Criminal Defense News of the Week

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by: Sduclos • November 20, 2012 • no comments

Police Union Fights Sam Adams on Refusing to Reinstate Ron Frashour

The president of the Portland police union blasted Mayor Sam Adams Tuesday morning, saying Adams' defiance of an order to reinstate officer Ron Frashour reflects "a personal vendetta." ...

Turner said Adams should heed the findings of the employment relations board which yesterday ordered the city to follow an arbitrator's ruling and to reinstate Frashour within 30 days, with back pay, benefits and 9 percent interest.

Frashour was fired after he fatally shot an unarmed man in January 2010. Frashour has said he believed the man, Aaron Campbell, was reaching for a gun."

"Police Union Blasts Portland Mayor Sam Adams Over Stance on Frashour Reinstatement." by Helen Jung, The Oregonian - Sept 25, 2012.

Study Finds Memories Change with Repetition

A Northwestern University researcher has found that memory retrieval may be like the game of telephone.

Just as a whispered message changes with each retelling, memories can change when they are recalled multiple times, according to the study by Donna Bridge, a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. A press release summarizes the findings published in the journal Neuroscience.

...

Test subjects in Bridge's study were asked to recall the location of objects on a grid in three sessions on three consecutive days. On the second day, the subjects were shown a subset on the first day's objects and asked to move them to their original locations. On day three, the test subjects showed greater recall of the objects they manipulated on day two. But when test subjects made a mistake on day two, they were more likely to repeat the mistake on day three by placing the object closer to the incorrect than the correct location."

"Study Finds Memories Can Change with Each Recall: Researcher Sees Criminal Justice Implications" by Debra Cassens Weis in ABA Journal - Sept 24, 2012.

FCC May Cut Phone Rates for Inmates

"It might cost less for federal prisoners to call grandma, if a government panel makes calls cheaper for inmates.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is under pressure to enact a new rule that would lower the price of prison calls - which can start at $3 to $4 just to connect and 89 cents a minute after that. [...]

The push started when Martha Wright filed a petition at the FCC in 2003 after her grandson, Ulandis Forte, was sent to prison. Wright, who is in her eighties, had difficulty visiting her grandson as he was moved from prison, and since she is blind, writing a letter wasn't an option."

"FCC Could Cut Inmates' Phone Rates" by Brooks Boliek on Politico - Sept 24, 2012.

Stacy Du Clos

Damien Echols of West Mempis Three - Interviewed on Public Radio

"Damien Echols was 18 when he and two other teens were convicted of the gruesome murder of three boys and sent away to prison. In Echols' case, to death row.

He would spend eighteen awful years there - a moody, poetic, ultimately Zen prisoner - while outside he became known as part of the West Memphis Three, in a case that became infamous for justice gone awry."

Link to interview below:

"West Memphis Three: Life After Death Row" with Tom Ashbrook on WBUR (Boston NPR station) - Sept 25, 2012