Trial of Conrad Murray: The Short Version

Ok, So I know I have totally missed the boat in my coverage of the Trial of Conrad Murray. You would think I would have been more present in my discussion of this given that it causes me to be at least 10 minutes later in the morning with it's venue being in my backyard. #dtla baby! 

Anyway, here are some major points to get you caught up if you haven't been paying attention. 

So, the cast of this play are as follows: 

• Defendant Conrad Murray, 58-year-old cardiologist, personal physician to Michael Jackson
• Judge Michael Pastor
• Prosecutor David Walgren (L.A. DA's office)
• Prosecutor Deborah Brazil (L.A. DA's office)
• Defense Attorney Edward Chernoff
• Defense Attorney Nareg Gourjian
• Defense Attorney Michael Flanagan

So far, Act I and II have gone something like this: 

• Los Angeles County coroner ruled Michael Jackson died of "acute propofol intoxication."
• Conrad Murray is charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter. He could face four years in prison and lose his medical license.
• To convict on involuntary manslaughter, the district attorney must prove that Murray was recklessly doing something illegal (or doing something legal but in an illegal way) that was likely to and did in fact kill Michael Jackson. The DA does not need to show that Murray intended to kill Jackson, just that he acted recklessly. 
• Legal experts say that administering the powerful anesthetic propofol in a home setting simply to fall asleep could definitely count as reckless and a gross violation of medical norms. Although propofol can legally be prescribed by most doctors, it's used in hospitals during surgeries or in rare cases to help dying hospice patients, but NOT to treat insomnia.
• Murray is contending that he left MJ alone for only 2 minutes for a bathroom break. Other experts have stated that MJ must have been alone for a longer period of time and that he must have injected himself with the fatal dose. 
• Prosecutors contend Murray is criminally liable for Jackson's June 25, 2009 death because he recklessly administered the propofol, a potent surgical anesthetic drug, and was negligent in properly monitoring Jackson.

Conrad Murray has stated that he will not take the witness stand. If Murray decides not to take the stand then 

closing arguments will probably take place tomorrow, Thursday. 

We may be very close to a resolution. FYI, The jury consists of seven men and five women. Six white, five Hispanic and one African American.

I will post more details as I get them.

Crackdown on Crack Sentencing

For years there has been an upset in the legal community regarding the unequal treatment of sentencing amongst defendants caught with crack cocaine v. powder cocaine. The fact is that the punishment for consuming or selling crack cocaine is 100 times worse than that for powder cocaine. 

Many have linked the disparity to a deliberate prosecution to "round-up" those in the African American community. The stereotype has been that Americans plagued with a lesser economic disposition are more liable to use the less expensive crack cocaine than it's more expensive counterpart, powder cocaine. "What was clear was that the rules disproportionately affected African-Americans, leading civil rights leaders and other public officials to level harsh criticism against the criminal justice system. That's why in 2010 Congress passed and the Barack Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act which lowered the sentencing ratio of crack to powder crimes from 100:1 to 18:1." See "Inmates Set for Release After Changes in Crack Sentencing" by Gabriel Roxas

I will admit it is slightly embarrassing that we are using legal time to discuss the fairness of sentencing for drug dealers and crackheads but someones got to fight for them too, I guess. Also, the concern that should touch everyone at home is that the prisons are wasting capital on housing these offenders. There is even a advocacy group for this. see The Sentencing Project. 

Under the new Fair Sentencing Act, thousands of federal prisoners nationwide are now eligible for early release after changes in the way sentences for crack cocaine are calculated. The overall effect will be spread out over years, but almost 2,000 federal prisoners will be eligible for release on Tuesday. It could take longer for paperwork to go through and allow the inmates to walk free.

Now the U.S. Sentencing Commission is applying that law to past cocaine convictions. Officials estimate about 12,000 inmates could eventually benefit.

Idiot Allegedly Kills Her Baby In Microwave

This lady does not deserve to have her picture shown

A Sacramento mother was arrested Tuesday for allegedly killing her 6-week-old baby by putting her in a microwave oven, police said.

The infant, Mirabelle Thao-Lo, was found dead March 17 after officers responded to the home, the Sacramento Police Department said.

A three-month investigation uncovered evidence that the child died from "extensive thermal injuries," the department said in a statement.

"Based on that research and the autopsy results," the statement said,  "detectives believe the injuries occurred as a result of the child being burned in a microwave oven."

On Tuesday morning, officers arrested the mother, Ka Yang, 29, at the home in the 800 block of Rood Avenue. Yang was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail and charged with homicide, police said.

Really lady. You suck.

[originally reported on Los Angeles Times Online]

Lady Wants Match.com To Screen The Weirdos

A California woman is suing a popular Internet dating site, saying she was sexually assaulted by a man she met on Match.com.

The entertainment executive, unidentified Jane Doe, hired Attorney Mark L. Webb to file her lawsuit with the Los Angeles Superior Court.

The suit demands that Match.com screen its members for sexual predators. The woman is asking for a temporary injunction barring the site from signing up more members until his client's demands are met.

On their second date, when they met at the Urth Cafe in West Hollywood. After a second date, the attorney says the man followed her home and attacked her. The man had been convicted 6 different times for sexual battery.

More in these articles.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/04/14/woman-sues-match-com-after-sex-assault-by-man-she-met-online/

http://jezebel.com/#!5792045/women-sues-matchcom-after-date-leads-to-assault

http://abcnews.go.com/US/woman-sues-match-sex-assault/story?id=13378401

Famous Trials In History: The Massie Affair

No trials ever had a more significant effect on a state's history than those that shocked and shook Hawaii in 1931 and 1932.

The "Massie Affair" consisted of 2 dramatic criminal trials, one for rape and one for murder and both involving multiple defendants, forever changed the nature of Hawaiian race relations and politics.  Filled with twists and turns and unanswered questions, the trials have all the elements of a good mystery. 

Saturday September 12, 1931, Thalia Massie, a sofisticated blueblood planned a relctant evening with her husband, naval officer Thomas Massie at a nightclub on the outskirts of Honolulu's Waikiki district.

Their marriage was on the rocks. Not only did Thalia not want to go out that night but she would go out only after drinking heavily at home. When they were in the club, she slapped another Navy officer when all he wanted was his seat back after going to the bathroom. Her husband calmed her down and sent her home. That was at 11:30 p.m. that night.

Flash to 1:00 am, she is picked up on the side of the road by a car full of people who stated that her face was beaten and bruised but her clothes in perfect condition. She refused to go to the hospital.

A few minutes later, Thalia answered the phone.  It was Tommie calling from a friend's home.  "Something awful has happened," Thalia told her husband.  "Come home."  When Tommie arrived, Thalia related a shocking story.  Crying, she told Tommie that she had been gang-raped by a group of Hawaiians. 

About the same time that Thalia Massie jumped in front of the headlights of the car on Ala Moana Road, Agnes Peeples appeared at Honolulu's downtown police headquarters to report an assault on her at a nearby intersection.  Peeples reported that after a near accident, a young Hawaiian man shoved and hit her, leaving her with a bleeding ear.  The license plate of the touring car that nearly hit her, Peeples told police, was 58-985. 

One hour after Peeples filed her report, police got another call.  It was Tommie Massie reporting that his wife had been assaulted.  Two investigators were dispatched to the Massie house.  When they arrived, they listened--stunned--to Thalia's story of having been attacked by four or five Hawaiians, dragged to some bushes, and raped six or seven times.  Thalia described the car as old and dark-colored.  She said she could not read the license plate.

Two alleged attacks on women by Hawaiians within a very short time frame: detectives took this to be strong evidence that both attacks were carried out by the same gang. [Read More]

Secret Message From an Insider, Toddler "Rape" Post Rises Again

On February 26, 2010, My post entitled "2yr old Toddler is Raped by Family Friend at Seaworld" was written as all of my posts are with the intent on informing others about the legal news that can possibly affect the safety and health of our American families. My goal is to spread information that may not be readily available to others in hopes that it may help someone. Of course my posts have a comical side which is all in jest but every now and then, I find a piece of news that upsets my core. Sometimes makes me want to scream the news from the rooftops if it could possibly mean it doesn't happen again. This post was one of those. This evening when I logged in to find this super long comment from "Someone on the Inside" I was at first disturbed that this person would be possibly defending a rapist. Then I decided that that would be close-minded of me. I also decided that I created this blog as a forum. A place for working mothers and fathers to discuss the real issues out there that could affect us as a whole. So, I am reposting the shocking comment below. Do you think this is a real person that may possibly know the mother of the allegedly raped toddler? What do you think of her comment?

[Warning: I didn't spell check I thought I would keep it authentic.]

"He's actually a really nice guy who I want to believe is innoccent. There is so much more to this story the media doesn't know. First off was not a stranger. He was a co-worker and family friend. They planned this trip together to the park. So don't blame the parents for leaving the child with him. I even trust him enough I wouldn't have thought twice about it. The media also fails to mention the 2 year old's older brother was also left with him. So he wasn't alone with the child. They were in a public place, so anything that happened could have been viewed by others. The mom comments "my son said he was watching a lizard and the park wasn't crowded." It's still hard for me to understand how nothing would have been notcied. Everywhere on the internet and news it says he raped her. The mother of the child has told me that supposedly he only took pictures of her child. There was no apparent physical harm done to the child. The parents of the girl didn't notice anything wrong. The only reason this was brought up to the attention of the authority and the parents is because his wife "discovered" the images on the phone. She usually has his phone, so why would he put/keep pictures on his phone if he were sick enough to take them? Maybe he did take them and intended to delete them after he e-mailed them, but if that were so why would he wait until later to email them? Photoshop can create anything. Changing the time in the phone then taking a picture of a picture would give the illusion they were taken earlier. I'm not saying he is for sure innocent, but only opening your eyes to other possible explainations. His wife reported it to a cop who happens to be living in their home. A cop she also happens to be having sexual relations with. I can see both sides- if he's guilty, then who else would she trust to tell her discovery to besides not only an officer, but a family friend and love interest? However it makes you wonder is there a huge scandal going on? The mom's boyfriend is also the father of the child, and her recent ex-husband as of few weeks past. So everyone that has bashed her on other blogs for not being with the father and with a new boyfiend is wrong. They are still together, in some way that doesn't make sense to me, because she hated him a month ago and talked about how excited she was to get a divorse. Yet they now suddenly hang out together all the time? Irrelavant for the most part, though interesting when you know the flirtations that went on between the mother and the accused. I personally thought they had something going on behind the scenes. Basically to sum it up, there are many twists and unknown points to this that make you question. Just reading the news report gives a horrible one-demention view. I personally know everyone invoved in this. Regardless of how this ends it's a shame because now many lives are screwed forever. Two families will never be friends anymore. A marraige is over. Childrens' lives are tarnished. Guilty or not, the reports will remain on the internet and his record, even if just as dismissed or dropped. Who's more hurt, a two year old that will never remember what did or didn't happen unless told, or his children who share the same last name and may have to explain where their dad is one day to classmates? Type his name into any search engine and you can only guess the horror that may come."

2yr old Toddler is Raped by Family Friend at Seaworld

When I first read this my heart leaped out of my chest as I thought of my little Nunu that will be 2 in a few weeks. On February 17th, A family's sunny trip to Seaworld turns into their worse nightmare as their 2 year old toddler is raped by a family friend in the park.

Michael Grzybowicz, the suspect, visited the park with the mother, father and toddler. It is not clear how the parents know Grzybowicz. The toddler's mother told investigators that she left her daughter with Grzybowicz for about 10 minutes while she and her boyfriend enjoyed an amusement ride.
It is not clear how they found out the toddler had been raped other than the horrific pictures that the alledged rapist saved on his cell phone. The Orange County Sheriff's Office claim the crime was discovered when four pictures of the rape were found on Michael Grzybowicz's cell phone, which he later forwarded to his Yahoo email account. The suspect said he didn't know how they got there. I suspect aliens and crop circles exist too?
A member of the Cocoa Police Department's Sex Crimes Unit confiscated the phone.

SeaWorld Orlando spokesman Nick Gollattscheck had this to say for liability purposes I'm sure,

"Nothing is more important than the safety and welfare of our guests and our team members are trained to report any kind of suspicious behavior. We are cooperating fully with the Orange County Sherriff's office investigation. Illegal behavior of any type is not tolerated at our parks. Our thoughts are with the family at this very difficult time."

Grzybowicz has been held without bail since Saturday in the Brevard County Jail on charges of possessing child pornography. He faces charges of sexual battery on a child younger than 12 years old and lewd and lascivious molestation of a child younger than 12 years old.

I hope he gets life, this is a outstanding and unacceptable situation. What do you all think?

Mother in Florida Killed Her Children For Talking Back. Can We Say Overreacting?

Julie Powers Schenecker, Tampa Florida resident, shot and killed her both of her children for being "mouthy." (ain't that a bitch. Has she met a teenager?)

Schenecker, 50-year-old wife of a U.S. Army colonel, shot her son twice in the head "for talking back" as she drove him to soccer practice. As if that wasn't enough, she then drove home and shot her daughter in the head while she studied at her computer. Investigators believe the teens "never saw it coming." Both were killed with a .38-caliber pistol.

This was a planned double murder, she left a note detailing her plans to kill her disrespectful children and then herself, saying "they talked back and were mouthy and that she was going to take care of it," police said.

Julie Schenecker was jailed and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Wearing a white jumpsuit, she was led into a county jail later Friday visibly shaking and being supported by a sheriff's deputy.

Can you say stressed out mother to say the least?

New California Laws of 2011 a.k.a. S%& You Should Know

While everyone sipped their champagne on New Years Eve and kissed at the stroke of midnight, the politicians in Sacramento were busy passing 747 new laws. As mommies, daddies, sisters, brothers, grandchildren, aunts and uncles it would be advantageous for us all to be aware of the new laws passed in our beloved state. I also know that no one has the time or energy to read through them all. That is what I'm here for. I have summarized some of the more commonly approached laws that have passed below.

Let's start with the herbal news: Marijuana possession not exceed 28.5 grams is now an infraction (no worse than a speeding ticket) not a misdemeanor. Medical marijuana dispensaries must be located at least 600 feet away from any K-12 school.

If you catch a grand theft charge, the amount you can steal has risen to $950, up from $400.

Feb. 6 of every year is now officially Ronald Reagan Day in California. (Right in the middle of Black History Month? Ok, Mr. Schwarzenegger.)

It is illegal to sell electronic cigarettes to minors. (So, no pretending to be Allison Dubois from the Housewives of Beverly Hills.) - Cut to video of dinner scene. 

PARENTS! parents who fail to reasonably assess and correct their chronically truant child’s school attendance can now be charged with a misdemeanor and face a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Landlords cannot evict tenants who are victims of domestic or sexual abuse or stalking
Food stamps an acceptable form of payment at farmers markets through an EBT process.

Child Abuse. Life without the possibility of parole, for abuse by a parent or other caregiver that causes a child under 8 to go into a coma or become permanently paralyzed.

Sex offenders who prey on children and an additional fine of up to $100,000 if a commercial sex act and human trafficking are involved.

Young people to remain on their parents’ plan until age 26, (damn, missed it by 2 years!) prohibit insurers from denying coverage to children based on a pre-existing condition, require health plans to cover preventive services (such as mammograms) without co-pays or deductibles and protect patients from having their coverage illegally or unfairly rescinded.

It is now a misdemeanor to impersonate someone through or on a website or by certain other electronic means to harm, intimidate, threaten or defraud another person. (I wonder if this includes the many idiots on you tube?)

TO THE PAPS: a misdemeanor to tailgate or drive recklessly to capture a photo or tape recording of someone for commercial purposes. See Keith Urban, Nicole Richie and Halle Berry.
Now, a funny one, misdemeanor to enter an animal enclosure at a zoo, circus, aquarium or traveling animal exhibit without permission. (Yes, There are people that actually do this.)

There are more to come in another post. Don't want to bore you all too much. As always, if you don't believe me here is a link. But I have retrieved these laws and their prospective California Code numbers from the California Bar website.

Personal Opinion: I think it is a bit annoying that Gov. Schwarzenegger  had time and energy to sign  new 747 bills into law last year, while lawmakers were struggling with budget woes and more than 2 million Californians unemployed. But who am I? A mire mortal none the less. Hope you found this informative.

Person Gets A Year In Jail For Using the "F" Word

What would you say if you were sentenced to 26 years in prison and 5 years of supervised release then violated that release and received an additional 36 months in prison? Considering you received the sentence because you were convicted of second degree murder, you may not be the most polite person. Let me guess, you wouldn't say thank you?

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit has affirmed the criminal contempt conviction of an unnamed defendant who uttered the “F” word during his sentencing hearing in the Washington, D.C. District Court.
It all started in March of 2009 when the defendant plead guilty to second degree murder in the District of Columbia Superior Court. He was sentenced to 26 years in prison. Then in August 2000, the defendant pleaded guilty to charges of cocaine possession and was sentenced to time served plus five years of supervised release.
It was that supervised release thing that he hadn't quite gotten the hang of. So he violated it. Which means he had a hearing. At that hearing he was sentenced to thirty-six more months’ imprisonment to run consecutively to his sentence for the murder conviction.

He repeatedly interrupted the district judge and finally exclaimed “Fuck y’all.”  The judge was pissed an added another year to his conviction.

Kinda reminds me of the famous "The Breakfast Club" scene where the teacher keeps adding days to his detention. Yes I am black and yes I have seen "The Breakfast Club". Get with it.

Whatthefucsup? Lindsay Stays Free to Snort Another Day But T.I. Can't Get Help Even After Begging

Lindsay Lohan escaped jail again  on Friday when Rapper T.I. was sentenced to 11 months in jail for violating a very similar crime. One can't hope but wonder if this is because T.I. needs the phone number of Lohan's Beverly Hills Lawyer or if this coincidence has another reason for having varying results.

Beverly Hills Superior Court Judge Elden S. Fox ordered Lohan back to rehab for violating probation by testing positive for a random drug test. She will stay at the Betty Ford Center until January 3, 2011. Judge Fox advised Lohan that she needed to think about her future, “You will become unemployable,” he added. “Uninsurable.”

Dannette Meyers, Los Angeles District Attorney strongly recommended Lohan get 180 days (6 months) in jail for her violation. She pointed out that this will be Lohan's sixth time in jail. “This is an ongoing cycle,” DA Danette Meyers told the court, adding that the only way the court would get Lohan’s attention would be by sending her to jail.

On October 15th, there was an example of the type of sentencing that Lindsay Lohan should have received happening on the other side of the Mississippi.

U.S. District Court Judge Charles Pannell Jr. revoked rapper T.I.‘s freedom and ordered him back to prison for 11 months. T.I. was arrested last month in Los Angeles on suspicion of drug possession. Unfortunately for him, he was on probation. His dumb moment was that after serving 10 months behind bars on federal weapons charges, he was caught with possession of marijuana and Ecstasy. Maybe he thought he had more in common with Lindsay than he does.

During the hearing, T.I. begged Pannell not to send him back to prison, (similar to Lindsay) saying he needed to get help for drug addiction. “I want drugs out of my life. If I can get the treatment and counseling I need … I can beat this,” T.I. told the judge, according to U.S. attorney spokesman Patrick Crosby. “I need help.
For me, my mother, my kids, I need the court to give me mercy.” Mercy is exactly what T.I. needed. Unlike Lindsay, his prior charge was not drug possession. He did not violate his probation FROM drug possession WITH some more drug possession. Which would be a good cause to throw him in jail for a double violation. He has NOT ever been to rehab before. So wouldn't it make sense to give him a chance at it?

T.I’s attorneys argued that after reviewing nearly 250 cases with similar charges, none of those people were put back behind bars for violating probation. What makes him different? Violating probation by committing a crime that put no one in danger but himself, caused no harm to society. Instead of placing him in jail out of the stream of society, he should be able to have the chance to fix himself just as Lohan has 6 TIMES. She boundlessly violates her probation by committing the same crime over and over. When will she have to learn her lesson? What is really going on here?

Human Rights Activists Report on the Treatment of Moms in Jail

I think the only thing worse than being in jail, would be being pregnant in jail. Possibly equal to that detrimental position would be those that are mothers in jail. While reading online, I stumbled upon a study about this situation among women. It caught my eye because you don't hear of it much. There are more mothers in our jail system than one would think, the sad part is that they are being treated horribly.

National Women's Law Center and the Rebecca Project for Human Rights released a report today. The study looked at the jail system in several states concentrating on three areas - prenatal care, shackling of pregnant women during childbirth, (can you imagine?) and community-based alternatives to incarceration enabling mothers to be with their children.

The report noted that there are more than 115,000 mothers incarcerated as of 2009. This striking number is worse knowing that only one state, Pennsylvania passed the testing with an A. Virginia failed the test. Most of the women are nonviolent, first-time offenders, and about two-thirds have at least one child under 18.

"We know some states that are doing the right thing that don't have policies, and some states that have good policies that aren't doing the right thing," she said. "We want prisoners and their families to know what they're entitled to." Jill Morrison, a co-author of the report and senior counsel at the law center, said the use of shackles during childbirth has abated in part because of individual women who've taken a stand against the practice after enduring it.

Grumpy Old Man Kills Roomate For Singing



Not William Leo McDougall but no less grumpy.

 Talk about grumpy! 81-year-old man, William Leo McDougall of Laguna Woods was charged with one felony count of murder. Allegedly, McDougall used a metal rod to kill his 94-year-old roommate at a Laguna Woods rehabilitation center, authorities said Monday.

If convicted, He faces up to 25 years to life in prison. McDougall was recovering from hip surgery at the Palm Terrace Healthcare Center. Manh Van Nguyen began singing in Vietnamese and made McDougall angry and took a metal rod from the closet and began striking Nguyen on the head. The alleged attacker then had to be restrained by the healthcare staff. Nguyen was also recovering from hip surgery when the attack occurred. McDougall pled not guilty in Orange County Superior Court at his arraignment in Santa Ana.

Lindsay Lohan Goes Directly To Jail. Do Not Pass Go. Do Not Collect $200.

Lindsay Lohan a.k.a. Miss Snow Globe of America 2010 was ordered back to jail again today for violating her probation.

It was a very brief hearing in that Judge Elden Fox laid down the sentence. The Judge called the hearing following a bench warrant he issued for Lohan based on a probation report "indicating a positive test for a controlled substance." Under the terms of her probation, if Lohan missed a drug test or got a positive result, she could face 30 days in jail. But it was ultimately the decision of the judge whether to send Lohan to jail or try another round of drug treatment. Guess he didn't think rehab would be in the cards for her this time.

Awaiting further information from probation officials, the Judge ordered Lohan into custody without bail and set an Oct. 22 court date. This is just to give him time to figure out her condition based on the positive test. Lohan's attorney asked to be heard on the issue of bail but the judge declined.

Brought out of the court in handcuffs, the 24-year-old actress showed no emotion. Maybe she thought it would be seen as only an act?  

Letters to Gov. Quinn on behalf of the Carroll Family

I try to feature family based legal news on my blog and I figured this was very relavant to my non-audience. This is a dear work friend of mine and I want to spread the word as much as possible so here it is.

Note posted by Dannielle Carroll on Facebook:

Most of you know that my father was killed in 1996, when I was a sophomore in high school.  For those of you that don't, I have included a link below to a news article that covered the story at the time.  My family recently found out that one of the men convicted of his murder has petitioned the Governor of Illinois for clemency and release.  We, as citizens across the country who believe in the justice system, can not let this happen.

I am asking you to please take a moment to read my message below and then do two things.  First, write or email a letter to the Governor of Illinois, Patrick Quinn, as soon as you can.  The clemency hearing is scheduled for October 8, 2010.  Second, please send this message on to your family and friends.  If this man is released, he will be living among the rest of us -- and can choose to live anywhere in the country.  My father's death was not an accidental death. This attack was unprovoked and unwarranted. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart.  My family really appreciates it.

Back in 1998, Richard Fikejs was convicted of the 1996 murder of three men, including my father, Kevin Carroll.  At the time, my dad was 39, happily married almost 20 years to my mom, Lynn, and the father to six children, including two foster children (Dannielle, Heather, Frank, Jennifer, Bridget, and Jessica).

Richard Fikejs was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole.  He recently (unsuccessfully) attempted suicide.  Based upon this, his mother has petitioned the governor for clemency, stating that her son is emotionally unstable/unfit to be in prison.  She has been granted a hearing next month in order for the governor to determine clemency.  If it is granted, Richard Fikejs' will be immediately released and his record will be expunged. 

An example text for your letter is below, but please feel free to add or write whatever you like. Keep in mind that his mother is asking for his release from prison with no record of him ever being there!!! He was convicted of murdering three men with no provocation. Thanks again for your help. My family really appreciates it.

Office of the Governor
James R. Thompson Center
100 W. Randolph, 16-100
Chicago, IL 60601

......... SHE MADE IT SO EASY FOR YOU THAT SHE EVEN GAVE YOU A SAMPLE!....
Dear Governor Quinn,

This letter is regarding the upcoming clemency hearing on behalf of IDOC inmate Richard Fikejs. He was convicted in 1998 of the October 12, 1996 murder of three men, including Kevin Thomas Carroll.

(Please insert a statement here about how you knew my dad or my family. Some examples are:

1. Mr. Carroll grew up on the same street as me. I remember meeting him while growing up, and was actually a classmate of his daughter, Heather Carroll. He was very devoted to his family and his murder was devastating to our entire neighborhood.
2. Mr. Carroll was a member of my church, St. Denis.  He was actively involved in Boy Scouts, of which I/my son was a member.
3. Mr. Carroll was a volunteer with the St. Rita band, helping to set up halftime shows during football games.  His dauther, Dannielle Carroll, was a fellow member of the band with me.
4. Mr. Carroll was an active member of the community.  Growing up on the southside of Chicago, he attended Tonti School and Hubbard High School.  He coached Little League in Merrionette Park.  He raised his family here and was a member of St. Denis Parish.  He could frequently be seen enjoying our neighborhood, whether it was bringing his kids to Marquette Park to go fishing, or sitting at his kids softball games on Saturday mornings at Hayes Park.  He was a proud supporter of the Boy Scouts and volunteered with the Chicago Area Council, spending summer weekends completing repair projects at Owasippe Scout Reservation so that all Chicago area scouts would have the chance to enjoy the outdoors. 
5. etc.......Also include something about how you knew our family....classmate, friend, family, concerned citizen, etc.)

His death in 1996 was devastating.  Not only was a valued community member killed, but my own sense of security was tested.

In 1998, we believed that justice had been served when Richard Fikejs was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. When I found out that his mother was petitioning for clemency due to Mr. Fikejs' recent unsuccessful suicide attempt, I was shocked. There is absolutely no reason why Mr. Fikejs should be allowed to enjoy the benefits of free society after committing such a horrific crime. I hope you feel the same way and DENY this clemency request on October 8, 2010.

Sincerely,xxxxxxx
123 Main St.
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 123-4567

Thank you for your support. If you read my blog, you understand how important family is to me. So let's make things happen for this family. Thanks.

Justice being served...

Six more New Orleans police officers among them Officers Kenneth Bowen, Robert Gisevius, Anthony Villavaso and former officer Robert Faulcon have been indicted in connection with the shooting deaths of two people and the wounding of four others who were walking on the Danziger Bridge a few days after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.

Also charged were two supervisors who were accused of helping cover up the incident and obstructing the investigation.

Victims were James Brissette, a 17-year-old city resident, and Ronald Madison, a 40-year-old man who suffered mental disabilities and was shot in the back. The officers opened fire on the group, who were on their way to get food and supplies from a supermarket, according to the indictment. Brissette was shot and killed while four other family members were wounded.

"Today marks an important step forward in administering justice, in healing community wounds, in improving public safety, and in restoring public trust in this city's police department," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said at a news conference in New Orleans unveiling the charges.

"We will not tolerate wrongdoing by those who are sworn to protect the public," he said.

The four officers charged with the killings could face the death penalty or life in prison. Faulcon quit the department in 2005.

The two supervisors were Arthur Kaufman and Gerard Dugue. Kaufman could face up to 120 years in prison while Dugue, who is now retired, could face up to 70 years in prison.