Frank Hatley has languished in a South Georgia jail for more than a year.
The reason? He failed to reimburse the state for all the public assistance his “son” received over the past two decades.
The problem? Hatley is not the biological father -- and a special assistant state attorney general and a judge knew it but jailed Hatley anyway.
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Showing posts with label Justice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Justice. Show all posts
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
First Trial Without Jury Approved
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a criminal trial can take place at Crown Court without a jury for the first time in England and Wales.
The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, made legal history by agreeing to allow the trial to be heard by a judge alone.
It is the first time the power has been used since it came into force in 2007.
Read more...
The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, made legal history by agreeing to allow the trial to be heard by a judge alone.
It is the first time the power has been used since it came into force in 2007.
Read more...
Monday, May 18, 2009
Thousands of Criminal Suspects to be Tried in Virtual Courts
Thousands of criminal suspects will lose the right to appear in court and be brought instead before “virtual” courts conducted via video links under plans before Parliament next week.
Within hours of being charged, defendants — even those accused of murder or rape — will have their first “cyber” hearings from a police station. They may be bailed or remanded in custody or, in the case of guilty pleas to less serious offences such as shoplifting, be sentenced and punished.
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Within hours of being charged, defendants — even those accused of murder or rape — will have their first “cyber” hearings from a police station. They may be bailed or remanded in custody or, in the case of guilty pleas to less serious offences such as shoplifting, be sentenced and punished.
Read more...
Monday, March 23, 2009
£46 Award for Innocent Man's 27 Years in Prison
Sean Hodgson, who spent 27 years in jail for a crime he did not commit, has been given just £46 by the government with which to restart his life.
The Prison Service has awarded the mentally ill former prisoner the equivalent of £1.70 for every year he was wrongly imprisoned.
The payout, a resettlement grant to help ease the victim of one of Britain's gravest miscarriages of justice back into society, was condemned as "the final insult" last night.
Julian Young, Hodgson's solicitor, said: "I am absolutely astounded. I find it quite unbelievable, it is scandalous that, in these exceptional circumstances, additional funds could not be found. He has served 27 years for something he didn't do and this is just insulting."
Hodgson, who requires psychiatric care and is described as deeply institutionalised, is staying at a hostel in central London. Lawyers said the payment, designed to tide the 57-year-old over until he can start supporting himself or apply for emergency loans, had left Hodgson even more confused following his release last week.
"He has no idea of budgeting or the cost of living. Every element of society - and his life - has changed," said Young.
Read more...
I am absolutely speechless at this. Fat cat banking criminals handed billions of our money whilst this travesty of justice nets him £46 !
These bankers and the government are the ones who should be locked up and the keys dropped down the nearest drain. Criminals all of them!
The Prison Service has awarded the mentally ill former prisoner the equivalent of £1.70 for every year he was wrongly imprisoned.
The payout, a resettlement grant to help ease the victim of one of Britain's gravest miscarriages of justice back into society, was condemned as "the final insult" last night.
Julian Young, Hodgson's solicitor, said: "I am absolutely astounded. I find it quite unbelievable, it is scandalous that, in these exceptional circumstances, additional funds could not be found. He has served 27 years for something he didn't do and this is just insulting."
Hodgson, who requires psychiatric care and is described as deeply institutionalised, is staying at a hostel in central London. Lawyers said the payment, designed to tide the 57-year-old over until he can start supporting himself or apply for emergency loans, had left Hodgson even more confused following his release last week.
"He has no idea of budgeting or the cost of living. Every element of society - and his life - has changed," said Young.
Read more...
I am absolutely speechless at this. Fat cat banking criminals handed billions of our money whilst this travesty of justice nets him £46 !
These bankers and the government are the ones who should be locked up and the keys dropped down the nearest drain. Criminals all of them!
Monday, March 09, 2009
Mixed Opinions of a Judge Accused of Misconduct
If Sharon Keller, the presiding judge of Texas’ highest criminal court, has ever doubted her judgment, she has not shown it.
In 1998, Judge Keller wrote the opinion rejecting a new trial for Roy Criner, a mentally retarded man convicted of rape and murder, even though DNA tests after his trial showed that it was not his semen in the victim.
“We can’t give new trials to everyone who establishes, after conviction, that they might be innocent,” she later told the television news program “Frontline.” “We would have no finality in the criminal justice system, and finality is important.”
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In 1998, Judge Keller wrote the opinion rejecting a new trial for Roy Criner, a mentally retarded man convicted of rape and murder, even though DNA tests after his trial showed that it was not his semen in the victim.
“We can’t give new trials to everyone who establishes, after conviction, that they might be innocent,” she later told the television news program “Frontline.” “We would have no finality in the criminal justice system, and finality is important.”
Read more...
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
'Torrent' of Labour Laws Angers One Of Britain's Top Judges
One of Britain's most senior judges delivered a scathing attack yesterday on the 'ceaseless torrent' of new laws.
Lord Phillips, who is to head the new Supreme Court, said that too much legislation had done nothing to cut crime while laying heavy burdens on judges and the courts.
He singled out new sexual offences as particularly pointless. Some, he said, have 'yet to see the face of an indictment'.
Laws that rely on 'hearsay and bad character' have also clogged the courts with appeals, he said.
Read more...
Lord Phillips, who is to head the new Supreme Court, said that too much legislation had done nothing to cut crime while laying heavy burdens on judges and the courts.
He singled out new sexual offences as particularly pointless. Some, he said, have 'yet to see the face of an indictment'.
Laws that rely on 'hearsay and bad character' have also clogged the courts with appeals, he said.
Read more...
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