Local crime news

[Wake27]

ETA - I was pretty heated when I wrote this (obviously), so in an effort to turn it into something more productive, I wanted to post about another incident that happened just up near Denver, if for no other reason then its been a while since I've seen this. The guards had no chance to put up a fight IMO.





Saw this one Facebook but I’m trying to minimize what I say on that platform. Now that I have a little girl, this is even harder to come to terms with. I firmly believe that our system should be based on “innocent until proven guilty,” but if he accepted a plea deal it has to be unlikely that he’s innocent.

Back story is that he faced several (5 I think) charges of various sexual assault crimes against a fourish year old neighbor that he babysat for. Since accepting that plea, two more now teenagers have come forward. He’d also been charged for similar crimes several years ago but IIRC, those were dropped.

The grandmother that was caring for the initial victim said the first red flag she picked up on was when the little girl started crying after he told her that she was going with him. Knowing what was behind that crying, I’d never forgive myself.




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[tn1911]

I firmly believe that our system should be based on “innocent until proven guilty,” but if he accepted a plea deal it has to be unlikely that he’s innocent.

Not necessarily...

Innocent People Who Plead Guilty

https://abovethelaw.com/2018/07/inno...-plead-guilty/

There’s an assumption that when someone pleads guilty to a crime, swearing to tell the truth and allocuting to all the elements, he actually committed it. But this is not necessarily true.

Are Innocent People Pleading Guilty? A New Report Says Yes

https://www.forbes.com/sites/walterp.../#7a417d8e5193

Guilty pleas have replaced trials for a very simple reason: individuals who choose to exercise their Sixth Amendment right to trial face exponentially higher sentences if they invoke the right to trial and lose. Faced with this choice, individuals almost uniformly surrender the right to trial rather than insist on proof beyond a reasonable doubt, defense lawyers spend most of their time negotiating guilty pleas rather than ensuring that police and the government respect the boundaries of the law including the proof beyond a reasonable doubt standard, and judges dedicate their time to administering plea allocutions rather than evaluating the constitutional and legal aspects of the government’s case and police conduct. Equally important, the public rarely exercises the oversight function envisioned by the Framers and inherent in jury service.

[Wake27]

Not necessarily...

Innocent People Who Plead Guilty

https://abovethelaw.com/2018/07/inno...-plead-guilty/



Are Innocent People Pleading Guilty? A New Report Says Yes

https://www.forbes.com/sites/walterp.../#7a417d8e5193

I did say unlikely, not guaranteed.


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[titsonritz]

I believe child rapists should be executed, no plea deal, no mercy, no nothing, throw them in a wood chipper and make sure they won't violate another child ever. If you're stupid enough to plead guilty to something you didn't do, especially this type of crime, we don't that gene pool either.

[seb5]

Well the death penalty is all but gone, anywhere in the US. Thank you defense attorneys, activist judges, and politicians. Is politicians redundant with the other two?

[flenna]

I remember in one of the investigative training classes I took when we were discussing the psyche of a pedophile. The instructor said that just like a guy prefers blondes or brunettes a pedophile prefers children. There is no reforming them and changing their preferences. Which only leaves a couple of options on what to do with them.

[NWPilgrim]

Pretty frustrating when prosecutors offer plea deals on cases with a mountain of evidence and multiple similar charges. If their daughter was taped would they still offer a plea deal for 1/8-1/4 the time if went to trial?

[tn1911]

Pretty frustrating when prosecutors offer plea deals on cases with a mountain of evidence and multiple similar charges. If their daughter was taped would they still offer a plea deal for 1/8-1/4 the time if went to trial?

There’s only so many hours in the day, it’s impossible to try everything.

I recall reading an article written by a retired federal judge who said the easiest way to collapse the entire judicial system was for everyone charged with a crime to stand firm and demand a jury trial and for those guilty demand jail and refuse to comply with probation.

Not enough jurors and not enough jail space.

The take away is that far too many laws exist and cops are far too busy locking up people for financial reasons instead of real crimes. Gotta pad that general fund and keep the asset forfeiture train on schedule!

[NWPilgrim]

I understand the shortage of legal resources but in violent crime cases especially involving child victims plea deals should be no go.

[tn1911]

I understand the shortage of legal resources but in violent crime cases especially involving child victims plea deals should be no go.

Ok, but for now that’s just not feasible... I mean after all victims are suing police departments just to get their rape kits tested...

Women Across the US Suing Police For Refusing to Investigate Their Rape Kits

https://www.focusforhealth.org/women...eir-rape-kits/

Instead, law enforcement in America often chooses profit over people. One particularly egregious example of this choice is the fact that tens of thousands of raids on people for suspected illegal substances take place every year, while hundreds of thousands of rape kits collect dust in police departments across the country.