Update: Lynch blasts 'anti-public-safety' bills before House
6:32 PM Thu, Oct 29, 2009 | Permalink
Email
 |
 |
Projo 7 to 7 News BlogTaking the news pulse of Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, by Providence Journal and projo.com staff, from 7 to 7, every business day |
|
Get the 7 to 7 on your mobile at www.projo.com. Twitter: projo | RSS | Email alerts
« WPRI-TV says state investigators were slacking off |
Main
| Pell Bridge eastbound lane to be closed Friday »
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Over the stiff opposition of Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, the House of Representatives Thursday afternoon passed a bill that requires the police to electronically record confessions in capital cases, such as murder, first-degree sexual assault and first-degree child molestation. The bill is one of two up for a vote Thursday that Lynch said would "gut the state's current probation-violation system," and "undermine the efforts of police and prosecutors to fight violent crime." The other bill concerns treatment of probation violators. Lynch called both measures "anti-public-safety measures that will have drastic, real-world consequences on real people." Lynch said he was especially irked that the House committee passed the measures without notifying his office about which version of the probation-violation bill was being considered. "Even worse, we hadn't heard anything from anybody involved with the taped-confessions bill since May. Yet, Tuesday at 4 PM, the committee posted a notice that it would be considering this bill 90 minutes later. Nobody thought to give the law-enforcement community or victim advocates a little bit more advance notice? That's inexplicable." The current probation-violation system allows for the arrest and imprisonment of offenders such as Paul Stockford, a registered sex offender who was arrested Aug. 18 at Scarborough State Beach after allegedly asking two young teenage girls if they wanted to take his bathing suit off. A Superior Court judge ordered Stockford, who has been convicted of at least three sex offenses in Massachusetts since 1993, to serve 18 months at the ACI for violating the terms of his probation. "Perhaps the public won't realize how important our current law is until it's gutted and criminals like sex offenders are not held accountable for the crimes that they commit, even if they're misdemeanor offenses, while out on probation," Lynch said. The other bill would require police to record all confessions by defendants in all capital cases, and would render any confession not taped as inadmissible in criminal prosecution. "This measure would unfairly place unfunded mandates on police departments at a time of extreme fiscal uncertainty, when police officers are already being laid off," Lynch said. "Ultimately, this bill will be disastrous for the people who need it most -- the victims of the most serious and violent crimes." Mechanisms for protecting defendants and ensuring "that truth drives the criminal-justice system," are already in place, Lynch said. Nick Horton, an OPENDOORS policy researcher who has advocated for the probation bill, said the changes would have no bearing on Stockford's case. Horton said Stockford pleaded no contest to violating probation in the beach incident. The bill would change nothing about individuals who plea to the violation. OPENDOORS is the new name for the Family Life Center, a nonprofit that says its mission is "to strengthen communities by supporting the formerly incarcerated." (The original version of this story was published at 3:23 p.m. Thursday.) 
CommentsLeave a commentPlease be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish. |
Tags |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New comments
New photos
New posts
Projo blogs
Archives
Oh well AG. Woke up from your landfill comatose state did you?
Report Abuse
So the AG and his staff are not paying attention to bills before the GA, and he want's to be our Gov?
Report Abuse
Re Bill H5134A: recording of confessions in capital cases
There is tons of case law relating to the dangers of coerced confessions. However, the police do remain subject to cross examination at trial regarding the nature and circumstance of the signed or unsigned confession. Tough issue. Remember, if the bill passes in both chambers, it would still need to be signed by the Governor in order to become law (but subject to 3/5 veto override).
It provides defendants subject to custodial interrogation with more protections than is required by the US Constitution, and that may be a good thing. But, it is going to cost a lot of money.
Report Abuse
Another misdirection from Lynch. Anything but explain why its possible to see $75 million in fraud from an audit while the Keystone Cops can't figure out who was behind it and were asleep while it happened.
These are both good bills and long overdue. I doubt Carcieri will sign either one though.
Report Abuse
Knowing that a multitude (200) bills could be voted on, someone from the AG office should have been stationed at the State House to watch what was going on and notify those people who would advocate for or against.
Asleep at the switch.
As far as loosening the probation law, the AG should be all over this from the get go and keep a constant watch on it, not wait for a call. Everyone knows the shenanigans at the assembly, and the 2 day rush job session should have been a tip off.
Report Abuse
Funny, Lynch's policy rep was in the hearing when both bills were raised. They passed on testifying saying they would never be satisfied with the probation bill in any form. The bill was available online for days before- as soon as the Agenda was announced.
Perhaps he isn't up to speed on his staff's activities. Understandable.
As for unfunded mandate about recording confessions... I bet every officer has a cell phone. 90% can probably either record audio or video. Many also drive police cars outfitted with $$$ computers, and wear $5000 worth of equipment every day. If they can't find $200 for a camcorder, 3 parking tickets will cover it!
Report Abuse
I am disappointed, although not altogether surprised, that Mr. Lynch would stand in opposition to these important changes to the law. I believe that individual freedom's are the single most important thing to our way of life. The laws being considered by the GA are important steps to protecting people from being unfairly deprived of their freedom.
Law enforcement only seems interested in making their jobs easier, not in protecting the rights and freedoms of the individual citizens. It is well documented the lengths that police will go to in order to coerce a suspect into confessing to a crime. If a person is guilty and willing to confess, how does it hurt to get that recorded? If a person is free on probation or parole and are accused of being involved in illegal acitivity, they are sent back to prison as violators, regardless of their guilt or innocense. This is draconian. If they are guilty, let the legal process play out and justice will be served in the end.
In both cases, these changes to the law do not present any danger of allowing guilty people to go unpunished, it just requires that people do their jobs thoroughly so that innocent people don't go to jail. It scary that the AG and law enforcement are so opposed to doing their jobs properly that they are willing to sacrifice the rights of individuals.
Report Abuse
not that i'm sticking up for the ag, but the clowns on the hill didn't knowwhatwas coming up or what they were voting on. they just hear thoe words 'I MOVE PASSAGE"
Report Abuse
Maybe he was out of town fundraising when the bill was discussed
Report Abuse
Good Job Attorney General. Looking out for victims rights and understanding the economic climate we are in. Wish our General Assembly was in tune as well. Good Luck in your candidacy for governor, RI could use an another honest man with the backbone to run this state,
Report Abuse
Good Job Attorney General. Looking out for victims rights and understanding the economic climate we are in. Wish our General Assembly was in tune as well. Good Luck in your candidacy for governor, RI could use an another honest man with the backbone to run this state.
Report Abuse
Come on, bud. Get a clue. Victims don't lose their rights because suspects get to keep theirs.
Report Abuse
We have an Attorney General? Since when? What's his name? Where is he?
Report Abuse