Forensics Talk

Child Sexual Abuse (Continued)

   

Readers, Just a quick note to thank you for your comments. I haven't responded yet because our family was out of state, taking our son to visit the last college on his list, before making his choice by today's deadline. And I found that trying to work on a laptop and riding in a car just wasn't working too well. I'm back home now & will be writing up Part II. Hopefully, I'll have it posted at some point today.

I would like to make a couple things clear though. It appears, from reading your comments, as well as the emails sent to me, that some readers feel I think that Tonya Craft is guilty. I will state what I've communicated to others in private: I haven't read anything yet which convinces me of either the guilt or innocence of Tonya Craft.

The major points of my post had nothing to do with the question of guilt or innocence. If people disagree with how the prosecution, or the defense, is handling things, and want to express their viewpoint, I think that's great. That's what this country is all about.

What I do strongly object to, however, is how it's being done. Smearing and character assassination is wrong, whether it's being done to the innocently accused, like the Lacrosse players, or to professionals on the stand, just doing their job. Wrong is wrong, no matter how you look at it.

My second point was to give the general public a little view of what actually goes on behind the scenes, in preparing professionals, who are required to testify. We never, or shouldn't, at least, walk into a courtroon unprepared for questions from the defense. Our job, as forensic nurses, is to provide compassionate care for our patients and to collect evidence. Yet, that in no way, means that we are "Victims Advocates." We are professionals who are required to maintain our objectivity and we take our jobs seriously. I plan to show more of that in later postings under "Preparing For Trial."

The purpose of my next several posts is to educate the general public and provide accurate information for on child sexual abuse and investigation. I don't intend to get involved in any questions of prosecutorial abuse, as I'm a forensics nurse and prefer to stick to my area of expertise, and the general purpose of this blog: Give the public unbiased, accurate information and they can draw their own conclusions.

Child Sexual Abuse Part I: Tonya Craft Trial Is No Duke Case!

I was asked to take a look at the reports on the current Tonya Craft child sexual abuse trial and share my thoughts. In May, 2008, Tonya Craft, a kindergarten teacher at Chickamauga Elementary School in Chickamauga, GA, was arrested and charged with four counts of child molestation and one count of aggravated sexual battery. Her trial finally began on april 12, 2010. To date, she's been charged with a total of 22 counts.

   I have read through the various news and blogger reports on this case and was appalled at what I found. Was it because a teacher had been charged with child sexual abuse? No. Unfortunately, those kind of charges are all too common these days. What offended me, though, was the way the prosecution and the medical witnesses have had their professional reputations ripped to shreds for simply doing the jobs they were expected to do.

It's obvious to me, that the so-called "news" stories are strongly one-sided, and that, apparently, a considerable amount of expected information is missing for some reason. For example, I expected to see more information elicited regarding the medical witnesses' credentials, including positions held, specialized training, certifications, continuing educational credits, seminars attended, etc.

  I did notice that the defense brought up certain memberships, such as the American Board of Pediatrics, asking if Ms. Anderson was a member. She answered, "No." Well, of course she's not a member, since the Board of Directors consists mostly of physicians. And a position to the Review Board for Child Abuse & Neglect is usually by Governor appointment and must have Senate consent. 

It seems to me, the defense attorney should have known that. My guess is, he did. It's all part of the strategy defense attorneys use. I'm pretty sure that Dr. Lorandos Demosthenes * knew that the jury would have little or no knowledge of such things as professional membership requirements. Personally, I don't belong to a review board, and I don't know of any other FNE colleagues who belong either.

  I can't help but laugh when people are making such a big deal out of these types of questions, believing they make Ms. Anderson and Dr. Carmichael look less than competent or objective. Exactly what the defense hopes to make them look like to the jury. However, we all know what to expect when we testify in court and we expect these types of questions.

    Not that we blame the defense attorney in any way. That's their job. They are required to vigorously defend their client or they could be charged with malpractice and possibly be sanctioned by the ABA. We all know what to expect when we walk into court, including the prosecutors. 

    They are well aware of what to expect from the defense - something the general public may not be aware of. And we forensic nurse examiners are expected to attend mock trial sessions, throughout the year, and to have pre-trial preparation meetings with the prosecutor before each trial. We're also required to meet with the defense, if they request it. However, I have yet to ever receive any such a request from a defense attorney. I wonder if Ms. Anderson or Dr. Carmichael ever did? Hmmm.

I was especially concerned when I read the extremely hostile remarks made about the SANE nurse, Sharon Anderson, comparing her to Tara Levicy. Well, Ms. Anderson is no Tara Levicy, and, in my professional opinion, this trial is not anything like the Duke Lacrosse debacle - except, well, maybe for the hypocrisy component.

    Tara Levicy was a brand new SANE nurse who worked a case before she was fully qualified to do so. Then, she made inappropriate conclusions, which helped to set off a witch hunt, ending in rape charges against three duke Lacrosse players. She was accused of bias against the players, and dishonest testimony.

   I strongly questioned Ms. Levicy's qualifications and actions at the time, and countered her statements with more accurate information on this blog. Even so, I did it in an appropriate and professional manner. Nothing like what I'm reading now. I happen to consider this kind of public slamming, without a real good cause, to be shameful and unprofessional.

Sharon Anderson has been a SANE nurse for 10 years. According to her testimony, she averages about 30-60 cases a year, a considerable amount. She has testified 15 times. Considering how rare it is for forensic nurses to actually testify, due to last minute plea agreements, that is significant testimony experience. She was accepted as an expert witness by the court. I had no problems with most of her answers.

    It's not right to criticize Ms. Anderson for using the terms, "highly suspicious," and "suspicious, " when we examiners are taught to use those terms in our pediatric child sexual abuse training. I dug out my old training manuals and it was written right in there.

Those terms may not mean much to lay persons, but they sure mean something to the experts, which will be explained in later posts. So, why would the defense question them? Again, strategy.   

And as to the remarks about Ms. Anderson saying, "Win some, lose some", I probably wouldn't have used those exact words, but I find them harmless. Not so the bloggers. A fellow blogger, for whom I've always held the greatest respect, equates it to being a Victim's Advocate. Well, Sir, I must respectfully disagree.

Advocacy for children is something entirely different than being a "Victim's Advocate". We must all advocate for the well-being and safety of children. Legally, that comes before our role as forensic nurse examiners.

"Victim's Advocates", on the other hand, are non-nursing personnel, many are volunteers, who listen, and provide emotional support to the patient.

    In a recent trial, about three weeks ago, under questioning by the defense, I stated, " Our job is to provide compassionate care to our patients and to collect evidence . . ."

By providing compassionate care, we are advocating a patient's well-being and safety, whether it's an adult or child. But, that doesn't mean we are "Victim's Advocates."

   I've also read negative comments regarding Dr. Charmichael. Comments regarding the length of time it took for her to review the charts. I have to say, with regards to the role of a forensic unit's Medical Director, this is typical, at least in our area. The Medical Director's job is not to be constantly available to oversee the nurses every day. That's the job of the unit nurse manager.

When we complete an exam and charting, the original is locked in the evidence locker prior to the detective picking it up - which may actually take a very long time. We've had rape kits languish for weeks or months! I strongly urge readers to ask questions first, or research, before jumping to conclusions.

     A copy is then left with the unit manager, who will then review it right away. Our Medical Director may come in once or twice a month to meet with the nurse manager to go over cases, problems, and the general running of the unit, etc.

We are, however, subpoenaed as "witnesses for the state." Even so, we are still required, by mandatory guidelines and protocols, to be completely objective. In my opinion, all the hoopla over this statement, is just that - and making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Contrary to what my blogger friend claims, I have yet to meet any "Victim's Advocates" among my forensic nursing colleagues at work.

    Once before, during the Duke case, I felt there was a great deal of mis-information put out there, often based on nothing more than hostility and common myths. And, many commenters, and the public, following their pied piper, by just jumping on that old character assassination bandwagon.

  That's why I started this blog - to try to address all the misconceptions & un-truths out there, and, hopefully, help to prevent a tragedy from happening to the Duke Lacrosse boys. Well, in my opinion, it's the same thing happening all over again. This is so sad!

   Have we learned nothing from the Duke Lacrosse Case?

  End Part I

 Part II next - Child Sexual Abuse: Pediatric Forensic Nurse's role & training, definitions, physical & behavioral signs

 to provide information to both professionals and the public on child sexual abuse investigation. It will be long, requiring several parts.

* My apologies for inadvertently typing in the incorrect name at first before catching and changing it.

 

"No Class Issue in Coverage of Brown Rape Case?"

Crime & Federalism

April 15, 2010

   " To call Richard Dresdale a prominent Brown alumnus would be an understatement.  Richard Dresdale is Co-founder and Managing Director of Fenway Partners - a 2.1-billion-dollar private equity fund.  He is the kind of man who can afford to make $118,000 in campaign contributions - in 2008 alone.

When Richard Dresdale heard that his daughter claimed to have been raped, he behaved as all of us would have: He was outraged.  He picked up the phone.  He made calls.  He wanted the rapist punished.

That it seems almost certain that his daughter fabricated the rape accusation is irrelevant.  Why would a father doubt his daughter's word?  Mr. Dresdale's conduct is not just understandable - it's totally excusable.

Yet what Brown University is inexcusable.  Going against everything it teaches, Brown subordinated reason to emotion:

A former student has sued Brown University in federal court, saying university officials interfered with his efforts to clear his name after another student, the daughter of a prominent Brown alumnus and donor, accused him of rape. 

In documents unsealed Monday, the former student, William McCormick III, said the university had failed to follow its own disciplinary policies and sent him home to Wisconsin after the woman’s father made calls to top university officials.

On the same day that Mr. Dresdale called Brown, five Brown Deans ordered the falsely-accused student into an enclosed room.  They surrounded him.  They handed him a plane ticket, and told him to go home.

They did not investigate the rape accusation.  They did not attempt to substantiate the accusation.  They did not merely suspend the student for a semester pending an investigation.  They sent the farm boy back to Wisconsin - where he belonged.

Unlike Richard Dresdale, William McCormick III was poor.  He was attending Brown on an academic scholarship.  While earning straight-As, he was also a star wrestler.  He could not have afforded to attend Brown University without substantial financial aid.

Didn't this poor boy get kicked out of college, ultimately, for not belonging to the right social class?  If William McCormick's father had been Richard Dresdale, does anyone doubt that the case would have been handled differently?

Why didn't the New York Times focus on the unfair treatment this poor boy received?  Isn't it unfair when the super rich have poor people expelled without due process - and without any good cause at all?

There's a reason that the Times did not touch the class issue: To the liberal media, a person can commit no greater crime than being born white and male.  William McCormick III thus received the treatment he deserved."

Posted by Mike on April 15, 2010 |

When Richard Dresdale heard that his daughter claimed to have been raped, he behaved as all of us would have: He was outraged.  He picked up the phone.  He made calls.  He wanted the rapist punished.

That it seems almost certain that his daughter fabricated the rape accusation is irrelevant.  Why would a father doubt his daughter's word?  Mr. Dresdale's conduct is not just understandable - it's totally excusable.

Yet what Brown University is inexcusable.  Going against everything it teaches, Brown subordinated reason to emotion:

A former student has sued Brown University in federal court, saying university officials interfered with his efforts to clear his name after another student, the daughter of a prominent Brown alumnus and donor, accused him of rape. 

In documents unsealed Monday, the former student, William McCormick III, said the university had failed to follow its own disciplinary policies and sent him home to Wisconsin after the woman’s father made calls to top university officials.

On the same day that Mr. Dresdale called Brown, five Brown Deans ordered the falsely-accused student into an enclosed room.  They surrounded him.  They handed him a plane ticket, and told him to go home.

They did not investigate the rape accusation.  They did not attempt to substantiate the accusation.  They did not merely suspend the student for a semester pending an investigation.  They sent the farm boy back to Wisconsin - where he belonged.

Unlike Richard Dresdale, William McCormick III was poor.  He was attending Brown on an academic scholarship.  While earning straight-As, he was also a star wrestler.  He could not have afforded to attend Brown University without substantial financial aid.

Didn't this poor boy get kicked out of college, ultimately, for not belonging to the right social class?  If William McCormick's father had been Richard Dresdale, does anyone doubt that the case would have been handled differently?

Why didn't the New York Times focus on the unfair treatment this poor boy received?  Isn't it unfair when the super rich have poor people expelled without due process - and without any good cause at all?

There's a reason that the Times did not touch the class issue: To the liberal media, a person can commit no greater crime than being born white and male.  William McCormick III thus received the treatment he deserved."

Posted by Mike on April 15, 2010 |

"Feminists Encourage False Rape Accusations Against Men"

Crime & Federalism

April 17, 2010

     " Many people roll their eyes at the idea that feminism is waging a war against men.  Yet here is what one of the supporters of the Violence Against Women Act said about false rape accusations: 

Catherine Comins, assistant dean of student life at Vassar, also sees some value in this loose use of "rape."...Comins argues that men who are unjustly accused can sometimes gain from the experience. "They have a lot of pain, but it is not a pain that I would necessarily have spared them. I think it ideally initiates a process of self-exploration. 'How do I see women?' 'If I didn't violate her, could I have?' 'Do I have the potential to do to her what they say I did?' Those are good questions."

Isn't that great?  If a man said that a woman can learn from being raped, he'd be irrelevant.  Who here would dare say - in public, anyway - that a woman who gets raped after taking Jell-O shots at a frat house should seriously reconsider her life choices?   

Catherine Comins, however, did not lose her job.  Her close ties with with many Democrat politicians were not undone.  She also helped draft the Violence Against Women Act."

Catherine Comins, assistant dean of student life at Vassar, also sees some value in this loose use of "rape."...Comins argues that men who are unjustly accused can sometimes gain from the experience. "They have a lot of pain, but it is not a pain that I would necessarily have spared them. I think it ideally initiates a process of self-exploration. 'How do I see women?' 'If I didn't violate her, could I have?' 'Do I have the potential to do to her what they say I did?' Those are good questions."

Isn't that great?  If a man said that a woman can learn from being raped, he'd be irrelevant.  Who here would dare say - in public, anyway - that a woman who gets raped after taking Jell-O shots at a frat house should seriously reconsider her life choices?   

Catherine Comins, however, did not lose her job.  Her close ties with with many Democrat politicians were not undone.  She also helped draft the Violence Against Women Act."

US House Bill To Double Medicare Fraud Penalties

Business Week.com

April 14, 2010

" Medicare fraud suspects would face longer prison sentences under a U.S. House bill proposed Tuesday that also advocates biotechnology such as fingerprint scanning to ensure patients are getting the goods the government is billed for.

Authorities have warned Medicare fraud, an estimated $60 billion annual crime, is now more lucrative than dealing drugs. Until now the penalties have been far less severe.

For example, a Medicare scammer could easily net at least $25,000 a day while risking 5-10 years in prison if convicted on a single count. A cocaine dealer could take weeks to make that amount while risking up to life in prison.

The bill is sponsored by U.S. Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-FL, and U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-FL, both from South Florida, which has long been ground zero for the fraud. Miami-Dade County alone generates more than $3 billion a year.

The Medicare Fraud Enforcement and Prevention Act will double prison sentences from 5 to 10 years and fines from $25,000 to $50,000 for Medicare fraud-related crimes.

The bill would also create a new crime for illegally distributing patients' Medicare or Medicaid IDs or billing information, which would carry a maximum 3-year sentence. . . " Read More

Link Between Better Patient Safety And Fewer Medical Malpractice Claims In California

Medical News Today

Article Date: 16 Apr 2010 - 0:00 PDT

   " Reducing the number of preventable patient injuries in California hospitals from 2001 to 2005 was associated with a corresponding drop in malpractice claims against physicians, according to a study issued by the RAND Corporation.

Researchers studied both medical malpractice claims and adverse events such as post-surgical infections across California counties and found that changes in the frequency of adverse events were strongly correlated with corresponding changes in the volume of medical malpractice claims.

"These findings suggest that putting a greater focus on improving safety performance in health care settings could benefit medical providers as well as patients," said Michael Greenberg, the study's lead author and a behavioral scientist with RAND, a nonprofit research organization.

The link between safety performance among health care providers and malpractice suits has been of central interest to policymakers in the ongoing debate over health care reform. The RAND study is the first to demonstrate a link between improving performance on 20 well-established indicators of medical safety outcomes and lower medical malpractice claims.

Researchers analyzed information for approximately 365,000 adverse safety events, such as post-surgical problems and hospital-acquired infections, and for approximately 27,000 malpractice claims, all of which occurred during 2001-2005. The researchers found considerable variation among California's counties, in both the frequency of adverse events and of malpractice claims.

More important, the study found a significant connection between the annual frequency of adverse events in each county, and the number of malpractice claims made. For example, under the model created by researchers, a county that experienced 10 fewer safety events in a given year would also expect to see a reduction of 3.7 malpractice claims during the same year, said study co-author Amelia Haviland, a RAND statistician. . . " Read More

Rehearsing The Evacuation Of 70,000 Sports Fans In Less Than An Hour, With The Aid Of Avatars

Medical News Today

Article Date: 12 Apr 2010 - 1:00 PDT

" What sports fan hasn't grumbled while waiting in a long, snaking lines to get into the stadium for the big game? It's enough to discourage even a diehard fan. But if you think it's a hassle getting into a sold-out game, imagine trying to get out after a bomb explodes - or even to get out under a bomb threat, for that matter.

Let's start with the emergency lights failing. If you're thinking of feeling your way out by the light of your cell phone, join the crowd - they're right beside you, pushing fifty-across and a thousand-deep in a stampede. It's everyone for himself.

Scenes like this may sound like a trailer for a Hollywood thriller (think Black Sunday), but their grim prospect is all-too-real. Last year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI jointly warned of terrorist interest in attacking crowded stadiums. Small wonder: A bomb or noxious plume released over a throng of captive sports fans would cause major-league mayhem and terror.

Mindful of the threat, stadium sentinels have been laying plans to manage and minimize the anarchy that would follow such an attack. Just how would authorities whisk 70,000 people out the gates and onto the roads quickly and safely? For an evacuation on this scale, there are no dress rehearsals or practice drills-just simulation software.

Now, a new breed of simulation software - dubbed SportEvac - is being funded by the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) as part of the Southeast Region Research Initiative (SERRI), and developed and tested by the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety & Security (NCS4) at the University of Southern Mississippi. . . " Read More

National Suicide Prevention Campaign For Teens

Medical News Today

Article Date: 01 Apr 2010 - 0:00 PDT

     " The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), working in collaboration with the Ad Council and the Inspire USA Foundation, announced today the launch of a national public service announcement PSA campaign designed to reduce the incidence of suicide and suicide attempts among teens in the United States.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15-24 year-olds, following unintended injuries and homicide. While suicides account for approximately 1.4 percent of all deaths in the United States annually, they comprise 12 percent of deaths among this age group. In 2006, 4,189 people between ages 15 and 24 died by suicide. Furthermore, for every youth who died by suicide, it is estimated that 100-200 attempts are made.

"Suicide is a preventable tragedy," said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. "That's why we have made it an explicit part of our top priority at SAMHSA - prevention of substance abuse and mental illness. We are aligning and bringing to bear the full force of our resources to reduce the risk and increase the protective factors that are linked with suicide. This new public service advertising campaign is a critical step in raising awareness among young people that there are places where they can turn for help."

"Our new campaign with SAMHSA and Inspire USA connects with teens by identifying with the various challenges they are facing, while empowering them to cope by showing them how their peers have made it through," said Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of the Ad Council. "These ads and our online resources will give teens hope and this campaign has the potential to save many lives."

In an effort to provide support for teens who may be contemplating suicide, SAMHSA and the Ad Council launched the Teen Suicide Prevention campaign. Created by DDB New York through the Ad Council, the We Can Help Us effort includes television, radio, print and interactive PSAs, as well as in-school and mall posters, directed at 13-17 year-olds. The ads were based on the understanding that teens face a myriad of problems and many are seeking effective ways to cope with them. . . " Read More



Inspire USA Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit established in San Francisco in 2007. Inspire's mission is to help young Americans lead happier lives. Inspire takes a strength-based, public health approach to its work with a focus on mental health promotion and the prevention of high risk behavior, with a particular interest in suicide prevention."

Source
SAMHSA

Child Care Worker Accused of Abuse. Forensic Nurse Determines Injuries

News Advance.com

By Chris Dumond
Published: August 4, 2008
Updated: August 5, 2008   

Latanya Murphey

 

" Two weeks after placing her baby in home-based child care, Lakisha Dickerson got a worrisome phone call. Something didn’t seem right, the child care provider, Latanya Murphy, told Dickerson, who immediately left work and came to check on her child.

“She was lying there not moving, not crying,” Dickerson recalled in a court hearing Monday.

Murphy, 43, is charged with two counts of child abuse, felonies that carry as much as 10 years in prison.

Lynchburg Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge William Light on Monday heard testimony from Dickerson and another mother who testified their children came home injured after being in Murphy’s care.

After hearing their testimony and that of the Lynchburg General Hospital forensic nurses who examined the babies, Light ruled there was enough evidence against Murphy to send her case to the September meeting of the city’s grand jury.

Dickerson said Murphy had been providing child care to her baby for about two weeks when she got the call on April 14. After taking the baby to Lynchburg General Hospital, where a CT scan showed the child’s brain was bleeding, they were taken to the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville.

There, Dickerson testified, doctors found bleeding behind the baby’s eyes as well. Doctors told the mother her baby had either fallen or had been dropped on her head.

The same day Dickerson’s child was taken to the hospital, another mother with twins in Murphy’s care was getting ready to call about bruises all over her daughter’s body. . .' Read More 

 

New Hand Bacteria Study Holds Promise for Forensics Identification

Science Daily     

March 16, 2010

Forensic scientists may soon have a valuable new item in their toolkits -- a way to identify individuals using unique, telltale types of hand bacteria left behind on objects like keyboards and computer mice, says a new University of Colorado at Boulder study.

The CU-Boulder study showed that "personal" bacterial communities living on the fingers and palms of individual computer users that were deposited on keyboards and mice matched the bacterial DNA signatures of users much more closely than those of random people. While the development of the technique is continuing, it could provide a way for forensics experts to independently confirm the accuracy of DNA and fingerprint analyses, says CU-Boulder Assistant Professor Noah Fierer, chief author on the study.

"Each one of us leaves a unique trail of bugs behind as we travel through our daily lives," said Fierer, an assistant professor in CU-Boulder's ecology and evolutionary biology department. "While this project is still in it's preliminary stages, we think the technique could eventually become a valuable new item in the toolbox of forensic scientists."

The study was published March 15 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Co-authors on the PNAS study included Christian Lauber and Nick Zhou of CU-Boulder's Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, or CIRES, Daniel McDonad of CU-Boulder's department of chemistry and biochemistry, Stanford University Postdoctoral Researcher Elizabeth Costello and CU-Boulder chemistry and biochemistry Assistant Professor Rob Knight. . ." Read More 

"Cops Getting Caught On Camera Increases Scrutiny"

USA Today

By Don Babwin, Associated Press Writer

 

CHICAGO — "Minutes after a suburban Chicago police officer was charged with striking a motorist with his baton, prosecutors handed out copies of a video showing the beating -- taken by a dashboard camera on the officer's own squad car.

In California, after a transit cop and an unruly train passenger slammed against a wall during a struggle and shattered a station window last fall, video from a bystander's cell phone was all over the Internet before the window was fixed.

The same cell phones, surveillance cameras and other video equipment often used to assist police are also catching officers on tape, changing the nature of police work -- for better and worse.

Some say cameras are exposing behavior that police have gotten away with for years. But others contend the videos, which often show a snippet of an incident, turn officers into villains simply for doing their jobs, making them targets of lawsuits and discipline from bosses buckling to public pressure.

"We tell our officers all the time you've got to assume that everything you do is going to be videotaped," said Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis. "Everyone has a cell phone and almost every cell phone has a camera."

Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said the video her office gave to the media on Tuesday shows police officer James Mandarino, from the Chicago suburb of Streamwood, hitting motorist Ronald Bell 15 times after a traffic stop last month. . ." Read More 

New Tech Sees Dead People

MSNBC

Special imaging can detect changes in light caused by a decomposing body

The site of an animal cemetary in Quebec, Canada detected by hyperspectral imaging.

   By Eric Bland

updated 1:55 p.m. CT, Fri., April 16, 2010

"A spooky sounding technology is finding old, unmarked graves. Using hyperspectral imaging, scientists from McGill University have found unmarked animal graves with special cameras that measure changes in the light coming from soil and plants.

Hyperspectral imaging collects and processes light from across the electromagnetic spectrum, including visible light as well as ultraviolet and infrared light. The research could help police solve missing persons cases or reveal new mass graves from hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago.

"As soon as there is some decay you can see a difference," said Andre Costopoulos, a professor at McGill University developing new techniques to find old graves.

"We suspect that some of these graves are over 40 years old, and are excited to try to find much older grave sites," some of which could be hundreds of years old, said Costopoulos. . . " Read More

"Sheriff: Family Was Afraid of Russian Boy" - A Point of View From Experience

CBS News.com    

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn., April 12, 2010

  Int'l Outrage Over 7-Year-Old's Return to Russia; Expert Says Many Adoptive Parents Sympathetic to Mother's Plight

(CBS)  "The president of Russia is calling it a "monstrous deed" - the decision by a Tennessee woman to send her adopted son back to his homeland, alone.

Now authorities in Shelbyville are investigating the actions of Torry and Nancy Hansen, the adoptive mother and grandmother of 7-year-old Artyom Savelyev.

On CBS' "The Early Show" this morning, Bedford County Sheriff Randall Boyce said his department is checking into what (if any) crime was committed.

"We'll have to go through this with kind of a fine tooth comb and see exactly what has been done here. Was this a poor judgment on her part, or has something illegal been done? ..."

"Boyce said what his investigators have been hearing so far indicates continued problems in the Hansen home: "What we're getting mostly is that he had violent issues and that they were more or less afraid of him, as far as trying to burn the house while they were asleep. I think he threatened some of these things. But it's still early. We're not exactly sure what the whole deal is..."  "It Got to Be Where You Feared for Your Safety'"... Read More

Point of View  

I feel for both the woman and the adoptive boy. I really do. My husband and I are both former foster parents and adoptive parents too. While I can't say I condone the adoptive mother's actions, in sending the child back on a plane alone, I can say, been there, done that. In a similar fashion, anyway.

Twenty years ago, when I was 36, we were hoping to adopt an older child, as a sibling to our natural born daughter, but were saddened to find out just how long it took to adopt a child in the U.S. We too thought about trying to adopt a child from another country but found it to be a very confusing and lengthy process.

In talking with our local social services department, we were told we could become foster parents, allowing us to adopt much quicker. We decided to go that route. After an almost two year training process, we were finally approved.

Our first foster child was a newly born infant, removed immediately from a drug abusing mother, who was supposedly involved in witchcraft. Although we were a bit unnerved that security guards escorted us to our car, we felt everything would be fine once we got the baby home. It wasn't.

Oh, we did fine. We managed the usual way that parents bringing a new baby home do. However, unlike most new parents, who are able to feed and cuddle their baby, we quickly found out there were problems with doing that. Unfortunately, this poor baby girl was going through drug withdrawal.

She ate poorly and over-reacted to the slightest stimulation, whether by lights, voice, or touch, with spastic, jerky arm and leg movements, and constant, shrill screaming. When she was laid back down, she stopped. After doing some research, I found that this was normal behavior for drug addicted babies.

Following suggestions, I tried to avoid stimulating her any more than was necessary. I kept her swaddled, tried to hold her lightly, while feeding, bathing, and changing, then quickly put her back in her crib, turning off the light. As soon as that happened, she calmed right down. When we turned the light back on, to check on her, she would start all over again.

Sadly, It was obvious that this baby was going to have life long developmental, and most probably, emotional, problems due to her mother's drug abuse. She stayed with us for one week before the court approved a relative to take her. Although we missed her, and felt so sad for her, I hate to admit, but, it was also a relief. I knew we could not go through that again.

   Still, the day after the little baby left our care, I was shedding tears for her, when I received a call from DSS again. The social worker asked me what was wrong. I told her that I missed the baby. And she said, " Well, don't cry too long. We have a new born little boy, going up for adoption. Are you interested?"

   Were we interested? Since our daughter was eleven, we hadn't even given thought about adopting a baby. My husband and I took all of about 30 seconds to ask each other if we were too old before giving the social worker a resounding, Yes! 

    That was 18 years ago. Today, our adopted son is getting ready to graduate from high school and will be going off to college in the Fall. Were there developmental issues? Yes, his mother was drug addicted too - just with a different kind of drug. We weren't told until after we brought him home and I immediately noticed that he was a very "floppy" baby, ate poorly, and slept too much.

    He was diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome at birth, was withdrawing from valium, after birth, and he didn't talk until he was five. We enrolled him in Child Find at the age of two and started out using sign language to communicate. We fought the PS system, to hold him back in first grade, and continued with speech therapy through fifth grade.

  Our third experience as foster/adoptive parents involved two siblings, a four year old boy and his three year old sister. At the time of their placement, I was not told anything about them. I received a call from DSS and an hour later they arrived at our house.

   The same day they arrived, I realized that something was seriously wrong, when I walked into our living room, and saw the four year old sexually "self-stimulating", while his sister stood there, watching him and laughing. I called DSS and got a report of claims of sexual abuse, of both children, by the parents.

   I told the DSS worker what I had witnessed and requested an immediate evaluation by a child psychologist. As it turned out, this was one of the worst child sexual abuses cases in the county at the time. And for our family, it turned out to be nine months of excruciating emotional torture.

Both of these children had been horribly abused from the time they were born. Their older sister had already been removed from their home, two years prior to this, for the same complaint. After the initial Child Psych evaluation, the boy was immediately placed in a hospital specialized Child Psych unit. I received a report that, while he was there, he told, in horrifying, explicit detail, of his sexual abuse by both parents. He never came back.

    The three year old girl, I'll call Tabitha, a highly intelligent child, remained with us for nine months. Even though we worked closely with Child Psych, for the whole nine months, her behavior was very violent. She continuously hit, kicked, screamed, cussed, and bit, whenever she heard the word, "NO".

   Which, unfortunately, was often. Times like, when we were standing in a line at the bank one day, and she started to run around, and I told her to stop. She proceeded to cuss a blue streak, "F" bombs spewing out of her mouth that would make a sailer do much more than blush.

Everyone in the bank turned and stared - no - glared, at me so bad I just wanted to crawl away and hide in some hole. Of course, they all thought she was my kid. This happened everywhere we went. She may have been only three years old, but this was one tough cookie. I'd never seen anything like it in my life. Nor had my long time babysitter I used when I worked. After three weeks, she had to ask me to remove her.

I consider myself a very caring, loving mother. My husband is the same way. I followed all the child advice books back then, never, ever laid a hand on any child, and provided plenty of hugs and kisses for our own children as well as our foster children. I sought advice from Child psych every visit. I bought every book I could find. I often sat, while Tabitha, as she played with the our daughter's old Barbie dolls, and spoke of the same horror her brother had gone through.

   The only thing that worked at all, and that was very little, was trying behavior modification. But it wasn't enough. Nothing was going to work with this child. After nine months of pure, emotional anguish, for all of us; after nine months of constantly consulting with both DSS and Child Psych, trying to get sufficient help - DSS, being less than willing, I finally had to call DSS & request her immediate removal, after Tabitha, at the age of four, was caught trying to smother our infant son with a pillow.

    She was transferred the next day to FACETS, a group of specialy trained homes, for children like this. I met with the new foster mom, explained the last nine months, and sincerely wished her luck. About a year and a half later, I happened to run into her. The poor thing looked like she'd been through Hell and back.

     I asked about Tabitha and was told she was no longer with them. She told me everything they'd gone through, about how violent the child was towards their nieces and nephews, and about getting no help whatsoever from DSS, except that DSS demanded that their relatives' children were not allowed to visit their house, to prevent them from getting hurt. The foster mom told me she and her husband ended up being completely isolated from their own families.

   Even these specially trained foster parents couldn't handle her. In the end, Tabitha had to be institutionalized. That was the last I heard of her but I've never forgotten her, or forgotten how hard it is to get help from DSS, when dealing with severely disturbed children such as these.

    Our son's story, though, is an example of how a sad beginning can become a success story, depending on such factors as how old the child is when adopted, type and amount of drug use during pregnancy, any previous life experiences, the type of disability, and the type and amount of outside professional support provided for the child. 

 I believe prospective adoptive parents should ask questions regarding the child's history before adopting. It's also important that adoption agencies, whether foreign or domestic, be honest with the prospective adoptive parents. Some can handle all the negative emotional and behavioral issues, which may be exhibited very quickly, once the child is settled in their new home. Some can't. Then again, there are some extradinarily difficult cases, which most parents, might have difficulty handling.

In our case, our son has been an absolute blessing to our whole family and we're very thankful that he came to live with us. Both of our children are the light of our lives. But My heart goes out to both the Russian child and his former adoptive mom. I'm sorry it didn't work out for them. In my own humble opinion, having gone through it ourselves, I believe it's probably best for all sides, especially the media, just to leave things be, and let each get on with their own lives.

   

  

 

Researchers Refine DNA Testing For Predisposition To Bipolar Disorder

Medical News Today

Article Date: 11 Apr 2010 - 0:00 PDT

"Genetic testing may rise to a new level with the findings of Indiana University School of Medicine researchers whose "prototype" for laboratory testing for bipolar disorder appears today in the online edition of the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics.

"This is an important advance in the development of a prototype for lab tests for bipolar disorder, and can serve as a model for developing tests in other complex disorders," said lead author Alexander B. Niculescu III, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry and medical neuroscience at the IU School of Medicine and director of INBRAIN at the IU Institute of Psychiatric Research.

Dr. Niculescu and colleagues used two different populations from large scale genetic studies and compared those individuals' genes to a small panel of 56 genes implicated in bipolar disorder by their work, to predict who has a predisposition to the disease.

The analysis resulted in a genetic risk prediction score that indicates high or low potential for developing bipolar disorder. "The coupling of a high score with certain environmental factors may be a predictor, not a certainty, that the individual will develop bipolar disorder" said Dr. Niculescu, who also is a staff psychiatrist at the Indianapolis Roudebush VA Medical Center.

"Genes explain a small portion of the risk of developing the illness," said Dr. Niculescu. "Unlike some genetic predisposition to diseases like Huntington's or cystic fibrosis, the variances in genes that can predispose people to mood disorders are found in all of us. What we are learning is that it may take a combination of factors - too many gene variances in the wrong environment and you are at higher risk..." Read More 

More On The Broken Promise of California Releases

Crime & Consequences

April 6, 2010 5:25 PM | Posted by Kent Scheidegger | 0 Comments | No TrackBacks

Don Thompson of AP has more on the broken promise that only "nonviolent" prisoners would be released and unsupervised in the California downsizing:

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- "More than 250 state prison inmates freed without supervised parole under a new California law were convicted of crimes considered violent or threatening, according to prison records obtained as part of an inquiry by state lawmakers. A handful are sex offenders.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state corrections officials said the law, passed last year, was designed to improve public safety by concentrating parole supervision on the most dangerous felons. Allowing those convicted of lesser offenses to go unsupervised after their release would mean fewer people being sent back to prison for parole violations, reducing the inmate population and saving the state money.

Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate and state lawmakers repeatedly said that only nonviolent offenders -- mostly those convicted of white collar, property and drug crimes -- would be freed without monitoring. At the time the law took effect on Jan. 25, Cate promised it would not lead to dangerous felons being unsupervised after their release.

"If you're a serious offender, you're ineligible. If you're a violent offender, you're ineligible. If you're a sex offender, you're ineligible. All that's defined," he said during a news conference the day the law took effect.

The department's own records paint a picture that conflicts with Cate's pledge, although most do not appear to violate the strict letter of the law. A corrections spokesman said the problem is with the law, not with the way the department has handled the releases."

"Innocence List" Conclusively Debunked

Crime & Consequences      

"Innocence List" Conclusively Debunked

April 8, 2010 11:59 AM | Posted by Kent Scheidegger | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

"death row inmate Timothy Hennis, listed as "exonerated" on the "innocence list" maintained by the Death Penalty Information Center, was found guilty of three counts of premeditated murder by a military jury today. The Fay Observer has this story."

"This is the smoking gun that proves what we have been saying all along.  The so-called innocence list is nothing of the sort."

"For years, the "innocence list" has been cited by opponents of the death penalty as a list of people once sentenced to death who were actually innocent of the crimes. The DPIC itself carefully avoids claiming that expressly but promotes the claim through its misleading title.  Death penalty supporters have long maintained that this claim is false.  Proof of actual innocence is not required to get on the list. In 2006, Justice Antonin Scalia challenged the list in an opinion in Kansas v. Marsh.

In Hennis's case, his first conviction was reversed on appeal, and on retrial in 1989 the jury decided that the evidence available at that time was not sufficient to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. However, there is a wide difference between doubt of guilt and proof of innocence.

In most cases, an acquittal prevents a second trial.  However, because Hennis was in the military at the time and the first trial had been held in North Carolina state court, the double jeopardy rule did not preclude a military trial.  In 2006, more advanced DNA technology tied Hennis to the rape and murder of Kathryn Eastburn and the murder of her two daughters, 5-year-old Kara and 3-year-old Erin.

We have known all along that the "innocence list" claim was a lie.  Now we have official proof, beyond a reasonable doubt."

Categories:

• Death Penalty

Fairfax day-care provider gets 10 years for shaking baby, causing brain damage

The Washington 

By Mary Pat Flaherty

Saturday, April 10, 2010

"A Fairfax County day-care provider who shook a 4-month-old boy, causing lasting brain damage, was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison Friday, lawyers said.

The sentencing of Trudy E. Munoz Rueda, 45, for felony child abuse and child cruelty ended an emotionally charged hour-long hearing in which Judge Jan L. Brodie heard impassioned appeals from the parents of Noah Whitmer, Munoz's husband and parents who spoke of the patience Munoz showed their children while they were in her care, according to prosecutors.

"It was not an easy day for anyone in court," said prosecutor Gregory Holt. "It was emotional."

Brodie, who could have reduced the sentence, upheld the verdicts reached by jurors in January. Before imposing the prison term, the judge said she could see the toll the case had taken on both families but would nevertheless maintain the sentencing totals reached by jurors.

"It is a tragic case all around," said Guillermo Uriarte, Munoz's attorney. . . " Read More

A Formerly Wanted Woman

The Smoking Gun

  

    Ex-Playboy centerfold, once a fugitive, jailed on trafficking rap

   APRIL 5--"After six months as a fugitive, a former Playboy Playmate of the Month has been arrested and jailed in Florida on felony charges of doctor shopping and trafficking in Oxycodone, the powerful painkiller. Tanya Beyer, pictured in the below mug shot, was nabbed late last month and is being held in the Palm Beach jail on $100,000 bond. Beyer, Playboy's Miss February 1992, was named last August in a probable cause affidavit accusing her of obtaining Oxycodone from three separate doctors. The affidavit, sworn by an investigator with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, alleges that Beyer, 38, was "possibly doctor shopping as well as using and selling the scheduled II narcotics she was illegally obtaining." In early-October, police branded Beyer a fugitive, and sought the public's help in locating her via the Palm Beach Crime Stoppers program. On March 24, Beyer surrendered at the Palm Beach lockup, according to a sheriff's booking card, which lists her current state of residence as Colorado. After her 1992 centerfold turn, Beyer appeared in a variety of other Playboy publications and videos over the following years." (5 pages) Read More

South African Fossils Could Be New Hominid Species

BBC

By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News   

 

   "The remarkable remains of two ancient human-like creatures (hominids) have been found in South Africa.

The fossils of a female adult and a juvenile male - perhaps mother and son - are just under two million years old.

They were uncovered in cave deposits at Malapa not far from Johannesburg.

Researchers tell the journal Science that the creatures fill an important gap between older hominids and the group of more modern species known as Homo, which includes our own kind.

The team has assigned the name Australopithecus sediba to their finds.

"It's at the point where we transition from an ape that walks on two legs to, effectively, us," lead scientist Professor Lee Berger of the University of the Witwatersrand told BBC News.

"I think that probably everyone is aware that this period of time - that period between 1.8 and just over two million years [ago] - is one of the most poorly represented in the entire early hominid fossil record. You're talking about a very small, very fragmentary record," he explained.

Rapid burial

Many scientists regard the Australopithecines as being directly ancestral to Homo but the precise placement of A. sediba in the human family tree is already proving controversial, with some scientists arguing the species may well be a Homo itself.

The Malapa creatures lived right on the cusp of the emergence of Homo species. Indeed, there are some fossils from East Africa thought to be Homo that are slightly older than the new specimens. . . " Read More