Laura Ingraham Wrong about Coverage of Gates Controversy..& the Big Missed Opportunity of Three Men

Hunt for Justice

By Cynthia Hunt

Recently on Fox News Channel’s ratings juggernaut, The O’Reilly Factor, conservative commentator Laura Ingraham claimed coverage of Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates’s arrest was overblown by the media. If I hadn't covered so much crime as a reporter, I would probably agree with her that there are more important issues in this age of health care overhauls, bailouts, and unemployment. But Ingraham couldn’t be more wrong.

After years of covering police and crime, the race issue permeates almost all interactions between police officers and minority communities, especially the black community. It took years of watching the police and black community interacting before I realized how strained this relationship is and how both sides often racially profile the other.

Please, before some of you jump to a conservative or liberal defensive posture, give my viewpoint a chance. This is about where we stand in America in terms of race relations today. Writing about race is extremely difficult for me. I grew up in Alabama, and I'm concerned that as a white woman I don't have the experiences to draw from, that I may miss something in my analysis. However, I feel strongly that a unique moment in history was missed because the men involved couldn’t apologize for what they each did wrong.

The Facts Surrounding Gates Controversy

A concerned neighbor called 9-1-1 because she saw two men forcing their way into the home. She didn’t mention race. The Cambridge police responded. Sgt. James Crowley asked for identification from Gates when he found Gates and a friend, who are both black, in the home of the alleged break-in. Gates refused to come out of the house and became angry he was being asked by Crowley, who is white, for ID inside his own home. Gates immediately assumed it was racial profiling saying “why, because I am a black man in America?" Gates eventually provided ID but continued to yell at the officer and accused him of being a racist. You can read Crowley's police report, which Gates has never contradicted. Eventually, Crowley arrested Gates and charged him with disorderly conduct.

Colin Powell Faulted Gates First & Crowley Second

I agree with the opinion former Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed on CNN. Gates should have been patient and come outside to answer the officer’s questions. We all must cooperate with police, even Harvard professors. Powell also believes Crowley did not have to arrest Gates, even though the officer had every right under the law. (See the WCI blog farther down on this same page by former police officer Stacy Dittrich to understand the law.) I believe if I acted so disrespectfully to Crowley in that situation, he would have had me in jail, too. I’ve never seen anyone get away with yelling at a police officer.

I Wish Gates Would Have Apologized at Beer Summit

Here’s why I'm disappointed: After the beer summit, I wanted Professor Gates to seize the moment, apologize, and admit he judged another because of race. I think he could have done that and still acknowledged the huge problem of racial profiling in America. Everyone can understand why the Harvard professor became irritated when asked for ID inside his own home. It would have been a moment of greatness for Gates to be the bigger person and apologize for jumping to conclusions because the officer’s skin is white. I would have liked to have seen the professor teach black America that it’s important for them to not assume every white officer they meet is a racist. There will never be another moment like the beer summit where Gates sad the nation’s complete attention.

Crowley Could Apologize Too

Why do I want Crowley to apologize, since the law clearly states he had the right to arrest Gates? Powell believes the arrest was simply unnecessary and since the charges have been dropped many may agree with him. However, you could argue that by arresting Gates, Crowley protected his career. How? Because the report documented the situation, illustrating that Gates's verbal barrage escalated to a point where it became disorderly conduct. If Crowley hadn't arrested Gates, I wonder if the officer would have risked being in trouble, since the Harvard professor warned that he intended to pursue Crowley for being racist. I’ve seen bad political things happen to good officers over unjust accusations. Since no one is perfect, I am confident there is some part of that night that Crowley could apologize for so that America could have seen both men apologize and unite, truly come together for more than a beer.

President Obama Should Have Apologized

It’s clear to me that President Obama should have apologized for saying the Cambridge police acted “stupidly” when he didn’t know all of the facts. Instead he said he should have "calibrated" his words differently. He, too, jumped to a conclusion based on a knee-jerk reaction to race.

Gates Is Uniquely Suited to Address Police and Minority Relations

It seems Gates is now on track to do what he can to improve race relations. Days after the scholar had time to reflect on the beer summit, he told the Associated Press he wants to produce a documentary from both the perspective of police and people who have been victims of racial profiling so "Americans can understand that you can have two equally valid perceptions of the same event." Do you think he will decide he racially profiled Crowley?

Big Moment Missed

Therefore, a prestigious black scholar, a respected white officer, and an American president who came from a white mother and a black father missed a monumental moment for a true lesson for all Americans.

I’m looking forward to Gates's documentary and hoping Crowley will be a part of it. The sad part is all of America will not watch the documentary like they watched the first presidential beer summit.

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F.B.I. Agent Murders Neighbor's 3-Pound Chihuahua & Doesn't Even Get a Fine

Hunt for Justice
by Cynthia Hunt

What kind of man shoots and kills a tiny 3-pound little girl chihuahua named Sassy?

I know your first thought. What was the chihuahua doing?

Neighbors say Sassy was wearing her pink rhinestone collar and simply walking in the street through the upper-middle class neighborhood in Lorena, Texas, when a homeowner used his pellet gun to repeatedly shoot Sassy. She ran to a neighbor's yard and died. The man turned around with his children and went into his home without a care in the world about the neighbor's pet he had just killed.

The man who killed the pet wasn't just a homeowner. Lovett Leslie Ledger Jr., 40, is an F.B.I. agent stationed in Waco.

At first, police say Agent Ledger (pictured above in the mug shot after his arrest) lied about what he had done. When he realized his other neighbors had witnessed him do it, he changed his story and admitted he shot and killed his own neighbor's pet.

"Mr. Ledger is not sorry for what he's done. Still to this day, eighteen months later, we've never had an apology." Amy Davis, Sassy's owner, told KXXV-TV News in Waco yesterday after court.

The story led the news at the local TV station. The Davis family held a picture of the little fawn-colored chihuahua with her huge ears. Sassy looked a lot like my little guy, Maxwell, my 12-year-old chihuahua (pictured with me after he had knee surgery). I would show you a picture of Sassy but there are none in print I can pull from the news coverage. You can watch the TV story that shows a quick picture of her if you click on this KXXV-TV link.

In my years as a journalist, I've covered many animal cruelty cases, and I've seen other defendants, who are not law officers, receive much more punishment. I think Ledger should have been punished more, not less, than a regular citizen because he understood the magnitude of his actions.

Ledger pleaded "no contest" to felony animal cruelty charges in exchange for deferred probation, no fine, and 300 hours of community service. Deferred probation means Ledger will have no final verdict of guilt if he completes his terms successfully.

In other words, Ledger got practically no punishment for killing his neighbor's pet.

The F.B.I. has an internal investigation to see if Ledger gets to keep his job, which he should absolutely lose. The man shot a little dog who was simply walking through the neighborhood. If he is capable of that, how has he abused his power as an F.B.I. agent?

Let me explain why the ability to kill a small pet is such a disturbing sign. Many serial killers have pasts that include the torture or killing of small pets. Experts have long listed the killing of small animals as a dangerous sign of a future sociopath. The killing or torture of small animals, fire starting, and bed wetting are the three behavioral markers of the "homicidal triad," which a number of serial offending sociopaths have exhibited in their pasts. I bet Agent Ledger wets his bed too. Any grown man who gets satisfaction from killing a small defenseless animal like Sassy has to be a bed wetter.

Jason and Amy Davis, Sassy's owners, are disappointed in the sentence. They wished Ledger would have had to be the one to tell their then 8 and 5 year old kids that their pet Sassy had been killed.

Pets are such an important part of so many American families. I know many of you may not know or particularly like chihuahuas. These little dogs with their big spirits have been a priceless addition to our family.

Chihuahuas with their keen hearing are ranked as one of the best watch dogs because they always alert you when something is wrong. When the railroad serial killer was on the loose, I lived near the tracks and was on high alert like everybody else in Houston. Angel Maturino Resendiz had killed a brilliant female doctor just a couple of miles from where I lived. My old apartment had no alarm system, but Maxwell my chihuahua alerted me any time anyone was near our apartment. He was the only reason I could sleep during that awful time in Texas. My little dog's unconditional love has given me more than I could ever write.

My sister Angelia was diagnosed with terminal inoperable heart and brain aneurysms when she was only 23. Doctors call her a ticking time bomb because one of her aneurysms could rupture any day. We are blessed she has lived nine years since that diagnosis. Her only dream in life was to be a mother. With her illness, that dream would never come true. Instead she became a mother to Lucy Pearl (pictured above), a bossy, lovable little chihuahua who never fails to make us laugh at her antics.

Killing a neighbor's pet is something that the courts should punish accordingly in 2009.

An F.B.I. agent who kills his neighbor's small dog should get more than community service. The prosecutors in this case should be ashamed of themselves for agreeing to this deal.

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She Drank Martinis, Drove 115 MPH and Allegedly Killed This Smiling Mother of Four

Hunt for Justice

by Cynthia Hunt

This isn’t one of my flashier posts about chasing a serial killer or another high profile crime that I have covered. It is about an alleged killer—a woman who investigators say got wasted at a martini bar, jumped behind the wheel of her car, and drove it 100 mph into the back of an innocent mother’s vehicle. (Cheryl Guberman, pictured left, died in the accident)

If you think you are mad now, wait until you hear what Pamela Pugh allegedly said after the crash.

Officers Say Pugh Made Up a Big Lie

Constables on the scene say Pugh told them an elaborate story of how another car cut her off, caused her to hit the toll road’s concrete barrier, and then fled the scene. Deputies could not see Guberman’s truck which had actually plunged into the dark woods 44 feet below and down the road from where Pugh stopped.

Two hours later the husband and son of 44-year-old Cheryl Guberman found her dead in her wrecked vehicle. That night, Cheryl was simply driving on the Hardy Toll Road, the road that many Houstonians take to the airport, to pick up one of her sons. Cheryl was a mom of four.

Technology Tells On Pamela

Officers, who didn’t know about the real victim, did know one thing. They say Pugh stunk like booze and could not balance. The experienced defendant refused to take a breath test or to submit to field sobriety tests so officers arrested her and took her in for a good ‘ole blood test. (Pamela Pugh, pictured below)

Technology is a great thing.

Pugh’s blood alcohol content showed she was 0.19—more than double the state’s legal limit.

Technology disproved Pugh’s story in another big way.

Car Computer Proves Pugh Drove 115 MPH

The computer on Pugh’s Chrysler Sebring shows she was driving 115 mph five seconds before the crash and 100 mph one-tenth of a second before impact. The computer also shows that Pugh slammed into Guberman without ever hitting her brakes.

Pugh, who was at first charged with DWI, now faces charges of intoxication manslaughter thanks to all that technology.

Technology could have …and should have…saved Cheryl Guberman’s life.

Can We Charge The Texas Senate with Intoxication Manslaughter Too?

Two weeks before Cheryl was killed, the Texas House passed a bill requiring people convicted of drunk driving to have an ignition interlock device installed on their car. The Texas Senate never even held one hearing. I’m sure the Senators were busy with more important matters like talking to lobbyists.

It probably won’t surprise you that Pugh was convicted of drunk driving in 2007.

It’s no secret that convicted drunk drivers continue to drink and continue to drive. I’ve done the story. Other reporters continue to do the story. Studies prove it. Graves illustrate it. The devastated families left behind can tell you about it.

Jury Sentences Texas Drunk to 75 Years in Prison for Ninth DWI

Just outside of Houston, TX in Brazoria County, a jury just sent Keith Peltier to prison for 75 years. It was his ninth DWI conviction. Peltier’s attorney Jon Jaworski says the sentence is too severe and that his client was not drunk but in diabetic shock.

Really Jon?

You expected a jury of fine Texans to believe that one? Even if you are right, your client should have been locked up years ago. It shouldn’t take nine DWI convictions to get these liquored-up killing machines off the road.

As for Pugh, she has now hired defense attorney Troy McKinney, a man the Houston Chronicle says is known for successfully defending DWI cases.

My heart breaks for all the Guberman children. One of Cheryl’s sons graduated from high school the same week his mother was killed.

Technology could save the lives of other moms like Cheryl if the Texas legislature would simply do its job and use it. Perhaps the Senators can make time in their busy calendars to schedule a hearing and listen to Cheryl's husband of 23 years or her four children…especially the son who helped his dad find his mom’s body.

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Teacher Gets an F in Exclusive Interview Trying to Defend Herself of Sex Charges

Hunt for Justice
by Cynthia Hunt

A former Tennessee High School math teacher is hitting the TV news airwaves in Nashville saying she is the victim, not the predator. Sandy Binkley is charged with statutory rape by an authority figure. Investigators say she had sex with one of her students in the classroom during school hours.

In an exclusive interview with the CBS affiliate in Nashville, Binkley says the 17-year-old student sexually assaulted her. "There was one incident with one student who was one month from being 18. He is bigger than me. He forced himself on me." Binkley told NewsChannel 5.

Watch the interview. If you were really raped by a student is that how you would talk about it with a reporter?

The student was a teacher's aid at Portland High School. During a hearing, court transcripts show the student testified, "She laid down on the desk and I began to have intercourse with her...she said her tubes were tied, which is why I didn't wear a condom. She said this isn't what you expected when you signed up for teacher's aid."

A grand jury indicted Binkley after hearing from that student and from investigators. After Binkley was charged, two other students came forward saying they also had sex with her. Binkley says the other students are lying to cover up for their friend. (Binkley's Mug Shot After Arrest in 2008)

What is unusual about this case is that Binkley's attorney is allowing his client to go on TV and defend herself months before her trial. He says he hopes someone in the community knows something about this he-said-she-said case to help clear his client.

As a viewer and a journalist, I watched the first part of the exclusive interview which aired last night. In my opinion, it didn't help the defense. Binkley did not come across as credible. She sat there holding her supportive husband's hand and talking about how this has devastated her life, but she didn't seem upset.

When you compare her interview with the student's testimony in court where the 17-year-old says Binkley told him she had her tubes tied, she looks even worse. Teenage boys just don't talk that way, which immediately leads me to believe she said what he claims she said.

Binkley also distrubed me when she smiled during the interview when saying she doesn't see herself as one of those attractive teachers like Pam Rogers who has victimized students. If she isn't guilty, then her attorneys made a categorically bad decision to let this woman go on TV. She should not smile about anything that relates to teachers molesting students.

Pam Rogers was a former beauty queen turned Tennessee teacher who is in prison after she was convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old student in 2006. (Pam Rogers in 2006)

She did make one good point in her disastrous interview. She said people often assume because a teacher is charged that he or she is guilty.

What frustrated me with the reporting on NewsChannel 5 and in The Tennessean newspaper is not one reporter has answered a blaring question: How did police find out about this case? Did Binkley, who says she is the victim, go to the police or did the rumorville around school lead police to investigate if this teacher was molesting her students? I would like to know how this investigation started. I am not saying I believe Binkley is guilty if she did not go to police. Many rape victims do not. However, it certainly hurts her case if she didn't since this does involve a student.

I am glad that Binkley can speak out and defend herself. That's her First Amendment right. I've seen it work well for many defendants, but I don't know what Binkley's attorneys were thinking in this case. I do know I will watch the second story to further test my theory that she isn't telling the truth.

Now it's your turn. Here's the link to her interview, what do you think?

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No Justice in Iran for Jailed American Journalist Roxana Saberi

Hunt for Justice by Cynthia Hunt

Roxana Dreamed of Becoming a Journalist Who Helps America

She was a lot like me...but much more courageous.

We dreamed of being journalists, and the hard work and hard lifestyle it takes to be successful didn’t stop us.

We both started out as one-man bands which is TV news lingo for a reporter who has to shoot all her own footage—a reporter and photographer in one.

She was a one-man band in the large market of Houston, Texas. By then, I had experienced photographers, editors and engineers. They were needed to keep up with the fast competitive pace of Houston news.

Most TV reporters dream of making it to network news in New York City, but Roxana Saberi had a bigger dream than most journalists…much bigger.

Roxana dreamed of making a difference by reporting from a dangerous part of the world that most Americans don’t understand and don’t trust. Roxana grew up in Fargo, North Dakota with a mom from Japan and a dad from Iran. Her dad grew up in North Dakota but his birth in Iran gave Roxana dual American-Iranian citizenship.

At the tender age of 25, Roxana moved to Iran. The former Miss North Dakota and top ten finalist in Miss America started wearing traditional Muslim dress so she could live in Iran and work as a freelance journalist for NPR, the BBC, and other prestigious news organizations. She started working on a Masters degree in Iranian studies and writing a book to explain the culture and people.

Now, six years later this beautiful, smart, hard working American journalist is locked up in Iran’s notorious Evin prison convicted of espionage. (Roxana's Dad Pictured Left Is In Iran Hiring Attorneys to Fight for His Daughter's Release)

Once again Iranian officials have proven why they cannot be trusted or underestimated.

Iranian Officials Arrested Roxana and Charged Her With Spying

On January 31st, Iranian officials arrested Roxana and put her in prison. Roxana told her parents she was arrested for buying a bottle of wine. Buying alcohol is illegal in Iran. Iran’s foreign-ministry spokesperson said Roxana was being jailed for reporting without valid press credentials. Iranian officials had taken away Roxana’s press credentials but then allowed her to keep reporting for some time.

Iranian officials hinted for months Roxana would be released and then all of sudden Iran’s judiciary said Roxana was being investigated for passing information to American intelligence members. Then they claimed she confessed to this ridiculous allegation. Roxana told her dad they threatened to kill her if she didn’t admit to spying. Roxana was charged with espionage, convicted in secret, and sentenced to 8 years in prison. The verdict was "beyond belief."

Looking duplicitous as usual, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday sent a letter to the judiciary calling for a fair appeal for Roxana.

Many experts believe Iranian officials are playing a sick game of political chess with Roxana’s life. They think Iran has trumped up these charges against Roxana in order to get the United States to free five Revolutionary Guard members Americans found training insurgents in Iraq.

President Obama Should Secure Roxana’s Release

The White House and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have both said they are deeply disappointed by Iran’s actions. I hope that behind those politically safe statements, the White House is putting the fear back in Iran.

I am outraged as an American and as a journalist.

Iran has had no fear of any repercussions from the United States for some time. They are moving forward with an aggressive nuclear program. Remember, President Ahmadinejad said he wanted to wipe Israel off the map. We should all worry when a nation is building nuclear capability and has no fear.

Now a young journalist is locked up in an Iranian prison for using her pen to help Americans and the world at a critical time when we all need as much understanding of the Iranian people as we can get.

My longtime friend Ray Magnant was Creative Services Director at News 34 Houston where Roxana worked. He says she earned the respect of all who knew her.

“She was smart and very driven. She was one of the best reporters we had. You knew she wouldn’t stay in Houston that long because she was so smart. We knew she was destined for bigger stories.” Magnant said.

In an exclusive interview with ABC News, George Stephanopoulos asked Ahmadinejad if he would release Roxana as a good will gesture. I suggest you take a deep breath so you don’t blow a gasket or vomit when you read his response.

"I think Mr. Obama, as a sign of change and also to encourage friendship, should allow laws to be processed fairly and allow the judiciary to carry out its duties," Ahmadinejad said.

How dare he say President Obama, the leader of the free world, should just sit by while Iran trumps up charges and convicts an American journalist of espionage. President Kennedy once reminded Americans that the only job protected by the constitution is that of journalists. Journalists are crucial to justice. Nothing sanitizes like a pen writing the truth.

As for the White House, I can only hope they are using Big Stick Diplomacy which calls for speaking softly in public as to not worsen the situation while carrying a big stick and threatening Iran behind closed doors.

For now, I urge all Americans to contact the White House and let the president know you want strong actions that will bring Roxana home. You can visit the website dedicated to freeing her to follow her case and the fight for her. As we sit in our comfortable American homes, Roxana is starting a hunger strike today from prison doing what little she can to fight for her own freedom.

Courageous indeed.

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They Are All Crooks So Why Not Bail Out Jeff Skilling?

Hunt for Justice by Cynthia Hunt

(Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, left, talks with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke before the start of a House hearing on AIG.)

Is the United States Morally Bankrupt?

I’m not a negative person so it’s hard for me to think in that way, but facts are facts. I sit here day after day shaking my head about the financial crimes perpetrated by some of our nation’s finest minds and most educated individuals. It makes me worry about the moral health of our nation.

I’ve covered many violent crimes during my career as a journalist, and you can usually find the triggers. When you put a killer or rapist under a microscope, you almost always find a past that explains how the person transformed into a monster. Notice, I didn’t say it excuses them, but at least they are often explainable.

(Pic of Blogger Covering a Triple Murder in Houston)

Will White Collar Crooks Destroy Our Great Nation?

I find this new wave of white collar crimes grounded in greed and dishonesty more disturbing. I believe it reflects a moral decay in some of our nation’s most accomplished individuals. How could any AIG executive accept part of the $165 million in retention bonuses? Their company failed. They failed. A Big Fat F. We all know when you fail, you are not rewarded. We learned that in grade school Most of the executives receiving these ridiculous bonuses were from the same AIG unit that caused some of the insurance giant’s most severe problems. Accepting that bonus money is clearly stealing. Theft. A ripoff.

AIG is nothing compared to Merrill Lynch. Executives there rushed out $3.6 billion in bonuses. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo discovered Merrill paid four executives a combined $121 million and distributed bonuses of $1 million or more to 696 employees. The firm lost $15 billion in the fourth quarter. Again, I call accepting or giving bonuses at a company that is failing theft. What would you call it? Kudos to New York Supreme Court Justice Bernard Fried for ordering the list of Merrill bonus earners be disclosed to the taxpayers. After all, Bank of America bought Merrill Lynch. Bank of America has been allocated $45 billion in federal bailout funds and the Treasury has guaranteed to protect it from potentially billions of dollars in losses from investments Lynch made in real estate loans.

These bonuses are just the latest crimes. Yes, I said crimes. Shouldn’t we investigate the executives whose potentially fraudulent decisions caused the failures in the first place. Let me again quote a Wall Street Journal editorial from 2006:

A joke in Washington goes like this: "What's the difference between Enron and Fannie Mae? Answer: The guys at Enron have been convicted.”

Today Enron Would Get A Bail Out

I covered the Enron story from the beginning. We called the Enron guys' work voodoo accounting. They were put on trial, called liars and thieves, and sent to prison. Founder & CEO Ken Lay died before he went to the federal pen. Former CEO Jeff Skilling was sentenced to 24 years and recently lost his appeal. The damage Enron did is small compared to the Americans suffering now. This 2009 gang of white collar thieves is largely getting off except for the worst of the worst, Bernie Madoff.

(The FBI Arrests Former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling 2004)

Jeff Skilling was once one of America's brightest and brashest stars. I sat in his Houston mansion one night as he meticulously explained everything that went wrong at Enron and what he knew and when he knew it. I must tell you that he knew they pushed limits to create a new kind of industry. However, he never believed their company was in real financial trouble and would go down and destroy so many people financially. I am not defending just comparing. After he was convicted, he was ordered to pay $45 million in restitution to Enron investors.

I find Skilling more like a school girl when compared to this new gang of still unnamed executives--the people who ran their companies into the ground with complicated deals and shady investments and then stole taxpayer money. I am sure if federal prosecutors spend as much time investigating all of these huge companies as we did Enron, we could send a bunch of these modern suits to prison.

Let's not forget the politicians who gladly pocket donations from these sharp dressed crooks. I think they should go to jail first and stay the longest. Unfortunately, you know that will not happen when you follow the money trail.

A NEWSWEEK review of recent filings with the Federal Election Commission found that the political action committees of five big TARP recipients doled out $85,300 to members in the first two months of this year—with most of the cash going to those who serves on committees who oversee the TARP program. Among them: Bank of America (which got $15 billion in bailout money) sent out $24,500 in the first two months of 2009, including $1,500 to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and another $15,000 to members of the House and Senate banking panels.

We have elected crooks overseeing the hearings of the business crooks while the elected crooks pocket money from the business crooks they oversee. Instead of sending our 2009 crooks to prison, we, the hardworking taxpayers, are bailing them out. We strive for equitable treatment in our justice system. Should we bail out Jeff Skilling too? At least, he went before Congress and testified instead of cowardly taking the fifth or fighting in court to keep his name and his bonus amount secret. He didn't try to take taxpayer money as a bonus after Enron collapsed.

They say our economy will recover from this, but what about our national character? Politicians taking control of our banking sector is a dangerous development that keeps getting scarier. It's all so un-American. Many historians believe Rome fell because of internal decadence and excessive self-indulgence. Will we too?

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Is the Mexican Government Conspiring to Sue American Ranchers Who Stop Illegals?

(picture shows Roger Barnett on his ranch in Arizona)
Hunt for Justice by Cynthia Hunt

I thought I had misread The Washington Times headline:

“16 Illegals Sue Arizona Rancher:
Claim Violation of Rights as They Cross His Land”

It gets worse.

The 16 illegal immigrants sued Arizona rancher Roger Barnett for $32 million. They claimed he violated their civil rights when he stopped them at gunpoint as they illegally crossed his land. The invading illegals said the incident caused them emotional distress.

Now really hold on.

The jury awarded four of the female illegal immigrants $73,000 for four claims of assault and emotional distress.

“I couldn’t believe it,” 64-year-old Barnett told me in a phone interview. “Americans need to get involved. It’s going to be frightening. Pay attention to what’s happening in our country.”

Rancher’s Attorney Believes Mexican Government Money Behind Lawsuit

The Rancher’s attorney, David T. Hardy, says we will see more lawsuits whenever ranchers become too successful at stopping the illegal traffic on their land. Barnett has caught and turned over 12,000 illegal immigrants who were trespassing on his land to border patrol. (picture shows a group of 60 illegal immigrants Barnett found on his land and turned over to border patrol)

“It’s pretty obvious that MALDEF (The Mexican American Legal and Education Fund) targeted Roger because he was so prominent on border issues,” Hardy said.

But Hardy told me something even more disturbing in our interview: “I suspect the Mexican government may have been behind this as well because of the enormous amount of money spent.”

Illegals’ 9 Attorneys Versus American’s 2

Hardy says he and one assistant defended Barnett while the illegal immigrants had nine attorneys on their case. For that small two-person defense team, Barnett has had to spend a large chunk of his own money to pay his almost $100,000 in legal bills.

Also, whoever was behind the lawsuit had to locate all 16 illegal immigrants and get them to testify long after the incident. Do you have any concept how hard that would be?

As a reporter, I covered the railroad serial killer, Angel Maturino Resendiz, as he crossed the border into Texas again and again to kill. He was on the FBI’s Most Wanted List and our government failed to detect him even when he was caught by Border Patrol in 1999. Things have improved some since then, but as a journalist I can tell you it would take power from the Mexican government to track down this many illegal immigrants months after they were deported by Border Patrol. Some would go home, but many would cross back into the United States to work in the shadows of our broken system.

Rancher Says Illegals Killed His Cows, Trashed his Property & Left Dead Behind

Barnett says he is the real victim here. He said illegals dump plastic on his land and, before he can stop it, his cows eat the plastic. He has watched four die a painful death after eating the illegals’ trash. (picture shows trash dumped by illegal immigrants on Barnett's ranch)

Barnett and his wife had refurbished a mobile home and put it on the middle of their large ranch to use as a getaway home. Illegals broke into the home and built a fire on the floor, even though there was a working propane stove. Instead of using the bathroom, they defecated on the floors.

The most disturbing thing to Barnett is that when one illegal dies crossing on his ranch, the rest just leave the body there. “We get phone calls from people from Mexico looking for the bodies of loved ones,” Barnett said.

Why in the World Did a Federal Judge Allow this Lawsuit to Continue?

The relatively few Americans who have heard about this case were outraged that a judge allowed it to proceed. But even Barnett’s attorney Hardy says U.S. laws forced the judge to allow the lawsuit. He says a 1787 law extended federal courts to illegal immigrants, and in 1866, Congress outlawed discrimination against aliens. Barnett says these outdated laws are not the real problem. He cannot believe the federal government, in 2009, isn’t protecting our borders.

“Our government has let myself and citizens down. They haven’t performed their duties like they should. It’s mind boggling they don’t get more serious,” the aging rancher says.

Who Are The Illegals Who Sued the Rancher?

•One man admitted he has illegally entered the United States 8 times. U.S. records document 5 of those.

•Another man had been convicted of felony drug distribution.

•The defense proved the illegal immigrants had been robbed and sexually assaulted by Mexican bandits as they tried to cross the border. They didn’t sue the bandits who committed those terrible crimes. They sued the rancher who stopped them on his land. (picture shows one of the many large quanities of marijuana found with illegal immigrants Barnett has stopped on his ranch).

The Rancher & His Gun & His Appeal

Hardy, a well known Second Amendment expert, says Barnett was well within the laws to pull his gun on the 16 aliens. The law says you may pull a gun when you think you may be in danger, and he says any reasonable American would pull a gun when they ran into 16 illegal aliens.

Hardy says the judge did not give the jury this instruction on self-defense. He expects the $73,000 awarded to 4 illegal immigrants to be turned over on appeal. The attorney says he has bigger concerns about this case. He is convinced our nation has stopped protecting its citizens, and he's concerned the media is failing in its job to tell Americans what is happening on our borders.

“I found the media coverage mystifying. No local papers showed up. The AP reporter showed up the last day,” Hardy said.

What Do You Americans Think?

As a journalist, I’ve lived in Texas for the last decade. I’ve covered stories where homeowners have shot people on their property at night and been legally cleared as they were protecting themselves against an intruder. The so-called Castle Doctrine laws are very protective of a homeowner protecting his life and property so when I read this case I was truly shocked that an American had to spend a small fortune to defend himself against a case that all the facts show was orchestrated.

Every allegation the illegals made the rancher was able to disprove. They told the jury wild stories about their emotional injuries left by this man, yet they had no proof of any of it. The Border Patrol says Barnett was calm when they found him as he usually is when turning over a group. Yet these illegals claimed they had post-traumatic stress disorder from the few minutes Barnett had them. The illegals claimed Barnett told them things in Spanish that he doesn’t even know the words to say.

Barnett says he will continue to protect his land. His wife Barbara rarely stays by herself in their ranch home because of the illegals that our government fails to stop. Barnett continues to drive across his ranch looking for the illegal immigrants who are ruining his land. He carries water with him as they often need help.

Barnett cannot believe the great United States is not protecting its borders.

He cannot believe he had to spend a fortune defending himself against a lawsuit by illegal immigrants and now must rely on a defense fund to help him.

He cannot believe that he has to continue to protect his own ranch as great risk to himself.

He worries about this nation and gave me this warning, “If they don’t to something really quickly, this country is lost.”

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Casey Anthony’s Attorney Goes After Volunteers Who Searched for Caylee

Hunt for Justice by Cynthia Hunt

The defense attorney for America’s most notorious jailed mother is targeting volunteers who searched for Caylee Anthony, and it has Tim Miller fuming mad.

Attorney Jose Baez (pictured left with Anthony) is trying to force Texas Equusearch to give him every single record the organization has—more than 20,000 documents. Equusearch searched for Caylee, but it was not them who located her body in the end. Tim Miller leads the well-known nonprofit search organization, and he’s ready for a fight.

“Jose Baez, as far as I'm concerned, is not going to get one single piece of paper from me. Not one piece of paper,” Tim Miller told Greta Van Susteren on Fox News Channel’s Monday Night broadcast.

“These volunteers have been very, very valuable in the past on searches. They're going to be very valuable in the future on searches for missing children. And will they come the next time, when they're afraid that their information is going to be given out? We have not one piece of paper that will be valuable to Jose Baez in any way, shape or form. So I will fight this to the very, very end,” Miller said. (Picture Above Texas Equusearch had around 150 volunteers searching for Caylee September 1, 2008)

Tim Miller’s Story is One of Grieving Parent Turned Everyday Hero

If you don’t know Tim Miller’s story, you should. In 1984, Miller’s 16-year-old daughter Laura was abducted. During the next year and a half, Miller says he tried to drink himself to death. He knew in his heart that his daughter was dead, but the fact police never found Laura’s body made every parent’s worst nightmare even darker.

A year and a half after her disappearance, some kids stumbled onto a foul odor in a remote Galveston County field about an hour outside of Houston. The bodies of four girls had been buried and Laura Miller was one of them. A serial killer had used the field as a place to dump his young victims.

Miller never forgave himself for not searching every square foot of Texas for Laura. This father’s pain led to Miller’s founding of Texas Equusearch 15 years later (Miller left, at his daughter Laura's Grave).

As a reporter, I’ve watched Miller and his heroic army of volunteer searchers time and time again. They brave the worst weather and land conditions to exhaustively help families and police find missing people. They provide invaluable manpower and assistance that police just don’t have. Often Miller and his compassionate army will locate a body that in all likelihood would never have been found without them.

Miller’s single purpose for living is to provide this heroic service. You should see this compassionate man help families. He knows exactly how they feel. It’s been amazing for me to see the sacrifices he and his proficient and professional volunteers make. They take vacation time from work. They often use their own equipment and money to help. The leave their families and travel wherever needed. They suffer harsh weather conditions and the worst terrain just to serve families at their most desperate hour. (Left,Texas Equusearch volunteers comb the woods looking for Caylee)

Tim Miller has spent his entire life’s savings to fund Texas Equusearch which evolved into a nonprofit. In the group’s first six years, they found more than 500 bodies. They have helped in countless high profile cases, but they are just as quick to respond to any family in need. Many times I have seen Miller’s people searching even when police are barely working the case. Miller is expanding and starting new branches across the United States because the tragic business of missing people is booming.

Should Anthony’s Attorney Get Documents about Volunteer Searchers?

When I first heard Anthony’s defense attorney wanted Miller’s records, I felt conflicted. The pro-information journalist in me reasoned that since the search was done in public, for the public good, perhaps the information of all volunteers involved should be available to anyone who wants it. Journalists believe in free information, and that public light sanitizes events and helps ensure justice.

There is what’s right legally, and there’s what’s right ethically.

The thought of an attorney, who is defending the ultimate monster mother for the murder of her precious daughter, combing Miller’s volunteer records to try to find anything that could cast a shadow of doubt on his searchers, makes me sick.

However, there are legitimate legal questions that need answering. We still don’t know how long Caylee's body was buried in the woods near the Anthony home. Could the body have been placed there while Casey was in jail? Knowing the facts that all of us know—that’s unlikely.

Some questioned how Miller’s volunteers could have missed the remains when they were searching, but Miller explains that the wooded area was under several feet of water until recently; a fact police records substantiate. Miller didn’t want to search an area covered in three feet of water because he was afraid their equipment would damage the toddler’s body and the evidence if she were there.

How do you think the court will rule? Will Miller have to turn over all of his records to Casey’s attorney? What do you think is right?

Can you imagine a technicality that would allow this mother to walk free? I know you are thinking that will never happen. Two letters come to mind-O.J.

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Legal & Life Lessons from a Dallas Cowboy

Hunt for Justice by Cynthia Hunt

How could he not be bitter?

Marcus Dixon’s case proves our justice system can fail miserably.

Still, he’s not bitter.

How would you feel if our justice system stole almost two years of your life and a dream you had defied odds to make come true?

You may remember Marcus’s story. It sparked national outrage and a change in Georgia laws.

His Father Abandoned Him & His Mother Went To Prison but the Little Boy Still Excelled

Marcus Dixon (pictured above) was always special despite how unfair his life seemed to be. His spirit and athletic talent made him stand out even in little league. After his father vanished and his mother went to prison, his grandmother gave her blessings when a white family asked to adopt 9-year-old Marcus, who is black.

Kenneth and Peri Jones, a school maintenance manager and teacher, lost relationships with two immediate family members but never regretted their decision to adopt a black child in the mostly white community of Rome, Georgia. They treated him the same as their son by birth. (Pictured Below Peri & Ken Jones Appear on CBS to Discuss Marcus's Case)

Marcus was a superstar in the classroom and on the field. As a high school senior, he had a 3.96 grade-point average and a full football scholarship to Vanderbilt University. The Joneses never dreamed they would soon be spending their life savings defending their star son.

The Racially Charged Case Begins

When Marcus was 18, he had sex with a white girl who was just shy of her 16th birthday. She later claimed he raped her. He said the sex was consensual and the girl had told him her father was a racist and would never approve. Many felt the prosecution that followed was harsh and racially motivated. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine the following if the boy had been white and the girl black.

For the most part, the jury believed Marcus and rejected the long list of charges the prosecutor had thrown at the teen—rape, sexual battery, false imprisonment, and aggravated assault. However in this “she said—he said” case, the jury convicted Marcus of the odd combination of statutory rape, a misdemeanor, and the more serious charge of aggravated child molestation because it was illegal for him as an 18-year-old to have sex with a girl who was just shy of 16.

The jurors were shocked and outraged when the judge, who was bound by Georgia’s mandatory sentencing laws, sent Marcus to prison for 10 years with no possibility of parole. The jurors did not realize what they had done until it was too late, and Marcus was headed to prison for the next decade. Five of the jurors said they never would have voted for what they thought were lesser convictions if they had known the result of their decision.

Outrage Spread Across the Nation Over How Legal System Treated Marcus

Marcus’s story sparked a national outcry and charges of Old South injustice. A white attorney saw the teen’s story and worked on Marcus’s appeal pro bono. After Marcus served 15 months in prison, the Georgia Supreme Court threw out Marcus's conviction and sentence for the molestation charges agreeing with his attorneys that it was cruel and unusual punishment. It's interesting to note that in this racially charged controversy, it was a white corporate Georgia attorney who donated $400,000 worth of legal work to free Marcus. Lawmakers themselves said they never realized that the law they had passed to strengthen sentencing guidelines for child molesters could be applied to consensual sex between teenagers. (Above, Marcus is freed)

Marcus Shows the Dallas Cowboys the Stuff of a Real Champion

Marcus could not regain everything he had lost, especially the full scholarship to Vanderbilt University. Marcus got a football scholarship to Hampton University in Virginia. Now five years after this legal nightmare started, Marcus is getting a second chance at his dream. He’s on the practice team for the Dallas Cowboys with hopes of making the team.

Pam Oliver, FOX’s awesome and respected NFL Correspondent, updated the story of Marcus Oliver last Sunday. In her interview, I was struck when he told her he is NOT bitter. (Watch video of Pam’s story on Marcus.)

NOT Bitter?

Marcus's Story Presents a Question for Us All

During this miraculous time of the year when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, there is so much to learn from this 24-year-old kid who lost so much because of a failure in our legal system.

Holiday Flying & A Cold-Hearted, Continental Gate Agent Made Me Daydream about Breaking Laws

I know people who are bitter about all events great and small in their lives. As I was flying home to Alabama to see my family yesterday, a bitter Continental gate agent went on the plane just before takeoff to yank me off the flight because she could not find my ticket for my 5-pound Chihuahua who was sitting in a carrier underneath my seat. I begged her to let me work it out with Continental in Nashville, but nope. She took me off the plane and let the plane leave with my seat empty.

I’m bitter about that.

At first, I had visions of this obviously miserable woman going hunting with Dick Cheney. That made me ashamed. Then I had visions of her going clubbing with Plaxico Burress. That made me laugh. The woman who had been incredibly rude all morning to even elderly passengers is obviously a bitter person. After spending almost six hours waiting for the next flight . . . hours I was supposed to be spending with my terminally ill younger sister . . . I became more embittered.

Still my thoughts go back to Marcus Dixon—a young man with so much grace that he can forgive and forget how unfair life has often been to him and persevere. My six hours of airport waiting was nothing compared to his 15 months in prison. Could you feel the same way if our legal system robbed you of an experience you richly earned and stole two years from your life? Our legal system is made by humans and therefore will have more cases like this.

I’ve decided the world is made up of the bitter and the not bitter. The bitter are petty about everything, worrying that someone, somewhere is getting a better deal. These people are so overwhelmed with insecurity and jealousy, they spend valuable energy trying to bring others down . . . even others who are on the same team as they.

Marcus & My Sister Share a Secret

The “not bitter” are the champions in life. The people of all ages and races who refuse to let life’s circumstances ever damage their spirit. The ones who want good things for all their peers because they understand when one wins, we all win.

My sister Angelia (left) isn’t bitter. After a massive heart attack at age 23, she was told she had inoperable brain aneurysms and a heart aneurysm and that she would probably live only a few more months. I am incredibly blessed to tell you nine beautiful years later she is still alive and doctors call her a little miracle, a word MD's don't use lightly.

Angelia takes 12 medications a day. She cannot lift more than five pounds or exercise. She cannot dream of becoming a mother. There is no treatment for her DNA flaw that causes her collagen to be so weak and therefore her blood vessels to be so fragile. Doctors don't know how long she can defy the odds, but I know she is blessing all in her path with her happy spirit . . . a spirit of faith and thankfulness for each day she wakes up alive . . . a spirit with no bitterness.

In this season of Christ, I hope I can be more like my sister and Marcus. I hope I can rise above anything that comes in my path and find the grace to be thankful. Since this is a crime blog, I guess I am somewhat helped by the fact many people aren’t like Marcus. . . . We wouldn’t have so many murders and crimes to fill our blog with lively writing and debate.

Marcus told a Dallas Morning News reporter "I stayed in the Word. I stayed prayed up. My faith can't be broken. It's so strong, nothing can break it. It's always hard to have faith because you are tested every day."

Thank you Marcus for being wise at only 24 . . . and for reminding me the best revenge is to beat bitterness. The Dallas Cowboys will be lucky to have you on their team to remind some of the spoiled and the petty multi-millionaire star athletes what a true champion is like.

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