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written by JFJ | 107 Views | Rating: (0 rates)
Radley Balko | October 26, 2009
Anthony Caravella was released from a Florida prison last
month. He served 26 years for a rape and murder that DNA testing
has shown he didn't commit. Caravella was 15 at the time he was
arrested, and has an IQ of 67. He was convicted in part due to a
confession his attorneys say was beaten out of him by police
interrogators. Caravella's prosecutor, Robert Carney, has put at
least two other people in prison for murder who were later
cleared of the crimes for which they convicted. Carney is now a
judge in Broward County, though he recently announced he's
retiring at the end of this year.
The injustice in Caravella's case could have been worse. Carney
originally sought the death penalty. The jury voted 11-1 for life
in prison, instead. According to the Sun-Sentinel, in
1985 Carney also prosecuted another mentally-challenged man, John
Purvis, for killing his Ft. Lauderdale neighbor. Months later,
Carney received a tip that the victim's ex-husband had hired a
hit man to kill her. Carney refused to reopen the case, leaving
Purivs' attorneys to hear about the murder-for-hire through other
means. Purvis did nine years in prison before the woman's
ex-husband and the hit-man were arrested and prosecuted.
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written by flalady | 406 Views | Rating: (0 rates)
Dr. Peter Breggin Posted: July 1, 2009 11:34 AM Medication Madness: How Psychiatric Drugs Cause Violence, Suicide, and Crime
Over
the years as a psychiatrist I've evaluated innumerable cases of
individuals who have been driven over the edge by psychiatric drugs.
Many of these men, women and children were evaluated for legal cases
but others were not. When I was re-evaluating about a hundred of these
real-life stories for my latest book, Medication Madness: The Role of
Psychiatric Drugs in Cases of Violence, Suicide and Crime, I began to
see a pattern that I call medication spellbinding. Technically, the new
scientific concept is called intoxication anosognosia: not knowing that
you are intoxicated. Medication spellbinding has four basic effects. ...Read More
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UNITED NATIONS — The Obama administration is reviving efforts to have the United States sign onto a global children's rights treaty ratified by every U.N. member except the U.S. and Somalia, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, said Monday.
Administration officials are actively discussing "when and how it might be possible to join," Rice, a Cabinet-level official, said while visiting a school in Harlem and fielding a teenager's specific question about the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child.
She did not provide a specific timetable for the decision and has said previously only that the administration would conduct a legal review of the treaty.
Sign in and join the discussion! ...Read More
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written by flalady | 426 Views | Rating: (0 rates)
Lawrence County District Attorney John Bongivengo said Wednesday his re-election loss should not affect his prosecution of an 11-year-old for a double homicide.
Bongivengo lost the Democratic primary to challenger Joshua Lamancusa, who won 63 percent of the vote, but he will remain in office until January. The homicide case of Jordan Anthony Brown might have factored into the lopsided election result, Bongivengo said.
"I'm sure that affected some people," he said of his decision to pursue an adult trial for the boy. "Maybe it affected a lot of people. It's tough to say."
...Read More
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| The Police and the Falsely Accused |
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A police officer can arrest you, without a warrant, if they "see" you committing a crime or if they have "probable cause" to believe that you have committed a crime. All it takes is one person making a criminal complaint against you, without any corroboration, to give the police "probable cause" to arrest.
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In most circumstances, they should have an arrest warrant if they're arresting you at your home, or a search warrant to search your home, but there are exceptions to every rule. If the police tell you that they have a warrant, ask to look at it. Do not simply "agree" to a search of your home, your car or your person. Again, simply tell the officer that you want your attorney present.
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If you are arrested, do not resist arrest or become verbally abusive, regardless of how ridiculous you believe the charges are. If you do, you could well find yourself facing additional charges and possibly be injured in the arrest process. You can tell them your name, address and date of birth, but don't answer questions about the crime or where you were when it happened. Tell them that you do not wish to answer questions without speaking to your attorney first. Be safe. Do not answer questions or make statements about your case to the police or the prosecutor and do not sign any statements. Don't think that police will simply release you because you talked to them. | ...Read More
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