by Diane on August 1, 2011
Untested Rape Kits Add to Victim's Humiliation
The evidence had been there all along. It had been sitting on a shelf inside a cold storage facility at the Houston Police Department for 12 years. After a determined detective tracked it down and sent it off to the lab for testing the state of Texas realized it had a found a serial rapist.
The criminal’s name is Roland Ali Westbrooks and his story highlights why every state in the union should make testing of backlogged rape kits a top priority.
For more than two decades law enforcement has had the ability to take even the tiniest specks of evidence from a rape victim – bodily fluids, stray hairs, fingernail scrapings – and match the DNA findings to information stored in a national data base called CODIS.
Every time a rape kit is processed the DNA print is supposed to be entered into CODIS. And the reason for this is simple: Rapists rape repeatedly. They hardly ever have just one victim. [click to continue…]
by Diane on June 13, 2011
Dr. Kevorkian Helped Us Think About Death
Hardly a day goes by that I don’t remember holding my stricken mother’s hand as she laid on a special hospital bed we had set up in her living room. It was there she took her last breath. Almost every day I think about how my father died in the bedroom of the home he loved so much. Both my parents passed away exactly how they lived – on their own terms.
They wanted no heroic measures to prolong their lives and they adamantly told me – their only child – that they did not want to die in a cold, impersonal hospital room. They made me promise to abide by their wishes. And just in case, they signed a living will putting it all in writing.
I thank Dr. Jack Kevorkian for that. He started the national dialogue about death that opened up the topic for discussion in my household. [click to continue…]
And, It Restored Our National Unity
Doesn’t it seem sad somehow that it took the assassination of Osama Bin Laden to re-ignite our national patriotism?
For ten very long years Bin Laden has been our Public Enemy Number One, our officially sanctioned Bogey Man. After his death was announced the spontaneous gatherings that occurred outside the White House, at sporting events and other locations around America were truly inspiring, especially when the crowds began to sing the National Anthem.
For me it brought back memories of a decade ago (has it been that long?!) when all of us banded together after the 9/11 attacks and regardless of race, class or political affiliation we collectively declared our pride in – and allegiance to – our country.
After September 11, 2001 we agreed justice would be ours. But, as the years passed we drifted away from that feeling of national unity and our public discourse became mired in ugly and divisive political rhetoric.
Now, with Bin Laden’s death we’ve finally gotten that justice. Feel better? [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 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 January 31, 2011
State of President Obama's Union, 2011
One of the primary functions of government is to keep us safe – not only from foreign enemies but from fellow citizens who’ve turned to crime. We function best when we feel safe and secure in the world. It allows us to unlock our creative minds, produce more and better work and give back to society in the most positive ways.
So, as I watched President Obama’s State of the Union speech I listened carefully for what he would say that would address American’s concerns about crime and justice and help us feel safer. After all, consider recent events. Shortly before the speech, in states across the nation, eleven police officers had been killed in the line of duty in a 24 period. And the country is still reeling from the shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona that left 6 people dead and 14 wounded, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
I was disappointed with the speech. [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 November 29, 2010
President Obama Pardons "Courage"
Watching President Barack Obama grant the traditional “pardon” to a Thanksgiving turkey got me thinking about my friend Dan Hanks. Dan has been asking for a presidential pardon since April 2003. I think he deserves one.
Since the early 80’s Daniel Joseph Portley-Hanks has conducted undercover investigations for our government, specifically the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Along with his private investigation partner, the late Fred Valis, Hanks helped the feds crack a multitude of major cases that put away dozens of career criminals. [click to continue…]
by Diane on November 1, 2010
The One Who Didn't Shrink From the Job
Remember the name Marisol Valles Garcia. She’ll either go down in history as a selfless heroine or she’ll soon be dead. Maybe both.
Twenty year old Marisol lives in the small and violent Mexican border village of Praxedis Guadalupe Guerro, population 9,149. Marisol is a criminal justice graduate student, married and the mother of a little boy. The baby calls her Mama. The rest of her village now calls her Chief, their Chief of Police. It’s a job no one else in her village would take for fear they’d lose their lives if they put on a badge.
The last man in Marisol’s position, Chief Manuel Castro, was kidnapped tortured and beheaded last year. But Marisol says she took the job because she’s just tired of everyone being afraid. She said after being sworn in, “We have to reclaim our lives!” [click to continue…]
by Diane Dimond on October 4, 2010
Sweeping Out Corruption
Could it be a trend? Oh, please tell me it’s a trend!
There seems to be a mini-movement underway of disgruntled taxpayers and law enforcement officials intent on sweeping out the bums who play-act at being our political leaders while lining their own pockets.
You may have already heard about the situation in the Los Angeles suburb of Bell, California where eight current and past city leaders were arrested and charged with illegally awarding themselves exorbitant salaries and misappropriating public funds. When filing the charges District Attorney Steve Cooley called it a case of “corruption on steroids.” [click to continue…]
