David Wells Recants Documentary Story: New York Times writers Michael Cieply and Brooks Barnes report that former Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney David Wells lied about conversations he had with Judge Laurence J. Rittenband involving Roman Polanski. Wells had been interviewed for a documentary about Polanski and then lied about his role in the case. Wells had given a detailed description of a fabricated conversation with Judge Rittenband to the documentary. In it, Wells claimed that he had given sentencing advice to the judge, and that Judge Rittenband followed his advice. Polanski plead guilty to one count of having sex with a minor after a 1977 encounter with a 13-year-old girl, but then fled the country. After 32 years, Polanski was arrested last Saturday in Switzerland and facing possible extradition. Before his arrest, Polanski's attorneys had asked a Los Angeles court to throw out his case, or allow another court to review the case, due to alleged corruption. The matter is still pending in an appellate court. Wells says, "I am embarrassed about the whole thing. I regret it. I embarrassed the DA's office."
Maryland Now Has Stricter Guidelines to Seek the Death Penalty: Annapolis' Capital Newspaper writer Liam Farrell reports on Maryland's new law that says capital punishment can only be imposed in cases with a videotape confession, or in cases where biological, DNA or videotaped evidence conclusively links a defendant to a murder. Cases relying on eyewitness testimony are ineligible. Frank Weathersbee, the state's attorney for Anne Arundel County, says that Maryland rarely uses the death penalty and that it probably will not affect the status quo. This new law is part of Governor Martin O'Malley's three year attempt to repeal Maryland's death penalty. State Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. is skeptical that the issue will be addressed before the 2010 elections. He said that the Senate debate only lasted a few minutes before a repeal was discarded and instead they put limitations on the use of capital punishment. Governor O'Malley is not sure whether he will continue his fight to repeal the death penalty, but does see the limitations as a positive step.
Kentucky's Sex Offender Law Will Not Apply to All: Associated Press writer Roger Alford reports that in a 5-2 decision the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that a 2006 sex offender law barring sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, day care centers, and playgrounds is unconstitutional when applied to those convicted before the law was passed. The majority wrote that the law is punitive because it applies to sex offenders retroactively. Attorney Bradley Wayne Fox challenged the law for a man convicted on statutory rape in 1995, and arrested in 2007 for living 1,000 feet within a public park. Judge Abramson dissented from the decision, "because our democratic system leaves such policy up to the legislature, and because I agree with several other courts that have held that retroactive sex offender residency restrictions do not exceed legislative authority to address vital public safety concerns." The Kentucky Attorney General's office is deciding whether to appeal the decision to U.S. Supreme Court.
Maryland Now Has Stricter Guidelines to Seek the Death Penalty: Annapolis' Capital Newspaper writer Liam Farrell reports on Maryland's new law that says capital punishment can only be imposed in cases with a videotape confession, or in cases where biological, DNA or videotaped evidence conclusively links a defendant to a murder. Cases relying on eyewitness testimony are ineligible. Frank Weathersbee, the state's attorney for Anne Arundel County, says that Maryland rarely uses the death penalty and that it probably will not affect the status quo. This new law is part of Governor Martin O'Malley's three year attempt to repeal Maryland's death penalty. State Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. is skeptical that the issue will be addressed before the 2010 elections. He said that the Senate debate only lasted a few minutes before a repeal was discarded and instead they put limitations on the use of capital punishment. Governor O'Malley is not sure whether he will continue his fight to repeal the death penalty, but does see the limitations as a positive step.
Kentucky's Sex Offender Law Will Not Apply to All: Associated Press writer Roger Alford reports that in a 5-2 decision the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that a 2006 sex offender law barring sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, day care centers, and playgrounds is unconstitutional when applied to those convicted before the law was passed. The majority wrote that the law is punitive because it applies to sex offenders retroactively. Attorney Bradley Wayne Fox challenged the law for a man convicted on statutory rape in 1995, and arrested in 2007 for living 1,000 feet within a public park. Judge Abramson dissented from the decision, "because our democratic system leaves such policy up to the legislature, and because I agree with several other courts that have held that retroactive sex offender residency restrictions do not exceed legislative authority to address vital public safety concerns." The Kentucky Attorney General's office is deciding whether to appeal the decision to U.S. Supreme Court.
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