Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

"Tremayne Francis is a cellmate's worst nightmare.  Convicted in 1998 of raping two young men while working as a martial arts instructor in Pierce Country, Francis used extortion and violence to force fellow inmates to have sex with him, and raped two new men in prison, according to prison records."

Francis is excusing himself by saying he has a multiple personality disorder.  Could a quick solution for a perpetual rapist be castration?

The Seattle Times also reported in that same story:

"According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 6,241 reports of prison sexual violence 35 percent being inmate upon inmate attacks."

In 2003, in an effort to deal with prison rape, Congress enacted the Prison Rape Elimination Act.  This law demands each state have its prisons standardize ways of reducing and detecting rapes.  Also it is advised to have a standard way to punish convicted rapists.

Car theft is one of the most popular crimes in Seattle.  A car thief is allowed 7 car theft violations before being given a sentence of one year in prison. The $27,000 a year price tag is the reason why some officials say the car theft law is allowing such continuous criminal car theft crimes to occur.

Apparently the State of Washington should suggest to Bill Gates how much the people in the state where he has made his billions need much bigger prisons.

Also, Bill Gates might contribute some funding where those Seattle city schools for disadvantaged and minority schools being closed has caused such an uproar that the Seattle Superintendent of Public Schools resigned as a result.  Doesn't charity begin at home?

Seattle is second only to Memphis for physical assaults.  Crime jumped 26 percent in Seattle last year.  This city hadn't ever experienced such a crime wave before.

It is glaringly apparent that some newcomers with criminal histories find the climate in Seattle to their liking.  Car theft opportunities loom large.  Take the case reported in the November 14 Seattle Times appearing under the headline: ROOKIE OFFICER KILLED IN CRASH WITH FELON.

The article goes on to detail this crime, which resulted in the death of a new Seattle police office, and how this heinous crime could have been prevented had its perpetrator, Neal Kelly, been locked up:

"According to the State Department of Correction Kelly, 35, had a lengthy criminal history that included car theft, possession of stolen property, assault, attempting to elude police, and malicious mischief.  He had been in and out of prison since 1993, and had been released from prison most recently in January."

Officer Elizabeth Nowak was new to the Seattle Police Department.  She had worked previously as a police officer in Racine, Wisconsin.  She was killed when Neal Kelly's stolen vehicle crashed into her car going through a red light at a high speed.  Her driver's side of the car was smashed across the front seat to the passenger side.  She died instantly and so did Neal Kelly.

Kelly had 20 felony convictions.  It is nothing short of a scandal to let someone like this out of prison three months earlier on August 13.

Three months earlier, Mary Jane Rivas killed Seattle Police Officer Joselito Barber, 26.  She had been out of prison only 10 days and was wanted on arrest warrants for prostitution, drunken driving, malicious mischief, and two thefts when her car collided with Barber's police cruiser.

Rivas pleaded "not guilty."  Don't they all?

No wonder Ann Rule is the nation's number one true crime writer with many bestsellers, including The Stranger Beside Me.  Remember, the Green River Killer came from the Seattle area.  Serial killer Ted Bundy was born and raised in Seattle and began his serial killing spree in the area.  

Meanwhile Seattle's police chief pleads with Mayor Greg Nickels for more officers.  

We need safety in Seattle.  The murders outside a bar across the street from Key Arena, current home to the NBA's Seattle Supersonics, resulted in that facility, which had been the scene of many earlier disturbances, being closed by authorities.  

There was a recent killing in front of a Queen Anne malt shop in broad daylight, some two short blocks from the bar outside of which that fatal shooting occurred.

Seattle has a long way to go to stem its steadily burgeoning crime problem.