Kategorien
Freedom of Speech Mental Sick Prisoners` Case Politische Nachrichten in Deutscher Sprache Prison Affairs The Poor & the Poorest

MONTANA GOVERNOR MEETS FAMILY OF DEATH ROW CANADIAN


By Matt Gouras The Associated Press
Share this Article <!–

Send to Email

–>

<:article sizset=“5″ sizcache01876765396999754=“8″><:figure><:figcaption>The Canadian Press/Bill Graveland Ronald Smith is shown on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012, at Montanta State Prison in Deer Lodge.

HELENA, Mont. – Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Friday told the family of a Canadian on death row that he is undecided on the inmate’s request for executive clemency, at times expressing sympathy for his plight and at other times noting the desire of the victims’ families for retribution.

The governor had a long, frank discussion with relatives of convicted murderer Ronald A. Smith. Schweitzer told them that his options include doing nothing with the clemency request, which seeks life in prison without the possibility of parole instead of the death penalty.

Schweitzer sympathized with the plight of Smith, who is scheduled to be executed in the 1982 killings of two Blackfeet Indian men. The governor said it is not fair for Smith to be executed after an accomplice was paroled, and indicated he believes that Smith may be a different man.

But the governor said he has spoken with the victims’ families, Blackfeet tribal members, who have told him they need Smith’s death for closure. The governor said he remains uncertain whether Smith’s death would improve the situation, and said he is not sure the traditional form of justice for the Blackfeet would include the death penalty.

“In their system of justice, when people did something very bad, they were banished,” Schweitzer said.

A tribal council member has said that many in the tribe believe that if the governor gives clemency to Smith that means the governor values Native American lives less.

Schweitzer told Smith’s family, from Red Deer, Alta., that he is aware of that criticism, but argued it does not have merit because he believes he has done more than past governors to include Montana’s largest minority group in his administration. Still, the governor is weighing the desire of those on the reservation.

“They cannot rest until there is retribution and Ron’s life is taken. They told us that,” Schweitzer said.

Blackfeet tribal members and family of the victims told the Montana Parole Board earlier this year that the execution has been postponed for too long and say it is time for Smith to pay for his crimes.

The board is recommending that Schweitzer dismiss the clemency request, writing in their report that “justice is best served” by continuing with the execution. The governor makes the final call.

Smith’s sister, Rita Duncan, told the governor much of the same that she and others told the parole board: Smith is a changed man who deserves to live the rest of his life behind bars. Speaking in a barely audible whisper, Duncan at times broke down in tears, as she described the impact Smith has helping the rest of his family through letters and phone calls.

Also at the meeting were Smith’s dad Nelson Smith, his daughter Carmen Blackburn and her two children.

The governor told them all options remain on the table. He does not have a timetable for making a decision, but noted the best-case scenario for Smith is life behind bars.

“His sentence, one way or another, is death: slow or long,” Schweitzer said.

Schweitzer also expressed anger at Smith, who originally sought the death penalty at trial before changing his mind, for putting the state of Montana in the position of aiding a suicide he once wanted.

The governor noted that the victims and others also wonder whether Smith’s apparent turnabout is real.

“Are we sure that monster is gone? Is this just a mask?” Schweitzer said.

The governor said many who write or call his office think argue Smith needs to be killed.

“I keep coming back to this question of what is fair. I don’t know what is fair,” the governor said in the hour-long meeting.

Kategorien
Allgemein Mental Sick Prisoners` Case Money Affairs Social/psychological news

Sheriff Joe Arrests Six-Year-Old Undocumented Immigrant on Day of Obama’s Immigration Policy Shift | AlterNet


 Sheriff Joe Arrests Six-Year-Old Undocumented Immigrant on Day of Obama’s Immigration Policy Shift | AlterNet.

Joe Arpaio may be known as Sheriff Joe, but it’s also been proven he has little respect for the law if he deems it inconvenient to his beliefs. He is, of course, a frequent violator of civil rights (as viewed by the United States Justice Department) and used taxpayer funds to investigate his (debunked) conspiracy theory about Obama’s birth certificate. Distilled, it all boils down to Sheriff Joe being an archetypal old-style racist—one whose actions are consistently appalling despite never deviating from script. Of course, Arpaio’s actions were textbook the day President Obama announced he would soften his policies on deporting young immigrants:    Read more

By Julianne Escobedo Shepherd | AlterNet
Posted on Monday, June 18, 2012 @ 07:05 AM

Kategorien
Mental Sick Prisoners` Case News in English

Did Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Officers Kill a Latino Vet? Autopsy Suggests Violent Arrest Led to Death | AlterNet


Did Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Officers Kill a Latino Vet? Autopsy Suggests Violent Arrest Led to Death | AlterNet.

Read whole article there! Here some lines:

Did Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Officers Kill a Latino Vet? Autopsy Suggests Violent Arrest Led to Death
 Talking Points Memo is reporting that an autopsy reveals officers working for the infamous Sheriff Joe Arpaio may be responsible for the death of a 44-year-old Latino military veteran, Ernest „Marty“ Atencio. According to TPM, attorney Michael Manning plans to request an outside investigation:

 

Manning said the results of an autopsy released this week, six months after the death, proved what surveillance footage from the jail had already led him to believe: that Atencio would still be alive if sheriff’s detention officers and Phoenix cops hadn’t ganged up on him, pinned him down and given him electric shocks with a stun gun.    Read more

 

Kategorien
Freedom of Speech Innocence Projects Invisible Mental Sick Prisoners` Case News in English Political News in English Prison Affairs Social/psychological news The Poor & the Poorest

Missouri congressmen seek AG review of inmate’s case – KansasCity.com


Missouri congressmen seek AG review of inmate’s case – KansasCity.com.