councilor.org
| Source | Jurriaan Bendien |
| Date | 03/12/29/15:46 |
| Governor Jeb Bush of Florida, the swindler and election fraudster, has just
dedicated America's first faith-based prison, focused on encouraging the spirituality of inmates (Al Jazeera report). He told its (nearly 800) inmates from 26 faiths that religion can help to keep them from landing in prison again. As well as regular prayer sessions, the Lawtey Correctional Institution offers religious studies, choir practice, religious counselling and other spiritual activities 7 days a week. Participation is voluntary, and inmates are free to transfer out. Bush lauded inmates for committing themselves "to a higher authority". "This is not just fluffy policy, this is serious policy," he told the crowd. "For the people who are sceptical about this initiative, I am proud that Florida is the home to the first faith-based prison in the United States." During the dedication ceremony, prisoners jumped to their feet and clapped in rhythm, as a gospel singer sang "His Eye Is on the Sparrow." Some shouted "Sing it!" and "Amen!" Later, Bush told the inmates: "I can't think of a better place to reflect on the awesome love of our lord Jesus than to be here at Lawtey Correctional. God bless you." At the end of 2002, US prisons and jails held 2,033,331 inmates. These corrective institutions include private commercial jails. * * * * * George W. Bush was arrested for drunken driving in 1976. In 1995, Noelle Lucila Bush (b. 26 July 1977) was arrested for shoplifting at an Arizona mall. In June, 1999 Columba Bush, the mother of Noelle Lucila Bush, tried to sneak some $19,000 in jewelry and clothes she had picked up on a Paris shopping spree past US Customs officials in Atlanta . First, she falsely claimed on her declaration form to have bought only $500 worth of goods overseas. When Customs officials discovered shopping receipts in Mrs. Bush's purse, she was asked if she wanted to change her story. When the governor's wife insisted that she had bought only $500 worth of goods in Paris, agents searched her luggage and found otherwise. Columba Bush got off with an apology and a $4,100 fine. In February 2000, GWB's daughter Barbara Bush was questioned by Massachusetts police in response to a manager's complaint that a noisy party at a hotel on Harvard Square involved "several minors in a room consuming alcohol". A Harvard University Police Department log states that, "Officers sent to assist him in removing them." Police prepared an incident report detailing what happened upon their arrival, but Harvard respinded by refusing to release the document following a TSG request, arguing the Massachusetts Open Records Law does not apply to the school's police force. In April 2001 daughter Jenna Bush was cited for underage drinking in an Austin bar (the legal drinking age in Texas is 21); she pled no contest on May 16 and was sentenced to community service and alcohol awareness classes. On 30 May 2001, Jenna and Barbara were both cited by police after attempting to buy drinks at an Austin Mexican restaurant Chuy's the day before, using someone else's driver's license. Proprietor Mia Lawrence, who runs Chuy's, told a police operator on May 29 that she was informing because, "I just don't want our restaurant to get in trouble." Lawrence, who misidentified Jenna Bush as "Laura Bush," said that while the underage drinking was "not a major emergency, it would be police, though." Lawrence noted that she first tried to call the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, but that the liquor licensing agency was not open after hours. According to the Washington Post, yet another incident occurred in July 2002, when the girls were spotted (but not cited for) drinking in a Washington, DC bar. On 29 January 2002, Jeb Bush's daughter Noelle Lucila Bush (b. 26 July 1977) was arrested at a Tallahassee Walgreens drugstore after she tried to fill a false Xanax prescription. The pharmacist became suspicious about the call-in prescription because it lacked a quantity. When he checked the doctor named in the call-in, the druggist learned that the doctor no longer practiced. Police then arrested Noelle and charged her with fraudulently obtaining Xanax. She told police she was due to begin a new job with Infinity Software Development, Inc. as an entry-level human resources administrative assistant. Fraudulently obtaining a prescription is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison in Florida. However, Noelle avoided jail and was committed for treatment at the Center for Drug-Free Living. Father Jeb Bush said, "This is a private issue as it relates to my daughter and myself and my wife". In July 2002, Florida Judge Reginald Whitehead jailed Noelle briefly over three days at Orlando for contempt of court without bail, when she was caught with a prescription drug belonging to an employee, in violation of the a requirement of the drug court programme. According to Noelle's lawyer, Pete Antonacci, she had the pills in her possession for about a half-hour, but tested negative for having taken them. Antonacci said he didn't know what the pills were. A letter from the treatment center to Judge Reginald Whitehead says Noelle was questioned by a staffer who had noticed that she was carrying pills. Noelle had explained that she had found the pills, but a nurse said they were taken from a cabinet in her office. The letter expressed concern about her lack of honesty, and how it related to her recovery. On June 19, Noelle was discovered to have been "off property without permission" according to Randy Means, executive director of the Orange-Osceola state attorney's office. It remained unclear how long she was missing, or what she was doing at the time. She was assigned to perform community service as punishment for that incident. Then, on 9 September 2002, police received an anonymous call from a fellow patient at the treatment center, stating that Noelle had been caught with a 0.2-gram rock of crack cocaine in her shoe. The transcript of the telephone call at the Orlando Police Department stated "One of the women here was caught buying crack cocaine tonight. And a lot of the women are upset because she's been caught about five times. And we want something done because our children are here, and they just keep letting it slip under the counter and carpet... She does this all the time and she gets out of it because she's the governor's daughter. But we're sick of it here 'cause we have to do what's right, but she gets treated like some kind of princess. And everybody's tired of it, you know. We're just trying to get our lives together, and this girl's bringing drugs on property." Six police cruisers converged on the center. Police sergeant Orlando Rolon explained the original officer dispatched had to call a supervisor with a test kit to perform a field test on the drug, and that "Law enforcement officers are by nature always curious, especially if you are a squad member". Center employee Julia Elias, who had discovered the drug, initially offered a written statement to the police. But a supervisor ordered Elias not to cooperate with investigators, and Elias destroyed the statement. Police spokeswoman Teresa Shipley said later staffers at the center had ripped up the responding officer's report, and told him that the matter should be handled in-house. The officer however retrieved his report from a trash can. "If people are forced to disclose, everyone would have to re-examine the kinds of issues that are discussed in the therapeutic arena," explained Kermit Dahlen, president and chief executive the Gordon Recovery Center in Sioux City, Iowa. "They would have to warn their clients that they shouldn't talk about anything they wouldn't want disclosed in the future." Jeb Bush's drug czar, Jim McDonough, commented that Jeb Bush had a compassionate approach to drug policy that is ``wisely balanced with prevention, treatment and law enforcement.'' The case was closely watched by about 14,000 drug treatment centers nationwide, where 1.1 million abusers sought help in 2001. "The treatment community has a lot to lose if the judge rules these employees have to testify," said Ronald Hunsicker of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers. "The question is whether she's being treated in a unique way," says Bruce Bullington, editor of the Journal of Drug Issues and an associate professor at Florida State University's school of criminology and criminal justice in Tallahassee. "I think she is." On 30 September 2002, the court blocked police from questioning employees that found the crack cocaine in Noelle's shoe. The Orange County Florida State's Attorney had filed a motion to compel the witnesses to testify pursuant to a legal exception clause (Federal Confidentiality Regulations, 42 U.S.C. 290dd-2; 42 C.F.R. Part 2) which permits disclosure to report crimes on program premises to law enforcement officials. But Orange County Circuit Court chief Judge Belvin Perry, Jr. denied the motion, arguing that society's interest in providing treatment for drug offenders and addressing the cycle of addiction outweighed the State's interest in investigating the crime of drug possession on treatment premises. Perry said he had carefully weighed the interest of police and prosecutors to investigate crime against the state Legislature's intent to address drug abuse through treatment. The confidentiality law, passed in 1970, restricted the disclosure of records for patients in drug abuse treatment centres, as a way of encouraging people to seek treatment for addiction. Perry said he thought it likely that many drug addicts at some point during treatment would be caught in possession of drugs, and delivering them each time to a court to face new charges, would render intervention programs meaningless. Noelle was required to appear before Circuit Judge Reginald Whitehead every two weeks. On 8 October 2002 Noelle Bush asked that drug court records be closed on her case, citing a theory involving "expectation of privacy" with the aim to preserve her right to privacy in health care information and to a fair trial. Attorney Peter Antonacci argued the purpose of a drug court was to help patients complete treatment, and that drug courts should not allow the same openness as criminal courts. On 15 October 2002, the court however denied Noelle's request, on the grounds that open access was a critical part of the success of drug courts (the US drug court system is a pre-trial programme for people with drug problems, in which a defendant must undergo counseling and treatment over a minimum one-year period, after which charges pending may be dropped - it emphasises rehabilitation and breaking the addiction leading to offences). "Open access is critical so that the public can see that drug court is working to reduce the recidivism rate and to return individuals to a productive state," the Judge wrote in the ruling. "Open access is necessary in order to demonstrate that the program is worthy of public support." He noted that drug court proceedings, health care issues were discussed at detailed "staffing" meetings that are private, while regular status hearings in court were short and involved little or no discussion of medical or treatment information. On 17 October 2002 Noelle was sentenced in contempt of court, and led handcuffed to Orange County jail for a ten day stay. On the same day, President George W. Bush, visited Florida to discuss education at a New Smyrna Beach elementary school, and held a fund raiser for his brother's re-election campaign. Upon release, Noelle, who had dyed her hair reddish-blonde, waited 10 hours before she appeared in front of Whitehead for less than a minute. "I took the time to let you see a full drug court session, because it's been a while since you've been in a drug court session and seen other people in drug court," Whitehead said. Whitehead told Bush that he had talked to her case manager and workers in her drug treatment program. "You seem to be on track so far," Whitehead said. When asked if she had any concerns, Noelle said "No." "Just hang in there and stay focused and do everything you can to help yourself, not anybody else. OK?" Judge Whitehead told her. On 8 August 2003, Noelle was released from rehabilitation to the custody of her parents. At the drug court hearing at Orange County Courthouse, Noelle hugged Circuit Judge Reginald Whitehead, after he congratulated her on making it through the stringent drug-rehabilitation program, while Jeb and his wife Columba looked on and smiled. "The one thing you should remember is that everything you've learned in this program is important," Judge Whitehead said. "Keep it in your mind, in your heart, and it will make you successful." "It's been quite a challenge, and I'm really grateful," Noelle told the judge, dressed in a polka-dot top and wearing hair extensions. "It's really been an honor to know you. And thanks to my family and to the staff and everything." Moments after the 2 pm graduation, the Bush family quickly left the courthouse without comment to the press. In November 2002 documents were released from Jeb's office that revealed details of his involvement in a behind-the-scenes pressure campaign on behalf of Bacardi-Martini USA. While he was collecting $60,000 of campaign cash from Bacardi-Martini USA, Inc. this year, Jeb put a "high" priority on helping Bacardi apply ex parte political pressure on the U.S. patent office to fix a legal trademark case to Bacardi's benefit. |
Copyright (c) 1998, Joongpil Cho