[Vision2020] Ryan Lee Wright: Review of Retained Jurisdiction

[Janesta]

*speechless*


On Sun, Aug 10, 2014 at 10:29 AM, Saundra Lund <v2020 at ssl1.fastmail.fm>
wrote:

> *Note:  while this particular instance of insanely lenient sentencing for
> a violent felony (nearly killing a baby) happened in Latah County, it could
> -- and almost certainly does -- happen all over the state.  According news
> reports, Idaho's Department of Corrections started calling for increased
> use of alternative sentencing in 2010 because there was no space in the
> prisons and to curb a growing prison budget.  (Personally, I cannot help
> but wonder how much of that budget growth was a direct cost of Otter’s
> utterly disastrous “privatization” love affair with the likes of for-profit
> Corrections Corporation of America.)*
>
>
>
> *While I'm a huge supporter of alternative sentencing for non-violent
> crimes, and while I recognize there are exceptions to every rule, I'm not
> convinced short-term Rider programs have any place in the sentencing of
> violent felons.*
>
>
>
> *So, for those who think sentences like the below are a travesty of
> justice, for those who consider themselves “law and order” types, for those
> who believe autonomy requires we appropriately punish criminals, etc.,
> start asking the right questions when deciding who to vote for at the state
> level!  Don’t vote for “tough on crime types who talk the talk but don’t
> walk the walk by supporting prison sentences for crimes of violence.*
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
>
>
> Wednesday afternoon, I attended a hearing reviewing the retained
> jurisdiction of convicted felon Ryan Lee Wright prior to his release on
> probation.
>
>
>
> Wright is a man who very nearly killed his infant son by shaking him on
> 4/3/2013.  According to the mother, the medical records indicate violent
> shaking was followed by a violent impact.  The baby will likely have
> neurological deficits for the rest of his life.  As I recall, mom was at
> work when she got a phone call that her precious baby had stopped
> breathing.  I cannot imagine the horror of her drive from work to the
> hospital.
>
>
>
> The baby was airlifted to Sacred Heart in critical condition.  Because
> Wright was a typical lying criminal who didn’t immediately admit what he'd
> done, mom's contact with her critically injured baby was understandably
> restricted during the early investigation.  Mom spoke from her heart at the
> sentencing.   A baby who was born perfect now lives with neurological
> deficits as a result of his father’s horrendous abuse, and the baby will
> likely live with neurological deficits for the rest of his life.  I believe
> virtually everyone in the courtroom that day fought back tears hearing from
> the mom, some of us more successfully than others.
>
>
>
> The eventual sentencing on 4/9/2014 --a year after the baby was nearly
> killed -- was what it was:  not what it should have been and not as lenient
> as it could have been <shaking my head>.  Much to his credit, Judge Stegner
> had earlier rejected an initial plea agreement reached by the State and
> Public Defender that called retained jurisdiction with probation only.  Mom
> -- and the rest of us present -- took some consolation that the final
> retained jurisdiction plea bargain called for six months commitment in a
> Rider Program.  Six months confinement isn't even almost  enough for nearly
> killing a baby with one's own hands, but as mind-boggling as it was, it
> could have been worse.
>
>
>
> And I entered on my personal calendar to start checking the court calendar
> in early October to make sure there were no changes for the hearing
> scheduled for 10/20/2014 to review the retained jurisdiction.
>
>
>
> The mother let people know last Monday that everything had been moved
> forward to last Wednesday, over two months early.  She felt she and her
> baby had been utterly betrayed by the criminal justice system, victimized
> for a third time.  Six months wasn't enough in the first place, but it was
> *something*.
>
>
>
> She also mentioned that her baby boy has been terminated as a SHMC and
> their specialists due to outstanding medical bills.  Huh -- Wright was
> footloose, fancy free, and working at least some of the time (not to
> mention getting drunk, trading up his rig, etc.) for a year before going to
> Cottonwood, yet he apparently couldn't be bothered to start making payments
> towards the medical bills incurred as a result of him nearly killing his
> son.  I guess that new rig was far more important.  And it's not like he
> had to worry about massive attorney fees because we-the-taxpayers are
> footing that bill.
>
>
>
> So on Wednesday, after lots of praise for doing a "very good job" at
> Cottonwood and “impressing” everyone in The System, Wright was returned to
> the community.  He had "virtually no violations" during his short stay at
> Cottonwood, and he managed to get a GED.  Restitution is ordered (I've seen
> how that works -- or doesn't work -- here), he'll be on probation for a
> decade (perhaps as little as five years if he behaves), and he's supposed
> to on-his-honor make a list of bad friends he's to avoid now.  If he
> doesn't follow the terms of his probation, he might go to jail for up to 30
> days, although it doesn't seem like that happens very often here.
>
>
>
> Those are the positives I can muster right now.
>
>
>
> *What's the negative, besides the fact that a baby born perfect will now
> have neurological challenges for the rest of his life?*
>
>
>
> When given the opportunity to address the court, Wright gushed by thanking
> the judge and shared what he learned during his short stay in Cottonwood,
> which according to Wright’s comments, apparently focused a lot on financial
> management and not spending money on stupid things <shaking my head>.*
> However, he failed to mention even once his son or what he'd done to his
> son's life and future.*
>
>
>
> *Not once.*
>
>
>
> *Nor did any of the court officials call him on that glaring omission.*
> Rather, there were lots of verbal pats on the back for him.
>
>
>
> It was pretty clear to me that Wright learned well the lessons taught at
> Cottonwood about how to make a good impression when going to court.  It was
> pretty much the same spiel I've heard from convicts before, although Wright
> emphasized the personal money management  lessons to attain his personal
> goals more than I recall hearing before.
>
>
>
> And, in fairness, I don't know what all the Rider Program teaches.
> Perhaps the program just completely ignores the *human victims/survivors
> and their loved ones* of the crimes that land offenders at Cottonwood.
> If that’s the case, that needs to be fixed.
>
>
>
> Or, maybe that part of the program – if it exists -- simply didn't make an
> impression on Wright.
>
>
>
>
>
> Saundra Lund
>
> Moscow, ID
>
>
>
> I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to
> protection by man from cruelty of man.
>
> ~ Mahatma Ghandi
>
> =======================================================
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>                http://www.fsr.net
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20140810/b949ed13/attachment.html>