DOCSLIB.ORG

Criminal Negligence the Depoliticization of Crime

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Criminal Negligence the Depoliticization of Crime Criminal Negligence The depoliticization of crime By Elizabeth Hull emember “crime”? Not so long did so almost as an ago Republican presidential afterthought. R candidates routinely pum- meled their opponents by challenging he failure to their “law and order” credentials. In stress “law- 1964 Barry Goldwater campaigned Tand-order” against “crime in the streets,” and four themes makes sense, years later, in the wake of urban riots certainly, because and the mayhem that accompanied polls taken during the the Democratic National Convention, last year indicate that ©2000www.arttoday.com Richard Nixon won the presidency in voters were preoccu- part by promising an end to “lawless- pied with issues other than crime. In events, including the well-publicized ness.” Ronald Reagan preached a “no- past presidential elections, however, can- murder of 12-year-old Polly Klaas and nonsense” stand on crime and waged didates often trumpeted “get tough” the so-called “Long Island Rail Road an aggressive “war” on drugs. More positions even when polls suggested rela- massacre,” in which an aggrieved gun- recently, in 1988, GOP presidential tive voter indifference. For instance, man killed several passengers.) contender George Bush was able to Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, overcome Michael Dukakis’s Ronald Reagan, and even George Bush In four national polls taken in the fall frontrunner status once he succeeded accused their opponents of “coddling of 1994, crime continued to top the in tarring his rival as “soft on crime.” criminals” to good effect, notwithstand- list of MIPs, with either 42 or 50% of ing the fact that Gallup polls conducted those interviewed, depending upon the Yet in the 2000 presidential election at the time never ranked crime as the survey, citing crime as the nation’s top both major candidates rarely men- MIP—Most Important Problem (a dis- problem. By January 1995 the propor- tioned crime. Twelve years after his tinction invariably awarded to economic tion had fallen to 31%—still a signifi- father trumped Dukakis, and six years issues, such as unemployment, taxes, or cant number, and one high enough to after he himself captured the Texas inflation). According to the late Jeff edge out traditional concerns—and in governorship from popular incumbent Alderman, then director of polling for 1996 a Washington Post survey ranked Ann Richards, in part by accusing her ABC News, “Until Fall 1993 no ABC/ crime second among the voters’ top of being lax on crime, George W. Bush Washington Post poll had ever shown twenty worries. In a mid-1997 Time/ delivered an acceptance speech at the more than 5% of the public naming CNN poll 14% of respondents cited Republican National Convention in crime as the most important problem crime as the main problem facing the which he failed even to mention the facing the country.” nation today, tying it with lack of moral “C” word. And while Al Gore did refer values, and putting it just ahead of to crime in his acceptance speech at the n 1993, however, even as crime budget deficits, with 10%. Democratic National Convention, he rates began falling, between 9 and I10% of poll respondents identified et, surprisingly, in neither the crime as the nation’s MIP. Then, a 1996 nor 2000 election did any scant year later, 37% gave it top rank- Yof the major candidates stress Elizabeth Hull is associate professor of ing. (Criminologist Mark Warr at- law and order issues. An obvious ex- political science, Rutgers University. tributes this leap to a confluence of planation, of course, is that crime rates 20 Public Perspective, March/April 2001 were dramatically down. After reach- record time Dukakis’s 17-point lead ers in compassionate, rather than puni- ing an unprecedented high in 1991, vanished, and Bush handily won the tive, terms. Speaking before the Demo- crime fell every year since, dropping 1988 election. cratic Leadership Council shortly after 4% in 1997 and 5% in 1998. These the Los Angeles uprising, for instance, drops were relatively small, however, he characterized looters as people whose compared to 1999, when the Depart- “lives and bonds to the larger commu- ment of Justice reported in its annual “Crime no longer nity had been shredded by the hard Crime Victimization Report that crime knife of experience.” He also criticized had plummeted another 10%. In 1999, fulfilled its the Reagan-Bush administrations for 7.3 million people—about 33 out of blaming the crime problem on every 1000 US residents—suffered a traditional role as a “them”—impoverished people of color. violent attack. That represents a de- cline of 34% since 1993, to the lowest ‘wedge’ issue with hese sentiments, however, were level since the report began in 1973. which Republicans countered by the harsh poli- Tcies Clinton pursued. As a There is, however, another reason “crime” candidate he had advocated boot camp was relatively ignored in both the 1996 could bludgeon for juvenile offenders, “more police on and 2000 presidential elections: it no Democrats.” the streets and criminals behind bars,” longer fulfilled its traditional role as a and greater reliance on the death pen- “wedge” issue with which Republicans alty. As president he signed the 1994 could bludgeon Democrats. Violent Crime Control Act and the s the Democratic candidate for 1996 Anti-Terrorism and Effective or candidate Bill Clinton, and president in 1992, Clinton re- Death Penalty Act, which together indeed a whole generation of A solved at all costs to avoid his awarded federal funds to any state that F“New Democrats,” the transfor- predecessor’s fate. He would be as adopted “binding sentencing guide- mative event in their political careers unapologetically tough on crime as any line systems,” and he agreed to man- may well have been the “Willie Horton” potential Republican rival. To empha- date life sentences for some three-time phenomenon. During Michael size that point, he interrupted his cam- offenders. The new statutes autho- Dukakis’s tenure as governor of Mas- paigning to fly home to Arkansas to rized 8.8 billion dollars for 57,000 sachusetts, state prison officials granted attend the execution of Ricky Rae Rec- local police officers, 7.9 billion in state convicted murderer Willie Horton a tor, a convict so brain-damaged that he prison grants, and made 54 additional weekend furlough, during which he told his jailers, just hours before his offenses eligible for the death penalty. raped a Maryland woman. Although lethal injection, that he intended to Dukakis had nothing to do with the vote for Clinton in the upcoming elec- Other provisions were not only puni- furlough policy—indeed, it had been tion. According to a former prosecutor, tive, but gratuitously so: one restricted instituted during the tenure of his GOP quoted by Washington Post columnist the scope of court-ordered settlements predecessor—pollsters for Republican Peter Slevin, if Clinton could kill Rec- in lawsuits challenging prison condi- presidential candidate George Bush tor, “he can kill anyone.” Yet, the tions; others allowed some 13-year- learned through focus groups that link- prosecutor acknowledged, by doing so olds to be tried as adults, expanded the ing the Massachusetts governor with Clinton made sure that Bush would not circumstances in which federal pros- Horton would resonate powerfully with be able to taunt him the way he mocked ecutors could use illegally-obtained the electorate. Images of Horton, de- Dukakis, “as a patsy for every dark- evidence, and restricted prisoners’ right picted as a huge and menacing black skinned murderer in Massachusetts.” to file habeas corpus suits. Some mea- man, soon began appearing on televi- sures were as petty as they were puni- sion screens, along with ominous mes- Democratic candidate Clinton still tive, such as the one mandating the sages suggesting that Dukakis was “a needed to appeal to his party’s tradi- deportation of resident aliens for even liberal softie,” whose feckless policies tional constituency, however, and con- minor offenses they might have com- endangered the law-abiding at the same sequently did not entirely jettison lib- mitted years or even decades earlier, or time they indulged the rapists and mur- eral principles: in 1992 he stressed the the one limiting inmates’ access to Pell derers. “The code words were ‘permis- need for drug prevention and treatment grants, with which they could pursue a siveness’ and ‘lawlessness,’” recalls programs, and he urged the slowing of college education. Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew prison construction. As criminology Research Center. The strategy, with professor Katherine Beckett observed, In May 1995, the Federal Sentencing its not-so-subliminal appeal to racism, before and after his victory in 1992 he Commission recommended that Con- proved astonishingly effective: in occasionally even referred to law-break- gress abandon provisions of the Anti- Public Perspective, March/April 2001 21 Drug Abuse Act that imposed substan- dency. Accordingly, even as crime rates sure, but not the same one who ran in tially harsher penalties on crack offend- began falling DLC members began sup- 1996; “this one [was] a religious activ- ers—who are disproportionately Afri- porting muscular “anti-crime” policies. ist.” Those likely to succeed tended to can American—than on anyone else As GOP strategist Ed Rogers observed, be, like the Democrats, Third who violates drug laws. Shortly after the “the Democrats got tired of letting us Wayers—“free trade and globalists, Million Man March, at which Jesse beat them with that club.” foreign-policy activists, defense hawks, Jackson and others condemned crack and people who believe in practical sentencing laws for being unjust and When Clinton ran for the presidency compassion or conservative idealism.” racist, Congress voted to ignore the in 1992, and again in 1996, his so- Sentencing Commission’s recommen- called “triangulation” campaigns y their firm adherence to “Third dations and uphold the existing policy.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The News Media and the Rise of Negativity in Presidential Campaigns
    The News Media and the Rise of Negativity in Presidential Campaigns John Geer Working Paper: 2-2012 Research Concentration: Elections and Electoral Rules <title>The News Media and the Rise of Negativity in Presidential Campaigns: <author> John G. Geer, Vanderbilt University <OPENING QUOTE> “Ads are about news coverage these days.” Mark McKinnon, November 2009<OPENING QUOTE_END> <Starttext>Negative ads have become increasingly common in presidential campaigns. Figure 1 well illustrates this point (see also West 2009). The upcoming 2012 elections will almost surely augment this upward trend of more and more negativity. In fact, with the emergence of Super Pacs, the share of attack ads in 2012 will likely be significantly higher than in 2008, which in and of itself was the high-water mark for attack ads in the modern era. The harsh tone of the battle for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination certainly points toward an exceptionally nasty fall campaign. Why has the frequency of attack ads been increasing at such rapid rates, especially over the last 25years? The article briefly considers two existing answers to this question, both of which have appeal. The main focus, however, is to develop a new explanation that builds on McKinnon’s observation about recent shifts in the press coverage. Specifically, I argue that how journalists now cover elections has helped fuel the rise of attack politics in presidential campaigns. We all know the media, broadly defined, have undergone many changes over the last few decades (Prior 2007; Iyengar 2011). This article adds to that already long list. <heading1>Two Existing Explanations The most common explanation for the rise of negativity is that consultants increasingly believe that attack ads are more effective than positive ads (Iyengar 2011).
    [Show full text]
  • Victims' Rights in California
    Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development Volume 8 Issue 1 Volume 8, Fall 1992, Issue 1 Article 10 Victims' Rights in California Gerald F. Uelman Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/jcred This Symposium is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development by an authorized editor of St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. VICTIMS' RIGHTS IN CALIFORNIA GERALD F. UELMEN* In June 1982, California voters approved an initiative measure to modify evidentiary exclusionary rules, enhance sentences, reformulate the insanity defense, and make numerous changes in the admissibility of evidence in criminal trials. The initiative mea- sure was entitled "The Victims' Bill of Rights," but is more widely known as Proposition 8.' Eight years later, another initiative mea- sure was adopted, which made even more extensive changes in the procedure governing criminal trials. It was entitled "The Crime Victims Justice Reform Act," and is generally known as Proposi- tion 115.' * Dean and Professor of Law, Santa Clara University School of Law. J.D., LL.M., Ge- orgetown University School of Law. In 1991-92, Dean Uelmen served as chair of the Crim- inal Law Section of the State Bar of California. Initiative Measure Proposition 8 (approved June 8, 1982) (codified at CAL. CONST. art. I, §§ 12 (governing bail and release), 28 (granting rights to victims including restitution, bail, and use of prior convictions at sentencing) (West Supp.
    [Show full text]
  • The Demise of Clemency for Lifers in Pennsylvania
    State Historical Clemency Project ★ The Demise of Clemency for Lifers in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania law automatically imposes life imprisonment for first- and second-degree murder, including felony murder, which requires no intent to kill. It is also one of only five states that categorically excludes lifers from parole consideration; the only way for a lifer to be released is by clemency. For a time, the State’s harsh sentencing policies were tempered by a practice of commuting several dozen life sentences each year. That changed around 1980, when commutations in Pennsylvania fell off dramatically. With few exceptions, clemency in the Keystone State remains in a state of a disuse. Commutation, a form of executive clemency,1 is the act of violent crimes, which evoked nightmares of Willie Horton shortening a custodial sentence imposed by a court. This from the 1988 presidential election. McFadden would be report examines the historical and structural reasons for viewed as evidence that supporting clemency could exact clemency’s decline in Pennsylvania. Like many other states, grave political costs. As one former Pennsylvania Attorney Pennsylvania has a Board of Pardons that vets clemency General admitted, “[n]obody wants to have that against them petitions and submits recommendations to the Governor, in their political careers.”2 who makes the final decision. The Board thus acts as “gate- keeper;” its approval is necessary but not sufficient for Pennsylvania’s clemency system is hampered by the Board’s clemency to be granted. institutional design. In 1997, following the McFadden deba- cle, legislators amended the state constitution to require Two political events set the stage for clemency’s demise in that lifers seeking commutation receive unanimous Board Pennsylvania.
    [Show full text]
  • Extensions of Remarks
    September 16, 1988 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 24339 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS DEFEAT THE TEXTILE BILL an estimated 3.6% of their income to subsi­ fashion or out, the American producers dize fat-cat textile shareholders and union­ would be guaranteed their present share of ists. The Reagan administration figures the the market under this law. No matter how HON. JOHN J. LaFALCE new bill-which would impose even stiffer poorly they performed, they would be pro­ OF NEW YORK quotas-would cost consumers an additional tected. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES $7 billion a year. The textile industry is already one of the Friday, September 16, 1988 The textile lobby nonetheless wants more, most heavily protected industries in this and its doting politicians are only too happy country, and has been for more than 30 Mr. LAFALCE. Mr. Speaker, once again we to serve. The House already passed its own years. It is profitable and even does some face the prospect of a Presidential veto of a protectionist bill 263 to 156 and the Reagan exporting. but it likes having a captive textile bill and, possibly, a subsequent con­ administration frets it may not get 34 veto­ market, and no amount of protection is ever gressional attempt to override. I believe this sustaining votes when the Senate weighs in enough. as early as today. GOP statesmen such as The purpose of the bill is to preserve Jobs. legislation ultimately will be, and deserves to William Cohen <Maine shoemakers), Jesse be, defeated, as it has been in the past. Sen. Ernest F.
    [Show full text]
  • Felon Disenfranchisement Policies in the States
    Political and Demographic Explanations of Felon Disenfranchisement Policies in the States Daniel S. Murphy Adam J. Newmark And Phillip J. Ardoin Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice Appalachian State University Abstract Nearly 5 million Americans are currently deprived of the right to vote as a result of state laws which prohibit voting by felons and ex-felons. With the exception of Maine and Vermont, every state denies incarcerated individuals the right to vote, 30 states deny felons on probation or parole the right to vote, and in 12 states felons are permanently banned from voting (Sentencing Project 2004). This research explores the political and demographic factors that influence the probability of a state adopting more or less stringent laws regarding a felon’s right to vote. About the authors Daniel S. Murphy is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justices at Appalachian State University and is sitting member of the Board of Directors for FedCure. His teaching and research are in the areas of criminological theory, prison issues, and criminal justice policy. E-mail ([email protected]). Adam J. Newmark is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Appalachian State University. His primary areas of teaching and research include state and local politics, interest groups and lobbying activity, political parties, public policy, and public opinion. E-mail ([email protected]). Philip J. Ardoin is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Appalachian State University. His teaching and research interest include Congress and influences on Representation, Presidential Elections, and Partisan and Minority Politics. ([email protected]) Political and Demographic Explanations of Felon Disenfranchisement Policies in the States Introduction Over the last four decades, state legislatures have adopted substantial changes in felon disenfranchisement policies, with some states reducing restrictions and others adopting more restrictive policies.
    [Show full text]
  • Boogie Man Discussion Guide Intro What Historical Information Did You
    Boogie Man Discussion Guide intro What historical information did you learn from this film? What emotions did it elicit? Did you feel empathy for Lee Atwater? Former Atwater intern Tucker Eskew says "You can't understand American politics if you don't understand Lee Atwater." Do you agree? What classic American traits does Atwater embody? What adjectives would you use to describe him? Director Stefan Forbes has referred to the title Boogie Man as a triple-entendre. What different meanings might this phrase have? What relevance does this film have to recent political campaigns? Are these connections obvious? Would you have preferred the film spell them out more, or do you prefer films that allow the viewers to make connections themselves? the rebel Do you believe Atwater was anti-establishment, as he claims? If so, how? Do you feel there’s irony in his use of the term? What other ironies do you find in his life and career? Ed Rollins compares Atwater to Billy the Kid. To what other figures in politics, literature and film might you compare him? Is Atwater a hero or an anti-hero, in the classic definitions of the terms? the backlash What did Strom Thurmond teach Atwater about race, class, and wedge issues? What positive effects did he have on Atwater? What negative ones? Did resentment, as Tucker Eskew states, really become the future of the Republican party? If so, how? What were the causes of this resentment? Did things like the Civil Rights movement and LBJ’s Great Society program play a part in it? Howard Fineman says Atwater made the GOP a Southern party.
    [Show full text]
  • The News Media's Role in the Rise of Negativity In
    Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy Discussion Paper Series #D‐55, February 2010 Fanning the Flames: The News Media’s Role in the Rise of Negativity in Presidential Campaigns By John G. Geer Shorenstein Center Fellow, Fall 2009 Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Vanderbilt University © 2010 President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. 1 “Ads are about news coverage these days.” Mark McKinnon, November 2009 The rise of negativity in presidential campaigns is well documented.1 Few doubt that attacks ads are more common in campaigns today than just 25 years ago. The typical assumption is that this negativity is a product of what we might call the Karl Rove mentality. Consultants urge more and more attack ads because the “dark arts”2 help their candidates win elections. Surely, the actions of consultants are part of the explanation for the rise of negativity. But the untold story is the news media’s role in this surge of attacks. Journalists, I contend, started paying a lot of attention to advertising during the 1988 presidential campaign and have continued to do so. And most of this new attention is on negative advertising. This shift in coverage has recast the incentives of consultants, altering how they approach presidential elections, in general, and advertising, in particular. Consultants now know that attacks can draw significant attention in the free media, which gives them more incentive to produce and to air negative ads than they had 25 years ago. Consequently, this paper contends that changes in the behavior of the news media have helped to fuel the rise in attack politics.
    [Show full text]
  • Neo-Nazi Named Jeffrey Harbin Was End Birthright Citizenship
    SPECIAL ISSUE IntelligencePUBLISHED BY SPRING 2011 | ISSUE 141 THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTERReport THE YEAR IN HATE & EXTREMISM HATE GROUPS TOP 1000 Led by antigovernment ‘Patriot’ groups, the radical right expands dramatically for the second year in a row EDITORIAL The Arizonification of America BY MARK POTOK, EDITOR when even leading conser- As we explain in this issue, this dramatic growth of the rad- vatives worry out loud about the ical right for the second consecutive year is related to anger right-wing vitriol and demoniz- over the changing racial make-up of the country, the ailing ing propaganda so commonplace in economy and the spreading of demonizing propaganda and contemporary America, you’ve got other kinds of hate speech in the political mainstream. to be concerned about where our The white-hot political atmosphere is not limited to hard- country is headed. line nativist politicians, conspiracy-mongering cable news This January, former President hosts, or even openly radical hate groups. During the same George W. Bush, speaking in a month when most of these conservative commentaries were question-and-answer session written, the nation witnessed an extraordinary series of at Texas’ Southern Methodist events that highlighted the atmosphere of political extremism. University, warned that the nation seemed to be reliving its On Jan. 8, a Tucson man opened fire in a parking lot on worst anti-immigrant moments. “My point is, we’ve been U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Democrat of Arizona, killing six through this kind of period of isolationism, protectionism, people, critically wounding the congresswoman and badly nativism” before, he said.
    [Show full text]
  • Clemency in Massachusetts a Healthy Criminal Justice System Punishes No More Than Is Necessary and Creates Opportunities for Rehabilitation
    State Clemency Project ★ Willie Horton’s Shadow: Clemency in Massachusetts A healthy criminal justice system punishes no more than is necessary and creates opportunities for rehabilitation. Clemency advances both goals. This Report of the Center’s State Clemency Project focuses on Massachusetts, where just one sentence has been commuted since 1997. Without a realistic opportunity for clemency, more than 1,000 individuals serving life-without-parole sentences in Massachusetts— 13 percent of the state’s prison population—are condemned to die behind bars.1 Before 1980, governors sometimes commuted more than clemency believe that doing so would risk political suicide. a dozen sentences in a single year, drawing from a prison Yet, with today’s sprawling criminal codes and lengthy sen- population several times smaller than today’s. The Center’s tences, clemency is more necessary than ever before. archival review found that commutations were overwhelm- ingly granted to people serving life sentences for murder, most Politics alone do not explain why commutations are no lon- of whom served several decades or more before receiving ger granted in Massachusetts; there are also structural and clemency. This shows that an active clemency system does institutional problems with the way clemency is administered not mean being “soft on crime;” it means recognizing personal there. The Advisory Board of Pardons, which recommends change and accommodating new standards of proportionality. petitioners to the governor’s office, is stacked with law enforce- ment professionals who lack the perspective of a defense Criminal justice policy is often shaped by moments of fear advocate or formerly incarcerated person.
    [Show full text]
  • Governors and the Presidency: How They Campaign, How They Govern
    A New Report Presented by the Eagleton Instute of Polics Center on the American Governor GOVERNORS AND THE PRESIDENCY: HOW THEY CAMPAIGN, HOW THEY GOVERN Walter Shapiro Fellow, Brennan Center for Jusce; presidenal journalist and author Jill Lawrence Naonal columnist for Creators Syndicate and contribung editor to U.S. News and World Report Table of Contents Page The Polling Pendulum 3 On the Trail 4 The Executive Edge 5 The Outsiders 6 On the Record 8 The National Security Dilemma 11 The State of the States 12 The Incumbent as Campaigner 13 The Gubernatorial Difference 14 Governors and the Presidency: How They Campaign, How They Govern "No governor in the nation was more responsive to the challenge of the depression. And he combined executive decision with political address. He faced a Republican legislature hostile to public power, labor, conservation, and social reform. Yet his use of the radio to rouse the folks at home often forced legislators to accept measures they initially opposed." – "The Crisis of the Old Order" by Arthur Schlesinger Jr. The governor, of course, was Franklin Roosevelt. Embedded in that quotation is a theory – or perhaps a myth – that has influenced American politics for the past eight decades. And that is there is no better preparation for the White House than serving as governor, preferably in tumultuous times. Elected governor of New York in November 1928, FDR was just mastering the levers of power when the stock market collapsed less than a year later. In response to the economic crisis, he was the first governor to set up a statewide relief agency and he pioneered putting the jobless to work on state conservation projects.
    [Show full text]
  • STAR TIMES HONORS the BEST in FALL SPORTS SPORTS > C4-C7
    STAR TIMES HONORS THE BEST IN FALL SPORTS SPORTS > C4-C7 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2009 FOG, CLEARING High, 46. Low, 33. >B8 $1.00 outside King, Pierce, Independent and locally owned since 1896 seattletimes.com 75¢ Snohomish, Kitsap counties 1.6 million readers weekly in Western Washington, in print and online FRUSTRATED POLICE SCOUR THE REGION Suspect leaves trail but eludes capture; questions about legal system grow THE SUSPECT Maurice Clemmons DESCRIPTION Age: 37 Height: 5 feet, 8 inches Weight: 235 pounds Features: Black hair; brown eyes; mole on left cheek $125,000 REWARD A reward has been offered for information that leads to the arrest of Clemmons. Tipline: 866-977-2362. FIVE PAGES INSIDE HUCKABEE LINK TED S. WARREN / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS How Clemmons won Lakewood police officers become emotional at a press conference Monday. Four fellow officers were shot to death Sunday as they sat in a coffee shop. clemency from former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2000 and POLICE BELIEVE the political fallout for Four days the former Republican CLEMMONS HAS presidential candidate RECEIVED HELP in May > Close-up A3 FROM HIS FAMILY set stage AND FRIENDS for tragedy BY SARA JEAN GREEN AND CHRISTINE CLARRIDGE BY NICK PERRY, MAUREEN Seattle Times staff reporters O’HAGAN, JONATHAN MARTIN AND KEN ARMSTRONG PARKLAND, Pierce County – Seattle Times staff reporters Maurice Clemmons is likely des- perate: He is believed to be Over four days in May, Mau- THE REACTION armed, but he’s running out of rice Clemmons’ behavior and friends to help him stay ahead of mental state deteriorated.
    [Show full text]
  • Elections 2017: Beginning of the End of Willie Horton Politics?
    The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/2017/11/10/the-beginning-of-the-end-of-willie-horton-politics/) Elections 2017: Beginning of the End of Willie Horton Politics? By Judy Greene | November 10, 2017 Former President Obama campaigns for Ralph Northam, now governor-elect of Virginia. Courtesy Facebook Ed Gillespie sacrificed his future as a rising politician on the national scene when he embraced the Trump/Bannon political playbook in this year’s Virginia gubernatorial race. Long regarded as a centrist Republican, he resorted to hot-button charges that painted his opponent, Democrat Ralph Northam, as an immigrant-hugging, soft-on-pedophilia wuss. Virginia voters couldn’t have made their response clearer. Northam soundly defeated Gillespie (https://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/virginia-governor-election- gillespie-northam) with 53.9 percent of the vote on November 7. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno lost to Phil Murphy, a Goldman Sachs alum, after running a negative campaign that borrowed the guilt-by-association approach polished to a dark art by Lee Atwater, the https://thecrimereport.org/2017/11/10/the-beginning-of-the-end-of-willie-horton-politics/ 11/14/17, 205 PM Page 1 of 5 campaign manager of the first George Bush in his victorious 1988 campaign against Michael Dukakis. Politico New Jersey said her television ad claiming Murphy would “have the backs of deranged murderers” was “reminiscent of George H.W. Bush’s infamous From Willie Horton ‘Attack Ad’ used in 1988 campaign. Photo courtesy Willie Wikipedia Horton ad.” (https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2017/11/07/murphy-defeats-guadagno- 115549) Horton committed armed robbery and rape while on a weekend furlough from a Massachusetts prison.
    [Show full text]