The Washington Post reports that two months ago, because of reports of Iraqi prisoner abuse, the Army "quietly" sent a team of 25 military police to Iraq to train the troops watching the prisoners:

The move followed an internal Army investigation that found military police at the Abu Ghraib prison largely unprepared for their role as guards and accused them of grossly mistreating Iraqi detainees, the officials said. The decision to send the special team reflected an acknowledgement by U.S. military commanders that the abuse of detainees and laxness in oversight evident at the prison may extend beyond the small group of enlisted soldiers and officers charged or reprimanded so far and require broader remedial action.

The article says the Administration is not making excuses for the guards' misbehavior:

The episode has focused attention not only on the training of military police guards, but also on the techniques used by military intelligence agents and private contractors responsible for interrogating prisoners. An internal Army investigation has reported that the accused prison guards -- enlisted personnel from a reserve military police unit -- were acting on instructions from the interrogators, who told the guards to "set physical and mental conditions for favorable interrogation of witnesses."

It's also clear the misconduct of the guards violated the law:

by TChris

Every now and then, someone gets charged with a crime (usually a version of disorderly conduct) for uttering a naughty word in public. Courts often find that language common in locker rooms, high schools, and HBO isn't entitled to constitutional protection if, uttered publicly, it disturbs someone, or might have, particularly if the profanity falls upon the tender ears of a minor.

The Supreme Court declined to take a case that tested the limits of the government's ability to criminalize foul language. Malachi Robinson, a candidate for Stupid Criminal of the Week --

was walking down the street about midnight four years ago when he called the Missoula county deputy in a nearby squad car a "(expletive) pig." The deputy got out and confronted Robinson, who uttered another expletive at the officer.

It should come as no surprise that Robinson was arrested. But, unnecessarily obnoxious and offensive as Robinson was being, didn't he have a right to express his opinion about public employees? He didn't cause a confrontation; the officer could have stayed in the squad car. Police officers aren't children; they might not like what they hear, but this probably wasn't the first time the officer had encountered abusive opinions about law enforcement. Shouldn't the first amendment protect the right to be publicly disrespectful?

My DD's Chris Bowers compares the electabilty factors for Wesley Clark and John Edwards as running mate for John Kerry. He concludes Edwards is the better choice. We agree.

Update: CNN analysis of the veepstakes is here.

Frank Quattrone, the former banker who made a fortune taking hot tech companies public, has been found guilty of obstructing federal investigations into 1990's stock offerings.

Jurors delivered their verdict after deliberating about seven hours over two days, concluding the ex-banker tried to block grand jury and regulatory investigations by forwarding an e-mail to co-workers reminding them to "clean up" their files. It was the second trial for Quattrone, 48, who will likely face one to two years in prison at his sentencing, set for Sept. 8. The first trial ended in a hung jury. Quattrone, who grew up in a working-class neighborhood and later earned $120 million in one year as a banker, showed no emotion as the verdict was read. But he later hugged his crying mother.

Quattrone was represented at both trials by San Francisco's John Keker, one of the finest litigators in the country.

We are obviously grossly disappointed. I feel like we failed Frank," attorney John Keker said outside the federal courthouse where both trials were held. "He's innocent."

Say hello to Moving Ideas. Org, formerly known as the Electronic Policy Network. It is a project of American Prospect. From its "about page":

Our goal is to improve collaboration and dialogue between policy and grassroots organizations, and to promote their work to journalists and legislators. Moving Ideas posts the best ideas and resources from leading progressive research and advocacy institutions, as well as promotes high-quality websites and publishes original content. We hope to strengthen democratic participation by providing a more inclusive and intelligible debate about the issues that shape our world.

Here's one article of particular interest to us:

by TChris

Concerned that protestors might exercise their First Amendment rights during an economic summit that President Bush will attend with world leaders at Sea Island on the coast of Georgia next month, the City of Brunswick and Glynn County enacted laws designed to inhibit demonstrations.

Brunswick and Glynn County approved laws in March requiring permits for groups of six or more people gathering on public property for any purpose aimed at attracting the attention of bystanders. The laws require groups to put up deposits equal to estimated costs for clean-up and police protection. They also prohibit participants from carrying signs larger than 2 feet by 3 feet, or on sticks that could be used as weapons.

The ACLU filed suit today asking a court to declare the laws unconstitutional. The ACLU has recent precedent on its side.

The lawsuit in federal court comes 18 days after a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a similar law in Augusta. The ACLU filed that suit on behalf of women's activist Martha Burk, who fought with the city last year over her right to demonstrate at the Masters golf tournament.

Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, married to former CIA operative Valerie Plame, whose identity was outed by journalist Robert Novak who reportedly got it from senior White House officials, has a new book out, The Politics of Truth.

In it, he names three possible leakers of the information, among them, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Our copy of the book arrived today. The book charges that the White House crossed the line from promoting policy to willful deceptions and possible violations of federal law. Wilson says this Administration has become a danger to the nation.

Get your copy now.

The Politics of Truth
by Joseph Wilson

Marcus Dixon, the black high school honor student serving a ten year sentence in a Georgia prison for consensual sex with his nearly-16-year-old white girlfriend, has had his conviction reversed by the Georgia Supreme Court.

The state's highest court ruled 18-year-old Marcus Dixon should have been prosecuted just on the lesser charge of misdemeanor statutory rape rather than aggravated child molestation for having sex with a 15-year-old in February 2003. Dixon had claimed he was targeted because he is black and had sex with a white girl. His case drew protests from the NAACP.

Dixon was acquitted on felony rape charges but found guilty of aggravated child molestation, which comes with a mandatory decade-long sentence, as well as statutory rape. Monday's ruling lets the statutory rape conviction, which carries a maximum sentence of one year and a $1,000 fine, stand.

Dixon was 18 at the time of the offense with a 3.96 grade point average. His football scholarship to attend Vanderbilt University was revoked after his arrest. His case drew national publicity and strong criticism from the NAACP. Dixon is African-American; his victim is white.

More details are available in this article, Was it a Lynching or Justice?

[comments now closed]

by TChris

States are rethinking the "lock 'em up" approach to crime as they notice a correlation between soaring prison populations and rising deficits. A report by the Justice Department should fuel the demand for reform.

The number of arrests rose only to 13.7 million in 2001 from 12 million in 1982, and the number of court cases grew only to 92.8 million in 2001 from 86 million in 1984, the report found. But the number of state and federal prison inmates jumped to 1.3 million in 2001, up from only 488,000 in 1985. At the same time, the number of inmates in local and county jails tripled, to 631,000, the report said.

The pricetag for fighting crime reached $167 billion in 2001. Realizing that they can't afford to continue funding an unduly harsh response to crime, states have started to rethink their sentencing philosophies.

In the last year, more than half the states took legislative steps to modify tough sentencing laws they passed in the 1990's, like scrapping mandatory minimum terms or requiring treatment instead of prison for first-time drug offenders, said Dan Wilhelm, director of the state sentencing and corrections program at the Vera Institute of Justice in New York.

Professor Michael Jacobson says that the policy changes have been "minor reformist efforts, just nibbling around the edges," and argues that this is a good time "to take a new look at how we use mass incarceration."

One big savings could come from a revised parole policy, he said, returning fewer parolees to prison for minor infractions like being late for an appointment with a parole officer or failing a drug test. This would be particularly helpful in California, the state with the largest number of inmates and where almost two-thirds are in prison for parole violations.

Seven more 7 G.I.'s have been sanctioned for abusing Iraqi prisoners at Al Ghraib prison raising the total number of penalized soldiers to 13. The commander of the prison, Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, maintains she had no idea the abuse was occurring. She is trying to blame it on the military intelligence unit. Whatever happened to "The buck stops here?" We're tired of her excuses. It happened on her watch. She should go.

Say hello to Media Matters, the new website headed up by former conservative journalist David Brock, since turned progressive. The New York Times explores the new site which it says will monitor conservative websites and radio and tv programs.

The site is well funded--to the tune of $2 million--by the folks at American Center Progress Report and other wealthy liberals:

Among Mr. Brock's donors is Leo Hindery Jr., the former cable magnate; Susie Tompkins Buell, who is co-founder of the fashion company Esprit and is close to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, and Ms. Buell's husband Mark; and James C. Hormel, a San Francisco philanthropist whose appointment as ambassador to Luxembourg was delayed for a year and a half in the late 1990's by conservative lawmakers protesting what they called his promotion of a "gay lifestyle."

Here's how Media Matters describes itself:

At the behest of Mass. Governor Mitt Romney, a panel of appointed experts have submitted a death penalty bill for the state. The proponents of the bill argue that under its provisions, the death penalty will be applied fairly and innocent persons are unlikely to be executed. Poppycock.

Nationwide, more than 100 death row inmates have been exonerated in recent years. Former Illinois governor George Ryan ® commuted 167 death sentences in January 2003, saying his state's system was "haunted by the demon of error." A University of Michigan study published last month said it was likely that thousands of wrongfully convicted people were incarcerated in the United States.

Joshua Rubenstein, northeast regional director for Amnesty International, which opposes capital punishment, said that the reforms proposed by Romney expose the shortcomings of existing death penalty laws and that those sentenced to long prison terms for murder or other crimes deserve the same high standards Romney seeks for capital cases. Even with higher standards in place, Rubenstein said, mistakes will continue, because even scientific evidence has been proven fallible. "The system is simply too flawed to fix," he said. "We are still relying on the vagaries of human nature, and there's nothing Governor Romney can do about that."

The Commission did not start from the proposition of asking whether the death penalty should be reinstated. It assumed it should:

The 11-member committee was not asked to make a recommendation about whether the penalty should be reinstated but rather to determine how best to administer it.

Massachussetts has not had a death penalty for 20 years. No one has been executed in the state in 57 years. Our view: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Romney will hold a press conference and release the Commission's report Monday.