"I'm not no prison escapee"

Prison Escapee Convinces Cop He is Actually a Jogger



In this week's New Yorker, there is an article about Richard McNair. McNair may be America's most prolific escapee (bot state and federal). In fact, he is the first person to escape from a maximum security federal prison in thirteen years.

This escape occurred last April when he was being held at USP Pollock in Lousiana. McNair escaped from Pollock by configuring himself within a shrink-wrapped pallet of U.S. Postal Service mailbags that had been refurbished by the prison's inmates. McNair used a snorkel-like cardboard tube to breathe. After the truck that contained the pallet was beyond the fence of the prison, McNair broke through and began running.

Later that day, a local police officer who was on the lookout for McNair actually stopped him "jogging" parrallel to the town's railroad tracks.

The officer stopped McNair and began to question him. The dash-cam of the officer's car captured the "investigation." Needless to say, he talks himself out of arrest.

Jose Padilla - Terrorist or Thug?

By Marc David Seitles

Interesting article in the Miami New Times about Jose Padilla. Author Trevor Aaronson gathered the information for this story from the federal courthouse in Miami, the Broward State Attorney’s Office, and through conducting witness interviews. He concedes, however, that much of the federal government’s evidence against the alleged terrorist remains under seal.

Aaronson basically concludes that “[i]n portraying Padilla as an evil mastermind behind a plot to kill thousands, the federal government forgot one thing: He’s just a punk. Federal and state court records prove that much.” The article details Padilla’s past criminal history in Chicago, his marriage, his conversion to Islam, and his alleged travels to the Middle East.

Probably the most interesting part of the article is the section related to Padilla’s detention by the FBI in 2002 while leaving Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, and thereafter being declared “a continuing, present, and grave danger to the national security of the United States” by President George Bush.

While the article does not interview any of Padilla’s current lawyers, the author interviews Stephen Vladeck, who worked on the amicus brief that questioned the legality of Padilla’s detention at a navy brig. Mr. Vladeck claims that the government’s story has changed many times regarding Padilla’s role in this alleged terrorist conspiracy and he profoundly adds that “[w]hether Padilla is who the government says he is this time, whether he did what he’s charged with doing or not, there are scary ramifications for the American justice system.”

With very fine lawyers for both the government and the defense, it should be one heck of a trial.

"Cult leader Yahweh Ben Yahweh says he wants to die with dignity"

Curt Anderson has this interesting story about Mr. Yahweh's recent request to get off of supervision because he is dying. The case falls to Judge Marcia Cooke.

Jose Padilla on the offensive

The Federal Defender's Office has filed a number of motions on Jose Padilla's behalf, including a motion to dismiss for pre-indictment delay, a motion to dismiss for a violation of Padilla's speedy trial rights, and a motion to dismiss for outrageous government conduct. The motions have some extreme allegations, including saying the Padilla was tortured for three years because he was held in complete isolation. More to come after I've read them all.

Judge Prior says judiciary's independence not under attack

Despite the general agreement that our judiciary is under attack more than ever, Judge William Prior (on the 11th Circuit) wrote an op-ed, which starts out like this:

Recently some leaders of the bench and bar -- including, on this page last week, retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor -- have decried what they describe as unprecedented threats to the independence of the judiciary. I respectfully disagree.

You can read the whole thing here.