[Imc-radio] Re: UCIMC PHP has problems

[David Berliner]

This worked fine before it was made a feature.
All the code in it is correct.  The www.ucimc.org part was
added when it was made a feature.  I have no control over that.

I'm looking for a solution to this problem but this is in no way
a mistake of mine.  I feel very strongly on this.

Dave

On Friday, February 11, 2005, at 07:38  PM, Sandra Ahten wrote:

> Sorry to bother the rest of you with this... Dave and I will take it 
> back to our own email addresses now.... But the article became less 
> clear and had some errors in it after DAve edited it and I wanted you 
> to have a chance to be aware of those errors if you are following 
> along.
> Sandra
>
>
>> PROCEDURE NOT FOLLOWED
>> Champaign had three apparent suicides last year and Champaign County
>
> should say: Champaign County had three apparent suicides in the count 
> jail in the last year...
>
>> Sheriff Dan Walsh is taking some responsibility for procedural lapses 
>> that took place when the last death occurred. The death of Terrell 
>> Layfield, which happened in the downtown facility on December 4th, 
>> was discussed at a press conference held by the Sheriff on Wednesday 
>> Feb. 9th. Sandra Ahten of CU-Citizens for Peace and Justice
>
> should introducethe letters"CUFPJ" here
>
>
> attended the press conference and provided information
>> for this report.
>>
>> Sheriff Walsh said that his investigation is not yet complete and so 
>> details surrounding the death of victim Terrell Layfield could not be 
>> released.  He did acknowledge that the written procedure of the jail 
>> is to make  eyeball  checks of individuals on a specific timetable. 
>> Sheriff Walsh said this was not done at the time of Terrell’s death 
>> and instead only a visual check of the cell block, as a whole, was 
>> made. He said the correct procedure was followed during the other two 
>> deaths but those took place at the satellite jail facility that has a 
>> system that requires a computer check of the officer. Mr. Layfield’s 
>> death was at the downtown facility.  Sheriff Walsh indicated that no 
>> officer has been reprimanded for not following policy in this 
>> instance and that the policy had been routinely ignored for many 
>> years.
>>
>> There are many unanswered questions that still remain surrounding the 
>> death of Terrell Layfield. If you would like to know the nature of 
>> these questions, listen to the entire press conference and how the 
>> Sheriff explains some details surrounding Layfield's death and avoids 
>> answering others. You can listen to the audio at www.ucimc.org
>>
>> According to Walsh, the Urbana City Police has finished their 
>> investigation and the report should be available. The Sheriff did not 
>> have copies of the report and a Freedom of Information Act has been 
>> followed to obtain the documents.
>>
>>
>> A MAJOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST
>>
>> The Sheriff could not start his investigation until the Champaign 
>> County States Attorney had determined that no criminal charges were 
>> to be filed. Sandra Ahten of CU-Citizens for Peace and Justice 
>> (CUFPJ), spoke with Julia Reitz, the Champaign States Attorney, on 
>> Tuesday Feb. 8th.  In response to Ahten’s complaints of the delays in 
>> the release of information about the alleged suicides, she was told 
>> by Reitz that it was not the Sheriff’s decision to make and that 
>> Reitz, as the Sheriff’s lawyer, directed him not to release any 
>> information. Ahten clarified with both Walsh and Reitz the fact that 
>> the Champaign States Attorney is the attorney of record for the 
>> Sheriff’s office. [ radio.ucimc.org/audio/q1.mp3 ]. Ahten understood 
>> this to mean that if the Sheriff were to be sued, the States Attorney 
>> would be his defense. The conflict of interest is that the States 
>> Attorney is also responsible for deciding if the suicide gets 
>> investigated as a criminal matter and whether to file charges.
>>
>> Of course, conflicts of interest can routinely arise in the States 
>> Attorney’s office. It is understood that the protocol is then for the 
>> States Attorney to call in a special prosecutor who would have an 
>> unbiased opinion. CUFPJ is currently educating themselves on these 
>> relationships and procedures in order to fully understand why Ms. 
>> Reitz has not decided to pursuer this matter as a criminal 
>> investigation.
>
> I spoke with a lawyer about this... the above line should read:
> ...the States Attorney would turn any cases with a conflict of 
> interest over to the States Attorney General and the States Attorney 
> General would assign a special prosecutor.
>
> Instead, according Sheriff Walsh, Ms. Reitz made the
>> decision not to pursue any further investigation or prosecution. 
>> Sheriff Walsh said that he has absolute confidence in Ms. Reitz and 
>> her integrity but it was her decision not to pursue the matter. 
>> radio.ucimc.org/audio/q2.mp3
>>
>>
>> There are many conflicts of interest that Sheriff Walsh does not 
>> acknowledge and so will not be resolved.  The Urbana City Police 
>> considered the only impartial investigating agency. The Sheriff 
>> thinks they are impartial even though he acknowledges that they have 
>> a  working  relationship with the him and only limited access to the 
>> inmates to conduct an investigation of the suicide.
>> radio.ucimc.org/audio/q1.mp3
>
> --this above paragraph *must* be changed back to my intent... Dave. 
> The way you have it written is misleading and confusing. Call me at my 
> Mom's house were I am at this weekend if you want to discuss it.. or 
> change it back. (217-367-6345) Here is how it should read.
>
> There is another conflict of interest that Sheriff Walsh does not 
> acknowledge and so will not be resolved -- and that  is the the Urbana 
> City Police are performing the investigation as the impartial outside 
> investigating agency. The Sheriff thinks they are impartial although 
> he acknowledges that they have a cooperative working relationship with 
> the County Sheriffs Department. Indeed the arrestees of Urbana Police 
> are housed at the jail and the Urbana Police have access to the 
> prisoners at the jail.
>>
>>
>> CORONER RULING NOT YET DETERMINED
>> The coroner’s jury is scheduled to hear the evidence in the death of 
>> Terrell Layfield on Thursday Feb 17. The death has not yet been ruled 
>> a suicide by County Coroner Duane Northrup. It was scheduled to be 
>> heard in January but was postponed.
>>
>> WHAT THE CITIZENS WANT
>>
>> The group CU Citizens for Peace and Justice believe that it should 
>> not be up to citizens to read police and autopsy reports and 
>> interpret them. They believe the county should insists that this 
>> matter is cleared up beyond all doubt.  That can only be done if 
>> there is a criminal investigation into all three in-custody deaths by 
>> an outside agency that does not have a cooperative relationship with 
>> the County Sheriff’s office.
>>
>> Sandra Ahten of the group says this, We do not want an adversarial 
>> relationship with the Sheriff, States Attorney or County Board but 
>> the fact is that all three of these agencies are employed by us, the 
>> citizens. They may trust each other and feel comfortable with relying 
>> on each others known relationship with each other. It is obvious that 
>> they do: in my conversations with them, trust  just keeps coming up 
>> again and again. County Board President Barb Wysocki has told me she 
>> trusts the Sheriff. The Sheriff has said he trusts the Urbana City 
>> Police and States Attorney Julia Reitz. Julia Reitz has told me she 
>> trusts the Sheriff. I was reprimanded by Reitz for my lack of trust. 
>> I fully understand trusting your peers  but these folks must 
>> acknowledge that it is the public whose trusts they must earn. I 
>> don’t think they earn the public’s trust until they acknowledge that 
>> someone outside of their own network, someone they don’t have lunch 
>> with, takes a look at these deaths and explains to the public how 
>> they could have happened.
>>
>
>