Crime and Justice News
Rash of MN Cases of Men Killing Spouses, Girlfriends Worries Experts
The psyche of men who kill their spouses or girlfriends is a growing concern in Minnesota, where a spike in domestic homicides has provoked a jump in calls to domestic abuse shelters, says the Minneapolis Star Tribune. At least nine boyfriends or husbands have allegedly killed their partners so far this year. The state is on pace to double the 2012 total of 14 deaths. “The level of violence I’m seeing? Things are getting worse, not better,” said Heidi Carlson, who leads the men’s counseling program for the Domestic Abuse Project in Minneapolis. The profile of a typical abuser is a man who has been victimized himself in childhood and has developed such insecurity that he has an overwhelming desire to control everything around him — especially the routines and whereabouts of his spouse or girlfriend. The abuser who is more likely to kill owns a gun, and brandishes it during arguments. He is likely to have made death threats to his partner in the past, and to have raped or choked her.
A less common but telling risk is when an abuser hurts a pregnant partner, said Neil Websdale, a Northern Arizona University professor and an expert on domestic homicide. “Pregnancy is a tender time between couples. A man that is willing to assault and abuse his pregnant partner, I think, is logically more dangerous.” Recent Minnesota cases have involved men with warning signs such as gun ownership, but no history of aggression, said Aaron Milgrom, director of therapy for the Domestic Abuse Project. “These appear to be emerging as the guys who are most lethal,” he said. “The police were never called on them. They never went to treatment. The neighbors thought they were OK or just kept to themselves. And then they burst forth into the news. [ ] t’s really problematic for us.”
Governors Would Have Larger Role in Border Security if Immigration Reform Passes
Border security is a crucial part of the immigration overhaul creeping forward on Capitol Hill, says Stateline. The government has built 651 miles of fencing along the border—about three times what existed six years ago. The U.S. operates hundreds of remote cameras, more than 13,000 ground sensors, and five drones in the area. The Border Patrol force has doubled in the last decade, to more than 18,000. Those steps, together with the sluggish economy and record-high deportations, have slowed the flood of people trying to enter the U.S. illegally to a trickle. Still, border-state governors say the federal government must do more. If the immigration overhaul pending in the Senate becomes law, governors of those states will play a crucial role in determining how much border security is enough. The measure the U.S. Senate is considering would require the federal government to stop 90 percent of people who try to enter the U.S. If it cannot meet that threshold in five years, border governors would help decide how to meet it. The governors also would be allowed to deploy the National Guard for border security-related missions.Journalists Outraged at U.S. Charge Fox Reporter Was "Co-Conspirator" On Leak
Journalists, First Amendment watchdogs, and government transparency advocates reacted with outrage to the revelation that the Justice Department had investigated the newsgathering activities of a Fox News reporter as a potential crime in a probe of classified leaks, the Washington Post reports. Critics said the government’s suggestion that James Rosen, Fox News’s chief Washington correspondent, was a “co-conspirator” for soliciting classified information threatened to criminalize press freedoms protected by the First Amendment. Others suggested that the Justice Department’s claim in pursuing an alleged leak from the State Department was little more than pretext to seize his e-mails to build their case against the suspected leaker. “It is downright chilling,” said Fox News executive Michael Clemente. “We will unequivocally defend [Rosen’s] right to operate as a member of what up until now has always been a free press.” Steven Aftergood of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists, said, “Asking for information has never been deemed a crime.” The reactions followed a Washington Post report on the inner workings of a Justice Department investigation into a possible leak of classified information about North Korea.AP Leak Case: A Sad Story of Government, Politics, and the Media
Whoever leaked to the Associated Press last year not only broke the law but caused the abrupt end to a secret, joint U.S./Saudi/British operation in Yemen that offered valuable intelligence against al-Qaeda, says Washington Post columnist Walter Pincus. One goal was to get AQAP’s operational head, Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso. That happened one day before the AP story appeared. A second goal was to find AQAP bombmaker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, whose first underwear device almost killed Saudi Arabia’s anti-terrorism chief. Acting responsibly, the AP withheld its story for several days at the government’s request. Lives were at stake, officials said. What happened afterward illustrates a sad state of affairs — within government (which can’t control critical secrets), the White House, politics (where every event during a presidential race becomes political fodder) and the press (which screams First Amendment at any attempt to investigate it). How many times can the media claim the federal seizure of its phone records as “chilling sources,” Pincus asks. The risk of breaking the law apparently didn’t chill those who leaked the information to the AP. That’s what should be considered chilling, Pincus says.NYC "Stop and Frisk" Case Judge Focuses On Police's 88% "High Error Rate"
After listening to two months of testimony on the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk practices, federal judge...How Two FBI Agents Were Killed In Counterterrorism Training Exercise
It was a counterterrorism training exercise that two agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s elite hostage rescue unit had completed dozens of times: rappelling from a helicopter onto the deck of a ship at sea, says the New York Times. As agents Christopher Lorek and Stephen Shaw began their descent on Friday onto a ship off the coast of Virginia, the helicopter suddenly tilted because of a strong gust of wind. As the pilot tried to steady the aircraft, the two men, holding ropes and loaded with gear, lost their grips and fell. It was the first time an agent died in the line of duty since December 2011. In the past 12 years, six others have been killed. The FBI has 14,000 agents. The hostage rescue unit was created before the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles to help the government respond to an episode similar to the one at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed after being taken hostage. The unit, with fewer than 100 agents, has responded to 850 episodes, including the bombings at the Boston Marathon.TN Man Faces Prison Term for Advising Driver in Fatal Hit-and-Run to Flee
A Nashville man who prosecutors say told a suspect to flee after a fatal hit-and-run faces up to six years in prison for his advice, The Tennessean reports. In one of the more closely followed vehicular homicide cases in recent years, the role of a third person, a bystander, has been largely overlooked. Jordan Hawbaker, 22, was on the scene of an accident that claimed the lives of two young men in 2011. Hawbaker, who had been drinking at a nearby bar, is said to have encouraged the driver to flee the scene. That suggestion broke the law, prosecutors say, and was enough for them to charge him with being an accessory to a crime. Under state law, accessory after the fact applies to someone who helps a suspect avoid arrest after knowing a felony was committed — providing a getaway car or hiding someone in a home, for instance. Prosecutor Kyle Anderson said Hawbaker took on a criminal liability when he told the driver to flee. “It may not make sense to a layperson, but it’s the law,” he said.40% Of FBI Applicants Aren't Hired Over Polygraph Tests Some Find Dubious
Thousands of job applicants come to FBI offices every year, but many have their hopes dashed, and it’s not because of...Federal Prosecutions Under Foreign Corrupt Practices Law Dropped Last Year
Federal foreign bribery and corruption prosecutions declined last year even as 15 new countries were cracking down on such crimes involving their own government officials, says a survey by Trace International Inc. reported by the National Law Journal. The survey found that prosecutions under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act against individuals, businesses, or government entities dropped by 52 percent compared with 2011. In countries other than the United States, foreign bribery prosecutions fell by 42 percent. Despite last year's drop, enforcement actions are surging in 2013, said Trace's Julie Coleman. "We don't think 2012 is a harbinger of what's going to happen in 2013," she said. "Originally, it was off to a slow start, but there are a lot of things percolating." The report found mining and other extractive industries responsible for the most foreign bribery actions, followed by manufacturing and service providers; aerospace or defense/security; and health care. Investigations are pending in retail and entertainment.TCR at a Glance
California "Realignment" Pushes National Jail Population Up
May 22, 2013
Number of US jail inmates rises after 3 years of decline
Is the Media Under-Reporting Sex Crimes in the Military?
May 21, 2013
The press has done an admirable job covering a Department of Defense report on sexual assault in the military. But how good of a job has ...
Re-Abuse Common for Teens Who Seek Orders of Protection
new & notable May 20, 2013
Researchers who studied 1,200 incidents of dating violence in New York found brief Orders of Protection and repeat abuse
Guns and the Media
May 17, 2013
A conference on gun violence raised questions about whether journalists are focusing on the wrong things
Can ‘Smart Gun’ Technology Change the Stalemate Over Gun Violence?
May 16, 2013
The mayors of Philadelphia and Minneapolis challenge gun manufacturers to consider biometrics and other technological fixes in a New York...
Violence and 'Civil War-Level' Trauma in the Inner City
May 15, 2013
Should the debate on guns be framed in a public health context?
Dannel Malloy: 'The NRA is holding a gun to the head of every Republican' Senator
May 14, 2013
In a wide ranging conversation on the politics of guns, Connecticut's governor said the media is letting the National Rifle Association d...