February 14, 2011

Judge AND be Judged

Remember this story, this murder, this tragedy? Remember how the whole nation was gripped in panic as we heard about Vanessa'a disappearance and the bizarre discovery of her young child in some deserted farmland? Remember how some of us (including yours truly) were hauled across TV ONE News for releasing the name of her murderer - albeit the Police did it first only to then retracted the info? 

Well it just keeps getting sicker by the minute...

In the months leading to his release, guards from a South Island prison guards sent Sensible Sentencing Trust founder Garth McVicar several emails warning of the risks Chaston would pose to the community. The emails [...] included one which stated: ''He [Chaston] is bragging to everyone that he is going to rape and murder 'some shiela' so he can mak [sic] a name for himself and come back to prison as top dog."

Regardless, Chaston was released on bail and went onto sexual abuse some other poor chick before murdering Vanessa. 

Now you'd think Prison guards, those who have spent years on a daily basis with this sick useless piece of shit, would actually know something about his "current" state of being and you'd think their opinions, their professional observations would have been taken into consideration - yeah? 

Well no actually. We don't think our prison guards are anything more than child minders really. Well, we certainly treat them like their only looking after naughty little children. 

So what about the Police? Surely their professional opinion would hold some sway.
''The police applied for preventative detention but some weak arse judge declined saying he deserved the opportunity to turn his life round [sic] !!!
What about good 'ole' Garth McVicar himself, surely he could persuade the Judge, who ignored the guards, who ignored the Police....who... wrong again. 

Okay, then what about the frigging Minister of Justice Minister Phil Goff?

Garth sent him the emails. He was ignored.

The Police Minister Annette King?

She got the same emails and gave the same response. 

Well, where the hell do you go from here? Seems everyone BUT the Judge didn't want this sicko back out in public but the Judge over-ruled everyone else and did it anyhow, and just what accountability does this Judge have to the NZ public and to the family of Vanessa?

Sweet F-all!

Disgusting!

Divorce website launch criticised

"Happy Valentine's Day people." 

Yes, New Zealand has shown itself to be quite constructive and forward thinking even on this highly commercial day by setting up an on-line 'quickie divorce' site. It's not a new idea. It's not even a new name. divorce me (NZ)  seems very much in line with its American counterpart Divorce Me (USA)

According to the website, you can get divorced in three easy steps: 1) Obtain a copy of your marriage certificate. 2) Complete the website's on-line form. 3) Sign and post documents etc. Brilliant! 

But the ingenious Kiwi site has meet some criticism: "National director of Family First NZ Bob McCoskrie slammed the website and said launching it on Valentine's Day was a "cynical" move."

Well I couldn't think of a better day to launch a site like this really. And just who are these critics trying to fool? Our divorce rates are higher than they have ever been and they're further marred by the domestic violence statistics that accompany most of them. What is so sacred about marriage anyhow? Historically, it had its uses - property ownership mainly - but now? 

Instead of focusing on how to increase our marriage statistics, how about a process in which a prospective partner can really make an intelligent life-changing decision, armed with all the facts about his/her partner beforehand? I mean, if marriage were a business then the engagement period ought to used to gather as much information on that "partner" as possible. We do it when it comes to money but not when it comes to potential spouses or  putting our children into the hands of new makeshift parents. 

Case in point: A newly wed finds out six months after she marries that her new husband is in fact a convicted child sex offender. She did her homework. She researched his lilly white ass, which, as it turned out, was highly protected by NZ Law. His offences were protected by good old fashioned name suppression. The only people who knew of his offending were him, his victims, and the Police. It was only rumours that managed to trickle their way down to her. 

So I ask this... how can a person make a "good" decision about a prospective partner when all the facts about him are so well hidden? Gee, maybe if she'd known beforehand, she would not have been one of those horrifying divorce statistics and the whiter-than-white NZ First party could move onto more anally retentive shit.

Now, there's a thought.


Divorce website launch criticised - life-style | Stuff.co.nz

February 8, 2011

Sanctimonious Motherhood

Yesterday I posted a story/comment about little Cash being murdered by her mother's 21-year-old boyfriend. As usual, I copied the post onto my Facebook. There was the usual and highly anticipated outcry for the man's head to be placed on the block but what also came out of the discussion was this growing "finger pointing" at the mother. 

[Amanda]What the hell is wrong with these stupid woman who put their kids in danger all for the sake of having sex. More than likely bearing more endangered children. Fucken disgusting. Just my opinion

[Emilie] how can you "deny" this? they should be charging her mother too - as with all these cases. He should not be allowed a defence lawyer either, actively promoting his lies. It makes me sick. RIP Cash, there are good people in this country and we're going to keep fighting.


These were just two of the many comments that started flying onto the screen. At one point, it became very obvious the focus was on the mother and not on the man who actually killed little Cash. Maybe that's their point. It's not just about the men who kill these children, it's the men these women choose. As Michael Laws points out, "A father would never do this to his child ... was this scum the boyfriend? Yet again the most common characteristic of child killers ... young, male, angry, not related."

So what makes these women choose these "sorts" of men? 

Well if you were to pose that question to the discussion group, it would all point to just some lucid sex thing but I wonder if there's a little more to it than that. Cash's mother was no stranger to domestic violence. Even before meeting her child's murder, she was systematically used as a punch bag by her [then] current partner. Her step-father, at the time, took matters into his own hands (good old fashioned retribution) and went at him with a knife. The father (Pullen) was later jailed for three years. But here is the comment Cash's partner made in Court:

'Kids are something to fight for, women aren't. They're just everyday things, like undies.'

I simply cannot imagine how low a woman's self esteem needs to reach before a comment like that actually gets interpreted as: He gives a shit. Undies? Are you kidding me? You can but a 7-day pack at K-Mart for less than $10. Is that the "value" of women in his eyes? Maybe so but more worrying, are the women who buy into that and, as the other people in the discussion pointed out - put their kids into the arms of these men and Knight them with make-believe fatherhood.

True.... it was the man who physically killed Cash, who ended her life but then again, maybe it was her mother who provided the opportunity? 

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/2780812/Cash-McKinnon-knew-violence-before-her-birth

February 7, 2011

Couple on trial over rapes

Hiding behind shades is.... shady
Go to any Bank and you will see "Please remove helmets, hoodies, and sun glasses" Why? Cause they want to see your frigging pupils dilating at the mere thought of you holding up some of their staff members for some quick-grabbing cash. So why doesn't this loser take off her sun-glasses in Court?  

The couple, who have been in a relationship for almost 20 years and have teenage children, face a further charge of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and an alternative charge of indecent assault.


For those of you who may not know "unlawful sexual connection" means raping a family member. 


Jones admitted having sex with women in the couple's vehicle but described it as consensual threesomes.


Yeah right.... I guess it's purly coincidental that all three women, in isolated incidents, has nothing better to do than appear in Court today and be exposed for all to see. For Pete's sake, do they really think the general public are thick or something? 
Couple on trial over rapes - crime - national | Stuff.co.nz

And a "not so cockey" attitude when filmed.. http://www.3news.co.nz/Drugged-then-raped-Hamilton-couple-on-trial-for-sex-crimes/tabid/309/articleID/197459/Default.aspx

Poor kid, never stood a chance...

The child victim (in story below "Man denies killing toddler") was no stranger to violence.  The dead child's mother was repeatedly beaten during pregnancy and God forbid, her father (Pullen) did what any sane father would do - went for the little weasel.  

In a recorded interview with police the night of the stabbing, Pullen said Mr Douglas used his stepdaughter "like a punching bag", even when she was pregnant.

"The lawyer asked Mr Douglas why Pullen stabbed him. Mr Douglas said 'if I put myself in his shoes', Pullen would want to do whatever it took to make his daughter happy.

'Kids are something to fight for, women aren't. They're just everyday things, like undies.'
Pullen pleaded guilty before his trial and was sentenced to more than three years' jail. Oh, I can hardly wait to see what sentence this child murder receives - $10 bucks it's less than the father protecting his daughter!

Cash McKinnon knew violence before her birth | Stuff.co.nz

Man denies murdering toddler

They call it the "death roll" in ice skating...
NZ Defence call it "unintentional".
I call it "murder."
Why on earth are we even wasting time and money on this case? He picked a three-year-old up by her ankles, swung her around until he "lost his grip" and she went smashing into a bed. 

Horrific enough but what gets me is this: Why not take the child to the hospital immediately? Why does his defence lawyer fob it off as a "freak" accident, that is was all so "unintentional," that he lost his grip - poor man. Hogwash! He knew exactly what he was doing and moreover, was sane enough to realise he'd get in shit loads of trouble if anyone found out - best he just bandage her head and hope for the best, yeah? 

She was one of four children in his care when she was taken to Palmerston North Hospital with over 80 external injuries and severe internal head injuries. She died the next day. 

Felicity Goodyear Smith - A Two-sided Beast


"Her peers at the medical school praise her...[...] the defence lawyers [see her] as the go-to person for sexual abuse trials...[...] but the sexual abuse doctors [...] whom she regularly faces off against in court belong to an organisation she was barred from."


This article goes into depth about FGS' dodgy dealings with the likes of sex offenders. It's even more interesting to hear some of her own colleagues and defence lawyers "hint" at just why this woman has become the number one defence expert in child abuse trials.


Crown prosecutor Phil Hamlin says ""The only one [sexual abuse expert]that appears regularly is her. That doesn't mean the others aren't invited, but I suspect the evidence they're giving doesn't suit the defence."

Shand, of Wellington, a doctor Goodyear-Smith trained in the 1980s, concurs: ""The problem is the defence don't like our opinions so they only use them when they like them. So if you're prepared to sell yourself to give an opinion they like, they'll use it."

A very insightful article by the following author in the following article below:
Chisholm, D. (2011). Witness for the Defence. North & South, (299), 60-68.

February 6, 2011

End of an Error


SOSA WINDS DOWN

Dear Members,
“it is with regret that we have to advise that SOSA was wound up at the special general meeting held on
11 January 2011 held at the Lakehouse, Takapuna.

We had to come to this decision because there have been no nominations for the position of President
or Secretary. None of the members present at the SGM were able to commit to any of the two positions and the
running of the trust and even more so the organization of events such as a summit require a significant
investment of time.

After paying all outstanding bills the remaining assets will, following clause 26.0 of the trust deed, be donated
to Rape Prevention Education, PO Box 78 307, Grey Lynn, Auckland 1245. The SOSA Website will be
online until April 2011 as a resource to survivors. The SOSA facebook page will also be withdrawn in the
coming weeks.
 
This email address will remain active for you if you have specific support needs. We will endeavour to
respond to emails received.
 
All the best 

SOSA NZ
Survivors of Sexual Abuse New Zealand
Charitable Trust
PO BOX 33-986
TAKAPUNA, 0740

The group was unsafe. Case in point: This email was sent to every single person on their database (not just members). What's so wrong with that? Well your email address was listed for all to see. Now every single person has YOUR contact details... If they couldn't even get the basics right, then ending SOSA was a good thing.