Comments on Advance Indiana™: Our Unfair Criminal Justice System

Few comparisons can better show how unfair is Indi...

2011-08-05T10:59:44.338-05:00

Few comparisons can better show how unfair is Indiana's criminal justice system. Poor Mendenhall. I bet Jack Crawford, a wonderful man and attorney, was shocked at Judge Hughes's decision. I am very shocked at Judge Orbison's.

It was a bit odd seeing Jack Crawford defend Mende...

2011-08-03T18:40:37.241-05:00

It was a bit odd seeing Jack Crawford defend Mendenhall given his political relationship with Ann DeLaney during the Bayh administration. DeLaney was knee deep in spin control and crisis management during Crawford's blow up with his secretary/girlfriend while serving as Lottery Director for Bayh. As I recall, the Bayh machine of which DeLaney was a key player, was turned on the innocent girlfriend with unusual venom, a bit odd for a woman who claims to be a champion of victimized women.

I would add that attempted murder charge with Mend...

2011-08-03T18:26:32.046-05:00

I would add that attempted murder charge with Mendenhall was on shaky grounds. Delaney's deposition said that Mendenhall arrived wearing thick, winter ski gloves. Mendenhall was arrested by the police wearing those same gloves. Yet Delaney testified in his deposition that Mendenhall was reaching into the gun, using his fingers trying to clear a jam, while holding Delaney down with the other hand. He just couldn't have done that with the heavy winter gloves.

Then you had the fact that Delaney testified that Mendenhall had the gun outside the car and was on top of Delaney. The police drove up and Mendhall took off running and was tasered. Yet the gun was found in an overnight bag back in the car.

Even though the deposition of Delaney wasn't as aggressive as it should have been, there was clearly reasonable doubt as to the attempted murder charge. Yet inexplicably the defense pursued an insanity defense which precluded using the deposition testimony of Delaney to establish reasonable doubt.

Look at how many times they turned Hardy back on t...

2011-08-03T17:59:18.525-05:00

Look at how many times they turned Hardy back on the streets to repeatedly victimize innocent people until he finally killed Officer Moore. Only then did our system bring charges appropriate for his crime.

I wonder if the court considered the likelihood th...

2011-08-03T17:17:15.574-05:00

I wonder if the court considered the likelihood that Patton can be rehabilitated? -or his DANGER to the community?

I, personally, don't believe Patton shall ever hold gainful employment and that the safety of our community demands his incarceration for a much longer term!