OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM NEEDS REVAMPING

Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) has reintroduced the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, legisation to "create a blue-ribbon commission to look at every aspect of our criminal justice system with an eye toward reshaping the criminal justice system from top to bottom." The NCJCA, S. 306 in the current Congress, had broad and bipartisan support and passed the House of Representatives in 2010, but did not make the Senate calendar before the end of the year.

Please use our web form to urge your US Representative and your two US Senators to pass S. 306 so the commission can get started! Please follow-up by calling their offices too -- if you don't know their numbers (or aren't sure who they are), you can reach them by calling the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. And please use our tell-a-friend form to spread the word.

LADY JUSTICE WEPT TODAY

Lady Justice wept today as a killer walks free.. After 38 years we rejoiced in hearing a jury convict and state the conclusive guilt of this man that I now despise with a life sentence..

You think, justice at last!!! Well, you're WRONG! Three judges on an Appeals Court decided the 12 jurors had no right to call this man guilty..Now, this man will never be held accountable for ending a life, he will again go On with his life, like he did with the other 38 free years.

You see, no one said he was an innocent man, they state they cannot put him at the scene of the crime or find the weapon. Scott Peterson is on death row, even though they could not put him at the scene of the crime, and could not find a weapon..

One is free, the other being put to death! Justice?

Yesterday was the National Day of Remembrance.. Murdered loved ones are not forgotten!

Angel's Pennies

Author: Unknown

I found a penny today
Just laying on the ground.
But it's not just a penny
This little coin I've found.

Found pennies come from heaven
that's what my Grandpa told me.
He said Angels tossed them down
Oh, how I loved that story!

He said when an Angel misses you
They toss a penny down,
sometimes just to cheer you up
To make a smile out of your frown.

So don't pass by that penny
When you're feeling blue.
It may be a penny from heaven
That an Angel's tossed to you.

ANOTHER YEAR PASSES AND STILL FIGHTING

Our family continues to fight for justice, today marks the 39th year of this nightmare, when does it end??

We are still waiting for a decision from the Supreme Court, we need your prayers that a murderer will not go free, good has to prevail!

http://www.bloggernews.net/127124
http://timesupblog.blogspot.com/ ..

www.crimewiresite.com 9-10 EASTERN TIME.

Lindell and I will be on the Susan Milano and Dennis Griffin radio show October 11 at 9-9:30. He is pushing our case to get attention. Please click on the above links and leave a response to the article he posted. He will have other sites included later.

Copy of the letter I sent to the Editor of the Jacksonville News. We are still waiting for a ruling from the Supreme Court in Raleigh. We need your many prayers that this long awaited conviction is not overturned..

Murder conviction should be upheld

August 10, 2011 9:00 AM

To the editor:

Our family deeply appreciates the The Daily News coverage of the courtroom trial that finally brought justice to our family. The North Carolina jury that convicted George Hayden was clearheaded and correct in its unanimous decision to convict.

The evidence, however circumstantial, was overwhelming and the facts of this cold-blooded killing still bring tears to our family. Our mother’s joy at his return from Vietnam was destroyed just weeks later when he was murdered.

Our family is now contending with the highly unusual finding of an appeals court that is trying to overturn the Hayden conviction because it was based on circumstantial evidence. The family of Bill Miller was never given the opportunity to attend the appeals court hearing, while Hayden was allowed to bring support.

The Supreme Court of North Carolina is now reviewing the case. We pray they will rule in favor of the judge and jury that heard this case in full detail and ruled so clearly.

Justice in this case was delayed by 40 years. Is it now to be totally denied? Can higher-ups on the judicial ladder overrule the jury process? Is circumstantial evidence never valid? Is that what this appeals court is saying? If so, a substantial number of people in jail would be released.

This is a dangerous and wrong-headed conclusion that the appeals court reached. We hope the state’s Supreme Court will not let the appeals court ruling stand.

Sharron Aguilar
Houston, Texas

Editor’s note: George Hayden was convicted in 2010 by an Onslow County jury of first-degree murder in the 1972 shooting death of Bill Miller along Western Boulevard. Sharron Aguilar is Miller’s sister.

PRAY FOR JUSTICE

Former police chief to remain in prison until Supreme Court decision

June 17, 2011 10:27 AM

LINDELL KAY

Updated at 4:55 p.m.

The N.C. Supreme Court has issued a stay in the case of a former local police chief whose 2010 murder conviction was reversed on appeal.

George Hayden, 60, who would have otherwise been released June 27, will remain in prison while the high court determines whether it will review his case. After authorities revived the cold case, Hayden was convicted last year by an Onslow County jury in the 1972 shooting death of Marine Sgt. Bill Miller.

Hayden’s conviction was reversed by the N.C. Court of Appeals earlier this month because the three-judge panel agreed the jury should not have convicted Hayden because, the panel said, no murder weapon was ever recovered and prosecutors failed to place Hayden at the scene of the crime.

Prosecutors provided evidence at trial that Hayden was having an affair with Miller’s wife at the time that Miller was killed, made threats against Miller, claimed to have access to the type of rifle used to kill Miller and married Miller’s wife four months after Miller’s death.

The case was reopened after a series of award-winning articles about the crime appeared in The Daily News in August 2008.

Miller’s wife, Vickie Babbitt, and Rodger Gill, a Camp LejeuneMarine in 1972, were both charged with Miller’s death, but those charges were dismissed in late 2010.

“The Office of the Attorney General is continuing to handle the appeal, and I appreciate their role in requesting the stay,” Onslow County District Attorney Ernie Lee said. “I will continue to remain in close contact with the Assistant Attorney General assigned to the case and the victim’s family

WHAT HAPPENED TO JUSTICE??

It is indeed a sad day for our justice system. We put our case in the hands of 12 men and women, who were elected to the jury, giving up their time to see justice carried out, now those 12 people are told it was not your right to convict this man you were wrong! It was stated that : a rational juror could not conclude that the defendant was the perpetrator of the victim’s murder.. This is unspeakable news to the 12 jurors that they were not rational..

It also states that a weapon was never produced, people are convicted every day without a weapon, it surley does not make Billy any less dead.

It also states there was not sufficient evidence to convict, well that leaves the judge in our case not capable of deciding if there was sufficient evidence or not, as he denied the defense’s motion to a mistrial due to insufficient evidence.

It makes Mr. Lee and Mr. Maultsby’s dedicated work in bringing George to trial, a mockery of justice..

At first I was devastated, now I am more determined than ever to see justice carried out, good to prevail over evil… Remember,: we believe in miracles and as a family, we are joined together in this fight, we refuse to lay down and accept this..it is in God’s hands, but that is where it always was, we have faith, this murderer is where he belongs..


I received this from a friend today, it could not have arrived at a better time, she mentions the number 12, well, we had 12 people who gave George Hayden a guilty verdict and now they are trying to overturn this. It is a sad day for justice, 12 people gave their time and heart to render a guilty verdict, now they are told they did not have a right to do that and they were wrong!!
May everyone who receives this message be blessed. There are 12 months/12 disciples/ 12 tribes of Israel / Jesus' birth celebrated in the 12th month. . Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost, just a lot of reward. Make sure you pray, and pray believing God will answer. May today be all you need it to be. May the peace of God and the freshness of the Holy Spirit restore your thoughts, rule in your dreams tonight, and conquer all your fears. May God manifest Himself today in ways you have never experienced. May your joys be fulfilled, your dreams be closer, and your prayers be answered.. I pray that faith enters a new height for you; I pray that your territory is enlarged. I pray for peace, justice, healing, health, happiness, prosperity, joy, true and undying love for God.
My family needs your prayers, please do not tell me our justice system is partial to a former police chief who committed murder...

JUSTICE FOR SARA

A story dear to my heart is the long awaited justice to Sara Smart, a beautiful girl who was murdered by Jerry Raney, who has avoided sentencing for his involvement for three years.
Sara was best friends with Tommye Allen's daughter. Tommye, is a friend, who I became acquainted with, when she had her prayer group offer prayers for my brother. She has fought long and hard for justice for the Smart family and finally the prayers have been answered.

May 17, 2011

Raney pleads to manslaughter
Suspect gets 15 years in killing of stepdaughter found dead in barrel
By D.E. Smoot
Phoenix Staff Writer The Muskogee Phoenix Tue May 17, 2011, 11:53 PM CDT

Members of a slain 19-year-old woman’s family expressed satisfaction her stepfather will do time for her death. But some had hoped for more.

Jerry DeWitt Raney, 47, accused of killing Sara Smart, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a reduced charge of first-degree manslaughter.

Raney, who maintains he didn’t kill Smart, was ordered to serve 15 years in prison. Raney will receive credit for the time he has served since his arrest Aug. 8, 2008, on a first-degree murder charge.

Muskogee County District Attorney Larry Moore said the plea deal was made because most of the state’s evidence is circumstantial.

“There was a chance we could take this to trial and he would walk away a free man,” Moore said. “We had a lot of witnesses who all have little bits of evidence that pointed to Jerry Raney, but there was some evidence the defense had that pointed away from him.”

Moore said there was a consensus among Smart’s family members to accept the plea deal even though there were some who wanted to see Raney serve more prison time. Raney will have to serve 85 percent of the 15 years before he is eligible for parole.

Smart disappeared Jan. 30, 2006, after Raney said he dropped her off near the McDonald’s restaurant at the intersection of Okmulgee Ave. and U.S. 69. Her skeletal remains were found six months later inside a barrel that had been dumped in a pond west of Haskell.

More than a dozen of Smart’s friends and family members attended Raney’s plea hearing. Smart’s mother, Laura Morris, wept throughout. She declined to comment about her ex-husband’s plea or sentence.

Others expressed mixed emotions about Raney’s conviction and sentencing.

“This is not exactly what I expected, but it is a conviction and we’ll take it,” said Christene Smart-Leader, the teen’s stepmother. “He deserves a lot more, but we’ll take what we can get.”

Smart’s grandmother, Margie Hannah, said the matter now is in God’s hands.

“This 12 or 15 years — whatever it comes out to — it doesn’t matter,” Hannah said, holding back her tears while clutching a heart-shaped pendant that contains her granddaughter’s ashes. “God is the deciding factor, and he (Raney) has all of eternity to pay for what he’s done to my sweet granddaughter.”

Moore said a jailhouse informant said Raney had confided in him about what might have happened to Smart. The informant, Moore said, told investigators that Raney confronted Smart about a break-in at his shop. During the confrontation, Raney began choking Smart “and things got out of hand.”

Moore also said Raney had threatened to kill three of his former wives or girlfriends and dispose of their bodies in a manner similar to what was done to Smart.

Hayden appeal argued

April 13, 2011 8:31 AM

LINDELL KAY

Onslow County prosecutors used little more than suspicion, hearsay and a positive spin on a victim’s character last year to successfully convict a former area police chief of a decades-old homicide, according to a defense appeal made this week in Raleigh.

George Hayden, 60, currently housed in Marion Correctional Institution in McDowell County, was convicted in May of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for the 1972 shooting death of Marine Sgt. Bill Miller.

In a rare oral argument requested by the Appeals Court, Assistant Attorney General Amy Irene told a three-judge panel Monday that prosecutors presented a strong circumstantial case. She said the state proved Hayden had a motive, had made repeated threats, had access to a weapon of the type used in the shooting and admitted to being near the crime scene the night of Miller’s murder.

Miller had returned to Jacksonville from Japan in the summer of 1972 to find his wife and Hayden living together, and tossed Hayden out of his home. When Hayden left, Miller’s wife, now Vickie Babbitt, left with him, taking the 1-year-old daughter she shared with Miller, according to court testimony.

Miller said in 1972 that he was going to divorce his wife, sue for custody of their daughter and press criminal charges against Hayden for using his store charge accounts.

Miller received a phone call from his wife late on the night of Sept. 16, 1972, asking him to meet. His dead body was found shortly after that. He had been shot twice with an assault rifle, once in the back and once in the head.

Hayden married Miller’s wife four months after Miller’s death. They were later divorced, but stayed in close contact. Hayden worked in local law enforcement, becoming the police chief of Cape Carteret and Belhaven.

“From the first hours of the investigation state law enforcement and naval investigators focused on collecting evidence to connect George Hayden and Vickie Miller to the crime,” Hayden’s appeals attorney, Chapel Hill lawyer Marilyn Ozer wrote in her appeals brief. “Despite this joint effort, no forensic or witness evidence placed Mr. Hayden at the murder scene, the weapon was not found and investigators did not find an M-16 in Mr. Hayden’s possession.”

Ozer said local law enforcement tried in 1972, SBI agents tried in 1974 and Naval Criminal Investigative Services tried from 1996 to 1998, but sufficient evidence against Hayden was never found.

“In August 2008, The Jacksonville Daily News ran an article about the case,” Ozer said in her brief. “As a result, Rodger Gill was re-interviewed. According to a Sheriff’s Department news release, the 2008 interview was the basis for George Hayden’s arrest.”

Gill was a co-defendant in the case until charges against him, as well as those filed against Vickie Babbitt, were dropped by the state in December. He testified with immunity at Hayden’s trial that Hayden told him in 1972 that he had stolen an M-16 while on a shipboard deployment. Gill said he had warned Miller about it.

Fearing an ambush, Miller had brought a pistol with him to meet his wife the night he died.

The trial court should not have allowed investigators to testify from notes they took in 1974 and 1998 while interviewing Gill, because the notes amounted to uncorroborated hearsay, according to Ozer’s appeal.

Irene disagreed in her brief, saying the N.C. Supreme Court has ruled prior statements consistent and supportive of testimony are admissible in court.

Ozer also argued that Miller’s sister Sharon Aguilar should not have been allowed to testify as to pictures in Miller’s wallet recovered from the crime scene because her testimony was emotionally prejudicial.

Contrarily, Irene states in her brief that Aguilar’s identification of Miller’s wallet was relevant because it showed “the motive for his murder was not robbery.”

Ozer said Tuesday a decision by the Appeals Court usually takes a few months, but she has seen rulings in some cases take two years.

PDFs of both legal briefs are available online at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.

SUPPORT GROUPS FOR VICTIMS OF VIOLENT CRIMES

"Victims do not choose to be victims" To be a victim is an unforgettable nightmare but to become a victim at the hands of the criminal justice system is an unforgivable travesty. ""Somewhere along the way, the criminal justice system began to serve lawyers, judges and defendants. Victims are treated with institutionalized disinterest. "The neglect of crime victims is a national disgrace "

L. H. Harrington, President's Task Force on Victims of Crime

There are countless victims out there, be it murder victims, sexual assault victims or violent crime victims of any kind, they are victims not by any fault of their own, but by circumstance. It’s never by choice they are hurting, wanting to talk with someone who understands what they are experiencing, but have no idea where to start..they need someone to listen.. Victims of crime are really overlooked in the policing and criminal justice systems, trying to navigate through it all is a nightmare, but, once ‘you know’ what it’s really like to be a victim of violent crime, you have a choice – roll over, or get up and fight. if you can’t fight for yourself, fight for the next victim’s rights. If people who can, don’t, then the bad guys win!’ And the bad guys are winning!

It does not matter if the crime happened yesterday, last week, a year ago, or 38 years ago, the wound hurts, it is always there, we can forgive which is what God teaches us to do, but we cannot forget..We need someone to talk to that relates to our situation. Trying to find help for victim’s families is a nightmare , I finally found an advocate who put me in touch with another advocate who gave me support during and after the trial.. Help for families is not an easy road to travel..but if you find that one person who cares, doors open.

With God’s help, Deacon Henkel of St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Community in Houston, is looking into the possibility of starting a support group with passion and respect, that assists in giving this much needed support..

Please help us by praying for the success of this opportunity..

JUSTICE IS ONLY PARTLY COMPLETE

Our family is forever thankful for the work the District Attorney did in bringing George Hayden to justice.
No one thought that they would be able to convict George, we knew all along that there would be a guilty verdict. When George's trial was over, the feeling was that you were going after Vicky aggressively, the enthusiasm was high… now we hear that you don't feel you have enough evidence to convict Vicky, thanks to Gill being untruthful, what a shock there. If we don't try we will never know and our family definitely prays for that day.

The justice for Billy is only partly complete. Two others helped murder him and they have walked free for 38 years, we are asking the state to continue to pursue the case against the other two, that participated in this senseless murder.

NO ONE SHOULD GET AWAY WITH MURDER:You CANNOT take a life and not expect to pay for it in one way or another..there is no escaping the Day of Judgment. It is an appointment that we all must attend. We will not be able to call up God and give him an excuse on why we can’t make it. We cannot call In sick. We MUST all attend. Some people will be excited on that day and others will be fearful, but that day is coming.

As a friend of my stated: “We need to switch the batteries of our mind from fear to faith, from panic to calmness, by realizing that God is busy working his orchestrations in order to answer our prayers,… all in God’s time.

We will not give up fighting for justice, we always have had faith knowing that good conquers evil.

We know the truth, your friends know the truth..you cannot hide from the truth!

ALL SOLDIERS HAVE SILENT NIGHTS

I previously had an article on the cold case of Sara Smart, who was murdered in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Her body was found stuffed in a barrel and placed in a pond. Her step father at the time is the main suspect, however he is in prison for a different charge and still no justice for Sara. Through this horrible loss, I became acquainted with Tommye Allen. Her daughter was the best friend of Sara, and Tommye has kept up the fight for justice.
She heads a prayer group that has given me so much support with Billy's case.

Her husband has been battling cancer and during one of their recent trips to the MD Anderson Hospital in Houston she sent me this beautiful response. I wanted to share with you all, as it is beautifully written with love:


Last night on the flight from Houston where Steve had tests at MD Anderson (praise God the tumors are gone) on the flight we were privileged to be on the airplane with the body of a soldier killed in Afghanistan. The color guard was on the plane with us also. Upon landing in Tulsa, everyone on the plane sat in silence as the color guards exited the plane, removed the casket from the cargo, marched in silence and respect as they ushered the heroic body into the presence of the waiting family sitting in cars who were accompanied by police cars with flashing lights, an ambulance with flashing lights, and a hearse.

After the awesome happening took place, the passengers on the plane exited the plane in silence and respect. All of this happened in the dark of night with only the flashing lights of the vehicles and the lights of the plane. What a wonderful experience to be a part of. However, it reaffirmed to me the horrors of war, that death is always a result of it, and families on both sides of the battle are changed forever.

Steve had a melancholy reaction because it brought back to him all remembrances of the death of his brother Morris during World War II. His mother never got over it because Morris' body was buried in France. His mother never forgave the Germans for killing her son. When Steve sees visual events like this, he still hears the deep, gut wrenching wails of his mother from her room for days and days after receiving the news that Morris had been killed. Yes, he gave his life for his country so that others might be free, but his mother was never free of the grief.

Then I realized that all the people we saw in Houston at MD Anderson are fighting their own wars, battles against cancer. They have loved ones and friends who are standing by them in support and prayers, just like the soldier did. Some of them will eventually succumb to the demon of cancer just like the soldier had to yield to death by the demon of war. They are all heroes in my eyes, the soldier in uniform in the casket and the brave soldiers fighting cancer evidenced by their bald heads, oxygen masks, masked mouths and noses, gloved hands, wheel chairs, chemo poles and frail bodies. They are all heroes to me.

GOD, PLEASE FREE US FROM THE EFFECTS OF ALL WARS, the wars for power by countries and the wars instigated by all diseases.

HEY, HE DID. AND THAT'S THE MESSAGE OF CHRISTMAS, THAT HE SENT HIS SON INTO THE EARTH SO THAT HE MIGHT THEN SEND HIS POWER INTO THE EARTH IN THE PERSON OF HIS HOLY SPIRIT to heal diseases, bring peace to all men, to comfort the broken hearted and to set the captives of addictions free. If we would only yield ourselves to His power we would end all the devastation. We've dropped the ball, God hasn't.... Tommye

http://godkisses.blogspot.com/

TOLEDO'S OLDEST COLD CASE SOLVED

Being we are now past 38 years, it seems unbelievable that there is a older cold case that was solved, 43 years!
This case was solved by DNA after all these years, thank heaven, this murderer will see his day finally...

TOLEDO, OH - A judge granted prosecutors' request to postpone the murder trial of 74-year-old Robert Bowman.

Prosecutors say they just recently found new evidence of semen on the skirt that 14-year-old Eileen Adams was wearing when she was murdered in 1967.

Adams was from Sylvania Township, and her body was not discovered until a month after she went missing.

Bowman was not arrested for the crime until October 2008.

The ex-wife of Bowman testified during a pre-trial hearing in May of this year that she discovered a naked teenager, still alive, tied up in their basement in December of 1967. Read that report here: Ex-wife gives chilling testimony in NW Ohio cold case murder.

Prosecutors say they need more time to prepare for trial given the new evidence of the additional semen stain.

The trial was supposed to begin Oct. 12. A new date has not yet been set.