ELECTED OFFICIALS NOT ENFORCING THE LAW
August 16, 2012
STATE OF CALIFORNIA (THE PEOPLES PROGRESSIVE STATE OF CALIFORNIA)
Briefing Report
Life with the Possibility of Parole
“We have no basis for deciding that progress toward greater decency can move only in the direction of easing sanctions on the guilty.”
Chief Justice John Roberts
Introduction
In the early morning ofOctober 21, 2002, a 16-year old, continuation school student, quietly walked through hisSanta Paula,Californianeighborhood wearing a hooded sweatshirt and carrying a black, aluminum baseball bat with gold lettering. While this may not seem out of place in many suburban neighborhoods throughoutCalifornia, Adam Sarabia was not simply out for a morning walk or headed to an early team practice. For reasons that we may never understand, he instead went to the home of John Ramirez and Joann Wotkyn, a happy couple in their 50’s who worked at a local data storage company. Finding an unlocked garage door he entered the home, moved up the stairs to the bedroom and brutally beat and stabbed the sleeping couple to death. When he was finished he went downstairs, took the couple’s car keys and cell phone and drove off, joy riding with his friends for a few hours.
At the time of his conviction, the judge in Adam Sarabia’s case was quoted as saying that the “level of violence was just mind-boggling.”[1] Unfortunately, horrific details of this type are not unique in many of the juvenile murder cases where the defendant, like Sarabia, is ultimately sentenced to life without the possibility of parole (LWOP) inCalifornia. However, the special interest groups that oppose this particular punishment for juveniles would have you believe otherwise, citing a mix of private research, anecdotes and questionable statistics.
Over the past seven years those same groups have waged a legislative, legal and public opinion battle to end the use of JLWOP sentences, deeming them to be violations of basic human rights and the United States Constitution. Their efforts eventually allowed them to bring two combined cases involving 14-year old juvenile murderers subjected to mandatory LWOP sentences (Miller v. Alabama and Jackson v. Hobbs) to the United States Supreme Court, which issued an opinion on the subject in June.
Miller v. Alabama[2]
In a five-four decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the “Eighth Amendment forbids a sentencing scheme that mandates life in prison without possibility of parole for juvenile offenders.” This decision builds upon the court’s finding in two prior cases: Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005) and Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S.___(2010.) In the former, the court held that imposing the death penalty on a juvenile for non-homicide crimes or imposing it on a mentally retarded defendant violates the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. In the latter the court held that the Eighth Amendment prohibits a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for a minor who committed a non-homicide offense.
The logic in Miller relied on two “strands of precedent” taken from these cases which the court believes reflects their concern with proportionate punishment for juveniles. First, in Roper the court found that juveniles are less culpable because their age itself diminishes the justifications for imposing the most severe criminal penalties such as the death penalty. Then, in Graham, the court determined that JLWOP shares many attributes with the death penalty and therefore requires the same type of individualized consideration. Combined, these two precedents led the court to conclude that a mandatory LWOP sentence violates the Eighth Amendment because it eliminates the consideration of key factors such as age, maturity, family, home environment, extent of participation, and peer pressure and therefore increases the risk of disproportionate punishment. The court stopped short of completely banning LWOP for juveniles, remanding only those cases that were sentenced under a mandatory sentencing scheme (i.e. one which has no other options) instead stating that they believe appropriate occasions for sentencing juveniles to this harshest possible penalty will be uncommon in light of their decision.
What does this decision mean forCalifornia?
While Californiahas approximately 295 offenders in custody who were under the age of 18 at the time of their LWOP sentence,[3], the recent decision will have no effect on them. California, unlike many other states, does not have a “mandatory” sentencing scheme. Current law[4] not only provides a judge with discretion to choose between LWOP or the option of parole after 25 years – it limits LWOP to offenders who were 16-years of age, or older, at the time of their crime and requires a conviction for murder with one of 22 special circumstances. The Supreme Court even noted in its opinion thatCalifornia, in particular, is one of 15 jurisdictions that “impose life without parole on children relatively rarely” which would appear to comport with their desired outcome.
Moving Forward
While some advocates may claim that the court’s opinion was another step toward ending life without parole for juveniles, it was actually a very narrow ruling that did not establish any new standards or directly affect Californialaw. Despite that fact, shortly after the opinion was released, Senator Leland Yee (D – San Francisco) called on the State Assembly to pass Senate Bill 9 (SB 9), his flawed measure designed to allow juvenile murderers with a life sentence to instead be eligible for parole, stating that the bill “comports with the rationale of the court.”[5] SB 9 has been awaiting a vote for almost a year after Senator Yee and other Democrat members pushed it through committees in both houses but ultimately failed to secure passage in a final bid on the floor of the California State Assembly. However, nothing in Miller v. Alabama requires enactment of the bill or even suggests that it is necessary. In fact, the court’s comments regardingCalifornia’s existing system, citing the rare use of LWOP and its discretionary nature, appeared to be quite favorable.
In reality, SB 9 and other similar measures aimed at helping these notorious juvenile murderers are sad testaments to the unfortunate fact that all too often in our society it is the offenders rather than the victims and their families who receive attention and support years after the horror of crime has faded from public memory. It is those families that are forced to live with the death of their loved ones and if SB 9 passes the legislature in August, they will also have to live with the broken promise of our justice system. In the case of Adam Sarabia, Deputy District Attorney Richard Simon noted that “there’s some closure for families, knowing he has no hope of ever getting out and that he has nothing to look forward to except life in prison. It doesn’t bring anybody back, but it’s at least something.” The legislature should consider those words of wisdom.
[1] Barnes, Lynne “Teen Found Guilty in 2 Deaths” Los Angeles Times 10 Mar, 2004
[2] Miller v. Alabama. No. 10-9646. Supreme Ct. of the US. 25 June 2012.
[3] According to statistics provided by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation as of July 2011.
[4] Penal Code § 190.5
[5] Keigwin, Adam J. “Yee Issues Statement on Supreme Court Ruling on Juvenile Life Without Parole.” Office of State Senator Leland Yee, Ph.D.June 25, 2010.
For more information on this report or other Public Safety issues, contact Eric Csizmar, Senate Republican Office of Policy at 916/651-1772.
MAY 4, 2012
Where is the oversight and the savings to our taxpayers? This is old news but our government seems deaf.
Illegal Aliens Receive Billions in IRS Tax Benefits
http://www.wthr.com/video?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7054149
Friday, 23 Sep 2011 05:17 PM
By James Walsh
On July 7, 2011, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s inspector general for tax administration issued a startling report entitled “Individuals Who Are Not Authorized to Work in the United States Were Paid $4.2 Billion in Refundable Credits.”No wonder the nation’s finances are in turmoil.
According to the Treasury report, foreign nationals not authorized to work in the United States and ineligible for a Social Security Number (SSN) are nevertheless receiving government help from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS currently issues undocumented aliens an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to facilitate their filing of tax returns.
Many illegal workers are paid in cash “under the table” and thus file no tax forms at all; but a number of undocumented workers, according to the Treasury report, are receiving public benefits contrary to federal and state laws.
For example, the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) allow payment of federal funds as tax benefits to undocumented aliens. Add to these the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and the result is tax refunds that provide incentives for foreign nationals to enter, reside, and work in the United States without authorization and in violation of current U.S. immigration law.
The CTC, ACTC, and EITC have come under review because of the significant volume of Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) returns filing for these credits using fraudulent data, such as names and SSNs.
The Treasury report notes that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) temporarily increased ACTC eligibility by changing the income threshold for calculating the credits in 2009 and 2010. The result was that in 2010, undocumented alien (ITIN) filers were able to claim higher tax refunds that totaled $4.2 billion. They represent an increase from $924 million in 2005.
It is clear that unauthorized aliens are filing ITIN tax returns with fraudulent data. The Treasury report found that “One common type of fraudulent refund involves taxpayers fabricating a Wage and Tax Statement (Form W-2) that shows excess withholding and results in a tax refund.”
Street-smart illegal immigrants are wise to the federal government’s incompetence.
Making matters worse, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Accounts Management Taxpayers Assurance Program (AMTAP) has failed to take steps to notify U.S. taxpayers when it is obvious that their SSNs and names have been compromised.
The Treasury Report found “sufficient evidence” that the IRS took no steps to notify legitimate taxpayers that their SSNs, and sometimes their names, were used by undocumented aliens filing tax returns on regular or ITIN tax returns.
The Child Tax Credit (CTC) benefit also is being fraudulently used by illegal aliens.
The Treasury Report indicates that the IRS will discuss amending the Tax Code to limit eligibility for the CTC and ACTC. Meanwhile, in reply to suggestions of misfeasance, the IRS answers that the agency does not have the legal authority to verify and disallow CTC and/or ACTC applicants as to their qualifications including their residency claim.
Meanwhile, over at the White House, President Barack Obama’s two years and nine months in office have seen a rapid decline in his approval ratings with regard to proposed programs and job performance. At the top of the list is widespread disappointment at his promised immigration reform and border control that have yet to come to pass.
The failure of the federal government to control the borders not only means lost jobs, escalating healthcare costs, escalating criminal justice costs including victim costs, educational costs, welfare costs, and now fraudulent tax refund costs.
Immigrant advocates promulgate the myth that illegal aliens are simple souls in need of government assistance. In actuality, illegal aliens, despite their level of education, have become experts at taking the U.S. government for all its worth.
President Obama’s immigration gyrations range from providing undocumented aliens with billions in tax refunds to promising U.S. citizens an emphasis on deportations.
In place of immigration reform, the president has chosen a re-election gimmick that authorizes by bureaucratic fiat “prosecutorial discretion” to be exercised by government immigration lawyers in halting the deportation of illegal aliens in deportation/removal proceedings.
A bewildered citizenry is witnessing a White House form of bureaucratic amnesty!
Yet the nation grows uneasy with Obama campaign promises that fail to materialize. Citizens and non-citizens alike have yet to know precisely where the president stands or what he means when he orates, leaving many to conclude that “Obama speaks with forked tongue.”
Read more on Newsmax.com: Illegal Aliens Receive Billions in IRS Tax Benefits
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama’s Re-Election? Vote Here Now!
TENNESSEE TREASON: The Monroe County Grand Jury is a Masquerade by Post & Email Managing Editor Sharon Rondeau
Friday, 23 September 2011
“THEY ARE NOT OPERATING UNDER THE LAW”
by Sharon Rondeau
A Robert Hefner click on illustration. Post & Email Managing Editor Sharon Rondeau may be contacted at: 203.987. 7948 or Email: editor@thepostemail.com for interviews
It has recently been discovered that there is no appointing order for a man who allegedly served as foreman of the Monroe County grand jury for at least 20 years, nor any evidence that he was ever sworn in as required by the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. No identification for Gary Pettway can be produced by the Monroe County clerk’s office. The alleged current grand jury foreman’s first name is misspelled, perhaps purposely. Court personnel are aware of it, and similar “errors” have occurred multiple times in the Tenth Judicial District of Tennessee.
LINK
REEDY JUDICIAL ORDERS APPOINTING “JOE” THE FOREMAN:
08 December 2006 Amy Reedy Appointing Order “Joe” the Foreman (1) (CLICK HERE)
18 December 2008 Amy Reedy Appointing Order “Joe” the Foreman (2) (CLICK HERE)
14 December 2010 Amy Reedy Appointing Order “Joe” the Foreman (3) (CLICK HERE)
REEDY JUDICIAL ORDERS APPOINTING “FAY” THE FOREMAN:
03 January 2011 Amy Armstrong Reedy Appointing Order “Fay” the Foreman (CLICK HERE)
IN CLOSING: REEDY’S JUDICIAL ORDER APPOINTING RECYCLING 2009 TENNESSEE JUROR ANGELA DAVIS A 2010 GRAND JURY FOREMAN:
Amy Reedy’s 3 June 2010 Appointing Order for ANGELA DAVIS (CLICK HERE)
1 Comment to “ELECTED OFFICIALS NOT ENFORCING THE LAW”
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By Arnetta Sisavath, June 3, 2012 @ 12:06 am
I totally agree he was off-pitch and off-key in many parts of the song, and to anyone who thinks otherwise, get a hearing aid. The writer of this blog was simply stating the truth. If you can’t handle the truth, that is not his problem.