Crime and Punishment Guantanamo LASD Must Reads

Friday Must Reads


MITRICE RICHARDSON FINALLY SADLY FOUND

Thursday was the day that the LA County Office of Independent Review delivered a report that the release of likely mentally ill Mitrice Richardson from the Lost Hills/Malibu Sheriff’s station in the early morning hours of with no purse, no cash or credit cards, no cell phone, and no one in evidence meeting her—was not improper, according to department regulations.

The deputies’ actions may have been legal. But no one who puts themselves in the emotional shoes of Mitrice’s family and friends could ever imagine that the sheriffs’ choices that night were wise or right.

The truth of that fact also became clear on Thursday when skeletal remains found in the Malibu Hills a few miles from the the Lost Hill’s station, in and old marijuana grove, were identified as the pretty young troubled woman whom we all hoped so much would one day be found alive.

At the press conference yesterday, Sheriff Baca acknowledged in so many back-handed words that the handling of Mitrice’s case was tragically flawed. “Life is fragile. The circumstances of this case are tragic……..’Properly’ doesn’t mean we couldn’t have done something more. The soul searching in the sheriff’s department is certainly being done….I’m very, very disappointed that he’s not alive.” he said grimly. (Here’s a link to audio of the press conference.)

The LA Times makes the point in a Friday editorial.

Mitrice’s father is pressing for Baca plus the deputies who were involved in his daughter’s unwise and tragic arrest and middle-of-the-night release, to take a lie detector test.

The LA Times’ Andrew Blankstein and Carla Hall have done an excellent job in pulling together the whole deeply saddening story.

One of the weird and troubling things that emerged at Thursday’s press conference is that, according to the sheriff’s department, there is no trail in to the place that Mitrice was found. Law enforcement had to be choppered in. So how is it possible that a confused young woman got there on her own?


YOUNGEST G’ITMO TERROR SUSPECT’S TRIAL SUSPENDED WHEN ATTORNEY COLLAPES

Nothing about this trial of Omar Kadr seems to be going smoothly. Here’s the news update on the military-appointed attorney being airlifted out of Guantanamo.

In the meantime, the Toronto Globe and Mail (Kadr is a Canadian citizen) has a interesting article titled: Khadr jury to decide: jihadist or scared teen

Jess Bravin of the Wall Street Journal is also covering the trial and has a report here.


CROWNING FRANZEN

Time Magazine has dubbed Johnathan Franzen a the Great American Novelist and put him on its cover. Seriously???? I mean, I lovedThe Corrections too, but…..

I guess they really, really, REALLY liked his new novel, Freedom, that’s coming out at the end of this month.

(And, yes, I will be reading it right away, now that I’ve motored through nearly everything else on my summer reading list. And speaking of summer reading, or the record, David Mitchell is probably a genius. His summer book, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, is nearly Tolstoy-ish in it’s breathtaking narrative inventiveness. But, for pure summer delight, it was lots more fun to read the latest James Lee Burke.)

What books have you loved this summer? (I’ve got more. Let’s talk.)


OKAY, BIG STORY COMING ON MONDAY. JUST IN THE FINAL EDITING STAGES

In the meantime, have a de-lightful weekend. And thanks to those of you who sent me empathetic dog-related notes (or posted dog-related comments). All were very much appreciated.

Now off to check on the progress of some terrific Annenberg grad students who are working on a gang story downtown.

xoxox!


Drawing of Darwin reading is from Origin Graphics

4 Comments

  • That Mitrice Richardson was ‘failed’ as the Times puts it, is clear. What isn’t clear is who failed her? It’s a bad bad world out there, and bad things happen when people act irresponsibly. That Mitrice was an out of control young woman with a deteriorating mental condition seems beyond issue. Nobody knew that better than her mother, Latrice. But when Latrice got the call that her daughter was in custody in Malibu, Latrice thought it better to leave her there, in “good hands.” But what parent would think that the county jail is a good place for their daughter, especially one with known mental issues? At the very minimum, any decent, responsible parent would have gone to the jail and made a direct assessment of the situation, and done their utmost to get their daughter out of jail.
    You seriously have to wonder at the thought processes of Latice? I mean, it’s one thing thinking that a sane person might benefit from a little reality check of being arrested and booked – that would get most errant youngster’s attention. But knowing that your daughter has mental issues and thinking that any part of the ‘reality’ of her situation would register, is plainly foolish, alas, tragically foolish in this case.
    Had Latrice jumped into a taxi and high-tailed it to Malibu like any other responsible parent would have done, we wouldn’t be having this debate, and Latice wouldn’t be trying to deflect the blame for poor decision making.
    If one lesson can be given to Latice and the hundreds of thousands like her, it is this. Neither the LAPD nor the Sheriff’s Dept is a social service. If your kid gets arrested, there’s a problem that needs to be dealt with, and it’s not a problem that the criminal justice system can solve in any way that will be beneficial to your child.
    Mitrica was failed, unfortunately it was by her mother.

  • Mark,
    My oh my. You actually expect a parent to be responsible for the welfare of their own child? More than the cops even?

    That’s harsh.

  • So so sad,Mark. So sad to read your attempt to go after the mother of Mitrice Richardson.

    If your strategic purpose is to put up a good defense then it serves you well to go on the offense against Ms. Sutton.

    The woman is graciously composed and steadfastly determined.
    Her demeanor is balanced and rational.

    She speaks passionately about her daughter’s case, yet maintains a protocol of measured reserve.

    Go ahead and make your go at this lady, Mark.

    Do your best to inaccurately characterize the events of this case and subject them to whatever faulty logic is needed.

    In the year that the case of Mitrice Richardson has been in the news a monumental shift has occurred.

    Observers have had the opportunity to hear the words and see
    the deeds of both sides.

    That is the family and friends of Ms. Richardson as they put forward their search for resolution and understanding and truth.

    And it is the Sheriff’s department as represented by Lee Baca and Steve Whitmore and a number of others directly involved in what the public has seen so far.

    Where the Sheriff started out as the participant in whom the trust and confidence of the general public was invested, and where the missing girls family was viewed with doubt and disdain.

    In one years time – the way each side is viewed by the public has completely turned around.

    Not because of one report or one article.

    Not because of your futile attempt to smear Ms. Sutton’s credibility or my attempt to blow the whistle on cheapshot tactics.

    This was a change in perception that occurred slowly over time. So it is deeply rooted and substantial.

    The deeds more than the words. And the words measured against the deeds.

    The Sheriff began as the party thought of as honorable and reasonable and trustworthy.

    The Richardson clan were an unknown force. They were met with suspicion and blame and irritation.

    That has all changed now.

    The Sheriff is now seen for what really lies behind the steely stares and stiff starched collar.

    How would one describe our Sheriff now, in 2010 heading into 2011?

    Petty. Defiant of the truth.

    Bellowing. Bumbling. Disingenuous. Mendacious. A complete and total letdown. Unworthy of the confidence evoked by his title. The credibility of the man Baca and the commander of the department Baca now almost irrepairably decimated.

    What of Ms. Sutton? What did a year give people the chance to see emerge and stand straight up before their eyes?

    A force to be reckoned with, indeed.

    Regal. Courageous. Evenhanded. Impeccably reasonable.
    Worthy of our confidence and trust in the strongest sense.

    If we had the chance to vote again – today.

    Lattice Sutton For Sheriff.

  • Five years ago today Mitrice Richardson was released from the Malibu/Lost Hills sheriff’s station in Agoura Hills, CA and was missing for 11 months. Tragically, her naked skeletal remains were discovered in a remote canyon not too far from the station. Through a series of intentional or unitentional mishaps, many things went wrong in her case. According to the detectives, her case remains a death investigation which is “clue driven”. It is our hope that the Mitrice Richardson documentary, “Lost Compassion” will compell someone to come forward with information that will aide n solving her case. http://youtu.be/paG5aKfVmRA

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