USA Today has a new investigation out today about prosecutors in the U.S., concluding that prosecutors “have little reason to fear losing their jobs, even if they violate laws or constitutional safeguards designed to ensure the justice system is fair.”
In drawing patterns of ignored prosecutorial misconduct, the story highlights several cases throughout the United States, including the prosecution of homicide cases in D.C. Read more
I want to take a quick moment to thank all of you who have visited Homicide Watch D.C. over the past eight weeks. This site is a labor of love (as well as a work in progress) and that you are finding useful and helpful information and ways to connect is so rewarding.
Because Homicide Watch D.C. is designed to be a community news site, I’m hoping you might take moment to share some of your thoughts about what you have seen here and what you would like to see here. A short survey follows the jump and you can leave your responses in comments or by emailing them to me at homicidewatchdc [at] gmail.com
Sincerely,
LauraRead more
Updated court records show that Joseph Spinks, accused of killing Delonte Butler, will not appear in court tomorrow (Tuesday). Spinks was expected in courtroom 310 (Judge Lynn Leibovitz) at 9:30 a.m. for a preliminary hearing.
The hearing has been rescheduled for Friday, Dec. 10. at 9:30 a.m. in courtroom 310.
If the there aren’t any further changes in the calendar, Friday promises to be a busy day at D.C. Superior Court: in addition to Spinks, Kwan Kearney, Larnell Allen and Marvin Palencia are also all scheduled for prelims.
Few details have emerged since initial reports from the Washington Post and TBD almost nine hours ago that Metro Police were investigating a possible homicide in Southwest D.C.
D.C. Police told TBD that the man was found hanging in a tree near South Capitol and I streets SW. Twitter user @DCseth tweeted this morning that the body was found in an area park.
Omg I think a body may have been found in the park I walk thru on my way to/from work! SW DC
Yeah, so a body WAS found in the park I walk through to and from work every day. No details yet.
Metro Police have not issued a press release and a spokesperson told TBD this evening that they had “no information” about the case.
We’ll monitor through the night. If you have a tip or lead, leave a comment on this post, email homicidewatchdc [at] gmail.com, or tweet us @homicidewatch.
-Laura
The Washington Post reports a possible homicide in Southwest D.C.:
D.C. homicide detectives are investigating the discovery of a man found dead in Southwest.
He was found shortly before 9 a.m. at South Capitol and I streets, authorities said.
Update 11:30 a.m.: TBD is reporting that the man was found hanging from a tree.
(Thanks Coraline.)
Police Chief Cathy Lanier and ANC Commissioner Sedrick Muhammad spoke last week about homicide crimes in the District. Read more
Aaron Morrissey over at DCist pulled the numbers on D.C. homicides by each mayor’s administration to see if there was any truth to that assumption that homicides have significantly declined under the leadership of Adrian Fenty.
His conclusion? Yes and no.
As you can see from the charts above which are based on 2010 projections*, Fenty will have presided over a little over a 28 percent decrease in the number of homicides that occurred during his first year in office, 2007. This is a sizable figure, and certainly something for Fenty to brag about. But it is hardly without peer. In fact, Anthony Williams, who held office directly before Fenty, presided over a 31 percent decrease in his second term. Even Marion Barry — who, in his third term as mayor, saw the number of homicides in the city more than double — presided over a just short of 28 percent decrease during his fourth term, between 1995 and 1998. Walter Washington and Sharon Pratt Kelly also achieved double-digit percentage decreases in the number of homicides when they were mayor.Read more
If you have found information that has helped you in some way this week on Homicide Watch D.C., please consider visiting our pitch on Spot.Us and making a small donation towards the work we are doing.
Spot.Us is a community journalism funding network and we are using it to fund the collection and digital publication of court documents in homicide cases. If 20 people can donate $20 or more today we’ll be almost half way to our goal.
It’s easy to do and we really appreciate your help.
-Laura
Just a quick note here that something has shifted court dates on the calendar. I’ll try and get it fixed tonight, but for now know that next week Kwan Kearney and Jeremy Risper are due in court Monday. Joesph Spinks on Tuesday. Ramona Gray on Thursday and Kwan Kearney and Marvin Palencia on Friday. All are scheduled for 9:30 a.m.
Remember, a change in court security has resulted in long lines to get into the building. Plan on arriving at least a half hour early.
And I’m going to try and figure out why the court dates shifted.
-Laura
HWDC has been live online for a little more than two months now. This project is a labor of love: I’m a freelance reporter here in D.C. and when I went to local news sources for information when crimes were happening in my neighborhood I didn’t find what I needed. I decided to do something about that.
You can learn more about our goals with HWDC on the About page and by looking around the site. We’re publishing developing details from cases, court documents, photos, links, obituaries, memorial information, a court calendar and more.
If HWDC has helped you, or if you believe like we do that every victim deserves to be remembered, every case needs to be followed, I invite you to help. We have a fundraising effort underway at Spot.Us, a crowd-sourced journalism funding site. You can donate to this project by contributing cash or taking a quick and anonymous marketing survey.
Questions or comments? Email me at homicidewatchdc [at] gmail.com. And thanks for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Laura
