Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: moviePig <nobody@nowhere.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv
Subject: Re: Biden pardons corrupt "Kids for cash" judge
Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2024 22:17:07 -0500
Organization: A noiseless patient Spider
Lines: 195
Message-ID: <vjitbk$3nhpr$1@dont-email.me>
References: <o52pljla2af5rhitqg8db2labidg34qb86@4ax.com>
 <vji3gn$3h70p$2@dont-email.me> <tp4pljdm9mjtre9h8bvvkvoq4im85jf99g@4ax.com>
 <vji7r4$3k1ha$1@dont-email.me> <vjibdq$3h70p$5@dont-email.me>
 <vjig9t$3liag$1@dont-email.me> <vjiibl$3h70p$7@dont-email.me>
Reply-To: nobody@nowhere.com
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Injection-Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2024 04:17:09 +0100 (CET)
Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="ae56194d687e9c9c2ca268f703f11c74";
	logging-data="3917627"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org";	posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1/sQBOkmgyrS/GFnwgrIBzHDggX/bZDkis="
User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird
Cancel-Lock: sha1:+YJvhrggADEmuxzYDyNZwjeo77I=
Content-Language: en-US
In-Reply-To: <vjiibl$3h70p$7@dont-email.me>
Bytes: 9178

On 12/13/2024 7:09 PM, Rhino wrote:
> On 2024-12-13 6:34 PM, moviePig wrote:
>> On 12/13/2024 5:11 PM, Rhino wrote:
>>> On 2024-12-13 4:09 PM, moviePig wrote:
>>>> On 12/13/2024 3:07 PM, shawn wrote:
>>>>> On Fri, 13 Dec 2024 14:56:06 -0500, Rhino
>>>>> <no_offline_contact@example.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 2024-12-13 2:21 PM, EGK wrote:
>>>>>>> but, but... TRUMP!!
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> https://news.yahoo.com/news/biden-stirs-outrage-scranton- 
>>>>>>> commuting-162649874.html
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> President Biden has sparked anger among Pennsylvanians after he 
>>>>>>> commuted the
>>>>>>> sentence of a corrupt judge who was jailed for more than 17 years 
>>>>>>> after he
>>>>>>> was caught taking kickbacks for sending juveniles to for-profit 
>>>>>>> detention
>>>>>>> facilities.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> In what came to be known as the kids-for-cash scandal, former 
>>>>>>> Judge Michael
>>>>>>> Conahan shut down a county-run juvenile detention center and 
>>>>>>> shared $2.8
>>>>>>> million in illegal payments from the builder and co-owner of two 
>>>>>>> for-profit
>>>>>>> lockups. Another judge, Mark Ciavarella, was also involved in the 
>>>>>>> illicit
>>>>>>> scheme, the effects of which are still felt today among victims and
>>>>>>> families.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The scandal is considered Pennsylvania’s largest-ever judicial 
>>>>>>> corruption
>>>>>>> scheme with the state's supreme court throwing out some 4,000 
>>>>>>> juvenile
>>>>>>> convictions involving more than 2,300 kids after the scheme was 
>>>>>>> uncovered.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Biden Commutes 1,500 Jail Sentences, Grants Pardons For 39 
>>>>>>> Others: 'Largest
>>>>>>> Single-day Grant Of Clemency'
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Conahan, 72, pleaded guilty in 2010 to one count of racketeering 
>>>>>>> conspiracy
>>>>>>> but was released from prison to home confinement in 2020 because 
>>>>>>> of COVID-19
>>>>>>> health concerns with six years left in his sentence.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> But Biden, the so-called favorite son of Scranton, commuted 
>>>>>>> Conahan's
>>>>>>> sentence Thursday as part of the largest single-day act of 
>>>>>>> clemency in
>>>>>>> modern history in which he commuted jail sentences for nearly 
>>>>>>> 1,500 people
>>>>>>> and granted 39 pardons.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Read On The Fox News App
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "My Administration will continue reviewing clemency petitions to 
>>>>>>> advance
>>>>>>> equal justice under the law, promote public safety, support 
>>>>>>> rehabilitation
>>>>>>> and reentry, and provide meaningful second chances," the 
>>>>>>> president said.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The decision has raised questions as to why Biden would choose to 
>>>>>>> commute
>>>>>>> the sentence of a judge who is detested in the area.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Fox News has reached out to the White House for comment but has 
>>>>>>> not received
>>>>>>> a response.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Sandy Fonzo, who once confronted Ciavarella outside federal court 
>>>>>>> after her
>>>>>>> son was placed in juvenile detention and committed suicide, said 
>>>>>>> that the
>>>>>>> president’s actions were an "injustice" and "deeply painful."
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "I am shocked and I am hurt," Fonzo said in a statement, per The 
>>>>>>> Citizens
>>>>>>> Voice. "Conahan‘s actions destroyed families, including mine, and 
>>>>>>> my son’s
>>>>>>> death is a tragic reminder of the consequences of his abuse of 
>>>>>>> power. This
>>>>>>> pardon feels like an injustice for all of us who still suffer. 
>>>>>>> Right now I
>>>>>>> am processing and doing the best I can to cope with the pain that 
>>>>>>> this has
>>>>>>> brought back."
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The scheme began in 2002 when Conahan shut down the state 
>>>>>>> juvenile detention
>>>>>>> center and used money from the Luzerne County budget to fund a
>>>>>>> multimillion-dollar lease for the private facilities.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Who Else Might Biden Pardon After He Spared Hunter From Sentencing?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Ciavarella, who presided over juvenile court, pushed a zero- 
>>>>>>> tolerance policy
>>>>>>> that guaranteed large numbers of kids would be sent to PA Child 
>>>>>>> Care and its
>>>>>>> sister facility, Western PA Child Care.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Ciavarella ordered children as young as 8 years old to detention, 
>>>>>>> many of
>>>>>>> them first-time offenders deemed delinquent for petty theft, 
>>>>>>> jaywalking,
>>>>>>> truancy, smoking on school grounds and other minor infractions. 
>>>>>>> The judge
>>>>>>> often ordered youths he had found delinquent to be immediately 
>>>>>>> shackled,
>>>>>>> handcuffed and taken away without giving them a chance to put up 
>>>>>>> a defense
>>>>>>> or even say goodbye to their families.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> In 2022, both Conahan and Ciavarella were ordered to pay more 
>>>>>>> than $200
>>>>>>> million to nearly 300 people they victimized, although it's 
>>>>>>> unlikely the
>>>>>>> now-adult victims will see even a fraction of the damages award.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> During the case, one victim described how he shook uncontrollably 
>>>>>>> during a
>>>>>>> routine traffic stop — a consequence of the traumatizing impact 
>>>>>>> of his
>>>>>>> childhood detention — and had to show his mental health records 
>>>>>>> in court to
>>>>>>> "explain why my behavior was so erratic."
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Several of the childhood victims who were part of the lawsuit 
>>>>>>> when it began
>>>>>>> in 2009 have since died from overdoses or suicide, prosecutors said.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Biden wags finger at White House Christmas party
>>>>>>> President Biden speaks at a "Christmas Dinner for All" in the 
>>>>>>> East Room of
>>>>>>> the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
>>>>>>> The scheme, per The Citizens Voice, involved former Pennsylvania 
>>>>>>> attorney
>>>>>>> Robert Powell paying Ciavarella and Conahan $770,000, who in turn 
>>>>>>> funneled
>>>>>>> juvenile defendants to two private, for-profit detention centers 
>>>>>>> Powell
>>>>>>> partly owned.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Powell served an 18-month prison sentence after pleading guilty 
>>>>>>> to felony
>>>>>>> counts of failing to report a felony and being an accessory to a 
>>>>>>> conspiracy.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Real estate developer Robert K. Mericle paid the judges $2.1 
>>>>>>> million and was
>>>>>>> later charged with failing to disclose to investigators and a 
>>>>>>> grand jury
>>>>>>> that he knew the judges were defrauding the government. Mericle 
>>>>>>> served one
>>>>>>> year in federal prison, per The Citizens Voice.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Ciavarella is serving a 28-year prison sentence on honest 
>>>>>>> services mail
>>>>>>> fraud charges, per the publication.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I wonder why Biden pardoned this scumbag judge? I can't see *any* 
>>>>>> reason
>>>>>> for it.
>>>>>
>>>>> He did not pardon the judge. He commuted the sentence which means the
>>>>> judge is still held guilty of the crime. There's likely some reason
>>>>> why the sentence was commuted that isn't mentioned above and certainly
>>>>> isn't one of those mentioned below. My guess would be the sentence was
>>>>> almost up.
========== REMAINDER OF ARTICLE TRUNCATED ==========