by TChris

Supporters of Andrea Yates, the mentally ill woman in Houston who drowned her children in a bathtub, argue that she should be treated in a mental health facility, not confined in a prison for life. Andrea's lead attorney, George Parnham, reports that Andrea is not coping well with prison life.

Yates is a bright woman, a former cancer nurse. But these days, her short-term memory is poor. She seems to understand what she is told, then she forgets. She isn't agitating to leave her prison home, Parnham said. For her, for now, there is a nightmarish past and no future.

Dr. George Ringholz, the chief of the section of behavioral neurology and neuropsychology at Baylor College of Medicine, tested Yates and concluded that she suffers from schizophrenia. Prison doctors think she suffers from a bipolar disorder. Another expert thinks she may have schizo-affective disorder, but argues that the precise diagnosis is less important than making sure the symptoms -- which include visual and auditory hallucinations -- are treated correctly.

Dr. Ringholz and Andrea's husband, Rusty Yates, believe the medical system failed Andrea by misdiagnosing her developing mental illness as postpartum depression and by viewing her problems "as isolated events, as opposed to a disease unfolding."

In mid-February, Andrea's lawyers, now working pro bono, will be filing documents seeking a new trial.

by TChris

A clash between federal supremacy and states' rights is heating up in Colorado. Attorneys for federal agents who refuse to follow a state court order to return confiscated marijuana to a medical patient have asked a judge to dismiss a motion seeking to hold the agents in contempt. TalkLeft has written about the case here and here.

Don Nord was entitled under Colorado law to possess the marijuana as medicine. When no charges were filed after the marijuana and other items were seized during the execution of a search warrant, Routt County Judge James Garrecht ordered everything returned to Nord, including two ounces of marijuana. Federal officers returned everything but the two ounces of pot, citing the status of marijuana as contraband under federal law.

In response to a motion asking that the agents be held in contempt for failing to return the marijuana, Justice Department lawyers have asked for the contempt proceedings to be dismissed. They wrote:

"It is not the intent of officers or agents of the U.S. to violate state law in the performance of their duties or to ignore orders of state court judges. In this instant, regrettably, such violation was mandated by federal law, a circumstance that is unfortunate and rare."

The government lawyers wrote that the agents were required to follow federal law in the performance of their job duties, and that they might be subject to discipline, including termination, if they obeyed the court order.

Nord's attorney, Kristopher Hammond, is not persuaded by the government's response.

"If they didn't like the judge's order to return the marijuana, they should have appealed that order. They didn't and I believe that every court has the right to enforce its orders.

"We all have to obey court orders even if we don't like them. Sounds to me like they're being a bunch of crybabies."

Hammond makes a good point. In a society based on the rule of law, the proper response to a court order the government considers to be flawed is to appeal the order, not to disobey it.

GenFoods makes the argument, with pictures, that President Bush may suffer from cocaine-induced Parkinson's Disease.

We seem to remember that the President's last public bout with alcohol and whatever else was at his 40th birthday party at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.

We're not endorsing the theory, just pointing out the post.

by TChris

Noting that 600,000 inmates will be released from prison this year, President Bush proposed in his State of the Union address "a four-year, $300 million prisoner re-entry initiative to expand job training and placement services, to provide transitional housing, and to help newly released prisoners get mentoring, including from faith-based groups." As Bush recognized, "America is the land of second chance, and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life."

Federal District Court Judge Nancy Gertner applauds the thought, but is concerned that Bush's proposal is "too little, too late."

The problem is that the policies our government has implemented, long before those prison gates are open, undermine a prisoner's opportunity for a second chance. Too many prisoners are serving sentences that are too long under conditions that are not remotely conducive to rehabilitation. We must change our approach long before reentry.

In fact, Bush's $300 million initiative reminds me of a homeowner who, midwinter, turns up the thermostat but leaves the front door open. It seems like a great idea, but it misses the real problems.

Judge Gertner notes that legislation requiring lengthy prison terms, while politically popular, actually makes the crime problem worse. Offenders come out prison with no job skills and no job prospects, resulting in the destruction of communities and the decimation of families "that are already struggling, especially in our inner-cities. And from those decimated communities comes more crime."

Drawing upon her visits to the programs that the federal Probation Office uses to support the efforts of ex-offenders to restart their lives, and upon her observation of the policies and practices of the Bureau of Prisons, Judge Gertner concludes that the President's call for a "reentry" program sounds laudable, but is in essence "a cruel joke in a society where the race to punish has made it next to impossible for ex-offenders to get public assistance or qualify for a host of government programs." In Judge Gertner's view, the President's proposal is undermined by harsh sentences and by prison philosophies that emphasize punishment over rehabilitation. She makes a persuasive argument that "Reentry should begin at sentencing, and not a moment later."

Judge Gertner bases her forceful argument on experience and insight. She's right, and her editorial is well worth reading.

by TChris

The judge in Michael Jackson’s criminal prosecution has responded to media requests for the release of an affidavit made in support of a search warrant application by sealing the documents.

The judge, Rodney S. Melville of Santa Barbara County Superior Court, said Friday that the documents contained "reports of statements of a minor about events of a sexual nature" and ordered them sealed indefinitely.

Judge Melville also said releasing the material as requested by the news media would "complicate the process of selecting an unbiased jury."

The judge criticized prosecution and defense attorneys for comments made earlier in the case. He singled out District Attorney Thomas Sneddon Jr.’s reference to Michael Jackson as “Wacko Jacko” during an appearance on Court TV, and also noted that Mark Geragos had stated on “Larry King Live” that the case against Michael Jackson was a “scam.”

Geragos’ remark seems simply to be a comment upon what he expected the evidence at trial to prove, while Sneddon engaged in inappropriate and unprofessional name calling. The court has since entered an order prohibiting the lawyers from discussing the case publicly.

by TChris

When the police publicly identify someone as a suspect in a notorious crime, the injury done to that person’s reputation may be irreparable. Just ask Richard Jewel.

James Van de Velde is doing his best to restore his reputation after the New Haven Police Department identified him as one of 5 to 10 suspects in the stabbing murder of one of his students at Yale in 1998. No other suspect was named. He passed a lie detector test in 2000 and in 2001 the state’s attorney for New Haven announced that DNA from skin found under the victim’s fingernails did not match that of Van de Velde. Still, the police have not made a public statement that Van de Velde is no longer a suspect.

Van de Velde has turned to the courts for help in his quest to restore his reputation. He recently settled a libel suit against Quinnipiac University arising out of its false claim that he had been fired from two television internships, and has a lawsuit pending against The Hartford Courant. Also pending is a lawsuit seeking damages from the New Haven Police Chief, four detectives, and Yale University officials for causing him to be publicly branded as a suspect in the murder.

But Mr. Van de Velde wants something money cannot buy: his good name. His lawyer said Tuesday that although the lawsuits can "hold people accountable for what they've done to Jim, he isn't sure the Police Department will ever recant its statement implicating him."

"I hope someday the New Haven Police Department will have the integrity to admit it wronged James Van de Velde," he said. "I have real doubts whether that is going to happen."

Restoring a reputation after the police recklessly identify someone as a murder suspect is as difficult as putting the toothpaste back in the tube. Whatever redress he wins in court will be well deserved, but the damage will probably never be undone.

Roy Black, attorney for Rush Limbaugh, issued this statement regarding confidential correspondence that was released to the media by Palm Beach State Attorney Barry Krischer.

“My letter to Mr. Krischer regarding Mr. Limbaugh’s case asked that Mr. Limbaugh be afforded the treatment anyone else would receive. The State's response was preposterous, but consistent with their double standard in this case. The facts are: Mr. Limbaugh went to these doctors to relieve chronic, intractable pain; there was no doctor shopping. Mr. Limbaugh never considered accepting the State’s ludicrous offer. He was not going to plea to something he did not do. We sent them a letter suggesting Mr. Limbaugh be treated in a similar manner that others had been treated. They responded with a preposterous offer. Discussions ended at that time. At no time was there ever a plea agreement of any kind.

Our good pal TChris will be back at TalkLeft tomorrow--fresh off a victory in a sex assault trial. After a week long trial, the jury came back at 11:00 last night with a not guilty verdict on two counts. He's attending a martini-tasting tonight, and unless he's too hung over, which we doubt, he'll be posting here tomorrow.

TChris is smart, articulate, writes really well and shares our views on just about every issue. Leave some comments to his posts, so he'll want to come back more often!

We'll be posting occasionally as well.

Prisoners at an Arizona prison have released one of the two hostages they have been holding for almost a week. The other, a female corrections officer, is still inside.

The male corrections officer, whose name was not released, climbed down a ladder placed against the tower and walked to freedom at the Lewis prison facility, about 45 miles southwest of Phoenix, officials said. He was taken to a nearby hospital.

A female corrections officer was still being held hostage by the two inmates who forced their way into the observation tower at Arizona's second largest prison early last Sunday.....The medium- to high-security prison, which houses about 4,500 inmates, has been in lockdown since the incident started.

A bad situation. We hope that the female officer is released unharmed.

We're watching a live interview with Ralph Nader on Fox News.

He will decide in 2 to 3 weeks whether he is running. If he runs, it will be on an Independent ticket. His mind is close to being made up.

On whether he cost Gore the election: He says Gore beat Gore by not getting Tennessee or Arkansas, either one of which would have resulted in him beating Bush. Nader says if you're looking to blame someone, "blame the thieves who stole the election," naming Jeb Bush & Katherine Harris among others.

He said he won't support the Democratic candidate if he decides not to run because he's an Independent. He praised Dennis Kucinich.

Check this out from Newsweek:

Riding high on his victory in the Iowa caucus—and benefiting from former Vermont governor Howard Dean’s embarrassing “I have a scream” speech—Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry has surged to the head of the pack of democratic presidential hopefuls, according to the latest NEWSWEEK poll, commanding 30 percent of support from registered Democrats, up from 11 percent two weeks ago. And for the first time in the poll's history a Democrat is enjoying a marginal advantage over President George W. Bush. In a hypothetical face-off, Kerry commanded a three-point lead over the president. Dean’s support among registered and likely Democrats, meanwhile, has been cut in half, to 12 percent. That puts him in three-way tie for second place in the Jan. 27 New Hampshire primary with retired Gen. Wesley Clark (12 percent) and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards (13 percent). [emphasis our's.]

Excellent article by George Hunsinger titled Iraq: The Case for War Crumbles over at Antiwar.com--with an ominous prediction at the end.