the definition of homicide

Tonight I watched a piece on the local news about a man who entered the country illegally, and after being "aggressive" (can't remember the word the news used) was tasered by the border patrol and later died of a heart attack. The news stated that the medical examiner had ruled it a homicide. Of course people automatically will think homicide = murder and there will be a huge outcry.

Of course homicide only means the killing of one person by another person. It has nothing to do with guilt, mental state, etc. Interestingly enough, they stated that the man had been deported recently after being stopped for a traffic violation and then discovered he was illegal (sound like something familiar in Arizona?) and subsequently deported.

Over the weekend, he chose to illegally cross the border again to reunite with his family. He was caught, later tasered, and died of a heart attack at a SD hospital. Of course it wasn't until the very last split second of the segment did they mention the man had meth in his system. I am not a medical expert so I can only wonder if the meth with the tasering by the border patrol caused the death.

In the end, I think it is just a reminder that we need to remember events like these occur because someone is doing something illegally. Obviously a family is w/o a father now and I wouldn't wish that on anybody. I just think that if a person crossed the border legally, there wouldn't be an issue like this involving border patrol agents.

Shame on you!

Shame on you for taking out adjustable rate mortgages w/o knowing if you could really afford the house once the rate when up! Shame on you for buying a bigger house you could barely afford so you could keep up with the Jones'! Shame on you for walking away from your house even though you could afford to pay the mortgage!

Our house has dumped 33%. Yes 33% in less than four years. We bought it for 180 and a house a few doors down is selling for 119. Holy cow. I blame all those in the Boise area that bit off more than they could chew. I am not blaming those who lost their jobs, just those who bought houses they knew they could barely afford and were always one paycheck away from missing a mortgage payment.

You can try and blame mortgage companies as much as you want but at the end of the day, the buyers were the ones who signed on those many many documents on closing day. It is so frustrating to me that there are those out there that are being hurt by this only because they bought at the wrong time.

I already know when we sell we will be losing money. I already know that we will have to bring money to the table to pay back the loans on the house. I joke with Garrett (though am serious at the same time) that I will be working just to save enough money to sell the house. The only silver lining is it is still worth more than when it was built. At least we have that going, right?

"Paparazzi"

Pandora

Dear Pandora,

Thank you for having free music for me to listen to. I need it as I try to clear my mind so I can fill it up with crim law information. My tenants wants us to spend more money for them to renew their lease. We are willing to do it, but I will be stressed about it until they sign the new lease and the new sprinklers are put in. It isn't working yet, but I have faith you will come through for me!

Elizabeth

Arizona Immigration Law

I enjoyed reading this. Very informational!

Arizona governor: Boycott is misguided
Jan Brewer, the governor of Arizona, responds to calls for sports boycotts of her state
By Gov. Jan Brewer
Special to ESPN.com
Archive
In my 28 years of public service, I have made a lot of tough calls. But with a federal government unwilling to secure our border for years and years, Arizona is left with little choice. Imagine a sporting event in which rules have been agreed to for 70 years, but the umpires refuse to enforce those rules. It makes no sense. Although I recognize that Arizona Senate Bill 1070, as amended, is not the entire solution to our illegal immigration problem in Arizona, most people are united in the hope that it will finally inspire the politicians in Washington, D.C., to stop talking and to start action now.

By now, sports fans everywhere have heard something about the passage of Senate Bill 1070, a measure I signed into law. It has resulted in protests outside ballparks hosting our Arizona Diamondbacks and has led to calls on Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig to strip the City of Phoenix's opportunity to host baseball's Midsummer Classic in July 2011.

Urging Major League Baseball to take away next year's All-Star Game from Phoenix is the wrong play. In Arizona, both proponents and opponents of Senate Bill 1070 have stated that economic boycotts are an inappropriate and misguided response to an issue that is clearly worthy of proper public debate and discourse. Put simply, history shows that boycotts backfire and harm innocent people. Boycotts are just more politics and manipulation by out-of-state interests. As a border state, Arizona has already paid a heavy price for the federal government's failure -- hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in unreimbursed costs -- and its citizens should not be punished further.

It is critically important that all Americans understand the impetus for this new law and have a clear understanding of the law itself. Our neighbor to the south, Mexico, is in a massive battle with well-organized drug cartels. Because of Washington's failure to secure our southern border, Arizona has become the superhighway of illegal drug and human smuggling activity. In December 2008, the U.S. Justice Department said that Mexican gangs are the "biggest organized crime threat to the United States." In 2009, Phoenix had 316 kidnapping cases, turning the city into our nation's kidnapping capital. Almost all of the persons kidnapped were illegal immigrants or linked to the drug trade.

Essentially, our border leaks like a team with a last-place defense. The very same week that I signed the new law, a major drug ring was broken up and Mexican cartel operatives suspected of running 40,000 pounds of marijuana through southern Arizona were indicted.

While drug smuggling is the principal cause of our massive border-violence problem, many of the same criminal organizations also smuggle people. Busts of drop houses, where illegal immigrants are often held for ransom or otherwise severely abused, are
not uncommon occurrences in Arizona neighborhoods.
Today, Arizona has approximately 6,000 prison inmates who are foreign nationals, representing a cost to our state of roughly $150 million per year. Arizona taxpayers are paying for a vast majority of these incarceration expenses because the federal government refuses to pay what it owes. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, as governor of Arizona, sent numerous requests to the federal government to pay for these prisoners -- only to be given the same answer she and President Barack Obama are now giving Arizona: They will not pay the bill.
The Immigration Issue

Arizona's new immigration law has become a hot-button topic in the world of sports. Over the past several days, ESPN has presented a number of perspectives on the controversy.

When I signed the legislation, I stated clearly I will not tolerate racial discrimination or racial profiling in Arizona. My administration worked for weeks with legislators to improve SB 1070, to specifically clarify and strengthen its civil rights protections. I issued an executive order to implement proper training and enforcement protocols for our police so that the intent of the language could not be misconstrued. Although it is already against the law, the new law undeniably prohibits law enforcement officers from considering race, color or national origin in implementing the new statute.

I have worked for years without fail to solve problems diligently and practically. I have done so always with an eye toward civility, and always with the greatest respect for the rule of law.

This new law is no different. As committed as I am to protecting our state from crime associated with illegal immigration, I am equally committed to holding law enforcement accountable should this statute ever be misused to violate an individual's rights.

There have been countless distortions, honest omissions, myths and bad information about Arizona's new law -- many, undoubtedly, spread to create fear or mistrust.
So here are the facts:

1. The new Arizona law creates a state penalty to mirror what already is a federal crime. Despite the most vile and hate-filled portrayals of proponents of the law as "Nazis," actions that have been condemned nationally by the Anti-Defamation League, it is ALREADY a federal requirement for legal aliens in the United States to carry their green card or other immigration document. The new Arizona law enforces what has been a federal crime since before World War II. As anyone who has traveled abroad knows, other nations have similar laws.
2. Contrary to many of the horror stories being spread -- President Obama suggested families risk being pulled over while going out for ice cream -- law enforcement cannot randomly ask anyone about their immigration status. Much like enforcement of seat belt laws in many states, under SB 1070 there must first be reasonable suspicion that you are breaking some OTHER non-immigration law before an officer can ask a person about their legal status. Only then, after law enforcement officers have a "reasonable suspicion" that another law has been broken, can they inquire about immigration status -- but ONLY if that individual's behavior provides "reasonable suspicion" that the person is here illegally.
"Reasonable suspicion" is a well-understood concept that has been thoroughly vetted through numerous federal court cases. Many have asked: What is reasonable suspicion? Is it race, skin color or national origin? No! Racial profiling is prohibited in the new law. Examples of reasonable suspicion include: a person running away when approached by law enforcement officers, or a car failing to stop when the police turn on their lights and siren.
3. Arizona's local law enforcement officers, who already reflect the great diversity of culture in our state, are going to be trained to enforce the new immigration law in a constitutional manner. It is shameful and presumptive for opponents to question the good will and the competence of Arizona's law enforcement personnel. The specter that is raised of rogue, racist police harassing people is insulting to those in Arizona who risk their lives in the name of law enforcement every day.
President Theodore Roosevelt said, "No man is above the law and no man is below it; nor do we ask any man's permission when we require him to obey it. Obedience to the law is demanded as a right; not asked as a favor." Arizona has been more than patient waiting for Washington to act. Decades of federal inaction and misguided policy have created a dangerous and unacceptable situation. Arizona has acted to enforce the rule of law equally and without bias toward any person.
It is time for our country to act to resolve our border security problem; an economic boycott in Arizona would only exacerbate it -- and hurt innocent families and businesses merely seeking to survive during these difficult economic times.
A boycott that would actually improve border security would be to boycott illegal drugs. Dramatically less drug use and production would do wonders for the safety of all our communities.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?page=brewer/100505