Category Archives: Law

July 9, 2013 · 1:45 pm

Through Hell and Back

 

Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight, the three women held captive for a decade in a Cleveland home by Ariel Castro, have spoken publicly thanking God and all those who have extended a helping hand to them.

Amanda says, “I am getting stronger each day.”

Michelle declares, “I may have been through hell and back.  But I am strong enough to walk through hell with a smile on my face, and with my head held high…I will not let the situation define who I am.  I will define the situation…I don’t want to be consumed by hatred…We need to take a leap of faith and know that God is in control…”

Nothing more need be added.

Contributions to assist the women in rebuilding their lives can be made through the Cleveland Courage Fund at:

Cleveland Courage Fund

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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April 21, 2013 · 7:07 pm

Even Solomon

New Jersey police recently found two children, aged 5 and 10, living in an unheated storage unit. The situation came to light when the boys’ mother was arrested for allegedly slashing her boyfriend’s tires.

How are those of us concerned with the welfare of children to respond?  If these children are placed into the foster system, we cannot be sure of the quality of care they will receive.  Clearly, their mother would benefit from counseling – not to mention employment training.  And what of their father?  Does he bear no responsibility?

Social workers wrestle with such imponderables daily.  Solomon would be at a loss to supply an answer. All the rest of can do is support programs that benefit abused and neglected children, in the hope one life may be salvaged at a time.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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September 12, 2012 · 6:49 pm

Abuse and Murder

Last October, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court affirmed a stay of execution for death row inmate Terry Williams, the childhood victim of severe physical and sexual abuse, acknowledged to have killed two of his abusers as a teen.

The Williams case raises questions about the death penalty, because of prosecutorial misconduct. It, also, illustrates the complexity of issues facing jurors in cases of abuse.

No one has argued for Williams’ release, merely that he be shown the mercy his abusers failed to exercise toward him.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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August 29, 2012 · 6:42 pm

Ignorance and Evil

In Texas, the first of a series of cases is being tried involving an 11 y.o. girl raped by 20 men and boys, over a period of months. Some actually blame the girl.  In NY, a 16 y.o. killed the 5 y.o. granddaughter of a woman who had been kind to him.

Little can be said in the face of such ignorance and evil.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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July 12, 2012 · 5:21 pm

Tarnished

An internal investigation on Penn State’s reaction to abuse by Jerry Sandusky has reaffirmed that Joe Paterno and other officials chose to shield the school’s reputation, rather than the children abused there for over a decade.

Officials failed to comply with mandatory reporting requirements; their inaction facilitated the abuse.

Loyal fans have been hostile toward victims, as if their sole purpose in coming forward was to malign Paterno’s reputation.  Handwritten notes and emails confirm that Paterno was aware of the abuse, and actively involved in the decision to cover it up.

That should tarnish his reputation.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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June 28, 2012 · 5:17 pm

Public Awareness

Recent Pennsylvania verdicts re: the cover-up by Catholic Church officials of pedophile priests, and repeated betrayals of trust by a former Penn State assistant coach have put abuse in the headlines.

Raising public awareness is vital to the prevention of child abuse.  So is public involvement.

Even as I write this, abuse continues.  Locally, news reports indicate a 6 year old boy in the advanced stages of starvation when first hospitalized, was twice returned to the custody of the very parents who had neglected him.

As a community, we are responsible for the welfare of our children.  However welcome guilty verdicts against predators may be, the criminal justice system can only seek to remedy past injury. Prevention is the ideal.  No child should bear these scars.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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June 22, 2012 · 5:13 pm

Guilty

Former Penn State assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky has been found guilty of 45 of the 48 counts brought against him for having abused 10 boys over a period of 15 years, using his charity The Second Mile to trawl for victims.

One of Sandusky’s adopted children came forward to say he, too, was abused.

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June 22, 2012 · 4:58 pm

Held Accountable

Msgr. William Lynn has been found guilty in Philadelphia of a single count of endangerment for the systematic cover-up by Catholic Church officials of pedophile priests.

Offending priests were deliberately transferred from one unknowing parish to another at the direction of now deceased Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.

The testimony by adult abuse survivors was wrenching. The verdict does not begin to offset their suffering, which continues to this day.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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May 23, 2012 · 4:50 pm

Nuremberg…Again

Philadelphia’s trial of Msgr. William Lynn for the systematic cover up by Catholic Church officials of pedophilia by priests continues.

The defense rests on two grounds: the advice of legal counsel that reporting to law enforcement was unnecessary, since the statute of limitations had run; and the orders of now deceased Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua.

Of course, the Statute of Limitations had not yet run when many claims were initially made. Often, it was the delayed handling by church officials which caused the statute to run. Nor was there a re-examination of the issue, when the Statute of Limitations was extended by the legislature.

In fact, had the Catholic Church acted in the best interests of the victims, it could easily have waived the Statute of Limitations at any time.

As to the second ground, it was previously raised by Adolf Eichmann at the Nuremberg war crimes trials.  He was “only following orders,” too.

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March 30, 2012 · 4:36 pm

Landmark

A landmark case is being tried in Philadelphia with the purpose of holding accountable in the US for the first time a Roman Catholic Church official for his handling of the sex abuse complaints made against more than 60 priests.

The testimony being elicited after 8 years of investigation and 2 grand juries is as appalling as expected. Grammar school children raped, reports of abuse ignored for decades, the transfer of known offenders from one parish to the next.

Child molesters returned to work with children, monsters provided fresh hunting grounds.

The church abandoned the most vulnerable of its charges. What justice may come out of this is long, long overdue.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT:  http://www.alawyersprayers.com

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