Re: [Peace] Courthouse Rally in Kiwane Case: “Felonies Ain’t Favors! Plea Bargains Ain’t Either!”

[john martirano]

I called Rietz's office to complain about the charges leveled against
the boy and the handler hung up on me.  Julia Rietz Does NOT Deserve
to Serve.

Furthermore its infuriating to hear these people condescend about
making children productive.  It is Rietz and half the criminal justice
system here that needs to be made into productive members of society.
John

On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 9:35 AM, Brian Dolinar <briandolinar at gmail.com> wrote:
> This story at ucimc.org
>
> About 25 people, including several youth and their parents, showed up at the
> Champaign County courthouse on November 12, 2009 for a juvenile hearing of
> the other 15 year old involved in the police shooting of Kiwane Carrington.
> Police had originally responded to a burglary on October 9, but after it was
> discovered that one of the two youth lived at the house, charges of felony
> resisting arrest were leveled against the surviving boy. After the hearing,
> supporters and family members assembled in front of the courthouse for a
> rally.
>
> Before the hearing, State's Attorney Julia Rietz was seen outside her office
> talking with Ed Piraino, known as a local "plea doctor" who had been
> appointed by the court to handle the case. When inside the courtroom, Rietz
> appeared personally and Piraino was present for the defense--but not for
> long. Local attorney Alfred Ivy, who ran against Rietz in the 2008
> democratic primary for State's Attorney office, entered a substitution of
> counsel and will be taking over the case.
>
> But before exiting, Piraino made a statement for the record. After talking,
> he and the State's Attorney had come up with a plea bargain, what he called
> "an agreement in principle." If the boy would attend Lincoln's Challenge, a
> military school in Rantoul, the charges would be dropped.
>
> After the hearing, Rietz told Mary Schenk of the News-Gazette that she often
> dismisses juvenile cases if they get help and if the charges do not reflect
> the weight of evidence. Her goal was to make this young man, "a productive
> member of this community."
>
> In a correspondence with a community member asking questions about the case,
> Reitz reiterated her position, stating she would not drop the charges out of
> pure sympathy, that some counseling was needed for the boy to stay in school
> and to deal with the trauma he has experienced, but she mentioned nothing
> about Lincoln's Challenge.
>
> The option of attending a military school in which her son would be taken
> away from her was unacceptable to Laura Manning, the boy's mother. She
> apparently did not believe that the courts have the best interest of her or
> her son at heart. Of course, there is a long history of the court system
> taking children away from poor families and families of color.
>
> At Lincoln's Challenge, a program sponsored by the Illinois National Guard,
> children are enrolled for a period of five and one half months during which
> parents are only allowed to visit once every two weeks. Approximately half
> of the students are African American. Focused almost entirely on discipline,
> it is questionable whether they learn anything at the school and the success
> rates are uncertain.
>
> Aaron Ammons, co-founder of CU Citizens for Peace and Justice, had a
> different explanation of the proposed plea bargain. He said, "Citizens
> organizing to put pressure on public officials has an impact. Specifically
> in the case of this teen, organizing to demonstrate, march, and speak out is
> impacting this case."
>
> Discovery materials were turned over to attorney Ivy who asked for a
> continuance to review the documents. A status hearing was set for January
> 19, 2010 at 2 p.m. in Courtroom C.
>
> Supporters of the youth stood outside the courtroom while the hearing was
> taking place. During juvenile hearings, the public is not allowed, although
> the press is admitted. News-Gazette's Mary Shank and I were both permitted.
> For a second time, the News-Gazette ran the 15 year old's name in their
> coverage of the hearing.
>
> While at the courthouse, we also found out that the Illinois State Police
> have completed their investigation into the death of Kiwane Carrington and
> turned over their report to the State's Attorney. Although Rietz did not say
> when she would make her determination of the report, consisting of hundreds
> of pages of documents and numerous computer discs, it looks as if her
> conclusion is already predetermined. Champaign City Manager Steve Carter has
> said publicly that he has investigated the case, talked to the State's
> Attorney and state police, and exonerated Chief Finney. From her decision to
> press a felony charge against the surviving youth and not wait for the state
> police report, it appears Rietz has also made her decision about what
> happened that fateful day.
>
> After the hearing, supporters organized a rally outside the courthouse. They
> held posters that were made by youth the previous day at the Independent
> Media Center. They pinned buttons to their clothes reading "S.W.A.G." which
> stands for Students With A Goal, an idea the youth came up with themselves.
> Gathering outside the second-story window of the State's Attorney's office,
> they chanted, "Felonies Ain't Favors! Plea Bargains Ain't Either!"
>
> Those who would like to contact State's Attorney Julia Rietz can call
> 384-3733 or email her at jrietz at co.champaign.il.us.
>
> BD
> --
> Brian Dolinar, Ph.D.
> 303 W. Locust St.
> Urbana, IL 61801
> briandolinar at gmail.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> Peace mailing list
> Peace at lists.chambana.net
> http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/peace
>
>



-- 
This e-mail may have been written with voice recognition.
--
help reduce our dependence on oil, ride a bike!
|........................ __o
|.................... _ ` \ <,_
|__________(_)_/_(_)_______________
john martirano
http://www.martirano.net/john/