Voting
Rights
We all remember the disaster of an election
in November 2000. Hanging chads and recounts weren't
the only mess. Did you know there was a purposeful strategy
to disenfranchise voters in Florida?
Thousands of Floridians
were not allowed to vote! Some voters were turned away
from polling places because they were not listed on the
rolls, or the precincts were unable to access the voter
lists. Some voters cast ballots which were not counted,
and the voters never even knew there votes didn't
count.
And Florida is one of only seven states which bar
convicted felons from ever voting again after serving
time. So, before the 2000 election, the state of Florida
paid $4 million to a private company –the first
time in the history of any US state- to purge voter rolls
of the felons. But they also gave the direction to eliminate
more than just the names of convicted felons, they asked
them to purge the names of folks from Texas, and folks
who have never even been convicted of any crimes! One
might wonder if Mr. Bush would have been allowed to take
office without this cabal.
This story is so absurd you
must listen to the details on the Criminal
Justice Radio Archive where you can find out what you can do to ensure
nothing like this happens again in November 2004.
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Psychiatric
Diagnosis
What do you
have to be depressed about? Dr. George Warren, Pinellas
County psychologist explains symptoms, treatment options
and the subtle differences between mental illnesses including
depression, alcoholism, bipolar disorder, ADD, and a
few other disorders.
Frank Kopczynski, Criminal Justice
Forum host and Pinellas County bail bondsman, says his
office frequently receives calls from people arranging
bail and they mention their loved ones have a mental
illness, but they are often unsure exactly which illness
they suffer from or they incorrectly describe it.
Mental
illnesses are a group of conditions affecting a person’s
cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning and they
can be managed with consistent treatment, but can be
quite debilitating without treatment.
Dr. Warren talks
about diagnosis, treatment and the dangers of not seeking
or receiving treatment. This fascinating show can be
heard on our Criminal
Justice Radio Archive page where
many of your questions will be answered and where you’All
learn where to find resources and more information.
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Life
on the Outside
Who is winning
the war on drugs? Probably not American citizens but
possibly the drug dealers, informants, prosecutors, and
prison staffs.
New York governor, Nelson Rockefeller,
established minimum and maximum sentences for drug related
crimes in 1973, which many states eventually adopted
and still use today. And if convicted these laws ensure
you will receive the minimum sentence of 15 years to
life no matter the level of participation in the crime.
Jennifer Gonnerman, author of Life on the Outside , says
it costs an average of $32,000 per year in New York to
incarcerate each prisoner. And the subject of her book,
Elaine Bartlett, spent 16 years in prison- so the state
of New York spent $500,000 on just one woman. And they
separated a family and punished her children in the process.
How much education would $32,000 per year buy? And wouldn't’t
education be a better option? You’All find this
show on the Criminal
Justice Radio Archive page where
you can also hear Elaine’s struggle after she was
granted clemency.
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Public
Defender
The Pinellas
County public defenders office is charged with covering
all indigent defense services to adults and juveniles.
They have 200 full-time employees, a budget of $14 million
and handled 78,000 cases last year.
And public defender,
Bob Dillinger, currently serving his second term for
the sixth judicial circuit, assures the attorneys in
his office are very skilled. He says they are well trained
and are able to focus all of their time, each day, on
their clients. Mr. Dillinger also provides extensive
continuing training sessions for young criminal lawyers.
Your Miranda rights guarantee you the right to an attorney,
but that doesn't’t mean you will receive services
at no cost. And starting July 1 st the county instituted
some changes in procedures including penalties for not
paying for services received.
Mr. Dillinger also talks
about a new bill which targets “habitual
misdemeanant offenders” and he describes it as “bordering
on cruel and unusual practices” because it will
mostly affect the mentally ill, homeless and substance
abusers sending them to county jail for 6 to 12 months.
At the cost of $7 million to Pinellas county residents,
there are surely better ways to serve these populations.
Listen to this show on our Criminal Justice Radio Archive
page to learn what “death qualified” lawyers
are and how they become one as well as why it’s
extremely important to be cautious about what you say
while you are in jail custody.
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Impunity
at Abu Ghraib
The incidents
of torture at Abu Ghraib may have been shocking, but
Dr. Michael Weinstein, political science professor at
Purdue University calls it Impunity and Triumphalism.
He says it was an example of a person’s ability
to exercise their will and have their way with another
person without penalty, while thinking they are so strong
they know they can get away with whatever they want to
without regard for allies or a positive public opinion.
And he explains that it was all done within a permissive
environment.
Dr. Weinstein also explains why these methods
are being taught as a “science of torture.” And
he compares the psychological effects of enduring this
type of torture to having a birth defect, calling it “a
deep, enduring problem that these captives will face
the rest of their lives.”
And if you think this
couldn't’t happen because
the Geneva Convention set up the rules for dealing with
prisoners of war, you may be surprised to learn how this
administration is getting around the law by not considering
these captives as prisoners of war, but instead “enemy
combatants”, which creates law-free zones where
captors may behave without laws.
And don’t be surprised
when you hear Abu Ghraib isn't’t the only place
where this type of torture has taken place at the hands
of the American military. Listen to this show on our
Criminal Justice Radio Archive page to hear Dr. Weinstein’s
recount of occurrences throughout history.
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In the near
future...
Florida’s
Voting Ban, airing August 7th
Courtenay Strickland, Voting
Rights Project Director for the ACLU of Florida talks
about Florida’s Voting
Ban and how ex-felons lost their right to vote forever.
Textbook on Terrorism, airing August
14th
Dr. James
Lutz, Indiana University-Purdue University professor
of Political Science, and author of a textbook on Terrorism
talks about the definition of terrorism, the types of
terrorism, early terrorism groups, weapons of mass destruction,
and defenses against terrorism.
Forfeiture Endangers
American Rights, airing
August 21st
Brenda Grantland
of Forfeiture Endangers American Rights explains the
government’s practice of seizing assets
and property and gives advice on how to protect yourself
from forced forfeiture.
FCAT and Funding, airing August
28th
Mark Pudlow, spokesman for the Florida Education
Association, tells the truth education funding, the FCAT
and standardized testing.
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Thoughts
from the host...
Newly
Mandated Banking Fees
We recently
received an email from Kay Lee, the resident guardian
angel for those incarcerated in Florida’s
Department of Corrections. She was spreading the word
about Florida LOLITS (Little old ladies in sneakers)
and their most recent cause.
It seems that Florida’s
legislature has added a banking fee of up to $6.00 a
month on inmate funds. It may not seem like much but
to those using the commissary to avoid malnutrition it
is unconscionable, especially since those depositing
funds are already barely making ends meet and often living
at poverty levels. Add to this the fact that they are
also already paying outrageous fees for phone and canteen.
It seems to follow the familiar and cruel pattern of
imposing fees and taxes on those least able to pay.
What
to do?
Go to the LOLITS website, and read the wording
of the statute and the petition. If you feel, like I
do, that this is just one more effort to bleed those
who can least afford it, sign the petition at
http://www.petitiononline.com/Lolits/petition.html
An
Issue the Right and Left Should Both Agree On
In a
recent issue of our local paper I found an article
that told about police officers voluntarily sending
their used body amour to a local armory. It seems they
found out that the vehicles our troops are riding in
have insufficient armor plating and some of our troops
lack sufficient body armor to protect themselves.
I
was touched by the actions of these officers. They
saw a problem and acted. However, in reading further
I was dismayed to find that this armor was not being
sent to Iraq or Afghanistan. Instead, it is sitting there
tied up in red tape. Evidently some bureaucratic dictate
is keeping them from being sent to those who need them
and those who the officers intended to help. This alone
would be cause enough to contact your local senator and
representative, except for one thing: how is it that
we would put our military in harms way without being
properly equipped with something so basic?
I personally
don’t give a warm bucket of spit
whose fault it is, but I sure expect our elected representatives
to correct this problem immediately. I, for one, don’t
want to see any more of our soldiers or marines coming
home seriously injured or in body bags.
Please
call your local representative and tell them not to bother
sending the usual form letter response, just fix the
problem.
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Criminal
Justice Radio
Listen
to host Frank Kopczynski on Criminal Justice Radio
each Saturday at 12:05 pm on WTAN Talk radio; 1340
AM in Clearwater, 1350 AM in Zephyrhills and 1400 AM
in New Tampa, as well as on the world wide web. Each
week we look at a different aspect of the criminal
justice system. Learn what you really need to know
to protect yourself and your family. To hear previous
recordings visit our  .
Partnerships
in our Community
We
have come across countless organizations hoping to
make a change in the system. Our success depends on
our ability to work together. There is strength in
numbers.
Criminal
Justice Forum wants to help by giving you the opportunity
to tell your story and let the public know where they
can find you and access the information and resources
you have available.
We
also know how important it is to not only educate citizens
but to invite them to join us. Through such efforts
we will build a powerful force for change.
We
invite you to join us
Does
your organization have a story to tell, an event, fundraiser,
campaign, or pending legislation that you'd like to
publicize? Do you have a book or other information
you'd like to share with those involved in the criminal
justice system or which you think would improve the
lives of our listeners? If so, contact
us .
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