A Bullet Free Sky
I want to introduce you to a truly thankful man. His name is Richard Smeraldo of Clearwater, Florida. After you hear his story, I promise, you will never forget it. Richard, a happy-go-lucky 74, has...
View ArticlePregnancy in America Not So Jolly Good
Well, well, well. Kate Middleton, a.k.a. the Duchess of Cambridge, is expecting a baby! Her husband, Prince William is reported to be ecstatic. The people of Great Britain are utterly delighted that...
View ArticleAmerica Left This Marine Behind
Note: See UPDATES to this story below. By the time you read this I earnestly hope that ex-Marine Lance Corporal Jon Hammar is a free man. I hope that our State Department has stepped up to help...
View ArticleWe Need to Shift Thinking on Mass Murder
In a study just presented to congress the Congressional Research Service concludes, “the estimated total number of firearms available to civilians in the United States (is) approximately 310 million:...
View ArticleA Crime and Justice Wish List for 2013
Where do I even begin with my annual Wish List for the New Year? Because the fog of despair still hangs over us from the elementary school shooting in Connecticut – and because the list of individually...
View ArticleWanted: A Revolution in Citizen’s Thinking
If you haven’t seen the new movie Les Miserables, you must. It is a staggeringly powerful presentation of revolution in 19th Century France and once you see it you will never forget it. The haunting...
View ArticleAmerica Needs a Revolution – Part II
Sometimes a columnist touches a raw nerve. I did that last week with my call for a citizen’s “Revolution in Thinking” about how we allow our politicians to operate. Using lyrics from Les Miserable,...
View ArticleAmerica’s Immigration Mess – The Next Big Issue?
~ In the midst of national debates on fiscal cliffs and gun control could this also be the time to tackle our immigration woes? ~ Let’s be honest and agree that U.S. immigration policy is a complete...
View ArticleOpen Up DNA Databases To All
The scene: A criminal courtroom anywhere in America. The players: A judge, a prosecutor, a defense attorney and the accused. The assumption: That all parties involved enjoy a level playing toward the...
View ArticleAmerica’s Homegrown Killing Fields
It has been a long time since the first postal worker went postal back in 1983. Since then America has endured countless other mass shootings. But, the tragedy at Newtown, Connecticut was supposed to...
View ArticleMandatory Drug Tests – For Kids?
There’s a community wide conversation going on in Kansas City, Missouri that should also be taking place around the country. It has to do with high school kid’s use of drugs and alcohol. The...
View ArticleFamilies Deserve to Know When Loved Ones’ Organs Are Kept
The worldwide headlines say it all. From the United Kingdom: “Pathologist ‘Stockpiled Children’s Organs.’” In Canada, the headline: “Ontario Service Has 4,000 Autopsy Organs, Unmatched to Families.”...
View ArticleWelcome
"My columns here are always different. Sometimes I'll simply tell you a story. Sometimes I'll share my opinions, praise or criticism, other times I'll hold a mirror up to our society and ask you to...
View ArticleCalming the Volume of TV
Don’t look now but we have another new law on the books. This one has the soothing acronym “The Calm Act.” That’s short for The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act. In layman’s terms it...
View ArticleThe Papal Conclave: Time for the Church to Clean Up Its Act
It is no secret. The Catholic Church is in crisis with many of its priests charged with un-Godly crimes. There seems to be no end to the reports of sex abuse of children, sex scandals within the ranks...
View ArticleCrime Rates Are Down – But Why?
If you follow the news you’ve heard that violent crime rates are down all across the country. I know it is hard to believe after news of mass shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, Aurora, Colorado and the...
View ArticleWhen Internet Fantasies Become Criminal
The “Cannibal Cop” Case was not really about free speech. But it raises the question: When Does Internet Fantasy Become Criminal? In case you hadn’t heard about it – it was a bizarre criminal case...
View ArticleHey, Steubenville: Where Was Everyone?
“There are crimes very similar to this that occur every Friday night and every Saturday night in communities across this country….” Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine Many of us watched...
View ArticleLet ALL Jurors Ask Questions!
I have sat in many courtrooms during my career and studiously watched the faces of jurors listening to evidence in cases ranging from murder and rape to assault and political corruption. I’ve strained...
View ArticleJudges Act for Justice
We often hear people associated with the criminal justice system complain about how it works – or fails to work. Prosecutors, defense attorneys, police and social workers all cite specifics that they...
View Article
