A man is arrested, illegally held for a l-o-o-o-n-n-n-g time, his rights never accorded by the authorities, and you blame the victim of a penal system gone mad in New Orleans.

Your repeated statements that the newspaper failed to provide PROOF that he was a legal resident is entirely moot; that determination was obviously made by the courts and the prosecutor, for that is where the newspaper would have obtained their information.

But you REALLY cross the line into fantasy world and bigotry where you state:

"And one other thing... If he was legal, and if his family was legal, why didn't they contact someone in CA?? I would guess there are numerous immigrant rights groups that would have been anxious to help."

What, Jim, ya think jails are country clubs where you can just pick up a phone and call anyone any time you like? As a bail agent for almost 15-years, and I  am sure Jeralyn can confirm this, it can sometimes be difficult to impossible to get to a phone, and the article states the hard times that befell the family, so there is no guarantee that they EVEN HAD A PHONE.

Here you show an utter lack of knowledge in respect of immigration:

"But one thing is for sure. We are allowing immigrants of both legal and illegal types into the country too fast if one with (obviously) no resources, can survive for 13 years without learning English."

TWELVE YEARS AGO my wife and I filled out all the paperwork for my wife's Filipino son and his wife to come here to the states. Two years later we got a notice that his/her names had been added to the list for immigration - and in the TEN YEARS since there has been nothing more forthcoming. Immigrating to America is nowhere near "too fast."

Further evidence of your bias:

"It is called "assimilation" folks. And if it isn't done you can expect some serious problems."

There is no requirement for an American citizen or legal immigrant to speak English. Obviously, as well, you don't know anything about Bakersfield, CA where probably 60 to 75% of residents are farm workers and speak Spanish only. How many other languages do you speak?

"Perhaps he should have thought about his family before he:

After being booked on Oct. 13, 2005, with aggravated battery after a street fight, Parra-Sanchez,..."

How would you have any idea if his arrest was even justified? How could you know whether or not he was simply defending himself? How do you know that he was properly identified in the first place and was never involved in the fight?

Better by far to assume his guilt and that he was the sole creator of his problem, eh?

"And yes, I am capable, as the Left is not, of having sympathy for the victim while noting their contribution to the problem, and the long term impact these actions can have on society.

Otherwise these things turn into a "sob-sister" story worthy of the days of "yellow journalism" or even more so, "Opraph strikes again."

Again, although you claim that this shouldn't have happened, YOU AGAIN BLAME THE VICTIM instead of the perpetrators of this travesty of justice: The police/sheriff's responsibility to properly log his arrest/incarceration and submit reports to the prosecutor; the prosecutor who, for whatever reason, never filed a timely complaint with the court; and the court system that should have followed up by making sure he was arraigned in a timely manner AS REQUIRED BY LAW.

And lastly, "sob-sister" story, "yellow journalism", Opraph [sic] strikes again?

My god, Jim, THE MAN WAS HELD ILLEGALLY FOR 13 MONTHS IN JAIL and you are so insensitive, heartless, and thoughtless as to use those words in describing the right of the victim AND the people in whose name this offense was committed to be informed of this travesty in the most pejorative and insulting manner possible?

And you claim to be sorry for the man.

Jim, your words ring as hollow as they possibly could. You claim to see and understand that a mistake was made and then make repeated and ever more callous statements about how it is the victims fault, as if he had free reign to do anything he wanted to bring this to a faster conclusion, when, clearly, the justice system failed the victim.

There's no reason to respond to this, Jim, I will not address the subject again.

You can argue facts, as I have here, but your opinion is YOUR opinion; you are entitled to it, but perhaps if you re-think this you may come to a different conclusion.

After being booked on Oct. 13, 2005, with aggravated battery after a street fight, Parra-Sanchez,

And he definitely should not have been treated like he was.

And perhaps he is a legal resident who has been been here for 13 years who can't speak enough English to tell someone he hasn't seen a judge.

But one thing is for sure. We are allowing immigrants of both legal and illegal types into the country too fast if one with (obviously) no resources, can survive for 13 years without learning English.

It is called "assimilation" folks. And if it isn't done you can expect some serious problems.

BTW - I plead guilty to not reading, but assuming on the supposed legal status. The PI doesn't reference their sources, nor does the blog.

I hope his experiences will convince him to return to his birth country where he will be able to communicate with his government, since he obviouly has no desire to do so with ours.

And one other thing... If he was legal, and if his family was legal, why didn't they contact someone in CA?? I would guess there are numerous immigrant rights groups that would have been anxious to help.