaoui's trial. I don't know if he'll be testifying for or against Moussaoui, but I'm guessing against. Wouldn't it be funny if he testified in Moussaoui's favor about how good a friend and fellow terrorist Moussaoui was?
Another monumental event of today was Iran's announcement that it has produced uranium of high enough quality to make nuclear weapons. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed that he will only use the uranium for peaceful means, but I don't think I believe him!
Finally, I realize that I failed to comment on last week's "American Idol" results. I was not extremely disappointed with Mandisa's ouster. I didn't consider her one of the best or one of the worst, but my respect for her increased when I learned that, being a woman of strong religious convictions, she would be unwilling to perform at any event that benefited gay rights. I just finished watching tonight's "Idol," and I think I liked Kellie's performance the best. However, Bucky, Ace, and Taylor were close behind.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Weinberger, Entwistle, Moussaoui, and Card
Wow, today has been a busy news day! First of all, former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger died today of pneumonia. He served under Nixon and Reagan and seems like he was a great man. Rest in peace, Secretary Weinberger!
Another notable event today was Neil Entwistle's indictment. A grand jury in Middlesex county, Massachusetts, charged the Englishman with two counts of murder in the deaths of his wife and baby, as well as with one count each of illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of ammunition. Neil did not appear in court, but he will be arraigned some time in the next few weeks. Of course, he was arraigned in Framingham District Court on February 15, but now that he has been indicted his case will be tried at the Middlesex Superior Court and he will need to be indicted again in the new venue. Three prosecutors have been assigned to Neil's case, and his defense team consists of veteran attorney Elliot Weinstein, private eye Richard Hamilton, and another lawyer named Stephanie Page, who I have never heard of before. I look forward to watching this case unfold; Neil seems to be getting as much media attention as Scott Peterson did when his case was in the news!
Also, another high-profile accused criminal, Zacharias Moussaoui, was in the news today. As most of you know, he proclaimed yesterday that he and shoe-bomber Richard Reid were set to hijack a fifth plane and fly it into the White House on September 11! The trial, which is almost as crazy as Saddam's, continued today (I believe the closing arguments took place) and the jury will begin deliberating tomorrow about whether or not Moussaoui will be sentenced to death.
Last but not least, President Bush's Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, announced his resignation today. This sad news may have been the result of liberals' cries for a shake-up in the Bush administration, which they think will help the president's approval ratings. I dislike the changes in Bush's cabinet and advisors. Loyal conservatives are probably disappointed that many of the old Republican leaders, such as Card, former Attorney General John Ashcroft, and former Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge, have left Bush's administration, and liberals will hate Bush no matter what he does, so there's no point in trying to please them! I miss the days in 2001 when Ashcroft was Attorney General, American flags flew from most houses, and Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" played on pop music radio stations!
As is customary, I will post my "American Idol" recap after tomorrow's results show. Before then, you can look forward to a short opinion piece about the immigration controversy!
Another notable event today was Neil Entwistle's indictment. A grand jury in Middlesex county, Massachusetts, charged the Englishman with two counts of murder in the deaths of his wife and baby, as well as with one count each of illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of ammunition. Neil did not appear in court, but he will be arraigned some time in the next few weeks. Of course, he was arraigned in Framingham District Court on February 15, but now that he has been indicted his case will be tried at the Middlesex Superior Court and he will need to be indicted again in the new venue. Three prosecutors have been assigned to Neil's case, and his defense team consists of veteran attorney Elliot Weinstein, private eye Richard Hamilton, and another lawyer named Stephanie Page, who I have never heard of before. I look forward to watching this case unfold; Neil seems to be getting as much media attention as Scott Peterson did when his case was in the news!
Also, another high-profile accused criminal, Zacharias Moussaoui, was in the news today. As most of you know, he proclaimed yesterday that he and shoe-bomber Richard Reid were set to hijack a fifth plane and fly it into the White House on September 11! The trial, which is almost as crazy as Saddam's, continued today (I believe the closing arguments took place) and the jury will begin deliberating tomorrow about whether or not Moussaoui will be sentenced to death.
Last but not least, President Bush's Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, announced his resignation today. This sad news may have been the result of liberals' cries for a shake-up in the Bush administration, which they think will help the president's approval ratings. I dislike the changes in Bush's cabinet and advisors. Loyal conservatives are probably disappointed that many of the old Republican leaders, such as Card, former Attorney General John Ashcroft, and former Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge, have left Bush's administration, and liberals will hate Bush no matter what he does, so there's no point in trying to please them! I miss the days in 2001 when Ashcroft was Attorney General, American flags flew from most houses, and Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" played on pop music radio stations!
As is customary, I will post my "American Idol" recap after tomorrow's results show. Before then, you can look forward to a short opinion piece about the immigration controversy!
Saturday, March 11, 2006
R.I.P. Milosevic
Former Yugoslavian dictator Slobodan Milosevic was found dead in his cell this morning. Apparently, he died of natural causes. Milosevic was ousted from power a few years ago and was being tried for war crimes by a United Nations tribunal in the Hague, the Netherlands. He was 64 years old. Tomorrow, Dutch doctors will conduct an autopsy.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Hatch's tax injustice
Richard Hatch's conviction in his tax evasion case was an injustice. Hatch won $1 million as the first winner of "Survivor" and was expected to give some of it to the government in exchange for nothing! Taxes are government-sponsored theft. What a way to take all the fun and excitement of game shows like "Survivor." With taxes, winning means nothing. People are punished for being successful, and poor people are rewarded for being poor. There needs to be a flat tax - everyone pays the same sum of money- or even better, no taxes at all! The tax system as it presently exists puts America one step closer to Communism, and it must be abolished.
Defending Druce
On Thursday January 26, Joseph Druce was convicted of first-degree murder for killing pedophile priest John Geoghan in a Massachusetts jail. Druce was sentenced to life in prison without parole. This is a great injustice. Druce did nothing wrong! Geoghan was a disgusting individual who deserved what he got. He has been accused of molesting 150 children against their will! Druce should get a medal for taking out this pedophile.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Menendez on "Larry King Live"
Just a few minutes ago, murderer Erik Menendez was on "Larry King Live" with his wife, Tammi, who has written a book about her husband's trial and his life in jail. In the early 1990s, Erik and his brother Lyle were convicted of murdering their parents in Beverly Hills, California, and they received life sentences in different prisons. Menendez talked to Larry King by phone and had some interesting comments. For example, he said that he was never abused in prison and that he sticks up for himself and for other inmates. I wil try to find a transcript and post the link. For now, go to http://www.erikmenendez.com for more information on the book.
Update: Read the transcript at http://transcripts.cnn.com/transcripts/0601/12/lkl.01.html.
Update: Read the transcript at http://transcripts.cnn.com/transcripts/0601/12/lkl.01.html.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
New evidence against Pelosi
Yesterday, a witness named Christopher Parrino testified in court that Daniel Pelosi definitely did murder millionaire Ted Ammon. Pelosi was convicted of the murder in December 2004 and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. At the time of the murder, Ammon was planning to divorce his wife, whom Pelosi later married. On the night of the murder, in 2001, Parrino rode with Pelosi to Ammon's home in East Hampton, New York, to discuss the divorce. Pelosi entered the house alone and, according to Parrino, returned covered in blood and said that he killed Ammon in a fight. Parrino is being charged of hindering the prosecution for failing to share this information during Pelosi's trial. This new evidence essentially ruins Pelosi's chances for an appeal. To read more, go to http://courttv.com/trials/pelosi/011106_witness_ap.html.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Peterson, Sausage King, and Hammer
Today, the parents of famous murderer Scott Peterson have hired two lawyers, Cliff Gardner and Lawrence Gibbs, to handle their son's appeals. These two lawyers also represent Lyle and Eric Menendez, the brothers from Beverly Hills who murdered their parents in 1989. Scott's father, Lee, says that "Since he is innocent, we don't want him sitting there any longer than he has to." On average, it takes five to six years for the state to assign appeals attorneys to death row inmates, so Peterson, who has only been on death row since March 2005, has gotten a lawyer relatively promptly. Although the Petersons could have allowed Mark Geragos, who defended Scott in his criminal trial, to handle his appeals as well, Geragos believes that the case needs "a fresh set of eyes."
Also, murderer Stuart Alexander, known as the "Sausage King" was found dead in his cell at San Quentin prison. San Quentin, of course, is the same prison that Scott Peterson calls home, and in fact, prison spokesman Vernell Crittendon has stated that he was considering assigning Peterson and the Sausage King to the same exercise yard because he believed they'd get along well. However, I don't know if Scott and the Sausage King were actually put in the same group, or if they became friends. The Sausage King gets his nickname from his occupation. He was a sausage maker who killed three government meat inspectors in 2000. He was sentenced to death and was placed in a maximum surveillance cell because he was known to have mental problems and was likely to commit suicide.
In other news, murderer David Hammer, who had been sentenced to death for strangling his cellmate, was given a new penalty phase yesterday. Evidence had been discovered that indicated that the crime was not premeditated. It is an interesting coincidence that after he killed his cellmate, Hammer became a close friend of Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh when they were both incarcerated at the federal death row prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. Hammer had a cell next to McVeigh's, and they were such good friends that Hammer actually tried to commit suicice at the time of McVeigh's execution in June 2001. Hammer tried to kill himself by avoiding taking medication for his diabetes, but the suicide attempt was discovered and stopped by prison guards.
Also, murderer Stuart Alexander, known as the "Sausage King" was found dead in his cell at San Quentin prison. San Quentin, of course, is the same prison that Scott Peterson calls home, and in fact, prison spokesman Vernell Crittendon has stated that he was considering assigning Peterson and the Sausage King to the same exercise yard because he believed they'd get along well. However, I don't know if Scott and the Sausage King were actually put in the same group, or if they became friends. The Sausage King gets his nickname from his occupation. He was a sausage maker who killed three government meat inspectors in 2000. He was sentenced to death and was placed in a maximum surveillance cell because he was known to have mental problems and was likely to commit suicide.
In other news, murderer David Hammer, who had been sentenced to death for strangling his cellmate, was given a new penalty phase yesterday. Evidence had been discovered that indicated that the crime was not premeditated. It is an interesting coincidence that after he killed his cellmate, Hammer became a close friend of Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh when they were both incarcerated at the federal death row prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. Hammer had a cell next to McVeigh's, and they were such good friends that Hammer actually tried to commit suicice at the time of McVeigh's execution in June 2001. Hammer tried to kill himself by avoiding taking medication for his diabetes, but the suicide attempt was discovered and stopped by prison guards.
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