LAPPL Blog: The official blog of the Los Angeles Policy Protective League
Death penalty distortions
By Scott Rate on 09/02/2011 @ 01:28 PM
A recent legislative hearing in Sacramento focused on the death penalty and its implementation costs. Ventura County Star writer Timm Herdt reports that no one at the hearing was able to answer a key question: Why are other states like Texas and Virginia able to hand down death sentences and have them upheld through the federal appeals process? Could it be that the high costs of capital punishment in California are not inherent to the penalty, but rather, the result of deliberate and improper delaying by penalty opponents who see the current economic climate as an opportunity to abolish it in California once and for all?
Since passage of Proposition 8 in 1982, the California Supreme Court has been governed by the U.S. Constitution in deciding whether evidence gathered in criminal cases, including death penalty cases, was properly collected and admitted into evidence. The 9th Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court, which also review these death penalty cases, are governed by the same body of law.
Other federal circuit courts, like those with jurisdiction over states such as Texas and Virginia, have no trouble expeditiously deciding death penalty appeals using the exact same law that applies to death penalty cases in California.
If the death penalty system is broken, it is because some key players, including federal judges, defense attorneys and legislators opposed to the death penalty, do everything in their power to hinder and obstruct implementation of the penalty in California. As we mentioned in a previous post, their maneuvers have included failing to provide funding for appellate attorneys and delaying the filing of legal briefs to avoid approving a death penalty verdict.
As we’ve said before, if one were to substitute the 9th Circuit with the 5th or 4th Circuits, which cover Texas and Virginia respectively, we would be seeing a different outcome in California’s death penalty cases pending in federal courts. In addition, if California were to properly fund the death penalty appeals process, it would be shortened dramatically.
Families who’ve lost loved ones to murderous death row inmates, along with the public at large, deserve honest arguments from California’s capital punishment opponents. Citing deliberately inflated costs isn’t one of them.
Ten years after 9/11, we remember and reflect
By LAPPL Board of Directors on 08/26/2011 @ 01:05 PM
A lot has changed in our country since the morning of September 11, 2001; the most noticeable being tightened security at American airports and borders, and a decade of military action in Afghanistan and Iraq. Through all of it, members of the LAPD family have been involved.
Undoubtedly, each of you vividly remembers the moment you heard about or saw the planes crashing into the Twin Towers and the subsequent attack on the Pentagon and the hijacking of Flight 93, which crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. It was something our nation had never experienced and something we hope to never see again. It caused panic and confusion and fear, and the loss of life was overwhelming – some 3,000 people in total, including 343 firefighters, 60 police officers and 8 private emergency medical technicians and paramedics. Many who survived experienced physical trauma, and all who were involved experienced mental and emotional trauma. But through all of it, we as a nation survived. We’ve come together in remembrance of those lost and we work diligently to ensure that history does not repeat itself.
This month’s edition of the Thin Blue Line features “Reflections on 9/11: LAPD officers look back on the day that changed America,” a story that shares the experiences of some of the LAPD men and women who answered the “help call” from our brothers and sisters on the East coast in the days and months following 9/11. The editors of the Thin Blue Line sincerely thank each of them for sharing their stories and for exemplifying the brave and kind spirit of the LAPD. As the 10th anniversary of the tragedy approaches, we know many of you will want to share your thoughts regarding that day and offer reflections regarding the America that has emerged in the aftermath. We invite you to share your thoughts below.
Former Enron trader finally revealed as “pension reform” group’s secret funder
By LAPPL Board of Directors on 08/26/2011 @ 01:05 PM
Many Californians remember with distaste the corrupt Texas energy company Enron, which in 2000 masterminded California energy shortages and blackouts, and shut down pipelines to manipulate the energy market. Now, a former Enron trader who reaped hundreds of millions of dollars working for Enron has at last been revealed as the out-of-state billionaire who is funding efforts to dismantle public pensions in California.
A Sacramento group called Californians for Fiscal Reform (CFFR), headed by Marcia Fritz, has garnered attention with slick but fundamentally flawed reports on California pension systems. Fritz has steadfastly refused, until now, to say who was funding her attacks on public pensions. Now, on the eve of yet another report attacking public pensions, she has revealed her group’s secret benefactor: former Enron trader John D. Arnold, a billionaire Texas resident with no connection to California.
During 2000’s rolling blackouts, Enron CEO Ken Lay boasted to California regulators that his “smart guys” would beat any attempt to stop Enron’s manipulation of the California energy market. After Enron’s collapse, John Arnold used the millions he made there to start a hedge fund trading in natural gas. But his trading business may soon be curbed: just last month, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission imposed new rules on large traders of natural gas out of concerns that speculation in that market rewarded only traders while costing consumers and businesses billions.
Enron was at its core a complete fraud, a company that made millions for itself and its employees through sustained, deliberate and carefully planned accounting fraud. It’s no surprise then, that a “pension reform” group bankrolled by a former Enron trader would gin up reports and use outdated, skewed data to attack public pensions. And the fact that these reports are authored by the man who worked as director of finance for former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t help the group’s credibility.
Considering the Enron connection, we’re also not surprised by the belief by some that CFFR, registered as a 501(c) (3) group, is coming close to violating government restrictions on political activities.
John Arnold himself has refused to comment on his involvement, other than to have a representative say that Arnold’s intrusion into California is just the beginning of his efforts to change public pension systems nationwide. But if Mr. Arnold, through his efforts, insists on affecting the lives of millions of Americans, the least he could do is saunter out from behind the gates of his 20,000-square-foot Houston mansion and explain his reasons to all the “little people.”
Prison closures and parole downsizing to go along with a mass prisoner release?
By LAPPL Board of Directors on 08/19/2011 @ 04:05 PM
We’ve recently learned of plans under consideration that disregard the safety of Californians to such a degree that not only is greater attention warranted, but a prompt explanation is necessary.
The Sacramento Bee reports that the state intends to terminate 841 employees in its parole division by September 2013. According to Jeff Doyle’s reliable parole blog, the state has also drafted plans to close six prisons.
According to reports, in a statewide conference in June, State Parole Director Robert Ambroselli told parole agents throughout California that state officials had created a plan to effectively end parole supervision in California by eliminating 80 percent of field staff. Closure of six prisons would come after completion of “parole redirection” and compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court’s prison overcrowding ruling.
Some state officials may be using the Court’s order as a smoke screen for their plans, hoping the public will believe the closures and parole cuts are also part of the Court’s mandate. The ruling ordered a reduction in the inmate population, but it did not mandate that prisons be closed or that inmates be freed without supervision.
If the reports are accurate, it is troubling indeed that state leaders would so readily risk hard-won gains in public safety by essentially eliminating supervision of released inmates and unnecessarily closing six of the state’s prisons. These officials should promptly confirm or deny Ambroselli’s statements. Californians are entitled to know what lies ahead for the prison and parole systems, and ultimately, their safety.
Giving kids an alternative to gangs
By LAPPL Board of Directors on 08/08/2011 @ 12:24 PM
Crime fighting takes many forms. Patrolling neighborhoods to deter criminal activity and making arrests when crimes do occur are a big part of the job. But increasingly, efforts are underway through community-based policing programs to reach inner-city kids in ways that keep them from becoming easy prey for gangs.
One of the most promising efforts along these lines comes from the LAPD’s Southeast Division, where officers are taking Watts-area kids on surfing trips and to sports events. Already, a marked decline in juvenile arrests has been seen, according to L.A. Times reporter Joel Rubin.
Today, Southeast Division has 13 officers working full time on several community-relations programs — a major commitment of resources in an area of the city that has seen some of the highest crime and poverty rates in Los Angeles. There are some 120 documented gangs in the area, according to the Times story.
Southeast Capt. Phil Tingirides, Officer Scott Burkett and all their colleagues at Southeast Division are to be commended and congratulated for going above and beyond to make a difference in their community. And we thank Joel Rubin for taking notice of their efforts and letting readers of the Times know about this innovative and successful program.
Parole system’s fatal flaws exposed again by a double murder
By LAPPL Board of Directors on 07/29/2011 @ 04:14 PM
Computers are a marvelous thing. They store information, churn data and generally make us all more productive. Often, though, there’s a need for human judgment and common sense to interpret a computer’s output.
A case in point is the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s computer program, Parole Violation Decision Making Instrument (PVDMI). It’s a blatant cost-cutting measure touted as a reliable way to predict which inmates are “low risk” and “non-violent," and thus eligible for early release from prison with no parole supervision and no notification to local law enforcement.
PVDMI determined that Zachariah Timothy Lehnen fit that category despite a history of arrests for robbery, domestic violence and drugs. As a result, he was released from prison long before his sentence was to end in November 2013. Back on the streets with no parole supervision, Lehnen is accused of murdering Lucien Bergez, 89, and Erica Evelyn Escobar, 27, on May 3, 2011 in Culver City.
Adam Treanor, president of the Culver City Police Officers’ Association, believes the public deserves a supervised release system that is realistic and makes community safety a top priority. “We need a system,” he said, “that empowers law enforcement officers with the ability to re-incarcerate any and all parolees who view their release from prison not as an opportunity to begin a new life as a productive member of society, but merely as a means to return to the very same criminal, predatory behavior that led to their incarceration in the first place.”
We are in complete agreement with Treanor and support his call to overhaul the fatally flawed system we have today. There will always be a need to supervise parolees just as there will also be a need to run a human reality check on the information a computer program puts out. It is, after all, a matter of life and death, as was proven in the case of Zachariah Timothy Lehnen.
Grim officer-fatality statistics at mid-year
By LAPPL Board of Directors on 07/25/2011 @ 04:14 PM
As we followed news reports in the first half of 2011, we suspected that law enforcement fatalities were up sharply. Sadly, statistics released this week by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) bear out our worst fears. Ninety-eight law enforcement officers died in the line of duty during the first half of this year, up 14 percent over the 86 officers who lost their lives during the same period last year.
Equally alarming is the fact that 40 officers were killed by gunfire, a 33 percent increase over the same period last year, and the highest number in two decades.
As we’ve noted, it is very troublesome that police officer deaths are on the rise while overall crime rates are generally on the decline across the U.S.
NLEOMF Chairman Craig W. Floyd has a plausible theory for what is driving the higher number of line-of-duty deaths. “The economy,” he says, “has forced reductions in training, safety equipment and personnel at law enforcement agencies across America. These budget cuts have put our officers at greater risk, especially as they face a more brazen, cold-blooded criminal element and a continuing terrorist threat.” Last year, nearly 70 percent of police agencies cut back or eliminated training, according to a survey of 608 departments conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum, a law enforcement think tank.
In addition to the 40 officers killed by gunfire, 21 died in automobile crashes; 16 succumbed to job-related illnesses; seven were struck by automobiles while outside of their own vehicles; five were killed in motorcycle crashes; two were struck by a train; one officer died in an aircraft crash; one was beaten to death; one was electrocuted; one died in a fall; one was killed in a bomb blast; one was crushed to death; and one was strangled. The average age of the officers who have died in 2011 is 41. On average, they served for 13 years and eight of the officers who died were women.
These are sobering statistics and serve as a reminder that police officers work in a dangerous world. A death in the law enforcement family is felt deeply by everyone in the public safety profession, regardless of where it occurred. As we reflect on the grim statistics for the first half of 2011, let us resolve to do everything possible to protect ourselves and our colleagues from the dangers we face every day in our profession.
California’s Willie Horton?
By on 07/22/2011 @ 03:26 PM
Zackariah Lehnen, a 31-year-old transient, has been charged with two counts of murder in the case involving the deaths of Lucien Bergez and Erica Escobar.
We all remember the case of Willie Horton, a convicted murderer serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the 1974 killing of a 17-year-old gas station attendant. In 1986, Horton was released under Massachusetts’ weekend furlough program but never returned. Ultimately, he committed assault, armed robbery and rape. The case was a classic example of the risks behind the early release of prisoners likely to commit serious crimes.
Almost a quarter of a century later, we have the case of Zackariah Lehnen, a 30-year-old transient paroled from a California prison after serving only five months of a 16-month sentence for drug possession. As recounted by Bloomberg reporter Christopher Palmeri, a program to reduce costs by freeing “nonviolent” prisoners without supervision allowed Lehnen to leave prison in November 2010.
A month after his release, Lehnen was in a state court in Beverly Hills pleading no contest to assault charges. Although he was on parole at the time and had prior convictions for spousal battery and drug possession, Lehnen was released again, unsupervised, on Dec. 23, as court records reported by Bloomberg show.
Six months later Lehnen was arrested and charged with murder in the torture and stabbing deaths of an 89-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman in a Los Angeles suburb. He is in jail with a plea hearing set for July 28.
Former military prosecutor and now Democratic state senator from Torrance Ted Lieu told Palmeri in a phone interview, “It’s a perfect example of what goes wrong when you prioritize saving money over public safety,” adding that Lehnen is an example of how the state’s system for sorting inmates by the risks they pose can fail.
Sen. Lieu gets it. We’ve been calling attention to this issue for well over two years. How many Zackariah Lehnens are needed to convince our elected leaders that the unsupervised early release of prisoners to save money is poor prioritization of public funds and a danger to society?
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