Bob Hennelly, Author “Stuck Nation—Can the United States Change Course on Our History of Choosing Profits Over People?” joins hosts @50linesonly & @joefirestonephd at 9pm EST/6pm PST. youtu.be/jF-uEdp4KJk via @YouTube
A sick joke was obviously played; the attorneys could care less about the client and those privy to the case, just hand over the money.
Once upon a time in the town of Brooksville, Florida there was a law firm located on a tree lined street walking distance to the Courthouse. The law firm consisted of attorneys that formed a partnership claiming to aggressively represent their clients.
The law firm was known as, “The Law Firm of Brown and Aulls.” The attorneys are no longer partners. They are aware of the extreme level of dissatisfaction and hurt felt by their former client, his family, and friends. Just showing up for pre-trial hearings do not equate to full representation of a client. Their former client sat in the Hernando County for-profit Correctional Facility for close to two years while being ignored by the paid for law firm. The mystery as to how attorneys could claim to work on a client’s case without communicating with the client and those privy to his case remains an unsolved mystery. A sick joke was obviously played; the attorneys could care less about the client and those privy to the case, just hand over the money.
The client was being charged with a felony crime that carried a maximum sentence of life in prison. It was all based on a corrupt tape that was not further investigated. The tape was edited by the detectives and later by the prosecutor. The final straw was that it did not coincide with documented and well-known history. There was no evidence or DNA evidence just a corrupt tape written and directed by detectives of the Hernando County Sheriffs Department. A stranger on the internet called them with a story which amounted to hearsay.
Hearsay motivated the detectives to write a faulty script to railroad a local citizen into the for-profit prison system. Further, editing the tape and putting a finishing touch was an added clinch to the corruption. The behavior showed that this act occurred regularly and was acceptable.
The great mystery continues as to why the Law Firm of Brown and Aulls took the case. The only conclusion one could reach is they were in on the railroading and laughed as they were being paid. Since they refuse to release the client file, spent close to two years ignoring the client and those privy to the case, being in on the railroading seems to be a logical conclusion.
The attorneys were responsible for overseeing the work performed by their employees. Paralegals work under the direction and supervision of the attorneys. Was an employee responsible for the railroading? We do not know because there is no communication. If an employee was lazy and just went along with the tape, the attorneys would be at fault, therefore negligent.
Its transparent that the prosecutor and detectives had an ongoing scheme that involved creating a tape that made it appear citizens were voluntarily admitting to a crime. This behavior was permitted. The tape did not have to match a person’s life or history. It’s infuriating that hired defense attorneys either went along with railroading or never checked their employees work.
The defense attorneys took money in a sum that amounts to grand larceny charges for a service not rendered. Complaints were not further investigated, just take the money, and run.
The time spent in the local correctional facility is billed as a lien on the inmate’s property. Fifty dollars a day adds up! The total lien on the property is much higher than the value of the property. The total time from the arrest until sentencing was 33 months. What happened to this law-abiding citizen can easily happen to anyone when you are dealing with cold-blooded detectives and prosecution whose motivation is railroading citizens.
What could be the reason for railroading citizens? One reason is to fill beds in the for-profit prison system. Another could be the influx of Yankees that were moving into the area with some generational families being uncomfortable. The citizens of Brooksville, Florida had their traditions and Yankees were moving in challenging their way of life. For generations, the Ku Klux Klan openly met on the steps of the Courthouse. I, as citizens before me, was warned against vigilante Justice. Generational families control the system and have it just the way they like it.
When hired defense attorneys refuse to work a case with the client and those privy to the case, justice is denied. The prosecution is further empowered to continue their destructive behavior if no one challenges it or report it to some higher authority.
The Hernando County Bar Association seems to turn a blind eye to local corruption. Prosecutors can lie to juries for a win. The criminal justice system should not be considered a sporting event. Human lives are affected by an attorneys’ behavior and schemes for a win.
Judges are party to the local schemes and corruption. When the judge acts as a yes person for the prosecution and prevents the public defender the ability to provide an adequate defense, justice is not served.
Once the public defender was assigned, within 6 months a trial occurred. The prosecutor showed absolutely no interest in the case because she had a corrupt tape to sell. Even though the tape did not coincide with documented and known history, the prosecutor was able to lie to a jury for a win. A case with no evidence or DNA evidence was twisted by a corrupt system, concluding with taking away a law-abiding citizen’s freedom.
Welcome to Hernando County, Florida, where injustice is legal.
Public awareness of our judicial system is needed in the age of mass incarceration. During election season, not much information is shared with the …
Corruption In The Age Of Mass Incarceration
Public awareness of our judicial system is needed in the age of mass incarceration. During election season, not much information is shared with the public about candidates running for judge or district attorney. The courthouse is a government entity that should be held accountable to the public.
For many years I lived in Hernando County, Florida. I became aware of the corruption that lurks within the walls of the Courthouse of Brooksville, Florida. One horror story after the other with details hidden from the public. The local media reports come from the angle of the prosecution. I witnessed courtroom events, communicated with people about their cases, and heard from residents that lived in the area for generations. The system is a mess because generational families have established a local system to be just the way they like it.
There was a prosecutor that is now a judge who at her time as a prosecutor railroaded cases through the system for a win. I know this because I saw first hand cases proceeding from pre-trial to trial. A corrupt tape was all that was needed to railroad any case and detectives dutifully provided it to the prosecution.
I became familiar with the interrogation procedure while stationed in the Coast Guard investigations office as a yeoman. The special agents always performed investigative work after an interrogation to verify information attained through the interrogation. Hernando County detectives skipped that particularly crucial step after their interrogations. The detectives were permitted to edit the interrogation tape prior to sending it to the prosecutor. The prosecutor was able to further edit the tape prior to trial. The prosecutor is given absolute immunity, therefore, not accountable for railroading citizens into the prison system. How this remains legal is mind boggling.
Knowing this prosecutor now sits on the bench as a judge is infuriating. The prosecutor’s role is to hold those who commit crime accountable, not anyone and everyone, whether a crime is committed or not.
Further, in a case I was familiar with, the created tape clearly showed that it did not coincide with documented history, yet that fact did not matter. A jury was fed false information from the prosecution and that is permissible by law. Sadly, many people sit on juries with a belief that the case they are hearing was fully investigated.
The detectives and the prosecutor appeared to have a sick relationship based on railroading citizens into the for-profit prison system never considering the people they were setting up have loved ones, families, and friends. Absolute immunity is responsible for corrupt entities to harm who knows how many lives for a win.
It is horrifying to think the sense of entitlement held by detectives and prosecutors who intentionally fabricate evidence and sell it to a jury. The media reports this falsehood as if it were true. We are aware of cases where wrongful convictions were later overturned that the original media accounts were false. A person was slandered, and freedom taken away because the prosecution wanted a win.
How is it possible to fix a corrupt system that is put together just the way they like it?
A system so corrupt from within that guilt or innocence no longer matter, is so far removed from any semblance of a real justice system. The for-profit prisons require 90 percent full bed capacity. Each day as the corrupt freely engages in life, there are many whose life was harmed for a win. I saw first hand a corrupt prosecutor freely engage in corrupt behavior that concluded with a life sentence in one case and thirty years in another. The price paid for not accepting her plea deal. A corrupt tape with no evidence was all that was needed to destroy a life. The governor later appointed this corrupt prosecutor to the judgeship. It’s a sick world we live in where the corrupt are rewarded for their destructive behavior and given the title; The Honorable Judge.
Corruption and deception within the judicial system remain unchallenged if the public is not watching. Listening to people share their case, frustrations, and knowledge of judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and local attorneys is needed on a large scale by the public. Judges and prosecutors are shielded by absolute immunity. Most citizens are unfamiliar with the corruption that exists within their local jurisdiction. We the people are seen as a commodity for the for-profit prison system. Due process becomes a failure when corrupt prosecutors and judges are not held accountable.
During elections little is known about attorneys and Judges running for election or reelection. It’s a secret environment; yet it holds vast power over those in their jurisdiction with no accountability for itself.
Absolute immunity enabled the system to be manipulated into an unaccountable corrupt entity. How can “we the people” undo years of corruption and unaccountability?
For one thing, media reports what it gets from law enforcement and the prosecution. We have learned through wrongful convictions that were later overturned; the original articles were false! Misconduct occurred either through law enforcement, the prosecutor, the judge or all three.
We need to put an end to absolute immunity now! There should be no immunity for those in positions of power who with intent decide to abuse that position of power.
Dolores Peers 