Archive for the ‘Carl Brizzi’ Category
Disturbing Trend of Punishing Mothers Who Failed to Protect Continues
I just don’t get it. Indiana judges and prosecutors go feverishly after battered women to punish them for a child that dies at the hands of a father or a male-figure in the household, yet will take children from mothers who report abuse. What is wrong with these people?
Reflecting back on the recent conviction Kristina Byers-Escobedo, from February 26th, 2010:
Kristina Byers-Escobedo sobbed quietly this morning as sheriff’s deputies led her from the courtroom of Judge Jane Woodward Miller in handcuffs. Miller sentenced Byers-Escobedo to 30 years executed, denying the 31-year-old an opportunity for parole.
She also denied a request by Byers-Escobedo’s lawyer to allow his client one day to report in order to say goodbye to her young son.
“I cannot and will not give you additional time to report,” Miller said, explaining Byers-Escobedo should have already prepared the child for the possibility she would be imprisoned.
In sentencing Byers-Escobedo, Miller admonished the mother for failing to protect her daughter, 2-year-old Maya Escobedo, from the child’s father, Valentin Escobedo, who has been charged with murder in the child’s death.
“You told us you were protecting your family,” Miller said, referring to Byers-Escobedo’s explanation of why she ignored signs of abuse by Valentin Escobedo. “… I don’t know what you were protecting. I know what you were not protecting. You were not protecting the one person who was too young and too vulnerable to protect herself.”
WHAT A JOKE: “You were not protecting the one person who was too young and too vulnerable to protect herself.” When mothers do, they lose their children. It is happening far too much here in Indiana.
And now Rachael Goodman has been harshly sentenced after pleading guilty to neglect. Did she have any other choice, with Carl Brizzi promising to go full guns after her? He won’t go after fathers sexually abusing their daughters (with medical proof at that!), but he’ll darned sure go after mothers. Was she hoping with the guilty plea to avoid a long, harsh sentence, especially since she had been beaten by the perpetrator badly also?
(Grrrrr….she got 25 years with 5 years suspended, so much for rewarding her for helping convict the perpetrator). Our sincere condolences go to Ms. Goodman for all she’s had to endure, and continues to endure from the mother-hating State of Indiana. Best of luck to Ms. Byers-Escobedo on her appeal also.
Once again, the corrupt bastard judges of Marion County and Carl Brizzi are patting themselves on the back for taking down another mother, one way or the other.
Thanks Indiana Supreme Court! But How About When Brizzi Won’t Go After Child Sexual Abusers?
I see the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission is taking more action. Thank you! But so much more has to be done about the corrupt situation in the family courts here with the lawyers and the judges dealing with these cases. Nothing that Carl Brizzi is being investigated for in the current complaint compares with having his office look the other way when a child is being sexually abused, just because it is involving a child in a custody case.
Something has got to be done about letting children continue to be sexually abused, letting women continue to be battered, then taking their children away to be awarded to the abusers.
From the Indianapolis Star:
Brizzi faces disciplinary charges
The Indiana Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Commission has leveled charges against Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi for public comments about two cases, including the 2006 Hamilton Avenue slayings.The commission accuses Brizzi, a Republican, of making comments in a 2006 news release and during a 2008 news conference that went beyond informing the public of his decisions to file charges.
The complaint cites several comments by Brizzi condemning the two defendants accused of killing seven people on Hamilton Avenue, including: “They weren’t going to let anyone or anything get in the way of what they believed to be an easy score.” He said the crime merited the death penalty.
Last year, Brizzi speculated about accused serial killer Bruce Mendenhall’s mindset and discussed evidence against him in an Indianapolis killing.
The commission says in its Oct. 1 verified complaint that such comments outside the courtroom violate professional rules of conduct and could prejudice a case.
Desmond Turner’s trial in the Hamilton Avenue case begins Monday. Brizzi recently dropped his death penalty request in a deal that included Turner waiving his right to a jury.
“I think the timing is suspicious,” Brizzi said Wednesday. “I will reserve comment until I see the complaint.”
The Indiana Supreme Court will give Brizzi a chance to respond. In attorney discipline cases, the court can issue sanctions ranging from a private reprimand to disbarment.
Also see: Carl Brizzi: Prosecuting Battered Women
How Do We Stop Domestic Violence In Indiana? Here is Our List!
Do we expect anything to come of this…hardly. The courts in Indiana refuse to take domestic violence seriously. If there are allegations of domestic violence in a relationship, the perp’s lawyer will have it pulled out of domestic violence court (Court #21 in Marion County) and pull it into family court, even if they didn’t start there. This is where the perp’s lawyer will turn it into a he said/she said battle, with allegations even more outrageous, in an effort to cloud the issue on who the abuser actually is. Even with actual evidence, the crooked judges here often ignore it. And there are plenty of father-leaning Whores of the Court here to feed it to them (see Local “Stepfamily” Counselor Celebrates Baby’s Death and Leading Lambs to the Slaughter…).
When the Indianapolis Star gives a local neonazi/skinhead father’s rights guy Stuart Showalter, of Boone County Fathers, the opportunity to pimp a shared parenting bill he is getting his lackey State Senator Dennis Kruse to submit to the legislature, and not print a letter from us warning of the dangers of these abusive parents using claims of “Parental Alienation Syndrome” as an excuse to get children from mothers when Governor Daniels signed a proclamation day for this, it is horrifying (see Our New Letter for the Press: The “Parental Alienation Awareness” Scam gets our Governor Mitch Daniels). But that is the patriarchal cultural of Indiana. You only have to look at the front pages of the Indianapolis Star on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day this year to see that. And did you catch the Mother’s Day message from Senator Evan Bayh. That’s right, he didn’t send one, but he did to father’s on Father’s Day in preparation of submitting his Fatherhood Initiative bill to congress. Listen to the talk radio stations here in town. An hour hardly goes by without father’s rights lawyers Cordell & Cordell advertising on how they will get the kids for guys (yes, they know who has to the money to fight the fight) and “protect their financial means to do so.” Gag gag gag. It is not about the kids for these guys. It is about the $$$.
Showalter blamed Angie Warnock for her own death by saying she shouldn’t had gotten a protective order against him, that it just caused the situation to get worse (see Joseph Warnock Takes Responsibility For Killing Angie, but Stuart Showalter Still Blames Her). Really? Stuart believes that every father, violent or not, deserves to share the child…50/50, even if the parent didn’t share in parenting before, even if the parent abused the other parent in front of the childen (he just needs family counseling Showalter claims). I wonder how Angie’s two daughter feel about their father now, having witnessed him stabbing her in front of them.
Until the patriarchal, victim-blaming, mother-bashing culture comes to an end here, we will continue to see more victims at the hands of these violent men.
1. Stop the Mickey Mouse diversion programs…put the abuser in jail.
2. Stop pulling domestic violence charges out of the DV court. It is not a civil matter, it is a CRIMINAL matter.
3. Stop taking children from mothers and giving them to the abusers, often with the mothers not allowed to see their children again. Yes, that happens here. It happens all the time.
4. Start making the judges here follow the law. Stop slapping their hands…fire them (see Miami County Judge Publically Admonished by Indiana for Awarding Child Custody to Father Without Telling Mother).
It’s time to wake up people.
From today’s Indianapolis Star:
County forms task force to review deaths from domestic violence
Recent domestic violence deaths spurs county to form task force
The Hendricks County Commissioners have approved the formation of a task force to review local deaths from domestic violence.
The county has been stung with at least three such deaths in the past year, and that has triggered the formation of at least two organizations that will probe the causes and try to prevent more deaths.
One is a task force created with a new county ordinance to review previous deaths and report to state agencies that track statewide trends in domestic violence. The other organization is the revival of the long-dormant Hendricks County Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
October is National Domestic Violence Month.
The most recent of the three domestic violence deaths that have raised concerns in the county was the June killing of Angela Warnock, who was stabbed more than 50 times in front of her daughters. Her husband, Joseph Warnock, pleaded guilty to murder and faces sentencing Oct. 9.
The task force to review fatalities from domestic violence was created in response to a year-old state law.
Hendricks County Prosecutor Patricia Baldwin said the law requires each county to create a group to analyze causes and responses to domestic violence and report findings to the state.
“Domestic violence cuts across all economic and social levels in our communities, or at least that’s what we believe is the case, but it isn’t always easy to confirm,” Baldwin said. “This is part of a program to track the trends and our response.”
The ordinance requires the formation of a task force with about 15 members, including government officials, a judge, police, prosecutors, an emergency room physician, a defense attorney, a religious leader or pastor, a worker in a battered women’s shelter, and a pathologist or coroner. It also requires an educator, a probation officer, an animal control officer and representatives from the business community.
Baldwin said the task force would look at past deaths to see what could have been done to avoid or prevent such a tragedy.
“I think our responses have been pretty good. I don’t know that much would have changed” to affect the recent cases in the county, she said.
The Hendricks County Coalition has reformed after having lapsed for eight years.
Since August, about 15 people whose jobs touch domestic abuse and violence, have met twice to revive the coalition.
Julie Randall, a former director of Danville’s Sheltering Wings Center, said a preliminary online survey of professionals dealing with domestic violence found 72 percent believe violence is increasing.
Members of the coalition said they would step up efforts to educate the public about the causes of violence and the resources available to settle situations.
If necessary, they said they would look for reforms in state law, law enforcement and social services. They would train volunteers to expand on the county victims assistance program, with trained volunteers in the courthouse to direct victims of domestic violence to shelter and aid.
They look to the success of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which educated the public about the dangers of driving while intoxicated.
“MADD stigmatized the crime of drunk driving so that it is not socially acceptable,” said Brian Johnson, a defense attorney from Brownsburg. “If you want to effect real change in domestic violence, than you have to create deterrence.”
In another Hendricks County death related to a domestic dispute, Michael R. Gelinas, 49, was killed in the driveway of his Avon home on May 27. John Gary Cooper, 58, Avon, faces one count of murder. Investigators said Cooper believed his wife was romantically involved with Gelinas.
In a third case that deeply affected Hendricks social and domestic violence workers, 44-year-old Yvonne Kretzer died of brain trauma in March in an Indianapolis hospital, after years of beatings. The Ohio woman had sought comfort in the Sheltering Wings Center in Danville, and then went back to her husband.
Attention Indiana Lawmakers and DSC, CPS: Don’t Take the Children, Take the ABUSER Away
When will they start taking abusers seriously? The victim and children don’t ask for it…although some people here think they do.
Whenever the Department of Child Services responds to calls of domestic violence, “the first thing we do is see if the children need to be removed”
No, remove the violent abusive father and don’t put him in some Mickey Mouse diversion program, and the problem is solved. Why are DCS, CPS, and the rest ofthese Indiana state agencies still holding this mentality? Don’t take the children, take the abuser away…for a LONG time. In this case, this Bozo is currently in the crowbar hotel, but many abusers get away with an out…and that out is diversion programs.
Nobody in this state takes domestic violence seriously, nor do they take abusers seriously.
Estranged husband with gun arrested
By SOPHIA VORAVONG • svoravong@jconline.com • September 3, 2009
A rural Lafayette teenager who called 911 late Tuesday, reporting that her father had a firearm and was threatening her mother, could be credited with saving her mother’s life.
Tippecanoe County sheriff’s deputies who were called at 11 p.m. to the family’s home on Primrose Path, off County Road 200 East, found a loaded and cocked handgun in the father’s waistband, according to court documents.
The father, Flavio M. Gonzalez, 40, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, domestic battery, intimidation with a deadly weapon and resisting law enforcement.
He was being held Wednesday in the Tippecanoe County Jail on a $250,000 surety bond.
The mother, Yolanda Gonzalez, was able to get away from her estranged husband. She suffered a minor injury to one hand but was otherwise unharmed, Sheriff Tracy Brown said.
He said the couple’s four children, ranging in age from 7 to 16, were in the house when deputies arrived. They also were unharmed. Brown said a 15-year-old dialed 911.
The Tippecanoe County prosecutor’s office on Wednesday was granted a request to hold Flavio Gonzalez for 72 hours, not including weekends and Labor Day.
That would give the prosecutor’s office until Tuesday to file formal charges.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed Wednesday with the 72-hour hold request, Yolanda and Flavio Gonzalez had been married for nearly 16 years but are going through divorce proceedings.
Yolanda Gonzalez told investigators that her estranged husband recently lost his job due to a conviction for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
He allegedly was drinking Tuesday night and got angry over a bill for a vehicle that belongs to one of their daughters. Yolanda Gonzalez told investigators that Flavio Gonzalez allegedly ordered her to say goodbye to their children and forced her into the garage.
She claims that her estranged husband made her kneel down and that he was waving a handgun at her.
Sheriff’s deputies reported hearing two people yelling and a loud smack near the garage, followed by more shouting and a door slamming shut, when they arrived on Primrose Path.
Flavio Gonzalez allegedly ignored commands by Lt. Scott Hodson to stop and put his hands in the air. Other deputies who came around the back of the garage were able to stop him.
Along with the handgun, deputies found several cell phones and a knife on Flavio Gonzalez.
“An action that he took with the firearm, directed at his wife, is the reason for the preliminary charge of attempted murder,” Brown said.
Brown declined further clarification, pending formal charges.
The Indiana Department of Child Services also was called out because children were involved. Angela Smith Grossman, director of the Tippecanoe County branch, said she was unable to discuss the case because of privacy laws.
Whenever the Department of Child Services responds to calls of domestic violence, “the first thing we do is see if the children need to be removed,” Grossman said.
Flavio Gonzalez, who appeared before a court magistrate on Wednesday, is scheduled for another hearing this afternoon because he requested a language interpreter.
Failure to Report vs. False Allegations
This is a great and very relevant post, written by Miss J from Media Misses:
Failure to report vs. false allegations
In this corner, we have “failure to report,” a situation where a person fails to report child abuse. The person can be fined or jailed.
And in this corner, we have “false allegations,” a charge that a person (women are often to blame) makes a malicously false allegation (to see how popular this is, google “false allegations” and see all the fathers’ rights sites pop up). A person can be fined, jailed or lose custody over a supposedly “false” allegation.
Ding
Round one begins:
CPS: Child beating victim in very serious condition
JASPER COUNTY – Investigators say the father of a 5-year-old boy chased him around the yard with a chainsaw after beating him so severely the youngster is now in very critical condition at a hospital.
The child’s father, John Cornelius, 24, is charged with Injury to a Child and jailed on a $500,000 bond. Cornelius’ girlfriend, Jessie Waddell, and her mother, Wanda Macks, 54, are charged with Injury to a Child and Failure to Report an injury. Their bonds are a total of $140,000 each.
Waddell isn’t the boy’s biological mother.
Shari Pulliam with Child Protective Services says Waddell and Macks told investigators Cornelius chased his 5-year-old son around the yard with a chainsaw last weekend because he was mad the child complained that his leg hurt after he was beaten.
The boy had surgery Wednesday night and underwent a third operation Thursday afternoon at a Houston hospital. Pulliam says he’s in critical condition and adjusting to a ventilator.
Pulliam says the boy has a MRSA staph infection which began in his leg and spread throughout his body.
Judge dismisses abuse allegations
In the last two years, Nicole Vanosdel has made at least three reports of alleged sex abuse involving her ex-husband. The reports included allegations of touching, kissing and fondling alleged by their daughter, the mother said.
Each time, Iowa’s Department of Human Services has not found enough evidence to confirm, or found, the girl’s accounts, Nicole Vanosdel said.
On Friday, the girl called 911 again, alleging she had suffered abuse – but not that night. She was questioned, examined at a hospital and placed in Children’s Square shelter with about 10 other children.
She remained at the shelter until Wednesday, when her mother, the primary custodial parent, was allowed to pick her up. Vanosdel said she has a 15-year-old daughter from another relationship, and she has no problems allowing the teen to visit her father.
Child abuse experts said Wednesday that most allegations of sex abuse wind up not being prosecuted for lack of evidence. said Donita Faust, a licensed social worker and forensic interviewer for the regional children’s protection center at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines.
“Often, all you have is the child’s word,”
However, Faust and other experts said young children rarely lie about such things. And it’s extremely rare for young children to lie consistently about sex abuse.
Can’t we sue judges for “failure to prosecute”?!
Why don’t we believe the children?! The father countered her claim of sexual abuse with the pseudo-scientific claim of parental alienation syndrome (PAS). PAS has been discredited by the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Prosecutors Research Institute and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. YET THIS JUDGE BELIEVES THE FATHER’S CLAIM OF PAS AND NOT THE CHILD’S CLAIM OF SEXUAL ABUSE.
Failure to report vs. false allegations have put women between a rock and hard place, especially in family court. Don’t report abuse and you can be fined or jailed. Report abuse and get branded a liar – moreover, you can be fined, jailed or lose custody for making a “false” allegation of abuse. That means your child will live with the person who is allegedly abusing him or her. Laws that punish people for “false allegations” are on the rise due to many fathers’ rights groups lobbying efforts. Punishment deters reporting. One has to wonder why fathers would want to punish people for making abuse allegations – doesn’t sound very fatherly to me, does it to you?
More rounds to come…
Carl Brizzi: Prosecuting Battered Women
Hey, Carl Brizzi. I heard you say on the radio that you were personally going to prosecute this. Do you take this view when a man who has beat his wife, girlfriend or child has a case come to your office? How come so many men get away with not going to court for domestic violence? How come, if they do make it into court and are found guilty, they are put in a “diversion” program? How come if a child is sexually abused, the prosecutor’s office turns it head because it is in the middle of a “custody dispute” and doesn’t warrant going after?
How come domestic violence is a total joke in the courts of Marion County…if a Protective Order is issued…it will be dragged into family court for hearing? And we know how the judges really take domestic violence seriously here (NOT).
Why are you so interested in punishing this battered woman? A women in fear of her life also. Shouldn’t you worry a little bit more about the batterers and the child sex abusers here?
From The Indianapolis Star:
Mother faces neglect charge in tot’s beating death
Woman left room because she couldn’t bear to watch fatal beating, Brizzi says
Marion County’s prosecutor filed a felony neglect charge Wednesday against a woman who, he said, is only the latest mother to stand by while a boyfriend killed her child.
Rachel Goodmann, 21, told investigators after the March 11 incident that she went to a bedroom because she couldn’t stand seeing her 15-month-old daughter, Lilliana Goodmann, being beaten with a belt, according to court documents.
The beating, in an apartment in the 2100 block of Amerherst Drive, led to Lilliana’s death two days later and a murder charge against Tayuan Chism, 18. Goodmann, accused of failing to intervene or seek treatment for Lilliana, could face 20 to 50 years in prison if convicted.
“We’ve seen a pattern where mothers allow these men, who are not the natural fathers of their children, to use extreme discipline or even beat them,” Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said.
Brizzi said Goodmann, who cooperated with police after Lilliana’s beating, arranged to turn herself in today.
Prosecutors say Chism beat the toddler on and off with a belt for as long as two hours, leading to internal bleeding and a skull fracture. Police said a man and a 17-year-old girl awoke to sounds of the beating, grabbed the girl and took her to the hospital.
Last month, in another child-death case, a Marion Superior Court judge told Charity Bailey, 22, mother of 3-year-old TaJanay Bailey, that she had been “passive toward the torture of your daughter.” He gave her 35 years in prison. Her boyfriend, Lawrence L. Green, got a 65-year murder sentence.
Mothers Of Lost Children - Indiana 