Category: Crime


Marriage Equality: Is It Really the Most Pressing LGBT Issue in America?

Filed Under: Crime, New
Aug.18, 2010

I have to admit, when Judge Vaughn Walker released his ruling that Prop 8 was unconstitutional, I shrugged. When he issued his ruling on a motion for a stay of his decision, I was actually quite moved, though I still have not figured out why. But ultimately, I will admit, marriage equality is not and has never been on the top of my list of issues for the LGBT community.

First, let’s look at the states that have approved marriage equality. Iowa prohibits discrimination in employment based on both sexual orientation and gender identity and/or expression. The same is true for California, and Vermont. You can chalk Washington, D.C. into the same category. Meanwhile, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

All those states and D.C. allow same-sex couples to get married (except for California, pending the appeal outcome for Judge Walker’s Prop 8 decision). Those states also have anti-bias laws in place to address violence against the LGBT community.

Meanwhile, here in Michigan, we still have a sodomy law as well as a gross indecency between two men law on the books. We do not have a bias crimes law which includes sexual orientation. We have banned marriage equality through our state Constitution, and unless you live in one of a handful of Michigan municipalities, discrimination against you on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is completely legal.

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In Israel, Rape Is When the Man Is Arab

Filed Under: Crime, New
Aug.07, 2010

If Sabbar Kashur were Jewish, he would not have been convicted of rape.

But while Kashur is many things, he is not Jewish. He’s an Arab living in Jerusalem — a married man and father of two. He is a man who met a Jewish woman at the grocery store two years ago, spoke with her for 15 minutes, and engaged in what both parties agree was consensual sex in a nearby building. He’s since been convicted in an Israeli court — for, of all things, so-called “rape by deception.”

That’s because according to the complaint filed against Kashur and early reports on the case, Kashur lied about his ethnicity, indicating that he was Jewish. Later, it emerged that Kashur never stated his ethnicity, but only offered his nickname — DuDu, which is a common Jewish nickname in Israel, and one that Kashur has gone by his whole life. “My wife even calls me that,” Kashur explained.

Kashur’s adultery and alleged lying may be immoral, but they should not be punished as crimes.

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Stop Norway From Hunting and Killing 1,286 Minke Whales

Filed Under: Crime, International, New
Jul.10, 2010

This year, Norway will hunt and kill nearly 1,300 minke whales in defiance of an international ban on commercial whaling. Norway sees itself as a progressive and modern country, but this year’s quota of 1,286 minke whales puts Norway years behind the times.


Despite boasting a new Animal Welfare Act, the country has made no provision for marine mammals at all. Because there is no known humane way to kill whales at sea, some whales endure an hour of suffering before finally dying an agonising death after being shot with exploding harpoons and rifles.?



Norway is one of three countries flying in the face of the international ban %u2013 both Japan and Iceland also carry out this bloody and violent crime. Only 1 per cent of the Norwegian public eats whale meat on a regular basis, and the majority of Norwegians agree that the suffering caused by whaling is unacceptable.

This year’s quota is the highest in 25 years. Take action by writing to Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and asking him to stop the suffering of whales today and to live up to Norway’s desire to be seen as a progressive and modern country by promoting whale watching, not whale hunting.


Stop Norway From Hunting and Killing 1,286 Minke Whales

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For Climate Scientists, Death Threats Come With The Job

Filed Under: Crime, New
Jul.06, 2010

Climate change deniers make it their business to attack global warming realists in every cobwebbed corner of the Internet. Anyone who has ever written in support of scientific evidence knows this first-hand.

But when do aggressive emails and comments cross this line? This has been an issue in so many areas of our modern life. Sure, the occasional controversial academic could get used to attacks, but in the climate change arena, the discourse is getting seriously out of hand.

When a steady stream of vitriolic hate is directed at a whole pack of prominent scientists whenever they dare venture beyond obscure journals, I think this line is surely crossed. Some of it is almost certainly from individual crazies. Others suggest these attacks are orchestrated, and blogger Tim Lambert notes that one high-profile spokesperson for the climate denial machine regularly publishes the email addresses of “target” scientists. Regardless of the source, I fear it is only a matter of time before abusive words translate to abusive actions.

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It’s About Time for Wonder Woman to Wear the Pants

Filed Under: Crime, New, Tech
Jul.01, 2010

Whether or not you’re a comic books aficionado, you’re no doubt familiar with Wonder Woman. When running down a line-up of some of those superheros who are best known among the only superficially comic-savvy public — for instance, Batman, Superman, Spiderman — hers is the only name that springs to mind as putting a “wo” in front of that “man.” And Wonder Woman costumes make quite the popular Halloween get-up.

But if you have a Wonder Woman costume left over from last year that you thought you’d don again this October, be warned that you’ll be woefully out of date, as DC Comics is presenting a Wonder Woman for the 21st century. In celebration of reaching issue number 600 of the Wonder Woman comic series, the superwoman is finally getting some pants.

That’s right: pants. (Well, leggings, if you want to get technical.) The traditional Wonder Woman, who debuted in 1941, fights crime in a leotard and legs that are bare except for high red boots. The new-and-improved Wonder Woman gets to wear black leggings and a rad motorcycle jacket (check out a drawing of her new ensemble here). Basically, she’s going to be a lot warmer during the winter months (as will be those who choose to dress up as her to go Trick-or-Treating).

She also looks a lot more like the kind of superhero who demands respect and can kick butt in the name of justice, rather than somebody who belongs in the Miss America swimsuit line-up. This is a refreshing update, even if Wonder Woman writer Jodi Picoult couldn’t convince DC Comics to ditch the bustier, of which she complained, “as a woman, I know you wouldn’t fight crime in a bustier.” While we’ll have to see how the new Wonder Woman’s sales go (and there are tales of a movie in the works), tuning in to female preferences for an empowered 21st century image might prove to be a big win for DC’s marketing plan.

Photo credit: Loren Javier

It’s About Time for Wonder Woman to Wear the Pants

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It’s About Time for Wonder Woman to Wear the Pants

Filed Under: Crime, New, Tech
Jul.01, 2010

Whether or not you’re a comic books aficionado, you’re no doubt familiar with Wonder Woman. When running down a line-up of some of those superheros who are best known among the only superficially comic-savvy public — for instance, Batman, Superman, Spiderman — hers is the only name that springs to mind as putting a “wo” in front of that “man.” And Wonder Woman costumes make quite the popular Halloween get-up.

But if you have a Wonder Woman costume left over from last year that you thought you’d don again this October, be warned that you’ll be woefully out of date, as DC Comics is presenting a Wonder Woman for the 21st century. In celebration of reaching issue number 600 of the Wonder Woman comic series, the superwoman is finally getting some pants.

That’s right: pants. (Well, leggings, if you want to get technical.) The traditional Wonder Woman, who debuted in 1941, fights crime in a leotard and legs that are bare except for high red boots. The new-and-improved Wonder Woman gets to wear black leggings and a rad motorcycle jacket (check out a drawing of her new ensemble here). Basically, she’s going to be a lot warmer during the winter months (as will be those who choose to dress up as her to go Trick-or-Treating).

She also looks a lot more like the kind of superhero who demands respect and can kick butt in the name of justice, rather than somebody who belongs in the Miss America swimsuit line-up. This is a refreshing update, even if Wonder Woman writer Jodi Picoult couldn’t convince DC Comics to ditch the bustier, of which she complained, “as a woman, I know you wouldn’t fight crime in a bustier.” While we’ll have to see how the new Wonder Woman’s sales go (and there are tales of a movie in the works), tuning in to female preferences for an empowered 21st century image might prove to be a big win for DC’s marketing plan.

Photo credit: Loren Javier

It’s About Time for Wonder Woman to Wear the Pants

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Nashville Police Prioritize Traffic Tickets Over Thousands of Domestic Violence Cases

Filed Under: Crime, New
Jun.26, 2010

Earlier this week, The Tennessean put out a piece on the massive number of domestic violence cases dismissed by the Nashville police department. The silver lining: the article demonstrates the important work of local journalists. Otherwise, it’s a pretty devastating report on how a police department has put domestic abuse cases on the back burner while prioritizing traffic tickets and crime statistics.

According to The Tennessean, “In 2005, police cleared 211 cases without making an arrest. One year later, the number jumped to 3,866, and by 2009, it was 5,600. Police cited the victims’ lack of cooperation for not pursuing those arrests, but state law says that cannot be an excuse if there is other evidence or probable cause.” As the paper clarified in a second article, Tennessee law very clearly states that “a victim’s cooperativeness ‘shall not’ even be considered when considering whether to make an arrest.”

Although it’s clear that the Nashville Police Department has broken the law thousands of times, the members of the department have tried to place the blame on small, administrative stuff: Interim Chief Steve Anderson “chalked up the spike to a new police form that came online that year to simplify the classification of such cases.” Or, he later mused, “It could be something as simple as a training issue.” Right. This could only be a “training issue” if police are trained not to take domestic violence seriously. And what kind of “form” lets police get away with closing a case with the words, “The victim in the case doesn’t wish to prosecute at this time,” ignoring the photos in the file of her severely bruised arms.

Ever think that a woman may decline to prosecute because she could face a lot worse than black-and-blue arms? Why on earth let a woman go home to a man that had just severely beaten her? The investigation turned up other anecdotes in which women tried to follow-up and have the man who abused or threatened them arrested, only to find out their cases had been closed and couldn’t be reopened.

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Piggy Bank-Inspired Reform in Pennsylvania

Filed Under: Crime, New
Jun.24, 2010

Budget crises rarely result in productive policy reforms, but criminal justice may be the exception that proves the rule. Pennsylvania is now jumping on the bandwagon of states pursuing ways to balance their budgets by trimming over-inflated incarceration expenses.

“Pennsylvania is still in the stone ages when you talk about prison reform,” Democratic Rep. Kenyatta Johnson recently told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. As criminal justice-watchers have seen elsewhere, reform is earning bipartisan support in Harrisburg.

One of the alternatives being considered by Pennsylvania lawmakers is abandoning the War-on-Drugs approach to non-violent offenses, and distributing less severe sentences for drug-related offenses, as well as for parole violations.

“We’ve been tough on crime, but we haven’t been smart on crime,” says Republican Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, who chairs the state’s Senate Judiciary Committee.

The numbers support Greenleaf’s view: in 1980, Pennsylvania’s state prison population was around 8,000. Today, though, the population has ballooned to over 51,000. As for the fiscal consequences? These days, Pennsylvania spends around $2 billion annually on its correction budget — more than 55 times what the state spent 40 years ago.

Now, though, the state — which spends more than 44 other states do on its “tough-on-crime” policies — might be on the verge of a revolution for reform. 

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Soldier in Tennessee arrested, accused of killing wife

Filed Under: Crime
Sep.09, 2009

(CNN) — A soldier who had been slated to begin serving at Fort Campbell in Tennessee was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of killing his wife, police said.

Jonathan Downing was found in a wooded area 20 miles from the home where his wife was found slain, police say.

Jonathan Downing was found in a wooded area 20 miles from the home where his wife was found slain, police say.

Jonathan Clyde Downing, 31, was being held without bond and will be tried in civilian court in the killing of 25-year-old Sena Marie Downing, said Jim Knoll, public information officer for police in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Police officers went to the couple’s Clarksville home shortly after 3 a.m. after receiving notice of a possible shooting, Knoll said.

“When the officers responded, the door was ajar; they went in and found her inside of the garage, and she had been shot,” Knoll told CNN in a telephone interview.

A few hours later, officers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Robertson County Sheriff’s Office located Downing’s vehicle about 20 miles away in Robertson County and found Downing in woods nearby, Knoll said.

“That’s where he finally gave up,” Knoll said. “It took them almost two hours to convince him.”

Downing, who had recently served at Fort Knox in Kentucky, was taken into custody shortly before noon and was charged with criminal homicide.

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