On September 11, 2001, terrorist activities killed nearly 3,000 people and wounded a nation. Nearly 400 of the dead were first responders trying to rescue those in need. Ceremonies will honor their memories in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, where they lost their lives.

In addition, we must honor the men and women who died serving our country in response to such acts. According to the Military Times Project Valor, over 6,800 service members have died in Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn.

There will be tributes given, names read, photos displayed, wreaths presented, memories relived, and tears shared. There will also be moments of silence. What do you think of during the silence? Who do you remember?

If you are too young to remember the events of that day, "eight personal stories of transformation" are available online at the 9/11 Tribute Center website (a project of the September 11th Families' Association).

As we remember the losses, we are faced with new terrorist threats. Perhaps we must also observe a moment of silence to consider how to best confront new threats of terrorism.

• How do we protect our country and our people without losing our identity as a free nation?
• How do we fight violence without becoming unrestrained aggressors?
• How do we root out enemies without filling with hatred?
  

Wishing you peace.


Articles on memorials:

Alcindor, Yamiche and John Bacon, "Lower Manhattan, the world mark 9/11 anniversary," USAToday.com, Sept. 11, 2014.

Berman, Mark, "Remembrances in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania on anniversary of 9/11 attacks," WashingtonPost.com, Sept. 11, 2014.

Blindner, rachelle and Jonathan Lemire (AP), "Nation remembers the fallen on anniversary of Sept. 11 Attack," LawOfficer.com, Sept. 11, 2014.

DEA4912 on YouTube, "Homeward Angels: A 9/11 Tribute," (Before & After, Responding & Collapse, Memorial), Mar. 25, 2013.

Voices of September 11th, VOICES 9/11 Memorial, accessed Sept. 11, 2014.

Cornealious "Mike" Anderson committed robbery with a BB gun on Aug. 15, 1999. He was found guilty of armed robbery in 2000 and sentenced to serve 13 years...but he didn't.

Nor did he run or hide from the law. In fact, he remained in the St. Louis, Missouri, area. He inquired about serving his sentence and was told to wait for the court's instructions on reporting to prison (Officer.com, April 17, 2014) .

So he waited...and waited.

Because of a clerical error, he wasn't contacted for years which postponed his sentence. Anderson simply lived his life. He married and raised children. He worked and paid taxes. He updated his drivers license and ran three different businesses.

About the time Anderson should have completed his sentence, the Missouri Department of Corrections found the error and had a SWAT team pick him up at his home. Then he had to fight to be released.

“I never felt like a fugitive," Anderson said, "because a fugitive's someone that's running from the law. I never ran from the law. I was there" (UPI.com).

Tim Lohmar, the current prosecutor told TODAY, "I believe that if we allowed somebody to avoid an incarceration sentence, it's just a slippery slope’’ (UPI.com/TODAY.com).

Over 35,000 signatures on Change.org called for the state of Missouri to release Anderson. He served nearly a year in prison while waiting for his hearing.

"Mississippi County Associate Circuit Judge Terry Lynn Brown needed just a 10-minute hearing before ruling that he was giving Anderson credit for time served for all 4,794 days between his conviction and when he was arrested last year" (Officer.com, May 6, 2014).

On May 5, 2014, Mike Anderson walked out of court a truly free man.


Resources:

Hastings, Deborah, "Missouri man who never served sentence awaits prison term after leading crime-free life," NYdailynews.com, April 15, 2014.

Salter, Jim, "Man freed in Mo. delayed imprisonment case," Officer.com, May 6, 2014.

Salter, Jim, "Missouri convict was never told to report to prison," Officer.com, April 17, 2014.

Sevcik, JC, "Man who didn't serve prison sentence due to clerical error arrested 15 years later," UPI.com, April 15, 2014.

Stump, Scott, "Man who never served prison sentence on clerical error awaits fate," Today.com, April 15, 2014.

A month after the surprising rescue of three women abducted long ago and one girl born into captivity in a Cleveland home, we can reflect on the courage of that day.

First, a standing ovation for Amanda Berry who found some way to get to the front door and gain the attention of neighbors on May 6, 2013. Despite the ever-present danger to her life, she saved her daughter, Gina DeJesus, Michele Knight, and herself.

A tribute to Amanda and her co-captives. While facing terror and deprivation, these young women garnered enough resiliency and courage to survive a ten- to twelve-year ordeal. "Three women found alive after a decade in captivity endured lonely, dark lives inside a dingy home where they were raped and allowed outside only a handful of times in disguises while walking to a garage steps away," www.officer.com.

A hug to Jocelyn (age 6), Amanda Berry's daughter born in captivity, who never knew any other life until last month. May she know the pleasures of freedom and childhood that were kept from her for her first six years.

Cheers to the families of the missing girls turned women who suffered for so long and yet, as much as circumstances allowed, dared to hope for a miracle. Thankfully that miracle came.

A huge high-five to neighbor Charles Ramsey, and possibly other neighbors, who responded to things that didn't look or sound right at 2207 Seymour Avenue. Thank you for taking action.

A salute to the officers who first responded to the scene: Anthony Espada, Barbara Johnson, Michael Tracy, Michael Simon, John Graves, Matt Cavanaugh, and the rest of the Cleveland Police Department. Three of the officers described finding the missing women and the impact on themselves in the video, "Cleveland Patrol Officers Recount Finding Missing Women." When Michelle Knight ran from Officer Espada to Officer Johnson, she grabbed hold of Johnson and said, "Please don't let me go. Please don't let me go." They didn't.

An apology to the family of the accused in this abduction and torture case. If only the accusations and blame could be washed away and directed only where they belong...only toward the one man accused of these crimes, Ariel Castro.

Kudos to the Cleveland community which is doing what it can for these crime survivors in the wake of the tragedy. They have initiated the Cleveland Courage Fund for the four victims of this series of crimes. It will provide financial support now and into the future. An Ohio lawmaker has proposed a bill that would provide abduction survivors with a lifetime of medical care, a college education, and $25,000 annually, (www.abcnews.go.com). I hope the community will also help protect the privacy of these four survivors.

Elizabeth Smart, who had been held captive for nine months as a teenager, told Good Morning America, "I think it’s so important to respect their privacy to try to help give them every chance they can to find their own way, to find their own pathway back to some sense of well-being," www.latimes.com

Jaycee Dugard, a woman who had been abducted as a child and then held captive for 18 years, made this statement to the LA Times: "These individuals need the opportunity to heal and connect back into the world...This isn't who they are. It is only what happened to them. The human spirit is incredibly resilient. More then ever this reaffirms we should never give up hope."

May the survivors begin their life-long recovery while the justice system continues the process of investigating and prosecuting the accused for his unconscionable acts.

Two ways you can act:

• Cleveland Courage Fund: Make a direct contribution to the four who suffered most from this series of crimes. One-hundred percent of the funds will go to the three women and one child allegedly held captive by Castro. The fund had $850,000 as of June 7, 2013. Donate here: http://www.clevelandfoundation.org/about/cleveland-courage-fund/
• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: Support the NCMEC in its ongoing efforts to locate missing children in the United States. You can help in many ways. Donate funds, stay informed, and/or spread the word about missing children in your area. Learn more here: http://www.missingkids.com/home

Resources:

Andolsen, Rita, "Cleveland Courage Fund Continues to Grow," www.wkyc.com, 6/7/2013.

Barr, Meghan, "More Details Come to Light in Ohio Kidnappings," www.officer.com, 5/9/2013.

Kiska, Paul, "Cleveland Courage Fund for Gina, Michelle, Amanda Climbs to $750,000 With More Ways to Help," www.newsnet5.com, 5/28/2013.

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, "Statement from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children on Recent Ohio Recovery," www.missingkids.com, 5/7/2013.

Ng, Christina, "Abducted Cleveland Women Bill Would Provide Them an Income, Education and Health Care," www.abcnews.go.com, 6/5/2013.

Pearce, Matt, "Elizabeth Smart, Jaycee Dugard React to Cleveland Kidnapping," www.latimes.com, 5/7/2013.

Plain Dealer staff, "Cleveland Police Video Interviews Officers Who Rescued Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight," www.cleveland.com, 5/17/2013.

Yenko, Athena, "Police Recounts Emotional Cleveland Rescue of Amanda Berry, Gina de Jesus, Michelle Knight," www.au.ibtimes.com, 5/20/2013.

"He did it," the witness proclaims from the stand. Eyewitness testimony sways juries...but what if there is no other evidence against the accused? Should it hold enough weight to convict?

You have seen countless police lineups on TV shows and movies. The practice of bringing in one suspect along with four or five "fillers" and lining them up along a wall marked with heights is being questioned by research findings and defence lawyers. Everything about which persons/images are chosen for a lineup and how they are presented affects the likelihood of witnesses selecting the real culprit rather than identifying an innocent person.

In practice, police rarely bring in live people for a lineup. It is much more common for a photo lineup to be used. I remember pulling together 6-packs for some of my cases years ago. This was a term used to describe a single page showing the photos of six possible suspects at one time. Research now suggests that there are two big problems with the procedure I used: the method and the administrator.

Whether using live people or photographic images, there are two primary methods of presenting a group of possible suspects to a witness. They are simultaneous and sequential. The simultaneous method, as pictured in the silly photo above, shows all of the five or six possible suspects to the witness at one time. The problem: people tend to compare the faces to each other. Even if the perpetrator is not in the lineup, the witness is inclined to choose the closest match.

"While we like to think that our eyes won't mislead us, mistaken eyewitness identification accounts for more than 70% of wrongful convictions that are ultimately overturned by...more objective DNA evidence" (Time.com). 

The sequential lineup method, shows each suspect individually. The witness is forced to compare the person  to his/her memory, rather than to people next to them. According to David Harris of the University of Pittsburgh Law School, "Agencies should bring in suspects one at a time" (Minnesota.publicradio.org). However, he is not suggesting that the suspect should be the only person presented to the witness.

Maurice Caldwell spent 20 years in prison for murder based on eyewitness testimony. Of four witnesses, only one identified him, but that one identification persuaded the jury despite a lack of physical or forensic evidence. Caldwell was seen in the area after the crime was reported. Police brought him to the witness and they asked her if he was the man she had seen. The process confirmed in her mind that he was involved in the crime (CBSlocal.com).

According to a CBS affiliate in San Francisco, "Even without realizing it, an investigator can send nonverbal cues to the eyewitness." It may be a deep breath, the way they lean, or a facial expression. The one way to completely guard against this influence is to have an uninvolved officer administer a sequential lineup.

A police officer who does not know which image is the actual suspect cannot manipulate the witness's response. This is called a double-blind lineup. Dallas police have taken this to the extreme. They have a special unit that does only lineups. They are not involved in investigations and therefore will not influence the witnesses. They have specialized training and follow written procedures for each lineup that include showing photos sequentially (NYTimes.com).

It is imperative that a move toward double-blind, sequential lineups be made standard practice. For more details, you can watch a segment of Rock Center called "Photo ID: Are Police Lineups Reliable?" at this link.

When Caldwell's case was reopened, another man came forward and confessed to the murder. Caldwell is now arguing that his civil rights were violated in a lawsuit against the city of San Francisco. It is unconscionable that a murder case had even gone to trial with so little evidence.

Next week: More of the latest research findings on eyewitness identifications.


Sources:

• CBS 5, "Man Wrongly Convicted In SF Murder Questions Police Lineups," Sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com, 5-7-2012.
• Goode, Erica and John Schwartz, "Police Lineups Start to Face Fact: Eyes Can Lie," NYTimes.com, 8-28-2011.
• Guy, Shoshana, "Police Photo Lineups Challenged after Series of Wrongful Convictions," Rock Center, 4-4-2012.
• Szalavitz, Maria, "How to Improve Police Lineups and ID the Right Culprit," Time.com, 9-4-2012.
• Weber, Tom, "Do We Do Police Lineups Correctly?" Minnesota.publicradio.org, 11-8-2012.

President Barack Obama pardoned the national Thanksgiving turkey(s) today. This ceremonial pardoning is a lighthearted event. The more serious constitutional role of granting clemency to people gives presidents a role in the judicial system. Presidents have varied in their application of the power to pardon. Some of their choices have run afoul of public opinion.

A full pardon officially removes all records of punishment and guilt, thereby restoring constitutional rights to formerly convicted felons. Presidents can act on any federal crimes, while lower-level offenses may be granted clemency at the state level, usually by governors. (USBlawg.com) The power has been used to help heal the nation. Other times it has been used for purely personal or political reasons.

According to Northern Public Radio, White House spokesman Matt Lehrich stated, "President Obama takes his constitutional power to grant clemency very seriously, and each recommendation received from the Department of Justice is carefully reviewed and evaluated on the merits." (Northernpublicradio.org)

Apparently most recommendations haven't measured up to Obama's standards. P.S. Ruckman Jr., a political scientist at Rock Valley College, reports the rate of pardons granted by the past five presidents (Northernpublicradio.org):

• Ronald Reagan: 1 in 8
• George H.W. Bush 1 in 19
• Bill Clinton: 1 in 16
• George W. Bush: 1 in 55
• Barack Obama: 1 in 290

Why do our two most recent presidents appear so stingy? In part, the number of recommendations continues to grow. Also, many pardons are made at the end of a presidency, so we'll have to recheck Obama's rate at the end of his term in office. If you'd like to request clemency from the president, follow this link to the Department of Justice.

The king of last minute pardons was Bill Clinton. On his last day in office, he served up 140 pardons (USBlawg.com), some of which were highly controversial.

Of the presidential pardons, here are a few of the biggest turkeys, based on the level of public acceptance:

Like Andrew Johnson's pardon of all who had served on the side of the Confederacy during the Civil War, President Jimmy Carter wanted to help the nation mend. However, his pardon of those who had evaded the military draft during the Vietnam War was not as well received (About.com).

In another bid in the name of healing the nation, a highly controversial pardon was granted to former president Richard Nixon for anything he might have done or might be accused of having done during the years of the Watergate scandal (About.com).

Nixon issued questionable pardons of his own. He pardoned Jimmy Hoffa who had been convicted of jury tampering and fraud. Hoffa supported Nixon's re-election bid in 1972 and then disappeared in 1975 (Time.com).

Ronald Reagan also had a couple doozies. One went to George Steinbrenner, former Yankees owner who had plead guilty to obstructing justice and making illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon. Another went to Junior Johnson, an early NASCAR superstar, who had served a federal sentence for running moonshine (CNN.com).

President George H.W. Bush received criticism by some in 1992 when he pardoned former Secretary of State Caspar Weinberger and five other Reagan administration officials for their roles in the Iran-Contra Affair (About.com).

Bill Clinton's last-day pardons included one for his half-brother, Roger Clinton, who had been found guilty of cocaine distribution. Another was given to financier and tax-evader Marc Rich. This was noteworthy since Rich's ex-wife had donated to Clinton's presidential campaign and library (Discovery.com).

No wonder many pardons aren't made until the president is heading out of public office. Yet, no matter how much criticism a pardon receives, it will stand. A president's power to pardon goes unchecked by any other branch of government.

"It's conceivable that the Founding Fathers were not worried about giving one individual such absolute authority, as the U.S. Constitution as originally written specified only treason, piracy and counterfeiting as federal crimes. After more than 200 years of growth in the government, approximately 4,500 criminal offenses are under the jurisdiction of the federal government" (Investopdedia.com).

There have been many thousands of presidential pardons handed down, some for the good of the country and a sense of justice, some, it would appear, for the good of the pardoner and his partners. Since it is a U.S. holiday, maybe we should just grin at Obama's pardon of the Thanksgiving turkey.

Resources:

Clark, Josh, "How Presidential Pardons Work," Howstuffworks.com, (accessed 11-20-2012).
Discovery Channel, "Which Presidential Pardons have been Controversial?" Discovery.com, (accessed 11-21-2012).
Fox, Eric, "Notorious Presidential Pardons," Investopedia.com, 9-24-2012.
Gill, Kathy, "Controversial Presidential Pardons," About.com, 1-3-2009.
Institute of Government Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, "Presidential Pardons," NYTimes.com, (accessed 11-21-2012).
JRO, "Controversies in Pardons and Commutations of Sentences," USBlawg.com, 8-6-2012.
Shapiro, Ari, "Tough Turkey: People Have a Harder Time Getting Pardons Under Obama," Northernpublicradio.org, 11-20-2012.
Time Magazine, "Notorious Presidential Pardons," Time.com, (accessed 11-21-2012).
Trex, Thand, "11 Notable Presidential Pardons," CNN.com, 1-5-2009.

Let's hope that in the post-election U.S., our Congress will find a way to do the work of the people, rather than the work of the parties or big-money donors. There is something wrong when politicians entrench themselves and essentially refuse to do the messy job of negotiating...that thing that legislators used to do for us. They need to respect their fellow members of Congress and the voters who sent them there.

"Words like freedom, justice and democracy are not common concepts; on the contrary, they are rare. People are not born knowing what these are. It takes enormous, and above all, individual effort to arrive at the respect for other people that these words imply."

--James Baldwin
Author & Civil Rights Activist

Muster any patriotic energy you have left after the elections and devote some to honoring our service members this Veterans Day. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) suggests five ways to show our support:

1. Fly the United States Flag
2. Make Your Voice Heard Regarding Military Benefits
3. Find Your Local VFW and Participate in Events
   
4. Visit a VA Hospital
5. Make a Donation

There are numerous charities sponsored by organizations such as the VFW and the American Legion. Examples include Help Heroes Call Home (VFW) and Operation Comfort Warriors (Legion).

Low on money? You could work with your family, school, or organization to generate cards for the Holiday Mail for Heroes program operated by the American Red Cross.

Holiday Mail for Heroes is a simple project that spreads cheer to service members at hospitals and installations around the world. Hurry and get them sent off by the first of December. Follow this link for the guidelines.

Please add your favorite charities or events in the comments. Find your own way to celebrate Veterans Day.

Thank you to all who serve or have served and their families!

• Ways to Give Back to Veterans, Military.com
  
• 2011 Veterans Day Ceremony - Arlington National Cemetery, Video, November 11, 2011
• History of Veterans Day, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, November 10, 2009