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Getting Sentenced

Saw a man get sentenced to 15 years in prison yesterday.

When the judge read his sentence she mentioned that he was being sentenced on charges that included unusual circumstances.

"Defendant was forced into the illegal sale of base cocaine due to the foreclosure of his home. On his salary as a maintenance worker he could no longer afford to pay the mortgage on his home."

Dude had a wife and 2 little girls too. Luckily, the judge ordered a county jail year and 3 years probation in lieu of his sentence. If he were to violate any condition of his probation . . . off to San Quentin he goes.

Affirmation: Crime is a direct result of poverty.

Today in History: Bataan Death March - April 9, 1942

At dawn, 9 April 1942, and against the orders of Generals Douglas MacArthur and Jonathan Wainwright, Major General Edward P. King, Jr., commanding Luzon Force, Bataan, Philippine Islands, surrendered more than 75,000 (67,000 Filipinos, 1,000 Chinese Filipinos, and 11,796 Americans) starving and disease-ridden men. He inquired of Colonel Motoo Nakayama, the Japanese colonel to whom he tendered his pistol in lieu of his lost sword, whether the Americans and Filipinos would be well treated. The Japanese aide-de-camp replied: “We are not barbarians.” The majority of the prisoners of war were immediately robbed of their keepsakes and belongings and subsequently forced to endure a 90-mile (140 km) enforced march in deep dust, over vehicle-broken macadam roads, and crammed into rail cars to captivity at Camp O’Donnell. Thousands died en route from disease, starvation, dehydration, heat prostration, untreated wounds, and wanton execution.

Those few who were lucky enough to travel to San Fernando on trucks still had to endure more than twenty-five miles of marching. Prisoners were beaten randomly, and were often denied promised food and water. Those who fell behind were usually executed or left to die; the sides of the roads became littered with dead bodies and those begging for help.

On the Bataan Death March, approximately 54,000 of the 75,000 prisoners reached their destination. The death toll of the march is difficult to assess as thousands of captives were able to escape from their guards. All told, approximately 5,000-10,000 Filipino and 600-650 American prisoners of war died before they could reach Camp O'Donnell.

(via Wikipedia)

Wondering

Why news of the rape of a 12 year old girl in Oakland wasn't reported to the Oakland School District? Why wasn't the community notified back in February?

Why does the public have information on this separate case when we're still unclear as to why Lovelle Mixon was stopped in the first place?

Is the Oakland Police Department trying to justify gunning down another black male?
Yes, I know he shot first with an assault weapon but still...

Quick Tidbit Regarding Lovelle Mixon

I'm not going to go into a full blown opinion on the happenings in Oakland this weekend. My immediate reaction to the police officer shootings was simply, "Finally, someone's fighting back." Anything more than that would just be controversial and frankly, after the past two weeks I've had, there is very little energy left in me to get passionate right now.

What I do want to mention is this little tidbit I read in the news:

"Then, about three weeks ago, Mixon skipped a home visit from his parole officer, his family said. Mixon's grandmother said he had gotten angry at his parole officer because the agent had missed earlier appointments. Gordon Hinkle, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, said the family's assertion that the parole agent had missed a meeting was "highly unlikely," but added that he is researching the matter. He said the department had issued a no-bail, parole revocation warrant for Mixon's arrest after he failed to appear for a meeting with his parole officer."
-SF Chronicle

Its the primary job of parole and probation officers to make sure that their clients are closely supervised while out on parole/probation. But, if the parole/probation officer isn't doing his/her job . . . can they be in part to blame for the chain of events that unfolded? Parole officers are supposed to do regular home checks on their parolees... if Mixon's parole officer had done a home check . . . would he/she have found the AK-47 and thus, have prevented the entire tragedy from occuring?

Today in Women's History

from the KQED Women's History 2009


"Lieutenant Lea Militello began her career in law enforcement in 1981. One of only a handful of lesbians out at that time, Militello recognized the need to further open the lines of communication between the LGBT community and the San Francisco Police Department. She developed a training program for incoming recruits to help bridge the gap, and since then has met with countless police agencies across the country assisting them in developing similar programs, so they may effectively interact and develop partnerships with the LGBT communities they serve.

Militello was one of the founders and is the current president of the San Francisco Police Officers Pride Alliance, founded to support and fight for the rights of LGBT officers in law enforcement. Prior to her recent promotion to lieutenant, Militello was assigned to the San Francisco Police Department Homicide Detail, where her and her partner became the first lesbian and gay team to work homicide. They made numerous arrests in the cases they investigated and have attained a 100% conviction rate. Militello has received the California Police Officers Association Police Officer of the Year, The San Francisco Police Department Silver medal of valor, two bronze medals of valor, 3 meritorious conduct awards, 5 police commission commendations and a purple heart (which she was awarded for being stabbed in the line of duty in 2003).

Militello shares her home with her longtime partner Annamarie and their son Ryan, a sophomore at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo majoring in mechanical engineering."

Read: 100% conviction rate!!!

Alternatives for Conflict Resolution in High Schools

The principal and other staff members at South Oak Cliff High School were supposed to be breaking up fights. Instead, they sent troubled students into a steel utility cage in an athletic locker room to battle it out with bare fists and no head protection, records show.

-Dallas News, "Dallas ISD records show school held 'cage fights'"

Is this an acceptable method of conflict resolution to teach our young children?

I'm not saying it's the best way for two people to resolve conflict, but if the alternative is that a teenager pulls a gun out on the street after school and blasts one round on his classmates. . . I would vote yes. The high school administrators do have a progressive idea for modern youth to resolve conflict between and within themselves: physical activity. In middle school I volunteered as a peer in the conflict resolution program and of course no one took it seriously The conflicts lasted far beyond a half hour session of "he said/she said" finger pointing and I would end up watching the same kids on the basketball courts brawling after school. (That says something about my ability as peer facilitator but hey, I was only 13!)

But given a pair of boxing gloves, head and mouth gear, and an unbiased facilitator who will call the fight when he/she feels that one party is doing too much damage... its like starting a boxing club at a high school. What a grand idea! I hear my colleagues at the NOVA (No Violence Alliance) program, which works with repeat violent male offenders, constantly referring clients to boxing clubs in the City. There must be some positive ends to such drastic means.

And yes, not everyone will benefit from fisticuffs nor would they want to engage in that kind of resolution. I'm sure the high school computer nerd wouldn't want to step into a cage with the young black football player after accidentally stepping on his Pumas.