Court upholds probation violation after charge dropped
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By Talia Buford PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- For a few minutes in Aug. 24, 2006, Phillip Jackson got angry. He was tired of a few local teens vandalizing his home so he went across the street to confront them. They exchanged words, and Jackson went back home. A few days later, Jackson was in jail, charged with misdemeanor simple assault. Weeks later, a judge found that the arrest violated the terms of Jackson's probation and sentenced him to seven years in jail. By December, the charges were dismissed. Still, Jackson remained in jail. Today, a Supreme Court refused to overturn his sentence, calling the lower court's decision to uphold Jackson's 7-year violation sentence "sufficient" and "reasonable," even though his charge was dismissed. "The burden of proof upon the state in such a hearing is far less rigorous than the 'beyond a reasonable doubt' standard typical of criminal trials," retired Chief Justice Frank Williams wrote in his opinion, "indeed, the state need only show that 'reasonably satisfactory' evidence supports a finding that the defendant has violated his or her probation'." In Rhode Island, if someone is arrested while they are on probation for another crime, they are presented before a court as a violator. That arrest, and the judge's belief that the probationer committed the crime be enough to justify a lengthy jail sentence -- regardless of guilt or innocence. State Rep. David A. Segal, D-Providence, and four other representatives are sponsoring a bill that would require a probationer be released if he is acquitted or exonerated of the crime that led to the probation violation. A similar bill was passed by the General Assembly last year, but died on Governor Carcieri's desk. "People shouldn't be in prison for crimes they didn't commit," said Segal. "We've got a fundamental notion of American justice, where it's better to let 1,000 guilty men go free than to have 1 innocent imprisoned. ... The notion is that you are presumed innocent unless you are convicted. That's very much not what is happening in these circumstances." In 2004, Jackson pleaded no contest to one count of possession of a firearm by a person previously convicted of a crime of violence and one count of obstructing a police officer and was sentenced to a total of 11 years suspended. The lower court judge was satisfied that Jackson had failed to keep the peace, based on, among other things, the lack of credibility of his witnesses and his prior criminal history. Jackson's 17-year-old neighbor, Richard Cole, told a court that on that August day, he was sitting with his friends on the side of the road when Jackson stormed out of his house and confronted the boys. They said he slapped and punched Cole before accusing him of vandalism. The boys denied it, and Jackson accepted their explanation, inviting them to share rum with him later that night. Cole's mother returned home and saw her son and his friends with Jackson and said she noticed the bump on her son's head two days later. That's when she pressed charges with the Charlestown Police. At his violation hearing, Jackson presented two witnesses, both neighbors, who gave slightly differing accounts. One man, with admittedly bad eyesight, said he noticed a "heated confrontation," but never saw Jackson hit Cole. Another woman testified that the boys were taunting Jackson, who went to confront them. The altercation settled before it became physical, she said. Judge Stephen P. Nugent issued a bench decision -- noting that he didn't find the defense witnesses credible -- that Jackson had violated the terms of his probation. Jackson was sentenced to serve seven years of the suspended sentence from his earlier crime and three years of probation. Jackson filed an appeal to reopen his case because he said the judge didn't have information about his steady work history, family obligations and his enrollment in anger management classes. The judge found that the violation hearing had been "extensive," Justice Williams remarked in the opinion. "Although the simple-assault charge that prompted violation hearing was dismissed -- because the complaining 'witness would prefer not to go forward' -- it did not affect [the judge's]his decision that defendant had failed to keep the peace and be of good behavior on the day he confronted the four boys," Williams said. 
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RHODE ISLAND judicial system does'nt care about the families and the freedom of us ex-cons....
once a suspect in this state you are always a victim, theres no way out of it, guys like this, and myself, are completely at the courts mercy...
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This state is the last state to have such a law. It is about time the state get in touch with all the other 49 states. In RI our prison system is extremely overcrowded. How many of these prisoners are charged for being a violator and did not do anything wrong. Just because someone claims they did a wrongful act they are charged as a violator. Where is innocent until proven guilty?
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What constitutes credibility in the eyes of Judge Nugent? How do any of us know for certain that the Cole kid's bump came from Jackson? It seems there are no witnesses who actually saw Jackson physically assault Cole; yet, Jackson sits in jail. Unbelievable. It would be helpful to know what exactly this criteria is that Judge Nugent relies upon to inform his decisions, because it makes absolutely no sense based upon the limited info this article provides.
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The judges in RI are not exactly the brightest on the block...
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