<div dir="ltr"><div><div><div><div>Well, I am far enough away from reading this... maybe, I can make sense without being so upset!<br><br></div>WHO is responsible for this travesty?<br><br></div>I can guarantee you, if this man committed the crime in Arizona, he would have gotten serious time in the pen. <br>
<br></div>Janesta<br></div>(still upset)<br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Sun, Aug 10, 2014 at 11:11 AM, Janesta <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:janesta@gmail.com" target="_blank">janesta@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">*speechless*<br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div><div class="h5">On Sun, Aug 10, 2014 at 10:29 AM, Saundra Lund <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:v2020@ssl1.fastmail.fm" target="_blank">v2020@ssl1.fastmail.fm</a>></span> wrote:<br>
</div></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div><div class="h5"><div link="blue" vlink="purple" lang="EN-US"><div><p><b><span style="color:#1f497d">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.)<u></u><u></u></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></b></p><p><b><span style="color:#1f497d">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.<u></u><u></u></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></b></p><p><b><span style="color:#1f497d">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.<u></u><u></u></span></b></p>
<p><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"><span style="color:#1f497d"><hr align="center" size="2" width="100%"></span></div><p><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#1f497d">Wednesday afternoon, I attended a hearing reviewing the retained jurisdiction of convicted felon Ryan Lee Wright prior to his release on probation.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#1f497d">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.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p><span style="color:#1f497d">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.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p><span style="color:#1f497d">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.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p><span style="color:#1f497d">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.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p><span style="color:#1f497d">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 <b>something</b>.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p><span style="color:#1f497d">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.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p><span style="color:#1f497d">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.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p><span style="color:#1f497d">Those are the positives I can muster right now.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p>
<b><span style="color:#1f497d">What's the negative, besides the fact that a baby born perfect will now have neurological challenges for the rest of his life?<u></u><u></u></span></b></p>
<p><b><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></b></p><p><span style="color:#1f497d">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>.<b> However, he failed to mention <u>even</u> <u>once</u> his son or what he'd done to his son's life and future.<u></u><u></u></b></span></p>
<p><b><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></b></p><p><b><span style="color:#1f497d">Not once.<u></u><u></u></span></b></p><p><b><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></b></p><p><b><span style="color:#1f497d">Nor did any of the court officials call him on that glaring omission.</span></b><span style="color:#1f497d"> Rather, there were lots of verbal pats on the back for him.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p><span style="color:#1f497d">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.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p><span style="color:#1f497d">And, in fairness, I don't know what all the Rider Program teaches. Perhaps the program just completely ignores the <b>human victims/survivors and their loved ones</b> of the crimes that land offenders at Cottonwood. If that’s the case, that needs to be fixed.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p><span style="color:#1f497d">Or, maybe that part of the program – if it exists -- simply didn't make an impression on Wright.<u></u><u></u></span></p><p><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1f497d">Saundra Lund<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1f497d">Moscow, ID<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1f497d"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1f497d">I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from cruelty of man.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1f497d">~ Mahatma Ghandi<u></u><u></u></span></p></div></div><br></div></div>=======================================================<br>
List services made available by First Step Internet,<br>
serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.<br>
<a href="http://www.fsr.net" target="_blank">http://www.fsr.net</a><br>
mailto:<a href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com" target="_blank">Vision2020@moscow.com</a><br>
=======================================================<br></blockquote></div><br></div>
</blockquote></div><br></div>