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There are two small groups of people in the world and the idea of guilt affects them in very different ways. One is a group of men convicted of rape but were later exonerated from the sex crime because of DNA evidence. Another is the group of women who were raped but in the end identified the wrong person as their aggressor. For the men, a false conviction has forever robbed them of time, and for the women their unintentional misidentification creates the guilt of putting an innocent person behind bars.
Last time we talked about the issue of the increasing illicit use of pain killers among Americans. We also spoke about the development of pill mills used in the illegal trade of prescription pill narcotics. Florida has been identified as the state with the most drug crimes identified with the illegal prescription of pain killers. In fact, people from other states travel to Florida for illicit prescriptions. In this post we will look at the approach law enforcement officials have taken to address the issue.
The fastest growing form of addiction in the United States is the illicit use of prescription pill narcotics. The rise in drug crimes associated with the operation of pain management clinics that illegally prescribe and sell prescription pain killers has led to a nationwide crackdown. The epicenter of the nationwide crackdown against prescription drug misuse is Florida. Recently, authorities in Florida have been building cases against doctors and clinics by making undercover drug purchases.
A car accident caused by drinking and driving can hurt the families of all of the individuals involved. On Saturday night a fatal car accident occurred in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. The car accident killed a 21-year-old female and a 22-year-old male who were stopped at a red light together. The 21-year-old driver that caused the crash is suspected of drinking and driving.
Last month, we wrote about the fall in juvenile crime prosecutions in Hennepin County. This month information has been released that shows Dakota County is also experiencing a similar trend. The downward trend in juvenile crime prosecutions in Dakota County has occurred consistently over the last eight years. The local trend is a part of a national decline in the number of juveniles who face prosecution and need criminal defense. Some legal experts believe the downward direction of juvenile crimes is attributed to anti-bullying, anti-drug abuse and juvenile crime prevention initiatives.
The story of Denny Hecker’s white collar crime case has finally come to end. The former owner of a local auto empire was sentenced to a prison term of 10 years for two counts of fraud and one count of conspiracy on Friday. Hecker was given the maximum sentence and was also ordered to repay $31.36 million to victims. It is expected that Hecker will serve his prison time in Minnesota, but the final decision of where he will serve his prison term will be left to the United States Bureau of Prisons.
For every criminal case the prosecution and the criminal defense must use the available evidence to demonstrate their case. These days some prosecutors believe that a certain crime show may be making their job more difficult, CSI. Some prosecutors think that the crime show CSI has created a new expectation among jury members. The new expectation is that tests that use high technology should be used to convict defendants. The new trend is referred to as the CSI Effect.
Synthetic drugs referred to as “bath salts” have recently come under fire as a detriment to human health, and the White House Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske provided a warning against using them on Tuesday. Though plans to make the drug illegal were not announced, Senator Charles Schumer has created a bill that would put the drugs on the federal list of controlled substances and turn them into a drug crime.
