[Vision2020] Washington man set on fire by wife now faces sex crime charge

Mon Aug 4 13:08:58 PDT 2014

Hi Sunil,

Actually, I understand bail isn't to be used as punishment, as I mentioned
in a previous post on this topic.  Thanks, though, for the ABA info - it's
helpful, at least for me, to see something boiled down to essential
elements.  There's quite a bit of subjectivity, it seems to me.  Does Idaho
or Latah County have a bail schedule?

Do you have any definition you can share for what a crime of violence is?  I
was going off something I recall reading back in my victim advocate days
(not in Idaho) back in the Dark Ages where force or threat of force was a
component, although I don't recall where that definition came from.  Does
that no longer hold?  

So, if, for instance, a parent refused to provide food for a child and kept
all food under lock & key -- or kept the child under lock and key -- to keep
the child from getting food, I'd call that a violent crime.  Or, if the
parent refused to feed the child and kept the child away from food by
threatening to beat the crap out of said child if the child went into the
kitchen to get food, I'd also consider that a crime of violence.

I would not consider it a crime of violence (at least by any individual) if
everyone in household is starving because there's no money for food.  I also
wouldn't consider it a violent crime if all members of a household only have
access to rotten food.  I would, however, consider it a violent crime if,
for instance, all other household members have safe food and one is only
given unsafe rotten food.

If a victim had been a child who had been starved to death over a prolonged
period of time, would you not consider that a crime of violence?  If not,
why not?   Would you find it appropriate for the parents to be charged with
simple abuse or neglect when the child died because they hadn't fed the
child while making sure they themselves had ample nutrition?

I appreciate your perspective, Sunil, as one who is far more familiar with
the criminal justice system in general and in Latah County specifically.

I would point out, however, that the perspective of survivors of violent
crime, and the perspectives of loved ones when the victim(s) survived or
didn't survive, is likely to be different than yours.  Even here in Latah
County.

No one is talking about making bar fights hanging offenses, but when there's
a substantial perception locally, on the state level, and/or on a national
level that the criminal justice is failing victims and survivors of violent
crime, that's a significant issue.  Don't shoot the messenger.

Saundra

Moscow, ID

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of Sunil
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2014 6:10 AM
To: vision 2020
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Washington man set on fire by wife now faces sex
crime charge

Saundra,

The Moscow crime was not a violent crime. If you are really comparing this
crime to setting a man on fire, then I'm - to use your word - gobsmacked.
That's an absolutely absurd comparison.

Your sample is small and to make sweeping conclusions about the system may
play well here, but is completely off. There are problems with the system,
but this isn't one of them in Latah. In some parts of the state, I think
high bails are the problem. It's certainly easier for a judge to set bail
excessively high, and avoid yelling like we've seen for this case, than to
do his or her job correctly.

I think the problem is that you and Tom want bail used as punishment. These
are the factors that are to be considered; emphasis is mine:

>From the ABA:

'Steps in a Trial

Bail
Bail is the amount of money defendants must post to be released from custody
until their trial. Bail is not a fine. It is not supposed to be used as
punishment. The purpose of bail is simply to ensure that defendants will
appear for trial and all pretrial hearings for which they must be present.
Bail is returned to defendants when their trial is over, in some states
minus a processing fee.
The judge or magistrate decides the amount of bail by weighing many factors:

*	the risk of the defendant fleeing,
*	the type of crime alleged,
*	the "dangerousness" of defendants, and
*	the safety of the community.

Sometimes bail is conditioned on certain behavior of the defendant - for
example, that he or she have no contact with the alleged victim.'

The state had seven months to review the evidence in this case. I worked
against that office for five years, and I have not known them to undercharge
cases. It may suit the motives of people to make that claim, but it's not
based on actual knowledge. 

Sunil

  _____  

From: v2020 at ssl1.fastmail.fm <mailto:v2020 at ssl1.fastmail.fm> 
To: scooterd408 at hotmail.com <mailto:scooterd408 at hotmail.com> ;
vision2020 at moscow.com <mailto:vision2020 at moscow.com> 
Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2014 21:14:54 -0700
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Washington man set on fire by wife now faces sex
crime charge

Huh - I didn't see bail mentioned in the article, but if it is $500,000,
that leaves me even more confused about the low bail amounts for the two who
allegedly starved a veteran to death over a prolonged period of time.  One
of the two is a convicted felon who has numerous probation violations (and
several other alleged bad acts that he wasn't violated for) including moving
without notifying his PO.

I know the WA case is a sample of only one, but could it be that WA takes
violent crimes - even against alleged child molesters - seriously while ID
doesn't?

Honestly, the more criminal cases I've looked at in Idaho (which I freely
admit is just a drop in the bucket), the more it seems to me the so-called
criminal justice system here really is FUBAR, at least when the
victim/survivor is a person rather than property.  The judicial branch's
actions remind me of those lazy bad parents who always threaten to lower the
boom but never really follow through.  Is it any wonder, then, recidivism
rates are so high?

Saundra Lund

Moscow, ID

It's a matter of taking the side if the weak against the strong, something
the best people have always done.

~ Harriet Beecher Stowe

From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com <mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com>
[mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Scott Dredge
Sent: Sunday, August 03, 2014 2:24 PM
To: viz
Subject: [Vision2020] Washington man set on fire by wife now faces sex crime
charge

Apparently the wife's bail is set at $500,000.

'...detectives said they are recommending that [the crispy creep] be charged
with first-degree child molestation.'

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Police-Man-set-on-fire-by-wife-now-faces-
sex-crime-charges-269377691.html

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