Trial begins this week in Superior Court for Capt. Gualter Botas, 39, of Pawtucket, and Lt. Kenneth J. Viveiros, 56, of North Providence. The two ACI Correctional Officers face seven counts and four counts, respectively, of simple assault involving four inmates. Edward Fitzpatrick reports for the ProJo:

During Superior Court testimony on Wednesday and Thursday, former inmate Matthew S. Gumkowski testified that Botas “sucker-punched” him after he made a vulgar suggestion to the captain on June 8, 2005.

At the time, Gumkowski, 27, of East Greenwich, was serving sentences on drug delivery and weapon possession charges, and he was caught with a $20 bill at the minimum-security facility. Paper currency is prohibited at the prison unless inmates are on work release. […] Gumkowski said the punch landed near his right eye and cheek bone and he began bleeding. “It was split open,” he said. “He threw some napkins at me and said, ‘Go ahead and do something and I’ll call a code.’ […]

In February 2007, District Court Judge Madeline Quirk found Botas, Viveiros and correctional officer Ernest Spaziano guilty of assaulting Gonzalez, an inmate who was serving a sentence on a drug conviction. The three officers appealed their convictions to Superior Court. Spaziano, 40, of Burrillville, was the first to go to trial in Superior Court, and earlier this year he was found not guilty of assaulting Gonzalez. Now, Botas and Viveiros are receiving a Superior Court trial. Originally, the trial was to include allegations that Botas forced inmate Michael Walsh to taste his own feces.

But Michael J. Healey, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, said Procaccini granted a defense motion to sever that allegation from the others. He said the judge told prosecutors they could either try all the allegations at once while not using evidence that Walsh was “allegedly made to eat his own feces” — or they could use that evidence and try the Walsh allegation separately. Prosecutors chose to have a separate trial.

So, yeah. COs, meet my friend, Justice. Play nice, boys.

Prisons are supposed to make us safer, right? Prisons are supposed to be places of rehabilitation, reflection, and order, right? The AP reports:

CRANSTON, R.I. (AP) - An inmate at the state prison is facing a felony assault charge for allegedly beating another prisoner. George Ortiz is scheduled to be arraigned in District Court in Warwick on Monday afternoon on a charge of felony assault. He’s serving a sentence for domestic assault.

Ortiz is accused of assaulting Robert Bainter during a fight Friday in the prison’s minimum security building. Bainter was taken to Rhode Island Hospital with a serious head injury and was listed in critical condition. The Rhode Island State police are investigating the incident and say some kind of argument between the two led to the assault.

The ProJo says:

State police Maj. Stephen O’Donnell said yesterday that on July 4, Ortiz and Robert Bainter, 20, got into an argument, and then Ortiz hit Bainter in the head three times. Bainter fell, striking his head and suffering severe head trauma, O’Donnell said.

Apparently, Ortiz assaulted Bainter with a sock full of Combination Locks.  Do our inmates have rights to life, safety, and security? Yes, and this tragedy underscores the ways in which the hollow austerity of the ACI does little to rehabilitate offenders and disregards the well-being of it inmates.

Last night, Ari and I watched Elia Kazan’s 1947 classic A Gentleman’s Agreement, the story of a journalist, P. Schuyler Green (Gregory Peck), who pretends to be Jewish for a magazine series on anti-Semitism. When his son, Tommy, faces hateful words at school, Green is forced to explain to him what it means to be a Jew, and the importance of the separation of church and state. His simple words in explaining the Jeffersonian idea to Tommy drive home the simplicity of this idea, even in 1947. Have we made backwards strides?

Tommy: What’s anti-Semitism?
Phil: Well, uh, that’s when some people don’t like other people just because they’re Jews.
Tommy: Why not? Are Jews bad?
Phil: Well, some are and some aren’t, just like with everyone else.
Tommy: What are Jews, anyway?
Phil: Well, uh, it’s like this. Remember last week when you asked me about that big church, and I told you there are all different kinds of churches? Well, the people who go to that particular church are called Catholics, and there are people who go to different churches and they’re called Protestants, and there are people who go to different churches and they’re called Jews, only they call their churches temples or synagogues.
Tommy: Why don’t some people like those?
Phil: Well, that’s a tough one to explain, Tommy. Some people hate Catholics, and some hate Jews.
Tommy: And no one hates us ’cause we’re Americans?
Phil: Well, no, that’s another thing again. See, you can be an American and a Catholic, or an American and a Protestant, or an American and a Jew. But look, Tommy, it’s like this: one thing’s your country, see like America or France or Germany or Russia. The flag is different, and the uniform is different, and the language is different. […] But the other thing is religion, like the Jewish or the Catholic or the Protestant religion, see that hasn’t anything to do with the flag, or the uniform, or the airplanes. Got it?
Tommy: Yup!

Now change “Jew” to “Muslim,” and we’ve got a lesson pertinent to most present-day Americans.

As I mentioned in a prior post about the Garrahy Judicial Complex, I’ve been spending a lot of time lately in that facility’s Courtroom 4C, where arraignments for RI’s 6th District take place. The judges at arraignment give a shpiel about the meaning and consequences of a plea whenever someone pleads out at that stage of the game, and I often take much of that shpiel for granted.

An important part of what they must instruct the defendants is that any criminal conviction or guilty plea will affect any immigration status or proceedings. For many, this means that deportation is inevitable. One thing missing from the shpiel, however, is consideration of how a guilty plea and prison sentence will affect the defendant’s status in Family Court. All too often, defendants are counseled to accept a shorter sentence with time served only to be served with Family Court subpoenas on charges of neglect—neglect that occurs while these parents are behind bars—or deportation papers.

Colorlines magazine has a great piece this month on the intersection of systems—namely immigration, incarceration, and foster care. In “ When an Immigrant Mom Gets Arrested,” Julianne Ong Hing and Seth Wessler write:

Immigrant mothers are not the first to deal with the ways that different government agencies intersect, usually to their detriment. The experiences Black families have had with child welfare and criminal justice policy make clear what can happen to communities when family policy intersects with a set of other punitive policies.

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The honorable Matt Jerzyk has a post to this effect over at RIFuture, as does Sir Ian McKellen Donnis at N4N, but I feel the need to reiterate: what’s up with the AG? While 42 other attorneys general signed on to support the Free Flow of Information Act, which would create a qualified federal shield law for reporters, Patrick Lynch did not. Lynch, who on June 19 was elected president of the National Association of Attorneys General, does justice (no pun intended) to that organization’s alias: the National Association of Aspiring Governors.

I think a lot of Rhode Islanders take for granted an important lil’ Rhody anomaly: most states have district attorneys and attorneys general, these being two distinct positions and offices. We’re small enough that the two positions are lumped into one office. Our attorneys general, therefore, spend the majority of their time and energy prosecuting criminals and upholding severe criminal justice policies rather than representing the larger interests of all our citizens.

In March, I was privileged to attend the 11th Annual Liman Public Interest Colloquium at the Yale Law School. In keeping with the topic of the conference—”Liman at the Local Level: Public Interest Advocacy and American Federalism”—we had the opportunity to hear from Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Ohio Solicitor General William Marshall, San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera, and James Tierney, Director of the National State Attorneys General Program. These four fellows have used their positions as state and city attorneys to compensate for the failings, negligence, and misguided decisions of the federal government and judiciary.

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Wild Colonial Tavern - 250 South Water Street - Providence - 401. 621.5644, 5:00 to 7:00 PM

Eat, Drink and Be MERI

Why? Come and support MERI and indulge in free pool, free darts, and free appetizers. Cash bar. You’ll have the chance to win some great raffle prizes, including season passes to Festival Ballet, tickets to Trinity Rep, gift certificates to Blaze, Parkside, City Gardens and much more! Support for MERI’s advocacy work is worth the price of admission and more. Wild Colonial is a great bar, MERI is a great cause.

Ticket Price? $10.00 in advance. Pay on line at www.eqfed.org/meri/events/Be_MERI $15.00 at the door.

Ticket price helps MERI continue its lobbying and advocacy work. Because of the political nature of our work, your ticket price is not tax-deductible. Marriage Equality RI is a grassroots organization that works to secure equal marriage rights for ALL Rhode Island couples, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. MERI’s goal is to secure access to state-issued marriage licenses for all Rhode Island couples by June 2011.

Today the Senate Judiciary committee passed S3014, by Rhoda Perry. The bill has been discussed at length here and elsewhere: Essentially, it’d ensure that people weren’t put in prison for offenses for which they were ‘violated’ but never convicted.

Rhode Island’s probation violation structures are way out of the mainstream — among the two or three most regressive in the nation.

Several people testified over the course of 90 minutes or so, among them many relatives of people who are behind bars for crimes for which they’ve never been convicted: So compelling was their testimony that the committee, extraordinarily, passed the legislation upon its first hearing.

The House version of the bill, of which I’m the sponsor, passed overwhelmingly several weeks ago, and is also before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Congrats to DARE, the Family Life Center, the Public Defender’s office, and others who’ve advocated around this issue. And a sincere thank you to Senator Perry and her colleagues.

  I just popped by the Bannister Gallery at Rhode Island College, which I sort of assumed wouldn’t even be running a show during the summer, and was pleasantly surprised to come across Protest, a show featuring photographer LeRoy Henderson that will be up through early July.

Henderson shows the struggles of Americans as they take to the streets, in New York and Washington, to protest both the Vietnam and Iraq wars.  The banners and slogans are worth documenting, but the most interesting part of the black-and-white photos are the people holding them.  Who, for instance, are the two made-up women in 2005 holding the Billionaires For Bush signs?   Or the woman from 1969 with the sign that says “Give me one good reason I should fight in Vietnam. Arm black men to fight for freedom in America.”  The most striking images, though, are the ones that aren’t easy to place–a man kneeling in a field, or a shadowy figure with sunglasses.

The photographs question the protesting individual.  A man lies face-down on the ground while a dopey-looking cop stands over him, but the demonstrators in the background look like confused tourists more than anything.  And the Billionaires For Bush are interesting, but are they really as striking as the groups of Iraq protesters hidden behind giant masks?

As a whole, the photographs raise interesting questions about the nature of political demonstration: after the sixties, can Americans demonstrate without seeming unoriginal?  After public protests about Vietnam didn’t work, does the public even listen to protesters anymore?

Beth’s probably got the most reason to worry:

• Putin has the last laugh - or none at all

• US blogger charged in Singapore over ‘prostituting’ comment

• Egypt blogger freed after ‘weeks of torture’

•  Chavez decree will force citizens to inform on each other?

UPDATE: Perhaps I don’t know my audience as well as I thought, but of course I support marriage equality, and am a co-sponsor of said legislation. The point is, NOM’s rhetoric is sufficiently ridiculous that to quote it is to mock it. Lesson learned. Original follows:

Just checked out the website for the ‘National Organization for Marriage’ RI website. Be warned:

In the next 2 years, if nothing changes, state legislatures in the Northeast are going to begin passing same-sex marriage: New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, as well as California. Even in Maine, gay advocates are telling their supporters just “three to five years.” Swiftly and soon, more than a third of Americans will be living under legal same-sex marriage regimes. Gay marriage will spread throughout the U.S. either by direct court actions and/or through cultural pressures.

And give their radio ad a listen, if you want to hear the plaintive cries of confused 9-year-olds:

Grandma, my teacher said if grandpa was a girl, that’s okay! You can still be married…

If my dad married a man, who would be my mom?

Much will be said and written about the career of Charlton Heston in the next few days and I have already told everyone to check out the excellent Ben-Hur, for which he won an Oscar. He also became known in recent years for his conservative politics and gun rights advocacy as president of the N.R.A. “[I’ll give you my gun when you pry it] from my cold, dead hands” (makes me laugh every time). But let’s remember that he started out as a democrat and marched on Washington in 1963 with Martin Luther King, Jr., and, seen here, Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte. This was not necessarily a popular position with his particular fan base. He was always his own man.

From Kim Ahern at RIFuture:

While other states in the country are passing Constitutional Amendments to ban same sex marriages, civil unions and even as far as contracts between same sex couples - New England has turned into a bastion of equality and rights. From Massachusetts’s landmark decision in Goodridge to Connecticut currently taking up the case if there is a legal difference between civil unions and marriage - why has New England (with the notable exception of Rhode Island) been such a unique place for LGBT equality?

Come learn more at Roger Williams School of Law, in what is bound to be a provocative discussion involving a fantastic panel and keynote:

What: The Culture of Same Sex Marriage Symposium

Where: Roger Williams School of Law (Bristol, RI)

When: Friday, March 28 from Noon - 4:45PM.

Panel 1: The Same-Sex Marriage Debate in the State of Rhode Island

Panel 2: Civil Unions v. Marriage in New England

Cost: Free! Includes lunch and wine and cheese reception following the panels. However - if you are an attorney and would like to receive the 5 CLE credits available, the cost for that is $25. Co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Lesbian and Gay Bar Association and the RWU Law Alliance for LGBT Students.

Click HERE to register and to read more about the Keynote Address [ David Wilson - original plaintiff in Goodridge and Board Member of both HRC and Mass Equality] and each of the panelists!

Liberal columnist and two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Anthony Lewis, will be speaking Wednesday, March 19th, at the Roger Williams University School of Law. Following the lecture, Mr. Lewis will sign copies of his books, including Freedom For the Thought We Hate. (Turns out the First Amendment was designed for guys like Ralph Papitto. But shunning is still pretty effective.)

lecture March 19/starts 5PM/ RWU School of Law rm 283

RSVP by March 12 to Barbara Slover whose email addy is, I kid you not, bslover@rwu.edu. Or call (401) 254-4573.

RIFuture has coverage of the legislative package that we unveiled at the Assembly today:

Rep. Grace Diaz, Sen. Juan Pichardo, Sen. Charles Levesque, Rep. David Segal, and Rep. Joe Almeida will join Immigrants United at a news conference to unveil the Campaign for Fairness, Respect and Civil Rights - a legislative platform that promotes racial and economic equality for every Rhode Islander.

The platform consists of 10 bills that promote community safety, civil rights and economic opportunity and strength. Attendees will include the International Institute of Rhode Island, the American Friends Service Committee; Comite de Inmigrantes en Accion; English for Action; Fuerza Laboral; Immigrant Students in Action; RI Jobs with Justice; Ocean State Action; Olneyville Neighborhood Association; Progreso Latino; R.I. Affiliate, ACLU and the R.I. Coalition Against Domestic Violence.