LYING PROPAGANDA: LIFE MEANS LIFE

Death penalty repeal supporters say life means life

• By JoANNE YOUNG / Lincoln Journal Star

A retired district court judge and two state senators who supported repeal of the death penalty in Nebraska pushed the point at a news conference Wednesday that a convicted murderer with a mandatory life sentence would never get out of prison. 

“The Legislature examined life imprisonment extensively for years, and we are crystal clear that we have a strong life sentence that guarantees those with that sentence die in prison,” said Lincoln Sen. Colby Coash, who helped lead the effort in the Legislature to repeal the death penalty last year. 

But Nebraskans for the Death Penalty countered after the news conference that the claim is "simply untrue." The state Board of Pardons has -- as recently as 2013 -- commuted a life sentence, which allowed a convicted murderer to be paroled, said Bob Evnen, a founding member of the group. 

Retain A Just Nebraska, which supports the death penalty repeal, made its point Wednesday because of concerns raised by opponents that a person sentenced to life could someday get out of prison. 

The retain-the-repeal campaign is traveling the state to deliver the message and plans cable TV and radio advertising this summer, said spokesman Dan Parsons. 

Nebraskans for the Death Penalty will conduct its own grassroots campaign this summer and fall, Evnen said, and it could also extend to television and radio ads. 

"We will be reaffirming with people why it does work and why it is a proper punishment in the most extreme and heinous cases," he said. "And (that) we ought to protect those who protect us." 

Retired District Court Judge Ronald Reagan, who served on the bench for more than 32 years and sentenced John Joubert to death in the electric chair for killing two boys, said at the news conference he has no doubt that Nebraska's life imprisonment law will keep first-degree murderers behind bars -- for life.

“I want to make sure there is no legal confusion that life imprisonment means life in prison, no chance of parole," Reagan said. "Anything else is political posturing and has no grounding in the legal realities." 

Reagan has said he always opposed the death penalty but felt that as a judge he must remain silent. He said he has seen the worst of the worst cases in Nebraska and has studied the laws carefully.

When someone is sentenced to life, he said, that person dies in prison.

And, Reagan said, the Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed it.

In 2014, in State v. Juan Castaneda, the court said a life sentence in Nebraska is no different than a sentence of life without parole, he said.

Lincoln Sen. Adam Morfeld, a member of the Legislature's Judiciary Committee, said those who want to bring back the death penalty are trying to confuse voters by suggesting that people who are sentenced to life could get out.

“You will hear those who want to keep the death penalty say that if we get rid of it, people are going to get out. This is simply untrue," Morfeld said. 

But Evnen noted that in 2013, the Pardons board -- made up then of Gov. Dave Heineman, Attorney General Jon Bruning and Secretary of State John Gale -- commuted the life sentence of a man convicted of first-degree murder in 1973. Laddie Dittrich was paroled the next year and arrested seven months later for third-degree sexual assault of a child. Now 70, he's back in prison.

"The Pardons Board is a very, very powerful body. ... No court can reverse or even review the decisions of the Pardons Board," Evnen said.

Retain A Just Nebraska spokesman Parsons said Dittrich's commutation was "terrible judgment" by the Pardons Board.

"They should be held accountable," he said. "I suspect future Pardons Boards won't make the same mistake."

Evnen also said that while people opposed to the death penalty are trying to guarantee that life means life, at the same time they are arguing in Nebraska courts that life without parole is a cruel and unusual sentence, and unconstitutional.

The death penalty repeal bill passed last year with 16 Republican votes, 13 Democratic votes and one independent vote, Coash said. The Legislature overrode the governor's veto of the bill. 

A year ago, Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson issued a legal opinion on whether the absence of the words "without the possibility of parole" would open the possibility of parole for an inmate sentenced to life.

"Under current Nebraska law," he said, "a sentence of life imprisonment is effectively life imprisonment without parole."

Because of a successful petition initiative, Nebraskans will vote in November on whether to retain the repeal of the death penalty.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7228 or jyoung@journalstar.com. 

http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/death-penalty-repeal-supporters-say-life-means-life/article_0ab32625-a6be-5956-bc07-358bd10bb201.html

INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.omahapoa.com/2013/12/01/early-release-allows-convicted-killer-to-rape-little-girl/ & https://web.facebook.com/VictimsFamiliesForTheDeathPenalty/posts/921891017932865 & https://web.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=670672313086073&id=512638988889407

The anti-death penalty crowd tells us life means life. But that wasn't true for this 12 year old girl. Courts, the Legislature, and even the Board of Pardons can undo a life sentence. Don't be fooled by the deceptive rhetoric of death penalty opponents.

Early Release Allows Convicted Killer to Rape Little Girl

Folks....this one is bad.
Really, really bad.
Brace yourselves.
Meet 49 year old Timothy Clausen.

  

49 year old Timothy Clausen

In 1982, then 18 year old Clausen was sentenced to 4 to 10 years in prison for Burglary, Attempted Burglary and Escape. 

He was released in 1991 at age 27.

The very next year, 1992, Clausen met Kenneth Dove in a Council Bluffs bar.

By all accounts, Dove was a kindly disabled man who wouldn't hurt anybody.

Clausen took Dove to an apartment and - according to news reports - performed anal sex on him.
Clausen - who later claimed that he thought Dove was actually a woman - fatally shot Dove in the top of the head after Dove asked for sex in return.

Clausen claimed he killed Dove in self defense.

Prosecutors suspected his true intent was robbery.

Clausen was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

In a maddening legal twist, Clausen's conviction was overturned by the Nebraska Supreme Court based on alleged ineffective council from his defense attorney.

Clausen eventually pled guilty to Manslaughter and various other weapons charges in order to avoid a retrial.

Clausen was also convicted of Felony Escape resulting from his escape from the Douglas County Correction Center while awaiting trial.

Between all his latest convictions, Clausen was sentenced to 13 to 39 years in prison.

That was back in 1995.

Although on its face it might seem Clausen would be in prison for the rest of his adult life, unfortunately - for one young innocent Omaha girl -the story doesn't end there.

Along came automatic "good time" early release....

The Parole Board awarded Clausen parole in February of 2012.

Clausen's supervised release parole was abruptly ended less than 4 MONTHS LATER in June of 2012 because Nebraska automatic "good time" laws cut BOTH sentences AND parole in half.
No supervision.

No unannounced home visits.

No prohibition against using drugs or alcohol.

No monitoring....at all.

A little more than 17 years after Clausen had been sentenced to a maximum of 39 years for killing a man....he was 100% free.... at only age 48.

Within 4 months time, according to court documents, Clausen allegedly began sexually assaulting a little girl who was younger than age 12.

According to court documents, Clausen was allegedly sexually penetrating the little girl and continued to rape her for over 5 months.

After the police found out and arrested him, Clausen tried to tamper with witnesses.

He was charged with that too and ultimately pled guilty to witness tampering and the reduced charge of *attempted* 1st degree sexual assault on a child.

Last month, former prosecutor, Judge Shelly Stratman sentenced Clausen to 51 years, 8 months to 55 years in prison.

Thanks to good time, Clausen's sentence will again automatically be cut in half, down to 27.5 years.

Thankfully, even with good time, Clausen will be 76 years old upon his mandatory good time early release.

By the looks of him, it is probably a safe bet that even this half sentence will essentially turn out to be a life sentence for Clausen.

Nice job Judge Stratman.

Lincoln?

Are you ready to fix this yet?

Really...really fix this?

How many more victims of automatic good time early release must we endure before you fix this?

We all understand your never ending quest to save a few bucks by releasing violent criminals like Clausen early.

But why should people like his innocent young victim have to be the ones pay the price?

Citizens?

Are you ready to call your senator and DEMAND to know their position on automatic good time early release for violent offenders?