July 12 TEXAS: Prisoners moved in recent contract with county Less than 2 weeks after Jefferson County contracted with a private company to manage prisoners, a manhunt was under way for escaped inmates. On July 1, the county entered into a contract with Correctional Services Corp. to house overflow prisoners from other state and national correctional facilities at the Jefferson County Detention Center in downtown Beaumont. Shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday, three inmates escaped from the center by overpowering guards. As of press time Monday, two of the escaped inmates had been captured, and law enforcement agencies from throughout the area were still searching for the 3rd. The county signed a 2-year contract with CSC, a Sarasota, Fla., company, to house up to 250 inmates through the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. When County Commissioners approved the contract on June 13, the contract was viewed as good news. Sheriff Mitch Woods said the county had a previous contract with CSC to bring in overflow inmates, and at one time there were 450 inmates at the downtown jail. In June there were only about 80 prisoners at the facility. The sheriff said since the county would receive a daily fee per inmate, the contract would result in revenue for Jefferson County. A press release from CSC said TDCJ inmates would begin arriving in Beaumont the 1st week of July, with final transfers in early August. CSC was expecting the facility to be at full capacity by then. The facility also houses detainees from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and the U.S. Marshal Service. The CSC press release said that the Jefferson County facility was the 1st location chosen by TDCJ to place inmates in county facilities as part of plan to manage its growing inmate population. Last year, CSC was awarded a contract to design, build, finance and operate the 1,020-bed South Texas Detention Complex, a regional detention complex for the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement near Laredo. The facility became operational July 8. The company was also awarded a contract to design, build and operate a 1,000 bed facility to house sex offenders in Arizona. CSC operates 14 adult facilities with about 5,500 beds, and 17 juvenile facilities with 1,300 beds totaling 6,800 beds in 12 states. (source: Port Arthur News) ***************************** Press Release from Senator Rodney Ellis Post Office Box 12068 Austin, Texas 78711-2068 Press Office: 512/463-0113; Fax: 512/463-0006 For Immediate Release Contact: Jeremy Warren (512)463-0113 Senate Adds Indigent Defense Increase to Judicial Pay Raise Senate approves Ellis amendment, follows course established during the 79th regular session The Texas Senate today adopted an amendment by Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) linking a judicial pay raise to an increase in indigent criminal defense funding. The Ellis amendment was added to SB 11 without dissent; SB 11 then passed the Senate 29-0. The Ellis amendment to SB 11 will increase state funding for indigent defense by $14.8 million in 2006 and $19.5 million in 2007. The increase will more than double the amount of money the state currently puts into indigent defense. The indigent defense funding is raised by adding an additional $3 to the proposed $4 criminal conviction fee. "Access to justice should not depend on how much money someone has in their bank account," Ellis said. "By adding this amendment, the Texas Senate has made a smart investment in ensuring Texas has a truly just criminal justice system." The amendment follows the course set during the 79th regular session, when the Senate stood firm on linking an indigent defense boost for Texas counties with an increase in judicial and prosecutor's pay. Senate Bill 11 now raises criminal case fees by $7 and civil case fees by $37 and will provide nearly $30 million over five years to finance the judicial pay increase. The Ellis amendment does not add to the fee levied on civil cases. Linking the judicial pay raise with indigent criminal defense will significantly reduce the burden currently shouldered by Texas counties. Texas currently ranks 43rd in the nation in per capita spending on indigent defense ($6.71/per capita). A large reason Texas falls so far behind when it comes to protecting the rights of indigent defendants is the state offers little funding assistance to counties. Texas ranks 44th in the nation for state spending on indigent defense; contributing only 9 cents to every dollar spent by the counties. Prior to 2001, the state of Texas provided zero funding to counties for indigent defense. In 2004, the state of Texas spent $12,303,439 on indigent defense, while counties spent $127,670,631. "It just makes sense to link these issues," said Ellis. "We use the same criminal case fee used to raise judicial pay and tack on $3 more to boost indigent defense. 3 dollars is a very small investment to so improve the quality of our justice system. Right now, counties are going to their taxpayers to pay for indigent criminal defense. If the state starts shouldering more of the burden, Texans will get a break." (source: Office of Senator Rodney Ellis) *************************** Final Beaumont jail escapee captured The last of three escapees from a privately managed downtown jail was captured by Beaumont police late Monday. Todd Jeremy Christian, 26, was recognized by residents in the 2900 block of Avenue A when he walked up to their house and asked to use a telephone, Beaumont Police Department Officer Crystal Holmes said. One person stalled him, while a second called the police department, Holmes said. Within minutes of the 10:32 p.m. call, officers were on the scene and Christian was returned to the custody of U.S. Marshals, Holmes said. He was dressed only in tan shorts when arrested, Holmes said. No one knew where he got the shorts, which replaced a standard-issue yellow jail outfit. It is likely he will be sent to the Beaumont federal prison on U.S. 69, rather than back to the downtown facility. The two men who escaped with him, one captured Sunday and another on Monday morning, already are in the federal facility, Jefferson County Sheriff Mitch Woods said. While searching for Christian and a second man late Sunday, bloodhounds had tracked a scent east along the train tracks beside the courthouse complex at 1001 Pearl St. before losing the trail, Holmes said. A tip that the second escapee, David Lee Jackson, 45, had been seen in the South End led investigators to believe the scent near the tracks was that of Christian, Holmes said. Instead, dogs following the scent over by The Avenues may actually have been following Christian, Holmes said. Adding to the impetus of the search was Christian's reputation for being exceedingly violent. An Austin-based gang suppression unit linked Christian to the Aryan Brotherhood in the late 1990s, according to his criminal record. The three inmates had overpowered staffers and assaulted three guards in the course of their Sunday evening escape, said Brit Featherstone of the U.S. Attorney's Office. Additional details of the breakout are being withheld while the investigation continues, said Brent Weaver of the Jefferson County Sheriff's office. "They had been placed in a segregation unit there at the (downtown) facility," said David Sligh, chief deputy U.S. Marshal in the eastern district of Texas. "They were segregated even from each other because of their criminal history, their violent past." Christian, Jackson and Arzell Gulley, 34, had recently arrived from "Super Max," a federal prison facility in Colorado that is home to the nation's most dangerous federal prisoners, Featherstone said. They made the trip in the custody of U.S. Marshals. Jackson was caught Monday morning in Beaumont about 9 a.m. after an alert employee at Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital saw him on the property. Security called Beaumont police, Holmes said. Jackson's capture was uneventful and he was transported to the Jefferson County Jail for a fingerprint comparison to confirm his identity, Holmes said. "He was wearing different clothes when we picked him up," Holmes said. "He must have stolen them from somewhere ... we don't know the path he took from the jail to 11th Street." Gulley injured his ankle during the escape and was captured just seven minutes after guards alerted law enforcement officials, Holmes said. He was caught at the entrance to the Port of Beaumont and transported to a local hospital where his injuries were treated, Holmes said. Based on evidence collected and the trails followed by the bloodhounds and K-9 units, authorities say they think the convicts separated immediately after their escape, Holmes said. The men were in the downtown lockup awaiting trial for violent crimes against fellow Beaumont prison inmates, Featherstone said. Jackson and Gulley were indicted in a fatal attack on an inmate in December 1999. They are being tried on capital murder charges, and if convicted face the death penalty or up to life in prison. Christian was accused of using a homemade knife on a man who was injured, but did not die. If convicted on the assault charge, Christian faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of as much as $250,000, in addition to existing sentences. The men had been scheduled for a "status conference" court hearing on July 13 at 10 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone, according to court documents. Doug Barlow, Jackson's Beaumont defense attorney, confirmed the date and said Monday afternoon no plans were in place to move the hearing. Prior to the murder in the Beaumont facility, Gulley was serving time for a drug trafficking conviction. Jackson's criminal record includes bank robbery, illegally having a gun, and brandishing a gun during a violent crime, according to Bureau of Prisons records. Gulley was convicted in eastern Michigan and Jackson was convicted in southern Mississippi, according to Bureau of Prisons records. Christian has a long and varied criminal record, mostly in Austin, including possession of an AK-47 assault rifle on two separate occasions and a retaliation charge indicating an attempt to seek revenge on a law enforcement official, a witness or other person involved in his arrest, Featherstone said. Christian has been in and out of detention since 1996, and his record reflects a trend of escalating violence, Featherstone said. Private company faces same scrutiny as jails, prisons run by state The escape of 3 violent inmates from a county-owned, privately managed downtown jail could prompt officials to rethink what type of prisoners are housed there. Jefferson County Sheriff Mitch Woods said by telephone the county previously had refused certain types of state prisoners at the jail managed by Correctional Services Corp. U.S. Marshal's Service prisoners housed there normally have been arrested or indicted by a federal agency, but not convicted, Woods said. They are "pretrial offenders, which are the same kind of offenders we get in our county facility," he said. The escapees - Todd Christian, David Jackson and Arzell Gulley - fell in a different category. "I hate to say they fell through the cracks," Woods said. But the men had been sentenced to federal prison and faced new charges for attacks they allegedly committed against fellow inmates at the Beaumont federal correctional complex. The Marshal's Service placed the 3 at the downtown jail while they awaited trial on the new charges. "I kind of question the wisdom of taking someone who's been sentenced to prison, serving time in prison, and then bringing them into that kind of pretrial environment," Woods said. Woods, who was out of town at a board meeting, said he did not have full details of the escape. County Judge Carl Griffith was not aware of the escapes Monday afternoon, but said private management of the downtown jail had been good for the county, creating jobs and generating revenue. The county no longer needed the downtown facility after completion of a new correctional facility on U.S. 69. Other prisons in the area have had escapes, but this was the downtown jail's 1st in nearly a decade of private management. "It's something that's part of holding people," Griffith said. "People are going to try to figure out how to get out of the facility. If there was some negligence on (CSC's) part, then we'll deal with it." Griffith said CSC's warden for the downtown jail is "an incredibly good administrator ... I have no doubt that he will get to the bottom of it." CSC, based in Sarasota, Fla., has faced escapes from other Texas facilities in recent years. In August, five federal prisoners fled a CSC-managed jail in Pearsall near San Antonio. The company also manages the Newton County Correctional Facility, which saw its 5th escape in a dozen years in March 2003. Calls to CSC's corporate headquarters were referred to a vice president Monday. He did not return 2 telephone messages. Privately managed jails in the state housing Texas or out-of-state inmates face the same staffing and staff training requirements as county jails do, said Terry Julian, executive director for the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Private jailers, like county correctional officers, must be certified by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards, he said. The commission on jail standards has not had oversight of Jefferson County's downtown jail in recent months because it housed no state or out-of-state inmates. A county contract to house overflow inmates for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice began July 1, which would prompt jail commission oversight. The Marshal's Service has its own inspectors and requirements for jails it uses. David Sligh, chief deputy marshal for the Eastern District of Texas, said federal requirements for staffing, training and security levels parallel those of the state jail commission. Jail inspectors for the Marshal's Service inspect local jails housing federal prisoners at least once a year, Sligh said. Sligh said he has seen nothing so far that would make the Marshal's Service end its relationship with the downtown jail. "It may solidify our relationship with this county, make us sit down and say 'Let's look at what went wrong, what went right, where we can improve, what we can tighten up.' I think that would be appropriate to do," Sligh said by phone. Coincidentally, Jefferson County officials have been considering improvements to the downtown jail. On Monday, Commissioners Court approved bid specifications for a new locking system. Woods said the old system was not a factor in the escape. Chambers inmate climbs over wall Using a rope made of bed sheets Monday, the longest-serving prisoner in the Chambers County Jail became the 4th prisoner to escape from custody in Southeast Texas within 24 hours. Homer Lee Brown Jr., 46, of Baytown escaped from the jail's outdoor recreation area shortly after 3 p.m., Chambers County Sheriff Joe LaRive said by phone. "There was a group of inmates out in the rec yard and ... he was able to throw the rope over one of the support beams and climb over the wall," LaRive said. Brown had been in jail since his arrest for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon on April 24, 2003, LaRive said. According to Texas Department of Criminal Justice records, Brown has arrests dating to 1977 for possession of marijuana, failure to stop and render aid, driving while intoxicated and 2 charges of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. He has served both probated terms and prison time on those charges. "He's a 3-time loser and he knows he's gone," LaRive said of Brown. Assisting the sheriff's deputies in the search Monday afternoon and night were helicopter units from the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department and canine units from the Baytown Police Department and the state. The search area was bordered on the north and south by Interstate 10 and Trinity Bay, respectively, and on the east and west by the city of Anahuac and the west bank of the Trinity River. "The first track we had on him had him heading west to the Trinity," LaRive said. "The sun's going down in the west and, hopefully, we'll be able to use the FLIR (Forward-Looking Infrared) to find him. It's embarrassing when something like this happens, and I'm pulling out all the stops to get it corrected." LaRive said he recognized there were security problems in his jail's recreation yard when he took over as sheriff in January. "It's a money issue and trying to get the other security issues back into the shape they need to be in here at the jail," LaRive said of correcting the problems. The escape is under investigation, LaRive said. (source: The Beaumont Enterprise) ********************************** Jury clears man of 2 killings In Fort Worth, jurors took 2 hours Monday to find that 19-year-old Andrew Crump was not guilty of capital murder in the slayings of a longtime friend and an acquaintance. Crump, who was 17 at the time of the killings, was expected to be released from Tarrant County Jail Monday evening. The state "just didn't have enough evidence for us to convict him," said juror Roy Leach. "We discussed the case, and everyone agreed he was not guilty." A quick, muffled cry arose in the gallery as the jury foreman read the verdict. True to a warning she issued before the jury emerged from deliberations, state District Judge Sharen Wilson ordered about 1/3 of the spectators to leave the courtroom after the outburst. Crump was accused of killing Jay Farmer, 29, the son of a retired Fort Worth police sergeant, and Brandi Marcle, 18, the mother of a young girl. Had Crump been convicted, he would have received an automatic life sentence. Crump was not eligible for the death penalty because people who were 17 or younger when they committed their crimes may not be executed. Crump's co-defendant, Stanley Williams, 24, has also been charged with capital murder. Williams remains in Tarrant County Jail awaiting trial Sept. 12. If convicted, Williams could be sentenced to death. Prosecutors argued that Crump and Williams planned to rob Farmer of guns, drugs and money, and later shot Farmer and Marcle. "Justice was not served today, and I'm disappointed in the jury for not having the ability to see and understand all the testimony," said Mac Wilcox, Marcle's grandfather. "Two people were murdered, and it was very obvious that this guy did it. This is something that our family will never, never, never get over." Larry Moore, Crump's attorney, said the defense team thought the prosecutors' case was weak from the start. Crump maintained that although he had spent time with Farmer the previous weekend, he was not there when Farmer and Marcle were killed and didn't know who did it. Williams provided authorities with much of the evidence against Crump, Moore said. "I was surprised and a little bit scared when the jury came back after so short a deliberation," Moore said. "That's usually a good sign for the prosecution." The Crump verdict will have no effect on how Williams' case will be handled, prosecutor Ben Leonard said. Williams' jury will hear different evidence and witnesses, he said. "Clearly, I didn't do my job," Leonard said. Farmer's and Marcle's families "deserved everything that I had, and apparently there was something lacking in my effort. I'll engage in some introspection and try to determine where I failed." Members of the victims' families attended the two-week trial. "I didn't sense anger or outrage from them, just a quiet feeling of disappointment," Leonard said. Crump's relatives also were at the trial. At the far end of the hallway from Wilson's courtroom, the Crump family celebrated Monday afternoon. "We're going to take our son back to Atlanta," said George M. Crump, the defendant's father. "He needs to get out of here, today." (source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram) ALABAMA: A sign of hope An April 2 letter in The Times by Christine M. Franklin, "Long death sentences," argued for quicker executions, citing the example of Timothy McVeigh and asking the question, "Why can't they all be done like that?" Regarding Timothy McVeigh, two things differentiate his case from most death penalty cases: First, his was a federal case and not a state case, thereby, limiting his appeals only to federal courts; second, he chose to end his appeals, requesting a quick execution date. Perhaps unknown to the writer, since reintroduction of the death penalty in the United States in 1976, there have been 119 exonerations in 25 states, including 5 here in Alabama. Those exonerated spent an average of 9.2 years on death row for crimes they did not commit. Had a "quicker" system been in place, many of these individuals would have been executed before their innocence could be established. Even so, at least 5 people (in Virginia, Texas and Florida) were executed between 1992 and 2000, despite doubts of guilt. The taking of a human life is tragic, whether it is done by an individual or by the state. If people truly identify themselves as "pro-life," then they must oppose the death penalty. As stated by Pope John Paul II, "A sign of hope is the increasing recognition that dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil." Robert M. Wilson, Huntsville, 35810 (source: Letter to the Editor, The Huntsville Times) PENNSYLVANIA: Travaglia defense seeks to revise his image Michael J. Travaglia's defense attorneys are hoping to prove that he is a changed man, completely different from the man who killed four people 25 years ago. They've already begun their attempts at making Travaglia seem more human to a jury that is still being picked. And Travaglia himself has made an Internet plea, asking people to pray for a jury that will give him a life sentence. As defense attorney Ned Nakles Jr. poses questions to potential jurors, he often refers to his client as "Michael" or "Mike." And he mentions that the defense will introduce information about Travaglia's character before and since the killing and about his condition at the time of the killing. It's information that Travaglia himself has posted to an anti-death penalty Web site. Whether that information keeps Travaglia from receiving the death penalty will be up to the jurors. Two more were selected on Monday in Westmoreland County Judge John E. Blahovec's courtroom. Ten jurors have been seated so far for the new sentencing trial for Travaglia, 46, formerly of Washington Township. Another 6, including four alternates, are needed before testimony can begin. Travaglia and John C. Lesko were found guilty and sentenced to death in 1981 for the murder of rookie Apollo police Officer Leonard C. Miller. Miller was the last person to die at the hands of Travaglia and Lesko, who killed 3 others during an eight-day "kill for thrill" spree that began Dec. 27, 1979. They also murdered Peter Levato, of Pittsburgh, Marlene Sue Newcomer, of Leisenring, Fayette County, and William C. Nicholls, of Mt. Lebanon, Allegheny County. Travaglia's original death sentence was vacated by a federal judge in 1996 after years of appeals. So far, 260 potential jurors have been called in the effort to seat a jury for a trial that is expected to last 2 to 3 weeks. The first juror picked yesterday is a woman who works as an administrative assistant for an electrical contractor. She said she will not be paid by her company for jury duty, but it would not be a hardship for her. In the afternoon, a student at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg was selected. He said although he will not be paid for his job at a golf course when he serves on the jury, he has saved enough money that missing work won't affect him. Attorneys have taken great pains in questioning jurors to determine their stance on the death penalty and whether they would listen to all evidence before deciding whether to impose a capital sentence. Through an anti-death penalty Web site, deathrowspeaks.info, Travaglia has asked people to pray for a jury "that will deliberate and find for a sentence of life, and not the death penalty again." The Web site, founded by two death row inmates in 2001, allows those on death row to post profiles of themselves as well as poems, artwork and other writings. Travaglia's profile, as well as his prayer request, can be found on the site. In his profile, Travaglia writes that he began drinking and experimenting with drugs during high school. "This behaviour of mine culminated in an addiction to amphetamines and alcohol abuse," he says on the site. Travaglia does not write about his crimes, other than to say he was convicted of Miller's killing and pleaded guilty to the others. But he does go on to say that in January 1982 he became a born-again Christian. "Since then I have lived to serve the Lord while on death row," he writes. "I spend my time when I am not working studying the Bible, corresponding with my wife, fellow Christians, missionaries in foreign countries, writing Christian tracts, essays and other papers on biblical subjects." His wife, whom he met in 1990 and married in prison in 1992, is also a born-again Christian, he writes. District Attorney John Peck said the jury will have to decide whether Travaglia's claims of a changed life lessen the crimes he committed. "The fact that he's come to Christ, it will be up to the jury to see if that mitigates in any way the severity and the seriousness of the crime," Peck said. On the Web site, Travaglia asks for prayers for the prosecutors, his attorneys, the judge and witnesses. "We ask for prayer that God will receive the praise and glory throughout this new sentencing hearing," he writes. "Much testimony and evidence will come forth that is not God honoring. In spite of that, we request your prayers that God will be glorified as many will hear of His life-changing work in my life from many Christians." (source : Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) FLORIDA/USA: Friends----please respond directly to Tom offline if you can be of help with the following request.... thanks! ************************************************* Subject: Statistics to Support long Death Row terms as Psychological Torture I'm a law student and Florida State University doing some research for a public defender on a case of a man who's been on death row for 27 years. The case is Stephen Todd Booker v. State of Florida. The public defender he has is trying to make an argument that such a long stay violates the 8th amendment. Unfortunately, we can't find any empiral evidence of greater suffering in death row inmates as opposed to general population inmates. There's no shortage of articles saying that long stays on death row are tortuous from the anxiety, but there are few hard numbers to support these claims. That's where I was hoping you could help. Do you know where I could find some statistics of frequency of suicide attempts, diagnoses of psycholical disorders, or just giving up the appeals process? I'm looking to compare those with the number such instances of prisoners in the general population. Thank you very much, Tom Chamberlain [email protected]
