Lenient state judges

[memorylane]

Re: Lenient state judges

Only in Hawaii!

Nope, not really......we got dozens and dozens driving around here on their 4th, 5th, and sixth DUI, SMILING in their arrest pic!! Makes me wanna chase them down and wring their necks and tell God they died.
Hawaii doesn't have NEAR the sick, disgusting crimes the mainland does.

[Amati]

Re: Lenient state judges

StarAdvertiser:

A student who was acquitted by reason of insanity of attempted murder involving an attack on two hikers will be escorted to and from his classes at Windward Community College. The college and Hawaii State Hospital reached the decision after a Circuit Court judge recently granted Benjamin Davis to attend classes unsupervised.

On Aug. 7, Circuit Judge Richard Perkins granted Davis’s request to attend classes unsupervised which sparked public concern, prompting Chancellor Douglas Dykstra to meet with state hospital administrator to discuss security issues, according to a statement by Dykstra. “In light of the unprecedented public concern, the two administrators agreed that the student will be escorted to, from and during class sessions. Moreover, the college will be adding personnel to its security staff,” said Dykstra.

"Unprecedented public concern" ... wonder what the "unprecedented" component was? Maybe an acknowledgement of the real possibility of a huge lawsuit against the state should Davis cause injury to someone while on his recreation break .... I mean while attended classes?

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Lenient state judges

This is absurd, unless you have inside info on this citizen's medical and psychological information, and unless you have spoken to the doctors themselves who have made their assessment.

I don't need to talk to the doctors and I don't need access to Benjamin Davis' psychological records to know that, if left to his own devices and without interference, Davis would have killed his victim on that fateful day at Koko Head. If Nicholas Iwamoto didn't escape Davis by falling off a 30 foot vertical cliff and a rolling another 70 feet, sane or insane, Davis would have committed a murder and we wouldn't even be having this discussion now. Why? Because no way in hell would people in this state tolerate a killer (insane or otherwise) being allowed to freely roam around unsupervised. Either in prison or in the hospital, Davis would have been rotting the rest of his life in confinement. What saved Davis from that fate was Iwamoto resorting to a desperate measure which resulted in suffering further injuries that were heaped upon the damage caused by his attacker's 18 stab wounds. And for that, you think it makes sense for Davis to suddenly go from a life sentence to a mere 3 years?

Is that too long? Well, it took John Hinckley Jr. some 20 years after shooting President Reagan before he was given the green light to start going out of the hospital to visit his family.

And since these two men obviously have the same condition, we should treat both patients the same way. Of course.

Hinckley tried to assassinate the President and ended up crippling James Brady for life. Davis stabbed Iwamoto 18 times and now, his victim is permanently disabled unable to go to school or to work. Hinckley was not allowed to roam around unsupervised for nearly two decades. Using that as a standard, my call for Davis to be confined for at least 10 years is downright merciful, in comparison.

[scrivener]

Re: Lenient state judges

On the contrary, I did consider that but don't have a response to it other than that gradual re-introduction to society must be the plan. I was trying to avoid supposition like that, not being in on the treatment plan myself.

Yes, of course I'm aware of costs and freeing up space and stuff. But again: it's not in the hospital's best interest to let this guy out if he's a considerable risk again to do what he did. There must be a grey area in the middle there, in which case we can both be right and both be wrong, but that grey area must be something an expert knows about. I'm not really in on the discussion and don't know anything about how wide that grey area would be, which only brings me back to my original point, which is that none of us can speak with any kind of knowledge about what's really going on.

[TuNnL]

Re: Lenient state judges

I ask you again: since it would be SO EASY for the doctors to keep the patient locked up in the walls of that hospital and nobody but the patient and his family would complain, what does the doctor have to gain by letting the patient go to school this way if it's everything you've characterized the situation to be? It defies logic.

No, not really. It’s a rare occasion when I defend Frankie, but on this one, I think you’re actually wrong, Scriv. It’s actually quite expensive to “keep a patient locked up in the walls of the hospital.” Taxpayer money funds the operation of that facility. The state is obligated to balance its budget as Constitutionally mandated.

Politicians like to make cuts in unpopular areas of society such as prisons and state hospitals. So to answer your question, the doctor has plenty to gain by allowing the patient to go to school because it frees up that much more time for the doctor to treat other patients. School is an effective distraction for the patient — much like a baby rattle is for an infant. The state makes out because it subtracts whatever excess hours having Benjamin Davis under their close care and supervision would have been billed to the state. A win-win.

You can rationalize allowing Davis out any way you want, but the bottom line is, Frankie has floated a perfectly reasonable alternative which you conveniently edited out of your rebuttal:

There's this thing called "the internet" where he would have been able to take online courses and instruction from the hospital. That would have been a win-win for everyone involved. Davis gets to take his classes, and the other WCC students are safe from the possibility that the doctors' diagnosis is wrong.

What are the potential consequences if Davis' doctors are wrong?

[lensperson]

Re: Lenient state judges

Where there is a will, there is a way.

Old judges are a dime a dozen.

The supreme court is packed with them.
Gore got screwed out of the white house because the dudes said stop counting votes in Florida.

[scrivener]

Re: Lenient state judges

But when it comes to the safety of students, sound, methodical decisions have to be made to ensure their welfare, not on hope and optimism. Remember, Benjamin Davis viciously stabbed another man 18 times a mere 3 years ago. Is that enough time for present-day psychological medicine to establish that this man won't suffer a relapse into whatever "supposedly" made him mentally ill on that day in Koko Head Trail? My answer is no. That is still too soon. Maybe in another ten years.

This is absurd, unless you have inside info on this citizen's medical and psychological information, and unless you have spoken to the doctors themselves who have made their assessment. How do YOU know that "sound, methodical decisions" have NOT been made to ensure their welfare? Can we please remember that the people making these decisions aren't stooges they pulled in off the street, and that there's a certain professional rigor that must have been exercised before this even went before a judge? 'Cause if we can't, we need to change the freaking requirements for holding that job. If you don't think whoever is in that position is qualified to make that decision, by all means cite some research and propose some kind of change.

Is that too long? Well, it took John Hinckley Jr. some 20 years after shooting President Reagan before he was given the green light to start going out of the hospital to visit his family.

And since these two men obviously have the same condition, we should treat both patients the same way. Of course.

Do the doctors at the state hospital have any children attending WCC? So easy for them to casually play Russian Roulette with the safety and welfare of other people's children. Since the judge and the doctors are going to take a crapshoot on this, it will unfortunately be up to WCC students and parents to take the necessary steps to ensure their own wellbeing. If I had a child going to WCC, they would be outta' there, effective today. You do what you gotta do, if you have idiots running the system.

Again I say absurd. HOW DO YOU KNOW they're treating it like a crapshoot? I admit I don't know the first thing about you, but I have a feeling you don't know any more about this patient's case than I do, and therefore have NO GROUNDS WHATSOEVER for calling it this.

I ask you again: since it would be SO EASY for the doctors to keep the patient locked up in the walls of that hospital and nobody but the patient and his family would complain, what does the doctor have to gain by letting the patient go to school this way if it's everything you've characterized the situation to be? It defies logic. Which I suppose is your point, but I think my position is far more logical than yours.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Lenient state judges

I have to believe the judge and the state hospital are in a better position to make this call than we are.

First of all, I've already cited 4 other cases involving Judge Perkins' being ridiculously lenient when it comes to sentencing. This thread has shown a definite pattern when it comes to this man of the law when it comes to his inability to mete out justice in a way that is fair and appropriate to perpetrators, victims, and to society in general. Throw out "the judge" in your opening statement, and then you lay out a more meaningful path of debate.

Are the doctors in the state hospital making the right call in this case? If you and others think that to be the case, then so be it. I sincerely hope they are right. But when it comes to the safety of students, sound, methodical decisions have to be made to ensure their welfare, not on hope and optimism. Remember, Benjamin Davis viciously stabbed another man 18 times a mere 3 years ago. Is that enough time for present-day psychological medicine to establish that this man won't suffer a relapse into whatever "supposedly" made him mentally ill on that day in Koko Head Trail? My answer is no. That is still too soon. Maybe in another ten years.

Is that too long? Well, it took John Hinckley Jr. some 20 years after shooting President Reagan before he was given the green light to start going out of the hospital to visit his family.

Do the doctors at the state hospital have any children attending WCC? So easy for them to casually play Russian Roulette with the safety and welfare of other people's children. Since the judge and the doctors are going to take a crapshoot on this, it will unfortunately be up to WCC students and parents to take the necessary steps to ensure their own wellbeing. If I had a child going to WCC, they would be outta' there, effective today. You do what you gotta do, if you have idiots running the system.

Benjamin Davis wants an education? Fine. There's this thing called "the internet" where he would have been able to take online courses and instruction from the hospital. That would have been a win-win for everyone involved. Davis gets to take his classes, and the other WCC students are safe from the possibility that the doctors' diagnosis is wrong.

What are the potential consequences if Davis' doctors are wrong? Here's a fresh reminder.

Iwamoto survived more than the hike. He lived through a savage, unprovoked attack by a knife-wielding assailant he had never met. The man struck from out of nowhere — stabbing Iwamoto 18 times, lacerating his liver, diaphragm, jugular vein and left temporal artery, puncturing his left lung, slashing his face and neck, and severing tendons in his right hand.

A declaration of "opps!" from the doctor ain't gonna fix up your kid if he/she is victimized by Davis due to a relapse. That's the bottom line.

[scrivener]

Re: Lenient state judges

I have to believe the judge and the state hospital are in a better position to make this call than we are. Surely, they have a better idea of this man's mental condition and his ability to integrate safely into the campus community: it's not in their best interest to allow it otherwise, right? I mean, the EASY move on their part would be to just keep him locked up. Who except the patient would have a problem with that?

If your problem is with the "not guilty by reason of insanity" verdict in general, that's a different issue. But the court ruled he was not guilty, and not guilty is not guilty. Of COURSE we want some kind of justice or some kind of punishment, but in this case I don't think there can be justice. This man did a horrible thing at a time when the courts say he was not in control of himself, and that what happened was not his fault.

I am reminded of those prisoners in other states executed for crimes they committed even though they have the mental capacity and understanding of a young child. I don't know how you all feel about that, but it disturbs me, for while you can safely say that justice has been served in a case like that, is it really the right thing for the state to kill someone who could not have known the seriousness of his or her actions? I'm uncomfortable with it.

In this case, we don't even have someone who the state considers guilty. It is not "lenient" to allow a not-guilty person to attend school if the person's doctors say it's safe to allow it.

[tutusue]

Re: Lenient state judges

I heard Iwamoto's response yesterday...he was justifiably angry. He still has issues with his injuries and doesn't have enough money to go back to school. I want my tax dollars to go toward paying for Iwamoto's education, not Davis'. Good gawd, where is the justice in this case?

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Lenient state judges

Judge Richard Perkins has struck again... allowing the man who stabbed 2 hikers at Koko Head Trail to attend college unsupervised. Watch your back, WCC students.

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/1...attend-college

Davis appeared in court on July 22 asking for permission to take two English classes unsupervised. Judge Richard Perkins just granted the request.

One of Davis' victims, Nicholas Iwamoto, shared his frustration by phone while on a mainland trip. In 2009, he was on the Koko Crater trail when Davis randomly attacked him and another hiker. Iwamoto was stabbed 18 times. He also suffered injuries like a broken neck and fractured skull from a fall to the bottom of a ravine.

"Pretty much any time I open my mouth it hurts because I was stabbed in the left temple three times. When I take a deep breath, it hurts because both my lungs collapsed," said Iwamoto by phone from Boise, Idaho.

Iwamoto hasn't been able to work, and he can't afford to go back to school to pursue his new dream of becoming a history teacher. He is upset that Davis will be allowed to leave the Hawaii State Hospital twice a week for nearly fours a day to attend classes at WCC unsupervised.

"Knowing that he's free, getting an education while I can't even afford an education makes me sick," Iwamoto said.

Hmmm. I suppose it won't make Nicholas Iwamoto feel better to learn that his tax dollars are being used to fund his attacker's tuition payment.

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/1...rsial-decision

Critics wondered if taxpayers are paying for Davis' education, but Sheehan couldn't comment on this specific case due to privacy laws.

"We do use our budget at the Hawaii State Hospital to support those activities for those people who we believe are appropriate for that level of responsibility," Sheehan said.

[tutusue]

Re: Lenient state judges

*bump*

We have judge Karen Ahn to thank for this mess:
Drunken Driving Death Suspect Was DUI Fugitive (Date typo, 2nd sentence)
Grieving mom sounds off on alleged killer's new DUI arrest

My friend, Jodi, lost her husband (& my client), Jim, to a stoned driver 8 years ago. She offered this insight:

I know how this family feels all too well. Letter wriitng campaign to the judge does help to give the judge a sense of what the community wants with this offender -- find out the judge and case number - addres the letters with respect and state your feelings as to the sentencing that you believe this guy should receive. I expected probabtion for the guy who took Jim's life - but was surprised that he received actual prison time (not much - 4 1/2 yrs with another 4 extended supervision) - but much more than I honestly expected and this was in very liberal madison, WI. You do have a small say so please use it to make a difference for this family.

Searching court records it appears the case # is 1PC10-1-000166, in case anyone would like to write. Birmingham is a multiple repeat offender. Sickening...

[Kaonohi]

Re: Lenient state judges

I honestly don't know who's the bigger menace to society now. Mancao, who's in possession of a new car. Or Judge Perkins, for making these bone-headed decisions.

Frankie, I know you're not listening, but I'd like to elect you the poster boy for justice.
You are SO on top of these injustices. I see people get their lives wrecked by the court system for so much less, and these menaces go free.
You seem to be on the 'inside' somehow - in the know - just to KNOW about these things.
Is there anything we can do to help? Really, someone we can complain to? How can we change a corrupt system?

Really - Aikea.

K?

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Lenient state judges

Judge Richard Perkins continues to make himself the poster boy for why Hawaii needs elected judges who will be accountable to law-abiding people.

Despite being indicted on manslaughter charges by a grand jury, Judge Richard Perkins imposes no bail or jail time to Kristen Mancao. She was the driver of a SUV who:

1) was speeding 74 mph in a 30 mph zone,

2) ran a red light and collided into a Corvette crossing an intersection,

3) killed Norbert Dean Galban, the driver of the 'Vette,

4) had a BAC of 0.17 more than 2 hours after the accident, which is more than twice the legal limit.

Under the circumstances, any other judge with common sense and compassion for the victim's family would have set a bail of $50,000.

I honestly don't know who's the bigger menace to society now. Mancao, who's in possession of a new car. Or Judge Perkins, for making these bone-headed decisions.

HNN

Star Bulletin

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Lenient state judges

I gave Circuit Judge Michael town the benefit of the doubt in the Jayppy Riveral case. But not this time. And from now on, this lenient judge is on my radar.

Judge Michael Town gives ZERO jail time to Billy Lamug, despite causing two of his passengers to die and a third to be maimed for life. He gets off with 5 years of probation, 400 hours of community service, and a little more than $6,000 in restitution.

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KITV

HNN

Judge Town, I don't know what the hell you were thinking. But clearly, you blew this one. Big time. Scary to think how judges like him have so little regard for the sanctity of human life.