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Sunday, September 12, 2010
"Obama backs off strict crime policy"The title of this post is the headline of this extended new piece from Josh Gerstein from Politico. The piece covers a lot of federal sentencing law and policy ground that should be familiar to readers of this blog, and here are excerpts:
For years, it was one of the GOP's most potent political epithets – labeling a Democrat "soft on crime." But the Obama White House has taken the first steps in decades to move away from a strict lock-'em-up mentality on crime – easing sentences for crack cocaine possession, launching a top-to-bottom review of sentencing policies and even sounding open to reviewing guidelines that call for lengthy prison terms for people convicted of child pornography offenses.
The moves – still tentative, to be sure — suggest that President Barack Obama's aides are betting that the issue has lost some of its punch with voters more worried about terrorism and recession. In one measure of the new political climate surrounding the issue, the Obama administration actually felt free to boast that the new crack-sentencing bill would go easier on some drug criminals....
Despite the tentative moves in the direction of lessening some sentences, there remain numerous signs that Obama and his aides recognize that the issue could still be politically damaging.
When Obama signed the crack disparity bill, only still photographers were allowed in and the president issued no formal statement. The Justice Department's sentencing review group has indicated it has no plan to issue a formal report that could become a political football. And, 18 months into his presidency, Obama has yet to issue a single commutation or even a pardon to an elderly ex-con seeking to clear his record.
Some advocates note that the crack sentencing bill was not particularly ambitious: it reduced the crack/powder disparity from 100-to-1 to 18-to-1. And it wasn't retroactive, so some who were sentenced under mandatory minimum laws may not benefit.
Asked whether Obama might grant requests to commute the sentences of those who would have gotten less punishment if they committed their crimes today, an administration official said the crack-disparity bill "reflected Congress's judgment that the law should not be retroactive, [and] the President believes that the Fair Sentencing Act will go a long way toward ensuring that our sentencing laws are tough, consistent, and fair."
The official also downplayed the notion Obama might offer some kind of blanket clemency for earlier crack-cocaine offenders, saying that "as a general matter, the President agrees with the Department of Justice's long-held view that commutation is an extraordinary remedy that should only be granted in extraordinary circumstances."
September 12, 2010 in Criminal justice in the Obama Administration, Elections and sentencing issues in political debates, Who Sentences? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Nuanced and astute (and vague) testimony from DOJ at Sentencing Commission hearing on mandatory minimums
As detailed in this prior post, the United States Sentencing Commission today is conducting a public hearing in Washington DC "to gather testimony from invited witnesses regarding the issue of statutory mandatory minimum penalties in federal sentencing." The agenda and a list of invited witnesses scheduled to testify today at the USSC can be found here, and this morning the bulk of the written testimony submitted by these witnesses are now linked through this agenda page.
Providing a "View from the Executive Branch" (namely the views of the current US Department of Justice) is Sally Quillian Yates, US Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. Her submitted written testimony is available at this link, and it is today's must-read for anyone and everyone still following post-Booker sentencing debates and curious about how the Obama Justice Department is staking out ground in these debates. Just about every paragraph of the DOJ testimony coming from USA Sally Gates is interesting and important, and here are a few extended snippets that really caught my attention:
My testimony today is offered in the context of an ongoing study at the Department of Justice that began soon after Attorney General Holder took office.... The Sentencing and Corrections Working Group is conducting the most comprehensive review of federal sentencing and corrections in the Executive Branch since at least the passage of the Sentencing Reform Act....
The results of the Working Group are guiding the Department's policies regarding sentencing. To begin, the Administration has been working hard with Members of Congress to see the enactment this year of legislation to address the current disparity in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine offenses, including the existing 100-to-1 quantity ratio. In addition, last week, the Attorney General issued a new Department policy on charging and sentencing in a memorandum to all federal prosecutors. This new policy recognizes the reality of post-Booker sentencing and the need for an appropriate balance of consistency and flexibility to maximize the crime-fighting impact of federal law enforcement. We are also working on new ways to examine racial and ethnic disparities in sentencing beyond federal cocaine sentencing policy to determine if disparities are the result of race-neutral application of statutes and charging decisions and otherwise justified; and we are working on initiatives to promote more effective prisoner reentry. These and other measures will be announced shortly....
The federal prison population, which was about 25,000 when the Sentencing Reform Act was enacted into law, is now over 210,000. And it continues to grow. Much of that growth is the result of long mandatory sentences for drug trafficking offenders. While these and other mandatory sentences have been important factors in bringing down crime rates, we also believe there are real and significant excesses in terms of the imprisonment meted out for some offenders under existing mandatory sentencing laws, especially for some non-violent offenders. Moreover, the Federal Bureau of Prisons is now significantly overcapacity, which has real and detrimental consequences for the safety of prisoners and guards, effective prisoner reentry, and ultimately, public safety.
At the same time, since the Supreme Court's decision in Booker, Sentencing Commission research and data – and the experience of our prosecutors – have shown increasing disparities in sentencing. We are concerned by, and continue to evaluate, research and data that indicate sentencing practices (particularly those resulting in lengthier incarcerations) are correlated with the demographics of offenders. Further, with more and more sentences becoming unhinged from the sentencing guidelines, undue leniency has become more common for certain offenders convicted of certain crime types. For example, for some white collar offenses – including high loss white collar offenses – and some child exploitation offenses, sentences have become increasingly inconsistent. The federal sentencing guidelines, which were originally intended to carry the force of law, no longer do. Thus, for these offenses for which there are no mandatory minimums, sentencing decisions have become largely unconstrained as a matter of law, except for the applicable statutory maximum penalty. Predictably, this has led to greater variation in sentencing. This in turn undermines the goals of sentencing to treat like offenders alike, eliminate unwarranted disparities in sentencing, and promote deterrence through predictability in sentencing.
Our study has led us to the conclusion that in an era of advisory guidelines, mandatory minimum sentencing statutes remain important to promote the goals of sentencing and public safety. At the same time, we recognize that some reforms of existing mandatory minimum sentencing statutes are needed and that consideration of some new modest mandatory minimum sentencing statutes is appropriate....
In the past, the Sentencing Commission has taken the position that mandatory minimum sentencing statutes were not needed, in part because the sentencing guidelines were themselves mandatory. This position was also put forward for many years by advocacy groups such as the American Bar Association and Families Against Mandatory Minimums as well as by federal public defenders. However, in our review of federal sentencing over the last year, we have found little support from these groups, in Congress, or the Federal Judiciary for reinstating the presumptive nature of the sentencing guidelines. In the absence of such a change to the federal sentencing structure that might return presumptive sentencing guidelines (an overhaul that we are not now recommending), we believe that mandatory minimum sentencing statutes must go hand in hand with advisory sentencing guidelines.
May 27, 2010 in Criminal justice in the Obama Administration, Drug Offense Sentencing, Mandatory minimum sentencing statutes, Scope of Imprisonment, Who Sentences? | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
DOJ resisting efforts to disinfect the federal celemency process with some sunlightSupreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously advocated for transparency and honesty in public policy with the wondrous aphorism "sunlight is the best disinfectant." This bright idea came to my mind when I saw this fascinating new article in The National Law Journalconcerning federal celemncy policies and practices. The piece is headlined "Justice Department Wants to Keep Pardon Data Under Wraps: DOJ says release of information on applicants violates privacy law," and here are excerpts:
The Obama Justice Department is fighting to keep secret the names of more than 9,200 people whose applications for pardons and commutations were denied by President George W. Bush.
Last year, DOJ attorneys failed to persuade a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that the privacy interest of the unsuccessful applicants outweighs any public value of producing a list. The department has asked a federal appeals court in Washington to reverse the ruling.
The case is a politically sensitive one for the Justice Department, given Attorney General Eric Holder Jr.'s involvement in the decision to pardon fugitive Marc Rich at the end of the Clinton administration. The Rich pardon turned into a Washington scandal that compelled Holder to apologize for mistakes when it came up during his confirmation hearing last year.
Although the case applies only to pardon applicants during the Bush administration, a loss at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit would likely make public the names of those who sought pardons and clemency during other administrations.
Under the current policy, the Justice Department will confirm whether a specific convict received a pardon, but will not disclose a comprehensive list of all the denials.
Since October 2009, Obama has received 382 pardon petitions and 2,275 applications for commutation -- on top of more than 2,000 pending petitions. Obama has not granted or denied a single petition, according to Justice Department statistics. The outcome of the dispute has the potential to change the pardon process going forward, said several lawyers in Washington who represent clients seeking clemency. Routine disclosure of all names could deter some people from seeking a pardon in the first place.
"Pardon grants should be, and are, publicly disclosed because there should not be secret pardons," Hogan Lovells partner H. Christopher Bartolomucci said. "But pardon denials should not be disclosed as a general matter because of the applicant's privacy interest."
The case stems from a Freedom of Information Act request filed by a retired Washington Post reporter, George Lardner, who is writing a book on the history of clemency. Lardner's lawyers at the Public Citizen Litigation Group in Washington said that comparing clemency lists on file at the Office of the Pardon Attorney will help determine whether ethnic consideration played a role in Bush's rejection of thousands of applications.
Last July, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued a 35-page opinion ordering the names to be publicly released. "Fundamentally, the disclosure of the requested information shines a light on the most basic information about the executive's exercise of his pardon power -- who is and who is not granted clemency by the President," Kollar-Kotelly wrote.DOJ officials declined to comment.
In the D.C. Circuit, the department continues to mount its privacy argument -- that many applicants have family members, friends and employers who may not know that the person has a criminal record. There's no way to put a favorable spin on the fact an applicant was deemed unworthy of clemency, wrote DOJ Civil Division lawyer John Koppel in court papers filed May 10. "At most, the public would learn the names of those denied clemency, but not the factors favoring or disfavoring the decision, nor whether there were weighty considerations supporting or opposing clemency in the OPA file," Koppel said in court papers. "Without knowing the reasons that factored in the decision, the public learns nothing about how the government works -- even as a significant privacy interest is sacrificed."
One lawyer in Washington whose practice is devoted to clemency said she supports shedding light on the pardon process but also expressed concern about the prospect of a wholesale release of names. "I think a lot of my clients would be really anxious to see their names on a list of applicants who were denied," said Margaret Colgate Love, the U.S. pardon attorney between 1990 and 1997....
Lardner's attorneys at the Public Citizen Litigation Group in Washington note that none of the unsuccessful applicants are participating in the case and that there are public databases -- the Bureau of Prisons has one -- where employers can check whether an employee has served time in the federal prison system. Public Citizen Litigation Group Director Allison Zieve said DOJ's argument "is speculation about worst-case scenarios" without necessary evidence to support the concern. "For an administration that seeks to pride itself on its openness and commitment to FOIA, it's disappointing they would [appeal]," Zieve said. "It's not really the government's interest at stake in this case."
Because I believe assertions of privacy interests and concerns are frequently overstated, and especially because I consider the federal clemency process very badly broken, I am deeply disappointed that Obama Justice Department is fighting so hard to prevent George Lardner and others from getting the most basic information about the operation of the federal clemency process. Given that President Obama has failed to act in any way on what is now a backlog of nearly 5,000 clemency petitions, I am a proponent of anyone who is eager in any way to shine more sunlight on a clemency process that seem to me to be teeming with infectants.
Some related posts:
- Effective USA Today coverage of President Obama's clemency stinginess
- "Obama should exercise the pardon power"
- Fascinating report on backstory behind presidential pardon problems
- Obama as Scrooge: no Christmas clemency grants
- Fitting complaints about an ugly clemency scoreboard: "Turkeys 2, humans 0"
- The true sentencing turkeys on this Thanksgiving eve
- Justified complaints that Obama's first pardon will be of a turkey
- "President Barack Obama proving stingy with his pardon power"
- Notable press stories noting Obama's lack of clemency action
- Historical evidence that it is NOT too early to start demanding clemencies from President Obama
- When will President Obama start acting like President Lincoln when it comes to the clemency power?
- A simple plea for Prez Obama: grant at least a single clemency in your first 100 days
- "Grandmother Will Mark President's Day By Petitioning Obama To Commute Her 27-Year Prison Sentence For Non-Violent Crime"
May 25, 2010 in Clemency and Pardons, Criminal justice in the Obama Administration, Procedure and Proof at Sentencing, Who Sentences? | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Insiders reporting James Cole tapped to be next Deputy Attorney General
Sentencing fans know that, with the Justice Department's still on-going internal review of sentencing and corrections policy and with lots of important SCOTUS and USSC sentencing decisions in the works, the DOJ remains a critically important playing in helping to chart the short-term and long-term future of sentencing law and practice. Consequently, given this new story in The National Law Journal headlined "Source: Bryan Cave Partner Picked to Be Next Deputy Attorney General," I now am eager to hear what folks might know about likely future DAG James Cole.Here are the basic background details from the NLJ story:
President Barack Obama intends to nominate Bryan Cave partner James Cole as the next deputy attorney general, a source with knowledge of the plans confirms.
Cole, 57, comes to the nomination with a mix of experience in the Justice Department and in private practice. He spent 13 years at the department, rising to be chief of the Public Integrity Section. He's been at Bryan Cave since 1995, specializing in white-collar defense and corporate investigations, though he took time to serve as special counsel to the House Ethics Committee during its inquiry of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.
Cole is also a friend of Attorney General Eric Holder Jr., and the two worked together at the Justice Department. "He's experienced, able, and a very fair-minded guy," said Irvin Nathan, general counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives, who worked with Cole as a partner at Arnold & Porter....
Arnold & Porter partner James Cooper, who led the embezzlement conspiracy prosecution of officials from the Washington Teachers Union in 2003, called Cole an excellent choice for deputy attorney general because he brings the perspective of an attorney who has worked on both sides of the courtroom.
"I am extremely pleased with the selection," said Cooper, who practices in white-collar criminal defense. "He has had the kind of distinguished career inside and outside of the government that suggests to me he has the right kind of judgment and temperament to be an effective manger."
As the Justice Department's No. 2 official, the deputy attorney general manages the day-to-day operations of its tens of thousands of employees nationwide. The deputy serves as the department's top official when the attorney general is unable to do so, and he can be one of the department's top public faces on Capitol Hill and elsewhere....
Gary Grindler of the department's Criminal Division has been acting deputy attorney general since February, when David Ogden stepped down to return to Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. Cole's candidacy was first reported last month by ProPublica, and the plans to nominate him were reported Friday afternoon by The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.
I doubt Cole would be confirmed before the Supreme Court hands down its expected big rulings in the honest services fraud cases and other still pending big federal criminal law cases this Term. But he likely would have a hand in how DOJ responds to the Sentencing Commission's important new proposed sentencing guidelines and also its on-going work on mandatory minimum sentencing statutes. Thus, if anyone has a sense of Cole's sense of these issues, please consider leaving a comment here.
May 23, 2010 in Criminal justice in the Obama Administration, Who Sentences? | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
"Some Reflections on Conservative Politics and the Limits of the Criminal Sanction"
The title of this post is the title of this interesting piece on SSRN from J. Richard Broughton, which I came across only last night (even though it was posted more than a month ago). Obviously, the piece was written well before yesterday's SCOTUS rulings in Comstock and Graham, but the abstract highlights why the piece is still timely and especially worth reading while the ink is still drying on yesterday's intriguing SCOTUS opinions:
This Article, written for the Charleston School of Law's recent symposium on Crime & Punishment, briefly addresses the significance of popular forces and conservative political thought in an American criminal justice regime that has become too broad in its scope and sometimes unnecessarily harsh in its treatment of certain offenders. Although conservatives can plausibly embrace some judicially-enforceable limits on the criminal law, a conservative view of structural constitutional considerations would still constrain the judiciary's authority to undermine popular decision-making as to criminal law and punishment. This Article cites the Supreme Court's disparate approach to capital and non-capital proportionality issues under the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause as an example. Those same structural considerations that would credit popular forces in constitutional adjudication, however, necessarily require popular forces to act as the chief definers of the criminal sanction and enforcers of its limits outside the realm of judicial review.
If conservative politics is to lead a more sensible popular approach to crime and punishment, it cannot do so with unhelpful "soft on crime/tough on crime" rhetoric or mass appeals to popular sentiment about the criminal justice issue of the day. Rather, it must do so through a conservatism grounded in constitutional balance: an appreciation for the tension between the need for order and the claims of liberty, avoiding the vice of impotence in the face of socially harmful conduct but robustly affirming limits to ensure that the government controls itself as well as the people. Conservatives can adhere to their impulse for preserving civil order and controlling the governed through formal institutions and arrangements, yet also rely upon those same forms to limit the government's prosecutorial and penal reach. Such an approach may require conflict between the political branches of government. But such conflict is actually a constitutional virtue, and its absence has helped to create many of the current distortions in crime policy. This Article therefore suggests a popular (i.e., non-judge-made) and constitutionalist -- but not a populist -- approach to creating a more limited and responsible crime and punishment regime.
May 18, 2010 in Criminal justice in the Obama Administration, Procedure and Proof at Sentencing, Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing, Who Sentences? | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Effective USA Today coverage of President Obama's clemency stinginessYesterday's edition of USA Today had a pair of pieces (and this reprinted graphis) discussing federal clemency realities, which effectively stressed the significant fact that President Obama has received a huge number of clemency requests while having granted not a single one during his first 16+ months in the Oval Office. One piece, which is headlined "Record number seek president's clemency," starts this way:
President Obama has received more petitions for pardons and shorter prison sentences than previous presidents at this point in office, and he hasn't approved a single one.
Obama has already logged 2,361 clemency petitions, according to the Justice Department. He also faces a backlog of 2,173 old requests, a legacy of a system that civil rights groups and conservative jurists say has fallen into disuse.
A related piece, which is headlined "Convict petitions Obama to reduce crack penalty," highlights the story of, Kenneth Harvey, just one of thousands of offenders hoping that President Obama will give his pledge of hope and change a little more meaning in this context. Here is a brief segment from that piece:
Harvey's family wants him back home — and they thought when Barack Obama got elected president, they'd have a shot. Now, they're not so sure.
Obama has not approved a single request for a pardon or a shorter prison sentence since he took office, despite having more petitions before him — 2,361 according to the Justice Department — than any previous president at this point in his term.
The White House won't discuss the issue, other than to say Obama has asked Justice to review how it processes petitions and makes recommendations.
As regular readers know, I have been urging President Obama to exercise his clemency power with vigor since literally his very first day in the Oval Office (as evidenced by some of the posts linked below). Though I remain deeply disappointed at the lack of action by the President in this setting, I am perhaps even more disappointed by the lack of criticism concerning the Obama Administration's failings in this historically significant setting.
Some related posts:
- Is it too early to start demanding President Obama use his clemency power?
- Historical evidence that it is NOT too early to start demanding clemencies from President Obama
- When will President Obama start acting like President Lincoln when it comes to the clemency power?
- Commentary on how celebrity status effects clemency commitments
- Inaugural rhetoric about freedom and liberty in prison nation
- "Grandmother Will Mark President's Day By Petitioning Obama To Commute Her 27-Year Prison Sentence For Non-Violent Crime"
- Obama as Scrooge: no Christmas clemency grants
- Fitting complaints about an ugly clemency scoreboard: "Turkeys 2, humans 0"
- The true sentencing turkeys on this Thanksgiving eve
- Justified complaints that Obama's first pardon will be of a turkey
- "President Barack Obama proving stingy with his pardon power"
- Notable press stories noting Obama's lack of clemency action
- A simple plea for Prez Obama: grant at least a single clemency in your first 100 days
- "Obama should exercise the pardon power"
- Fascinating report on backstory behind presidential pardon problems
April 28, 2010 in Clemency and Pardons, Criminal justice in the Obama Administration | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Fascinating report on backstory behind presidential pardon problemsThis new post at Main Justice, which is headlined "Despite Efforts, Pardon System Still Unchanged," provides some new and notable details about discussion and debate over pardon policy inside the Obama Administration. Here are excerpts:
Behind closed doors Justice Department and White House officials have been considering changes to the system since the start of the Obama administration, though the White House appears to have scaled back its ambitions after key personnel changes.
Former White House Counsel Greg Craig, now a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, led a push for major reforms before stepping down last November, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. He received support from then-Deputy Attorney General David Ogden, who recently returned to his practice at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, the individuals said.
Attorney General Eric Holder — whose involvement in the controversial pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich at the end of the Clinton administration threatened his career — also expressed interest in making the clemency program "more systematic," said one of the individuals.
The Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney receives clemency applications and makes recommendations to the White House via the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. A steep backlog in the pardon office coupled with fewer clemency grants in recent years has driven applicants to reach out to the White House directly.
Some critics say the current system is obsolete because it provides the president with no assurances that his grants will be free of political consequences. Meanwhile, they say, the tool used in the past to "correct injustices that the ordinary criminal process seems unable or unwilling to consider," as Justice Anthony Kennedy once wrote, has fallen into disuse.
An idea favored by Craig was the creation of a blue-ribbon commission or an advisory process inside the Justice Department but apart from the pardon attorney, the people said. After he stepped down in November, however, discussions turned to developing criteria under which clemency petitions should be granted in the existing program.
"Like every administration, we are updating the policy guidance for DOJ on requests for executive clemency," a White House official said. Craig and Ogden declined to comment. A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment while the policy was under review.
The clemency issue gained attention after the Supreme Court heard arguments last month in Dillon v. U.S., a case brought by a federal prisoner who was sentenced in 1993 to 27 years behind bars for trafficking in crack cocaine.
Percy Dillon, described as a model prisoner, asked the court to decide whether the U.S. Sentencing Commission erred in limiting federal judges' discretion in new sentencing hearings under Congress' 2007 reduction in the crack guidelines. A federal judge had called his original sentence "unfair" and "entirely too high."
At one point, Justice Kennedy asked the government's lawyer whether the Justice Department ever recommends clemency for prisoners like Dillon. He also questioned whether the lack of commutations last year and the five the year before signaled that "something is not working in the system."
It is quite sad (and perhaps quite telling) that the two official inside the Obama Administration who were most forcefully pushing for clemency reforms are now out of the Administration. And, of course, it is even sadder and even more telling that we are now deep into the Obama era and have yet to see any tangible evidence of significant hope and change in this setting or in many other federal criminal justice contexts.
As regular readers know, I have been urging President Obama to exercise his clemency power with vigor since literally his very first day in the Oval Office:
- Is it too early to start demanding President Obama use his clemency power?
- Historical evidence that it is NOT too early to start demanding clemencies from President Obama
- When will President Obama start acting like President Lincoln when it comes to the clemency power?
- Commentary on how celebrity status effects clemency commitments
- Inaugural rhetoric about freedom and liberty in prison nation
- "Grandmother Will Mark President's Day By Petitioning Obama To Commute Her 27-Year Prison Sentence For Non-Violent Crime"
- Obama as Scrooge: no Christmas clemency grants
- Fitting complaints about an ugly clemency scoreboard: "Turkeys 2, humans 0"
- The true sentencing turkeys on this Thanksgiving eve
- Justified complaints that Obama's first pardon will be of a turkey
- "President Barack Obama proving stingy with his pardon power"
- Notable press stories noting Obama's lack of clemency action
- A simple plea for Prez Obama: grant at least a single clemency in your first 100 days
- "Obama should exercise the pardon power"
April 21, 2010 in Clemency and Pardons, Criminal justice in the Obama Administration, Who Sentences? | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack
Thursday, February 11, 2010
"Grandmother Will Mark President's Day By Petitioning Obama To Commute Her 27-Year Prison Sentence For Non-Violent Crime"
The title of this post is the headline of this new press release from the ACLU. Here are excerpts from the release, which provides the backstory of a remarkable case, that appears to be the kick-off for a remarkable new project:
Hamedah Hasan, a mother and grandmother serving her 17th year of a 27-year federal prison sentence for a non-violent crime, asked President Obama today to commute her remaining sentence. Hasan's petition was filed with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney, and was accompanied by almost 50 letters of support from prison chaplains, community members, advocates, friends and family. The American Civil Liberties Union represents Hasan in her commutation petition....
In an unusual display of support for a commutation petition by a federal judge, the Honorable Richard G. Kopf, U.S. District of Nebraska, who sentenced Hasan in 1993, wrote a letter to the Department of Justice Pardon Attorney's Office. In it, Judge Kopf said, "…I can say, without equivocation, that Ms. Hasan is deserving of the President's mercy. I have never supported such a request in the past, and I doubt that I will support another one in the future. That said, in this unique case, justice truly cries out for relief."...
President Obama, Vice President Biden and Attorney General Holder have publicly called for equalization of federal sentences for crack and powder cocaine, and the U.S. Sentencing Commission has called for reform of the crack-powder sentencing disparity four times. President Obama's "Blueprint for Change," published soon after he was elected in 2008, stated, "...the disparity between sentencing crack and powder-based cocaine is wrong and should be completely eliminated."...
Hasan's petition is the first of several in a larger project, dubbed "Dear Mr. President, Yes You Can." The Dear Mr. President Project brings together civil rights advocates, legal scholars, law school clinics, pro bono counsel and others to urge President Obama to depart from the practices of his immediate predecessors and use the pardon and commutation power in a principled way, consistent with his administration's position that the crack Sentencing Guidelines have been far too harsh. The Project also aims to promote the president's clemency power as a means to correct historical injustices.
Baylor Law School professor and former federal prosecutor Mark Osler, who is a founding member of the Project, noted, "President Obama has gone 387 days (and counting) without granting a single pardon or commutation. This makes him one of the slowest-acting presidents in history to exercise the power of forgiveness. Thomas Jefferson employed the pardon power to eliminate the sentences of those convicted under the shameful Alien and Sedition Acts. President John F. Kennedy granted over 100 commutations in less than three years in office. President Lyndon Johnson commuted 226 sentences. It's time for President Obama to revive the noble and necessary function of executive clemency in Hamedah Hasan's case."
Hasan is the mother of three daughters, Kamyra, 16, to whom Hasan gave birth in prison, Ayesha, 21, and Kasaundra, 26. Hasan also has two grandchildren. Hasan's commutation petition materials are available at: www.dearmrpresidentyesyoucan.org
Awesome stuff here, and I am hopeful (though sadly not especially optimistic) that this campaign might finally help President Obama do something about his truly shameful clemency record to date. At the very least, I hope that this "Dear Mr. President Project" will lead prompt the media to start taking more note of President Obama truly shameful clemency record to date.
Some related recent posts on federal clemency realities:
- Obama as Scrooge: no Christmas clemency grants
- Fitting complaints about an ugly clemency scoreboard: "Turkeys 2, humans 0"
- The true sentencing turkeys on this Thanksgiving eve
- Justified complaints that Obama's first pardon will be of a turkey
- "President Barack Obama proving stingy with his pardon power"
- Notable press stories noting Obama's lack of clemency action
- A simple plea for Prez Obama: grant at least a single clemency in your first 100 days
- Historical evidence that it is NOT too early to start demanding clemencies from President Obama
- When will President Obama start acting like President Lincoln when it comes to the clemency power?
- "The Fall of the Presidential Pardon"
February 11, 2010 in Clemency and Pardons, Criminal justice in the Obama Administration, Drug Offense Sentencing, Race, Class, and Gender | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Noting big (and wasteful?) budget growth in federal prison spendingFollowing up on an issue I spotlighted in this recent post (which has generated lots of interesting comments), today this article in USA Today takes a look at the Justice Department's proposed 2011 budget numbers. This piece is headlined "2011 budget gives federal prisons $528M," and here are some highlights:
As states cut their budgets by closing prisons and diverting some offenders to probation and treatment programs, the federal government is proposing to dramatically ramp up its detention operations.
The Obama administration's $3.8 trillion 2011 budget proposal calls for a $527.5 million infusion for the federal Bureau of Prisons and judicial security — $227 million more than the proposed increase to Justice's national security program. The boost would bring the total Bureau of Prisons budget to $6.8 billion.
Nearly half of the new funding is proposed to accommodate the administration's plan to close the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and move some of the terror suspects to an Illinois prison. The Justice Department also projects that federal prisons, which now hold 213,000 offenders, will hold 7,000 more by 2011.
Also included in the Justice budget is a proposal to hire 652 additional prison guards and fill 1,200 vacant detention positions, far more than the combined 448 new agents planned for the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and U.S. Marshals Service.
Assistant Attorney General Lee Lofthus says the increased prison system funding does not reflect a de-emphasis of national security, only that the Bureau of Prisons "needs the bed space."...
The federal spending plan contrasts with the criminal justice strategies pursued in many cash-strapped states, including California, Kansas and Kentucky, where officials have closed prisons or allowed for the early release of some non-violent offenders. In Kansas, for example, state officials last year closed three prisons and reduced the number of probation violators sent to prison to reduce detention costs.
Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project, which advocates alternatives to incarceration, says states have a "greater sense of urgency" to change policy because of their obligations to balance budgets. "That sense of urgency isn't there at the federal level," Mauer says. "Prison expansion slows the momentum for the reconsideration of some of those policies."
I hope we might hear the usual suspects who usually complain most loudly about excessive federal spending will speak out about the continued (and wasteful?) growth of the federal criminal justice and prison system. I fear, however, that prison spending tends to be an arena in which many persons who are usually advocates for limited government spending become quite willing to endorse the continued growth of big government.
Some recent related posts:
- DOJ budget request for FY 2011 suggests it is not tightening its belt
- How could (or should) proposed spending freeze impact federal crime and punishment?
- President Obama's 2011 budget includes money for obtaining Illinois prison
- The state of cost problems in the states of prison nation
- How many states are being forced by economic realities to consider releasing prisoners?
- Will we invest in classrooms or cells in these tough times?
- Hoping someone in a town hall might ask Prez Obama about government spending for the drug war in prison nation
- What does the tea party movement have to say about taxing and spending on the death penalty, the drug war and mass incarceration?
February 4, 2010 in Criminal justice in the Obama Administration, Prisons and prisoners, Scope of Imprisonment | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Obama as Scrooge: no Christmas clemency grants
As I complained in posts here and here and here around Thanksgiving, it was sad and telling that President Barack Obama's first use of his historic clemency power was to continue the modern (silly?) tradition of pardoning a turkey. At that time, however, I was hoping that Prez Obama might be saving up some holiday clemencies for the Christmas season. But now the Obamas have gone off to Hawaii on their vacation; as this official webpage reveals, Prez Obama has left behind on Christmas Eve nearly 3,500 requests for pardons and commutations sitting unresolved on his Oval Office desk.
In this new Huffington Post commentary, which is titled "What I Want For Christmas: Mass Clemency," Jacob Appel makes a fulsome pitch for all executive branch leaders to consider the granting of mass clemency this holiday season. Here are some highlights:
[W]ith the United States now boasting the highest incarceration rate in the world -- more than 1 in every 100 Americans in currently behind bars -- our nation is long overdue for a mass clemency of non-violent felons and those unlikely to re-offend. Such a collective pardon and commutation would reunite hundreds of thousands of families, save billions of dollars in incarceration costs, and might foster a national spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation....
So here's my Christmas wish: Each chief executive should order a special panel to determine, as quickly as possible, which prisoners either have a history of extreme violence or pose a high risk of re-offending. Those meeting neither criteria should be transitioned home as quickly as possible....
One of the glaring -- yet too often overlooked -- failings of contemporary America is that we have become a nation obsessed with justice and retribution. We claim to be The Land of the Free, yet we have lost sight of what it means to be imprisoned: denied liberty and access to one's family, subjected to isolation and violence and unspeakable boredom. We have come to believe, in the most pernicious way, that people should get what they deserve. What a sea change it might be in our public discourse and our civic life if we focused instead upon mercy and forgiveness. A merciful and forgiving culture might find itself with less anger, less social disruption, and even less crime. If we liberated only half of our prisoners, we could spend the billions of dollars saved educating children, or providing substance-abuse treatment to addicts, or training mental health workers -- breaking the cycle of neglect that sets future prisoners on their initial trajectory toward misconduct....
Fortunately, the majority of our more than two million prisoners are not fanatics and sociopaths. Many are good people who have exercised poor judgment. They have the same hopes and dreams as ordinary, free Americans, but they now squander their lives behind bars because our prison-industrial complex has gone haywire. They are, in short, the meek and wretched who the Biblical Jesus -- whether literal or figurative -- would want us to remember in our holiday prayers.
Will the White House read this column and decide upon a mass clemency? Unlikely. Such a bold step might make President Obama truly worthy of his Nobel Prize, and win him the praise of history, but political leaders of all stripes think in terms of poll numbers. I suspect that a mass clemency could be sold to the American public -- particularly as more and more Americans find their own loved ones imprisoned -- but I understand that to attempt such a courageous step requires a leap of considerable faith. I am more optimistic that, if enough people clamor for a mass clemency, one inspired state governor -- possibly a lame-duck chief executive without a political future -- will consider such a dramatic and compassionate act. If that happens, and the social order does not crumble, other political leaders may have the courage to follow. In the interim, I can only hope that the government lawyers assembling last-minute pardons lists, possibly as I write this, remember that each name they add to their clemency register is another flesh-and-blood human being who will be able to spent the Christmas holiday with his or her family.
While I am impressed by Appel's pitch for mass clemencies, I would have been grateful if President Obama would have granted even a single clemency before heading off to the islands. In this Thanksgiving post, I called out President Obama and the criminal justice members of his White House team as turkeys. Now, this Christmas Eve, the label Scrooge seems fitting for all these folks.
Relatedly, as I have suggested before, I think that the media, public policy groups and the left side of the blogosphere also merit some spiritual grief this Christmas eve. Save for an few commentaries like Appel's, there has been precious little media or blogosphere criticism of the failure of President Obama to bring any hope or change to modern federal clemency stinginess. Sadly, far too many criminal justice groups and bloggers, who should be making a big stink about Obama's failure to show a true concern for the meek and wretched sitting in prison this holiday season, seem to be content tucked in their beds without stirring this night before Christmas.
Some related posts on federal clemency realities:
- The true sentencing turkeys on this Thanksgiving eve
- Justified complaints that Obama's first pardon will be of a turkey
- "President Barack Obama proving stingy with his pardon power"
- Notable press stories noting Obama's lack of clemency action
- A simple plea for Prez Obama: grant at least a single clemency in your first 100 days
- Historical evidence that it is NOT too early to start demanding clemencies from President Obama
- When will President Obama start acting like President Lincoln when it comes to the clemency power?
- "The Fall of the Presidential Pardon"
- What might 2009 have in store for . . . executive clemency?
December 24, 2009 in Clemency and Pardons, Criminal justice in the Obama Administration | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack
Thursday, December 03, 2009
"No Decrease In Death Penalty Approval Rate"The title of this post is the headline of this notable new NPR piece discussing the absence of significant change in the handling of the federal death penalty under the new Obama Administration. Here are excerpts:
During the Bush administration, opponents of capital punishment criticized the Justice Department for bringing federal death penalty cases too often and in states that have outlawed execution as a form of punishment.
With Attorney General Eric Holder running the department, many people expected to see a more limited use of the tactic. But so far, Holder is instructing prosecutors to seek the death penalty at roughly the same rate as President Bush's last attorney general.... Holder has authorized death penalty prosecutions at a pace comparable to that of his immediate predecessor, according to the Federal Death Penalty Resource Center. The center helps defense lawyers in capital cases, and it also tracks how often an attorney general authorizes prosecutors to seek the death penalty.
According to the Federal Death Penalty Resource Center, President Bush's first attorney general, John Ashcroft, greenlighted 139 federal death penalty prosecutions out of 641 cases that might have been eligible for capital punishment. That's a 22 percent approval rate. Ashcroft's successor, Alberto Gonzales, authorized prosecutors to seek the death penalty in 81 out of 423 possible cases, for a 19 percent approval rate.
Michael Mukasey approved 21 out of 159 cases, so his approval rate was 13 percent. Holder's approval rate is almost identical to Mukasey's. As of Oct. 3, capital defense lawyers say, Holder had authorized prosecutors to seek the death penalty in 7 cases out of 61 that might have been eligible for capital punishment. That's an 11 percent approval rate.
If you include the five alleged Sept. 11 conspirators headed to New York from Guantanamo for a federal death penalty trial, the rate climbs higher. And Thanksgiving week, Holder instructed prosecutors to seek the death penalty in another four cases....
There is also a question of local standards in death penalty enforcement. Many states have outlawed the death penalty, but even in those states, federal prosecutors can still bring capital charges....
Ashcroft brought federal death penalty cases in states that have outlawed capital punishment. When asked for his view on bringing federal death penalty cases in states that have outlawed capital punishment, Holder said, "I wouldn't say that there's a policy where we're doing it on a state-by-state basis. It really is a case-by-case basis."
December 3, 2009 in Criminal justice in the Obama Administration, Death Penalty Reforms, Who Sentences? | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
"Obama suggests 9/11 suspect will get death penalty"The title of this post is the headline of this new Reuters piece. Here is how the piece starts:
U.S. President Barack Obama suggested on Wednesday the self-professed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks would be convicted and put to death, but later said he was not trying to prejudge the trial.
I am bumming that President Obama did not also predict just when Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would be executed, especially since the administration of the federal death penalty remains in a virtual legal black hole since some scheduled federal executions were stayed way back in 2006 based on pre-Baze concerns about lethal injection protocols.
Some related posts:
- The notable federal-state disparity in carrying out executions
- What's up with federal executions?
- Why is the Bush Administration (secretly?) accepting a de facto moratorium on federal executions?
- Inequities and uncertainties in federal death penalty
- Is AG Mukasey going soft on the federal death penalty?
- Why the #$@! is AG Mukasey speaking out against execution for 9/11 plotters and suggesting US justice is sadist?
- What might a new administration mean for the federal death penalty?
November 18, 2009 in Criminal justice in the Obama Administration, Death Penalty Reforms | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBack
Monday, November 09, 2009
"President Barack Obama proving stingy with his pardon power"
The title of this post is the headline of this little piece today in the Chicago Tribune. These basics about President Obama's poor clemency track record to date should be familiar to regular readers of this blog:
A lot of things have moved pretty quickly in the Obama administration. Presidential pardons are not among them. In two and a quarter centuries, only four presidents have been slower than President Barack Obama in exercising their authority of executive clemency -- granting either pardons or commutations of sentences to the convicted -- with thousands of applications pending at the Justice Department.
Some related posts on federal clemency:
- Notable press stories noting Obama's lack of clemency action
- A simple plea for Prez Obama: grant at least a single clemency in your first 100 days
- Historical evidence that it is NOT too early to start demanding clemencies from President Obama
- Still waiting ... and waiting ... and waiting ... on the clemency front
- Another public and potent call to reinvigorate the pardon power
- "Judge urges Obama to cut coke dealer's sentence"
- ACS issue brief on the pardon power
- Latest FSR issue on "Learning from Libby"
- "The Fall of the Presidential Pardon"
- When will President Obama start acting like President Lincoln when it comes to the clemency power?
- What might 2009 have in store for . . . executive clemency?
November 9, 2009 in Clemency and Pardons, Criminal justice in the Obama Administration | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Sunday, October 11, 2009
DOJ reviewing some DNA testing waivers in federal plea agreementsThis new article in today's Washington Post, which is headlined "Justice Dept. to Review Bush Policy on DNA Test Waivers," spotlights an interesting issues concerning the use of rights waivers in some federal plea agreements. Here are some of the basics:
Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has ordered a review of a little-known Bush administration policy requiring some defendants to waive their right to DNA testing even though that right is guaranteed in a landmark federal law, officials said.
The practice of using DNA waivers began several years ago as a response to the Innocence Protection Act of 2004, which allowed federal inmates to seek post-conviction DNA tests to prove their innocence. More than 240 wrongly convicted people have been exonerated by such tests, including 17 on death row.
The waivers are filed only in guilty pleas and bar defendants from ever requesting DNA testing, even if new evidence emerges. Prosecutors who use them, including some of the nation's most prominent U.S. attorneys, say people who have admitted guilt should not be able to file frivolous petitions for testing. They say the wave of DNA exonerations has little impact in federal court because all those found to be innocent were state prisoners, and the waivers apply only to federal charges. DNA evidence is used far more frequently in state courts.
But DNA experts say that's about to change because more sophisticated testing will soon bring biological evidence into federal courtrooms for a wider variety of crimes. Defense lawyers who have worked on DNA appeals strongly oppose the waivers, saying that innocent people sometimes plead guilty -- mainly to get lighter sentences -- and that denying them the ability to prove their innocence violates a fundamental right. One quarter of the 243 people exonerated by DNA had falsely confessed to crimes they didn't commit, and 16 of them pleaded guilty....
Interviews and documents show that language allowing for DNA waivers was inserted into the law at the behest of Republican senators and that the Bush Justice Department lobbied against the measure even with the waiver provision. Soon after the law passed with bipartisan support, the department sent a secret memo to the nation's 94 U.S. attorney's offices urging them to use the waivers, several federal officials familiar with the memo said.
Holder, a former U.S. attorney in the District, has called for expanded DNA testing in federal courts. After inquiries by The Washington Post, his spokesman, Matthew Miller, said Holder "has ordered that the department review its DNA waiver policy."... Oregon prosecutor Joshua Marquis, who sits on the executive committee of the National District Attorneys Association, said he's never heard of DNA waivers in state court and that the organization opposes the concept. "I think it's important to always leave the door open for actual proof of innocence," he said.
In federal court, the waivers are part of the standard plea agreement filed by prosecutors in the District, Alexandria and Manhattan, which are among the nation's highest-profile U.S. attorney's offices. Waivers are used in some or all pleas by at least 16 other offices, including such large ones as Chicago and Los Angeles and such smaller ones as Arkansas and West Virginia. Prosecutors in Maryland rarely use the waivers. "It saves us a lot of spurious litigation down the pike," said G.F. Peterman III, acting U.S. attorney in the Middle District of Georgia. "All they have to do is say I'm not guilty, go to trial and they've waived nothing. It's their decision."
Defense attorneys disagree, saying prosecutors give defendants the choice of signing the waiver or not getting the benefits of a plea agreement, which usually include a lighter sentence. "It's a horrendous provision, and I can never get them to take it out," said Christopher Amolsch, a lawyer whose client recently waived DNA testing rights in a cigarette smuggling case in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. Other lawyers said they don't usually fight the waivers, considering it a losing battle....
At least 24 U.S. attorneys don't use the waivers. It could not be determined how many inmates have been affected by the policy, because the remaining 50 U.S. attorney's offices did not respond to inquiries or declined to comment. It is also unclear how many federal prisoners have filed petitions seeking post-conviction DNA testing since 2004. Justice Department officials said the number is small but have also said they expect more petitions over time.
Though this Postarticle is focused on waiver of the right to DNA testing, I am hopeful that the Justice Department is examining critically all the disparate and disturbing use of broad waivers in federal plea agreements. I am glad to see the Post focusing on one part of this issue, but I hope the inquiry into waivers of rights in plea deals extend beyond DNA concerns.
As this article highlights, though the Justice Department and federal prosecutors are often raising concerns about disparate sentencing practices, the reality of federal criminal practice is that plea bargaining practices and plea agreement terms are often wildly disparate from district to district. The different and disparate fast-track sentencing programs (discussed in the most recent FSR issue) are the most tangible example of prosecutor-produced disparity, but use of different types of waivers is also profound and pervasive, too.
The most pervasive and pernicious plea agreement waiver involves waivers of the right to appeal. Though statistics are hard to come by, I suspect that some (if not most or even all) federal districts include appeal waiver in some (if not most or even all) plea agreement. As I explained in long ago posts here and here right after Booker, I think a strong argument could and should be made that appeal waivers are void as against public policy as enshrined in the Sentencing Reform Act and Booker. But, to my knowledge, only a very few federal judges and courts refuse to endorse and uphold appeal waivers.
October 11, 2009 in Criminal justice in the Obama Administration, Procedure and Proof at Sentencing, Sentences Reconsidered, Who Sentences? | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack
Monday, October 05, 2009
Some interesting snippets from the latest crime speech by Attorney General HolderAt the new Department of Justice website (which, personally, I do not find very aesthetically pleasing), one can now find the text of this new speech by Attorney General Eric Holder on crime issues. This speech was today delivered to the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference in Denver, and I found these passages especially notable:
But as important as it is to foster a stronger national dialogue between federal, state, and local law enforcement, talk alone is not enough. Talk alone isn't going to keep crime rates down. Talk alone isn't going to protect innocent victims. Talk alone isn't going to stop rival gangs from shooting up our streets, or drug dealers from peddling dope in our schools, or terrorists from attacking our cities. Indeed, we all know that the best ideas in the world are worth little without the resources to implement them....
I want the Justice Department to be a partner with you as we develop the most up-to-date thinking about law enforcement strategies. Therefore, I have directed our Office of Justice Programs to transform itself into an evidence-based agency that supports strong research, that shares scientifically-reliable findings that will ultimately help you do your jobs better and then provides the funds necessary to make sound theory into viable reality. I am confident that this new direction will ultimately help you take advantage of new approaches that will greatly assist you in your efforts to further the cause of justice.
October 5, 2009 in Criminal justice in the Obama Administration, Who Sentences? | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Important new NACDL report critical of modern drug court movementAs detailed in this news release, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has today released an important new report on drug courts. The title of the press release. "Drug Courts Endanger Rights, Block Access To Needed Treatment for Drug Users: Defense Lawyers Call for Major Overhaul," highlights that the NACDL is not in favor of extant drug court models. Here is the start of the press release, which provides a partial summary of the report:
Drug courts – first created 20 years ago as an emergency response to an epidemic of drug-related criminal cases that clogged courts and prisons – have in many places become an obstacle to making cost-efficient drug abuse therapy available to addicts and reducing criminal case loads, the nation's largest association of criminal defense attorneys said today.
In too many places, access to treatment comes at the cost of a guilty plea for low-level drug offenses while hard cases are denied and offenders wind up in jail at great expense to taxpayers, a report by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers found. The report flowed out of a two-year task force study of problem-solving courts.
Well-intended prosecutors and judges, generally with little input from the defense bar, often limit entry to treatment to offenders most likely to solve their own problems while insisting that "harder cases" go to jail, at considerable taxpayer expense, the study found. Minorities, immigrants and those with few financial resources are often under-represented in drug court programs.
The full report, which is titled ""America's Problem-Solving Courts: The Criminal Costs of Treatment and the Case for Reform," is available at this link. This report strikes me as quite an important development in the drug court movement, and thus it is today's must-read for any and everyone who has tended to view drug courts and other problem-solving courts as a positive development and part of a healthy evolution away from unduly punitive tough-on-crime approaches.
This report also seems especially timely in light of President Obama's and Attorney General Holder's apparent affinity for drug courts (as noted in prior posts here and here and here). Indeed, as evidence by many links below, there have been very few loud voices speaking up against modern drug courts until this new report by NACDL.
Some related posts about drug court programs and research:
- New report on drug courts from The Sentencing Project
- NJ commission endorsing expanding drug courts
- A religious pitch for drug courts
September 29, 2009 in Criminal justice in the Obama Administration, Drug Offense Sentencing | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
"Immigration Prosecutions at Record Levels in FY 2009"The title of this post is the headline of this new data item from the folks at the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). Here is how the report starts:
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during the first nine months of FY 2009 the government reported 67,994 new immigration prosecutions. If this activity continues at the same pace, the annual total of prosecutions will be 90,659 for this fiscal year. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), this estimate is up 14.1 percent over the past fiscal year when the number of prosecutions totaled 79,431.
The comparisons of the number of defendants charged with immigration-related offenses are based on case-by-case information obtained by TRAC under the Freedom of Information Act from the Executive Office for United States Attorneys.
These numbers ought to bring a smile to Lou Dobbs and others who are often calling for tougher enforcement of immigration laws. Whether it amounts to change we can believe in is, of course, a distinct question.
September 22, 2009 in Criminal justice in the Obama Administration, Detailed sentencing data, Offense Characteristics, Who Sentences? | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Will new US Attorneys have a big impact on federal sentencing law and policy?
The new Administration's approach to crack sentencing shows how new personnel in Main Justice is already impact some parts of federal sentencing law and policy. But, on a case-by-case basis, who serves in local US Attorney offices may have an even bigger long-term impact on the shape and direction of the federal criminal justice system. Thus, sentencing fans should be very interested in this new article from The National Law Journal, which is headlined the "U.S. Attorney Picks Are Under Way: Some Senate Republicans want a say in who gets selected." Here are a few of the basics:
President Barack Obama began filling the nation's 93 U.S. Attorney positions on May 15, announcing his first wave of six nominees. The move touched off a closely guarded process freighted with symbolism in the wake of the Bush administration firings scandal.
President George W. Bush and President Bill Clinton made their first U.S. Attorney nominations days before Congress' summer recess in August. Each nominated more than two dozen in the first round.
U.S. Attorney nominations pose a potential hurdle for Obama, as he reconciles the nature of these plum political posts with his pledge of bipartisanship and Attorney General Eric Holder Jr.'s promise to rid the department of partisan meddling. Some Republicans have already signaled their intention to block candidates if they're left out of the process, including Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, whose membership on the Senate Judiciary Committee gives him an outsized role in nominations....
On May 15, Obama said he intended to nominate Preet Bharara for the Southern District of New York, Tristram Coffin for Vermont, Jenny Durkan for the Western District of Washington, Paul Fishman for New Jersey, John Kacavas for New Hampshire and Joyce Vance for the Northern District of Alabama.
Though just six have been named so far, about 20 candidates have come to Washington for interviews at the Justice Department in the past two months, according to a source familiar with the process. The meetings are one of the final steps before nomination.
Obama is announcing his picks for U.S. Attorneys in waves, replacing holdover Bush prosecutors once his nominees are confirmed or appointed on an interim basis while awaiting confirmation, Justice Department officials said. That breaks sharply with the system adopted by President Bill Clinton, who sacked nearly all holdover U.S. Attorneys at the start of his first term. The move angered many career Justice Department lawyers who say the turnover disrupted their work and left some prosecutors out on the street.
Some related posts:
- "Smart on Crime: Recommendations for the Next Administration and Congress"
- Why federal sentencing reformers must focus on the USSC and lower courts
- Are we on the verge of a new changed era concerning federal sentencing law and policy?
- Why I fear change will not come quickly to federal sentencing policy and practice
- Will AG Holder really lead a "new birth of freedom" in prison nation?
May 20, 2009 in Criminal justice in the Obama Administration | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Revised discussion of criminal justice plans on White House website
Though perhaps this is old news, I just noticed that the discussion of criminal justice issues has changed over at the Civil Rights webpage on WhiteHouse.gov. As detailed in this old post, this webpage used to take a bullet-point approach to describing agenda items, and the key bullet points were "Reduce Crime Recidivism by Providing Ex-Offender Support"; "Eliminate Sentencing Disparities"; "Expand Use of Drug Courts." Now this page has just this paragraph with a single heading:
Lead Criminal Justice Reform
The President will lead the fight to build a more fair and equitable criminal justice system. He will seek to strengthen federal hate crime legislation and will work to ensure that federal law enforcement agencies do not resort to racial profiling. He supports funding for drug courts, giving first-time, non-violent offenders a chance to serve their sentence, if appropriate, in drug rehabilitation programs that have proven to work better than prison terms in changing behavior. President Obama will also improve ex-offender employment and job retention strategies, substance abuse treatment, and mental health counseling so ex-offenders can successfully re-join society.
I am not sure the changed text suggests any formal changes in policy plans. However, the prior text stated expressly that President Obama and VP Biden favored completely eliminating the crack/powder sentencing disparity. It is somewhat peculiar that the crack/powder discussion has now itself been completely eliminated from WhiteHouse.gov even though Obama's Justice Department has now urged Congress to completely eliminate the crack/powder disparity.
Meanwhile, I cannot help but use this opportunity to spotlight, yet again, that President Obama has completely failed to make any use of his clemency power, even though a few strategic clemency grants would present an especially effective means to show he was genuinely committed to "lead[ing] the fight to build a more fair and equitable criminal justice system" and to "giving first-time, non-violent offenders a chance" to avoid excessive and ineffectual prison terms. I stress this point again and again because, though President Obama has been very active in his first 100+ days on so many other issues, when it comes to hope and change for the federal criminal justice system, he can and should be assailed for being all talk and little action.
Some old and new related posts:
- "Smart on Crime: Recommendations for the Next Administration and Congress"
- Aspirations and realism about drug sentencing reform
- Washington Post urges Prez Obama to do better on clemency
- Another public and potent call to reinvigorate the pardon power
- Inaugural rhetoric about freedom and liberty in prison nation
- Why I fear change will not come quickly to federal sentencing policy and practice
- Will AG Holder really lead a "new birth of freedom" in prison nation?
May 12, 2009 in Criminal justice in the Obama Administration | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack
Monday, April 20, 2009
How about some targeted clemency grants to save $100 million of federal tax dollars?
This new Politico piece, headlined "Obama to order $100 million in cuts," spotlights this latest news from the White House:
At the first Cabinet meeting of his presidency, President Obama on Monday will challenge the departments to collectively cut $100 million over the next three months, a senior administration official said. The official said the exercise is "part of his commitment to go line by line through the budget to cut spending and reform government."
"Agencies will be required to report back with their savings at the end of 90 days," the official said.
Here is my suggestion for a simple way to cut $100 million of wasteful federal spending ASAP: commute the final year(s) of the prison sentences for a few non-violent offenders serving overly long federal prison terms due to mandatory sentencing statutes/guidelines. There are now well over 200,000 federal inmates costing US taxpayers around $50,000 per year to keep incarcerated. Commuting just the final year of the prison sentence for just the most deserving 1% of this population would, in one quick and easy step, cut $100 million in wasteful federal government spending.
Consider in this context that the retroactive application of the new reduced crack guidelines, according to the latest official USSC data, has cut over 25,000 years of scheduled federal imprisonment (over 12,500 crack offenders have received sentence reductions that have averaged 2 years in length) and thus saved federal taxpayers over $1 billion in scheduled federal incarceration costs. I think we could and should try to save an addition $100 million by cutting some breaks to a few other federal offenders).
Some related (old and new) posts:
- Washington Post urges Prez Obama to do better on clemency
- Another public and potent call to reinvigorate the pardon power
- Inaugural rhetoric about freedom and liberty in prison nation
- Will we invest in classrooms or cells in these tough times?
- The state of cost problems in the states of prison nation
- Why we need a re-entry czar and a task force on the prison economy
- Hoping someone in a town hall might ask Prez Obama about government spending for the drug war in prison nation
- Why is Senator Jim Webb the only national figure focused on the prison economy?
- What does the tea party movement have to say about taxing and spending on the death penalty, the drug war and mass incarceration?
- FSR publishes issue on "American Criminal Justice Policy in a 'Change' Election"
April 20, 2009 in Criminal justice in the Obama Administration | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack


text:
Porcelain Ornamentsby Maxine Noel - $18.00 ea
Porcelain ornaments are 4-inch (75mm) in diameter and are individually packaged in a clear plastic box. Information about the designs and the artists are featured on a story card placed inside the box.
Priced at $18 CDN each.
See also Maxine Noel's Glass Ornaments.
|Dolphin Soulmate - $18.00 CDN
Dreamcatcher - $18.00 CDN
Friends - $18.00 CDN
|Rainmaker - $18.00 CDN

subset: commoncrawl


text:
There's a land rush under way in the fast-casual industry, with restaurateurs nationwide frantically trying to grab a piece of this fast-growing segment. Just how fast is it growing? According to Technomic, eight of the ten fastest-growing chains in America (with sales of at least $2 million) are of ... More >>
Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill, a Denver-based fast-casual concept, will open its eighteenth location -- the sixteenth in Colorado -- today at 14740 West Colfax Avenue, in the new Denver West project. To celebrate, the restaurant will be giving away prizes and menu items all month long -- check the Fa ... More >>
A great burger needs to stand on its own, a Westword reader noted last week in response to my review of Red Robin's Burger Works, a new concept that the Colorado-based chain tried out at the Shops at Northfield Stapleton before rolling it outside Colorado state lines. That means the burger has to ... More >>
Consumer Reports gives Five Guys a high-five.Consumer Reports takes on fast-food burgers in its October issue, and the results aren't good for the world's burger behemoth. The magazine asked 28,000 subscribers for their opinion on fast-food burgers, and McDonald's came in last -- by a margin ... More >>
Since 1986, Five Guys Burgers and Fries has focused on keeping things simple, serving burgers wrapped in foil and bagged to-go in greasy brown paper sacks, even if you're eating in; Idaho potato fries, hand-cut and fried in peanut oil; cold Cokes; some hot dogs. It's a classic American operat ... More >>
Tracking the latest, from bun bo to burgers.


text:
Tag Archives: ant man
More Turmoil For Marvel's Ant-Man Film: Three Cast Members Drop Out
It's never dull, but tomorrow's Marvel Hall H presentation promises to be particularly interesting from a number of angles: Deadline has the word… Don't expect Patrick Wilson, Matt Gerard and Kevin Weisman to be at tomorrow's Marvel Studios Hall H …
Ant-Man Exclusive SDCC Concept Art Poster
Marvel has an SDCC Exclusive Ant-Man poster to giveaway this weekend and Entertainment Weekly has the first look. The illustration is a piece of pre-production concept art specifically made for San Diego Comic-Con. The art is by Andy Park and features Scott …
Kevin Feige Says Peyton Reed Is The Right Man For Ant-Man
At a screening of Guardians of the Galaxy this morning in London, Marvel Studios' head man Kevin Feige was asked by IGN.com why Peyton Reed was the right man to helm Ant-Man. Reed, who was once being considered to direct …
Michael Douglas and David Letterman Talk Ant-Man and Comic Con
Last night actor Michael Douglas was a guest on the David Letterman show and was asked about his upcoming role in Marvel's Ant-Man. Douglas, who is set to play Hank Pym, admitted he wasn't really a comic book guy and …
Ant-Man Movie Hires Two New Writers
Latino-Review.com is reporting that Marvel's upcoming Ant-Man movie has hired on writers Gabriel Ferrari and Andrew Barrer. So does that mean script based on Edgar Wright's original idea and then revised by Adam McKay is in trouble? Not necessarily. It …
A New Ant Man, By Way Of Chris Samnee?
We are all expecting Marvel to publish an Ant Man solo comic at some point. There's a movie on the way (sadly without Edgar Wright at the helm) and an Ant Man series was certainly teased in the most All-New …
Rumor: Ant-Man's Villains And Who's Playing Them Revealed
As we can tell by now, this movie is taking plenty of liberties with its source material, for better or worse.
Kevin Feige Clarifies Where Things Stand With Ant-Man And Doctor Strange
The best transcripts out of Kevin Feige's CineEurope presentation come from Total Film. They've got pretty much everything he said, but what concerns us, right now, are his comments on Ant-Man and Doctor Strange. We'll start with Ant-Man. There's been …
Peyton Reed To Direct Ant-Man, Adam McKay Working On Script
Well, I guess they got this done as quickly as possible.
Marvel Looking At Tom Hardy And Benedict Cumberbatch For Doctor Strange, Peyton Reed And David Wain For Ant-Man
Earlier today, I was tipped off that Marvel would like to speak to Benedict Cumberbatch about Doctor Strange. I've been firing off e-mails and calls trying to find out how real this is. Apparently it's a little bit real, as …
Marvel's Ant-Man Contenders Now Include Michael Dowse And Nicholas Stoller, Allegedly
This is the kind of position we find ourselves in with this film right now. Rumour tennis.
Adam McKay Tweets His Reasoning For Not Taking The Ant-Man Gig
There is a hint at the end of that that he may not be definitively out of the running. Although, I'm going to call it. He is out.
Adam McKay Is The New Director Of Ant-Man – UPDATED: Not Any More
There's been a lot said about Edgar Wright's decision to leave Ant-Man and quite what creative differences had sprung up between the director and Marvel Studios.
New Candidates For The Ant-Man And Ghostbusters 3 Jobs Are Comedy Specialists
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel are interested in Ruben Fleischer, Adam McKay and Rawson Marshall Thurber as possible Ant-Man replacements for recently estranged co-writer and director Edgar Wright. The Wrap go so far as to say Thurber is the frontrunner, …
Tweeted Then Deleted: Edgar Wright's Sad Cornetto Picture
Unfortunately, Edgar Wright is bound to be grilled about his decision to step away from Ant-Man for several years to come and I doubt that the questions will stop long after he's covered the story in every way he wants …
James Gunn's Surprisingly Touching Comments On The Marvel And Edgar Wright Split
James Gunn has written an unprompted and unexpected update, making clear his feelings about the situation with Marvel Studios, Edgar Wright and Ant-Man.
Edgar Wright Leaving Marvel's Ant-Man
Whoa. Here's the official statement: Marvel and Edgar Wright jointly announced today that the studio and director have parted ways on ANT-MAN due to differences in their vision of the film. The decision to move on is amicable and does …
House Of Cards' Corey Stoll Joining Ant-Man
Edgar Wright sure is casting a lot of basically interchangeable guys to make trying to guess who everyone's playing as difficult as possible.


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Why I Broke Up With My Best Friend
The Best-Selling Author of "Silver Girl" Shares Her Story
I grew busier and busier in my professional life, and while helping Kate work through her problems had felt at first like a privilege, it increasingly came to feel like a burden. I thought her needy; she thought me selfish.
We fell apart. Without going into too many personal details, I will say that this happened both gradually, then suddenly. A break was much needed—our lives were too interconnected, and we were too dependent on each other. To this day, it remains the most painful break I've ever endured from another person. I had lost my best friend.
I spent the first year of our breakup dutifully avoiding Kate; the thought of bumping into her in public terrified me. We lived half a mile away from each other, on an island. The first time I saw her at a school function, we ignored each other. Our once unbreakable bond had been broken, and in its place was a cold silence.
There was a way in which my friendship with Kate had allowed me to fend off loneliness, and giving up that kind of relationship was a scary thought.


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Kay Jewelers - outrageous charges for watch battery replacement
- Nov 10, 2011
- 407 views
- 4 Comments
- 4 Comments
- review #274158 ronwestsr
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Luxury / Jewelry
- Movado Watch
- More Less
I bought a Movado watch from a Kays store.The slaesperson recommended a lifetime battery replacement contract which I bought.
When my battery played out I took the watch back to Kays for replacement.
I was told they had to send it off and it would take 4-6 weeks.I received a call a few weeks later informing me that there would be a charge of $105 because when the watch is opened to replace the battery the gasket is broken and the watch has to be resealed, hence the $105.
I was sold the battery replacement contract by the explanation that I have NO cost for lifetime battery replacement.
I have been ripped off and have no recourse if I want my watch back.af72d98
kayemployee Jan 10, 2012
that is the most absurd thing I have ever heard! I have seen people try to change thier own watch batteries and ruin their time piece, prying off a screw back , not to mention that there are over 50 different battery sizes used in watches. if you buy expensive things it is expensive to repair/ maintain them. if you don't then just buy a cheap throwaway.
movado owner Nov 15, 2011
I have two movado time pieces . The one I have that is for 100 meters or more I have searched high and low for someone to do a battery change. No one will touch it because they do not have the equipment in store to pressure seal the gasket. It's nearly a two thousand dollar watch, so I would like to keep it waterproof , so i do pay for the gasket to be sealed back. My other movado doesn't have a description of water meters. So they change them in store for me. But I can see why they would have that policy. If they are going to break the seal to change the battery on it, and I were to get moisture in it and the watch stops working, yeah, they would pay for me to have a new watch in a heart beat. it makes sense to me.0 0 Reply
nikalseyn Nov 10, 2011
You can buy a card full of something like 24 various-size button batteries at many dollar stores. I buy them and replace watch batteries, etc. for all sorts of items. I would tell them to just return the watch without fixing it and then open it up and replace the battery yourself. You can probably figure out how to make a gasket yourself once you see how it goes in. They are usually only a narrow circular rubber thing. Even an "o" ring might work.0 0 Reply
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Man accidentally shoots own penis, diesBy Jamie Marie Elona |INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—A truck driver died after he accidentally shot off his penis in Rosales, Pangasinan, police said Friday.
Geronimo Narciso, 37, was drinking with friends inside the compound of Tagumpay Lumber and Construction Supply when he brought out his gun and fired it twice downwards, Senior Inspector Ryan Manongdo, Pangasinan police spokesman, said.
His drinking buddies, Arnel Nacino and Edwin Alcera, asked him to stop firing his homemade gun, Manongdo said.
Narciso heeded their request and was tucking his gun to his waist when it went off, hitting his genitals.
His friends rushed him to Dr. Chan Memorial Hospital in Carmen town but was declared dead on arrival.
Manongdo said a homemade caliber 22 pistol with four live ammunitions and a spent shell were found in the area.
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The Houston Texans have released one of their better veteran players, as Owen Daniels has been released by the Houston Texans.
John McClain of the Houston Chronicle first tweeted the release of Daniels.
Texans released TE Owen Daniels.
— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) March 11, 2014
One of the reasons Daniels was released was he was due $4.5 million this upcoming season, as he was coming off an leg injury.
No the lone TE on the Texans roster is Ryan Griffin, unless they are able to re-sign Garrett Graham, who is a free agent.
"Daniels would have counted $6.25 million against the salary cap, but now that his dead money figure will be $1.75 million, the Texans have saved $4.5 million overall."
This release seemed to be about finances, as the NFL is a business first and foremost.
Daniels is one of the better players to ever suit up for the Texans, but I'm honestly not surprised about this release as it is a new era in Houston, plus it does save a lot on the salary cap, which is a plus.
Texans fans will most likely miss having Daniels on the field, but it seems like it was something the team had to do for business reasons.
In eight NFL seasons, all with the Texans, Daniels played in 100 regular-season games, where he caught 385 passes for 4,617 yards and 29 touchdowns.
The most receptions he had in a single season was 70 in 2008, and in 2012, in 15 games, he totaled 62 catches.
This past season in just five games, Daniels totaled 24 receptions for 252 yards and three touchdowns.
In four of his eight seasons with the Texans, Daniels caught for over 600 yards in a season.
Now it will be interesting to see not only what the Texans do at tight end this offseason, but where will Daniels end up for the 2014 season.
Daniels was originally drafted in the fourth round (pick 98) by the Texans in 2006.
Follow the Toro Times on Twitter at @Texans_TT and like us on Facebook by clicking here.
Subscribe to the Fansided Toro Times Daily Newsletter for free by clicking here.
Tags: Owen Daniels Texans


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Laureen and Charles Braxton never anticipated that paying bills would be so hard at this point in their lives. The Raleigh couple lived comfortably — but not extravagantly — as they raised three sons. … Back to Article
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750 Teak Loop has a Walk Score of 49 out of 100. This location is a Car-Dependent neighborhood so most errands require a car.
This location is in Albany. Nearby parks include Bryant Park, Albany Parks & Rec Administration and Takena Park.
Nearby schools include North Albany Middle School, North Albany Elementary School and Fairmount Elementary School.
The closest grocery stores are Tori's Distributing and Jacksons.
Nearby coffee shops include Starbucks, Sweet Red Coffee & Wine Bistro, West 1st Avenue, Albany, OR and Clemenza's Italian American. There are six restaurants within a 15 minute walk including SUBWAY® Restaurants, Subway and Mexico Lindo Restaraunt & Lounge.
750 Teak Loop is near Bryant Park, Takena Park and North Albany County Park.


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Cancer Health Center
Sexuality and Reproductive Issues (PDQ®): Supportive care - Health Professional Information [NCI] - Treatment of Sexual Problems in People With Cancer
If changes in arousal are also associated with the endocrine changes of menopause, the option and evaluation of hormone replacement should be discussed. Some women may experience discomfort with penetration around the vaginal entrance and can learn to relax the pubococcygeus muscles with Kegel exercises.[38,49,50] Women who have lost vaginal depth or caliber as a result of pelvic surgery, radiation therapy, or graft-versus-host disease may also benefit from a program of inserting vaginal dilators of gradually increasing sizes, and at the same time, learning exercises to better relax the muscles surrounding the vaginal entrance.[38,51] Some women may also benefit, at least in the short term after cancer treatment, from lubricant or anesthetic gels to prevent pain in tender, dry vulvar areas.[52][Level of evidence: I] The FDA approved a nonpharmaceutical device to aid sexual arousal in women. The EROS clitoral therapy device (EROS-CTD) creates a gentle suction over the clitoris to increase blood flow and sensation. This device is only available by prescription and is clinically indicated for the treatment of female sexual dysfunction. It is expected to be particularly effective in postmenopausal women, women who have had hysterectomies, and those women who have surgically induced menopause.[53] The efficacy of EROS therapy has been supported by several small pilot studies,[54][Level of evidence: III][55,56] one of which specifically examined its efficacy in alleviating the symptoms of sexual dysfunction among women with a history of irradiated cervical cancer.[55][Level of evidence: II] Three months posttherapy, this study found statistically significant improvements in all domains evaluated, which included increased sexual desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, sexual satisfaction, and reduced pain. Additionally, follow-up gynecological examinations revealed improved vaginal elasticity, mucosal color, and moisture and decreased bleeding and ulceration. Randomized controlled trials are warranted to fully assess the benefits of EROS therapy.
More specific information for the evaluation and treatment of female sexual dysfunction, including painful intercourse (i.e., dyspareunia), vaginismus, inhibited orgasm, and sexual arousal and desire disorders, is available in other resources.[39,49,57,58]
For both men and women, a persistent and complex sexual problem is loss of desire for sex after cancer treatment. In men who have not had prostate cancer and have clinically low levels of serum testosterone, replacement by injection or patch is often effective in restoring normal sexual function. Testosterone replacement tends to have little effect, however, if given to a man whose own hormone levels fall within the normal range. Safety, dosage, and delivery systems for androgen replacement in women need to be studied. Numerous studies have evaluated the use of transdermal testosterone in various populations.[59,60,61,62,63,64,65][Level of evidence: I] These populations include women who have hypoactive sexual desire disorder who have had oophorectomies, who are naturally postmenopausal, who are premenopausal, and who have a history of cancer. These studies used doses ranging from 150 μg to 10 mg daily. Most of the studies in women have used concomitant estradiol supplementation if estrogen levels fell outside the normal premenopausal range and found that testosterone supplementation significantly improved libido outcomes.
WebMD Public Information from the National Cancer Institute
Sexuality and Reproductive Issues (PDQ®): Supportive care - Health Professional Information [NCI] Topics
- Nci
- The Prevalence and Types of Sexual Dysfunction in People With Cancer
- Factors Affecting Sexual Function in People With Cancer
- Pharmacological Effects of Supportive Care Medications on Sexual Function


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We currently have no information on this artiste. Kindly send details to us at firstname.lastname@example.com
M.I Subscribe to M.I
Lyrics: DJ Spinall – Oluwa ft M.I
Intro – Spinall Rrrrrrrrraaaaahhhhhh I'm Back TheCAP Let's Do This !!! They call him the incredible , Mr Incredible MI Abaga ..Spinall Lets Go !!! Verse – M.I I been… Read more
Lyrics: M.I – King James
Verse 1 Four years I've been away, still nothing this hot popping today. Been holding out cos I'm done with the album I should do a Beyoncé and drop it… Read more
Lyrics: Ice Prince – Can I Talk ft. Joell Ortiz, M.I Abaga
[Intro: Iceprince] Crazy beat TMXO, I be here with my man City monster, can I talk? Let me advise you. Aah [Verse 1: Iceprince] I wake up in the morning,… Read more
Lyrics: Flavour – Power To Win ft. MI, Irene Logan, Kwabena Kwabena
Verse Here I come With my voice Here to win It's my choice You can dream If you believe Give it all All you've got Chorus They are fast I… Read more
Lyrics: Chyme HD – Oshe ft. M.I
Download Intro – Chyme HD Ma le le ma ma Yeah You know we gat it in the bank Mama le le ma ma All the money is in the… Read more
Lyrics: M.I – Slow Down
eh chocolate city m.i come closer baby come closer baby i gat my eyes on you i gat my eyes on you i like the things you do i like… Read more
Lyrics: Capital FEMI – Tonight ft. M.I
Download It's the Capital FEMI They call me M.I Victoriouz Icon Tonight is the night I'm feeling all right This how the thing go I'm feeling kinda single Tonight… Read more
Lyrics: Nosa – Always on My Mind ft. M.I
If I tell you say na you I dey think of when you call If I tell you say I no forget you at all at all You no go… Read more
Lyrics: Dj Lambogini – Mercy ft. M.I
Lambogini! tell these boys to free me! They try to photocopy M, these niggas wanna be me! (Lambogini have mercy) Lambogini! when these niggas see me! Boys dey disappear. Omo… Read more
Lyrics: M.I – Safe ft. Djinee
Intro: All this kpomo men Them be kpomo men… He! He! Ha! {ooooh!} {Verse 1 – M.i} Yo! It's the way that they do me {echo} (Are we safe right… Read more


text: Sacred Destinations Destinations England Durham Durham Cathedral Durham Cathedral Photos 7095 × share full URL share short URL embed link code photo 34 of 90 Previous | Next View from Northwest with River Exterior view of Durham Cathedral from northwest, taken from the west bank of the River Wear. The west towers date from 1217-26; the central tower was rebuilt in 1465-90. Durham, England. Credit: Holly Hayes license this photo at Art History Images


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These guys have been there [Guantanamo Bay] for 12 years. They're almost ready to have their behind bars mitzvah.
Stephen Colbert
These guys have been there [Guantanamo Bay] for 12 years. They're almost ready to have their behind bars mitzvah.
Looks like Obama's keeping Gitmo, they just can't close it- it's the Olive Garden of prisons; it gets terrible reviews but somehow stays open.
In 10 years, the youngest detainee held at Gitmo was 13 years old, the oldest was 89.
You could not find a better, more humane facility for a detention center in the world,
Sen. Joe Lieberman believes that Guantanamo Bay's bad reputation isn't deserved.
We've been following the transfer of detainees from the prison at Guantanamo Bay and tonight we learn the administration will be acquiring a correctional center in Illinois to make the transition to closing Gitmo.
On Tuesday, the administration will announce that the president has directed that the federal government proceed with the acquisition of the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Illinois to house federal inmates and a limited number of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Closing the detention center at Guantanamo is essential to protecting our national security and helping our troops by removing a deadly recruiting tool from the hands of al Qaeda. Tuesday's announcement is an important step forward as we work to achieve our national security objectives.


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What's New IN Jackson Co.
News & Events:
What's New in Jackson County
Jackson County's "best week of the year" returns with the County Fair on Oct. 19-26. The Fair is eight straight days of spinning rides, stockyard exhibits, live entertainment, and seafood gumbo!
Jackson County participates in the voluntary program called the Community Rating System. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS) is a voluntary incentive program that recognizes and encourages community floodplain management activities that exceed the minimum NFIP requirements.
Jackson County Supervisor John McKay will hold a Public Hearing and Town Hall Meeting on September 18 at the Elks Lodge on Beachview Drive in Gulf Park Estates. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m.
The Jackson County Animal Shelter was awarded a $2500 Neighbors Helping Neighbors Community Grant from Singing River Electric on Tuesday. The grant funds will be used to purchase medical equipment that will help improve JCAS Veterinarian Dr. Tiffany Flowers' ability to diagnose and treat the animals.
For past 2009 News Releases Click "Archived News" in left column
Road Advisories in Jackson County
The Jackson County Road Department will be closing Indian Lane in the Vancleave community from September 22, 2014 through October 30, 2014 to replace the existing bridge with a new concrete pre-cast bridge. All residents in the area will need to detour north on Indian Lane to Campground Road to Wire Road.


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SAFA tempos or Nepal's version of electric three wheelers are typically seen in Kathmandu's busy streets. Running at an average speed of 60 kilometer per hour, safa tempos serve at least 127 thousand people everyday transporting individuals to their destinations. This is quite a challenge for a country that has been constantly confronted with power cuts that reach sixteen hours a day especially during winter season. Continue reading
Category Archives: CO2
Dancing around the carbon tax in the United States Senate
Climate and climate policy are more than moderately complicated issues, as we all are well aware. But at the end of the day we know too there are a certain number of basic underlying truths that shape these issues and outcomes, which one either grasps or one does not. And in this regard, there can be little doubt that the most single powerful single lever available for slowing down climate damage is carbon-reduction — and by far the most powerful way to achieve this is through a well-fashioned carbon tax. You put a price on carbon emissions, a high price preferably, and you can be sure that they will come down. Economics 101. But say this to a hundred bright people, and 99 will immediately, without losing a beat, look you in the eye and start to list all the reasons why this cannot be done. Wrong! It can be done. Continue reading