Could Her Mother Have Killed Her?
We are presumed innocent until proven guilty in this country. We are guaranteed a fair trial by an impartial jury. That’s the bedrock of our justice system.
But what about the high profile defendant who lives through months and sometimes years of sensational media coverage before their case comes to trial? The potential jury pool in their community can become saturated with negative news about the accused, leaving people to justifiably ask how in the world a fair trial can be conducted.
The upcoming capital murder case of 25 year old Casey Anthony of Orlando, Florida makes my point. [click to continue…]
by Diane on April 25, 2011
Best Way to Curb Youth Crime - Get to 'Em Early
So often in this space I write about terrible things being done to – and sometimes by – the children of America. From sex trafficking to bullying, it is easy for a crime and justice writer to get mired in the all the negative surrounding our kids.
This time let’s concentrate on the positive.
Any child psychologist will tell you young people crave attention, structure and discipline. Any cop on the beat will tell you there are plenty of kids who just don’t get it at home. Their parents are either too busy working to pay the bills or their parents can’t pass it on because they never got it themselves. [click to continue…]
by Diane on April 18, 2011
Ugly Custody Battles Can Result in Parental Kidnappings
Hardly a week passes without hearing something about missing children in this country. Some are believed stolen for sexual purposes, some are found murdered and thousands of other children are kidnapped by one of their own parents.
Today, let’s focus on parental abductors.
For the parents left behind after their former spouse has kidnapped their child there is the agony of not knowing when – or if – they will see their baby again. Even the tiniest clue as to their son or daughter’s whereabouts is vitally important if there is ever to be a re-union.
To those heartsick parents I say – The IRS may very well know where your missing child is but the agency won’t tell you. The Agency isn’t allowed to tell you. [click to continue…]
by Diane on March 28, 2011
Abused Women Must Speak Out & Get Out
Oh boy, am I ever going to take heat for this. But it must be said.
There are some women caught up in the awful throes of domestic abuse who are to blame. Domestic abuse occurs because they allow it.
The women of whom I speak stay when they should leave. They repeatedly call police to come to their rescue after their partner’s anger erupts. Then, they repeatedly refuse to press charges. These abused and humiliated women forget the panic they felt at the moment they scrambled to the phone and dialed 9-11 for help. They imagine they can’t possibly make it in life without their abusive mate. They’re caught in a terrible cycle of co-dependent violence. [click to continue…]
by Diane on February 28, 2011
Guns on College Campuses - Okay With You?
W hen your children go to college what do you pack to send with them?
You probably include their clothing, some sheets and towels, a laptop computer and maybe a small refrigerator or microwave.
But, how about a gun?
Don’t be shocked. It’s not that far fetched. And guns could be coming to a college campus near you.
In the aftermath of several campus shootings in recent years and the gun fueled violence in Arizona that killed 6, wounded 13 and incapacitated Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, there is a movement to give older college students and their professors the right to carry weapons onto campus.
It is already the law in Utah where students at all public colleges are allowed to carry a concealed gun if they have the [click to continue…]
by Diane on February 21, 2011
Where To Cut? Where To Cut?
The president has now put forth his $3.73 trillion budget with its recommended deep spending cuts. And, the other politicians in Washington – those who represent us on Capitol Hill – have begun the traditional partisan bickering over what is acceptable and what is not. Many go at this monumentally important task focused on making the other party look irresponsible instead of pinpointing which cuts would be best to get our country back on a firm fiscal track.
Some wring their hands and moan that one proposed cut or another is “just a drop in the bucket.” They ignore the fact that lots of drops are needed to fill up a bucket. [click to continue…]
by Diane on February 14, 2011
Teen Killers - Some Deserve Life W/O Parole
I goofed. I thought I had researched it thoroughly enough but the response to my last column showed me I did not. Consider this my mea culpa.
The column was about the number of juveniles we sentenced to life without parole (LWOP) on charges of murder or accessory to murder. I quoted a Human Rights Watch report that placed the number of “children” sentenced to LWOP at 2,574. I questioned how America’s international stance on human rights squared with our “routinely toss(ing) kids” into prison for the rest of the lives.
As comments to the column rolled in I realized I had only written one side of the story. [click to continue…]
by Diane on February 7, 2011
America Locks Up Children Forever
Quick, a question: What does the United States of America have in common with the African nation of Somalia?
Answer: They are the only countries to refuse to sign Article 37 of the 1989 UN document entitled, “Rights of the Child.”
What’s that mean? Translated, it means America stands shoulder-to -shoulder with a primitive east African nation in routinely refusing to acknowledge the rights of children. And, America is also the only known nation in the world that allows children under the age of 18 to be tried as adults and sentenced to prison forever – with absolutely no chance for parole. In a majority of U.S. cases the child is charged with murder but sometimes they have simply been in the company of someone else who committed murder.
Hey, wait a minute! [click to continue…]
by Diane on January 24, 2011
Mom takes me to Sunday School
Let’s just say my long ago Sunday School lessons often went in one ear and out the other. But one passage from Matthew 6:3 always stuck with me, “…When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing…”
I remember that saying confused me as a child. How could a part of your body not know what another part was doing?
As I got older I began to interpret the passage to mean when you give to those less fortunate do it quietly and with humility. To brag about your charity negates it somehow.
Every New Year I try to think of something more I can do to give back to the crime and justice community that fascinates me so. Almost always it comes around to what can be done for the most innocent victims – children – who through no action of their own are thrown into lifelong turmoil by the adults in their lives.
[click to continue…]
by Diane on January 17, 2011
Tucson's Dead: Christina Taylor-Green, Dorothy Morris, Judge John Roll, Phyllis Schneck, Dorwin Stoddard, Gabe Zimmerman
Now what?
After the tragedy in Tucson, Arizona – 6 dead including a federal judge and 14 shot including a congresswoman left as a national martyr, a symbol of the evil people are capable of heaping on each other – now what do we do as a nation?
We’ve lived through more than a week of people throwing barbs tinged with poisonous political rhetoric at each other (Republican rantings made the gunman snap! No, it was the Tea Party! It was intolerant liberal politics that made him pull the trigger!) and now that the initial vomiting of invectives is over, can we please just take a breath?
We need to not be distracted from solving crimes and figuring out what drives people to mass murder.
Let’s logically look at the facts surrounding the history of 22 year old Jared Loughner and ignore those who would use this terrible calamity to advance their own political agendas. Examine what happened in Tucson on January 8th as a detective would who’s investigating a crime cops call Rampage Murder. [click to continue…]
