Criminal Justice Quote: Woman Strangles Her Cousin Then Falsely Reports His Abduction

     A 19-year-old woman strangled her 5-year-old cousin who had been in her parents' care, then discarded his body along a road before calling in a false report that two masked intruders took the boy from their Albany, New York area home…Tiffany VanAlstyne's bogus 911 call on Thursday afternoon December 18, 2014 set off a search for Kenneth White that lasted into the night…A search dog picked up a scent at 9:00 PM and Kenneth's body was found in a culvert covered with snow…

     VanAlstyne was charged with second-degree murder and said nothing at her arraignment…

     VanAlstyne's parents have been the legal guardians of Kenneth White, his twin sister Cheyenne, and 4-year-old sister Christine since September 2014. The children had lived in the VanAlstyne home for more than a year…

     VanAlstyne strangled the boy and tossed his body over a guard rail along a rural two-lane road about 40 yards from her parents' trailer home in the town of Berne sometime before making the 911 call…The child had also suffered a blow to the head. The 911 call touched off a search that included an Amber Alert describing the kidnappers as two men, clad in black and driving a black pickup truck.

"Woman Falsely Reported Abduction," Associated Press, December 20, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: "Real Housewives" Star Gets Real Time

     Teresa Guidice, a cast member of Bravo's "Real Housewives of New Jersey," reported to a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut early Monday morning January 5, 2015 to begin serving a 15-month sentence for bankruptcy fraud…The reality star left her mansion shortly after midnight and arrived at the prison around 3 AM…

     She and her husband Giuseppe "Joe" Giudice pleaded guilty in 2014 and admitted hiding assets from bankruptcy creditors and submitting phony applications to get some $5 million in mortgage and construction loans. Joe Guidice also pleaded guilty to failing to pay taxes totaling more than $200,000.

     At the Giudices' sentencing in October 2014, the federal judge criticized the couple for not disclosing all their assets as required under their plea agreement, calling it "the same pattern of obstruction, concealment and manipulation as they showed in the bankruptcy case."

     Still, the judge sentenced Teresa Guidice to a sentence below the range sought by the U.S. Attorney's office and staggered her sentence with her husband's so they wouldn't be in prison at the same time and unable to care for their four daughters. Joe Giudice will serve his 41-month sentence after his wife's sentence is completed….

" 'Real Housewives' Star Teresa Giudice Begins Prison Sentence," Fox News, January 5, 2014

     

Criminal Justice Quote: A Boston Cop Goes Off The Deep End

     A Boston police officer has been placed on administrative leave after allegedly assaulting an Uber driver. The driver for the ride sharing company told police he drove a passenger to the area of East 2nd Street in South Boston early Saturday morning January 4, 2015. That passenger was off-duty officer Michael Doherty, 40, of South Boston. According to the driver, when he reached the destination, Doherty accused him of trying to drop him off at the wrong location. Doherty then allegedly yelled at then hit the driver.

     When the driver got out of the car, Doherty got into the front seat and drove off. Police say a passing motorist helped the Uber driver follow Doherty until he stopped the car and fled.

     Doherty, who has been on the force for 16 years, was arrested at his home Sunday January 5 and charged with assault and battery and using a motor vehicle without authority.

"Off-Duty Boston Cop Arrested For Allegedly Assaulting Uber Driver," CBS News, January 4, 2015 

Criminal Justice Quote: The Naked Burglar

     Police near Salem, Oregon say they arrested a naked man after he broke into two homes, drank booze and used a hot tub…Officers received a 911 call early Sunday January 4, 2015 from a woman who was house-sitting in Keizer, Oregon when she was awakened by noises coming from the laundry room. As she went to check it out, the laundry room door slammed shut. She grabbed a knife and called the police and her husband.

     Police found Guillermo Brambila Lopez, 24, of Woodburn, Oregon inside the house. They arrested the naked man without incident. He had climbed in through a back window after removing a screen. Police also noticed that screens had been removed from windows at a neighbor's home…The suspect had broken into that dwelling as well. In that burglary he had helped himself to the homeowner's alcohol and had used the hot tub and shower.

"Man Broke Into Homes, Used Hot Tub," Associated Press, January 4, 2015 

Criminal Justice Quote: More Guns, Less Gun Control

     A new Pew Research Center survey finds that, for the first time in their surveys, the majority of Americans oppose more gun control. Gallup and CNN pols tell a similar story. Opposition to gun control has been increasing over at least the last couple of decades…

     Perceptions have changed dramatically, with most people now believing the "More Gun, Less Crime" hypothesis. Gallup recently asked Americans if they thought residents are safer with a gun in the home. People answered "Yes" by a margin of 63 to 30 percent. In 2000, Americans gave just the opposite answer by a margin of 51 to 35 percent. In 2013, sixty percent of gun owners listed "Personal Safety/Protection" as the reason for owning a gun.

     Academic research aligns with current public opinion. If you have a gun in the home, that gun is more likely to prevent murder than it is to be used in an accidental shooting or to kill a loved one…

     Between 2000 and 2014, the number of concealed handgun permits soared from about 2.7 million to well over 12 million…According to Gallup, 42 percent of American now have a gun in the house...The Pew Research Center survey found that 57 percent of Americans believe gun ownership "protects people from becoming victims of crime. Thirty-eight percent believe that it "puts people at risk."

     Support for gun ownership has grown particularly sharply among blacks and women….

"Why Most Americans Oppose More Gun Control," Fox News, December 30, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Family Dollar Stores in St. Louis Area Ban Hoodies

     Some Family Dollar stores in the St. Louis area have been experimenting with signs asking customers to take off their hoodies before they enter the stores. The signs read: "All Customers: Please remove hoods before entering Family Dollar." Managers at Family Dollar stores would not reveal the reasoning for the signs. However, the signs seem likely to be a response to an outbreak of shoplifting and armed robbery at St. Louis-area Family Dollar stores.

     For example, a man allegedly held an employee at gunpoint during a December 2014 robbery at a Family Dollar store on South Jefferson Street in St. Louis. At another area store on South Grand Avenue someone started shooting a gun…

     Some customers think the hoodie ban is discriminatory…Other customers were more supportive of the anti-hooddie signage…

     Family Dollar is a chain of discount variety stores with 8,100 locations in several states across the country. Most of the stores are located in low-income neighborhoods.

"Family Dollar Stores Face Scrutiny For Asking Customers to Remove Hoodies," The Daily Caller, January 5, 2015 

Criminal Justice Quote: U.S. Death Sentences and Executions at Historic Lows

     The number of executions in the United States hit a 20-year low in 2014, a dip driven in part by lethal-injection drug shortages and legal battles stemming from botched procedures. Thirty-five death-row inmates in seven states were killed last year, the lowest number since 1994…Executions peaked in 1999; there were 98 that year…

     Death sentences hit a 40-year low last year and have been in steep decline for the last two decades, plunging from 315 in 1994 to 72 in 2014. According to Richard Dieter, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, "The realization that mistakes have been made, that innocent people are still being freed, has made juries hesitant. They are willing to convict but not sentence to death. There is a demand for perfect proof, and so prosecutors are taking more plea bargains."

     Seven death-row inmates were exonerated last year, the most since 2009.

     A majority of Americans still support capital punishment. In a May 2014 poll by NBC News, 59 percent said they favor the death penalty as the ultimate punishment for murder, while 35 percent said they are opposed. That reflects the erosion of support since the 1990s, when more than 70 percent backed executions.

"Number of Death Sentences and Executions at 20-Year Low," Associated Press, December 17, 2014

     

Writing Quote: Book-Friendly France

Whatever the cultural reasons, books in France are indeed an "essential good"--the designation coined by the French government that serves to justify the very concrete steps it has taken over the years to protect its precious literary culture. The most prominent of these are laws outlawing the advantages (deep discounting combined with free shipping) that big chains and Amazon enjoy over independent booksellers in the United States and other countries. These help explain a phenomenon that inevitably strikes American visitors to France today: As even big chains such as Borders and Barnes & Noble have faltered here, every block in central Paris seems to sprout at least two small, intelligently stocked bookshops.

Daniel Mendelsohn, The New York Times Book Review, November 16, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Thomas Gilbert: Manhattan Hedge Fund Founder Murdered

     A 70-year-old hedge fund founder has been shot dead in his New York City apartment. Thomas Gilbert was shot in the head in his Manhattan apartment on Beekman Place on the East Side of Manhattan. He was pronounced dead at the scene. [Detectives were questioning the victim's 30-year-old son as a suspect.]

     Mr. Gilbert started Waincott Capital Partners Fund in 2011. The fund has $200 million in assets and focuses on the biotech and heath care industries…The murder was a rare act of violence on Beekman Place, a tony enclave just north of the United Nations building.

"Hedge Fund Founder, 70, Slain in NYC Apartment," sfgate.com, January 5, 2015 

Criminal Justice Quote: Abducted Baby Found Dead in Imperial Beach, California

     Long Beach, California police confirmed that a baby found Sunday January 4, 2015 is that of a 3-week-old abducted from her home after fatal shootings. The identification of Eliza Delacruz came after detectives from Long Beach traveled to San Diego County to help detectives investigate the discovery of an infant's remains found in a dumpster behind an Imperial Beach strip mall. The baby had been taken Saturday night January 3, 2015 from a Long Beach home, the scene of the shootings…

     Police went to the site of the abduction after receiving a 911 call about the shooting. At the house they found two brothers and the baby's mother. All three had been shot to death. One of the brothers was Eliza's father. Detectives are looking for an adult male suspect. The authorities have not revealed if the gunman is related to any of the victims.

"Baby Abducted After Shooting Found Dead in Dumpster," Associated Press, January 5, 2015