Law and Order

Sen. Whitehouse Supports Ill-Conceived SOPA/PIPA

By Patrick Laverty | January 10, 2012 |

Sometimes, it isn’t too bad being a nerd or a geek. Or as I guess as some geeks refer to themselves, a g33k. It’s nice because when the news picks up a story that includes the discussion of DNS servers and IP addresses, I can more easily pick up on what they’re trying to say…

Police Not Doing Their Job, Blame the Property Owner

By Patrick Laverty | December 30, 2011 |

I know this is a Rhode Island focused blog and sometimes we touch on national issues that affect Rhode Island. This story is neither, but it is an example of the level of lunacy that our federal government and law enforcement has gone to. Today’s Providence Journal contains a story1 about a motel in Tewksbury,…

Are Insane Acts Not Crimes by Definition?

By Justin Katz | December 20, 2011 |

I get that the law is full of technical distinctions and processes to determine how they apply in specific instances, but the outcome of a patricide and attempted matricide in Tiverton really emphasizes the strange conclusion to which such legal findings lead Joel Beaulieu was found not guilty by reason of insanity because he “suffers…

IRS as Police Agency

By Justin Katz | November 9, 2011 |

I’m sure this sort of thing isn’t as unusual as it feels, but there’s something creepy and inappropriate about it: Cars full of Internal Revenue Service agents descended on The Beach House Bar & Grill Friday morning but it is unclear what they were seeking. A witness said the 9:18 a.m. arrival was dramatic, “like…

Primitive Rhode Island, Primitive World

By Carroll Andrew Morse | October 13, 2011 |

Not to be too much of a stereotypical conservative, but I’m not 100% convinced that there’s actually any such thing as modernity. By this, I mean that I think there’s a good case to be made that the social forces and pressures experienced by the average schlub trying to live his or her life are…

Disabled (Ha!) Weightlifter: The Prov Ret Bd Did Not Close the File. Why Did the AG Close the Case?

By Monique Chartier | July 30, 2011 |

Following upon WPRI/Tim White’s excellent expose, Providence had ordered that purportedly disabled weightlifting retired “firefighter” John Sauro be examined by a doctor. On Thursday, the Providence Journal reported the results. Former firefighter John Sauro remains permanently and totally disabled from doing his job in the Fire Department, an orthopedic surgeon has concluded after a special…

There is No Explanation

By Monique Chartier | July 23, 2011 |

… for an act of pure evil. A gunman who opened fire on an island teeming with young people kept shooting for 90 minutes before surrendering to a SWAT team, police said Saturday. … At least 85 people were killed on the island … Andresen, the acting police chief, said the suspect was talking to…

Necessitating a Drug War Surge?

By Justin Katz | July 18, 2011 |

This is certainly good news for a couple of Providence communities: The Providence Police Department’s success in turning around two neighborhoods notorious for blatant drug-dealing and crime has made it a model in the Obama administration’s national drug policy this year. … The 2011 National Drug Control Strategy, released Monday, singles out the Providence police…

“Cleaning Up”: the Second Tell-Tale Action in the Story of the Socialist and the Housekeeper

By Monique Chartier | July 2, 2011 |

Following upon the results of some slightly tardy due diligence on the part of the prosecutor’s office, the credibility of Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s accuser is now in tatters and she has exposed herself (my opinion only here) to, minimally, perjury charges on about six different fronts. Strauss-Kahn’s bail was lifted yesterday and the dropping of all…

Has Any Governor Refused to Turn a Suspect Over to the Feds?

By Monique Chartier | June 23, 2011 |

… ’cause that’s what Governor Chafee has done today. Governor Chafee declined on Thursday the U.S. Government’s request for temporary federal custody of Jason W. Pleau, charged with murder in the case of a Woonsocket gas-station owner killed on the steps of a bank. Here is the statement from the governor’s office: Mr. Pleau is…