Officers fired non-lethal projectiles at protesters near the intersection where Manuel Jamines was fatally shot Sunday afternoon by an officer who said Jamines refused commands to drop a switchblade. Beck said the three bicycle patrol officers who confronted Jamines had about 40 seconds to act and did as good a job as could be done in such a quick-moving, emergency situation. “There was very, very little opportunity to do much more than what was done,” he said.

Deerfield, which once housed 400 inmates, has become a 1,000-bed facility with a long waiting list. “We’re left trying to be both a nursing home and a prison,” said Keith Davis, the warden. The state has built a 57-bed assisted living facility at Deerfield, with rows of hospital beds filling a room the size of a high school gymnasium. They’ve added a special meal for diabetics, and they’ve hired nurses to keep round-the-clock watch on the infirmary’s 16 inmates. It’s an expensive endeavor: It costs $28,800 annually to house an inmate at Deerfield, compared with the $19,000 it costs at most of the state’s medium-security prisons. Fewer than 5 percent of inmates charged before 1995 have won parole reprieves since former Gov. George Allen’s initiative passed, compared with 42 percent of eligible inmates who were granted parole in the years preceding the change in law.

The Sun reported in July that Baltimore for years led the nation in the percentage of rape cases in which police concluded that the victim was lying, with more than 3 in 10 cases called “unfounded.” Other cities have seen disturbingly high percentages of uninvestigated or dropped race cases in years past, and a women’s advocate in Philadelphia pushed for the congressional hearing after the Sun’s investigation reignited concerns. The newspaper’s report “made me believe that all of the issues [in other cities] were not just idiosyncratic problems, but that there is likely a chronic and systemic failure in police departments,” said Carol Tracy, head of the Women’s Law Project in Philadelphia. “I think it’s important to expose it, and to encourage the federal government, which has very little jurisdiction around this, to nevertheless exercise greater accountability on the data that it does receive.” Tracy’s group reviews rape reports marked as unfounded by Philadelphia police. The hearing was authorized by panel chairman Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.)

The number of complaints has hovered around 1,700 annually since 2007, a 36 percent increase over 2002. The report faults the department for complying with only 39 percent of a 7-year-old federal consent decree aimed at rehabilitating an abusive department. Among the failures was a slow response to citizen complaints. The police board is urging the department to do a better job of recruiting police officers who “meet the moral and ethical requirements to be a Detroit Police officer.” The recommendations include conducting more in-depth background investigations of applicants, holding recruitment fairs to hire Detroit residents, and clearly showing the standards and expectations of a police officer.

The bloodstained pizza box was found under a car with three slices of pizza still inside. “Every new piece of evidence we uncover makes this crime more despicable,’’ Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said yesterday. “Taken together, they paint a picture of almost unbelievable malevolence.’’

Officers in one area are testing windshield-mounted video cameras that remotely upload footage when they drive within 300 feet of a station. A microphone on the officer’s lapel records conversations during traffic stops, providing proof of what happened if disputes arise. “Obviously, the film won’t lie,” Ravenstahl said. The new technologies reduce paperwork and allow officers to return to the station less frequently, said Deputy Chief Paul Donaldson. The wealth of information also keeps officers safer, said Sgt. Eric Kroll, who coordinates new technology training. “There’s no lost communication between 911 and the officer,” he said.

A wide-ranging gang racketeering case exposed an apparent lack of checks and balances, allowing a handful of criminals to buy their way out of performing community work and cheating the criminal justice system of an alternative form of punishment, education, and rehabilitation. Administrators say budget constraints make it impossible to check on whether everyone ordered to perform community service work actually does it. Judges have dealt with the problem for years, sometimes creating their own systems of accountability where government has not.

The appellate court largely adopted the position of a coalition of civil rights and privacy groups who argued that judges must be free to decide when to demand that prosecutors satisfy the probable cause standard. “Because the statute as presently written gives the magistrate judge the option to require a warrant showing probable cause, we are unwilling to remove that option although it is an option to be used sparingly,” said U.S. Circuit Judge Dolores Sloviter. The ruling was hailed as an important protection of privacy rights by professor Susan Freiwald of the University of San Francisco School of Law, an expert in the area of privacy and technology, one of two lawyers arguing against the government. Freiwald said the larger importance of the appellate court’s decision was the panel’s rejection of the Justice Department’s reading of the statute as well as the government’s arguments about the modern-day implications of two significant decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1970s.

Martinelly-Montano, who had entered the U.S. illegally at age 8 with his parents, had been awaiting a deportation hearing after convictions for drunken driving in 2007 and 2008. Immigrant advocacy groups decried the move as a political overreaction. “From a legal point of view, it’s just plain stupid,” said Crystal Williams of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. ”There are so many people who are here legally, and that’s the only documentation they are able to produce.”

An investigation by the state correction department found that employees involved in the incident had violated the agency’s use-of-force policy. That policy says guards may use pepper spray to deter “violent, threatening or aggressive” inmates or to defend against an assault. Inmates are supposed to be given “an immediate opportunity” to wash off the chemicals. After that investigation, state officials replaced a top administrator at the prison and disciplined six other prison employees.

A Field poll this summer found 70 percent of Californians backing the death penalty. That’s why in this historically Democratic state, the Democratic candidate for AG, a twice-elected San Francisco district attorney, Kamala Harris, is widely thought to face an uphill battle in November against Los Angeles DA Steve Cooley. In contrast to Cooley, who is an unambiguous supporter of the death penalty, Harris personally opposes capital punishment, typically favoring life without parole. Harris has pledged to carry out capital punishment whenever her office handles a death row appeal, the same stance as current AG (and gubernatorial nominee) Jerry Brown, who also personally opposes the death penalty. Harris’ reputation for hesitancy in seeking capital punishment could be one of the biggest challenges she faces on the campaign trail.

“As a lifelong prosecutor, I have sadly come to realize that our criminal justice system, with increasing regularity, finds itself coming into contact with individuals who are military veterans,” said U.S. Attorney William Hochul. “Often times that contact is the result of mental health and/or drug and alcohol dependency issues related to their military service. Experience has shown that our traditional criminal justice system is ill-equipped to deal with these veterans.” The Crime Report explored the issue of veterans and the criminal justice system in this series: http://thecrimereport.org/2009/11/10/from-the-battlefield-to-prison-troubled-soldiers-and-the-u-s-justice-system/

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. (First Amendment of the Constitution for the United States.)

At a recent dinner celebrating Ramadan, the President made it abundantly clear to us that our nation’s religious freedoms grants any group the right to build on private land. Clarifying the next day, he didn’t mean to imply that he thought it is “right” or “wise” to build a community center containing a mosque close to Ground Zero in NYC. (If “walking back comments” becomes an Olympic event, Mr. Obama may be eligible for the American team!)

Most Americans are well aware of the religious freedom provisions in the First Amendment. Though, admittedly, some get confused about freedom of religious vs. freedom from religion. This is a religious nation, a pluralistic society in which we all try to live in religious harmony. It’s disappointing that there are people and groups that single out certain religious faiths (Christians and Jews come to mind) as less deserving of “tolerance.” And of course, there’s the famous July 2010 story of the students banished from praying on the Supreme Court steps. We truly are living in strange times. But I digress.

The NY Mosque case highlights the current administration’s mixed messaging over the past 20 months about the freedoms protected by the First Amendment. The rights are not granted BY the government, they are protected FROM government infringement because they are natural rights, inalienable rights accorded to all of God’s creatures.

Consider Nancy Pelosi’s recent challenge that individuals opposing the NY Mosque should be investigated to learn how they are funded. What is wrong with individuals lawfully offering opinions and personal feelings regarding this proposed building? To have the government investigate you is an intimidating process, yet Speaker Pelosi feels comfortable to offer such a threat on camera! Strange times in an America that has always lauded the First Amendment, indeed. By the way, Pelosi may also make that Olympic “walking back” team as her spokesperson later said we should also investigate the funding of the Mosque.

Step in the way-back machine to 2009 and let me remind you of an Oval Office conversation with Republicans during which the President “called out” Rush Limbaugh, a private citizen. “You can’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done.” The problems continued in a CBS interview, Obama called both Limbaugh and Beck “troublesome” and the interviewer Harry Smith replied, “It’s beyond that.” (Good news here is that Smith didn’t jump into Obama’s lap during the interview) Yay, free press!! (It’s only “free” if you agree with this bunch as evidenced by the engineered attack against Fox News.) What is truly “troublesome” is the practice of the President and the likes of Nancy Pelosi concerning themselves publicly with the words of private citizens.

Julie Ranson is the mother of three who lives and teaches at a community college in Virginia.

GREAT BEND, Kan. – A 36-year-old factory worker who spent much of his adult life in prison was charged Tuesday with sexually assaulting and murdering a 14-year-old girl whose badly burned body was found behind gravel piles at the asphalt plant where he worked.

Adam Joseph Longoria, left, was charged with capital murder, criminal sodomy, vehicular theft and vehicular burglary and in the August death of Alicia DeBolt. He could be sentenced to death if convicted of themurder charge, but prosecutors said they hadn't decided whether to seek such a sentence.

During Tuesday's hearing in Barton County Court, Longoria stood with his fists leaning on the table in front of him and stared frequently at Alicia's family. Asked by the judge if he understood the charges, Longoria looked away from the judge and said, "Yeah."

Alicia, who would have been a freshman at Great Bend High School this year, disappeared after leaving home on Aug. 21 to go to a party. Her family reported her missing the next day, leading to an intense search until her body was found Aug. 24 behind gravel piles at an asphalt plant in the city where Longoria, also known as "Rocco," worked. The city is home to about 15,000 people and in the middle of the state.

Photograph of John Doe 18	Unidentified shirt logo, possibly from a uniform

 Unknown Suspect

THE DETAILS SURROUNDING THE CRIME

Law enforcement officials are seeking information which will lead to the identification of this unknown suspect. It is alleged that he may be involved with child exploitation and the sexual abuse of a minor. Images of this person were found on the Internet.

The individual is described as a Hispanic or Dark-Skinned male, possibly in his 20s or 30s. He wears glasses.

IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS PERSON, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL FBI OFFICE OR THE NEAREST AMERICAN EMBASSY OR CONSULATE.

ROBERT S. MUELLER, III DIRECTOR FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON, D.C. 20535 TELEPHONE: (202) 324-3000