Photos: US Military Swing Into Action & Aid Haiti Amid A Barrage of Critics
Posted: January 20, 2010 | Author: PacificEyeWitness.com | Filed under: Analysis, Breaking News, Business, Community, Current, Opinion & Commentary, Politics, US & Foreign Affairs | Tags: (Adrian, (Candice, (Carl, (CVN, (MRE), (R, 03000000, 03002000, 12, 12yearold, 13015001, 15, 16, 17, 18, 2010, 2nd, 70, 73, a, aboard, Affected, air, aircraft, angles, Army Soldier, Arrival, arrives, assist, assists, Barker/US, Barton/US, base, Berman, Berndt, bottled, boy, brain, brain surge, bring, Brought, campus, capital cities, carl vinson, Carolina, carrier, caused, cdm, charity and relief work, child's, Cite Soleil, citizen, citizens, class, clinic, Cmdr, CNN, coast, concrete, conducting, Correspondent, Crewman, cvn 70, deck, deliver, department, dis, disaster, distribute, Distributing, distribution, dr, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, drop, earthquake, Earthquake Relief, eat, effort, elevators, Emergencies And Disasters, evacuation, examines, facility, following, food, ford, friday, Geographical Locations, girl, Goldsboro, guard, Gupta, Haiti, Haitian, HAITIEARTHQUAKE, Harold, Hatian, hawk, head, health, helicopter, Henri, hispanic, horizontal, hospital, HTI, humanitarian, humanitarian relief, injured, injury, Jan, january, Jason, jerry, Kathryn, Killick, krt2010, krtcampus, krtcaribbean caribbean, krtdisaster disaster, krtdiversity diversity, krtedonly, krtquake earthquake quake, krtworld world, large, left, Los, LT, Lt. General Keen, magnitude, man, mct, mealreadyto, med, medical, members, military, Moore/US, moved, natural disaster, naval, navy, near, network, Neurosurgeon, news, Nimitzclass, north, nuclearpowered, Oberholtzer/US, occupation, one, operations, originally, outside, patients, pediatric, performing, performs, Photo/MCT), piece, points, Port-au-Prince, PortauPrince, practicing, prepare, quake, receive, receives, Recent, relief, removed, reporter, rescue, response, right, sailors, Sanjay, saturday, sea, Seahawk, security, services, severe, SH60B, SH60F, ship, ship's, staff, States', supplies, support, surgeon, SurgeoninChief, surgeons, surgery, tools, transfer, Transfers, treat, treatment, united, UPI//US, UPI/Daniel, UPI/Erin, UPI/Laura, UPI/Michael, us, us military, USS, USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), victim, victims, Villarreal/US, Vinson, wait, Walking, water, White/US, wing, woman women, workers, young, youth | Leave a comment[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=us+navy+haiti&iid=7586598″ src=”e/2/4/1/Haiti_Struggles_With_4dc5.jpg?adImageId=9302843&imageId=7586598″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /]
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI: Soldiers from the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division walk to a Navy helicopter to be dropped off to secure an area to drop in food and water supplies near the Cite Soleil area, as relief contiues to arrive after the massive earthquake January 18, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
[tweetmeme]Planeloads of rescuers and relief supplies headed to Haiti as governments and aid agencies launched a massive relief operation after a powerful earthquake that may have killed thousands. Many buildings were reduced to rubble by the 7.0-strong quake on January 12. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images).
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=us+military+haiti&iid=7586641″ src=”0/f/5/a/Haiti_Struggles_With_6fce.jpg?adImageId=9306143&imageId=7586641″ width=”500″ height=”347″ /]
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI – JANUARY 18: A U.S. Army soldier carries an injured child from a helicopter as she is brought in for care after being hurt during the massive earthquake.
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=us++military+haiti&iid=7580813″ src=”1/5/0/d/Refugees_at_Haiti_ab98.JPG?adImageId=9304563&imageId=7580813″ width=”500″ height=”327″ /]
Haitian-US citizens earthquake survivors waiting at the airport to leave Port-au-Prince return to USA, on January 17, 2010. The airport congestion also touched off diplomatic rows between the US military and other donor nations. France and Brazil both lodged official complaints that the US military, in control of the international airport, had denied landing permission to relief flights from their countries. Photo by Tolga Adanali/AA/ABACAPRESS.COM
Editor’s Note: Over recent days, there has been reported criticism from within Haiti, and formal complaints laid by France and Brazil, and its aid agencies, that the US soldiers were “occupying” Haiti, and not prioritising medical workers. Clearly, the US Military are providing medical aid, and other relief, on a scale we have never before witnessed. After the challenges with airport congestion in Haiti, and aid reportedly not reaching people in need, someone needed to step in, take control and ensure there was an orderly process in order at Haiti Airport. The Haitian Government, under the circumstances, were incapable of doing that. Good on the US Military for stepping in, and stepping on diplomatic and aid agency toes, to ensure aid reached people in need. Haitians were crying out for help. Now the US military are in Haiti, they’re now facing criticism for doing a job they were called on to do as part of the international effort. In case governments and aid agencies need reminding, the US military are responding , along with Mexico, France, Brazil, Israel and others, to a catastrophic crisis of devastating proportions. Give them a break .
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=us+navy+haiti&iid=7577716″ src=”a/e/8/6/Haiti_Earthquake_Rescue_6f33.JPG?adImageId=9302994&imageId=7577716″ width=”500″ height=”357″ /]
Patients affected by the recent earthquake wait outside the Killick Haitian Coast Guard base clinic to receive treatment from U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard medical workers, January 16, 2010. (Candice Villarreal/US Navy News Photo/MCT).
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=us+navy+haiti&iid=7577714″ src=”2/8/4/a/Haiti_Earthquake_Rescue_00f2.JPG?adImageId=9303818&imageId=7577714″ width=”500″ height=”700″ /]
Medical staff from the U.S. Navy, left, and U.S. Coast Guard, right, treat earthquake victims at the Killick Haitian Coast Guard base clinic in Haiti, January 16, 2010. (Candice Villarreal/US Navy News Photo/MCT).
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=us+navy+haiti&iid=7576119″ src=”9/5/6/7/Haiti_Earthquake_Rescue_7a9b.JPG?adImageId=9303856&imageId=7576119″ width=”500″ height=”373″ /]
Naval Air Crewman 2nd Class Jason Harold of Goldsboro, North Carolina, transfers a young Haitian earthquake victim from an SH-60B Seahawk helicopter during a medical evacuation in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Saturday, January 16, 2010. (Candice Villarreal/US Navy News Photo/MCT).
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=us+navy+haiti&iid=7586780″ src=”0/0/6/b/Dr_Sanjay_Gupta_1304.JPG?adImageId=9303902&imageId=7586780″ width=”500″ height=”753″ /]
Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines an injured Haitian girl in the medical facility aboard the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) near Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, on January 18, 2010. Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon and reporter for the CNN news network, was brought to the ship to assist in performing brain surgery on a 12-year-old Hatian girl. UPI/Erin Oberholtzer/U.S. Navy.
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=us+navy+haiti&iid=7586784″ src=”4/c/f/5/Dr_Sanjay_Gupta_f001.JPG?adImageId=9303934&imageId=7586784″ width=”500″ height=”332″ /]
Cmdr. Jerry Berman, left, a Navy surgeon, Dr. Henri R. Ford, Los Angles Pediatric Hospital Surgeon-in-Chief originally from Haiti, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a CNN medical correspondent and practicing neurosurgeon, and Lt. Cmdr. Kathryn Berndt, a Navy surgeon, prepare a 12-year-old Haitian girl with a severe head injury for surgery aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson near Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, on January 18, 2010. Surgeons removed a piece of concrete from the child’s brain caused by the earthquake in Haiti. UPI/Michael Barton/U.S. Navy.
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=us+navy+haiti&iid=7586427″ src=”7/2/2/d/US_Navy_assists_936b.JPG?adImageId=9303960&imageId=7586427″ width=”500″ height=”357″ /]
U.S. military members distribute food and water to Haitian citizens in Port-Au-Prince on January 17(UPI/US Navy)
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=us+navy+haiti&iid=7586422″ src=”0/4/7/b/US_Navy_assists_cfaa.JPG?adImageId=9304008&imageId=7586422″ width=”500″ height=”700″ /]
A Haitian boy receives his meal-ready-to eat (MRE) and bottled water from U.S. military members that are distributing food and water at one of the distribution points in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on January 17(UPI/Laura A. Moore/US Navy)
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=us+navy+haiti&iid=7557628″ src=”1/6/f/d/US_Navy_arrives_a9fe.JPG?adImageId=9304060&imageId=7557628″ width=”500″ height=”337″ /]
A SH-60F Sea Hawk helicopter arrives to deliver water and supplies on January 15, 2010 to Port-au-Prince (UPI/Daniel Barker/U.S. Navy).
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=us+navy+haiti&iid=7554321″ src=”0/6/d/3/HAITIEARTHQUAKE_0274.JPG?adImageId=9304125&imageId=7554321″ width=”500″ height=”332″ /]
Sailors from the United States Navy deliver an injured U.S. citizen to USS Carl Vinson on Friday, January 15, 2010. Health Services department moved the man to one of the deck elevators for transfer to the ship’s medical facility. Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing 17 are conducting humanitarian and disaster relief operations in Haiti in response to the January 12, 2010, earthquake disaster. (Adrian White/US Navy News Photo/MCT)
[picapp align=”center” wrap=”false” link=”term=us+navy+haiti&iid=7552643″ src=”1/5/b/0/US_Military_conducts_8b34.JPG?adImageId=9304166&imageId=7552643″ width=”500″ height=”357″ /]
U.S. Army soldiers unload food and supplies on January 15, 2010 from a U.S. Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) at the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.(UPI/Candice B. Villarreal/U.S. Navy).
Photos: USA Fort Hood Victims Farewelled By Nation, President and Families
Posted: November 16, 2009 | Author: PacificEyeWitness.com | Filed under: Analysis, Breaking News, Community, Current, Honour & Tribute, Politics, US & Foreign Affairs | Tags: (Courtney, 03000000, 08005001, 08005002, 08005005, 10, 11000000, 11001003, 11001004, 12, 13, 16000000, 2009, 30, 38, 5, armed forces armed force, army, attends, barack, base's, bows, Brian, center, ceremony, Civilian, dead, death, def, defense, Deploying, died, dis, fallen, family, first, fort, FT, Ft. Hood, funeral, grieves, Hasan, held, hill, honor, hood, horizontal, hum, illinois, j, Joliet, Kham, killed, Killeen, krt2009, krtcampus campus, krtdisaster disaster, krtedonly, krtgovernment government, krthumaninterest human interest, krtnational national, krtnews, krtpolitics politics, krtuspolitics, krtwar war, lady, law, left, Major, Malik, Maury/Pool, McNeeley/DOD, mct, medical, memorial, Michelle, military, morning, Nadal, near, news, News/MCT), Newscom, november, obama, odd, one, parade, part, pays, PEO, People, Perry/Dallas, photo, pol, Politics, post, prepare, president, Rampage, readiness, reportedly, returning, s, Screenings, security measure, service, shooting, shootings, shot, Society, soldier, soldiers, Spc, specialist, spree, Texas, the, thursday, tribute, Trieb/Pool, tuesday, undergo, UPI/Chad, UPI/Erin, UPI/Tannen, us, usa, victims, war, wounded, Xiong | Leave a comment[picapp src=”6/9/7/1/Fort_Hood_7315.JPG?adImageId=7508565&imageId=7018892″ width=”500″ height=”709″ /]
Army Spc. Brian Hill bows during memorial service for the 12 soldiers and one civilian killed at Fort Hood U.S Army Post near Killeen, Texas, November 10 2009. Army Major Malik Nadal Hasan reportedly shot and killed 13 people, 12 soldiers and one civilian, and wounded 30 others in a rampage on November 5 at the base’s Soldier Readiness Center where deploying and returning soldiers undergo medical screenings. UPI/Tannen Maury/Pool Photo via Newscom. Content © 2009 Newscom All rights reserved.
Editor’s Note: At Fort Hood, with its high Samoan military population, pacificEyeWitness.org has readers based there. So, it is with them in mind that we publish these photos and honour the victims. Our deepest respect and condolences to all those who mourn their passing.
National Memorial Service for New Zealand Tsunami Victims
Posted: October 27, 2009 | Author: PacificEyeWitness.com | Filed under: Breaking News, Community, Current, Earthquake Tsunami Samoa/AmSampa 09, Fono Notices, Honour & Tribute, NZPacific, South Pacific Region | Tags: american samoa tsunami, and Tongans, death, earthquake, emergency, funeral, national memorial service nz tsunami victims, New Zealanders, new zealanders who died in samoa, nz pacific community, NZPacific, pacific tsunami, samoa tsunami, samoans, sunday 8 november, survivors, tonga tsunami, victims | 1 CommentMedia Release
NZ Government
PM announces memorial service for tsunami victims
Prime Minister John Key has announced that there will be a National Memorial Service to commemorate those who lost their lives in the recent tsunami tragedy in Samoa.
The service will be attended by Prime Minister John Key and Governor-General, the Hon Sir Anand Satyanand.
“I would like to invite the families of the New Zealand victims and the wider New Zealand Pacific community to join me at this service,” says Mr Key.
“It is fitting that we remember the New Zealanders, Samoans, and Tongans who lost their lives by way of a National Memorial Service.”
The service will be held at the Auckland Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Parnell on Sunday 8 November at 4.00pm
[picapp src=”8/5/5/f/closeup_of_the_2482.jpg?adImageId=6820450&imageId=5131521″ width=”349″ height=”488″ /]
Samoa Stands Still For National Funeral At Apia Park
Posted: October 9, 2009 | Author: PacificEyeWitness.com | Filed under: Breaking News, Community, Current, Earthquake Tsunami Samoa/AmSampa 09, Environment, NZPacific, Politics, South Pacific Region | Tags: adult, aleipata tsunami, Apia, capital, carrying, child, Community, dead, earthquake, Emergencies And Disasters, following, funeral for tsunami samoa, mass burial, mass funeral, men, natural, samoa, samoa tsunami, scale, strength, Tafaigata, time, vertical, victims | 1 CommentToday will be a national day of mourning as Samoa comes to a standstill at 3pm, Thursday Samoa time, for the national funeral in honour of the tsunami victims. Its location has been shifted from the Methodist Church at Apia Park. This will be followed by a mass burial at Tafaigata although reports are suggesting only a handful of families have consented to having their loved ones buried in a mass grave. Many families have already buried their loved ones. For one, it was simply impractical to wait a week in Samoa’s heat with funeral parlour and morgues filled to overwhelming.
[picapp src=”f/6/9/d/83_Magnitude_Earthquake_08eb.jpg?adImageId=4880539&imageId=6665608″ width=”422″ height=”594″ /]
The New Zealand Herald are reporting that only ten of the more than 100 dead will be interred at Tafaigata. If that number is correct, then it confirms what we had also been hearing from locals and their families who did not want, for obvious reasons to other Samoans, to have their dead buried there. Their funeral costs will be covered by the Government. It’s not known, however, if Government will cover the cost of coffins for those who refused to consent to the mass burial.
A number of reasons can be offered for the reluctance of Samoan villagers to take up the government’s offer. First, many of the bodies would have been badly decomposed. In the heat of Samoa, it’s simply unbearable to wait a whole week, particularly in situations where a body has been found, decomposed, and those living have no a car to take the body to the morgue, let alone a telephone to ring out. That’s the reality for the poorest villagers in the outbacks in Aleipata district which is the South Coast of Upolu.
[picapp src=”2/c/d/0/83_Magnitude_Earthquake_a36b.jpg?adImageId=4880532&imageId=6665955″ width=”500″ height=”333″ /]
Secondly, and I think this cannot be underestimated, but those who have lost loved ones, and saw bodies swirling in the tsunami waves, it would retraumatise them to expect them to wait a whole week for their loved ones to be buried. That is compounded with their need to find food, shelter and clothing, and from all reports, it’s subsistence living right now for the affected villages. For many, if not all, waiting a week to bury a loved one whose body is severely injured and fast decomposing is an unbearable burden to place on already grief-stricken families. In many cases, those bodies will be unrecognisable or so severely injured that it is too upsetting for families to allow their loved ones to stay above ground for this long.
Thirdly, traditionally in Samoa, loved ones are buried on their land usually right outside the front of the house, or not far from it, in the village. The living remain close to the dead and tend to their graves and keep them on family land. Those graves are the markers of family land. The government’s land of Tafaigata, where the mass burial will take place, is a long way for the villagers.It’s not like they’ll be able to walk out the door and visit their grave.
Fourth, I was told that the last time there was a mass burial of Samoans was in the 1928 Spanish Influenza epidemic that wiped out 22 percent of the Samoan population, killing more than 8000. That mass grave happens to be close to where this new mass grave will be. That might be too close for comfort given the painful memories that have passed from generation to generations of Samoans about what happened back then to the bodies. This mass burial is another painful reminder of that period. They already feel enough pain with the tsunami alone.
Fifth, Tafaigata, where the bodies will be buried, is not far from the prison. That’s not an appealing thought is it? One could say, who would want their loved ones near a prison. I’m being honest here.
[picapp src=”1/9/c/2/83_Magnitude_Earthquake_0424.jpg?adImageId=4880792&imageId=6670026″ width=”500″ height=”319″ /]
To be fair to the Government, it’s hard to see that they had any other choice since Tafaigata is government land so it makes logistical sense. Also, it could be seen as effort to move villagers away from the coastline and to safer inland areas. One way to encourage that is to make sure families don’t bury their dead on their land or near the villages that have been destroyed by the tsunami.
Government have also said they will erect a memorial at Tafaigata inscribed with the names of all those who have died. They have offered to pay for the coffins of all those who are buried today in the mass grave. I don’t think any government would wish to be in the position that Samoa finds itself in. The challenge for its government leaders is going to be a tough one in how it communicates its messages to the people in this highly stressed and traumatised environment post-tsunami. God Bless Samoa.
Archives to March 2010 - PEW 
Act MP Accused of Misleading Public on ‘Three-Strikes” Effectiveness
Posted: January 22, 2010 | Author: PacificEyeWitness.com | Filed under: Analysis, Breaking News, Business, Community, Current, education, health, NZPacific, Opinion & Commentary, Politics, US & Foreign Affairs | Tags: ACT Party, california justice, courts, crime, criminal, david garrett, Institute of Policy Studies, judges, justice, Kim Workman, law and order, new zealand, offender, three strikes law, victims | 1 Comment<!– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Cambria Math”; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:1; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Consolas; panose-1:2 11 6 9 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:modern; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750091 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:””; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} p.MsoPlainText, li.MsoPlainText, div.MsoPlainText {mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-link:”Plain Text Char”; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.5pt; font-family:Consolas; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} span.PlainTextChar {mso-style-name:”Plain Text Char”; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-locked:yes; mso-style-link:”Plain Text”; mso-ansi-font-size:10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.5pt; font-family:Consolas; mso-ascii-font-family:Consolas; mso-hansi-font-family:Consolas;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
Media Release
Rethinking Crime and Punishment
Garrett Misleading the Public on Effectiveness of Three Strikes – says Rethinking Crime and Punishment
“David Garrett should stop claiming that the three strikes law in California single handedly reduced violent offences in California by 50%, “says Kim Workman, Director of Rethinking Crime and Punishment. “It is a misleading claim, and not based on evidence.”
Since the late 1980’s there has been a steady and significant crime drop across the United States and Canada. But that drop trended five years before the introduction of the “three strikes” laws. Were “three strikes” the cause of a significant part of the decline, the rate of decline should have increased around ten years after its passage. Instead, the rate of decline remained constant, and the causes of the decline that operated prior to three strikes continued to be the primary reason for the drop in crime rates.”
“Comparing California’s decline in crime with other states presents a different picture. New York, not California, showed the sharpest decline in crime during the time in question, and yet it along with 21 other states, did not not have three strikes legislation. Canada experienced a similar national crime dropand yet it does not have three strikes, and imprisons people at a rate half that of New Zealand.”
“Even in California, the results were unclear. Californian counties that aggressively enforced the law had no greater declines in crime than did counties that used it far more sparingly. One study found that crime dropped by 21.3 percent in the six most lenient “three strikes” counties, compared to a 12.7 percent drop in the toughest counties.”
“It is inevitable that if one increases the prison population four fold in 10 years, that some of that crime reduction will be due to increased incarceration. Notwithstanding, there is no compelling evidence to show that the three strikes legislation impacted on criminal offending, one way or the other. The test in New Zealand will be what happens to the crime rate when hundreds of offenders start pouring out of prisons after serving 15 – 25 years or more, from 2040 onwards, and whether imprisonment has reduced their taste for crime. We think not.”
Kim Workman
Director
Rethinking Crime and Punishment
director@rethinking.org.nz
http://www.rethinking.org.nz
Related Story:
Gordon Campbell » Blog Archive » On the ‘Three Strikes’ Policy and the SAS in Kabul.