[Assam] US judges jailed kids for cash

[Krishnendu Chakraborty]

I knew it was going to hurt the self-esteem of some Amerikaan citizen but then ----
 
A country which have been in control of its own destiny for over 2 centuries, which is one of the wealthiest in world, which has significantly less population and significantly more  natural resources , whose citizens never stop beating the drum of accountability  and what not    --- and still sending kids to jail ... this was happening FOR YEARS and the "checks and balances" and what not could not do a thing.  Understandably it was only two bad judges and a couple of people running youth detention center but what were the attorneys doing ?    Oh!   there were no attorneys per the report.  But were not the parents of these youths concerned and tried through Attorneys?  And who brought these youths to the court ... sure they did not walk into court themselves.    It does look too fishy that a scam of this scale was going on FOR YEARS and nobody knew about it ... isn't it?   
 
 
While no one denies such events happening in India -- to compare the frequency etc one need to take into account other factors as well ... which people often forget when bashing India.
 


--- On Thu, 2/12/09, Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net> wrote:

From: Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net>
Subject: Re: [Assam] US judges jailed kids for cash
To: krish_gau at yahoo.com, "A Mailing list for people interested in Assam from around the world" <assam at assamnet.org>
Date: Thursday, February 12, 2009, 4:29 PM

I think we are missing the point.

Bad things can and do happen everywhere.  That is a constant. The variables
that makes the difference are:

	A: The frequency of occurrence. Is it an exception or the rule? How widespread
is it?
	B:  Ability to correct what is wrong. Is there accountability? Is the system
able to  take
	corrective action to prevent it in the future?

So, to cite bad things happening in the USA , similar to what might happen in
India, and thus implying that they are either the same or that their is no
difference , will be living in denial to put it mildly. There are far less
flattering ways to describe the tack.













At 12:44 PM -0800 2/12/09, Krishnendu Chakraborty wrote:
> And I thought it happens only in India :)
> 
> ---
> 
>
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/US-judges-jailed-kids-for-cash/articleshow/4120878.cms
> 
> 
> New low: US judges jailed kids for cash
> 13 Feb 2009, 0030 hrs IST, AP
> 
>  Print   Email   Discuss  Share  Save  Comment Text:
> 
> 
> 
> WILKES-BARRE (PASADENA): For years, the juvenile court system in
Wilkes-Barre operated like a conveyor belt: Youngsters were brought before
judges without a lawyer, given hearings that lasted only a minute or two, and
then sent off to juvenile prison for months for minor offenses.
> 
> The explanation, prosecutors say, was corruption on the bench. In one of
the most shocking cases of courtroom graft on record, two Pennsylvania judges
have been charged with taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send teenagers
to two privately run youth detention centers.
> 
> "I've never encountered, and I don't think that we will in
our lifetimes, a case where literally thousands of kids' lives were just
tossed aside in order for a couple of judges to make some money," said
Marsha Levick, an attorney with the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center,
which is representing hundreds of youths sentenced in Wilkes-Barre.
> 
> Prosecutors say Luzerne County judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan
took $2.6 million in payoffs to put juvenile offenders in lockups run by PA
Child Care LLC and a sister company, Western PA Child Care LLC. The judges were
charged on January 26 and removed from the bench by the Pennsylvania supreme
court.
> 
> No company officials have been charged, but the investigation is still
going on. The high court, meanwhile, is looking into whether hundreds or even
thousands of sentences should be overturned and the juveniles' records
expunged.
> 
> Among the offenders were teenagers who were locked up for months for
stealing loose change from cars, writing a prank note and possessing drug
paraphernalia. Many had never been in trouble before. Some were imprisoned even
after probation officers recommended against it. The judges are scheduled to
plead guilty to fraud Thursday in federal court. Their plea agreements call for
sentences of more than seven years behind bars. 
> 
> 
>      
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