RM116: Hypocrisy: Rod Blagojevich Becomes Enlightened

Read Transcript of RM116: Hypocrisy: Rod Blagojevich Becomes Enlightened

We recorded a day late, but I promise it isn’t a dollar short! Call this the hypocrisy episode. It just seemed to be story after story with hypocrisy within it. Larry goes on a bit of a rant about the inconsistency of pardoning people with a specific crime, characterizing that as being pro criminal justice reform, but his attorney general, William Barr, is still seeking maximum punishment for most crimes.

[1:20] We start off with a listener comment and question. Mike in Florida congratulates us for delivering the info without any fluff and no sugar coating. It is possible that we are wrong. And we hope we are wrong. But from our opinion, we don’t see that the legislature will just throw their hands up in the air and say “Well, we tried. We’re sorry. There’s nothing we can do.”

[17:46] There are 200,000 people in prison that are older than 55. Their propensity to continue to do criminal things has probably significantly diminished. In this case, Madoff is in the final stages of kidney failure and has 18 months to live. He has filed for compassionate release. The Bureau of Prisons has denied his petition. And it does this very regularly and only approves about 6% of the petitions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/17/opinion/bernie-madoff-release.html

[21:30] Mary’s law is a terrible law giving “victims” more rights. It does this at the expense of the rights of the one accused. It sounds great that the victim needs to be made whole. In our criminal justice system, the victim of a crime is not an expert on crime. They are just a cog in the wheel. Just because they are the victim to a crime does not mean they are an expert on anything. Why do they then get a say in whether the convicted is released or not?
https://www.lex18.com/news/marsys-law-passes-in-senate-committee
https://www.courthousenews.com/victim-rights-measure-will-stay-on-wisconsin-ballot/
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/2020/02/13/marsys-law-would-compromise-due-proccess-right-fair-trial/4713478002/

[30:00] A fantastic article written by Diane Diamond talking about how bloated, and ineffective the Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act is. She is syndicated across the United States in hundreds of newspapers. Great article and thank you Ms. Diamond.
https://www.abqjournal.com/1423258/its-time-to-purge-our-bloated-sexoffender-registries.html

[32:15] I am not sure how we got to the point where a pregnant woman gets shackled to a gurney. However, South Carolina floats a bill to end the practice. I believe that the reason you make a law is to correct a problem. That means they do this in South Carolina which is disgusting and inhumane. What is wrong with people? Can an corrections officer not make an evolved decision?
https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/sc-lawmakers-consider-measure-to-end-shackling-pregnant-inmates/article_7512148e-528d-11ea-809f-877d5cc4a39c.html

[37:20] At this jail in Dallas County, they are going to lose something of $3 million in revenue annually by reducing the cost charged to inmates for phone calls. What bothers me in stories like this is that we say we understand that a family is at the top of the list for lowering recidivism. However, if you gouge the people that are providing support, we are making it that much harder to let that person have support. In many cases, these individuals are pre-trial. Are they not presumed innocent? They should have their liberties reduced only to that which keeps the public safe, and them safe. They don’t have free-world funds to make expensive calls to their lawyers and families.
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2020/02/18/why-dallas-county-is-about-to-drastically-drop-the-cost-of-a-jailhouse-phone-call/

[44:40] The Governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee, ran on a platform of criminal justice reform and is a born against Christian. Nicholas Sutton was on death row. He spent nearly 40 years in prison. He eventually worked as an orderly to other inmates who had various physical ailments and helped them to visitation to see their family. He even protected an officer and saved his life. He petitioned to not be executed. He didn’t try to be released from prison, but just to not die. He was executed Thursday 2/20/2020.
https://theintercept.com/2020/02/16/tennessee-death-row-nicholas-sutton-execution/
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/20/us/nick-sutton-execution/index.html

[49:00] At prisons in Mississippi, it isn’t safe for inmates. It isn’t even safe for the guards. The main reason that a facility can run with a couple officers for a hundred inmates is because the inmates accept that there is the control of the institution. They are generally trying to go home and get back to their lives. Not always. But the vast majority are. But in many southern states, they have significant staff shortages. In Mississippi and Alabama they have 50% and 55% staff shortages. This makes the environment very unsafe; for everyone.
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/02/20/mississippi-prisons-no-one-s-safe-not-even-the-guards

[57:00] We talk about former Governor Rod Blagojevich being on with Anderson Cooper. The former Governor gets challenged on his exoneration record; a privilege that he is now the recipient of. It would seem now that Mr. Blagojevich has had a change of heart about how prison is on a person.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/02/20/rod-blagojevich-is-out-prison-thanks-kind-mercy-he-rarely-showed-governor/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0szDYfCpDQQ

[1:06:00] We cover a clip where Senator Diane Feinstein is speaking with Justice Antonin Scalia about the separation of powers, and what discrimination means. It is a frequent question in our movement regarding services such as Facebook where they have a clause in their terms of service preventing those on the registry from being on their platform. It is somewhat challenging to understand that while you of course have the freedom of speech provided by the First Amendment, but that is only a protection from the government restriction that right. It says nothing to a private company instituting those restrictions.

[1:18:00] A 33 year old teacher has sexual relations with two students who are the age of 16 and 18. Her sentence being harsh, or lenient isn’t in question here. The reason we’ve brought it up on the podcast is that if we were to reverse the genders, and it be a 30-something year old male teacher, and two teen aged females, the system would have ramped up and given the male teacher all of the time under the sun. He would have been buried under the jail. This is just to point out that hypocrisy of things. And please don’t go and give her more time. Give the male teachers less time.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7741563/Teacher-avoids-jail-time-pleading-guilty-having-sex-students.html

[1:23:09] NARSOL has a piece condemning the actions of the Southern Baptist Convention. They have voted to expel a church in Midland, Texas for employing Reverend Philip Rutledge as their pastor. Mr. Rutledge is on the Sex Offender registry there. The congregation is aware of his status and they agree to employ the man.
https://narsol.org/2020/02/narsol-condemns-southern-baptist-convention-as-un-christian/

[1:27:40] Indiana is trying to win the race to put the youngest people on the sex offender registry. They have introduced a bill that would register juveniles as young as 12 years old. What is wrong with you people?
https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/publicsafety/indiana-bill-could-result-in-kids-being-sent-to-jail/article_07b9ae34-4922-11ea-9704-ab54f67da803.html

 

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RM103: State vs Morger – Illinois Social Media Ban Ruled Unconstitutional

Registry Matters 103 is in the house. We have an incredibly good decision for our side in Illinois. State vs Morger. They ruled that a social media ban is unconstitutional. They said that a probationer cannot be totally banned from the Internet; it must be narrowly tailored. This decision is great news for those on the registry and their ability to use the Internet.

In New Jersey, the text says “offense free”, not “sex offense free” to be removed from registry requirements; Mom is topless in her home may have to register as a sex offender; State of Illinois versus Conrad Morger – While on probation, a total ban on the Internet is ruled unconstitutional; Detainees in San Francisco jails are held for years with no natural light and other shameful conditions; Utah is piloting a program to afford those incarcerated with a college education; Online child abuse is an incredibly hard problem to solve and a patchwork of laws doesn’t make it any easier; Therapist had an inappropriate relationship with a patient; Inmates cost significantly more money as they age, a batch of articles covers death behind bars and a myriad of problems that go with it; West Virginia inmates that wish to read will be charged by the minute for the books on their tablets;

[2:37] https://www.courthousenews.com/registered-forever-nj-offenders-fight-for-reprieve/
New Jersey Registration_2019

[11:20] https://www.kwtx.com/content/news/Mother-charged-may-have-to-register-as-sex-offender-after-being-topless-in-her-home-565211722.html
Utah Statute_Lewdness_2019

[23:40] State v Morger_IL_Social Media Ban
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ev3qw7/how-to-quit-apple-microsoft-google-facebook-amazon

[58:20] https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-wades-into-debate-over-conditions-at-san-francisco-jails/

[1:03:10] https://www.kuer.org/post/prison-saved-my-life-utah-inmates-seeing-new-horizons-college-coursework?fbclid=IwAR3yOB3uDZfkUR7dui8mnoYmJofQdCftyazj59zrAKwiRSp-SdDMYWyCrhI#stream/0

[1:09:30] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/us/online-child-sex-abuse.html

[1:17:15] https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2019-11-19/ap-exclusive-therapist-broke-rules-with-iowa-sex-predator

[1:20:00] https://theappeal.org/death-by-incarceration-pennsylvania-photo-essay/
https://theappeal.org/life-sentence-arkansas-clemency/
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/editorials/pennsylvania-felony-murder-lifers-board-pardons-lieutenant-governor-john-fetterman-commutation-20191117.html
https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/470844-to-understand-death-behind-bars-we-need-more-information

[1:26:30] https://reason.com/2019/11/22/west-virginia-inmates-will-be-charged-by-the-minute-to-read-e-books-on-tablets/

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RM37 – Life In Prison Without Due Process

In this weeks show, Larry and Andy take a deep dive into civil commitment. But prior to that, a few comments from people on Twitter have comments about last week’s show. There are articles covering the whole spectrum of issues. Such as: Under what conditions should an 11 year old girl get taser treatment; Why is that more people are locked up for technical violations than new crimes?; Do it make sense to help inmates re-acclimate to post prison life?; Does a prison sentence mean death because you can’t get your insulin. An action packed, exciting episode!

This week, I’d like to thank a new patron – that wishes to remain anonymous. She comes in at the Hustler level. Very exciting! Send me a message with an address, so that I can send you an exquisite Registry Matters Blue Ball.

[2:50] To Reclassify Sex Offenders, Mass. SJC Says Sex Offender Registry Board Has Burden Of Proof
http://www.wbur.org/news/2018/08/01/sex-offender-registry-reclassification-sjc

[8:46] I tweeted part of conversation last week about the man in OH that can’t see his son.
https://twitter.com/RegistryMatters/status/1027527195978354688
Do you have a fundamental right to be with your spouse & your children?
We’ve got court decisions that say you can marry whoever you want. I would think that would extend your children too. I would like to think your children are basic right.
I have a quick question about the fundamental right to your family. Someone commented on Twitter that the AWA removes that fundamental right. I’ve asked for the specific language, – still waiting. I was hoping you could expand on it.

[15:50] This was written by Joshua Vaughn – from The Appeal.org. Failure-to-comply Arrests Reveal Flaws In Sex Offender Registries

Failure-to-Comply Arrests Reveal Flaws in Sex Offender Registries


Basically, the psychologists say that the registry creates a false sense of security. And to drive the sense of security home, since they aren’t rearresting people for new crimes.

[21:00] This article comes from Governing.com. And we’ll just cover it briefly that there is a trial going on in North Dakota. They are taking a much softer hand in criminal justice and helping people get back on their feet. Teaching them soft skills like shopping smarter. They actually take them for supervised grocery store visits.
http://www.governing.com/topics/public-justice-safety/gov-north-dakota-prison-criminal-justice-reform.html

[28:57] Court upholds ex-Stanford swimmer’s sex assault conviction
https://www.apnews.com/c63571c1cf2d4c2bad3a73027fd6b159/Court-upholds-ex-Stanford-swimmer

[33:30] An 11-year-old was accused of shoplifting. An off-duty officer Tasered her in the back.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/08/08/an-11-year-old-girl-was-accused-of-shoplifting-an-off-duty-officer-tasered-her-in-the-back/?utm_term=.a02afba92e19

[44:06] From the The Tennessean.com – At Tennessee’s largest prison, diabetic inmates say they are denied insulin to ‘maximize profits’
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2018/08/07/corecivic-diabetic-inmates-denied-insulin-trousdale-turner/925297002/

[50:05] A question on Twitter from Marie
Do kids have a right to be with their parents? They have the right to “divorce” their parents (dont they?), which implies the right to choose. Maybe kids should sue the state for interfering in family relationships.

[58:00] Civil commitment questions:
Is there a standard of evidence to be placed into it?
Is it criminal or civil?
Does the individual have a right to representation?
Is there a standard to get out?
Do the treatment providers have an incentive to keep you in?

Share the podcast with those you know so that we can continue to grow our audience! We continue to receive a lot of positive feedback. Help us grow!

RM37 – Life In Prison Without Due Process


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Episode 25 – Why GPS Monitoring Should Be 1 of the 7 Deadly Sins

Episode 25 – Why GPS Monitoring Should Be 1 of the 7 Deadly Sins

Larry and Andy talk about the weeks issues and listener questions and comments.

Why GPS monitoring should be 1 of the 7 deadly sins
A malfunction in the charging could land you in jail
No access to power? Could land you in jail.
Poor cell signal? Could result in being detained while proof is obtained
You could spend a week or more in jail for an unspecified violation
Spending time in jail, you could lose your job which can lead to loss of housing
The GPS.gov website sites a 16’ radius of accuracy in best conditions

“You can’t be an important and life-changing presence to some people without also being a joke and an embarrassment to others.”
-Mark Manso