IN LOVING MEMORY OF GYOVANNY ARZUAGA AND YASMIN PEREZ (JUNE 19, 2021)

Let us not forget this Puerto Rican couple, yovanny Arzuaga and Yasmin who were shot in a graphic video in Chicago after celebrating a Puerto Rican Day parade with a Puerto Rican flag on their car on June 19, 2021. Keep them in prayers as they leave behind 2 children. Do support them by donating to support the children and remembering them.

Yasmin Perez, 25, died on Tuesday morning, days after her boyfriend Gyovanni Arzuaga

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9717433/Chicago-mom-dies-injuries-days-dragged-car-beaten-shot.html]

Gyovanny Arzuaga and Yasmin Perez were shot in a graphic video in Chicago after celebrating a Puerto Rican Day parade with a Puerto Rican flag on their car.

Arzuaga died immediately; Yasmin Perez survived for some time, but she has also now died, according to CBS Chicago.

According to Chicago police, the husband and girlfriend (parents of two children) were celebrating the parade on Saturday, June 19, 2021, when gunmen ambushed and shot them. Arzuaga, 24, was from Chicago. Perez is 25 years old.

Police said three unknown suspects opened fire on the pair in Humboldt Park around 9:15 p.m. The motive is not yet clear.

However, a minor traffic incident preceded it. “There was a very minor traffic accident, and a group of people swarmed that specific car,” said Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan, according to Fox 32. “A group of people swarmed that specific car, they are seen hitting and beating that woman. You see the suspect shooting him in the head almost execution style.”

Gyovanny Arzuaga, 24, and Yasmin Perez, 25, were attacked by up to three unidentified men who opened fire on them in Humboldt Park on the city’s Northwest Side around 9:15 p.m., Chicago police said.

INTERNET SOURCE: https://heavy.com/news/gyovanny-arzuaga-chicago-puerto-rican-flag-shooting-video/

  

Gyovanny Arzuaga and Yasmin Perez {GoFundMe Twitter}

The couple had two children: Sofiya and Jaden, who will be 1 year old on Friday

My name is Isaly Schaffner and Yasmin was my cousin and Godsister. 

On June 19th, 2021, Gyovanny Arzuaga and Yasmin Perez were celebrating at the Puerto Rican Day Parade in Humboldt Park when they were both tragically shot. Gyo unfortunately passed away after arriving to the hospital and Yasmin is in critical condition after sustaining a gunshot wound to the neck. Please keep them, their children, and their families in your thoughts and prayers during this time. This fundraiser is to cover funeral service costs for Gyo’s family and medical bills for Yasmin’s family. 

INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.gofundme.com/f/2f3dfk8xco?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unknown&utm_campaign=comms_h9hz%202f3dfk8xco

A memorial to shooting victims Gyovanny Arzuaga, 24, and Yasmin Perez, 23, is attached to a pole Tuesday, June 22, 2021 at the corner of West Division Street and North Spaulding Avenue in Humboldt Park in Chicago. The Cook County medical examiner’s office says 23-year-old Yasmin Perez died Tuesday. Her death came three days after 24-year-old Gyovanny Arzuaga was shot in the head and killed following a Puerto Rican Day parade in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via AP) Brian Cassella AP

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article252306293.html]

OTHER LINKS:

Fundraiser

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1997858200365541&id=1299628893521812

https://www.facebook.com/AmericaFirstGorka/posts/1133732080458051

https://www.gofundme.com/f/2f3dfk8xco?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unknown&utm_campaign=comms_h9hz%202f3dfk8xco

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9717433/Chicago-mom-dies-injuries-days-dragged-car-beaten-shot.html

https://wikibioall.com/gyovanny-arzuaga-and-yasmin-perez/

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article252306293.html

SHOW ME THE MONEY, LARRY HOUSEHOLDER

The Ohio House finally expelled Larry Householder long after after the former House Speaker had been indicted on bribery charges involving passage of HB6.

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.cleveland.com/darcy/2021/06/householder-eviction-darcy-cartoon.html]

Those who allow violent criminals the opportunity to kill, maim and rape, share the responsibility for it and the tragedy such crimes produce. More, they allow these monsters to create for all of us a world as dark and evil as their own.

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://quozio.com/quote/3wrd9cs77z9g/1269/those-who-allow-violent-criminals-the-opportunity-to-kill]

http://soldierexecutionerprolifer2008.blogspot.com/2021/05/mafia-boss-giovanni-brusca-paroled-from.html

On July 21, 2020, the FBI arrested Householder and four others in connection with a $60 million bribery case involving the financial rescue of First Energy's two nuclear plants in Ohio, Davis–Besse and Perry. U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers called it "likely the largest bribery scheme ever perpetrated against the state of Ohio". During a July 21 press briefing, DeVillers said that money from First Energy was filtered through a fake nonprofit organization to pay for bribes and evade campaign finance laws.

Following DeVillers's press conference, Republican Governor Mike DeWine asked Householder to resign. Later that day, Householder released a statement to the press saying he would not resign. The Ohio House of Representatives voted unanimously to remove Householder as Ohio House speaker on July 30, 2020.

While Householder was reelected to his seat in the Ohio House of Representatives in November 2020, the House voted on June 16, 2021 to expel him by a bipartisan vote of 75–21. 

In 2019, Larry Householder said: “I think I am probably like most Ohioans, there was a time that I was extremely supportive of the death penalty. But, as time has gone on, I have become less and less supportive because of the cost, for one. It is extremely expensive to put someone to death in lieu of keeping them in life in prison. And, also, it’s becoming more and more difficult to do an execution … we’ve gone from electrocution to lethal injection, now there are issues being raised about lethal injection. It’s just become more and more difficult to do and it’s more and more expensive.” [source: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/ohio-house-speaker-expresses-doubts-about-death-penalty-as-opioid-experts-ohio-governor-blast-call-to-use-seized-fentanyl-for-executions] 

We will post some news sources before giving our comments on Larry Householders and other politicians who make life difficult for murder victims’ families on putting a price tag on justice.

Larry Householder out: Ohio House votes to remove former speaker

Jessie Balmert Laura A. Bischoff Anna Staver

COLUMBUS – Lawmakers in the GOP-controlled Ohio House removed Rep. Larry Householder from the chamber, ousting the former leader in a 75-21 vote Wednesday.

After a brilliant political comeback to lead the Ohio House of Representatives, Householder leaves his beloved chamber under the cloud of a federal indictment for the second time.

Larry Householder:A timeline deep dive inside HB 6 and the biggest government scandal in Ohio state history

Householder maintains his innocence: "They say the truth will set you free. I look forward to it."

Householder's now-former colleagues utilized a little-used provision in the Ohio Constitution that allows lawmakers to police their own for disorderly conduct. The last legislator removed in this way was Hamilton County Rep. John P. Slough in 1857 for punching another representative.

Even getting the resolution to the floor for a vote was a monumental effort that eked by with one vote. Ultimately, he was removed by 42 fellow Republicans and 33 Democrats. One Democrat, Rep. Joe Miller of Amherst, and 20 Republicans opposed the resolution.

The expulsion came after months of inaction and Householder steadfastly refusing to resign despite the pleas of top Republicans and Democrats.

"This has been going on long enough," said Rep. Mark Fraizer, R-Newark. "It is time for this to come to a conclusion."

Timeline:The rise and fall of Ohio Rep. Larry Householder

Householder, 62, of Glenford, was arrested last July in connection with the state's largest bribery scheme. Householder is accused of orchestrating a nearly $61 million operation to win control of the Ohio House, pass a $1 billion bailout for two nuclear plants in northern Ohio and defend that law against a ballot initiative to block it. 

Householder has pleaded not guilty to the offense. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

In a nearly two-hour hearing Tuesday, Householder fought for his political life, repeatedly asserting his innocence without going into details on the federal case against him. He repeated those assertions on the House floor. 

“I am not nor have I ever took a bribe or provided a bribe," Householder said Wednesday. “I have not nor have I ever sold legislation, never, ever.”

But Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, said the allegations against Householder – that legislation can be bought for a price in Ohio – are an embarrassment to the honor of  Ohio House. He and Fraizer sponsored House Resolution 69 to remove Householder.

“No one can believe he’s still here. Being here is a privilege, not a right," Stewart said. “The real conservatives I know don’t stand for corruption.”

Speaker Bob Cupp, R-Lima, voted to remove Householder from office. 

"For me, the deciding factor was the unethical conduct reached such a level that a federal grand jury found that there was probable cause that it was a crime,” Cupp said. "It seems to me that clearly meets the definition in the Ohio Constitution of disorderly conduct."

Householder's expulsion lasts for the remainder of the two-year legislative session; he could run again. But Cupp said he doesn't think Householder can appeal the House's resolution.

"The law is pretty clear that this is really the final decision here," Cupp said. House Republicans will choose Householder's replacement.

  

Editorial cartoon: Ohio House Republicans and Larry Householder

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/opinion/cartoons/2021/03/18/editorial-cartoon-ohio-republicans-havent-ejected-larry-householder/4746356001/]

A House divided by Larry Householder

Householder's presence fractured an already divided House. Democrats blamed Republicans for protecting one of their own for months despite a damning indictment. Republicans were quick to point out that Householder would have never been elected speaker without the minority party's support. 

More: 'In a league of its own': Ohio is No.1 state when it comes to public corruption, experts say

Lawmakers unanimously removed Householder as their leader shortly after his arrest, but the Republican legislator has refused to resign from his seat, which represents Perry, Coshocton and Licking counties. 

Householder and his allies, most vocally Green Township Rep. Bill Seitz, argued that Householder should remain in office while the case against him is prosecuted.

"There is no evidence against Larry Householder, only allegations," Seitz said. "Serious allegations to be sure."

Householder was reelected last fall with 71% of the vote, a fact that Householder says demonstrates a vote of confidence in his representation.

"We do not get to choose who represents someone else's district," said Rep. Nino Vitale, R-Urbana, before comparing Ohio to communist countries. "We're going to kick someone out of a duly elected office because they are accused, suspected of doing something." 

However, Householder's name was the only one listed on the ballot because his arrest came after the filing deadline. Several write-in candidates had little support and little chance of winning. 

After months of waiting, Ohio lawmakers ultimately decided to expel one of their own.

"Make no mistake, there is no joy in seeing a former Ohio speaker removed from office in disgrace, but this is our opportunity to stand against corruption and to turn a page on this dark chapter in Ohio history and begin to rebuild the People’s trust in a government that’s supposed to work for them," said House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, D-Akron. She encouraged lawmakers to start over on House Bill 6 at the heart of the federal investigation. 

For Parma Rep. Jeff Crossman, who brought the Democratic resolution to remove Householder with Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan, Householder's conduct met and exceeded the constitutional threshold for expulsion

"Ohioans know what is right and what is wrong," Crossman said. "They expect us to be able to tell the difference as well."

Jessie Balmert, Anna Staver and Laura Bischoff are reporters for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2021/06/16/ohio-house-could-vote-removing-former-speaker-larry-householder-office/7654580002/

    

If the death penalty was not imposed then "wrong really has finally totally triumphed over right and all civilised society, all we hold dear, is the loser."

- John Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington

- John Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington

Editorial: Delays deny justice for murder victim’s son

By The Canton Repository Editorial Board

Posted Aug 23, 2019 at 6:43 AM

Every adult probably can finish this legal maxim:

Justice delayed is ...

Over the past 23 months, Ohio has carried out capital punishment exactly once. Meanwhile, 137 men and one woman await execution on the state’s death row, many for decades.

Count David A. Sneed among them.

Sneed robbed and shot Herbert Rowan III, then a 26-year-old father with a young son, in the fall of 1984. After an accomplice shot Rowan a second time, they dumped his body into Nimishillen Creek.

Like others, Sneed’s execution — scheduled a year ago — has been delayed as Ohio looks for alternative measures for carrying out executions amid a federal court ruling that said the current lethal injection protocol constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. So far, the state has been unable to secure different drugs, and conversations about a different means of execution — electrocution or firing squad —are in their infancy and likely would face their own legal challenges.

DeWine earlier this month squashed an idea put forward to use seized fentanyl — a powerful opioid painkiller deadly in even small doses — as part of a new lethal injection protocol.

Sneed now is scheduled to die Dec. 9, 2020, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. That would be more than 36 years after the murder of Herbert Rowan, whose son, Matt Rowan, expects another postponement.

“Every time I get my hopes up ... it gets pushed to the back-burner again, and it’s going to keep getting pushed back,” he told Canton Repository reporter Ed Balint in an article published Wednesday.

Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder understands the frustration of people like Rowan and others losing faith in the legal system as it relates to capital punishment.

“I think I am probably like most Ohioans: There was a time that I was extremely supportive of the death penalty,” Householder said in a video of his remarks posted by the Statehouse News Bureau this week. “But, as time has gone on, I have become less and less supportive ... ”

Householder cited the cost of carrying out a death sentence — in part because of the years and years of legal appeals. According to a GateHouse Media Ohio report, studies consistently have shown defense costs, appeals and other factors makes death penalty cases much costlier — ranging to well more than $1 million dollars — than convicting and imprisoning a murderer for life.

The House speaker also mentioned the greater difficulty in carrying out the punishment because of the legal issues, which in Ohio don’t show signs of abating anytime soon.

Whatever one’s opinion about capital punishment — this Editorial Board is not unanimous on whether it should be abolished in Ohio — we all can agree there is no point in imposing a death sentence if it is going to take 36 years (or more) for the family members of a murder victim to gain that form of closure.

To us, those survivors are the ones experiencing “cruel and unusual punishment” in waiting and waiting and continually reliving their loved one’s final day while the killer’s “final day” is a constant moving target.

“I just feel like it’s about time that due process is done,” Matt Rowan said about his father’s killer. “The judge ordered it, so it should be done.”

Yes, justice delayed is justice denied. INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.cantonrep.com/opinion/20190823/editorial-delays-deny-justice-for-murder-victims-son

OUR COMMENTS:

  

The main reason is that evil is not interested in ridding the world of evil. Evil is simply interested in ignoring the problem at hand. Blame someone else by creating additional enemies to keep the sheep from paying attention to the wolves.

– Walid Shoebat [PHOTO SOURCE: https://quozio.com/quote/k9hqv6n8kjgg/1174/the-main-reason-is-that-evil-is-not-interested-in-ridding] https://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2021/01/unit-1012-book-club-why-we-want-to-kill.html

– Walid Shoebat

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://quozio.com/quote/k9hqv6n8kjgg/1174/the-main-reason-is-that-evil-is-not-interested-in-ridding]

https://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2021/01/unit-1012-book-club-why-we-want-to-kill.html

            That quote above best describes Larry Householder. He claims that he had lost support of the death penalty because it is expensive, but he did not admit the fact that he was involved in a $60 million Ohio nuclear bribery scandal in exchange for passing a $1.3 billion bailout for the struggling nuclear power operator. He most probably was attacking the ‘costs’ of the death penalty to prevent the public from discovering his political scandal, which was more expensive than the death penalty and prisons etc.

            He does remind me of the ex-governor of Illinois, George Ryan. Where Pat Buchanan wrote:

Elected as a conservative Republican, Ryan long ago forfeited the support of Illinois conservatives. They are through with him. Power slipping away, facing possible indictment, he sold out to an establishment that alone may be able to save him from ending his days eating off plastic trays alongside the murderers he helped to evade justice. George Ryan is more pathetic than heroic.

    Whenever an Anti-Death Penalty campaigner claim that capital punishment is more expensive than LWOP, please keep in mind, they are the reason why the death penalty system is expensive. If they claim that the money saved can be used for victims’ services, why not help fight for the end of the inhumane parole. Truth is ‘expensive’ is a word use to manipulate the public in order to leave criminals unpunished. Do not be surprise, as they are also complaining that mass incarceration and victims’ rights services are also expensive and need to be abolished too.

Much of the expense results from obstruction by opponents of the death penalty. The same arguments they use against the death penalty are the same they are going to use against LWOP. If you look at another State, Nebraska, the Death Penalty Supporters were able to dispute the costs of the death penalty written by Ernie Goss. They found out that he was not honest at all.

http://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2016/09/nebraskans-for-death-penalty-cost-of.html

http://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2016/08/nebraskan-attorney-general-disputes.html

 

Study: Death penalty doesn't cost states

Published: Feb. 25, 2009 at 9:05 PM

SACRAMENTO, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. states that repeal death penalty laws do not see a significant savings in trial costs, a Criminal Justice Legal Foundation study says.

The group said that in states where the death penalty is the maximum punishment, a larger number of defendants are willing to plead guilty and receive a life sentence.

"The greater cost of trials where the prosecution does seek the death penalty is offset, at least in part, by the savings from avoiding trial altogether in cases where the defendant pleads guilty," the group based in Sacramento said in a statement. "Although this effect is well known to people working in the field, there appears to be no prior study to determine the actual size of this effect."

The study -- "The Death Penalty and Plea Bargaining of Life Sentences" -- examined data gathered by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics from 33 large urban counties. The study examined how many of the murder cases were resolved by guilty plea, how many went to trial and how many resulted in a sentence of at least 20 years.

In states with the death penalty, the average county obtained sentences of 20 years or more in more than 50 percent of cases where the defendant was convicted of murder or voluntary manslaughter.

In states without the death penalty, sentences of 20 years or more were obtained in just more than 40 percent of such cases, but only 5 percent of those were guilty pleas, or just more than a quarter of the number in the death penalty states, the group said.

http://soldierexecutionerprolifer2008.blogspot.com/2011/05/is-death-penalty-expensive-no-it-isnt.html

 

            In conclusion, if Larry Householder truly cared for the murder victims and their families, he would have think of a way to fix the problem like Governor Pete Ricketts of Nebraska [http://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2016/08/governor-pete-ricketts-is-our-hero.html] and stand with the victims’ families. We are glad that he has now been removed as house speaker.

 OTHER LINKS:

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/ohio-republicans-aim-rename-state-park-donald-trump-77194203

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_nuclear_bribery_scandal

http://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2015/01/george-ryan-more-pathetic-than-heroic.html

https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/myanmar-regime-seizes-bank-accounts-soros-open-society-foundation.html

Plurality of PA Voters Say 'Government, Politicians' the Most Important Problem in the State

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/06/18/plurality-voters-government-politicians-most-important-problem-state/

http://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2021/04/northern-correctional-institution-to-be.html

http://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2015/10/joshua-marquis-receives-rayner-goddard.html

SERGEANT CURTIS BILLUE [END OF WATCH: JUNE 13, 2017]

Let us not forget Sergeant Curtis Billue of the Georgia DOC who was fatally shot on June 13, 2017 by two inmates. Let us also remember his colleague, Christopher Monica who was died together with him. Let us honor this fallen policeman by remembering how he lived on this earth and treasure his memories. 

Sergeant Curtis Bernard Billue

Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia

End of Watch Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Sergeant Curtis Bernard Billue

Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia

End of Watch: Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Bio

Age: 58

Tour: 10 years

Badge: Not available

Military Veteran

Incident Details

Cause: Gunfire

Weapon: Officer's handgun

Offender: In custody

    

Sergeant Curtis Bernard Billue

Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia

End of Watch Tuesday, June 13, 2017

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/memoriam-correctional-sergeant-curtis-billue/]

Curtis Bernard Billue

Sergeant Curtis Billue and Sergeant Christopher Monica were shot and killed after being attacked by two inmates in Putnam County, Georgia.

The officers were transporting 33 prisoners between Hancock State Prison and Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison at approximately 5:45 am. Two of the inmates attacked the officers as the transport bus drove along Route 16, between Eatonton and Sparta. One of the inmates was able to disarm one of the officers and then shot them both. The prisoners stole both officers' service weapons and carjacked a passing car before fleeing.

Both subjects fled the scene and remained at large for several days. On June 15th, 2017, they were captured in Rutherford County, Tennessee, following a vehicle pursuit in which they fired at two deputies. The men fled to a nearby home in an attempt to steal another vehicle but were captured by the homeowner and a neighbor who held them at gunpoint until responding officers took them into custody.

Sergeant Billue had served with the Georgia Department of Corrections for 10 years. He is survived by his two sons, parents, and eight siblings.

INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.odmp.org/officer/23275-sergeant-curtis-bernard-billue

Sergeant Curtis Billue and Sergeant Christopher Monica

This combo of undated photos provided Tuesday, June 13, 2017, by the Georgia Department of Corrections shows inmate Ricky Dubose, left, and Donnie Russell Rowe. A Georgia sheriff said officers were "desperately" searching Tuesday for the two inmates who somehow got through a gate inside a prison bus, killed two guards and got away. (Georgia Department of Corrections via AP)

'Furious': Family, law enforcement community waits for accused cop killers to face trial

by Claire Helm

Saturday, May 15th 2021

PUTNAM COUNTY, Ga. -- On what would have been Sgt. Curtis Billue's 62nd birthday, a tentative timeframe for a trial was announced for one of the two men accused in the officer's 2017 murder.

Sgt. Curtis Billue and Sgt. Christopher Monica were correctional officers who were shot and killed on a Georgia State Prison bus traveling on Highway 16 between Eatonton and Sparta in June 2017.

Officials said the two inmates accused in the murders -- Donnie Russell Rowe and Ricky Dubose -- overpowered the officers, took their guns, fatally shot them, and then escaped. A manhunt followed and Rowe and Dubose were captured in Tennessee days later.

RELATED: Putnam Co. residents breathe a sigh of relief after fugitives' capture

Now, nearly four years after the officers' deaths, we've learned that Ricky Dubose's trial -- in which he faces the death penalty along with Rowe -- could begin in the first quarter of 2022.

Dubose previously pleaded not guilty in the case.

The time that it's taken for this case to move forward has frustrated Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills.

   

Ricky Dubose, one of two suspects accused in the murders of Georgia correctional officers Sgt. Curtis Billue and Christopher Monica, has a court hearing on May 14, 2021/Source: Perry Smith (WGXA News)

MORE: Death penalty trial delayed in Georgia prison guard killings

Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills talks about his frustration with the amount of time preparing for this case has taken/Source: Perry Smith (WGXA News)

"Tomorrow morning is law enforcement memorial day in this country," said Sheriff Sills. "And we've used the COVID excuse, but law enforcement works every day, 24 hours a day. We don't understand why somebody else can't work on Saturday or Sunday. It's a very frustrating thing, especially given tomorrow's date."

MORE: State to seek death penalty for escaped inmates accused of killing correctional officers

Billue's sister, Denise Billue, has been outspoken in getting justice for her late brother. She tells us that, not only would he have turned 62-years-old today, but he also would have retired from the Georgia Department of Corrections yesterday.

Billue says part of the family's coping process has been to not focus on court dates, since they can and do often change. She says instead, Curtis Billue's loved ones rely on their faith.

"Giving us trial dates and having trial dates, it doesn't sustain you because that changes all the time. But our faith stays constant," she said. "Our parents instilled that in us, and that has helped us through that process. And one of my favorite scriptures is, suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character produces hope."

  

Denise Billue speaks with WGXA outside of the Putnam County Courthouse on May 14, 2021 about the upcoming trial for her brother's murder/Source: Perry Smith (WGXA News)

What the family does know, says Billue, is that the facts and Curtis's character are the same four years later -- two things that haven't changed in an uncertain process.

RELATED: Saying goodbye to Sergeant Curtis Billue

"Over the course of the four years, the roller coaster ride that we have gone through, is that even though we've been told that the trial is upcoming, in your mind and in your heart you know that anything can happen, and it might not happen," she said.

If her brother were alive today he'd be helping care for their dad. Billue says her family feels more pain now because reality has set in and her brother would have had the chance to be a retired law enforcement officer, able to live the rest of his life.

Denise Billue speaks with WGXA outside of the Putnam County Courthouse after a hearing for Ricky Dubose on May 14, 2021/Source: Perry Smith (WGXA News)

Sheriff Sills is hoping the case move faster at this point. He says that an important witness has even died.

"I think of pulling Mr. Monica's body out of that Jeep, and to see this individual sitting up there, relaxed...it's time to try this case," Sheriff Sills said. "I know that corrections officers all over the state are furious about how long this has taken."

INTERNET SOURCE: https://wgxa.tv/news/local/furious-family-law-enforcement-community-waits-for-accused-cop-killers-to-face-trial ..... …..

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=114311844118147&id=101692122046786

  

Those who allow violent criminals the opportunity to kill, maim and rape, share the responsibility for it and the tragedy such crimes produce. More, they allow these monsters to create for all of us a world as dark and evil as their own.

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://quozio.com/quote/3wrd9cs77z9g/1269/those-who-allow-violent-criminals-the-opportunity-to-kill]

http://soldierexecutionerprolifer2008.blogspot.com/2021/05/mafia-boss-giovanni-brusca-paroled-from.html

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://quozio.com/quote/3wrd9cs77z9g/1269/those-who-allow-violent-criminals-the-opportunity-to-kill]

http://soldierexecutionerprolifer2008.blogspot.com/2021/05/mafia-boss-giovanni-brusca-paroled-from.html

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://quozio.com/quote/3wrd9cs77z9g/1269/those-who-allow-violent-criminals-the-opportunity-to-kill]

http://soldierexecutionerprolifer2008.blogspot.com/2021/05/mafia-boss-giovanni-brusca-paroled-from.html

OTHER LINKS:

http://victimsfamiliesforthedeathpenalty.blogspot.com/2021/03/in-loving-memory-of-assistant-warden.html

NORTHERN CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION HAS BEEN CLOSED

            On June 11, 2021, Northern Correctional Institution (NCI) was officially closed, with the remaining population transferred to other facilities over the previous several months. On our previous post, we give a statement on the closing of the prison, if it happens here, it will happen in other states soon.

        

Northern Correctional Institution in Somers.

06/11/2021

Governor Lamont Announces Closure of Northern Correctional Institution

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that as of this morning, the Connecticut Department of Correction has officially closed Northern Correctional Institution, roughly three weeks ahead of the agency’s initial target to close the facility by July 1.

Governor Lamont announced plans to close the correctional institution earlier this year, largely because of the significant drop in the state’s incarcerated population, which has decreased by approximately 3,400 individuals over the last 15 months. The state’s total incarcerated population at all facilities currently stands at roughly 9,000 individuals, which is substantially down from the all-time high of 19,894 in February 2008.

Northern Correctional Institution is located in Somers and was opened in 1995. Over the last year, the facility’s population has not exceeded 100 individuals. Its all-time high population was 510 in January 2003.

All of the individuals who were most recently incarcerated at Northern have been transferred to other maximum-security facilities throughout the state, with the last of those individuals having been transferred on Monday. Its closure will save the state approximately $11.75 million in annual operating costs.

“New prison admissions in Connecticut have declined significantly over the last decade and the incarcerated population is currently at a 32-year low,” Governor Lamont said. “This is even as violent, high-risk inmates are serving more of their original sentences than ever before. Spending millions of dollars annually to operate facilities for a population that continues to get smaller and smaller is not a good use of resources, especially as we work to reduce the cost structure of state government. I applaud the ongoing work of all the correctional professionals at the Department of Correction, who keep our facilities safe and secure.”

“I have to once again give credit to the Department of Correction staff, this time for the professional manner in which they systematically went about closing the Northern facility,” Correction Commissioner Angel Quiros said. “There were a lot of moving parts that needed to be coordinated, and they were able to do so – during a pandemic – without negatively affecting the safety of the incarcerated population, their fellow staff members, or the public at large.”

At the time that Governor Lamont announced plans to close the facility, it was being staffed by approximately 175 correctional professionals. There were no layoffs associated with its closure. The Department of Correction worked closely with staff members and their union representatives to redeploy them to other facilities within close proximity.

INTERNET SOURCE: https://portal.ct.gov/Office-of-the-Governor/News/Press-Releases/2021/06-2021/Governor-Lamont-Announces-Closure-of-Northern-Correctional-Institution

OTHER LINKS:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamms_Correctional_Center

https://solitarywatch.org/2021/06/21/7-days-in-solitary-6-14-21/

https://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-br-northern-correctional-institution-official-closure-friday-20210611-qmsrs4peyzhsvhefrnihn5bkju-story.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison_abolition_movement

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