The Crime Blog Podcast

To podcast or not to podcast, that is the question.

After much deliberation and thought, I've decided to create a podcast for The Crime Blog. I will try to post a new episode of the podcast on a weekly basis. Podcasts will cover everything from current court cases, interesting subject matters and research ideas and discussion to controversial issues that are within the realm of law.

I would love to have contributers to the podcast that could possibly have their own segment talking about particular issues. Drop me a comment if you're interested in this!

The Crime Blog Podcast >> Episode 01 (6:18)

Teacher Convicted of Exposing Students to Porn

Julie Amero (40), a Connecticut substitute teacher was showing a hair style website to her students, when she clicked a link that inadvertently went to a porn site, displaying pornographic depictions of oral sex.

The principal of the school said that there was no firewall protection because the vendor's bill was unpaid.

Amero faces up to 40 years in prison.

What I want to know is, why wasn't there any anti-spyware/adware and firewall in place? In my opinion, I believe the principal is responsible in part due to the fact that the budget wasn't balanced properly in order to pay the vendor who supplies the software for the school. However, that doesn't mean that Amero is off the hook. What was she doing showing students a hair style website? Unless she was teaching cosmetology or a hair styling class, she had no reason to be showing students those type of sites. Her lack in judgement could unfortunately land her in prison for up to 40 years.

Is 40 years excessive? I think so. So how does one determine what length of time she deserves to serve? What factors are considered when coming to that conclusion?

I believe that Amero should not face any incarceration time, as this was an unfortunate mistake that as even computer consultant Herb Horner testified for the defense that the children had gone to an innocent Web site on hair styles and were redirected to another hairstyle site that had pornographic links. "It can happen to anybody," Horner said.

The defense argued that the images were caused by adware and spyware -- programs that are often secretly planted on computers by Internet businesses to track users' browsing habits. They can generate pop-up ads -- in some cases, pornographic ones. have said in her defense, " ." However, as Mark Steinmetz of the jury stated, "So many kids noticed this going on," Steinmetz said. "It was truly uncalled for. I would not want my child in her classroom. All she had to do was throw a coat over it or unplug it. We figured even if there were pop-ups, would you sit there?" Instead of leaving it on, why didn't she pull the plug or at the very least just turn the monitor off?

"What is extraordinary is the prosecution admitted there was no search made for spyware -- an incredible blunder akin to not checking for fingerprints at a crime scene," Alex Eckelberry, president of a Florida software company, wrote recently in the local newspaper. "When a pop-up occurs on a computer, it will get shown as a visited Web site, and no 'physical click' is necessary."

Smith, the prosecutor, would not say what he plans to recommend when Amero is sentenced March 2. John Newsone, a defense attorney in Norwich familiar with the case, said Amero might be spared prison or face perhaps a year to 18 months.

Principal Scott Fain said the computer lacked the latest firewall protection because a vendor's bill had gone unpaid. "I was shocked to see what made it through," he said.

But Fain also said Amero was the only one to report such a problem: "We've never had a problem with pop-ups before or since."

Amero should be fired as a substitute teacher for that school system and not be allowed to teach again. This may seem harsh, but doesn't going to prison for up to 40 years seem even harsher? Her lack of judgment proves that she doesn't have the common sense needed in order to be in charge of a class of students. I have a right to say this, as I myself am a substitute teacher in my free time.

Anna Nicole Smith

While I hesitate to even post about Anna Nicole Smith, especially since its been covered exhaustively over the past week. I do however make this post with a different goal than what the major news outlets have had.

I for one, am sick and tired of hearing about Anna Nicole Smith and having 6 hours of the same coverage telecasted throughout the day. We know she died of circumstances unknown, we know she has a newborn baby in the Bahamas that 3 men (Howard K. Stern, Larry Birkhead and Frederick Von Anhalt) claim to be the father of. We also know that whoever turns out to be the biological father will most likely have right to Smith's inheritance that will go to the baby and thus to the biological fathers charge.


However, what we don't know is why; her bodyguard tried to resuscitate her instead of her nurse who was there as well (she has two private nurses - one nurse is the bodyguards wife); why DNA testing wasn't done immediately after birth of the child and why it has taken Smith's death and a layover of 10 days (judges order) to get a DNA test; and lastly, why Smith died - there was no evidence of poisoning, overdose on drugs, "physical injury such as blunt force trauma, gunshot wound, stab wound or asphyxia as a cause of death.” However it has now been revealed that Smith “had been sick for several days with what was approximately some kind of stomach flu” before she collapsed and the only signs of minor trauma to Smith’s body were some bruises on her back, said to be the result of a recent slip in the bathroom.

Anna Nicole Smith's (39) death was termed as “a sudden unexpected and unexplained death.”

Florida v. John Couey

John Evander Couey has plead guilty to the rape and murder of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. He was charged with capital murder, burglary with battery, kidnapping and sexual battery on a child less than 12 years of age.

Couey, a convicted sex offender with a 30-year criminal history, is being held at the Citrus County jail, away from the general inmate population for his own safety.

Jessica, a vivacious and happy third-grader, was abducted one night from her bedroom in the small town of Homasassa.

Her body was found three weeks later, on March 19, 2005, buried in garbage bags behind a mobile home a short distance from her own house. She had her favorite stuffed dolphin and her hands were bound by speaker wire, but authorities say it appeared she had tried to poke her fingers through the bags. She died of asphyxiation.

Couey, who was arrested for previous sex crimes involving children in 1978 and 1991, was living with his half-sister at the trailer near the Lunsford home. But authorities searching for Jessica didn't know that, because he had moved there without telling them as required under sex offender registration laws.

As the search intensified, Couey traveled to Georgia, where he was arrested on an unrelated Florida warrant. He confessed to Jessica's abduction and murder to two Citrus County sheriff's detectives who traveled there to interview him, but that taped confession was thrown out by a judge because Couey wasn't allowed to consult a lawyer as he requested.

That means the jury won't hear what is perhaps the strongest evidence against Couey. But the jury will be told that Couey described where to find Jessica's body and that he told jail guards and others about his alleged role in the crime. Prosecutors have DNA and other evidence placing Jessica in the Couey mobile home before she died.

• Jury selection began Monday in the trial for John Evander Couey
• The 48-year-old sex offender faces the death penalty if convicted
• Jessica Lunsford was kidnapped, raped and killed in 2005
• The girl's death led to tougher sex offender laws in at least 19 states

Update: Couey was recently moved to Miami due to publicity issues with jury selection.

Mother forces boy to stand naked outside as punishment

Simone Roundtree (30) stands accused along with her friend Katrina Batista (27) of forcing Roundtree's 10-year-old son to stand outside in subfreezing temperatures as a punishment.

Both are charged with conspiracy and endangering the welfare of a child. Roundtree was held on $2,000 bail while Batista was held on $8,000 bail. New Castle County Police Cpl. Trinidad Navarro said the boy had been forced to sleep on a box spring on a basement floor and had a bucket for a toilet.

The 10-year-old boy is now in state custody.

California v. Cynthia Sommer

After almost 12 hours of jury deliberation, Cynthia Sommer (33) was found guilty of the 2002 fatal poisoning (arsenic) murder of her husband, Sgt. Todd Summer (23) of the US Marine Corps. After complaining of stomach pains, cramps, and other illnesses Sgt. Todd Sommer died suddenly on February 18, 2002. His death was originally ruled as cardiac arrhythmia with unknown etiology. More than a year later, scientists found elevated levels of arsenic in Todd Sommer's tissues: more than 1,000 times the normal level in his liver and 230 times the acceptable level in his kidneys.

Although there was a huge lack of evidence linking Sommer to the murder of her husband, the State managed to get a conviction based on circumstantial evidence. Prosecutors admitted they had no evidence — no purchasing records, electronic paper trail or any direct link to prove that Sommer had access to the arsenic that killed her husband. Instead, they focused on the defendant's seeming inability to live within her means and her promiscuous behavior after her husband's death.

Sommer was not linked to having any connection to arsenic, nor was she linked to any other physical evidence.

Part of the States case they presented was the fact that Sommer, weeks after her husband died, was out at parties and hosting parties (including sex parties/orgies), going to thong and wet t-shirt contests in Tijuana, and getting piercings and tattoos on her body. They argued that this is not the way that a normal person would grieve. However, the defense argued that everyone has their own way of grieving and for some people that includes getting attention, especially physical attention from other people. This is how they tried to explain the reasoning behind Sommer having sexual relationships with other Marines following her husbands funeral death and later on.

Sommer stood to gain $250,000 in veteran benefits after her husband died. She was accused of murdering him to gain financially in order to pay for her breast implants among other things.

Sentencing begins on March 23, 2007

Hello World!

Welcome to the very first post for The Crime Blog. This blog will be updated with information regarding past and current court cases, constitutional right issues and other legal issues that arise within our culture today.