Holder Supports Oakland Anti-Gang Effort: Henry Lee, a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer, reports on U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's support of efforts to combat gang violence in Oakland. Holder said that putting a dent in gang and youth violence is a priority for the Obama administration. "We don't want to get tough on crime, we want to get smart on crime, and that necessarily means building relationships and building trust between law enforcement and the communities that law enforcement is supposed to serve," Holder said. Holder supports many initiatives to resist gang violence, saying they are among "comprehensive, holistic solutions to the problems that affect our community." The city's proposed injunction would prohibit 19 alleged gang members from associating with one another in a 100-block area near the Berkeley and Emeryville borders. The proposed injunction is being challenged in court by the ACLU.
Pakistani Taliban may go on Terror List: AP writer Mathew Lee reports on the possibility that the U.S. government may add the Pakistani Taliban to a terrorism blacklist prompted by the failed Times Square car bombing. The U.S. has been focused on on the Pakistani Taliban for a while, but it has not been included on the terrorism list because officials had not determined it met the criteria. Adding or removing a group from the list is a lengthy and thorough process that follows strict guidelines. Adding the Pakistani Taliban to the terrorism list would impose travel and financial sanctions on members of the group, as well as making it a crime for Americans to offer it any material support. Yesterday, five senators sent a letter to Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, asking that the group be added to the list. "The Pakistani Taliban is a murderous organization dedicated to killing civilians, harming U.S. interests in the region, and has even taken credit for terrorist acts committed on U.S. soil," the senators wrote. "Designating the Pakistani Taliban as a foreign terrorist organization would be an effective means of curtailing support for their terrorist activities and pressuring other groups to withdraw their logistical, financial and political support for this terrorist organization," they said. The State Department is considering the senators' request.
Sex Offenders Challenge Conviction: Reporter, Joseph Serna of The Los Angeles Times, reports on three men who were found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison in 2005 for the sexual assault of an unconscious 16-year-old girl and videotaping her. They have asked the California Supreme Court to overturn their convictions. The three rapists, Gregory Haidl, 24, the son of a former Orange County Assistant Sheriff; Kyle Nachreiner, 25; and Keith Spann, also 25, have served part of their sentences and are now free on parole. In a petition for review, counsel argues that the trial judge did not give his client a fair trial because he excluded evidence regarding the victim's sexual history as required by California's rape shield law. The attorney also argues that because the jury found the three, who were 17 when they committed the rape, not guilty on an assault with a deadly weapon charge, they should have been tried as juveniles and spared from being registered as sex offenders. "Men who are convicted of preying on women who are too intoxicated to say 'no' are sexual predators," said Orange County district attorney's spokeswoman Susan Schroeder. "The public has the right to know who they are, where they live and what they did." The California Supreme Court has 60 days to decided whether to hear the case.
Pakistani Taliban may go on Terror List: AP writer Mathew Lee reports on the possibility that the U.S. government may add the Pakistani Taliban to a terrorism blacklist prompted by the failed Times Square car bombing. The U.S. has been focused on on the Pakistani Taliban for a while, but it has not been included on the terrorism list because officials had not determined it met the criteria. Adding or removing a group from the list is a lengthy and thorough process that follows strict guidelines. Adding the Pakistani Taliban to the terrorism list would impose travel and financial sanctions on members of the group, as well as making it a crime for Americans to offer it any material support. Yesterday, five senators sent a letter to Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, asking that the group be added to the list. "The Pakistani Taliban is a murderous organization dedicated to killing civilians, harming U.S. interests in the region, and has even taken credit for terrorist acts committed on U.S. soil," the senators wrote. "Designating the Pakistani Taliban as a foreign terrorist organization would be an effective means of curtailing support for their terrorist activities and pressuring other groups to withdraw their logistical, financial and political support for this terrorist organization," they said. The State Department is considering the senators' request.
Sex Offenders Challenge Conviction: Reporter, Joseph Serna of The Los Angeles Times, reports on three men who were found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison in 2005 for the sexual assault of an unconscious 16-year-old girl and videotaping her. They have asked the California Supreme Court to overturn their convictions. The three rapists, Gregory Haidl, 24, the son of a former Orange County Assistant Sheriff; Kyle Nachreiner, 25; and Keith Spann, also 25, have served part of their sentences and are now free on parole. In a petition for review, counsel argues that the trial judge did not give his client a fair trial because he excluded evidence regarding the victim's sexual history as required by California's rape shield law. The attorney also argues that because the jury found the three, who were 17 when they committed the rape, not guilty on an assault with a deadly weapon charge, they should have been tried as juveniles and spared from being registered as sex offenders. "Men who are convicted of preying on women who are too intoxicated to say 'no' are sexual predators," said Orange County district attorney's spokeswoman Susan Schroeder. "The public has the right to know who they are, where they live and what they did." The California Supreme Court has 60 days to decided whether to hear the case.
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