Category Archives: Crime and Punishment

Senator David Vitter’s Phone Number Found On DC Madam’s Records

Crime and Punishment, Legal, Politics, Sex

This should be fun…

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., apologized Monday night for “a very serious sin in my past” after his telephone number appeared among those associated with an escort service operated by the so-called “D.C. Madam.”

Vitter’s spokesman, Joel Digrado, confirmed the statement in an e-mail sent to The Associated Press.

“This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible,” Vitter said in the statement. “Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling. Out of respect for my family, I will keep my discussion of the matter there — with God and them. But I certainly offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any way.”

The statement containing Vitter’s apology said his telephone number was on old phone records of Pamela Martin and Associates before he ran for the Senate.

Wow… Now, obviously, I’m a libertarian; as far as I’m concerned, the only person that Vitter needs to consult about his naughtiness are his wife and his god. It sounds like he’s cleared it with the former, and the big man upstairs has apparently told him it’s all good.

But something tells me that won’t satisfy the political sharks. They smell blood in the water, and they go into a particular frenzy over a Republican involved in a sex scandal. Everyone’s going to be angling for a piece of this meal.

Personally, I don’t really care about his offense… After all, it’s less serious to me than stashing $90,000 in bribe money in your freezer. But I enjoy anything that discredits politicians; it seems that’s nearly the only way to get any of them out of office these days. So I’ll be kicking back in the recliner with a nice cold beer and enjoying the hell out of this.

Brad Warbiany
https://thelibertypapers.org/

Genarlow Wilson Is Still In Jail

Crime and Punishment, Legal, Mandatory Minimum Sentences, Sex

By now, Genarlow Wilson’s story should be familiar to everyone. At 17 he was convicted of having consenual oral sex with his fifteen year old girlfriend and, because of the absurdity of Georgia’s sex offender laws, he was sentenced to ten years in prison.

Earlier this month, the judge in charge of his case reduced Wilson’s conviction to his misdemeanor and ordered his immediate release. Wilson had already spent two years in prison, and that would’ve seemed to have been the end of it, except the Georgia Attorney General filed an appeal.

Yesterday, Wilson learned that he would not be released while that appeal is pending:

Genarlow Wilson, whose 10-year prison sentence for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old when he was 17 was voided by a judge earlier this month, is not eligible to be released on bail while the state appeals his sentence, a judge ruled today.

The ruling, which came just days after investors announced they’d post a $1 million bond for Wilson, likely means Wilson will remain in jail for several more months. The Georgia Supreme Court is scheduled to hear his case in October.

The order, issued by Douglas County Superior Court Judge David Emerson, canceled the bond hearing that he originally set for July 5.

In his Wednesday ruling, Emerson cited a Georgia law that prevents trial courts from granting bail to people convicted of certain crimes, including aggravated child molestation, when the original sentence exceeds five years, as is the case with Wilson.

“As the court has no authority to grant an appeal bond in this case, there is no need for an evidentiary hearing on the defendant’s eligibility for a bond,” Emerson wrote in a three-page order.

It would appear that the Judge didn’t do anything wrong here. He simply doesn’t have the authority to release Wilson on appeal because of the type of the crime he was convicted of committing. The fault lies with the Georgia legislature for writing an absurd law, and with a prosecutor who continues to pursue a case that really ought to be dropped by now.

H/T: Brendan Loy

Doug Mataconis
http://www.belowthebeltway.com

What’s Next for Michael Nifong?

Crime and Punishment, Dumbasses and Authoritarians, General, Media, Police Watch, Politics

Over the weekend, Michael Nifong was disbarred from practicing law for committing “intentional prosecutorial misconduct” in his handling of the so-called Duke Lacrosse Rape Case. While this is welcome news, more still needs to be done to right this wrong. The accused players David Evans, Collin Finnerty, and Reade Sieligmann endured a year’s worth of condemnation in the media for a crime they did not commit along with the threat of having their freedom taken away due to this overzealous prosecutor’s actions. As this media spectacle raged on, the families of these young men spent millions on their defense. This begs an important question: does this district attorney or the lying whore who brought the false charges to begin with owe anything to these young men and their families beyond an apology? I contend that Michael Nifong, the City of Durham, the police department, and Crystal Mangum (the afore mentioned lying whore) at the very least owe restitution and punitive compensation to these young men and their families. I would even take it a step further and say that both Nifong and Mangum should do some hard time as well.

The attorneys for the players are in the process of pursuing both criminal and civil action against Nifong. The criminal charge the attorneys want the judge to consider against Nifong is for contempt for lying to the court.

The civil compensation that the players can expect from Nifong will likely not be enough to cover their legal expenses, however. Nifong’s annual salary was $110,000 and reportedly has no other significant investments besides a mutual fund account and retirement account.

Sieligmann’s attorney Jim Cooney was quoted following the Nifong’s disbarment: “I don’t think any of us are done with Mr. Nifong yet.”

I hope Mr. Cooney makes good on this promise and goes after Mangum as well. One thing is for sure, I am not done with Mr. Nifong, the lying whore Crystal Mangum, or this case until justice has been delivered to these young men.

Stephen Littau
http://fpffressminds.blogspot.com/

More Mandatory Minimums Madness: The “Sexual Predator” Edition, Part II

Crime and Punishment, General, Legal, Mandatory Minimum Sentences, Sex

Back in January, I wrote a post about the injustice that befell seventeen year old Genarlow Wilson who was sentenced to ten years in prison for engaging in oral sex with a fifteen year old girl (just a few months shy of sixteen) at a New Year’s party. Wilson was charged with aggravated child molesting. Wilson is now twenty-one and has served his first two years of his ten year sentence.

Today, Judge Thomas H. Wilson (no relation to Genarlow Wilson) ordered the release of Genarlow Wilson stating in his ruling: “The fact that Genarlow Wilson has spent two years in prison for what is now classified as a misdemeanor, and without assistance from this Court, will spend eight more years in prison, is a grave miscarriage of justice.”

Even though the Georgia legislature failed to make the law retroactive, Judge Wilson downgraded the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor because the legislature’s intent was to clarify what the state determined to be child molesting. The reason the legislature passed the bill was in direct response to the Genarlow Wilson case.

Despite pleas from Wilson’s lawyer to the Georgia Attorney General to not file an appeal, the Attorney General made the decision less than two hours after Judge Wilson’s ruling to file an appeal, effectively placing the judge’s ruling on hold and keeping Wilson in prison until his case can be heard by a higher court.

This begs the question: what possible purpose is being served by Genarlow Wilson spending ten years in prison for what most people agree is minor offense? Is it really fair to characterize a seventeen year old having sexual contact with someone less than two years younger than him as a child molester? Is this young man truly a threat to children if he is released back into society? Judge Wilson had it right: two years for this offense is enough. Hopefully, the next judge who hears this case will also be as reasonable.

Stephen Littau
http://fpffressminds.blogspot.com/

Free Leonard Peltier Paris Now!

Crime and Punishment, Humor, Media, The Contributors

I don’t care for Paris Hilton. In fact, whether or not she goes to jail means nothing to me. I’m not even going to use it as an excuse to argue about the validity of DUI laws or the travesties of our justice system. I wish this whole sordid detail would be relegated to the E! channel and the metro section of the paper, not CNN and the front page.

However, I am an opportunist, and I will gladly and shamelessly self-promote anything which might make me a buck. So head on over to my wife’s cafepress store and buy stuff!

The shirts (front & back, multiple shirt styles):

And in true Paris Hilton fashion, a dog shirt and trucker hat…

Yes, this post has no real place at The Liberty Papers. That’s where the whole “shameless self-promotion” thing comes from…

Brad Warbiany
https://thelibertypapers.org/
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