Home invasion

Apparently Custis has finally been cleared for trial/plea deal.

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/05/accused_nanny-cam_attacker_found_competent_to_stan.html

Curtis' defense attorney should just shoot himself for defending such a ruthless criminal -- sorry I just watched that nanny cam video again on the below page...

Klinker said:
Apparently Custis has finally been cleared for trial/plea deal.
http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/05/accused_nanny-cam_attacker_found_competent_to_stan.html

Without that court-appointed defense attorney doing his job, the US would have a judicial system that looks like China's.

dave said:
Without that court-appointed defense attorney doing his job, the US would have a judicial system that looks like China's.

Completely agree with Dave

I'm less worried about the defense lawyer than the prosecutor. Now that the insanity defense is off the table, Custis is probably looking for a plea deal.

On the up side, this current stint in jail is one of the longest he's served in his violent 25 year long criminal career.

author said:

dave said:
Without that court-appointed defense attorney doing his job, the US would have a judicial system that looks like China's.

Completely agree with Dave

+2

Sorry but I don't like my tax money wasted on defending scumbags like that -- Video doesn't lie, ridiculous defense strategies need not apply... to think I sit here like an idiot and pay essex county stupid amounts of tax money so they can hire some idiot to defend a scumbag and waste more money and time and then in the end probably just release him to harm somone else... wow

spontaneous said:

author said:

dave said:
Without that court-appointed defense attorney doing his job, the US would have a judicial system that looks like China's.

Completely agree with Dave

+2

seaweed said:
Sorry but I don't like my tax money wasted on defending scumbags like that -- Video doesn't lie, ridiculous defense strategies need not apply... to think I sit here like an idiot and pay essex county stupid amounts of tax money so they can hire some idiot to defend a scumbag and waste more money and time and then in the end probably just release him to harm somone else... wow

spontaneous said:

author said:

dave said:
Without that court-appointed defense attorney doing his job, the US would have a judicial system that looks like China's.

Completely agree with Dave

+2

And who decides which people are deserving of a fair trial and which are sentenced with no due process?

a judge, but without the nonsense and bull***** that is allowed to take place, with nonsense defense claims and such.... it's a joke... if our justice system was in fact 'just' then this scumbag would have been long rotten in jail and this crime would not have even happened... so I don't know how much better our 'just'ice system is than china's ... criminals love it, that's all I can say...

spontaneous said:

seaweed said:
Sorry but I don't like my tax money wasted on defending scumbags like that -- Video doesn't lie, ridiculous defense strategies need not apply... to think I sit here like an idiot and pay essex county stupid amounts of tax money so they can hire some idiot to defend a scumbag and waste more money and time and then in the end probably just release him to harm somone else... wow

spontaneous said:

author said:

dave said:
Without that court-appointed defense attorney doing his job, the US would have a judicial system that looks like China's.

Completely agree with Dave

+2

And who decides which people are deserving of a fair trial and which are sentenced with no due process?

I would not want to live in a country where someone could sentence me to a lengthy prison sentence without a fair trial. If we want a fair justice system then we should also accept that even those who we abhor still deserve a fair trial.

The idea of denying poor people the right to a fair trial is just sooooooooo wrong that it doesn't bear discussion. As it is, the number of people in this country who are wrongfully convicted because of overburdened under funded public defenders is a national disgrace.

Spend a little time looking at the judicial systems in other societies and you'll be thrilled that ours works as it does.

The protections are not there to protect the guilty. They benefit from them, but that's a burden we tolerate to avoid a system that crushes the innocent

When did I say 'deny poor people the right to a fair trial' ???? I think you're misreading my statements or I was not clear in what I said... I simply am trying to say that this scumbag has hurt many people and our 'justice' system CONTINUALLY lets him loose to do it more and all we do is pay for the bs. All I want and expect from our 'justice' system IS a just and fair trial and a fair punishment to those who commit crimes like this.

Klinker said:
The idea of denying poor people the right to a fair trial is just sooooooooo wrong that it doesn't bear discussion. As it is, the number of people in this country who are wrongfully convicted because of overburdened under funded public defenders is a national disgrace.

Seaweed, you suggested that the poor ought not to have the right to a public defender. How is a poor person going to get a fair trial if they don't have a lawyer?

Again, I never suggested the poor should not have the right to a public defender ... I specifically am talking about the scumbag we keep letting out onto the street only to hurt others ... I don't know if this guy is poor or rich and that is completely irrelevant to me, what is relevant is that I pay for the 'justice' system to do its job and put away the criminals instead of letting them back out over and over again to hurt others.

Watch that video and tell me that this guy is innocent and should be let out AGAIN ... imagine that was your wife in the video ... we pay enough taxes to live here, the least we should have is peace and live worry free, without worrying some scumbag will break in while we're at work and nearly kill our loved ones...

Klinker said:
Seaweed, you suggested that the poor ought not to have the right to a public defender. How is a poor person going to get a fair trial if they don't have a lawyer?

seaweed said:
Sorry but I don't like my tax money wasted on defending scumbags like that -- Video doesn't lie, ridiculous defense strategies need not apply... to think I sit here like an idiot and pay essex county stupid amounts of tax money so they can hire some idiot to defend a scumbag and waste more money and time and then in the end probably just release him to harm somone else... wow

I'm sorry if my statement sounded like I don't want a fair trial for the poor, again that was not my intention ... my intention is to say that this criminal has committed the same crime over and over and over and over and over and over again (check his record and you will see this) and every time he is out to roam the streets and repeat the same exact crime against another person... Luckily this time it was caught on video so I pray this will have some more impact on the 'justice' system to actually be just and fair for once because otherwise he will be out doign SAME exact thing he has for the past decade or two and we will continue to pay to bring him back in and give him another useless trial ...

spontaneous said:

seaweed said:
Sorry but I don't like my tax money wasted on defending scumbags like that -- Video doesn't lie, ridiculous defense strategies need not apply... to think I sit here like an idiot and pay essex county stupid amounts of tax money so they can hire some idiot to defend a scumbag and waste more money and time and then in the end probably just release him to harm somone else... wow

I think everyone agrees that this guy should be locked up for a long time. What we disagree about is the idea that the way to achieve that end is to deprive him of counsel.

You are convicting him without benefit of a trial. No matter how guilty someone appears to be, in our society, every accused person deserves a fair trial and the public defender system is in place to try to achieve that. If even one scumbag can be convicted without that, then we are all at risk of losing our rights in this manner

The cost of a trial with defense by a public defender is likely a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of this actor's numerous stints in the graybar hotel. I'd be more angry knowing that he's been getting 3 meals a day, a roof over his head , possibly a pathway to a diploma or college degree ,and "free" universal healthcare , on my dime every time he decides to pull a b and e or invasion.

The county isn't hiring Robert Shapiro to defend this guy.

This is likely where plea deals come from. You can plead him out and save everyone the time, expense and aggravation of a trial... but what deal are you striking? Is that letting him off easier?

TarheelsInNj said:
This is likely where plea deals come from. You can plead him out and save everyone the time, expense and aggravation of a trial... but what deal are you striking? Is that letting him off easier?

And how long will he actually serve? If you look at his record, he has gotten years and was out in months.

Due to his long history of repeat offenses, includeing sickeningly violent ones, I do hope that they don't once again give him early parole.

Freeway said:
The cost of a trial with defense by a public defender is likely a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of this actor's numerous stints in the graybar hotel. I'd be more angry knowing that he's been getting 3 meals a day, a roof over his head , possibly a pathway to a diploma or college degree ,and "free" universal healthcare , on my dime every time he decides to pull a b and e or invasion.

I don't understand what the issue is with someone getting an education while behind bars. But there is actually a good point here. We shouldn't be warehousing criminals, we should be doing what we can to TRULY try and rehabilitate them so that when they are eventually returned to society they have a better chance of functioning. The changes needed wouldn't be cheap, but if it were to result in shorter sentences (legitimately rather than shorter due to overcrowding) and lower recidivism rates then it would pay off both financially and socially in the long run. What are the underlying issues that led to each incarceration? Lack of education/opportunities? Drug/alcohol addiction? Untreated mental health issues? Some combination of those?

Right now prisoners who are released face a lot of difficulties, the stigma of having a record on top of a myriad of issues that were likely not fully addressed while serving their sentence. Many are destined to fail even if they want to succeed. For someone actually wants a fresh start these problems can still be too much to overcome. Sure, there are some who make it, but rather than saying "that guy turned his life around, you should be able to too" we need to do what we can to help that happen since in the end it benefits ALL of us as a society.

But it needs to be a real effort, not like what the asshat Joe Arpaio set up, where for example prisoners with little or no English are given a two week course where they learn to parrot phrases like "God bless America."

I just felt I should add that I do recognize that some people cannot be helped. And there are some who one screw up will be enough to scare them straight. The group I am worried about are the ones in the middle, who aren't beyond helping but who need some serious support to change.

I have an issue with a frequent flyer who breaks into a person's house and beats them half to death getting anything besides a filed down toothbrush shoved through his neck.

pmartinezv said:

TarheelsInNj said:
This is likely where plea deals come from. You can plead him out and save everyone the time, expense and aggravation of a trial... but what deal are you striking? Is that letting him off easier?

And how long will he actually serve? If you look at his record, he has gotten years and was out in months.

I don't disagree, I'm just pointing out that you can't have it both ways. You either have an actual trial, which involves giving him a lawyer and due process, or you let the prosecutor plead it out.

TarheelsInNj said:

pmartinezv said:

TarheelsInNj said:
This is likely where plea deals come from. You can plead him out and save everyone the time, expense and aggravation of a trial... but what deal are you striking? Is that letting him off easier?

And how long will he actually serve? If you look at his record, he has gotten years and was out in months.

I don't disagree, I'm just pointing out that you can't have it both ways. You either have an actual trial, which involves giving him a lawyer and due process, or you let the prosecutor plead it out.

The prosecutor has sufficient evidence to make sure he spends a lot of time in prison either way. The plea should not be a small fraction of what he would get if convicted at trial. The evidence is too overwhelming. If it was a circumstantial case, yes better lock him up for a little bit than nothing, but come on, they have him on tape! It can't be any clearer cut than this.

Try it. No plea. Seek the max. Get it. Done.