Interrogation: A victim of collateral damage

Interrogation practices have undergone an onslaught of negative media comments and images as the result of President Bush’s global war on terror. Unfortunately, the actions of the U.S. Army and the Central Intelligence Agency have greatly damaged the importance and value of truly professional interrogation. As a result, interrogation has become a victim of collateral damage. This is a shame because professional interrogation techniques are the bread and butter of U.S. law enforcement agencies and... More

Nun asks mercy, not jail, for her attacker

Three years after a mugger’s shove broke five of her ribs, gashed her face, permanently disabled her right arm and left her unable to live on her own, a nun asked the court not to send her apologetic attacker to prison. Sister Muriel Curran, 78, appeared in Baltimore County Circuit Court to speak of forgiveness and a second chance for Charles R. Dodson. The 22-year-old had pleaded guilty, sparing her from having to testify against him, according to an account in The Sun. More  Read More →

Lack of hope leads to prison—again and again

Commuters are used to seeing the Frankenstein castle-like structure along the Jones Falls Expressway. Since the State Penitentiary opened in 1811, its purpose has remained unchanged—keeping convicted criminals inside its walls so others can remain safe. I recently had the opportunity to go behind the dark walls of the oldest state prison in America. More  Read More →

Judge wipes out defamation claim against rapper who claims woman raped him

It’s not every day that you hear a rapper claim to have been raped by a woman, but DMX did in a magazine article. And the woman, who bore his child, sued him for saying it. More  Read More →

Baltimore County teacher accused of sex abuse

A Towson physical education teacher has been charged with sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl at his Parkville home where his wife watched after the girl, police said. Timothy Allen Rhodes, 42, was arrested and charged with sex abuse of a minor, second-degree child abuse, second-degree assault and third-degree sex offense, police told The Sun. The girl and her mother contacted police after the girl told her mother she was being abused and that she wanted to change schools. According to the allegations,... More

Welder awarded $3 million for Beth Steel accident

A Baltimore County jury has awarded a Rosedale man more than $3 million after finding a cleaning firm liable for a dump truck accident that crushed his left leg at Bethlehem Steel in 1999. James Morris, 58, was awarded more than $2.2 million in economic damages and $952,000 in non-economic damages, which would be capped at $560,000 under Maryland law, according to his attorney, Francis C. Lanasa. The jury found Keibler-Thompson Co., of Export, Pa., liable for the accident at the Sparrows Point plant.... More

Men get probation for not stopping attack

Two men received probation for doing nothing to stop an unprovoked attack two years ago on a longtime Baltimore journalist. Carl Schoettler, now 75, suffered severe head injuries in the beating, including permanent memory loss that forced him to retire from his job as a feature writer for The Sun. Schoettler had been involved in a minor car accident in February 2006 with Gregory G. Kulla near Baltimore City Hall. They were arguing about who was at fault when Phillip G. Carter, then 18, punched Schoettler... More

Court rejects victim’s demand for stricter sentence

A crime victim had a right to be heard in appellate proceedings, but her words have no legal effect, Maryland’s highest court has decided. The Court of Appeals said a convicted batterer was entitled to the lighter sentence he received on a motion for reconsideration of his sentence, not the original 15-year term that had been reinstated after his victim complained that she had not been notified of the reconsideration hearing. “The victims’ rights provisions in Maryland law still lack adult... More

Baltimorean who fleeced Katrina victims gets 15 years

A Baltimore man was sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison for a scheme that bilked more than 900 investors out of $8 million. According to The Examiner, federal prosecutors say the sentence is one of the longest imposed for white-collar crime in Maryland history. More  Read More →

Baltimore police to replace blue-light cameras

Baltimore police are eager to begin replacing the early generation of blue-light cameras with more sophisticated closed-circuit units, The Sun reported. More  Read More →

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