Picture This: Sara Jane Moore Released
Add this to the list of those we’d never thought we’d see walk free again. The woman who wanted to kill a president is free today.
Sara Jane Moore, the self-styled radical who earned an infamous role in the politics of 1970s America by trying to assassinate President Gerald Ford, was paroled Monday from a Bay Area federal prison after serving more than 30 years, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons said.
Moore, 77, who was serving a life sentence, was released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin (that’s the same facility with Stella Nickell, who we’re sure will never be released), and it was not immediately known where she went, bureau spokesman Mike Truman said.
Wonder what Squeaky Fromme is up to these days?
January 1st, 2008 at 2:03 am
LMAO about Squeaky.
At 77 what harm can she do now? I am sure that when inmates get old they are likely to be released if it is even possible. States hate footing the bill for all the medical attention these old timers need.
January 1st, 2008 at 3:01 am
“States hate footing the bill for all the medical attention these old timers need.”
Then maybe we should release her buddy, Charles Manson as well. He’s getting pretty old too. Trying to kill the president is something that people should never be released from no matter how old or seemingly benign they become.
January 1st, 2008 at 3:37 am
[...] Drawer2000 wrote an interesting post today on Picture This: Sara Jane Moore ReleasedHere’s a quick excerpt [...]
January 1st, 2008 at 6:58 am
This is another in a series of releases for the demons of a prior generation. Arthur Bremer maxed out his sentence in Maryland. I could see one or two more released (possibly including Fromme) in the next couple of years. Remember, a number of them are actually eligible for parole. It is not inconceivable that some you would think would not stand a chance could actually get released. (Manson is not one of those people)
January 1st, 2008 at 7:33 am
Personally, I would never have this bitch Sara Jane Moore released from prison. In the USA, it should be mandated that all assassins, even would-be assassins, die in prison. Political assassinations strike at the very heart of a country’s polity, community.
January 1st, 2008 at 7:40 am
I’m very surprised they released her.
January 1st, 2008 at 9:30 am
There is a lot more to this story.
http://www.stltoday.com
I did not realize:
that she had been arrested earlier that day, had her gun taken away from her; she was released and went out and bought another gun.
She had worked for the relief organization that Hearst had set up as part of the release of Patti Hearst; which is where she made her contacts with the SLA.
She was actually an FBI informant, and was discharged a few months prior to the assassination attempt.
Would really make and interesting book or movie, what a glimpse back into the 70’s.
January 1st, 2008 at 9:37 am
And:
She was married five times;
She escaped from a West Virginia prison and was recaptured;
Sipple, the agent who pushed her arm up and deflected the shot, was exposed as gay in the media, which caused estrangement from his family.
Again, a very weird story.
January 1st, 2008 at 9:46 am
Maybe she was a bit off her rocker or maybe she was trying to find a way out or maybe she was asked to disappear? 30 years ago the FBI was a bit of a dirty organization and didn’t play nice, which was more often times necessary than not. But the attempt was half-assed (at best) and she made a phone threat prior which led to a ticket??? … perhaps she was hoping for an arrest rather than just a slap on the wrist but unfortunately that didn’t happen. I’m far from a conspiracy theorist but we don’t know what or who she was involved with or even is she was involved at a level that warranted such a drastic measure in her mind. She’s 77 years old. All the people she may have feared are either dead or retired and if anyone fears her now…well then, they have more of chance getting shot by their own shadow than by her at this point. I do however, feel that it’s a bad message to have released her. Is she a treat, I highly doubt it. But a life sentence is a life sentence.
January 1st, 2008 at 10:45 am
I wonder where the heck she’ll go? How many relatives who *knew* her would still be alive or able and willing to house her?
January 1st, 2008 at 11:16 am
Probably to a nursing home EM.
From what I have read, Leslie Van Houten is the only Manson family member that has a snow balls chance of being paroled. A&E [I think] has aired her and several others parole hearings and they are interesting to watch.
Unfortunately a life sentence is only about 25 years in prison terminology.
January 1st, 2008 at 1:52 pm
She was married five times and had four children. I would guess she is going to live with one of her children or grandchildren. If she does go to a nursing home, I guess that goes on the taxpayers’ tab.
This is why I still support the death penalty. As Sophie has said, life means about 25 years and death means you might die a natural death in prison before the state dummy downs the sentence or they can exhaust all the appeals. No matter how horrific the crime, or, as in this case, the threat to national security it may be, eventually we lose sight of the crime and the victim’s loss and think only of the criminal. Moore didn’t deserve a death sentence but neither did she deserve her freedom. I doubt she is a threat to anyone but that is not the point. Justice is about the crime that was committed and not about the eventual remorse shown or not shown by the criminal. With rare exception, everyone is ultimately sorry, finds God, and when they do they expect to be forgiven and let out. I mean, they have lives to live for Pete’s sake. There are criminals whose crimes are so horrific, perverted, and premeditated (Michele Anderson, Joseph McEnroe, Joseph Duncan, Lisa Montgomery, to mention far too many) that when they grow old, become pathetic and frail, find religion, or say they are sorry that people might forget how evil their crimes were and the victim’s extreme pain and loss. Misplaced pity will determine they should be given their freedom. If a person commits a crime as horrific as those committed by that aforementioned list of criminals, you deserve to be punished and not merely housed until people forget the magnitude of the crime.
Sadly, families and watchgroups must keep a constant vigil to make sure the more horrific of criminals actually serve their entire sentence. I read that Moore could not be paroled until Gerald Ford had passed away. Whether it is a reality or not, Tex Watson is sure hoping for a parole and he did actually murder people. Why should he ever walk free from prison? Because he is “born again,” or has a lucrative business selling his faith, or has a family to support. (All acquired while in prison) Imagine Michele Anderson in 30 years walking free from prison. And don’t think it couldn’t happen. No one expected Moore to ever be a free woman again.
January 1st, 2008 at 2:21 pm
The truth of the matter is that our penal system is defunct at best. We now have all these mandatory minimums and truth in sentencing laws and too many people getting these sentences. With not enough prisons to house everyone DOC has to parole these convicts. They don’t have a choice. The crimes that are being committed today by people like Anderson and McEnroe make people like Moore seem like a contestant for sainthood. Especially now that she is 77 years old and already been in prison for more than 30 years. Frankly, it is fine with me that they are letting Moore out now. I don’t feel as threatened by her in society as I do the violent offenders that are being released. Personally I don’t think one person’s life is more valuable than another’s. Doesn’t matter if it is the president, the pope or you and me. The typical person wouldn’t get 30 years for attempted murder.
January 1st, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Sophie says:
“Frankly, it is fine with me that they are letting Moore out now. I don’t feel as threatened by her in society as I do the violent offenders that are being released”
Well this isn’t just about how “threatened” we feel, it’s about justice. It’s also not about comparing crimes, there’s always somebody who’s done something more heinous.
Very well said Compassrose.
January 1st, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Actually NOW there is truth in sentencing. LIFE as Sophie said means about 30 years. LWOP, means what it is, you aren’t getting out. EVER.
Unfortunately for the Manson bunch and others LWOP didn’t exist back then.
Everything else aside, this woman wasn’t a contestant for DP or LWOP, and I wish her well for the rest of her life. (as did Ford btw). She served her sentence, and I consider her a victim of the Vietnam War and all the craziness it caused. I was pretty young, but I remember a lot of casualties. The living ones that is.
Justice was served in this case. IMO anyway.
January 1st, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Everything is relative A. Our penal system sucks and that is why people are being paroled when they don’t deserve it. If they are going to parole convicts it may as well be the ones that are least threatening to our society. That is all I am saying.
January 1st, 2008 at 3:01 pm
“Actually NOW there is truth in sentencing. LIFE as Sophie said means about 30 years. LWOP, means what it is, you aren’t getting out. EVER.”
I beg to differ. My former husband was convicted of 1st degree murder and sentenced to TWO consecutive LWOP sentences. He was paroled after serving 25 years.
January 1st, 2008 at 3:01 pm
On the flip side, there are people that deserve parole who dont get it. Which is why there is overcrowding.
January 1st, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Rae, if he was given LWOP, then he couldnt have gotten parole unless his sentence was commuted for whatever reason.
LWOP is what it means, there is no parole. You dont come up for it.
January 1st, 2008 at 3:04 pm
And convicted of TWO LWOP sentences is kind of weird anyway. The WOP part would make the second one redundant.
January 1st, 2008 at 3:09 pm
He probably got to serve both sentences concurrently Rae and that is why he got out after 25 years. Serving sentences concurrently is more BS in my opinion. Another penal system short cut so people don’t have to stay in prison as long as they deserve to. One of the biggest problems is that once a prisoner is in the custody of DOC, they have the control of when someone is paroled. Not the Judge that imposed the sentence.
January 1st, 2008 at 3:13 pm
What part of WOP are you guys not getting? This sentence wasnt even available until 1987.
WOP means you DONT get out. Ever. Life before that yes, meant about 30 years.
January 1st, 2008 at 3:17 pm
I understand your points and you’re absolutely right that the system is broken, but letting the wrong people out of jail is not the solution. We don’t have so many attempted presidential assassins in the penal system that they are clogging up the jails?
I absolutely agree the life of one person is as valuable as the next, but the responsibility held by people in positions of powers do make them a target and any harm committed against them does have wider and deeper implications. If Moore had succeeded, the outcome of Ford’s death or injury would have been much different than had it been me — vital as I may be in my very tiny part of the world. Letting people take pop shots at the president or other people in positions of power or prominence just because they are pissed off at them without serious reprecussions is a dangerous position.
January 1st, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I get it Sophie. It just irritates me, that’s all.
Rae makes the point well, which is exactly the kind of crap I’m talking about.
With parole, without parole, life, 25 years to life, whatever…it’s another crapshoot situation if you ask me.
And yes Compassrose, the message this parole sends is even more dangerous in this day and age…when people don’t miss their targets.
January 1st, 2008 at 3:37 pm
“What part of WOP are you guys not getting”
The part where it actually happens Melissa.
January 1st, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Some part of me thinks that if they would put to death (quickly, without a bunch of appeals gumming up the works) the ones that have committed heinous crimes, the over-crowding might be alleviated a little. Like Manson. Why are they keeping him alive? Like Lisa Mongomery. Once the verdict comes down give them one appeal. If it’s denied, then they should be put to death within the next 24-72 hours. The death penalty is intended to be a deterrent, not a decades long invitation to your own private cell.
I know that sounds harsh, but look where we are now. They have released a person that, had she been able to, would have killed the President. Not only that, but one of her few options for housing is to be in a federally funded nursing home. So taxpayers pay for her to be in prison or taxpayers pay for her to be in a nursing home . . .
I’m not suggesting we just put people to death willy-nilly, but now it seems like there is no particular standard when enforcing the laws. Some people who have slaughtered entire families are still living while others who killed only one person have been put to death. I had some people in mind to mention regarding this fact, but work keeps getting in the way of my ranting time, so their names have slipped my mind. Anyway, something needs to change and I think that clearing death row would be a good place to start.
January 1st, 2008 at 4:09 pm
“He probably got to serve both sentences concurrently Rae”
No, sorry, the sentences were assigned consecutively. I understand the difference.
I understand what WOP means, Melissa. But, I know what sentences he received. And, if you’d like to debate it further, let me just say that I was there when he was sentenced, which was before 1987, and the sentence was two life terms (one sentence for the murder, one sentence for the special circumstances/weapons charge) without the possibility of parole, to be served consecutively. I have the alerts that I received from the prison system every time he appeared before the parole board, and each of those clearly defines two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. At no time was either sentence commuted. I was there, then and now. I’m quite clear on what took place. In fact, I’ll bet I am clearer on it than just about anyone else, since I and our daughter are the people most directly affected by his release.
Now, which part of that do YOU not understand?
January 1st, 2008 at 4:17 pm
You are right Lisa. I like the way Saddam Hussein was handled. And that would help with the prison over crowding.
The problem now is that we put people in prison left and right [particularly for white collar crimes] but we weren’t doing that 30 years ago when Moore was sent to prison. I am certain they could have made provisions to keep Moore if they had really wanted to but someone evidently felt she has served enough time and that is their decision to make. I agree with Melissa that justice was served in her case.
I don’t think that every state has LWOP option. Texas didn’t use to but I think their legislature recently enacted that sentence. Every state has its own guide lines for releasing convicted felons. As long as it is left up to humans to make these decisions there will never be 100% agreement about who gets out and how long they serve time.
January 1st, 2008 at 4:18 pm
You just said it. The sentence (which was NOT a sentence before 1987) was life. Not life WOP.
Dont get bitchy on me. It wasnt a sentence before then. NOW WOP means something, then, not so much.
January 1st, 2008 at 4:21 pm
And there is nothing TO debate btw. The WOP part means they dont SEE a parole board. They dont have the option.
January 1st, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Hot button topic apparently. Sophie you arent seriously thinking that we should take up Middle Eastern standards for our penal codes are you?
January 1st, 2008 at 4:38 pm
I believe we need to modify our penal code and some Middle Eastern practices would benefit us but I don’t think we need to adopt all of them.
January 1st, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Which ones? I seriously think that thinking taking up ANY middle eastern penal codes is dangerous.
For example, DP for adulterous women. Some of who are found guilty of adultery because they were raped, and didn’t have a male witness to testify.
January 1st, 2008 at 6:24 pm
The sentence was life without the possibility of parole. I was there. You weren’t.
But, whatever you say, Melissa. You know all.
January 1st, 2008 at 6:36 pm
Then why did he get parole Rae? This is just common sense here. He either appealed and was granted a lighter sentence or not.
But the fact is, there really wasnt even the sentence before 1987.
You only have to look it up, I dont know it all.
LWOP isnt even a sentence in all states for God’s sake.
If I am going by your word then I am not believing it btw. Because it wasnt even an option in the time you said he got it.
January 1st, 2008 at 7:25 pm
I was shocked when I heard about this. I really thought we had a law that prevents anyone like her from being released.
I think this one is going to come back to bite someone in the ass. Just a matter of time.
January 1st, 2008 at 7:53 pm
He was paroled on the grounds that he was convicted on the basis of vicarious liability and, with rehabilitation, posed no threat to society. Total crap in my opinion, but that’s what the parole board said.
But, if it wasn’t an option during that time, then this is interesting:
Sandy Shaw. Convicted of murder in 1986. Sentenced to two consecutive LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE sentences-in 1986. First parole hearing? 1996.
Here’s the article: http://fourohfouram.blogspot.com/2005_07_01_archive.html
Here’s the Dept. of Corrections link:
http://fourohfouram.blogspot.com/2005_07_01_archive.html
Mary Yates, convicted of murder in 1983. sentenced to 2 life sentence WITH PAROLE in the same year. Paroled after 30 years? Nope. Paroled after 13.
http://www.doc.nv.gov/notis/detail.php?offender_id=22047
Ricky Sechrest. Convicted of murder and aggravated kidnapping in 1985. Sentenced to two concurrent life sentences WITHOUT PAROLE same year.
http://www.doc.nv.gov/notis/detail.php?offender_id=18908
January 1st, 2008 at 7:54 pm
And I never made the claim that LWOP is a sentence in all states. I didn’t even suggest that it was.
January 1st, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Rae. Can you come up with ONE offense that was not committed by a teenager?
Was your husband a teenager when convicted?
January 1st, 2008 at 8:01 pm
She should not have been released. I was told by a California law enforcement officer that the average murderer in CA only serves about seven years. I don’t know if this is true but I think it is.
January 1st, 2008 at 8:04 pm
You know, its not worth the words. Teenage LWOP and DP will always be contested. Appeals will always happen. This is such.
In the case of this woman, she served her sentence. She actually DIDNT want to be let out (institutionalized).
It is what it is.
January 1st, 2008 at 8:06 pm
I did. Ricky Sechrest was not a teenager when he committed his crimes-he was 21, and 22 when he was convicted. My former husband was also 22 when he was convicted.
What do their ages have to do with the fact that they received LWOP sentences before 1987?
January 1st, 2008 at 8:14 pm
And for the record, I think that attempted murder should be judged the same as murder. They WANTED to do it.
And also for the record John Hinkley is allowed out of the hospital for periods of time. He is not perceived as a danger to anyone but Jodie Foster. Which is why he still does not have complete freedom.
January 1st, 2008 at 8:16 pm
BeCAUSE Rae. It wasnt a LAW before 1987. LWOP wasnt a sentence before then.
January 1st, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Maybe law is the wrong word. But a sentence.
January 1st, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Rae, out of curiosity, how has your ex-husband done since his parole?
January 2nd, 2008 at 3:02 am
Almost one year to the day since the passing of Former United States President Gerald Ford, the liberal activist who tried to kill him walks free.
Most people believe that attempting to assassinate a US President should and normally does result in a life in prison for the would – be assassin. Sara Jane Moore is proof that they are wrong. What’s more, her prison record is dotted with conduct violations and an attempted escape in 1978.
Another interesting detail of this case is that Sara Jane Moore was successful at convincing a federal judge to block a prison warden from taking away an inmate’s cell keys back in the summer of 2000.
So why would would a federal prison’s parole board free Sara Jane Moore?
Inmates with life sentences can petition for parole after a staggeringly brief 10 years. This makes it possible to receive a life sentence and be walking the street again in little more than a two-term Presidency.
Presidential assassins can take shots at elected officials, skip two elections and be back in business for more political activism just in time to pop a new President if a parole board so desires.
Moore was released under a federal law that makes parole mandatory for inmates who have served at least 30 years of a life sentence without getting into trouble, according to Thomas Hutchison, chief of staff of the U.S. Parole Commission.
Never-minding the fact that Moore’s conduct was not without incidence during her incarceration, the real outrage is that our own laws mandate the release of such prisoners in just three decades. This is good news for the John Hinckley Jr’s in our prison system, and the future activists who feel like changing the course of history.
Now Listen To This….
Michigan’s second-highest court says that anyone involved in an extramarital fling can be prosecuted for first-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony offense where Life in prison is within the mandatory sentencing guidelines for that state.
That’s right folks, our laws have become so politically and legally skewed that attempting to blow away a US President is nearly on par in the eyes of the law as an ordinary drunken fling. It’s quite an outlandish thought considering many of our own Presidents have been caught up in extramarital affairs.
Danny Vice
The Weekly Vice
http://weeklyvice.blogspot.com
January 2nd, 2008 at 5:57 am
I am curious Melissa about where you got the info about there not being LWOP before 1987. I cannot find anything that says that and I checked in our Supreme Court Law Library yesterday. I did read where the Federal Government abolished the parole option for individuals that were given a FEDERAL life sentence AFTER 12/31/87. That is the only reference I found pertaining to 1987 but it doesn’t say that LWOP was enacted then. I have lived in Texas and other states that didn’t have LWOP and I think that there is only one now that doesn’t offer that option. I’ll have to keep looking and see what I can find. It is very interesting. I was surprised to find that there is not much written about LWOP [at least in the Law Library] but there are volumes on the DP.
So far the only Middle Eastern practice that I would like to see here is more swift and timely action for people who have been given the DP. I don’t know much about other ME practices. We were talking about Sadaam Hussien earlier and that is what I was referring to. I said nothing about other ME practices and the rape of women. Having said that, I am not a proponent of the DP but I do believe if we are going to have it, we ought to use it. I think it is chicken shit on our part to hand down a sentence like that and then not follow through.
January 2nd, 2008 at 6:42 am
“BeCAUSE Rae. It wasnt a LAW before 1987. LWOP wasnt a sentence before then.”
Yeah, it was. I provided you with evidence that it was, since you said you couldn’t take my word for it.
You claim LWOP or LWP weren’t sentences before 1987, but I can find no evidence of that anywhere. Can you?
If you can’t back up what you say, then shut the hell up before you call me a liar.
January 2nd, 2008 at 6:52 am
“Compassrose Says:
January 1st, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Rae, out of curiosity, how has your ex-husband done since his parole?”
I don’t really keep in touch with him, except where it concerns our daughter, but I understand he is doing well. He turned his life around in prison, from what his counselor told me – finished college, stayed out of trouble, and was pretty involved in a program helping the youth offenders not become repeat offenders. From what I’ve heard, he’s living very quietly-just work and home.
I imagine it would be hard, though-to be on the outside after 25 years in prison. Lot of changes. Truthfully, I wish him well, but I really don’t want anything more to do with him than I have to.
January 2nd, 2008 at 7:20 am
As a point of fact, if you were to go here:
http://tinyurl.com/2ecvld
And scroll down, it says quite clearly that California alone has had the LWOP sentence for over 25 years-or since before 1983.
January 2nd, 2008 at 9:10 am
Thanks for the information. I have often wondered what happens to people that get those second chances. It would appear your EX had some motivation and/or genuine remorse that allowed him to get his life in order. People do and can change but it has to come from within. It sounds like he was making better choices before he left prison and wanted to be a different person.
January 2nd, 2008 at 9:41 am
“People do and can change but it has to come from within.”
I agree with this, but I also think that a convict needs to admit to and take responsibility for what he or she has done. With so many “not guilty” pleas and never ending appeals, it just seems like so few people truly man up to their crime. Without this, there can be no true change within, imo.
January 2nd, 2008 at 10:02 am
That being said A, there are too many arrogant attorneys that don’t advise their clients to be honest and fess up. Because that isn’t their job: To save the tax payers and the victims and their families the moneraty and emotional time and costs of a trial. To do what is really right. They are too busy trying to be the greatest lawyers in America and getting their mug on TV. And that is their right to make the government prove their case. But look at the cost, especially the moral cost. It is no wonder kids are doing all kinds of crazy BS today. Look at all their role models.
January 2nd, 2008 at 10:24 am
In my ex’s case, it was a situation of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and paying for it dearly. He was convicted on the basis of vicarious liability-he didn’t commit the crime, but he was present when it happened. I don’t excuse his responsibility, but it is a story too complicated to tell here-suffice to say, he was not a violent man. He faced up to what had happened, admitted his bad judgment, pled guilty, and he served his time without complaint or trouble.
I visited him not long before his release-sort of a way of closing ‘our’ chapter peacefully. He was pretty nervous about restarting his life, but I think, more than anything else, he just wants to keep his nose clean and retain his freedom.
I’m not trying to paint a rosy view of him, and I don’t condone what happened by any means – a life was lost, and nothing excuses that. But, I think, unlike some convicts, he learned a very hard lesson.
January 2nd, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Rae–I respect the fact that he took responsibility and admitted his guilt. There is a big difference between being and evil liar and being a fool.
Sophie–I don’t like defense atty’s but I think the ultimate responsibility for truth telling resides with the perpetrator of the crime.
It’s basic stuff: admit to it, be sorry, pay the consequence and THEN move on.
January 2nd, 2008 at 2:03 pm
I agree with you A but most criminals aren’t moral enough to do that on their own. And give them a defense attorney and you know that honesty isn’t going to happen. I respect Rae’s ex for handeling his situation the way he did. Just from the few things Rae has said about him, he sounds like he use to be a pure asshole. But if he did fess up and accept the consequences, and change his life in prison, then there is at least one redeeming quality this man has. I wish him the best now that he is out. I hope he is young enough that he can still have a good life.
January 2nd, 2008 at 2:05 pm
There is a lot of confusion here on LWOP because, as far as I can tell, no one has taken the time to look up the relevant statutes for the particular states, and any subsequent revisions. This can be easily done these days through your local or area libraries if they have subscriptions to Lexus-Nexus but more importantly West Law. Such a phrase, LWOP, may or may not be used in the actual statute, but the issues is really what is written in the subsequent clauses. And also, what has been written/passed in SENTENCING guidelines in each state. These change state to state EVERY year, and continue as a very hot-button topic among everyone involved in the Federal system. And then there are the CHANGES that are not made, and re Sandy Shaw & really everyone sentenced in Nevada, that’s the key point.
The blogger linked to under Shaw above wrote the following: “for some reason the Nevada State Board of Pardons voted 5 to 3 in November of 2004 to commute Ms Shaw’s sentence to make her eligible for parole.” Well, whatever the specific rationale for voting the change in status, they were just following the Nevada law that created the board in terms of procedure. They did so because the Nevada legislature while perhaps “supposedly” creating LWOP did NOT strip the NBOP of making such adjustments. And has show no inclination to do so. And wisely so in my estimation.
BECAUSE prosecutors, judges and, yes, juries, a system I revere, make mistakes ALL THE TIME. ALL THE TIME. Innocent people are in jail/prison much more so than you ‘throw-away-the-keys” types are ever willing to admit. There ought to be a way in each state and in the federal system as well to more effectively correct mistakes. But that isn’t the case.
And even the classic way of doing so–executive pardons–is much under utilized even for people long-passed their sentences who are now and have been for a long-time truly effective citizens. Bush will actually set a record for FEWEST number of pardons, a travesty of what the thing is supposed to do. And even this week, Romney has trumpted that he did NOT issue an executive at all as a MA governor–as if that was a good thing. And this despite the several recommendations from the just-going-about-its-job Pardons Board, recommendations from people he appointed! Here’s the case I refer to, a juvenile court case that disables a 30 year old man from being a FULL US Citizen, even after meritorious service in Iraq, where he was prepared to die for this country and those rights.
http://tinyurl.com/3988v2
Finally, many states have truly effective LWOP because judges have the right to STACK the sentences within guidelines for almost any crime. Judges do this so much in Georgia, as a result of county DA’s overcharging on each “crime”, that its a contributory factor in that’s state’s prison population explosion. Then too several states, Georgia is one, have added “hard” sentences, specific years truly without parole possibilites; dui crimes especially with homicide involved.
Without discretionary check points built in, from the judges thorugh BOP, more & more innocent people will be incarcerated as simply more & more people are incarcerated.
Finally, as to the Nevada situation, from the minimal record shown, Ms Shaw looks to be on what the Brits call “life license”. She will never be off parole (it appears) & can in fact be returned to prison for just about any little thing. She’s listed as “medium” security on the sheet which relates to her level of supervision outside. The BOP it appears made the charge change, as it legally could, based on evidence that you’d have to write to them to get copies of. Having done that, they WAITED through two additionalhearing cycles before granting the parole to. As the Idaho BOP main page puts it, parole is not a right of the prisoner but an act of grace authorized by the state legislature speaking on behalf of its citizens that rehabilitation can be recognized.
From what Rae wrote, and its just my interpretation, her former husband was likely capable of acting as he does now on parole, 25 years on from the murder, after 10 to 15 years into the sentence, if not sooner. If so, then those extra 10 to 15 years were a total waste of his potentially productive, rehabilitated time, and of taxpayers money in warehousing him. Kansas is waking up to just this issue, re higher & higher levels of total numbers of people jailed & for longer periods and, across the political spectrum, has concluded that this is not working public policy, either for the people involved (o & v if any & LE too) and is certainly not working for the general citizenry re increasingly a budget buster.
January 2nd, 2008 at 2:29 pm
from the 2005 hearing re Shaw:
“They [the NBOP] accept the fact that she’s improved herself so much that the only reason to leave her in custody anymore is for the pure punishment factor. But there comes a time that even the punishment factor really serves no purpose and that’s Sandy’s situation,” [her attorney Bill] Terry said.
“I’ve done everything I can do here, ya know, to make me a better person, to help me to grow, to progress, I’ve done everything you can do. There’s nothing I can do right now. I’m just doing time,” Shaw said.
But that’s exactly the point that Deputy District Attorney Clark Peterson is hoping to get across to the pardons board. “You need to remember that she hasn’t even served 20 years on this. When do you say that essentially enough is enough? In my opinion, justice says that the people of the state of Nevada should have Sandy Shaw in custody for a little bit longer,” said Clark Peterson, Clark County District Attorney’s office. The D.A.’s office will oppose Sandy’s request for parole at a hearing slated for Friday.
However, Dave Hatch, the metro investigator who was assigned to this case back in 1986 has sent this letter to the pardon’s board. “Acknowledging her involvement in this case is exactly as she describes and that this agency has no interest in denying her commutation of sentence.”
http://tinyurl.com/2msd9j
And, the devil being in the details, her original lawyer did her no favors, something which the DA’s office apparently does not dispute, i.e. there was deal on the table for a much shorter sentence which the defense atorney persuaded her to reject. See above link.
Shaw was released Monday Dec 17 2007 after being granted parole on Sept. 10, 2007. That release has unleashed in the comments section the underlying small-town story of the event.
http://tinyurl.com/ysox8w
Also, I do need to correct what I said about life parole in previous post. The NDOC personal sheet indicates that in this case parole is on both charges for which she was convicted, each maximum term for parole to 120 months or 10 years each, and each parole tobe served CONSECUTIVELY. The earliest that Shaw can be considered clear of all charges is 2027, when she’ll be 56, unless she gets hauled back for a violation, one of which I would presume would be for unauthorized drinking, traffic violations, etc. In effect, she has to be a Better Citizen than many of us here for the next 20 years in order to only semi-free of any obligations to her fellow citizens.
Seems punitive enough to me with more than enough pull-back strings attached. Would seem to me the people of Nevada are safe enough from Ms Shaw. Its the next unchecked teen that they don’t know about that would scare me, the kid falling through the mental health or dept of children structure.
January 2nd, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Robert M says:
“From what Rae wrote, and its just my interpretation, her former husband was likely capable of acting as he does now on parole, 25 years on from the murder, after 10 to 15 years into the sentence, if not sooner. If so, then those extra 10 to 15 years were a total waste of his potentially productive, rehabilitated time, and of taxpayers money in warehousing him”
What type of a message does this ultimately send Robert M? What is the life of the victim truly worth if we minimize the consequence for the crime?
You’re very logical and have some valid points, but even so, I disagree with your perspective.
Yes, some innocent people are wrongly convicted, but I would say it’s much more common for a guilty man to walk free. I would even venture to guess that many more get away with crime/murder than are ever locked up for it…not to mention let out early on appeal.
January 2nd, 2008 at 3:27 pm
An attorney I use to work for is now the prison commissioner for this state. He was appointed two years ago because our prisons here are severely over crowded and the former commissioner was blamed for it and fired. If you crunched the numbers, there weren’t a lot of people they could let out on parole, even with good time they had earned, to make a difference in the overcrowding. But he was faced with severe sanctions until he did something about it. So he did what anyone else would do in his situation. He went to work with each prison warden to determine, based on a number of things, which inmates were in for the least violent crimes and those that had served the most time.
What you are talking about A is the IDEAL. But it is not the reality of the situation. IDEALLY, every inmate would serve every single day of their sentence. Not to many people will argue that, certainly not me. But the reality of it is, for many reasons, we cannot house the majotiry of inmates for their entire sentences. Particularly life sentences. 30 and 40 years ago when these people were being handed these sentences, people weren’t living as long as they are now, there weren’t as many people [particularly women] being sent to prison, and there weren’t as many repeat offenders as there are today. This is why we have parole boards and prison commissioners, etc. If inmates had to do all their time, we wouldn’t need all these people to decide who gets out early and who does not.
You are right about the message it sends. I believe that is another reason we have overcrowded prisons. No one is afraid of being sent up anymore. There was a time when that was the worst thing in the world that could happen to a person. But hell, today, everybody gets to go and there isn’t the awful stigma attached. Martha Stewart is back at the top of her game.
January 2nd, 2008 at 3:59 pm
You are right Sophie – the laws I read were the Federal ones, and I apologize Rae some states DID have it before 1987, though not many.
But the fact is, if you are covicted to LWOP (now anyway), in order to GET parole the sentence has to be commuted to make them eligible for parole. (you are right Sophie that there is little to find, and Robert yes Lexus Nexus is a great source)
When Moore was convicted (federally), there was no option for no parole.
And for the record, John Hinkley was found not guilty by reason of insanity and is a resident of a mental hospital.
January 2nd, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Here is an article I cut & pasted so you can see what we are dealing with. We had to move a lot of prisoners to other states because they couldn’t be released but I assure you that many did get an early release to ease the back log.
Prison commissioner Allen says backlog will be cleared early
Associated Press
Desiree Hunter
June 19, 2006
(AP) — With a court hearing Tuesday in the long-running suit to remove state inmates more promptly from county jails, Alabama’s new prisons chief says he can eliminate the backlog by summer’s end and, unlike commissioners before him, keep it that way.
After months of missed deadlines and the threat of jail time for the department’s head, Richard Allen says he’ll be able to beat Circuit Judge William Shashy’s Sept. 5 deadline to clear the entire backlog. It has swelled to as high as 2,800 and dipped to zero since the Alabama Association of County Commissions first filed suit in 1992; it was slightly under 600 when Shashy ruled.
“We’re moving the prisoners out, we’re doing everything we can within our resources and probably … in August, before the summer’s out, I think we’ll be down to zero,” Allen said. “We did exactly what we said we were going to do.”
Allen is scheduled to report progress he’s made so far at the Tuesday status hearing before Shashy. The commissioner says the backlog is down to 440, just 40 shy of Shashy’s order that it be lowered from 585 to 400 by June 20.
Allen inherited the backlog and a contempt charge when he took over from Donal Campbell on March 1. Like Campbell before him, Allen faces possible jail time for failing to move all state prisoners from county jails within 30 days, a number stipulated in a 1994 court decree.
Shashy had originally set a May 31 deadline for the reduction to 400, but he stayed the order, which also called for the backlog to be reduced to 200 by June 27 and entirely cleared by Sept. 5.
Allen said he’ll bring Shashy up to speed on several developments Tuesday, including the finalization of a contract with Emerald Correctional Management of Shreveport, La., to house 600 of Alabama’s inmates in that state.
Emerald will house the inmates for $26.75 each per day – $1.25 cheaper than their original bid of $28, Allen said.
Two minimum-security locations, one in Montgomery and the other in Bullock County, have been converted to medium security facilities, creating 530 new medium security beds, Allen said. He said about 65 inmates have already moved into the Montgomery location.
Those developments, plus new sentencing guidelines that will tighten possible sentence ranges for drug crimes and nonviolent offenses, will be key to keeping the backlog at a minimum, Department of Corrections spokesman Brian Corbett said.
“One of the myriad of problems that Commissioner Allen or whoever is in the position has is that we have very little control over those who come to us. The problem is essentially created by sentencing laws which the Department of Corrections has no control over,” he said. “DOC is helpless in and of ourselves alone to solve this.”
Corbett said the backlog’s most recent high was 1,600 in 2003, but it was lowered to zero that year. He said the backlog remained clear for more than a year before it began rising again in 2005, peaking at 825 in December.
Sonny Brasfield, assistant director of the Alabama Association of County Commissions, agrees that prisons are overcrowded, but says it’s simply not a problem the already stressed jails should have to deal with.
He said amendments made to the 1994 order over the years have allowed sheriffs to send more inmates to the prisons instead of waiting for them to be picked up, but inmates are sometimes refused at the prisons.
“There’s nothing in the law that allows them to do that, to say, ‘We’re sorry, we’re full, there’s no room in the inn.’ What would happen if the sheriffs were to say, ‘We can’t arrest anybody this week, my jail is full?’,” Brasfield said.
“The counties don’t have the ability to stop the flow of inmates and the department has asserted they can do it administratively by backing the prisoners up in the jails.”
January 2nd, 2008 at 4:51 pm
I think that the drug cases (specifically the harsher sentence for crack cocaine as opposed to powder that has recently been enacted) is a good thing.
Drug USERS typically need rehab, not jail. In fact most addicts will find a way to get drugs in jail (not that they dont at rehab).
Freeing up prison space for the more dangerous offenders I have NO problem with.
January 2nd, 2008 at 5:03 pm
I agree about drug users but they usually get a prison sentence and not rehab. I do think that drug dealers, particularly those that don’t use, just sell it, ought to get prison time. But those aren’t the ones that typically get busted. Unfortunately we have these mandatory minimums for getting caught with drugs and it doesn’t matter if you have any priors or not. You know you are going to get a MINIMUM of 5 years. It is BS like this, along with several other things that is causing states to have prison overcrowding.
January 2nd, 2008 at 11:35 pm
I have thought for a while now that life without parol is the best way to keep the worst of the worst in. As you guys have seen recently a lot of states are commuting death sentences to life because they feel the death by injection is inhumane etc.
I don’t think any of the manson followers will get out before they die. I think manson is actually up again next year for parole. wonder what wacky stunt he’ll do this time…
January 3rd, 2008 at 6:11 am
I’ve only seen one state recently commute their death sentences, and that was New Jersey, when they abolished the death penalty. Not a “lot” of states. And, really, a moot decision anyway, because NJ hadn’t carried out an execution since 1961.
After the first one, Charles Manson has repeatedly refused his parole hearings. He’ll probably just do so again next year.
January 3rd, 2008 at 6:16 am
Oops, sorry…Manson won’t have another parole hearing until 2012. He’s been denied 11 times.
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Here is another example of commutation like NJ. It is Illinoise and it happened in 2003.
CHICAGO (AP) — Former Gov. George Ryan said Monday that the country should be “embarrassed by capital punishment,” but he once again stopped short of saying it should be abolished.
Ryan, speaking at a conference on violence at Chicago State University, called the death penalty “barbaric” even when the inmate is clearly guilty.
But after the speech, he said: “I still believe there may be a case for the death penalty.”
He said he wanted to see whether state lawmakers adopt any of the reforms recommended by a commission he appointed to examine the death penalty before he makes a statement on whether capital punishment should be abolished.
Just before leaving office in January, Ryan granted clemency to every inmate on Illinois’ death row before he left office in January.
During his speech Monday, Ryan talked about his journey from a staunch supporter of the death penalty to a man who had profound doubts. He told the audience about his decision to declare a moratorium on executions more than three years ago after 13 inmates on Illinois’ death row were found to have been wrongly convicted.
“I asked myself, ‘Where is the justice in a system that can allow this to happen?”‘ he said.
Ryan said the more he has examined capital punishment, the more he favors sentencing those who might otherwise receive the death penalty to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Further, Ryan suggested that doing away with the death penalty might benefit the families of victims because it would mean that they would not have to endure the years and years of appeals filed by the killers of their loved ones.
“Are we rewarding these killers by putting them to death?” said Ryan, suggesting that life without parole might be the harsher sentence.
January 3rd, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I dont think that the DP was commuted in Illiois, rather Ryan commuted the sentences of all the men who were on it to LWOP because of the fact that 13 of the people were on it were innocent.
Today Texas just freed a man who was wrongly convicted 27 years ago. Fortunately he wasnt on death row. There have been 30 people in Texas who have been found innocent since 2001.
And I agree with Rae on the NJ issue as well. We dont kill them here anyway, so its really a waste of money to keep them on it with all the appeals and whatnot. As for the ones who are DEFINITELY guilty, and have been proven so (DNA, eyewitnesses, physical proof). Men like Jesse Timmendequas, well he is going to be in G-Pop now. Unprotected.
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:41 pm
I wonder where Sara Jane went after her release? As long as she’s not a threat, I’m ok with her release at 77. She will probably pass away in a couple of years due to her old age depending on what shape she’s in. I wish Sara well in her remaining years.
Would be assassin, John Hinckley, who tried to kill president Reagan a quarter a century ago has been petitioning the court for his release from the hospital stating that he is no longer a danger/threat to society and that he no longer has mental problems. Hinckley gets unsupervised visits to his parents home every so often. He could be released at some point.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:06 pm
I still dont trust Hinkley. He was caught only in 2000 after a visit with his parents smuggling materials about Jodie Foster back into the hospital.
January 4th, 2008 at 7:15 am
If he is still obsessed with Jodie Foster after all these years and after the consequences, then he is definitely not better.
January 4th, 2008 at 7:22 am
Ryan, speaking at a conference on violence at Chicago State University, called the death penalty “barbaric” even when the inmate is clearly guilty.
Just before leaving office in January, Ryan granted clemency to every inmate on Illinois’ death row before he left office in January.
I understand what you are saying Melissa. The above two paragraphs were what struck me as the real reason he did that. The 13 that were wrongly conviced are another issue but he did use them as the reason for doing it.
January 11th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
I realize this is late in the game, but I happened to come across this site.
I have known Sara Jane Moore (Sally, as she likes to be called) for 30 years. She wrote to me from San Diego being evaluated by psychiatrists. I was working for the LA Times and I wrote a story about Sybl Brand jail.
That meeting evolved into a 30 year correspondence punctuated by visits and phone calls. I had no intention of every writing about her, but in 2004 she decided to have me write her story. After less than a month of research and digging up some amazing stuff she didn’t want anyone to know, she stopped all contact.
I wrote the book anyway and it will be released next week. But, what I really wanted to do was set the record straight about lots of misinformation.
She had not been arrested before she shot at Ford. She was questioned, after she performed a covert operation with the ATF. She assisted them in finding a gun runner.
The SFPD confiscated her .44, the gun she had been using. On her way to the hotel, she bought a gun from a former policeman, and he sold it because the site was off. Sara Jane had been in the military and she was a southern girl. Meaning southern girls use guns. She was an expert marksman.
Sipple did grab her arm, after she got off her first shot. She missed Ford’s head by six inches. It was the second attempt he foiled, thankfully.
You can check all of this information in public court documents. The government did not want the public to know in what real danger Ford had been in. I know this because I interview Richard Vitamanti, the lead FBI investigator for this case.
http://www.gerispieler.com
January 27th, 2008 at 11:52 am
[...] These blogs are in the news Request a Trackback What’s hot/What’s not: 2007 Year End Spectacular… Ok, here is the list of the hottest and not hottest cable news related stories for 2007. I hope I haven’t overlooked anything. These are not prioritized by the way… What’s hot for 2007: The Fall and Rise of Don Imus – Don Imus’s controversial comments … inside cable news – Last Updated – Sunday January 20 Request a Trackback Picture This: Sara Jane Moore Released Add this to the list of those we’d never thought we’d see walk free again. The woman who wanted to kill a president is free today. Sara Jane Moore, the self-styled radical who earned an infamous role in the politics of 1970s America by trying to … crimerant – Last Updated – Saturday January 26 More Blogs… Videos Related Stories Stories Former sponsor sues Don Imus entertainment – 2 minutes ago Don Imus is being sued for more than $4 million by an advertiser on his former show who says the radio shock jock badmouthed the company and called its commercials for a book by the late President Gerald Ford “cheesy.” function footerJump(szWhere) { location.href=’/'+ szWhere + “.php”; } Home | Widgets | Terms | Privacy Copyright 2007 CDR Networks _uacct = “UA-2278587-1″; urchinTracker(); [...]
March 7th, 2008 at 3:51 am
Anyone know if “Squeaky” is true lesbian or are the rumors about her true?
July 12th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Sara Jane estranged herself from her children and family in 1956 when she abandonded her three kids, Christopher, age 9 months, Janet, age 3 and Sydney Jr. age 5.
She refused the few attempts her siblings and children made to see her when she was transferred to Alderson, WV.
Her brothers don’t want anyone to know they are related to her and her children won’t even speak her name.
Squeaky Fromme has no sense of self or identity. She will be what anyone wants her to be or whoever was the last person she spoke with. In other words, she “rents” a personality and identity.
December 29th, 2009 at 12:05 am
ideal penis size…
The TrackBack specification was created by Six Apart, who first implemented it in their Movable Type blogging software in August…