Home » Posts tagged "Abuse"

10,000 Signatures Needed to Bring Jailed Mom Home Before Christmas/Hanukkah; Victim of Spousal Abuse, Valerie Carlton Awaits a Decision From NYS Governor Cuomo on Extradition

10,000 Signatures Needed to Bring Jailed Mom Home Before Christmas/Hanukkah; Victim of Spousal Abuse, Valerie Carlton Awaits a Decision From NYS Governor Cuomo on Extradition













Valerie Carlton has been incarcerated and unable to see or communicate with her daughter since February 2009.


New City, New York (PRWEB) November 29, 2011

According to the Committee to Vindicate Valerie Carlton, in 2009, Valerie Carlton, a 40-year-old-mother, was indicted on 28 charges, including 15 felonies and incarcerated at the Harford County Detention Center where she was held on $ 10 million bail (Harford County Circuit Court Case #12K09000935 at http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us). According to court documents, after she had spent 13 months in solitary confinement, the County dropped all but one of the charges for lack of evidence, a misdemeanor protective order violation for sending an email to her daughter’s teacher.

Ms. Carlton now sits in jail in Rockland County, NY, awaiting extradition to Maryland on an assault charge that involved a scuffle with a guard during her incarceration (Harford County Circuit Court Case #12K10000473). Her supporters allege she is the victim of civil rights violations and a criminal justice system gone awry. They believe freeing her will require swift action and 10,000 signatures on a petition to Governor Andrew Cuomo. To read more and sign the petition visit: http://valeriecarlton.com/what-you-can-do.html

Ms. Carlton’s supporters allege that the 27 charges that were dropped for lack of evidence stemmed from a bitter divorce and custody battle (Harford County Circuit Court Case #12C04000452 at http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us) in which her ex-husband Russell Carlton was awarded custody of the couple’s daughter in 2007 even though, just a year before, he was convicted of domestic violence against Ms. Carlton (Bel Air District Court Case #4R00048668). His conviction was overturned on appeal (Harford County Circuit Court Case #12K05002327).

Ms. Carlton’s supporters allege that Russell Carlton is now seeking to terminate Ms. Carlton’s visitation and parental rights with their six-year-old daughter by bringing false allegations of sexual abuse against Ms. Carlton, who has not seen or spoken to her daughter in almost three years.

While in solitary for 13 months in the Harford County Detention Center, Ms. Carlton and at least four witnesses allege she was routinely tortured and abused. According to court documents, toward the end of her incarceration, she was allegedly accosted by a male guard who admitted that he put his hands on her, with no other guards present, in an attempt to lead her back to her cell. He claimed that she “became combative by pulling her arm away.” (http://valeriecarlton.com/incident_report.pdf). However, the following day, the guard allegedly changed his story and claimed that Ms. Carlton stabbed him with a pen when he tried to lead her to her cell. Regardless, she was charged with an assault against the guard, despite videotaped evidence showing that he tackled her, pummeled her, and smashed her head into a concrete wall three times.(http://youtu.be/oQN1jWn5P0Q).

Ms. Carlton was released from jail on June 30, 2010, pending the trial on the assault charge. Fearing for her life and safety, she traveled to New York and was subsequently arrested by U.S. Marshalls, leading to her current incarceration in the Rockland County jail.

A nationally recognized independent forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Mark J. Mills, strongly recommended (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/17180901/Affidavit%20from%20Psychiatrist%20for%20Valerie%20Carlton.doc) that Ms. Carlton not be kept in the Harford County Detention Center in light of the abuse she claims she has suffered there. This written recommendation was provided to Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland. However, no action was taken to prevent Ms. Carlton from being returned to the jail.

According to Philip Murphy, Esq, an attorney working on the case, she currently faces a potential sentence of up to ten years for assaulting a guard (Harford County Circuit Court Case #12K10000473). Yet, despite a videotape of her altercation with the guard and the fact that she was originally incarcerated with no evidence, no Maryland agency has examined the case, and she therefore awaits extradition while NYS Governor Cuomo’s office investigates the matter.

“All those who believe in our civil rights and our constitutional protections, the many victims of spousal abuse, those who have been harmed by persecution and injustice at the hands of a criminal justice system gone awry, please support Valerie Carlton’s fight for vindication and the right to see her only daughter by signing her Petition (http://www.change.org/petitions/the-governor-of-ny-stop-the-extradition-of-an-innocent-jewish-mother-from-ny-to-md),” stated Michael Ettinger, another attorney for Valerie Carlton.

On November 16, Rockland County Court Judge William A. Kelly denied bail for Valerie Carlton (County Court of the State of New York, County of Rockland, In Re the Matter of the Extradition of Valerie Carlton, the Judge is Hon. William A. Kelly, Supreme Court Justice) and postponed a decision until December 8th.

In order to assist Valerie Carlton in her fight to be free and see her daughter again, supporters have established a petition and are hoping to get enough signatures to give to NYS Governor Cuomo before Christmas/Hanukkah in order to get Valerie home. More information can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/VindicateValerieCarlton/ including links to the petition and links for contacting both the Governors of Maryland and New York. Additional information can be found at http://www.valeriecarlton.com.

###





















Vocus©Copyright 1997-

, Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.
Vocus, PRWeb, and Publicity Wire are trademarks or registered trademarks of Vocus, Inc. or Vocus PRW Holdings, LLC.







Posted on December 19, 2011 by , Reply

Animal Abuse – What Constitutes Cruelty?

Animal abuse or animal cruelty refers to ill treatment or substandard care that result in needless harm, distress, or suffering. Standards of animal abuse laws, implementation, and tolerance vary across the US. So conditions that constitute abuse are decided on a case-to-case basis.


For example, at least five issues have caused divided opinions among the American public.


1. Fur Farming

2. Factory Farming

3. Animal testing of cosmetic products

4. Medical research using animal subjects

5. Using animals (especially wild animals) in a rodeo or circus


Practices that are considered cruel in other countries, which are tolerated in the US, include tail docking, ear cropping, and the Geier Hitch (using a rope through a nose ring to herd livestock).


Welfare Vs. Rights


Perhaps one reason for the divided opinion of the American public over issues of what constitutes cruelty is the fact that two active animal advocacy movements have responded differently to the question.


Animal welfare advocates say that using animals for human gain may sometimes be justified. But they aim to work at both improving treatment and ending unwarranted suffering.

]]>




On the other hand, animal rights advocates believe that an animal has rights just like a human being. That is, each animal has a right NOT to be used for human gain. They work at stopping humans from handling animals like commodities.


Psychological Implications


As mentioned, animal abuse has far-reaching implications on the state of mind of the abuser. The FBI, for one, states that a history of animal abuse is a recurring trait in profiles of murderers and serial rapists.


Furthermore, studies have shown that children who are animal abusers are often victims of abuse themselves or have, at least, seen abuse committed against a member of their family.


The US Humane Society released findings from two studies to this effect: Around a third of families experiencing domestic violence had one child at least who’d hurt/killed a pet.


How Cruelty Is Dealt With in the US


Anyone involved in animal care and training in the US should check out the cornerstone legislation, Cruelty to Animals Act. The law focuses on minimum (rather than optimum) care requirements, such as:


1. Food, water, and shelter

2. Medical care

3. Outlawing torture or inhumane killing


Animal advocacy groups and pet lovers decry the law’s ineffectiveness or silence on practices at circuses and rodeos and the treatment of animals considered pests. Moreover, that enforcement across the US is lamentably inconsistent.


But some states take animal abuse more seriously than others. In New York, for instance, humane society representatives are appointed by the state to enforce laws against animal cruelty. Another state with a similar policy is Massachusetts.


The US is also home to two of the most active animal advocacy groups in the world:

– The Humane Society of the United States

– Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals


As penalties for animal abuse are minor, the best thing animal lovers can hope for is that once cases of cruelty are exposed the abuse will end.

We all want to think we are safe but are we? If you want to know more about the different types of crimes committed today, RecordsSiteReviews.com is offering FREE ACCESS to its Criminal Records Information section. If you have a nagging suspicion on someone, run a criminal check on him or her today!

Article from articlesbase.com

Posted on September 29, 2011 by , Reply

Nelson, police dismiss JFJ human rights abuse claims

Nelson, police dismiss JFJ human rights abuse claims
National Security Minister Dwight Nelson and the Police High Command have scoffed at claims by human-rights lobby Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) that there has been a further erosion of human rights since the west Kingston incursion almost one year ago….
Read more on Jamaica Gleaner

Social Security going online only
Those yearly statements that Social Security mails out — here’s what you’d get if you retired at 62, at 66, at 70…
Read more on Deseret News

Posted on April 9, 2011 by , Reply

Child & Sexual Abuse by Catholic Church/Should the Catholic Church Call itself Christian?

Recently, many articles in US newspapers & media talked about how the Catholic Church in Ireland covered up child abuse.

Making such an investigation public knowledge is a welcome step! And as far as a governmental apology is concerned, better late than never! However, an apology only has as much force as the action that follows it. May we look forward to a new wind blowing in the area of public service? Too bad past wrongs have not been compensated. Wouldn’t that show seriousness of intent?

A true and lasting change in society requires self-analysis. So, before everything is relegated to yesterday’s news, wouldn’t it bring healing to ask the question “why”? Why was such a perversion covered up for so long by an organization that claims to be the guardian of Christian ethics and morals? And why was this allowed by the authorities for so long? Were church and state in each others pockets? The harm to society is immeasurable! Who can gauge the crumbling ethics and morals in society and the increasing cynicism because of such conduct? And what about the victims and their families who were deeply and emotionally traumatized?! And let us not forget the alienation from God in society caused by such “bastions” of religious faith! Where does the responsibility lie for all this? Enforced celibacy has no biblical foundation at all! Why was it instituted in the first place?!

 What would Jesus of Nazareth say if He came to the Earth and saw what the church – which claims to speak for Him – has made of His life’s work?

 A move has been made by a small group of people against such shameful sham Christianity. They’ve put out a website and call themselves “The Free Christians for the Christ of the Sermon on the Mount in All Cultures Worldwide.” At this website they announce a lawsuit against the Catholic Church – of all places, in Germany, a bastion of the Catholic institution! And the sexual abuse of young people is one of the reasons they give for having taken such a step. As they put it, they do not want to remain silent anymore on the “brazen labelling fraud,” with which Christ is mocked and His name abused to such an extent. They demand that the Archbishopric in Freiburg, headed by Zollitsch, and representing the Catholic Church in its totality, be enjoined from calling itself “Christian.”

 As a Christian, I fully support this and consider it high time that someone calls a spade a spade. Nothing against the sincere folk and priests who work hard and honestly, upholding the ideals of a Christian life. But as an institution, it has taken on a life of its own, and one could indeed ask if there is anything Christian about it! I commend the courage of these people to call the Church to task. Perhaps your readers would like to check them out: http://www.christus-oder-kirche.de/christ-or-church/index.php.

There seems to be a grassroots movement to bring this up for discussion on the internet. Surely this could be very healthy for our society!

www.christ-or-church.de

Posted on July 1, 2010 by , Reply