Criminal Justice – Page 10

January 16, 2012January 17, 2012

Philadelphia Freedom: Is This The New Swing Vote?

A coalition of seventeen organizations have recently embarked on a revolutionary voter registration drive, and what better place to be revolutionary than Philadelphia? The Returning Citizens Voter Movement is directed towards formerly incarcerated people, engaging many more people with felony records who never went to prison, and far more people without records who have a family member in the criminal justice system. Is this an effort that will be replicated around the nation in 2012?

The goal of 10,000 new registrations may seem overly ambitious, but consider that at any given time, Philadelphia has between 200,000 – 400,000 residents who previously served time in prison. These are people who have the right to vote, and surely some do, but have collectively never been engaged in the political dialogue of their community. As Maelissa Gamble, founder of The Time Is Now to Make a Change puts it, “People are tired. They’re saying, ‘somebody should have done this already.’ And they are not seeing the re-entry resources that get talked about all the time.”

Gamble and other community leaders have been tangling not only with getting people assistance in restructuring their lives, but also in successfully tearing down the barriers that keep people from following their good intentions. Last year Philadelphia “Banned the Box” and eliminated “Have you ever been convicted from a felony?” from job applications in the city. It is ironic that the same government allocating funds for rehabilitation/re-entry also has laws that create ever-higher hurdles for people trying to build a life in the community.

With the Pennsylvania Republican Primary on April 24th (the same day as New York, Rhode Island, and Delaware) it will be interesting to see how this specific criminal justice-based civic outreach can be bolstered by the media. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has a history in Philadelphia, and his views on issues may be well known. Meanwhile, Texas Senator Ron Paul has been an outspoken critic of the Drug War and the massive use of incarceration in America. With the Texas and Wisconsin primaries on April 3rd, it is possible that Paul’s campaign will have a bounce that reverberates through three weeks of focus on Pennsylvania (a perennial “swing state”).

All but three of the coalition organizations in the voter registration and awareness campaign are led by formerly incarcerated people. This is part of a concerted effort by the Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People’s Movement to register one million people across the country, and Philadelphia is leading the way. One historical dilemma with a broad movement is the creation of factions and the challenge of coalition-building. Gamble, formerly incarcerated herself, now finds herself in the middle of a group including the Human Rights Coalition, Proyecto Sol Filadelfia, ACLU, Reconstruction Inc., Educational Advocates Reaching Today’s Hardworking Students (EARTHS), and more.

It is often noted that over four million people are disenfranchised due to criminal records, however it should be also noted that there are tens of millions of people who are eligible to vote- people who have been (or still are) impacted by the criminal justice system. This is an issue-based group, with no party loyalties. The group is urban and rural, of all skin tones. And the voices are beginning to be heard.

Politicians will be knocking on doors of “Likely voters” registered to their parties or as “Independents.” If one is not registered and exercising their vote, there will be no knock, no pandering, no listening. The coalition will be setting up registration stations all over the city, from grocery stores to community forums, probation offices to social services locations, they will even be registering people currently awaiting trial in the jails. When thousands of voters demand candidates who will call a cease fire in the Drug War, who will re-direct that money into education, to books rather than bars, the pandering will begin. It is not likely that the GOP will hold an inner city debate with ordinary residents in the audience (these are made-for-TV controlled events); and it is not likely that Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, or Mitt Romney will come looking to do a “Town Hall” session with urban voters… but wait until 2016. Rebuild it, and they will come.

Maelissa Gamble can be contacted at (215) 834-5165 and mgamblethetimeisnowtomakeachange@yahoo.com

January 11, 2012January 11, 2012

National “Occupy” Day in Support of Prisoners: February 20th

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A proposal passed yesterday by the General Assembly of Occupy Oakland is to generate a national day of action that will call attention to prisons across America. While presidential candidates take to their stumps, one might be unaware that America is the international leader of incarceration with no competition in sight. February 20th, amidst American Black History Month, has also been declared by the United Nations as “World Day of Social Justice.”

The call coincides with a recent call to action by supporters of Mumia Abu Jamal to condemn solitary confinement as a means of torture. Mumia has been transferred to solitary since leaving Death Row. Read more from the Human Rights Coalition, here. The call also comes amidst growing awareness of the relationship between Wall Street, prisons, prison labor, and paid lobbyists pushing policies that create more prisoners.

“We are calling for February 20th, 2012 to be a ‘National Occupy Day in Support of Prisoners.’

“In the Bay Area we will ‘Occupy San Quentin,’ to stand in solidarity with the people confined within its walls and to demand the end of the incarceration as a means of containing those dispossessed by unjust social policies.

Reasons

Prisons have become a central institution in American society, integral to our politics, economy and our culture. Between 1976 and 2000, the United States built on average a new prison each week and the number of imprisoned Americans increased tenfold.

Prison has made the threat of torture part of everyday life for millions of individuals in the United States, especially the 7.3 million people—who are disproportionately people of color—currently incarcerated or under correctional supervision.

Imprisonment itself is a form of torture. The typical American prison, juvenile hall and detainment camp is designed to maximize degradation, brutalization, and dehumanization.

Mass incarceration is the new Jim Crow. Between 1970 and 1995, the incarceration of African Americans increased 7 times. Currently African Americans make up 12 % of the population in the U.S. but 53% of the nation’s prison population. There are more African Americans under correctional control today—in prison or jail, on probation or parole—than were enslaved in 1850, a decade before the Civil War began.

The prison system is the most visible example of policies of punitive containment of the most marginalized and oppressed in our society. Prior to incarceration, 2/3 of all prisoners lived in conditions of economic hardship. While the perpetrators of white-collar crime largely go free.

In addition, the Center for Economic and Policy Research estimated that in 2008 alone there was a loss in economic input associated with people released from prison equal to $57 billion to $65 billion.

We call on Occupies across the country to support:

1. Abolishing unjust sentences, such as the Death Penalty, Life Without the Possibility of Parole, Three Strikes, Juvenile Life Without Parole, and the practice of trying children as adults.

2. Standing in solidarity with movements initiated by prisoners and taking action to support prisoner demands, including the Georgia Prison Strike and the Pelican Bay/California Prisoners Hunger Strikes.

3. Freeing political prisoners, such as Mumia Abu-Jamal, Leonard Peltier, Lynne Stewart, Bradley Manning and Romaine “Chip” Fitzgerald, a Black Panther Party member incarcerated since 1969.

4. Demanding an end to the repression of activists, specifically the targeting of African Americans and those with histories of incarceration, such as Khali in Occupy Oakland who could now face a life sentence, on trumped-up charges, and many others being falsely charged after only exercising their First Amendment rights.

5. Demanding an end to the brutality of the current system, including the torture of those who have lived for many years in Secured Housing Units (SHUs) or in solitary confinement.

6. Demanding that our tax money spent on isolating, harming and killing prisoners, instead be invested in improving the quality of life for all and be spent on education, housing, health care, mental health care and other human services which contribute to the public good.

Bay Area

On February 20th, 2012 we will organize in front of San Quentin, where male death-row prisoners are housed, where Stanley Tookie Williams was immorally executed by the State of California in 2005, and where Kevin Cooper, an innocent man on death row, is currently imprisoned.

At this demonstration, through prisoners’ writings and other artistic and political expressions, we will express the voices of the people who have been inside the walls. The organizers of this action will reach out to the community for support and participation. We will contact social service organizations, faith institutions, labor organizations, schools, prisoners, former prisoners and their family members.

National and International Outreach

We will reach out to Occupies across the country to have similar demonstrations outside of prisons, jails, juvenile halls and detainment facilities or other actions as such groups deem appropriate. We will also reach out to Occupies outside of the United States and will seek to attract international attention and support.”

Endorsers Include:

Angela Davis
California Coalition for Women Prisoners
Campaign to End the Death Penalty
Jack Bryson
Kevin Cooper Defense Committee
Labor Action Committee to Free Mumia Abu Jamal
Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu Jamal
National Committee to Free the Cuban Five
Occupied Oakland Tribune
Oscar Grant Committee Against Police Brutality and State Repression
Prison Activist Resource Center
Prison Watch Network
San Francisco Bay View Newspaper
Stanley Tookie Williams Legacy Network

“Social justice is more than an ethical imperative, it is a foundation for national stability and global prosperity. Equal opportunity, solidarity and respect for human rights — these are essential to unlocking the full productive potential of nations and peoples..”

-Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

January 10, 2012January 10, 2012

Dr. King’s Legacy: RIPTA Called Out by Community to Re-hire Fired Workers

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Next Thursday, on January 19th, at 6:30pm, members of the RIPTA board will be at Direct Actions for Rights & Equality (DARE), answering calls to reinstate two employees who were unjustly fired last month. The fundamental question is: are people with criminal histories are sentenced to a life of unemployment? Even the New York Times has noted that nearly a third of Americans are arrested by the age of 23, but more importantly, the EEOC has long declared that a blanket policy of discrimination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Can RIPTA fire employees after the media highlights their criminal records? They may, but it may come with a cost. The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) allowed three people into their training program who had records, and all of the felonies were over five years old. Two passed the training and made it to be drivers. Not an incident was reported until the media decided to do a fear tactic story, about who was driving folks around.

Within four days of the story, RIPTA Chairman of the Board, Thom Deller (who has his own controversies over a long and peculiar government career) announced that the two drivers are not on the road. The bus drivers union, meanwhile, held a “No-Confidence” vote of the RIPTA CEO Charles Odimgbe. Union President John Harrington says “We believe in second chances, but there was a lack of good judgment hiring those individuals…” And therein lies the rub: when will it be good judgment?

Over 10% of Providence residents, for example, are actively on probation or parole. Far more than 25% of the city has a criminal record. Over 50% of Black men in Providence have criminal records. These records range from petty to serious, recent to distant, with each subsequent charge being enhanced both in name and punishment. Ultimately, petty crimes for those with extensive histories result in major prison sentences. In general: those who have no felonies over the past five years have been faring well. At what point are they employable?

It is poor public safety policy to take a cross-section of any community and say you are not allowed to work. It is a sign of poor leadership if a community stands by as a bulk of the workforce is labeled “persona non grata,” and there is no pathway back into society. What is the message the legislators and the RIPTA Board are sending? The one I hear is “We don’t care where you look for work, just don’t look for work around here.” This translates into, we don’t care how you feed and house yourself, just go away. Yet there is no place else to go… except prison.

What is the message being heard by millions of people across the country who have criminal convictions? By tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders not lucky enough to work for an aunt or uncle? That message is clear: Don’t bother looking for work. Don’t bother getting an education. Don’t bother obeying the rules. Personally, I do not like that message one bit, yet I have heard it loudly for quite some time. It means more people quitting after ten rejections in their job search, when perhaps the eleventh application would have paid off. It means more drug sales. More breaking into businesses late at night looking for a means to eat and sleep. It means that people I care about are likely to end up on either end of a gun. It means someone I know may carjack someone else I know, with one mother in a visiting room and the other at a funeral.

It is unfortunate to read statements by the bus drivers’ union that fail to support the workers. Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday is January 15th. A national holiday for a man once vilified by the American government. MLK famously led a bus boycott that resulted in a full integration of the drivers, and a change in the “Back of the Bus” policy. With RIPTA already poised for further cuts, would they like a boycott by the people with criminal records and their family members? Are such customers only good enough to buy a ride, but not good enough to work there? A boycott of any scale and sustainability would possibly eliminate RIPTA altogether, and might be easy to do with one of the highest fares in the country.

From the days of “No Irish Need Apply” to Jim Crow segregation, courts and lawmakers have ultimately responded to a public that demands a right to regulate its own communities. Title VII is just one avenue to attack systemic discrimination that links racial disparity with the effects of our current criminal justice system. The people are on the rise in this regard. Whether it is the recent victory in Detroit to “Ban the Box” on job applications, or Gov. Cuomo’s ability to extract millions from companies who discriminate based on criminal records, it is becoming more expensive to hold the Puritan line of a chosen people ruling over the outcasts.

A coalition of groups, led by DARE and RI Community of Addiction and Recovery Efforts (RICARES), will be pursuing legislation this year that has received growing support to Ban the Box, including Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, House Judiciary Chair Edie Ajello, House Labor Chair Anastasia Williams, Minority Leader Brian Newberry, and Republican Rep. Mike Chippendale. Representative Scott Slater has been the primary sponsor of a bipartisan bill to address this very issue. Ironically, the legislation is designed to give people a chance in the application process, to prove themselves as the two RIPTA employees did. Only courage and wisdom of administrators can keep people employed once a negative portrayal comes out in the media.

Public transportation is primarily used by the poor and people of color; people who are highly policed and often know quite a few with a blemish on their record. It is a shame to see elected and appointed leaders publicly state their assumptions that having a criminal record equates to being a bad person, a bad worker, or a danger to strangers. To have no judgment process, no filter, is to say that all people without criminal records are equal. They are all of the same intelligence, same work ethic, same moral standard, and should be awarded or punished all the same. Those who paint broad strokes are clearly ignorant, because they certainly do not have enough experience with the huge percentage of America who have been arrested and processed through our criminal justice system. Ignorance may get people elected, but it shouldn’t keep them in power.

January 10, 2012January 10, 2012

Getting Kicked Out and Arrested at a Romney Event

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My friend Matt from the Harvard Kennedy School has a blog post up about a disturbing situation at a Mitt Romney campaign event he was attending, which, in my opinion, is emblematic of a larger trend of slowly taking away the rights and freedoms of people to speak out in dissent. We see this occurring more and more at public and campaign events: private police details, people being denied entry, cordoned off “free speech” zones, etc. It is as if political candidates and public officials are moving towards the “Minority Report” model to prevent outbursts at events such as politically motivated signs, public mic checks, or monopolizing limited question and answer time with particular questions by preventing those who may (but likely won’t) be engaging in such activity from the opportunity to attend. I suppose it is a symptom of the 24/7 news cycle, the democratization of information, and the ease with which even the most mundane political “controversies” can be blown out of proportion and manipulated for partisan ends.

Here are some snippets of his article.

I’d been in New Hampshire for the past several days to follow the campaign and see some of the candidates in-person. Yesterday morning, I was chatting up a Romney campaign staffer before an event at the Gilchrist Manufacturing Company in Hudson, NH, when a police officer approached. Sir, we have to ask you to leave the premises.

—

I asked another question or two, and the cop had had enough: “You’re under arrest.” He took my things, handcuffed me behind my back, searched me, and tucked me into a nearby cruiser. A few minutes later, an officer removed me from the cruiser and had me lean up against another police car and spread my legs for a second search. Two or three TV crews had their cameras trained on us; I felt ashamed in a wholly unfamiliar way. I wanted to look directly at the cameras and explain what had happened, but I feared the police officers’ reaction.

—

It was clear to me that the two officers had no interest in discussing what the law actually said, or what my rights actually entailed. I was paperwork, and they wanted to get it over with. I kept asking questions, and at one point, one of them opened up the New Hampshire legal code and read me the definition of disorderly conduct. He read the words dully, as if they were just syllables, with no interest at all in what they meant.

Read the whole post here.

January 6, 2012January 11, 2012

Attorney General Kilmartin Announces Rhode Island Criminal Justice Hall of Fame

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Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin today announced the creation of the Rhode Island Criminal Justice Hall of Fame to honor outstanding professionals who have worked to improve and uphold the principles of the criminal justice system in Rhode Island. Kilmartin also announced the inaugural class of inductees to be honored at a reception on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, RI.

“From protecting the safety and security of our communities to eliciting truth and ensuring due process of law, the thousands of men and women who make up our criminal justice system help make our system of law the finest in the world,” said Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin. “By creating the Hall of Fame, we have an opportunity to honor the men and women who have significantly contributed to our criminal justice system.”

Inductees into the Hall of Fame include local and state law enforcement professionals, academics, judges, attorneys and other professionals who have made a significant impact in the criminal justice system through personal and professional achievements. The inaugural class includes:

Former Attorney General and Retired Superior Court Associate Justice Richard J. Israel
Former Rhode Island State Police Colonel Walter E. Stone
Former Rhode Island Chief Public Defender William Reilly
South Kingstown Police Chief Vincent Vespia, Jr.
Former US Marshal, Cumberland Police Chief and Providence Public Safety Commissioner Chief John Partington
Department of Corrections Director A.T. Wall
Retired Providence Police officer and National Fraternal Order of Police Trustee Raymond Pezzullo
Retired FBI Special Agent and Salve Regina University Professor Dr. James Farrington
Retired Cranston Police Sergeant and founder of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers Union Thomas Lanzi
Department of Corrections Assistant Director

The selection process was carried out by the Criminal Justice Hall of Fame Board of Trustees, representing all facets of the criminal justice system. The Trustees selected individuals who have distinguished themselves through outstanding personal and professional achievements in the field of criminal justice while maintaining the highest standard of integrity and character.

“I could not envision a more notable inaugural class for the Criminal Justice Hall of Fame,” continued Kilmartin. “Each individual has left an indelible mark on our criminal justice system, and Rhode Island is a better, safer place for their efforts.”

The Community College of Rhode Island Lincoln Campus will house the Criminal Justice Hall of Fame, which is anticipated to be interactive history of the careers of the inductees. The induction ceremony will be held on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick, RI.

August 3, 2011January 21, 2012

New National Report Highlights RI Public Defender

Back in February I posted about the fact that underfunded Public Defenders are a smokescreen for the real issue: underfunded prosecutors and courts cannot handle the number of crimes coming at them. A new report by Justice Policy Institute, System Overload: The Costs of Under-Resourcing Public Defense, continues the one-sided argument- although making some excellent points.

The latest report (continuing the BJS findings, as did I) notes the costs to “people” and “taxpayers” through pre-trial detention, and how hasty defense increases wrongful convictions. Yet it does not point out who benefits. Any analysis should be a “Cost-Benefit Analysis,” and factor into account those beneficiaries who care neither about people nor taxpayers. They care about their own bottom line, and their own power.

Those who enjoy and utilize statistics will find a wealth in the new JPI report, such as: 64% of wrongful rape convictions, exonerated from DNA evidence, are Black, although only 12% of America is Black. I love numbers, but a popular Movement will not be based on numbers. Simple facts, simple understandings, and a simple view of what the criminal justice system is actually doing will cause the creature to crumble.

Rhode Island and others (including Bronx Defenders and in D.C.) are lauded for taking the entire person into account, including pre-trial and post-release issues that arise from criminal justice contact.

Other than the obvious recommendation, to implement standards of representation as outlined by the American Bar Association, the report recommends two other vital pieces:

Public Defenders should engage in the policy debate. It is shameful that in a country where so many vital services are conducted through the state, those workers are generally forbidden to speak up or are living in fear for their jobs. This is a waste of insight and experience, provided they are capable of speaking openly.
Seek input from those who have been served by the Public Defender. To move our society in any productive way on criminal justice, the “Client” relationship must be seen as a “partnership.” Are we all in this together? Or are the poor communities being controlled by an upper-class colonial mentality? I have gotten more requests from my internet provider to see how they are doing than I have had from anyone in the criminal justice sphere over the past two decades.

This report still fails to pay even a passing reference to the problem of underfunded prosecutors. I don’t believe it is intentional, it is the product of an arms race. Funding must keep up with the other side, rather than funding must be reduced to the other side. In a down economy, nobody will accept sweeping increases for prosecutions… but nor will we see any massive increases to Public Defense.

By making the issue about public defense, one can argue about “coddling criminals” or “can we really afford this?” But if the argument were about whether the Attorney General and Courts should be 50% of the budget… what then?

August 3, 2011January 22, 2012

Top Ten Reasons Wyatt Prison is an Epic Scandal

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With the recent bankruptcy filing by Central Falls, RI, many are asking what will happen to the city’s most notorious flagship, the Wyatt Detention Facility. The city will not disappear, no more than Bridgeport, CT disappeared along route 95 ten years ago. Bridgeport is roughly the size of Providence, is Connecticut’s largest city, and some feared their bankruptcy in 1991 would drag the entire state into collapse. Central Falls is Rhode Island’s smallest city, and apparently home to large scale corruption. Here are the Top10 Reasons the privately owned, municipally managed, prison is a fitting ground zero to understand the situation.

10: The Interest Payments- The Wyatt financial fiasco is a case study in collecting interest, as they have long since been underwater on their loans. The Central Falls Detention Facility Corporation refinanced their loan (bonds owned by investors) so they could build an addition, and have $229 million in liabilities at the start of 2011, while their prison was independently assessed at $45 million. With the “homeowners” barely able to make their payments now, they will surely face a “loan modification” in a very short period of time. I wonder if anyone is willing to take over the payments? I wonder if anyone is dumb enough to take over the prison and pay five times as much in annual interest than principal?

9: Brown University- John Birkelund, as CEO of Dillon Read, sold the Wyatt prison bonds to John Birkelund, as Chairman of Brown’s endowment; making a profit (surely) for John Birkelund and friends. Ever heard the phrase “Pump & Dump?”

8: AVCORR- Anthony Ventetuolo was a founding father of the Wyatt prison, and former blue-blood of the ACI. He learned that moving from public to private services, one can literally make millions of dollars for the same work. AVCORR ultimately took over management of the prison, and recent financial audits have expressed serious issues with the financial controls. He has been dismissed; and in a state where everyone is connected, an in depth state investigation by Lynch or Kilmartin is inconceivable.

7: RDW- Mike Doyle, a top lobbyist in Rhode Island is another founding father, greasing the wheels for a prison to legally become a for-profit enterprise and ensuring a base of lobbying efforts to create more prisoners, more crime, and more clientele. With an office 100 yards from the statehouse, some would say it’s a nice fit.

6: Federal Lobbying- After paying $10,000 a month to Dutko Worldwide to do D.C. lobbying, Wyatt still couldn’t keep the ICE contract after this shoestring operation (where all money has to pay off bond interest) could not keep Jason Ng alive. One has to appreciate there is a billion dollar industry that needs to encourage incarceration through lobbying efforts. And here you thought people only went to prison because of their own behavior. Meanwhile, AIG holds the bond agreement, and Halliburton was the construction company; companies who merely pay fines when caught stealing.

5: Fiscal Impact Statement- Is $50,000 a month lots of money? $10,000? Depends. The Wyatt is not only Tax Free, but it also gets free water and garbage from the City, and who knows what else. What is the water bill for 1000 people? What is the trash bill for Providence’s four largest hotels? Without a Fiscal Impact Statement, the hoped for, yet denied (“Suckers”) charity that Wyatt dangles may not even make up for the charity they receive from CF and the people of Rhode Island.

4: Mayor Moreau- This is the guy who was getting $10k contracts for friends to board up foreclosed houses. He appointed every member of the CFDFC Board (who are charged with managing the money). If anyone has “Federal Investigation” written all over them, it would be Mayor Moreau- who is known as a long-time friend of Patrick Lynch. Of course, if the Bush and Obama administrations would ever take some of their White Collar investigators back from the “War on Terror,” and put them back to the “War on White Collar Crime”…

3: Judges Pfeifer and Flanders- Connected as they come in RI (long time judiciary) and respected enough to be appointed receivers of Central Falls. Although CFDFC, the municipal corporation created to manage Wyatt, is a “distinct legal entity” from the city, these judges fail to point this out. Instead they allow the success or failure of this business to be seen as tied to the city, and the state.

2: Former A.G. Patrick Lynch is more embedded in Wyatt than just a friendship with Moreau. Of all the attorneys in RI to be Wyatt’s chief legal counsel, Lynch’s sister got the job when he was the Attorney General. What are the connections between current A.G. Kilmartin (also from Pawtucket) and the Wyatt? Perhaps that is an easy question for some.

1: Congressman Cicillini a rival to Mayor Moreau on leaving a city in shambles, and now that Wyatt represents “jobs” in his congressional district… We shall see how much he supports tax dollars being diverted to private investors’ financial scandal. Is there a protection of taxpayer funds? Is there a concern for human rights? For civil rights? Any concern for the families and communities being used to finance this business deal?

The For-Profit privately owned Wyatt prison is not the Alamo. It is not Bunker Hill, nor Ground Zero. Its just a bad business deal- and investors know that it doesn’t always work out. Ciao.

July 26, 2011January 22, 2012

Thou Shalt Not Kill, Except…

Its been about two months since Governor Chafee signed the bill that posthumously pardoned John Gordon, the last man executed by the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. During the hearing a great many people spoke eloquently about the terrible injustice of a man who (in hindsight) was so clearly innocent that he propelled the discontinuation of the Death Penalty in Rhode Island. Some spoke of racism, of frenzied crowds, or proper legal procedure. Others reiterated the spiritual and moral bankruptcy of putting people to death, made only more horrid when someone is likely innocent.

I wasn’t so eloquent. I was blunt, and spoke about innocent people locked away right now, and how legal technicalities can bury evidence that would exonerate someone and I even named names. But that was about “actual innocence.” What about the Death Penalty in general?

Governor Chafee is currently battling the federal government, who want the option of killing a Rhode Island resident upon conviction and sentencing by a jury. Chafee clearly is saying it doesn’t matter what the charge, there should be no death penalty. What do others think? Its long been said we live in the most Catholic state in the union, and the Church has long been one of the staunchest international opponents of the death penalty. But I’m not convinced that tenets of a church doctrine too often filter down to the card carriers. And it seems that one is more likely to get a “kill em” response from an average citizen in any situation where there is a public case on TV.

Is it time for a legislator to introduce a bill and have this public debate? Would the Attorney General support the death penalty? It seems he would. Jason Pleau, according to his lawyers, was prepared to plead guilty in exchange for Life Without Parole. Rather than accept that offer, A.G. Kilmartin dismissed the charges against him, leaving Pleau only open to federal prosecution and the possible death penalty. Kilmartin clearly knows it is illegal for the state to kill someone as punishment for a crime, and his job is to uphold the laws of Rhode Island.

Personally, I say bring on the death penalty. Under federal habeas corpus law section 2255, death penalty states receive more scrutiny of the case. It makes it vastly more expensive (California is spending tens of millions just to maintain their death penalty cases), and innocent people will die from time to time (Texas seems to have clearly killed two in recent years), but more people will be exonerated (Louisiana and Illinois have each cleared dozens over the past decade). Federal habeas section 2254, where there is no death penalty, allows for far more innocent people to rot away in prison. They are accused of terrible crimes, will likely never be paroled, and generate far less public oversight because it takes “natural causes” to kill them rather than a needle.

With conflict within the government itself, this discussion needs to be more fleshed out. Across the nation people hold this debate. Some tend to simplify it as those who support killing are “tough,” and those who oppose it are “soft.” Some believe the court system is infallible, and innocent people never get put to death. Some are strong enough to hold to their beliefs even when placed in a challenging situation. Does Chaffee support what Pleau did? Of course not. Does he think the man should be let go tomorrow? Of course not. But props to him for standing up for his beliefs; its pretty rare to see these days.

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