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From the Los Angeles Times

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California got lethal injection drug from Britain

Corrections officials, compelled by an ACLU public records request, disclose the source of their new supply of sodium thiopental, the first drug in a three-injection sequence used for executions.

By Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times

December 8, 2010

Corrections officials disclosed Tuesday that they have imported a large quantity of the key drug used in lethal-injection executions and are awaiting approval of the British-made product by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation last month paid a British distributor $36,415 for 521 grams of sodium thiopental made by Archimedes Pharma, said department spokeswoman Terry Thornton.

Prison officials also acquired 12 grams of the drug at no cost from the Arizona Department of Corrections on Sept. 30, Thornton said.

That stock of the first drug used in a three-injection sequence would be sufficient to put to death about 90 condemned prisoners by the state's practices, which require 3 grams of sodium thiopental per execution plus an equivalent amount as emergency backup. Some of the drug is also needed for training purposes, Thornton noted, reducing the potential impact of the new supply.

A nationwide shortage of sodium thiopental has delayed executions in several states. California's last few grams of the drug expired in September, complicating state efforts to resume executions after a five-year hiatus.

The acquisitions were reported to U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel in San Jose at the time they were made, but the source of the drug was disclosed only after the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California filed a public records request. A San Francisco judge had given the corrections department until Tuesday to explain where it got the drug, which is no longer available from the sole U.S. manufacturer.

Sodium thiopental is a powerful barbiturate used to anesthetize condemned prisoners in lethal injection executions. California revised its execution regimen after Fogel ruled in 2006 that the previous methods posed a risk of exposing prisoners to cruel and unusual punishment, which is prohibited by the U.S. Constitution.

After halting the execution of convicted killer Michael A. Morales in February 2006, Fogel heard testimony suggesting some of the 11 men executed by lethal injection in California since capital punishment was restored in 1976 had not been fully unconscious after the sodium thiopental was injected. That would have left them paralyzed by the second injection and unable to express the intense pain said to accompany the final shot, which causes cardiac arrest.

Executions have been on hold in California pending Fogel's review of whether the revised procedures meet constitutional standards. He is expected to rule early next year.

The sodium thiopental made by Archimedes Pharma was shipped ahead of Britain's decision late last month to bar exports of the drug, which is also used in surgery and to euthanize animals. All European nations have renounced capital punishment, and Britain came under fire for making the drug available to U.S. states for executions.

California has the nation's largest death row population, with 713 condemned prisoners.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-execution-drug-20101208,0,318707,print.story

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Authorities conduct gang sweep in Indio

Hundreds of law enforcement officers swept through the Riverside County city of Indio early Tuesday morning rounding up gang members and others with outstanding warrants and searching their homes, authorities said.

The officers, who came from across Southern California, targeted 450 locations of known gang members, authorities said. The number of people taken into custody was not disclosed.

Dist. Atty. Rod Pacheco said in a written statement that the operation "sends a clear message to the hundreds of gang members that call Indio their home." Along with officers from the Indio Police Department, investigators with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives took part in the 10-month investigation.

Indio, south of Palm Springs in the Coachella Valley, is home to close to 700 known gang members, most of whom are covered by a "gang-injunction" lawsuit filed by the district attorney's office prohibiting them from associating with other gang members, wearing gang clothing or flashing gang signs.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/12/authorities-conduct-gang-sweep-in-indio.html

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Murderer, and model prisoner

Sara Kruzan's case shows why juveniles should not be sentenced to life without parole.

December 8, 2010

Sara Kruzan was 16 when she lured her former pimp into a motel room, shot and killed him and took his money. The terrible crime was committed in Riverside County by a girl who had been sexually molested and physically abused since her earliest days, raised by an addicted mother, gang-raped at 13 and at the same age sent into the streets to make a living as a prostitute by the man she would eventually kill.

But teenagers change. Today, at 32, Kruzan is a model prisoner in the honor dorm at Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla. In January, she will receive her associate's degree from the nearby community college. She has volunteered for dozens of rehabilitation programs and won awards for her participation and attitude.

She also serves as an important reminder of why sentencing juvenile offenders to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole is backward and counterproductive. Science and society have learned more in recent years about the still-immature and rapidly developing brains of adolescents.

Kruzan murdered in 1994. Since then, society also has learned more about human trafficking and the effects of long-term abuse and psychological imprisonment. If she were being sentenced today, it's far less likely that she would receive such a draconian prison term. Even at the time, an evaluation by the California Youth Authority noted her unusual tractability, her remorse and her willingness and desire for an education. The CYA felt that she should have been prosecuted as a juvenile rather than as an adult, which would have put her into a rehabilitation program from which she could have been freed by age 25 — seven years ago.

Kruzan's case is an extraordinary one, and activists and a phalanx of lawyers are working pro bono to free her. Their ultimate effort is an appeal to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for clemency before he leaves office.

Not all juvenile criminals should receive parole, but if they turn themselves around as Kruzan did, they should be given the opportunity to put their cases before a court or parole board. That's why the Legislature should pass a bill that was reintroduced this week by state Sen. Leland Yee (D- San Francisco) after being rejected in August. The modest legislation would allow courts to review the cases of juveniles who were sentenced to life without parole after 10 years, possibly reducing their sentences to 25 years to life.

Meanwhile, the governor has an opportunity to leave office next month with a message of hope for California. Kruzan can become a contributing member of society — and a prime example of the value of rehabilitative programs in prison — or she can be a lifelong liability to taxpayers. People, especially teenagers, have the power to change. They can become better people. And sometimes, they do.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-1208-sara-20101208,0,4685282,print.story

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From the New York Times

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Justice Department Studies WikiLeaks Prosecution

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department, in considering whether and how it might indict Julian Assange, is looking beyond the Espionage Act of 1917 to other possible offenses, including conspiracy or trafficking in stolen property, according to officials familiar with the investigation.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. acknowledged this week that there were problems with the Espionage Act, a World War I-era law that says the unauthorized possession and dissemination of information related to national defense is illegal. But he also hinted that prosecutors were looking at other statutes with regard to Mr. Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks.

“I don't want to get into specifics here, but people would have a misimpression if the only statute you think that we are looking at is the Espionage Act,” Mr. Holder said Monday at a news conference. “That is certainly something that might play a role, but there are other statutes, other tools that we have at our disposal.”

Last week, The New York Times and four other news organizations began carrying articles based on an archive of a quarter-million confidential State Department cables obtained by WikiLeaks and made available to them. After WikiLeaks released a batch of government documents concerning Iraq and Afghanistan in July, Mr. Holder and the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Robert S. Mueller III, both said the leaks were being investigated, and Mr. Assange said United States officials had previously warned his organization that there had been “thoughts of whether I could be charged as a co-conspirator to espionage, which is serious.”

Mr. Assange was arrested Tuesday in Britain in connection with a Swedish investigation into accusations of sexual offenses. But United States law enforcement officials said the fact that he was in custody did not affect their deliberations about whether he might be charged in this country in connection with the publication of leaked government documents.

Prosecutors have used the Espionage Act to convict officials who leaked classified information. They have never successfully convicted any leak recipient who then passed the information along, however, and the Justice Department has never tried to prosecute a journalist —which Mr. Assange portrays himself as being — under either a Republican or a Democratic administration.

Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, said Tuesday on Fox News that he believed The Times should be investigated alongside WikiLeaks, although he cautioned, “This is very sensitive stuff because it gets into the America's First Amendment.”

“I certainly believe that WikiLleaks has violated the Espionage Act, but then what about the news organizations — including The Times — that accepted it and distributed it?” Mr. Lieberman said, adding: “To me, The New York Times has committed at least an act of bad citizenship, and whether they have committed a crime, I think that bears a very intensive inquiry by the Justice Department.”

A government official familiar with the investigation said that treating WikiLeaks different from newspapers might be facilitated if investigators found any evidence that Mr. Assange aided the leaker, who is believed to be a low-level Army intelligence analyst — for example, by directing him to look for certain things and providing technological assistance.

If Mr. Assange did collaborate in the original disclosure, then prosecutors could charge him with conspiracy in the underlying leak, skirting the question of whether the subsequent publication of the documents constituted a separate criminal offense. But while investigators have looked for such evidence, there is no public sign suggesting that they have found any.

Meanwhile, according to another government official familiar with the investigation, Justice Department officials have also examined whether Mr. Assange and WikiLeaks could be charged with trafficking in stolen government property.

But scholars say there might be legal difficulties with that approach, too, because the leaked documents are reproductions of files the government still possesses, not physical objects missing from its file cabinets. That means they are covered by intellectual property law, not ordinary property law.

“This is less about stealing than it is about copying,” said John G. Palfrey, a Harvard Law School professor who specializes in Internet issues and intellectual property.

Intellectual property law criminalizes the unauthorized reproduction of certain kinds of commercial information, like trade secrets or copyrighted music, films and software files. But those categories do not appear to cover government documents, which by law cannot be copyrighted and for which there is no ordinary commercial market.

Mr. Assange has received leaks of private-sector information as well. He has indicated, for example, that his next step might be to publish a copy of the contents of a hard drive belonging to an executive at a bank — apparently, Bank of America.

If he does so, some of the problems associated with trying to find a way to prosecute him for distributing leaked government documents could disappear. The works of a person in the private sector are automatically copyrighted, and bank documents could be deemed trade secrets.

“If you had large-scale dissemination of a private-sector company's records, there might be some kind of argument there similar to commercial espionage,” said James Boyle, a Duke University law professor who specializes in intellectual property and public-domain issues.

There would still be obstacles. For example, Mr. Assange could claim that his distribution of the files was allowable under the “fair use” exception to copyright law and that it was not for financial gain. Still, “fair use” does not allow wholesale reproduction, and prosecutors could argue that his organization was raising money from its activities.

Even so, Mr. Boyle cautioned, intellectual property law is not well designed to prosecute what WikiLeaks is doing.

“The reason people are upset about this is not about commercial theft or misusing the fabulous original expressions of U.S. diplomats,” Mr. Boyle said. “I think it is the wrong tool. You go after Al Capone for tax evasion rather than bootlegging — fine. But this is a bridge too far.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/08/world/08leak.html?_r=1&ref=world&pagewanted=print

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Suit Over Targeted Killings Is Thrown Out

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit that had sought to block the American government from trying to kill Anwar al-Awlaki, a United States citizen and Muslim cleric in hiding overseas who is accused of helping to plan attacks by Al Qaeda 's branch in Yemen.

The ruling, which clears the way for the Obama administration to continue to try to kill Mr. Awlaki, represents a victory in its efforts to shield from judicial review so-called targeted killings, one of its most striking counterterrorism policies.

In an 83-page opinion, Judge John D. Bates said Mr. Awlaki's father, the plaintiff, had no standing to file the lawsuit on behalf of his son. He also said decisions about targeted killings in such circumstances were a “political question” for executive branch officials to make — not judges.

Judge Bates acknowledged that the case raised “stark, and perplexing, questions” — including whether the president could “order the assassination of a U.S. citizen without first affording him any form of judicial process whatsoever, based the mere assertion that he is a dangerous member of a terrorist organization.”

But while the “legal and policy questions posed by this case are controversial and of great public interest,” he wrote, they would have to be resolved on another day and, probably, outside a courtroom. Judge Bates sits on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Matthew Miller, a Justice Department spokesman, praised the ruling for recognizing “that a leader of a foreign terrorist organization who rejects our system of justice cannot enjoy the protection of our courts while plotting strikes against Americans. The court properly rejected that course and declined to intrude into sensitive military and intelligence matters.”

But Jameel Jaffer, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, called the decision “a profound mistake” that would dangerously expand presidential power. The A.C.L.U. and the Center for Constitutional Rights represented Mr. Awlaki's father, Nasser al-Awlaki, in the matter without compensation.

“If the court's ruling is correct, the government has unreviewable authority to carry out the targeted killing of any American, anywhere, whom the president deems to be a threat to the nation,” Mr. Jaffer said. “It would be difficult to conceive of a proposition more inconsistent with the Constitution, or more dangerous to American liberty.”

But Judge Bates rejected the notion that his ruling granted the executive “unreviewable authority to order the assassination of any American whom he labels an enemy of the state.”

“The court only concludes that it lacks capacity to determine whether a specific individual in hiding overseas, whom the Director of National Intelligence has stated is an ‘operational member' ” of Al Qaeda's Yemen branch, “presents such a threat to national security that the United States may authorize the use of lethal force against him,” Judge Bates said.

Robert Chesney, a University of Texas law professor, said the limits of Judge Bates' conclusion would be a matter of dispute. He portrayed it as “a sweeping argument against judicial review of targeted killing decisions.”

“The slippery slope is obviously the concern here,” Mr. Chesney said. “Judge Bates is at pains not to decide this question for other circumstances. But the question remains: what else besides this fact pattern would enable the government to have the same result?”

Mr. Jaffer said no decision had been made about an appeal.

Born in New Mexico in 1971, Mr. Awlaki moved to Yemen in 2004 and has made many public statements approving of terrorist attacks. Officials contend that he now plays an “operational” role with the group calling itself Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

The Treasury Department has claimed that Mr. Awlaki helped direct the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner on Dec. 25, 2009. After that failed attack, media outlets quoted anonymous officials as saying Mr. Awlaki had been placed on a list of terrorism suspects approved for killing.

Still, Mr. Awlaki has received no trial, and his father asked Judge Bates to bar attempts to kill his son unless he presented an imminent threat. The administration, while not confirming whether Mr. Awlaki is on any “kill list,” asked Judge Bates to dismiss the lawsuit.

The judge largely agreed with the government's arguments. First, he rejected the father's standing to sue, saying Mr. Awlaki could pursue such a case himself if he surrendered to American authorities — adding that there was no indication that Mr. Awlaki had sought the lawsuit.

Moreover, Judge Bates found, it would be inappropriate to second-guess, ahead of time, national-security officials' evaluation of whether intelligence showed that some overseas person — even a United States citizen — poses such a threat that the person should be killed.

He sidestepped several issues, including whether the Congressional authorization to use military force against the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks, covers Yemen or the terrorist group there, whose connections to the original Al Qaeda are hazy.

The opinion said it was unnecessary to decide whether the litigation should be dismissed under the state-secrets privilege, which allows the executive branch to block lawsuits that could reveal national-security information. The administration had invoked that privilege in its briefings, but urged Judge Bates to dismiss the case on different grounds.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/08/world/middleeast/08killing.html?ref=world

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Some Ex-Detainees Still Tied to Terror

WASHINGTON — About one in four former detainees who have been transferred out of the Guantánamo Bay military prison are confirmed or suspected by American intelligence agencies of having engaged in terrorist activities after their release, the Obama administration said Tuesday.

A report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence offered the most detailed public accounting yet of what the government says has happened to former Guantánamo detainees, a matter that has been the subject of heated political debate.

The report said that 448 of the 598 men who were transferred out of the prison after being held there without trial have not aroused further suspicion. But 81 others have been confirmed as having taken part in terrorist or insurgent activity, and 69 more are suspected of it.

Most of the problematic ex-detainees were released during the Bush administration. Since taking office, the Obama administration, which has said it wants to close the prison, has transferred 66 prisoners, of whom 5 are confirmed or suspected of post-detention terrorist activity.

The report also said that 67 of the 150 confirmed or suspected cases of what it called “recidivism” have been killed or recaptured.

The report said that it defined engaging in terrorist activities as actions like planning or conducting attacks, financing an operation or recruiting and helping transport terrorists. It did not include merely communicating with terrorism suspects or making anti-American statements.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/08/world/americas/08gitmo.html?ref=world&pagewanted=print

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From Google News

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Brittany Mae Smith's Classmates Pray for Her Safe Return

On Facebook, Brittany Uses Last Name of Man Who May Be Holding Her

EDITOR'S NOTE: Police have classified Jeffrey Easly as a "person of interest" in Brittany's disappearance, and have said the two may be traveling together.

Classmates and neighbors sang "Amazing Grace" and prayed for the safe return of 12-year-old Brittany Mae Smith who disappeared last week and police believe is with the 32-year-old man who is being sought for questioning in the murder of Brittany's mother.

"We all love her and we all miss her and we pray to God that she comes back unharmed," seventh graders Taylor Pille and Nikki Dunn said at a prayer vigil Tuesday night in Salem, Va.

Police first issued an Amber Alert for Brittany on Monday after discovering the dead body of her mother, 41-year-old Tina Smith.

Tina Smith's coworkers called the police when she didn't show up for work at a retirement home Monday.Autopsy results revealed on Tuesday that Tina Smith was murdered.

"We have an active homicide investigation," state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller told ABC News. Geller said investigators were not releasing the cause of death or the time of death.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/amber-alert-brittany-mae-smith-continues-mothers-murder/story?id=12340893

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From the Department of Justice

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Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Bureau of Justice Assistance National Conference

Washington, D.C.

December 7, 2010

Thank you, Laurie [Robinson]. I appreciate your kind words, and I am especially grateful for the outstanding leadership that you and Jim [Burch] are providing in the Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs and Bureau of Justice Assistance.

I also want to thank the entire BJA team, and your colleagues in OJP, for your work in organizing this conference. You have developed an ambitious, and comprehensive, agenda. And you have brought together more than one thousand of the Justice Department's most indispensible partners.

It is a pleasure to join you. And it's a special privilege to thank you all for the contributions, and sacrifices, that you are making – in every corner of this country; in every area of justice administration; at every level of government; and in urban, rural and tribal communities.

I want to echo what Jim and Laurie have already said: This conference is a unique opportunity – a chance to forge and reinforce relationships, to share effective strategies, and to help ensure the strength and integrity of our justice system.

It's been more than a decade since BJA hosted a conference of this size and scope. And I'm grateful that so many of you were willing to travel long distances to participate. You represent many different disciplines and unique communities. But, collectively, your work allows our federal, state, local and tribal governments to meet their most important responsibilities – to protect the safety, and to defend the rights, of the American people.

This conference has been convened – and I am here – to support you in this work, to help you meet your goals and obligations, to strengthen the partnerships that we've established, and to build on the progress that – together – we have made.

I rely heavily on OJP and BJA to ensure that federal, state, local and tribal leaders, stakeholders, and law enforcement partners are heard. Your involvement and insights help to shape Department priorities and strategies. Shortly after I became Attorney General, I invited state and local law enforcement leaders to the Justice Department to meet with me. And with you at the discussion table – listening, questioning and providing your perspectives and expertise – we have been able to make remarkable progress over the last 22 months.

Today, across the country, crime is down. Over the past year, violent crime has decreased by more than five percent.

As Secretary Napolitano mentioned yesterday, with the assistance of law enforcement and community partners, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security are increasingly able to provide an accurate picture of emerging – as well as urgent – threats. And by encouraging and streamlining information sharing, we have improved our ability to respond to disasters and – as we've seen numerous times this year – to disrupt potentially devastating terror plots.

In communities nationwide, we are seeing the promise – and benefits – of the Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative that BJA leads and that Secretary Napolitano and others discussed yesterday. I want to note that this initiative was designed with your input and involvement – and with your needs in mind. And I want to reiterate that, in implementing the SAR Initiative, BJA has worked to ensure that the privacy concerns many of you have expressed are fully addressed. I understand that encouraging suspicious activity reporting without ever – ever – jeopardizing civil liberties and privacy rights is critically important to you. And I want you to know that it is equally important to me – and to this Department of Justice.

Now, not only is your input helping to shape national security and public safety strategies, your cooperation is also helping to combat hate crimes, financial fraud and violent crime. You are bringing critical support to victims – and developing innovative solutions to address gun-, gang-, and drug-fueled violence. You are working to improve our courts and corrections systems – and to ensure that veterans, juveniles, the indigent and people struggling with substance abuse and mental health challenges can access the legal services that they need and deserve. You are calling for evidence-based solutions and conducting much-needed research. And you are studying, not just the consequences of crime, but also the symptoms and sources. You are working to protect the safety – and to help meet the needs – of our nation's law enforcement officers. And you are reaching across disciplines and jurisdictions to avoid duplication, to share information, and – in this time of growing challenges and shrinking budgets – to accomplish more with less. And this is just a snapshot of all that you are helping to achieve.

In each of these ways and many others, you are strengthening our nation's justice system – as well as the work of our nation's Justice Department. Today, I want to note a few of the recent achievements that have resulted from your engagement and hard work.

With your help, I'm proud to report that we have restored funding for the Byrne JAG program. Prior to fiscal year 2009, program funding levels were less than $200 million. That wasn't good enough for you, for me or for this Administration. Today, Byrne JAG funding totals more than $500 million. And we are also providing technical assistance to help states make strategic funding decisions and to incorporate evidence-based practices wherever possible.

In Indianapolis, Byrne JAG funds are being used to provide transitional jobs and employment readiness programs for prisoners so that – once they pay their debts to society – these men and women are prepared, and well equipped, to contribute to the success of the communities they enter. Supporting effective reentry programs is a priority. These programs make a difference in strengthening public safety; reducing recidivism, corrections costs and crime rates; and saving taxpayer dollars. And they are complementing the excellent work being done through BJA's Justice Reinvestment Initiative, which brings state and local partners together to study justice system policies and operations and – ultimately – to identify ways to generate savings.

In addition to this initiative, many of you have also supported efforts to promote greater information sharing between federal, state, local and tribal agencies. I saw this first hand when I met with the Executive Committee of the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative – a BJA-supported meeting ground for more than 30 national criminal and juvenile justice organizations. This model of governance – and the idea that, to make the best national-level decisions possible, state and local leadership must be part of the process – has been tremendously successful in fostering communication and collaboration. That's why we have encouraged its replication in other areas that matter to you – including the development of recommendations related to the National Broadband Communications Plan.

In February, many of you were among the 500-plus attendees at the national Indigent Defense Summit that BJA and OJP helped to organize. Our discussions there helped to inform the great work that's been accomplished by the Justice Department's landmark Access to Justice Initiative. As many of you know, in March, we established a new – and permanent – office dedicated entirely to addressing the indigent defense crisis, to expanding access to legal services, and to ensuring fairness in our nation's justice system.

And earlier this year – in this very room – some of you attended a unique meeting hosted by the American Probation and Parole Association. Here, corrections professionals and crime victims came together to discuss ways in which local justice systems can more effectively engage victims in improving public safety. As a result of this meeting, BJA made modifications to a key funding program that reflected the input of these survivors. This is another example of the ways that BJA is working to listen to you – and to help the Justice Department support your needs.

Creating opportunities to bridge perspectives and share expertise is something that BJA does often – and incredibly well. And I am glad to hear that more than 200 of you will be seizing an opportunity that BJA is hosting tomorrow to address intellectual property crime. We now have 15 state and local task forces focusing with us on this very serious issue. And tomorrow, Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler – along with Victoria Espinel, the White House's Intellectual Property Crime Enforcement Coordinator – will discuss some of the specific challenges facing state, local and tribal justice organizations – as well as the unique opportunities that you have to help prevent and combat IP crimes.

So I urge your participation tomorrow – and I am relying on your continued engagement in the days ahead.

While it's true that we have made significant progress together, we cannot yet be satisfied or become complacent. And we cannot ignore the unfortunate fact that threats to our people, to our neighborhoods and to our national security remain a significant problem.

Yes, national violent crime rates may have dipped. But there are areas where the reduction numbers mean nothing – where children are accustomed to the sounds of gunshots; where young people are lured into gangs; where funerals outnumber weddings.

Today, the majority of our kids – more than 60 percent – have been exposed to crime, abuse and violence. And young adults – our 18- to 24-year-olds – experience homicide rates 2 ½ times higher than any other demographic. Since 2002, gun-related homicides have increased each year. And, since last year, the number of police officers killed by gun violence has surged by more than 40 percent. If current trends continue, 2010 could end as one of the deadliest years for law enforcement in more than two decades.

You know what we're up against. And you understand what's at stake. You are on the front lines of our most urgent and complex public safety and justice system challenges. And I am determined to work with you to build upon the progress that you have helped to achieve.

I believe that meeting my goals begins by listening to you, by learning from you and by ensuring that you have the resources necessary to do your jobs well. Last year, when I became Attorney General, I pledged to defend our Constitution, to adhere to the rule of law, to safeguard civil rights and to protect the safety of our people and the security of our nation. Your work makes it possible for me to fulfill my responsibilities – and to keep my word.

For the Bureau of Justice Assistance, for the Office of Justice Programs, for the Justice Department's senior leadership and for me – supporting your work and strengthening our partnerships is, and will remain, a top priority.

Thank you all, once again, for your participation today. It has been a pleasure to join you and a privilege to salute your work. I am proud of – and grateful to – you all. And I look forward to what we will accomplish together – now and in the future.

Thank you.

http://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/ag/speeches/2010/ag-speech-101207.html

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From the ATF

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ATF Offers $10K Reward for Information on Retail Gun Theft

Two Clerks Shot as Robbers Steal 6 Firearms from Savannah Pawn Shop

ATLANTA — A reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and convictions of those responsible for a recent firearms armed robbery at Welsh Pawn Shop, a federally licensed gun dealer in Savannah, Ga. was announced today by Gregory K. Gant, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Savannah/Chatham County Crime Stoppers has pledged a reward of up to $2,500 for the arrest of those responsible for the robbery. The owners of Welsh Pawn have also announced an additional reward of $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators. This crime has triggered a joint investigation between ATF and the Savannah—Chatham Metro Police Department.

The people of Savannah deserve a safe community. Unfortunately, there are a few violent individuals whose illegal activities threaten to diminish our quality of life. Gun thieves play a critical and deadly role in the chain of violence. ATF will continue to partner with state and local law enforcement agencies to solve this crime, Gant said.

The armed robbery occurred around 10 a.m., Friday, at the business located at 2800 Skidaway Rd ., Savannah, Ga . The suspects walked into the business, asked workers to view a few items, then started shooting. Two clerks were shot and received non life—threatening injuries. The robbers smashed glass cases and removed several items to include six firearms. The clerks could only identify the robbers as two black males, wearing dark clothing and baseball caps.

Investigators are seeking the public's help with identifying the subjects involved and providing information on the location of any or all of the stolen firearms. Anyone with information is encouraged to call ATF's toll-free, 24—hour hotline at 1—888—ATF—TIPS (1—888—283—8477) or Savannah/Chatham County Crime Stoppers at (912) 234—2020. Callers can remain anonymous.

More information about ATF and its programs is available at www.atf.gov

http://www.atf.gov/press/releases/2010/12/120310-atl-reward-gun-theft.html

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Latin Kings Leader Sentenced To Over 21 Years in Prison for Racketeering Conspiracy

Gang Activities Included Two Attempted Murders, Armed Robbery And Witness Tampering

Greenbelt, Maryland — U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. sentenced Francisco Ortiz, a/k/a Francis Gabriel Ortis, Pone, and King Pone, age 26, of Rockville, Maryland, today to 262 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, in connection with his gang activities as a member and leader of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings).

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Attorney General Lanny A Breuer, of the Department of Justice Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Theresa R. Stoop of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — Baltimore Field Division; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy; Chief Roberto L. Hylton of the Prince George's County Police Department; and Prince George's County State's Attorney Glenn Ivey.

U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said, The strategy of combining the resources and intelligence of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to pursue federal racketeering charges is proving effective.

As part of his plea, Mr. Ortiz admitted to being the leader of this violent gang, and today he is seeing the consequences, said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. By targeting gang leaders, we weaken a gang's structure and, ultimately, make safer the communities that gangs terrorize.

This sentencing demonstrates how serious and determined ATF and our law enforcement partners are in bringing violent criminals to justice, says ATF's Special Agent in Charge Theresa R. Stoop. We have and will continue to work tirelessly to protect our communities from senseless acts of gang violence and intimidation. Violent criminals involved in gang activity have no place within our communities and we will target and remove them to ensure the public is safe.

According to Ortiz's plea agreement, the Latin Kings is a violent street gang with thousands of members across the country and overseas. The Latin Kings have a detailed and uniform organizational structure, which is outlined — along with various prayers, codes of behavior and rituals — in a written manifesto widely distributed to members throughout the country. Members of the Latin Kings are also traditionally given King Names or Queen Names, which are names other than their legal names, by which they are known to members of the gang and to others on the street. At the local level, groups of Latin Kings are organized into tribes, including, the Royal Lion Tribe, MOG, Sun Tribe and UTL.

According to the plea agreement, in mid-2007, Ortiz became a member of the Royal Lion Tribe in Maryland and the tribe's Third Crown/Enforcer. Ortiz became the First Crown/Inca of the tribe in 2008, when members of the Royal Lion tribe formed the MOG tribe. Ortiz led the MOG tribe until mid-2009, when he was removed from power, then formed and became the leader of the UTL tribe. As a Latin King leader, Ortiz organized meetings where dues were collected from members and gang business was discussed. As First Crown/Inca, Ortiz traveled to Pennsylvania, New York and Florida where he met with other Latin King leaders.

Ortiz admitted that as part of his gang activities, in late summer or fall of 2007, Ortiz and other Latin King members carried out the armed robbery of a drug dealer at condominiums in Langley Park, Maryland. According to the plea agreement, one of the Latin Kings knocked on the drug dealer's door and when the door opened, Ortiz and two other Latin King members and associates forced their way into the apartment, each carrying a gun. Once inside, they put their guns to the heads of the dealer and his young daughter. The Latin King members held the drug dealer and his daughter at gunpoint in the bedroom while they searched the residence, eventually stealing powder cocaine.

According to the plea agreement, in December 2007, Ortiz and other Latin King members and associates participated in the attempted murder of a suspected rival gang member. When several Latin King members began walking in the wooded area behind a condominium complex in Langley Park, one or more people - suspected to be MS-13 members — began shooting at them. After the Latin Kings began running to their cars, Ortiz made them stop, get out of their cars and retaliate against the suspected MS-13 members. When the Latin Kings found an individual whom they believed was a member of MS-13, they attacked and stabbed him.

Ortiz admitted that on January 19, 2009, he and other Latin King members and associates threatened and attempted to physically assault a Latin Queen, who was the intended victim of an earlier firebombing. Three days earlier, three members of the Latin Kings had been sentenced after pleading guilty in that case. Ortiz and other Latin Kings attended the sentencing at U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. Believing that if the Latin Queen was not a witness or changed her testimony the three Latin Kings would be able to successfully appeal their convictions for the firebombing, Ortiz and other Latin Kings put a plan in place to assault the Latin Queen in an attempt to influence or prevent her testimony. ATF agents learned of the plan and were able to prevent the attack.

Finally, Ortiz admitted that on July 8, 2009, he and members of the UTL tribe attempted to murder a person in Germantown, Maryland. The victim was walking on a residential street with two friends when a car approached them. Several people got out of the car and began chasing the victim. The victim was eventually caught and struck in the back of the head. The victim fell to the ground where Ortiz and other Latin Kings beat the victim with a bat, kicked, punched and stabbed him multiple times. Ortiz was arrested two days after the attack and at the time of his arrest had three machetes with him.

Six co-defendants previously pleaded guilty to the racketeering conspiracy. All remain in federal custody.

Mr. Rosenstein and Mr. Breuer thanked the ATF-led RAGE Task Force, including the Gaithersburg Police Department; the Montgomery County Police Department; Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office; Prince George's County Police Department; Prince George's County State's Attorney's Office; the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, the Maryland National Capital Park Police — Prince George's County Division; and the Maryland State Police; as well as, the New York Police Department; the U.S. Secret Service, and the Internal Revenue Service — Criminal Investigation, for their assistance in this investigation and prosecution. United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Glatfelter and David Salem, and Lara M. Peirce, a Trial Attorney with the Criminal Division's Gang Unit, who are prosecuting the case.

http://www.atf.gov/press/releases/2010/12/120110-bal-latin-kings-leader-sentenced-21-years.html

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