AUGUST 6, 2011
BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND
The news as I see it and the views as I want them.
August 6 is … Wiggle Your Toes Day
I will be gone from my post for a few days. I am having surgery that may result in the removal of a toe. I will not be able to wiggle all my toes after that.
“Twas a woman who drove me to drink. I never had the decency to write and thank her.”
WC Fields
I think Casey Anthony would have loved this. She would have fit right in. A Florida corrections officer didn't just lust for power, he used his power for lust, according to former co-workers and inmates under his watch.
A Pompano detention center took on an "orgy"-like atmosphere with female inmates dancing topless and performing sex acts on one another as deputy Mason Chibnick looked on, The Orlando Sentinel reported. Games of "Truth or Dare" were common when Chibnick was on duty. Accusers said he had sex with one inmate.
Chibnick, who's been transferred to work in a men's jail, also allegedly sent a picture of his penis to a former inmate's sister and was seen with an inmate entering a closet, the paper reported.
The allegations sparked an investigation that concluded he broke the code of ethics. He was given a counseling slip that outlined department policies, but has faced no other discipline. Five colleagues testified against him, along with four inmates, although two other prisoners defended him, The Sentinel reported. Chibnick asked for a transfer in April, because he didn't feel "comfortable" working with female inmates, according to the Orlando paper. He closed his Facebook account, which he'd allegedly used to track down ex-inmates, but didn't share his cellphone records with investigators who were exploring charges he'd sent an explicit picture to an inmate's sister. Officials from the Broward County Sheriff's Office didn't respond to repeated inquiries from The Huffington Post.
Earlier in the year, AOL Weird New reported on another Florida prison guard who was also found in violation of ethics guidelines (as well as the law). Master corrections officer Joseph Jones, 31, was accused of trying to smuggle drugs into a Marion County jail inside of a hoagie.
Boy, they know how to run prisons in Florida and they use the death-penalty, it cannot be all bad.
It takes all kind to run this world and Texas has at least one of every kind. From HuffPost, a Texas jury convicted polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs of child sexual assault Thursday in a case stemming from two young followers he took as brides in what his church calls "spiritual marriages." The 55-year-old head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints stood stone-faced as the verdict was read.
Jeffs, who acted as his own attorney, faces up to life in prison. The jury went immediately into sentencing proceedings. They had deliberated on a verdict for more than three hours. Prosecutors used DNA evidence to show Jeffs fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl and played an audio recording of what they said was him sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. They also played audio recordings in which Jeffs was heard instructing young women on how to please him sexually.
Jeffs has claimed he was the victim of religious persecution. The FLDS, which has at least 10,000 members nationwide, is a radical offshoot of mainstream Mormonism. The church believes polygamy brings exaltation in heaven and that Jeffs is God's spokesman on earth.
Police had raided the group's remote West Texas ranch in April 2008, finding women dressed in frontier-style dresses and hairdos from the 19th century as well as seeing underage girls who were clearly pregnant. The call to an abuse hotline that spurred the raid turned out to be a hoax, and more than 400 children who had been placed in protective custody were eventually returned to their families.
Jeffs stood mute and expressionless, staring at the floor, for all but a few seconds of the half hour he was allotted for a closing argument on Thursday. At one point he mumbled, "I am peace," and said no more.
Prosecutors said the case had nothing to do with his church or his beliefs. "You have heard the defendant make repeated arguments about religious freedoms," said lead prosecutor Eric Nichols. "Make no mistake, this case is not about any people, this case is not about any religion. It is about one individual, Warren Steed Jeffs, and his actions."
Prosecutors relied heavily on information found during the raid on the compound and after a traffic stop in Nevada in 2006, when Jeffs was arrested. Much of the material was discovered in a vault at the end of a secret passageway in the temple and another vault in an annex building. "You might have asked yourselves," Nichols said, "a lot of people may ask, why would someone record sex? ... This individual considers himself to be the prophet. Everything he did, hour after hour, he was required to keep a record of that."
On one of the tapes played at the trial, Jeffs made a reference to "drawing close" or "being close," which authorities testified is how church members refer to sex. Two female voices said "OK." "A good wife is trained for her husband and follows the spirit of peace," Jeffs was heard saying. Another audio tape included Jeffs and the younger girl from a recording made in August 2006 at the Texas compound, according to testimony from Nick Hanna, a Texas Ranger involved in the 2008 raid.
Played in court, it was difficult to decipher, but Jeffs' and a female voice are heard. He says, "I perform this service in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen," then mentions the alleged victim by name. When she says something, he responds, "don't talk while praying." Several minutes of heavy breathing followed.
The jury wore headphones to better hear the recording and also followed a transcript. One female juror covered her face with her hand as she listened.
Jeffs represented himself after firing seven attorneys in the six months leading to the trial. He broke his courtroom silence with an objection marked by a nearly hourlong speech defending polygamy, and twice threatened the judge and the court with warnings of punishment from God. He refused to cross-examine the state's witnesses, and delayed giving an opening statement until he began presenting his own defense. In that statement, he evoked images of the civil rights movement and mentioned former Mormon leader Joseph Smith Jr. He also asked the jury to remember constitutional guarantees of religious freedom.
The lone defense witness Jeffs called, church elder JD Roundy, spent about 10 minutes on the stand Thursday discussing FLDS history after 4½ hours of testimony Wednesday evening. Jeffs failed three times to remove state District Judge Barbara Walther from the case, the last rejection coming even without a hearing. He claimed Walther was biased because she issued the warrant for the original raid and was frequently updated as it progressed. Eleven other FLDS men were charged with crimes including sexual assault and bigamy. All seven of those who have been prosecuted were convicted, receiving prison sentences of between six and 75 years.
This boy is going to be a welcomed bitch to any cellblock in Texas. Texas could make money by raffling his ass off, literally, to the highest bidder.
Just a couple of thoughts I had and you should too or at least think about.
BRUCE A. BRENNAN
DEKALB, IL 60115
COPYRIGHT 2011
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Book Titles:
Holmes the Ripper
A Revengeful Mix of Short Fiction
We need to figure this out.
Groucho Marx
