Lawsuits cost Illinois Taxpayers money

The premise of this article in the Chicago Tribune is that lawsuits cost the taxpayers money.   It seems like a backhanded slam against those who have been wronged by a corrupt legal system and are getting their court ordered justice.   St. Paul insurance is paying for Jerry Hobbs' defense after he was accused of the rape and murder of his daughter and her friend in 2005, then allegedly beat into a confession by waukegan and zion police officers.  He was later cleared, not through DNA evidence, but because police on the east coast found the REAL attacker who's DNA matched that recovered from Hobbs' daughter and friend AFTER this man had been caught attacking more people.   

But experts say taxpayers ultimately end up bearing the expense of lawsuits over alleged wrongful arrests and prosecutions, cases that continue to come to light through DNA evidence. Counties and cities stung by big losses from these cases could struggle to find affordable coverage, experts said.

 This sends a clear message that our Law Enforcement Agencies, and prosecutors are far too irresponsible to prosecute even the smallest of infractions of the law.   The moral compass of right and wrong is so far away from legal right and wrong that it's a serious wonder to me that prosecutors, judges, lawyers and cops can find their way to and from work every day.   What's worse is that in spite of Jerry Hobbs' case, there are still many more DNA corrected cases in Illinois. 

Lawsuits over wrongful convictions, in particular, have cost the state of Illinois and various municipalities $195.7 million in judgments, settlements, compensation and court fees in the two decades since DNA technology started freeing inmates, according to the Center on Wrongful Convictions and the Better Government Association.

When a corrupt Chicago cop tortures people, and he's employed by the city... you can bet that would cost the city money, much like if I had a security company, and my employees routinely tortured people... you can bet my company would pay for it in a lawsuit!  

Lake County isn't the only jurisdiction to tangle with an insurance company over a criminal case. Last year, a company that sold liability insurance to Will County fought against paying the remaining damages awarded to Kevin Fox and his wife, Melissa. Kevin Fox spent eight months in jail — on charges he killed his 3-year-old daughter, Riley, in 2004 — before he was freed by DNA evidence.

In April 2010, an appeals court agreed with a federal jury's 2007 finding that Will County police framed Fox, and he was awarded $8 million, including compensatory and punitive damages.

The worst thing about the Fox case, is that those who framed Kevin Fox will not see jail time, or any real justice.    You are the people, these scum are torturing, beating and framing other people like you, don't let them get away with it, make sure they get tried, and convicted, if you run into barriers with prosecutors and judges... replace them!   Try by request first, but ultimately by force if necessary, they work FOR you... not OVER you.

They are your Judges, Jury, and Executioners

The Chicago Tribune released an interesting article detailing a "belligerent" and "violent" man that local police were "Forced" to shoot to death.  In their defense, he did make them look bad by not only successfully resisting their attempts to fit metal restraints, but also being able to get on top of one of these well trained Police professionals and started to give him a good old fashioned ass whoopin'.    Police don't like to be bested, so the suspect had to be killed.... it was the only way.   Of course sketchy details have been released, like this one:

The two officers were taken local hospitals, at least one to Northwestern Memorial Hospital -- one in good-to-fair condition, the other in fair-to-serious condition, Knight said. They were not shot, but he had no other details.

 Being the skeptic that I am when someone is murdered by Police officers, I am unsure of what "fair-to-serious" condition means when the article goes on to read:

The statement from News Affairs confirmed the injuries to the officers were not considered life-threatening

 In case you don't know what hospital ratings mean, I looked it up from this advisory:  (2003-02-01). AHA : Advisory : HIPAA Updated Guidelines for Releasing Information on the Condition of Patients. American Hospital Association.

Undetermined 

Patient is awaiting physician and/or assessment.

Good 

Vital signs are stable and within normal limits. Patient is conscious and comfortable. Indicators are excellent.

Fair 

Vital signs are stable and within normal limits. Patient is conscious, but may be uncomfortable. Indicators are favorable.

Serious 

Vital signs may be unstable and not within normal limits. Patient is acutely ill. Indicators are questionable.

Critical 

Vital signs are unstable and not within normal limits. Patient may be unconscious. Indicators are unfavorable

 To me this indicates that it is impossible for a patient to be in "fair-to-serious" condition, as those two states are very different.    If a patient can't be assessed as fair or serious, they would fall into the "undetermined" category, but seeing as the "injuries are not considered life threatening" this would lean to the patient being in fair condition, which seems to match the facts that he got his face beaten on, and his partner pepper sprayed him.   Here are more details from the story, see if you can follow it:

On arrival, the officers confronted the man, Camden said. At some point, the sergeant put a handcuff on the man’s wrist, Camden said. The man then at first became belligerent, then became violent

The female officer took out pepper spray, and tried to disable the man, unsuccessfully, Camden said. The man attacked the sergeant, and at some point was able to get on top of the sergeant, beating him about the head and shoulders

The sergeant said to the officer, “shoot him, shoot him.” But the officer was reluctant to fire because she was afraid of shooting the sergeant, Camden said.

Soon after, the sergeant was able to get his gun out and fired at the attacker, fatally wounding him, Camden said.

The sergeant was taken to Northwestern for treatment of injuries in the attack, as well as for injuries from the pepper spray, Camden said. The female officer was taken to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park for treatment of minor injuries.

Does everyone understand now?   If you refuse to cooperate with your own aggravated kidnapping by Police, and try to defend yourself against them, they will kill you, and they will get away with it.  The worst thing is, the news will make you out to be the bad guy.