-------------------------------------------------------------------
Outpatient Commitment Bill (A list subscriber forwards an alert from Support
Coalition Northwest, in Eugene, asking you to take action against a bill
being drafted by Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers that would radically
expand "involuntary outpatient commitment." Already allowed in 40 states,
including Oregon, the Orwellian and Kafkaesque law currently requires
psychiatric patients to take certain drugs in order to remain free - no
matter how useless or toxic such drugs are to them. The Myers bill would
reportedly allow any two Oregonians to begin the process of an "investigation
and intervention" of any other Oregonian who was not yet commitable. After an
"investigation," if the subject refused to appear before the judge, the
subject could be arrested. The judge could then order the subject to follow a
"treatment plan," including taking psychiatric drugs against his or her will.)
From: "Wayne Haythorn" (haythorn@gorge.net)
To: "DPFOR" (dpfor@drugsense.org)
Subject: DPFOR: Fw: outpatient commitment bill
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 14:32:13 -0800
Sender: owner-dpfor@drugsense.org
Reply-To: dpfor@drugsense.org
Organization: DrugSense http://www.drugsense.org/
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim&Sue&Louis&Cara (quinkray@TELEPORT.COM)
To: Multiple recipients of list PCFCPRTY (PCFCPRTY@MAIL.ORST.EDU)
Date: Saturday, February 13, 1999 10:08 AM
Subject: outpatient commitment bill
Hi to all you "environmental nuts" and "wackos":
Many people in our progressive community have struggled to cope with the
stigma of psychiatric labeling and intervention. Some of us respond by
taking prescription anti-depressants or other "meds" voluntarily and some
believe that these drugs help them. But many others do not want to take
these medicines, for very good reasons (some are outlined below). Should
our government have the right to COMPEL people to take drugs against their
will if they present no danger to the community? If you don't think so,
read on, because that is just what Hardy Myers and Mark Gardner hope to
accomplish with their latest assault on our privacy.
Attorney General Considers Bill
To Allow Forced Psychiatric Drugging
of More People Living Out in the Community
Support Coalition Northwest Calls for
Survivors and Consumers to Unite in Opposition
by David Oaks, director, Support Coalition Northwest
You may know that today, some Oregonians living at home out in
the community are court ordered to take prescribed psychiatric
drugs against their will. You may even know that there is a push
going on throughout the USA and Canada and UK to expand this
heavy-handed approach. Nearly 40 states in the USA, including
Oregon, allow such "involuntary outpatient commitment."
But did you know the Oregon Attorney General is considering
vastly expanding this "chemical crusade" and may propose one of
the worst bills I've ever seen?
I have a copy of the draft bill in front of me.
This bill would allow any two Oregonians to begin the process of
an "investigation and intervention" of any other Oregonian, who
is NOT YET COMMITTABLE. After an "investigation," if the subject
refuses to appear before the judge, they can be arrested and
brought there. The judge may then order the subject to follow a
"treatment plan," which could include taking psychiatric drugs
against their will, even while living out in the community in
their own home. In fact, the hearing can even be in that home. If
the subject ignores the plan and a psychiatrist feels they are
"deteriorating," they can be brought back in front of the judge
to see if they meet commitment criteria.
Let me emphasize this point: This bill is really NOT about people
who meet the current criteria for commitment. This law would
create a whole new category of hundreds or thousands of
Oregonians, who psychiatrists predict might become committable.
All current studies, however, show that psychiatrists have zero
scientific ability to predict future dangerousness.
The bill claims to help "establish access to treatment program
and intervention," but in reality it would mean a lot more
Oregonians could be frightened into taking their psychiatric
drugs against their will in the sanctity of their own home.
Who could be required to appear before a judge in such an
"intervention"? The net this bill would create is so huge it
could capture a logging truck. One draft of this bill is made up
of 34 pages of bizarrely awkward language. So let me give one
scenario, and see if it could fit you or someone you care about.
You're a psychiatric survivor. Your family doctor prescribes a
psychiatric drug. You decline his suggestion (so you're "not
receiving...medical care."). The doctor feels your refusal is for
"irrational" reasons (so you fall into the wrong half of an
eight-step "capacity level" chart that looks vaguer than an
astrology reading). If an "investigator" can apply the
following loosy-goosy language to you, the judge could order you
to take those drugs: You show "mental or physical deterioration"
such that "to a reasonable medical probability" you will "in the
foreseeable future" experience "substantial adverse consequences"
to your "health or safety."
Good God, in the eyes of many psychiatrists I know, that's
everyone! The average psychiatrist could apply this test to
President Clinton! (Maybe they should, but that's another story.)
The Attorney General's name is Hardy Myers and we need to tell
him how strongly Oregonians oppose this "medication militia
model." The staff person in the Attorney General's office who
is the cheerleader for this monstrosity is Mark Gardner. In a
phone interview, Gardner told me his main experience was that, "I
was once a Circuit Court judge. I committeed 500 to 1,000 cases."
Gardner has not been on the other side of that gavel, though.
Gardner admitted that neither he nor the committee he worked with
did any in-depth investigation of the issues of forced
psychiatric drugging, what long term use of these drugs can do to
a person, or what possible alternatives to force might work.
I talked to Gardner today, February 12th, about their latest
draft. He disagreed with my interpretation, because in his view
the judge's order to follow treatment in this "intervention"
isn't really enforceable. So there you are, arrested and hauled
before a judge (Gardner calls that a "discussion"). The judge
orders you to follow your doctor's treatment plan, and bangs a
gavel. Now how do you think the subject is going to feel? Scared
out of their mind, that's what. But Gardner claims that -- if the
person knows the ins and outs of his 34 page law -- they will
understand they can technically ignore the treatment order as
long as they don't actually become commitable.
The judge's threat, even if technically an empty threat, is still
a threat. This is "gavel therapy." I pointed out to Gardner that
if someone commits robbery with an empty gun, it's still theft in
the eyes of the law. Gardner's plan would still feel incredibly
intimidating to any of us.
Adding insult to injury, Gardner's law would throw us a crumb,
claiming "mental health client" groups will be consulted. But we
consumer and survivor advocates were not involved in the
subcommittee that advised Gardner. They're universally opposed.
Here in Eugene, we have seen the results of heavy-handed
outpatient drugging being pressured on people. The family of
Ricky Herron, a 35-year-old African American man who died in the
psychiatric system, is suing Lane County Mental Health. Ricky
died after being pressured to stay on Clozapine, on an outpatient
basis in a half-way house, even though he was enduring horrible
side effects. The family lost the first round, but appealed and
has won a new trial in Federal Court.
Some people choose to take the drugs commonly used in forced
drugging, the "neuroleptics." But others have very rational
reasons to refuse, though their doctors may disagree. The
community and decision-makers should know that recent medical
evidence is showing long term use of the neuroleptics can
actually change the brain, and these changes are so big they are
visible on CT and MRI scan. (See The Lancet, 9/5/98 and American
Journal of Psychiatry 12/98.)
This neuroleptic-induced brain change can making quitting really
hard. That's because withdrawal unmasks the underlying
drug-induced brain change. The brain has been fighting back
against the drug -- when a person quits they can experience
horrible mental and physical effects for months, which is then
used to justify forcing them to go back on the drugs, for life.
This is called a "rebound" or "discontinuation syndrome," and
people have a right to know about it.
To "intervene" to stop this bill, contact Attorney General Hardy
Myers. Write: 1162 Court St. NE; Justice Building; Salem, OR
97310-0506. Phone: 1-503-378-4400. Fax: 1-503-378-4017. E-mail:
hardy.myers@state.or.us
And for more information about fighting the rise of forced
psychiatry, join Support Coalition. You can do this by asking for
a sample copy of our newsjournal, Dendron. Write: PO Box 11284;
Eugene, OR 97440-3484. Phone: (541) 345-9106. E-mail:
dendron@efn.org
There are other "medication militia" plans waiting in the wings.
Some people want to create a "Program of Assertive Community
Treatment" (PACT) in Oregon. PACT in other states includes
at-home psychiatric drug deliveries -- sometimes every day -- by
"mental health system" workers to assure "medication compliance."
There's more info about PACT on Support Coalition's web site:
www.efn.org/~dendron
Let's intervene before this "Cuckoo's Nest" flies over Oregon.
***
[Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers' web page is at:
http://www.doj.state.or.us/
E-mail address:
hardy.myers@state.or.us
The Oregon Department of Justice mailing address is listed as:
1162 Court St NE
Salem, OR 97310
The ODOJ fax number is listed as: (503) 378-4017
The ODOJ TTY number is listed as: (503) 378-5938
The ODOJ Information and Reception number is listed as: (503) 378-4400
Please be polite. - ed.]
***
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Patients get wrong mixture in dialysis (The Oregonian says one Portland-area
patient is in critical condition and 84 others had abnormally low levels of
sodium bicarbonate in their blood after they received the wrong kind of
chemical solution this week during their dialysis treatments by Providence
St. Vincent Medical Center and Providence Newberg Hospital.)
The Oregonian
Contact: letters@news.oregonian.com
1320 SW Broadway
Portland, OR 97201
Fax: 503-294-4193
Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/
Forum: http://forums.oregonlive.com/
Patients get wrong mixture in dialysis
* The error at 2 hospitals causes sodium bicarbonate levels to be too low in
the blood of 85 people, and one is in critical condition
Saturday February 13, 1999
By Patrick O'Neill
of The Oregonian staff
For three days this week, 85 kidney patients received the wrong kind of
chemical solution during their blood-cleansing treatments in dialysis
programs operated by Providence St. Vincent Medical Center and Providence
Newberg Hospital.
Because of the error, all the patients had abnormally low levels of sodium
bicarbonate in their blood -- a potentially deadly condition in people with
heart problems.
One patient, a woman, is in intensive care at St. Vincent in critical
condition. Hospital officials won't identify her or discuss specifics of her
illness. But they say the error may have contributed to her illness.
Dr. Larry Elzinga, a nephrologist and medical director of the St. Vincent
Kidney Dialysis Center, said the 85 patients, who received dialysis on
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the hospital's outpatient and inpatient
centers and at the Newberg hospital, all received the wrong concentration of
sodium bicarbonate, a crucial ingredient in kidney dialysis solution.
During kidney dialysis, patients whose kidneys have failed are connected to
machines that clean impurities from their blood. The process requires that a
carefully balanced solution of bicarbonate of soda be put into the
bloodstream. The chemical helps neutralize acid wastes in the blood.
Elzinga said it's not clear how the mistake happened. Dialysis solution is
prepared by an experienced technician who follows a specific recipe, adding
various elements, including concentrated bicarbonate of soda.
Confusion over a new brand of concentrated bicarbonate apparently led to the
error, he said.
"We're still trying to determine exactly what the specific error was," he
said. "It appears that the wrong concentrate was used."
Early in January, St. Vincent, which oversees the dialysis center at
Providence Newberg Hospital, entered into a management contract with
Fresenius Medical Care North America, a German-based manufacturer of kidney
dialysis equipment and supplies. Later this year, St. Vincent will use
dialysis machines manufactured by Fresenius.
Somehow, Elzinga said, the technician mistakenly mixed Fresenius-brand
bicarbonate into the dialysis solution. The Fresenius bicarbonate is not
compatible with the center's current machines, which are made by another
manufacturer.
Dialysis solution comes in 55-gallon barrels. The bicarbonate concentrate is
packaged in a pint-sized plastic container. Both the barrels and the plastic
containers are clearly marked, he said.
The technician who mixed the ingredients is "highly qualified," he said.
Elzinga said the hospital is investigating the error. He would not comment
about what action, if any, might be taken against the technician.
Dialysis center workers had their first hint of an error about 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday when a nurse who routinely monitors patients' lab results noticed
that all the patients' bicarbonate levels were low.
Elzinga was off on Wednesday. But the nurse telephoned him and told him that
day about the lower-than-normal readings.
"We immediately started to see if it was a lab error," he said. "It could
have been problems in transporting the blood, but that did not seem to be
the case. We started looking at the dialysis solution."
The incident was "potentially very serious," he said. "Fortunately, we
caught it early and reacted promptly."
Doctors express concerns
Nephrologists are deeply concerned about the problem.
Dr. Donald W. Froom, a nephrologist who practices at St. Vincent, said as
many as 35 of his patients who received dialysis had abnormally low
bicarbonate levels.
Froom said that while none of his patients suffered apparent injury, he sent
three to the St. Vincent emergency room for observation because of the
possibility of abnormal heart rhythms.
Dr. Edward G. Kuehnel, a Portland nephrologist, called the incident "a very
serious lapse."
"If it went on undetected, it could have led to serious illness or potential
fatalities," he said.
Kuehnel said only one of his patients receives dialysis at the St. Vincent unit.
"My patient has a very bad heart," he said. "But they (dialysis center
officials) didn't notify me for 48 hours."
Most of Froom's patients are elderly and have multiple ailments, he said.
Many have cardiac disease.
Earlier this week, Froom noticed the low levels of bicarbonate in his
patients and increased dialysis time for them. But the levels of bicarbonate
remained low.
Arnold A. Winters, 70, a patient of Froom's, said he was so weak, he
couldn't walk after he completed a dialysis session at the St. Vincent
outpatient center Monday. His wife, Rhoda, had to wheel him out to the car
in a wheelchair.
"I've been doing this for two years and I've never felt that bad," he said.
Winters said he also felt unusually weak after a dialysis session Wednesday.
On Thursday evening, he got a call from Froom's office telling him to report
to the St. Vincent emergency room for an immediate checkup.
At the emergency room, he said, medical personnel connected him to a heart
monitor, administered an electrocardiogram and took blood samples. He said
he had to stay at the hospital for 11/2 hours until doctors ruled it safe for
him to return home.
Winters, a retired accountant living in Lake Oswego, suffers from kidney
failure brought on by high blood pressure. He undergoes dialysis three times
a week for about 41/2 hours. On Friday, he asked nurses at the dialysis center
about the change in the bicarbonate concentrate.
"They tried to tell me that they knew about it (the change in solution)
before Dr. Froom did and that it was no big deal," he said.
This week's error comes on top of a Feb. 5 court ruling that found St.
Vincent negligent in causing brain damage to a Tigard woman, Denisa
Christine Jennison. A jury awarded her $17.8 million in a case in which a
surgical catheter pierced her heart, causing complications that brought on
brain damage. That incident occurred in 1996.
You can reach Patrick O'Neill at 503-221-8233 or by e-mail at
poneill@news.oregonian.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Rogue Of The Week (Willamette Week, in Portland, jumps on the bandwagon of
Oregon media trying to whip up voters' emotions over Oregon's new medical
marijuana law, faulting Mike Assenberg for not knowing his rights under the
voter-approved initiative.)
Date: Mon, 18 Jan 1999 15:05:02 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US OR: Rogue Of The Week
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: stanford@crrh.org (D. Paul Stanford)
Pubdate: 13 Jan, 1999
Source: Willamette Week (OR)
Website: http://www.wweek.com/
Contact: mzusman@wweek.com
Author: John Schrag (jschrag@wweek.com)
ROGUE OF THE WEEK
When we endorsed the medical-marijuana initiative last fall, we realized
that some people would try to abuse the law. We had no idea they would go to
the depths of this week's rogue, Mike Assenberg.
Our complaint with Assenberg is softened somewhat by our belief that he
acted out of ignorance, not malice. Nonetheless, his behavior is exactly
what's not needed to build public support for the controversial new law.
On New Year's Eve Assenberg sat in the smoking section of the Abby's
Legendary Pizza in Newport for a specific reason. He says he wanted to enjoy
his pie without pain. And in order to do that, Assenberg, who suffers from a
14-year-old injury, needed to smoke a joint. The manager at Abby's said no,
and Assenberg claims this refusal is a violation of his rights under the
Americans with Disabilities Act.
It would have been a good idea for Assenberg to have done more research
before he started to make a federal case out of it. He admits that before he
went into the restaurant he didn't know Oregon's law specifically prohibits
smoking pot in public. Also, according to the ACLU, he has no case in
federal court. Possession is still a federal crime, and the ADA does not
allow for criminal activities.
A cursory review of the situation would indicate that Assenberg easily
qualifies for medicinal smoking--since his back was broken in 1985, he has
suffered from excruciating pain every day. He doesn't like the side effects
of morphine and codeine, so he's been using marijuana for three years. He
hasn't talked to his doctor about it yet but has an appointment to do so
later this month.
Yet his actions on New Year's suggest he might be after more than pain
relief. Convinced that the restaurant had violated his rights, Assenberg
offered to keep the whole thing quiet if the chain coughed up enough money
for him to buy a new computer. Now, he says, he's talking to attorneys about
a lawsuit that could net him millions of dollars.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Police Impound Store's Alleged Drug Paraphernalia (The Herald, in Everett,
Washington, says local prohibition agents confiscated bongs, cigarette
lighters, scales and other alleged drug paraphernalia from the Evergreen
Smoke Shop Thursday afternoon.)
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 1999 17:56:53 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US WA: Police Impound Store's Alleged Drug Paraphernalia
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John Smith
Pubdate: Sat, 13 Feb 1999
Source: Herald, The (Everett, WA)
Copyright: 1999 The Daily Herald Co.
Contact: letters@heraldnet.com
Website: http://www.heraldnet.com/
Bongs Get The Gong
POLICE IMPOUND STORE'S ALLEGED DRUG PARAPHERNALIA
EVERETT -- Police confiscated bongs, cigarette lighters, scales and other
alleged drug paraphernalia from a smoke shop this week, leaving the owner
fuming.
On Thursday afternoon, police cleaned out part of the inventory at the
Evergreen Smoke Shop in the 6300 block of Evergreen Way. The goods were in
violation of a city ordinance outlawing drug paraphernalia, police
spokesman Elliott Woodall said.
Police began investigating the Everett store after receiving complaints
about its products, Woodall said.
Detectives went to the shop undercover and bought drug equipment such as
bongs, bottles of pills used to increase the volume of cocaine, ingredients
used to make methamphetamine, and many other items, he said.
"The detectives went back with a search warrant and relieved them of that
inventory," Woodall said.
The seized paraphernalia will be used as evidence should the city decide to
prosecute, Woodall said. Police estimated the goods to be worth about
$50,000, but the shop's owner, Dennis So, says it's more like $5,000 to
$7,000.
"The thing that upsets us the most is the fact that if they would have told
us it was a problem, we could have stopped selling them," said So, of Mill
Creek. "But instead, they decided to rampage the store."
He said the police came into the store, patted down the employees, looked
through financial books and took merchandise.
"We've been selling these products for three or four years," So said. "If
they didn't want us to sell something, they just should have told us."
Among the items taken were metal pipes sometimes called bongs and often
used to smoke marijuana.
So said the bulk of his business is in cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco,
but because he runs a specialty shop, he sells specialty items that are
sometimes requested by tobacco enthusiasts.
"There's no intent for us to sell anything to drug enthusiasts," So said.
Other confiscated goods included cigarette lighters and scales.
"Some enthusiasts like to weigh their tobacco before rolling," So said.
"They are the same scales sold at Costco or OfficeMax for measuring weight
for postage."
So, who started the business in the early '90s, said he plans to consult an
attorney and decide whether to challenge the seizure.
"I understand their concerns," he said, "but it's just the way they went
about it."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Judge Asks Sheriff For Drug Case List (The Topeka Capital-Journal, in Kansas,
says Shawnee County District Judge Eric Rosen on Friday ordered Sheriff Dave
Meneley to hand over a list of cases investigated by five of his prohibition
agents. Rosen also ordered the district attorney's office to hand over copies
of recent memos between prosecutors and the sheriff's office in which
District Attorney Joan Hamilton requested explanations from Meneley for the
decreased weight of the marijuana seized in the arrest of Carlos Hernandez,
who is seeking dismissal of two drug charges from 1995.)
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 12:11:52 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US KS: Judge Asks Sheriff For Drug Case List
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: compassion23@geocities.com (Frank S. World)
Pubdate: February 13, 1999
Source: Topeka Capital-Journal (KS)
Copyright: 1999 The Topeka Capital-Journal
Contact: letters@cjnetworks.com
Website: http://cjonline.com/
Author: Steve Fry, The Capital-Journal
JUDGE ASKS SHERIFF FOR DRUG CASE LIST
A Shawnee County district judge Friday ordered Sheriff Dave Meneley to
compile and hand over a list of drug cases investigated by five of his
deputies assigned to narcotics work in a two-year time frame.
The court order came as part of a challenge by Carlos Hernandez, who is
seeking dismissal of two drug charges in a 1995 case. Hernandez is charged
with felony failure to pay the Kansas drug tax and misdemeanor marijuana
possession.
Kris Savage, a public defender representing Hernandez, has cited alleged
misconduct by sheriff's narcotics officers in 1995 and a break in the chain
of custody of marijuana as reasons to dismiss the case.
The Hernandez challenge surfaced after a district judge in December made
public a Kansas Bureau of Investigation probe into the 1994 disappearance
of about 0.75 ounce of cocaine from a sheriff's department evidence locker.
At Shawnee County District Attorney Joan Hamilton's request, the Kansas
attorney general's office ordered the KBI in 1996 to investigate reports of
the missing cocaine. However, the attorney general's office concluded there
wasn't enough evidence to prosecute anyone. In that report, the name of
deputy Tim Oblander, a former narcotics officer, surfaced as a target of
the investigation.
Oblander has denied stealing cocaine from the evidence locker, using
cocaine or telling Meneley he stole the cocaine or was a cocaine user.
Savage on Friday was gathering records in preparation for a Thursday
hearing to seek dismissal of Hernandez' case.
Witnesses scheduled to be called during Thursday's hearing are Cpl. Tim
Oblander, Sgt. Frank Good, Detective Scott Holladay, Deputy Phillip Blume
and Detective Daniel Jaramillo, all deputies, and a chemist at the KBI. The
chemist is to answer questions about the drop in weight of marijuana
because of drying. Another possible witness at the daylong hearing will be
Meneley.
Shawnee County District Judge Eric Rosen on Friday ordered the sheriff to
compile a computer list of all arrests in drug cases linked to Oblander,
Good, Holladay, Blume and Jaramillo, officers who conducted drug
investigations from 1994 to 1996.
Rosen also ordered the district attorney's office to hand over copies of
recent memos between prosecutors and the sheriff's office in which Hamilton
has requested explanations from Meneley for the decreased weight of the
marijuana seized during the Hernandez case.
In a Jan. 28 letter to Meneley, Holladay and Oblander, Hamilton asked
Meneley to give her a "reasonable and detailed explanation" why marijuana
that weighed 4.3 ounces when it was seized in January 1995 weighed almost
0.5 ounce less during a Jan. 20 preliminary hearing. Hamilton said she was
"extremely concerned" about the discrepancy in weight.
Meneley, Oblander and Holladay answered the first set of questions. The
drying of marijuana could account for the loss in drug weight, Meneley said
in his first response to Hamilton.
Holladay wrote in a Feb. 1 memo the marijuana could have shrunk because of
the removal of three small samples of the drug for testing, the use of
noncertified electronic scales to weigh the marijuana in court and the
drying of the marijuana.
Hamilton on Feb. 8 hand-delivered a letter to Meneley asking the average
amount of marijuana used by the sheriff's department property room to test
whether a substance was marijuana; the expected percentage of weight loss
by marijuana due to drying; and whether the sheriff's department could
weigh the marijuana in the Hernandez case on the certified scales used in
1995 and indicate the difference between the current weight and the 1995
weight.
Hamilton was out of the office Friday and couldn't answer whether she had
received responses to the second set of questions.
Assistant District Attorney Tony Rues said he would comply with Rosen's
order but added, "I don't know if there is anything else floating out there
unbeknownst to us."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Texas Inmates Tell U.S. Judge Of Abuses (A New York Times article in the San
Jose Mercury News says Texas prisoners and their lawyers have been arguing
for three weeks that the federal court supervision to which the state's
prison system has been at least partly subject since 1980 should continue.
Much of the testimony from prisoners has been a grim litany of abuses and
humiliations. One man described being locked in a cage for five days. Another
suffered a stroke, but his guards, failing to recognize it, simply ridiculed
his stumbling gait rather than immediately summoning medical help. Yet
another, driven to despair by abuse, tried to kill himself by biting into his
arm until he hit a vein. Prisoners told of being raped by other inmates,
beaten by guards, and covered in pepper spray. With 73 prisons and more than
140,000 prisoners, Texas's correctional system is second in size only to
California's.)
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1999 19:51:47 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US TX: Texas Inmates Tell US Judge Of Abuses
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: Marcus/Mermelstein Family (mmfamily@ix.netcom.com)
Pubdate: Sat, 13 Feb 1999
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 1999 Mercury Center
Contact: letters@sjmercury.com
Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/
Author: Rick Lyman, New York Times
TEXAS INMATES TELL U.S. JUDGE OF ABUSES
AUSTIN, Texas -- For three weeks, doctors, corrections officials and
inmates have been describing to a federal judge the conditions in
Texas' vast network of prisons, and much of the testimony from the
prisoners has been a grim litany of abuses and humiliations.
One man described being locked in a cage for five days. Another
suffered a stroke, but his guards, failing to recognize it, simply
ridiculed his stumbling gait rather than immediately summoning medical
help. Yet another, driven to despair by abuse, tried to kill himself
by biting into his arm until he hit a vein. Prisoners told of being
raped by other inmates, beaten by guards, covered in pepper spray.
On the strength of such accounts, backed by the testimony of medical
and out-of-state corrections experts, lawyers for the prisoners of
Texas have argued in the proceeding that the federal court supervision
to which the state's prison system has been at least partly subject
since 1980 should continue.
The state, however, maintains that the experiences of abused inmates,
though regrettable, are little more than anecdotes that do not provide
a thorough picture of the prisons.
``It is time for our prison system to stand on its own two feet,''
Gregory Coleman, a lawyer for the state, said in closing arguments
Friday. ``We have come a long ways, thanks in large part to the
courts, but we believe we have now arrived. It is time for us to move
into the future on our own.''
During the hearing, state prison administrators testified to the
improvements made in the system in the last two decades, including
better training for guards, a more stringent policy on their use of
force and closer attention to prisoners' medical needs. Medical
experts testifying for the state argued that the prisoners' lawyers
had relied too heavily on the misfortunes of a handful of inmates
instead of looking at the system as a whole, which, with 73 prisons
and more than 140,000 prisoners, is second in size only to
California's.
The case has roots dating from 1979, when, after trial of a
class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Texas prisoners, U.S. District
Judge William Wayne Justice ruled the prison system unconstitutional
because of horrific overcrowding, by guards and poor medical care.
The next year Justice demanded a raft of reforms and imposed
day-to-day oversight of the system by the federal courts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
With Liberty For Some: 500 Years Of Imprisonment In America (The Economist,
in Britain, reviews the new book by Scott Christianson, "A Land Of Bondage,"
which examines the origins of the United States' prison-industrial complex.
After Russia, America has the highest rate of imprisonment in the world. One
in every 163 Americans is in jail or prison, a rate six times the average in
Europe. America's zeal for imprisonment is usually attributed to a recent
shift towards harsh law-enforcement policies, especially against drug users.
To some degree, this is true. The number of people locked up has tripled
since 1980. But the recent surge is not an anomaly. Bondage of one sort or
another has played a central role in American history from the beginning.
Popular support for mass incarceration and ever longer prison sentences is
not merely a by-product of the past two decades' war on crime, but a
consistent and ugly side of American society which has remained unquestioned
for far too long.)
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 14:26:52 +0000
To: vignes@monaco.mc
From: Peter Webster (vignes@monaco.mc)
Subject: [] With Liberty For Some: 500 Years Of Imprisonment In America.
Pubdate: 13 Feb 1999
Source: Economist, The (UK)
Copyright: 1999. The Economist Newspaper Limited.
Contact: letters@economist.com
Website: http://www.economist.com/
A Land Of Bondage
WITH LIBERTY FOR SOME: 500 YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT IN AMERICA.
By Scott Christianson. Northeastern University; 394 pages; $35. Distributed
in Britain by Biblios and AUPG; UKP33
FOR the land of the free, the United States puts an extraordinary number of
its citizens behind bars. After Russia, it has the second-highest rate of
imprisonment in the world. One in every 163 Americans is in jail or prison,
a rate six times the average in Europe. America's zeal for imprisonment is
usually attributed to a recent shift towards harsh law-enforcement
policies, especially against drug users. To some degree, this is true. The
number of people locked up has tripled since 1980. But this recent surge is
anything but an anomaly. Bondage of one sort or another has played a
central role in American history from the beginning. It is no exaggeration
to say that prisoners did as much as free men and women to establish the
United States as a nation.
Most Americans will scoff at this idea. Australia accepts its history as a
prison colony. But Americans, with the notable exception of blacks, still
cherish the idea of a country founded by hardy individualists, who spurned
the oppressions of a rigid European order to build a better society in the
wilderness of the New World. In fact, as detailed in Scott Christianson's
fascinating new book, a large proportion of white immigrants to early
America arrived in chains--as prisoners, indentured servants or bonded
labourers. Their Atlantic crossing was almost as terrible as that of the
black slaves being shipped at the same time from Africa. Between a third
and a half of white immigrants died on some voyages. Once in America, their
lot was often only marginally better than that of slaves. Their biggest
advantage over slaves was that they could look forward to being free once
their term of imprisonment or service was over. Many, of course, never
lived to see that day. For any American brought up on the more benign view
of American history taught in the nation's schools, Mr Christianson's work
will be something of a shock. But the evidence he marshals is simply too
massive to ignore.
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, Britain operated a system of
severely punitive laws designed as much to provide cheap labour for its
American colonies as to curb crime. In an age when there was no established
police force, private agents called "spirits"--many of them criminals
themselves--were paid to apprehend supposed lawbreakers. Large numbers of
people--including hordes of poor or abandoned children--were simply
kidnapped off the streets of London and other big cities, and then sold
with the blessing of a magistrate as felons or bonded labourers to ship
captains, who transported them to the American colonies where they were
resold as labourers to the highest bidder. One purchaser of felons was
George Washington. This practice continued right up to the American
revolution, which caused a prison crisis in Britain when hostilities
interrupted prisoner exports.
Even those colonists who emigrated voluntarily exhibited a taste for
imprisoning others. One of the first public buildings erected in Boston, in
1632 when the town consisted of only 40 dwellings, was a "house of
correction". Over the next 250 years, as America was settled, jails and
prisons were always among the first public facilities built. For people
trying to make their way in a wild continent, this was strange. Prisons and
jails are expensive. Other societies relied more on different, cheaper ways
to maintain discipline. In fact, once jails were built, Americans spent
little on prisoners. Life "inside" was usually horrific. Frequently
prisoners were left in dark cells to starve or die in their own filth.
When larger state prisons were built, reformers sought a more enlightened
regime. Rehabilitation through penitence had a vogue--hence the term
"penitentiary". But even the best of these places were grim, involving
unbearably long stretches of solitary confinement. After visiting one such
penitentiary, Charles Dickens, well acquainted with the unsavoury English
prisons of the period, turned away appalled, denouncing extended solitary
confinement as "cruel and wrong". Most other attempts at rehabilitation
foundered on popular hostility or indifference, as they still do today.
Whatever white Americans were suffering, it is a safe rule of thumb that
black Americans suffered more. Mr Christianson's account of black slavery
is revealing on two counts. Drawing on a crop of recent studies, he derides
the curiously persistent belief that most black slaves in the South led
lives of rural contentment, except for the occasional family break-up when
someone was sold "downriver". Southern slavery was enforced with whips,
chains, beatings, rape and legally sanctioned murder. Southern whites knew
what they were doing, and reasonably lived in constant fear of a black
uprising, which then prompted them to be even more brutal. Blacks were
desperate to escape. Many took enormous risks to do so. Those caught often
paid with their lives.
Mr Christianson also makes clear why free blacks, throughout America's
history, have supposedly committed a disproportionate number of crimes and
suffered similarly disproportionate rates of imprisonment. It is not
because they have been more disposed towards criminality but because, well
into the 20th century, they were legally barred from doing almost anything
to better themselves. In many states they were excluded from all but the
most menial jobs. Until the Civil War, free blacks had almost no legal
rights of any kind, even in the North. After the war, most were not much
better off.
Incredibly high rates of imprisonment continue to scar American blacks
today. The incarceration rate for black men is eight times that for whites.
Most inner-city black children grow up with a father, uncle or big brother
in prison. The social costs of this are enormous.
In his final chapter, Mr Christianson describes the burgeoning
prison-industrial complex, based on prison labour, which has brought wealth
to many smaller towns and cities where prisons are based. America seems to
have come full circle - imprisonment is once again as much about profit as
punishment. As this book makes clear, popular support for mass
incarceration and ever longer prison sentences is not merely a by-product
of the past two decades' war on crime, but a consistent and ugly side of
American society which has remained unquestioned for far too long.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Clinton To Go To Mexico Tomorrow (The Associated Press says Mexico's war
against drug traffickers, highlighted by a new $400 million, land-sea-and-air
battle plan, tops the agenda for a two-day meeting between U.S. President
Clinton and Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo beginning Sunday on the Yucatan
Peninsula.)
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 20:43:36 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: US/Mexico: Wire: Clinton To Go To Mexico Tomorrow
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: 13 Feb 1999
Source: Associated Press
Copyright: 1999 Associated Press
Author: George Gedda Associated Press Writer
CLINTON TO GO TO MEXICO TOMORROW
WASHINGTON (AP) White House officials admit that Mexico still has a
"tremendous problem" with drug trafficking but are praising its eradication
efforts in advance of President Clinton's two-day trip there that begins
Sunday.
Mexico's war against drug traffickers, highlighted by a new $400 million,
land-sea-and-air battle plan, tops the agenda for Clinton's meetings with
Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo.
The setting will be the Yucatan Peninsula, a tourist haven where the two
presidents and their wives will have a Valentine's evening dinner before
Clinton and Zedillo get down to business on Monday. They have met seven
times previously.
In addition to drugs, their agenda includes trade, migration and the
environment.
Their meetings will take place against a background of a congressionally
mandated review of Mexico's cooperation with U.S. counternarcotics efforts
in the past year.
Mexico could face stiff economic sanctions if it receives a failing grade,
but all signs point to a U.S. decision to "certify" Mexico as fully
cooperative as it has been all 12 years the process has been in effect.
Taking nothing for granted about Clinton's decision, however, Mexico
declared "total war" against the drug chieftains Feb. 4 through a program
that specifies early detection of drug flights and sea shipments and a
stepped-up counternarcotics role for the Mexican army.
The three-year plan contemplates purchases of aircraft, ships, radar, X-ray
equipment and other items.
Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy Berger, said Friday that drug
control is an important part of the U.S. agenda. In the two years since
Clinton and Zedillo established a set of common objectives, he said, "We
have seen Mexico extradite fugitives, eradicate thousands of acres of
opium, criminalize money-laundering and institute a new screening process
for law-enforcement officials."
"Still, obviously this is a tremendous problem for Mexico, but one that
they are tackling," he said.
Last year, with the certification decision just weeks away, the two
countries announced a plan outlining joint projects against drug
consumption, money laundering, gunrunning and narcotics smuggling.
The review process targets about 30 countries deemed to be sources for
drugs or through which drugs transit. Only a handful were decertified a
year ago.
While seemingly assured a clean bill of health from Clinton, there were no
such assurances that Mexico's expected certification won't be overturned by
Congress, where skepticism runs deep about the Zedillo government's
performance.
Quoting from an internal White House memo, The Washington Post reported
last week that congressional opponents of certification want more than
good-faith efforts "They want results, including extraditions of Mexican
nationals, more prosecutions of corrupt officials and more than paper
agreements about cooperative law-enforcement arrangements."
With a two-thirds vote, the Congress could overturn a Clinton
certification, which officials fear could trigger a nationalist backlash in
Mexico.
The certification process is widely disliked in Mexico. "It does more harm
than good," says Rafael Fernandez de Castro, a Mexican academic on leave
this year at the Brookings Institution. He said the process fuels
nationalistic feelings that impair cross border relations.
Robert Leiken, an expert on Mexico at Brookings, says Mexicans are baffled
by the process because they believe the drug problem exists only because of
the demand for narcotics in the United States.
Leiken questions whether it is realistic to assume that Mexico will be able
to deal with narcotics traffickers, given its inability to cope with a
steadily worsening problem of street crime.
State Department spokesman James P. Rubin acknowledged this past week that
the drug problem may be more than Mexico can handle because of the vast
resources of the drug runners.
But he noted the certification process does not take into account results.
"There is a difference between cooperation and success," he said.
Clinton's trip to Mexico and other Central American countries, originally
scheduled for last week, was postponed after the Senate set a goal of
finishing the president's impeachment trial by Friday, when he still would
have been out of the country. The Senate acquitted Clinton on Friday.
The Mexico leg was rescheduled for Sunday and Monday. He will visit
Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala in March.
Mexico is a major transit point for U.S.-bound cocaine shipments from South
America. It is also a major producer of marijuana and a significant
producer of heroin.
A delegation of Mexican officials visiting Washington admitted Wednesday
that seizures of illicit narcotics have been down over the past year. They
raised the possibility that Colombian narcotraffickers may be relying more
on routes other than Mexico for their drug shipments because of increased
law enforcement in Mexico.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mexico Anti-Drug Cooperation Key To Clinton Trip (The Reuters version)
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 09:21:53 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: WIRE: Mexico Anti-Drug Cooperation Key To Clinton Trip
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Fri, 12 Feb 1999
Source: Reuters
Copyright: 1999 Reuters Limited.
Author: Randall Mikkelsen
MEXICO ANTI-DRUG COOPERATION KEY TO CLINTON TRIP
WASHINGTON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - President Bill
Clinton is set to take his first post-impeachment trial trip on
Sunday, travelling to Mexico to meet President Ernesto Zedillo amid
signs Clinton will renew certification of Mexico as a U.S.
drug-fighting ally.
The meetings scheduled for Sunday and Monday in the Yucatan city of
Merida are expected to produce agreements in a number of areas,
including new steps to fight drug smuggling and measures to limit
violence and pollution along the 2,000-mile (3,000 km) U.S.-Mexican
border, U.S. officials said.
The two leaders also are expected to hail benefits of the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) five years after United States,
Canada and Mexico entered into the pact, and discuss Mexico's recovery
from a financial crisis three years ago and its progress toward
greater democracy.
The summit takes place amid increasing pressure from Congress and
other sources for the United States to crack down on Mexican drug
smuggling and its associated government corruption by having Clinton
"decertify," or blacklist, Mexico as a drug-fighting ally.
Decertification would cut off U.S. economic and trade benefits.
"Right now, certification is casting a long shadow on the bilateral
relationship. Everything is being viewed through the lens of
certification," said Delal Baer, a Mexico expert with the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies.
The visit is Clinton's first trip since the Senate acquitted him in
his impeachment trial on Friday. Clinton is expected to face at least
some questions from reporters on the issue during a photo opportunity
with Zedillo on Monday.
The administration's decision on certification is due March 1. U.S.
officials say no recommendation has been made by U.S. Secretary of
State Madeleine Albright. But officials have also stressed they
believe Zedillo has made a bit effort to fight drug smuggling, and
made some progress.
"I think everyone thinks it's in the best interests of the United
States to continue to cooperate with Mexico," said a U.S. official,
speaking on condition of anonymity.
"(Anti-drug) cooperation with Mexico is very strong at every level.
President Zedillo has made this a top priority. ... I don't think
anyone can question his courageous leadership in tackling what is an
enormous problem," the official said.
U.S. National Security Adviser Sandy Berger on Friday told reporters,
"It's important to remember what the purpose of certification is and
what it is not. It is not to measure the extent of Mexico's problems.
It is intended to assess the extent of its cooperation with us in
overcoming them."
"President Zedillo is clearly trying to establish a clean government
and respect for the rule of law," Berger said.
But members of Congress have turned up the pressure on Mexico, citing
continued government corruption and setbacks in seizing drugs, and
raised the prospect of overturning any recertification decision by
Clinton.
Asked whether Clinton might be planning to brace Zedillo for a
possible decertification, James Dobbins, senior director of
Inter-American affairs for the National Security Council, said,
"Insofar as I'm aware, there's no intention to discuss the matter in
those terms."
But Dobbins said members of Congress would accompany Clinton on the
trip and would be free to express their own views on the issue.
Berger said new agreements between Mexico and the United States would
improve procedures for cross-border undercover operations and
strengthen a new police force established to protect borders, airports
and seaports.
On border issues, Dobbins said the countries hoped to make progress in
three-way talks that also include Canada aimed at allowing each
country to have input on environmental assessments made in connection
with projects in border areas.
In addition, Dobbins said, the two countries are expected to reach
agreements on reducing violence and improving safety in border areas.
Clinton is set to meet Zedillo for a private dinner on Sunday evening.
On Monday, in addition to meetings between Zedillo and Clinton and a
larger session with Cabinet members from both governments, Clinton is
scheduled to address business leaders in Merida.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Clinton's Visit To Mexico Shadowed By Paradoxes (A different Associated Press
article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer tries to explain the Mexican
perspective on relations with the United States, and the role of the drug war
in that relationship. While U.S. drug war hawks criticize Mexico for refusing
to extradite its citizens to face American charges, Mexican officials have
been trying for three years to convince a U.S. court to return former Deputy
Attorney General Mario Ruiz Massieu to face charges of corruption and
obstruction of justice. U.S. courts have said they lack evidence.)
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 20:31:10 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Mexico: Clinton's Visit To Mexico Shadowed By Paradoxes
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: John Smith
Pubdate: Sat, 13 Feb 1999
Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA)
Copyright: 1999 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Contact: editpage@seattle-pi.com
Website: http://www.seattle-pi.com/
Author: John Rice, The Associated Press
CLINTON'S VISIT TO MEXICO SHADOWED BY PARADOXES
MEXICO CITY -- From this side of the long border, the United States is a
land of promise and menace, the solution to some problems and the cause of
others.
As with most other U.S.-Mexico relations, that paradox will serve as a
backdrop when President Clinton travels to Mexico to meet with President
Ernesto Zedillo.
The two leaders are expected to discuss the drug trade and immigration
during talks tomorrow and Monday.
Meanwhile, many Mexicans expressed relief that the trip won't be
overshadowed by the impeachment process, which has baffled many in a
country where presidential indiscretions are rarely, if ever, mentioned.
"How great that this silliness is over with," said Heriberto Miramontes, a
43-year-old accountant waiting in line for a U.S. visa. "There are more
important things than the personal life of a president."
Mexico is a country that fiercely insists on its independence from the
United States but depends on its northern neighbor for much of its economy.
It also has seen millions of Mexicans head north to escape poverty.
The weight of American power and confusion over what to do about it runs
deep in Mexican history. The Yucatan state capital of Merida, where the
summit will be held, is an example.
Not long after American troops captured Mexico City in 1847 -- a moment
still bitter in Mexican memory -- Yucatan leaders offered their state to
the United States in return for help in quelling an Indian war. The United
States declined.
At a Mexico City museum dedicated to U.S. invasions, children are greeted
by a quote from Jose Manuel Zozaya, Mexico's first envoy to the United
States in 1822: "The arrogance of these republicans does not allow them to
see us as equals but as inferiors. With time, they must be our sworn enemies."
A few blocks away, children of the same age frolic in the playground of a
neighborhood McDonald's that distributes toys depicting Walt Disney
characters with Happy Meals.
American cultural and economic influences extend throughout Mexico. Two-way
trade with the United States last year reached $200 billion, up from $80
billion in 1994.
Fidel Castro recently caused a rare crisis in Mexican-Cuban relations when
he suggested that Mexican children knew more about Mickey Mouse than their
national heroes. The statements outraged Mexican diplomats, but some
newspaper columnists agreed Castro was right.
These days, Mexican nationalists are denouncing a government proposal to
let foreigners buy part of Mexico's electricity system.
At the same time, Mexico's top business organization is urging adoption of
the U.S. dollar as the country's currency.
But Mexicans also are often frustrated by what they see as U.S. disdain for
their sovereignty and laws.
Officials here have been trying for three years to convince a U.S. court to
return former Deputy Attorney General Mario Ruiz Massieu to face charges of
corruption and obstruction of justice. U.S. courts have said they lack
evidence.
Mexico's own usual refusal to extradite its citizens has led U.S.
congressmen to push for financial reprisals under U.S. laws requiring the
president to "certify" whether foreign nations are helping fight drug traffic.
Mexican officials have denounced certification as an insult to their good
will and sovereignty. They often point out that their struggle against
drugs and related corruption is created by a vast U.S. demand for drugs.
Perceived U.S. slights are echoed in ways both big and small.
Mexico was the only Latin American nation that always snubbed U.S. pressure
to break ties with communist Cuba and it remains Cuba's closest friend in
the Americas.
And in a Mexican variant of Monopoly, known as "World Tourist," the
cheapest space on the board is the United States.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mexico slams U.S. Drugs Certification Policy (According to Reuters, Mexican
Interior Minister Francisco Labastida criticised the United States on Friday
ahead of a visit by President Clinton, saying Washington's practice of
certifying allies in the war on drugs was unfair and inhibited cooperation.
Diplomats from both countries said the certification issue was not a topic
scheduled for discussion by Clinton and Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo.
But the two will dedicate a big part of their meeting to drawing up new
accords linked to the "Binational Alliance against Drugs," created in May
1997 during Clinton's first visit to Mexico.)
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 11:07:09 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Mexico: Wire: Mexico slams U.S. Drugs Certification Policy
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: General Pulaski
Pubdate: Sat, 13 Feb 1999
Source: Reuters
Copyright: 1999 Reuters Limited.
Author: Rene Villegas
Mexico slams U.S. drugs certification policy
MEXICO CITY, Feb 12 (Reuters) - A top Mexican official criticised the
United States on Friday ahead of a visit by President Bill Clinton, saying
Washington's practice of certifying allies in the war on drugs was unfair
and inhibited cooperation.
Mexican Interior Minister Francisco Labastida said his country would never
accept the annual U.S. practice of deciding whether to certify that Mexico
is doing its part in the war on drugs.
U.S. certification is required for Mexico to be eligible to receive aid in
battling drug trafficking. Clinton has granted Mexico certification in the
face of strong opposition from some members of Congress every year since
taking office in 1993.
"It does not appear fair to us that one country can set about certifying
others," Labastida said in an interview with Mexico's Radio Red just two
days before Clinton's second official visit to Mexico.
"Mexico's position has not changed: Mexico does not accept certification,"
he added. "(Certification) does not help cooperation in the anti-drug fight."
Clinton and his wife, Hillary, arrive in the southern Mexican state of
Yucatan for a brief working visit on Sunday.
Diplomats from both countries said the certification issue was not a topic
scheduled for discussion by Clinton and Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo.
But the two will dedicate a big part of their meeting to drawing up new
accords linked to the "Binational Alliance against Drugs," created in May
1997 during Clinton's first visit to Mexico.
Other themes include the migration of Mexican workers to the United States,
and economic and trade relations.
The U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Jeffrey Davidow, said this week that
certification was not a subject for international negotiation. But
anti-drug collaboration would be discussed by the two leaders in Merida,
capital of Yucatan state, he said.
Labastida returned from Washington on Thursday after the first visit by a
Mexican interior minister to the United States.
He discussed a new $2.5 billion anti-crime programme recently announced by
Zedillo, adding this involved buying state-of-the-art equipment from
nations including the United States.
Sunday's trip will be Clinton's first since he was acquitted by the Senate
on Friday on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice arising from his
affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mexico Freed Drug Suspect, Official Says Release Ordered Despite Warrant
(The Washington Post says the Mexican attorney general's Organized Crime Unit
recently captured Humberto Garcia Abrego, the man believed to be the
country's most notorious drug money launderer, detained and interrogated him
for three weeks, and then set him free despite a federal warrant for his
arrest.)
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 06:09:37 -0800
From: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org (MAPNews)
To: mapnews@mapinc.org
Subject: MN: Mexico: WP: Mexico Freed Drug Suspect, Official Says Release
Sender: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Reply-To: owner-mapnews@mapinc.org
Organization: Media Awareness Project http://www.mapinc.org/lists/
Newshawk: rlake@mapinc.org
Source: The Washington Post
Copyright: 1999 The Washington Post Company
Page: A21
Pubdate: Sat, 13 Feb 1999
Contact: http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Mail: 1150 15th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20071
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: John Ward Anderson and Molly Moore, Washington Post Foreign Service
MEXICO FREED DRUG SUSPECT, OFFICIAL SAYS RELEASE ORDERED DESPITE WARRANT
MEXICO CITY - Mexican police recently captured the man believed to be the
country's most notorious drug money launderer, detained and interrogated
him for three weeks, then set him free despite a federal warrant for his
arrest, according to Mexican sources.
The alleged money launderer, Humberto Garcia Abrego, brother of jailed Gulf
cartel kingpin Juan Garcia Abrego, had been the subject of an intense
manhunt since February 1997, when he allegedly paid three federal judges
almost $1 million in bribes to be freed from prison. He was never
questioned about the alleged payoffs during his recent incarceration,
according to an official familiar with his interrogation.
Samuel Gonzalez Ruiz, chief of the Mexican attorney general's Organized
Crime Unit at the time of the incident, denied in an interview that
Humberto Garcia Abrego was detained and released: "It's absolutely false,
it never took place."
But the other Mexican official backed up his account with a copy of a
document from the Organized Crime Unit written over Gonzalez's name
ordering Garcia Abrego's "immediate and absolute freedom." Gonzalez, who
denied writing the order, resigned Jan. 1 as head of the unit, reportedly
under the pressure of superiors' dissatisfaction with his handling of
several major cases.
The Mexican source said Garcia Abrego was arrested Oct. 18 in the quaint
colonial town of San Miguel de Allende, about three hours north of Mexico
City, while police were trailing other drug suspects. He was questioned
under extraordinary secrecy at a safe house in the city of Queretaro near
San Miguel de Allende and released on Nov. 9 after giving investigators
detailed information about money laundering in the resort town of Cancun,
the source said.
The disclosure of Garcia Abrego's detention and release comes when Mexico's
attempts to crack down on drug trafficking and corruption within its police
and legal systems are under close national and international scrutiny.
President Clinton arrives in Mexico Sunday for a 24-hour visit just a week
before he is required under U.S. law to determine whether Mexico should be
certified as an ally in combating drug trafficking.
Numerous reforms designed to strengthen the rule of law have been enacted
during President Ernesto Zedillo's administration. But Garcia Abrego's
release despite the pending arrest warrant for drug money laundering, the
alleged failure to question him about the circumstances of his previous
incarceration and the secrecy surrounding the incident underscores the
challenge Mexico faces in abolishing entrenched practices that permit drug
kingpins to operate with impunity.
As it happens, Garcia Abrego's lengthy confinement without being charged
also violated a law prohibiting the jailing of suspects without charges for
more than 72 hours.
"He was held illegally," said the Mexican official. "As soon as 72 hours
expired, we committed a crime called kidnapping."
The document relating to Garcia Abrego's release and obtained by The
Washington Post is a copy of the unsigned and undated duplicate of the
original order, according to the Mexican official.
Although one of the most frequently cited criminal justice reforms in
recent years was the enactment of a law allowing Mexican prosecutors to
engage in plea bargaining with suspects who cooperate in criminal
investigations, it is unclear why that new authority was not used in the
case of Garcia Abrego, who was simply freed from custody after turning over
valuable information.
The Mexican official said Garcia Abrego's capture occurred last Oct. 18
when federal police officers who were following two drug dealers in a car
in Queretaro lost the subjects, and a short time later began following an
identical car. When that car arrived in San Miguel de Allende, superiors
radioed an order to the officers to arrest the occupants and bring them to
police headquarters in Queretaro, about an hour away.
After the officers returned, the officer in charge was stunned to see that
instead of the two drug dealers, his men had Humberto Garcia Abrego in tow,
the source said.
Garcia Abrego is best known as the brother of Juan Garcia Abrego, the head
of the Gulf cartel, who was considered Mexico's most powerful drug kingpin
in the early 1990s. Juan Garcia Abrego, who had a $20 billion a year
business shipping about a third of all the cocaine consumed in the United
States, was tried and convicted in Houston in 1996 and sentenced to 11 life
terms in prison.
Humberto Garcia Abrego also is renowned for the murky circumstances
surrounding his release from prison in late February 1997. In that case,
the Mexican government withheld news of his freedom until after Clinton
approved the annual certification of Mexico, even though the order for
Garcia Abrego's release had been granted days earlier.
Washington protested the incident for what "appeared to be unusual
circumstances related to corruption," a U.S. official said. The Mexican
government never provided "a satisfactory answer" for what happened, he said.
Later that year, The Washington Post reported that Mexican law enforcement
authorities had obtained information that Garcia Abrego, who had served
just 17 months of a five-year sentence for money laundering, allegedly had
paid $1 million to three federal magistrates and a lawyer to have the
conviction annulled. In an interview, one of the magistrates denied being
bribed and said that prosecutors had botched the case.
After his release, Mexican officials issued a warrant for his arrest on new
money laundering charges.
A senior official in the Mexican attorney general's office said Mexican
authorities never pursued the investigation of the alleged payoffs, and the
source familiar with Garcia Abrego's interrogation said he was never
questioned about the alleged bribes when he was picked up four months ago.
Mario Melgar Adalid, chairman of the disciplinary committee of the Federal
Judiciary Council -- a relatively new panel set up to investigate
allegations of judicial corruption -- said his committee was aware of the
bribery allegations in connection with Garcia Abrego's release, but never
investigated them. Allegations of judicial corruption are widespread in
Mexico. There are numerous cases in which Mexican and U.S. police say
judges accepted bribes to drop charges or release drug traffickers, but few
judges have ever been prosecuted or disciplined. Judges frequently argue
that Mexican prosecutors present sloppy cases with insufficient evidence.
The official familiar with Garcia Abrego's recent detention said that he
was interrogated for about three weeks and provided important information
about money laundering in Cancun by the Juarez cartel, which is now one of
Mexico's top drug mafias. Partly as a result of the information he gave,
according to the official familiar with the investigation, Mexican police
launched an operation in Cancun, the country's most profitable tourist
resort, last November and December and seized four hotels, two restaurants,
nine offices, a warehouse and four yachts, in addition to numerous other
properties in Mexico City and the northern state of Tamaulipas. The seized
property was valued at about $200 million, according to the attorney
general's office.
The source said Garcia Abrego also gave investigators information about
alleged drug money laundering by Raul Salinas de Gortari, the older brother
of former president Carlos Salinas. Raul Salinas was recently found guilty
of murder and sentenced to 50 years in prison in connection with the 1994
death of a top politician.
There have been numerous unsubstantiated reports of meetings between Raul
Salinas and Juan Garcia Abrego during the 1988-94 Salinas administration.
Last year, Swiss authorities seized more than $100 million in bank accounts
traced to Raul Salinas, saying it was drug proceeds he had collected for
acting as the chief protector of drug traffickers during his brother's
presidency. Salinas has said the money was obtained from legitimate
business deals.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Jail Breeds Gang 'Virus' Say Analysts (The Edmonton Sun, in Alberta,
says a program to be broadcast tonight on CBC's "Rough Cuts," produced by
Katerina Cizek, a filmmaker who documented Winnipeg's street gang problem,
shows that a divide and conquer anti-gang policy in Manitoba prisons has sent
the once local problem countrywide.)
From: creator@islandnet.com (Matt Elrod)
To: mattalk@listserv.islandnet.com
Subject: Canada: Jail Breeds Gang 'Virus' Say Analysts
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 10:14:20 -0800
Lines: 57
Newshawk: creator@mapinc.org
Source: Edmonton Sun (Canada)
Contact: sun.letters@ccinet.ab.ca
Pubdate: Saturday, February 13, 1999
Author: Ian McDougall
Jail breeds gang 'virus' say analysts
Cons sent cross-country
A divide and conquer anti-gang policy in Manitoba prisons has sent the
once local problem countrywide, says a filmmaker who documented
Winnipeg's street gang problem.
About two years ago, Manitoba justice officials decided to fix the gang
problem in jails by splitting members up and shipping them to other
institutions across the country, said Katerina Cizek, who made Indian
Posse Life in Aboriginal Gang Territory with partner Catherine Bainbridge.
"It's spread the gang problem to other prisons,'' said Cizek, whose film
airs tonight on CBC's Rough Cuts.
Two notorious Manitoba gangs, the Manitoba Warriors and the Indian Posse,
have members incarcerated in the Edmonton Institution, also known as the
Max, said Troy Rupert, founder of the anti-gang Winnipeg Native Alliance.
"It's like a virus and it's spreading,'' he said.
Prisons like the Max - along with shopping malls - are the primary
recruitment grounds for the gangs, said Mel Buffalo, president of the
Indian Association of Alberta.
"People just seem to be numb with disbelief this is happening,'' he said.
Buffalo hasn't heard of gang recruitment spreading to Alberta reserves.
But if Edmonton follows Manitoba's example it will happen, Rupert warned.
"It spreads to people susceptible to it,'' Rupert said. "Where there's
poverty, socio-economic problems, the gangs are successful.''
Edmonton could also see a criminal alliance between the Manitoba-style
gangs and outlaw motorcycle gangs such as the Hells Angels.
Winnipeg has already seen a partnership between the bike gang Los Brovos
and the Manitoba Warriors, said Edmonton Det. Ron Robertson.
The new gang arrivals in Edmonton haven't had time to establish the same
ties seen in Manitoba, but given time they will, he suggested.
"You're pretty much guaranteed you're going to see links between the
groups,'' Robertson said, pointing to Ventura, California, where large
bike gangs have routinely recruited new members from smaller street gangs.
Four men picked up in Edmonton Wednesday on weapons charges were
identified by city police as members of a Manitoba street gang trying to
set up in Edmonton.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
[End]
to the 1999 Daily News index for Feb. 12-18