Minor rant: Atlanta Killings

[roguevalley]

I am glad that this man was caught but I am just a BIT PUT OUT that what is and was essentially a LOCAL crime case should get the 24/7 treatment on the news channels. CNN had it wall to wall and so did the others. Its shameful in this world of stories SCREAMING to be told that this happened.

Putting local stories up as national interest is another indication of the coming apocalypse.

[alcuno]

1. All I could think was that this must be what a typical day in Baghdad

is like - without the non-stop coverage.

[roguevalley]

2. yeah. they should do that story, not this thing.

[leftchick]

31. sadly there was a story on the dangers of living in Baghdad yesterday

It could not quite make it to AmeriKan TV though with all that 24/7 atlanta coverage. This is why I only watch HGTV!


http://www.indystar.com/articles/8/228719-8328-010.html


Baghdad's streets now a deadly gantlet

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- When Adnan Shalaal left his job at the Sheraton Hotel on Friday afternoon, he went from being a valued employee and father of three to a statistic on a police blotter -- one of dozens recorded daily in one of the world's most dangerous cities.

Shalaal and his three young children inadvertently drove through a shootout between insurgents and police. The 30-year-old hotel administrator was shot in the head, his blood and brains splattering over the youngsters. His children were unharmed, but Shalaal was not expected to survive.

By day or night, Baghdad has become a cacophony of automatic weapons fire, explosions and sudden death, its citizens living in constant fear of being shot by insurgents or the security forces meant to protect them.

Streets are crammed with passenger cars fighting for space with armored vehicles and pickups loaded with hooded and heavily armed Iraqi soldiers.

Hundreds of bombs in recent months have made mosques, public squares, sidewalks and even some central streets extremely dangerous places in Baghdad.

On Haifa Street, rocket-propelled grenades sometimes fly through traffic. Rashid Street is a favorite for roadside bombers near the Tigris River.

[peacetalksforall]

3. Absolutely...a perfect 1984 and worse if we don't acknowledge it and

teach others.

[Renew Deal]

4. I somewhat agree.

Killing judges is a big deal. Quadruple murders are a really big deal.

[billbuckhead]

5. Atlanta is an international city, if this happened in London or Caracas

it would have been big news.

[kittenpants]

7. and its CNN headquarters... though I think the coverage is excessive too.

[billbuckhead]

17. The BBC called the Gwinnett county SWAT team an elite police unit

Gwinnett police did a good job.

[wadestock]

6. I was intensely outraged....

Notice how the public just automatically dished all the blame to the killer and not to any of those who were really responsible for crappy protocol on how to deal with such criminals.

Here in Jersey...if you have a few points against your license and you go to jail...they'll drag you up with shackles and you'd think your dealing with a mass murderer.

Heads should have immediately rolled in terms of anyone connected to the protocol that he could have been brought into the courtroom unhandcuffed.

Take these responsible people and charge them with negligent homicide.

[GraysonDave]

8. Supreme Court says no shackles

I doubt what you describe in Jersey is actually the case. It's been ruled unconstitutional.

And believe me, the Fulton Co. Sheriff's Office has been under intense criticism from the public here. It's an incompetent cesspool.

[wadestock]

9. Oh it's true...but educate me

You're telling me it's unconstitutional to handcuff someone in the courtroom? I've been in court 100s of hours on a number of minor traffic offenses and seen this happen a lot.

[GraysonDave]

14. It's not 100%

But there have been many convictions overturned because the jury was improperly prejudiced against the defendant because shackles made him seem unduly dangerous. Because of this it is standard procedure NOT to use restraints, and to allow the defendant to change into plainclothes. That's what was happening when he attacked the deputy.

[blondeatlast]

28. Citation or link, please.

Thanks.

[GraysonDave]

29. Here's one

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:I1CmawCuG-sJ:caselaw.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0156324P.pdf+shackles+in+courtroom&hl=en&start=4

After researching a little last night, I don't think the US Supremes have ruled on it definitively. But, that is the reason I had heard here in ATL as to why Nichols wasn't shackled.

[blondeatlast]

30. Thanks. nt

[BOHICA06]

11. While Fulton County & Atlanta

in general are rife with inept governments ... the blame must go to the guy that does the shooting. I give the authorities credit for arresting him rather than going the total rehabilitation routine.

[Longhorn79]

15. In all fairness, I think heads will roll

The fact that he was so unprotected (or vice versa) was touched on quite a bit, especially since he had twice had shanks on him. I bet courtroom security will get a major overhaul. If anything good comes out of this situation, maybe some other innocent folks won't be executed. But as to your first sentence: of course the blame is going to the perp! He's the piece of garbage that murdered people who were actually productive in society.

[forgethell]

21. All the blame WAS

on the killer. Nobody forced him to do it.

that said, for their own protection, and that of society, heads proobably should roll. But not criminal charges.

The blame is not any part of society's, only the killer's.

[kanrok]

10. I couldn't disagree more

When a judge is gunned down on his bench it strikes at the heart of our democracy. It comes on the heel of a tragedy in Chicago when the husband and mother of a truly honest and ethical federal judge are executed in their own home. These are national stories. Important and tragic. Now the Michael Jackson trial is a good example of the press gone wild.

[Longhorn79]

16. I agree

the story was huge and will affect courtroom security nationwide. The manner of murder was brutal, blowing their brains out in cold blood. Also CNN's headquarters is Atlanta, so of course they're going to be all over it.

[bilgewaterbill]

22. Right on, kanrok!

This story is huge and will have nationwide ramifications. This was the second attack on the judiciary in a week. This is a nation of laws and if the foundation of our legal system is under assault, we will all suffer for it.

[Kazak]

12. Ahhh...I don't miss cable at all.

:D

[PuraVidaDreamin]

13. Keeps the media busy

and they don't 24/7 us with faked town hall meetings
with chimpy's murdering of social security.

[SF Bay Area Dem]

18. Maybe a bit of overkill but...

... the way this went down was something like in a Hollywood movie... how often does a judge, his reporter, and a deputy get taken hostage and murdered in the courtroom like this? Then the dude gets away for a while only to kill another federal agent? This is a big deal and has all of the violence and drama that Americans crave!

[ultraist]

19. exactly! It's sensational so they OVER play it as usual

so they can avoid playing any real news or doing any investigative reporting like figuring out where OUR MISSING 9 BILLION DOLLARS is, in Iraq. Looks like W took out an under the table loan using our tax money.

[forgethell]

20. I agree.

Then there was OJ. How many hours did they show the car chase over, and over. Scott & Lacy. etc. etc.

I guess they have to fill up their 24 hours, but jeez.

[jayctravis]

23. Also CNN is in Atlanta.

So this was a huge thing happening right around their ankles. It was a little close to home and with all that's going on with journalists...any of them could have been at that courthouse when it happened and they certainly wanted him caught.

[Tomee450]

24. It's been awful.

I had to stop watching the news.

[Melynn]

25. They don't call it the Lame Stream Media for nothing

I guess the Michael Jackson trial isn't bring in the high ratings like they thought it would.

[mandyky]

26. Where did they catch him?

Other than CSpan, I don't watch CNN or news on weekends.

So they remained wall to wall? When did they finally catch him?

[RebelOne]

27. Late yesterday morning at an apartment complex

in Gwinnett County.