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Trump’s 'evidence-free rhetoric' on crime was intended to deceive voters

Her is an excerpt from Ashley Rubin, a social scientist at the University of Hawaii, recent article posted on Radley Balko’s The Watch: 

Donald Trump’s evidence-free rhetoric [on crime] has managed to convince his supporters that violent crime is a major problem. A recent Gallup poll found that three of the five most important issues according to Republican and Republican-leaning independent voters—crime, immigration, and terrorism and national security—are connected to the broader issue of crime. But it’s not just Trump’s supporters—voters in general now care more about crime, even as the crime rates are falling and remain low, historically speaking.

As sociologist Katherine Beckett has demonstrated, the more politicians talk about crime, the more the media talks about crime, and the more citizens become concerned about crime—even when actual crime rates show crime is not the problem citizens think it is.

Trump’s promise to “stop crime and restore safety” sounds good to those voters who believe the hype that violent crime is at historically high levels (it’s not) and that we are in the middle of a crime wave (we’re not), and who believe that Harris plans to gut police departments in order to let violent criminals run free (she doesn’t). The effect is that those who challenge Trump’s depiction of a dangerous America get characterized as being soft on crime or enabling criminality.

Ultimately, by convincing the public that crime is a real threat, Trump isn’t just trying to delegitimize his opponents. He’s also paving the way for the public to accept unnecessary and harmful policy changes that don’t meaningfully bring the crime rate down but help him purge society—whether through deportation or incarceration—of the people he believes shouldn’t be in it.

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South Carolina executes man despite calls for clemency by judge

 The 21st Execution of 2024

Richard Moore was executed Friday, November 1, 2024 by lethal injection, despite calls for clemency from three jurors and the judge who sent him to death row 23 years ago, reported the South Carolina Daily Gazette.

Gov. Henry McMaster denied Moore’s request for clemency. The governor was Moore’s last chance at avoiding the death chamber after the U.S. Supreme Court declined Thursday to halt the execution.

“I have carefully reviewed and thoughtfully considered the application, matters of record, including transcripts, briefs, and judicial decisions,” he wrote in his denial, noting he’d also spoken to family members of Moore’s victim, James Mahoney.

Moore was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m., 23 minutes after pentobarbital began flowing into his arm.

Moore kept his eyes closed and his face pointed toward the ceiling. He took several deep, loud breaths that sounded almost like snores, followed by short, shallow breaths. He seemed to stop moving around 6:04 p.m., said the three media witnesses who watched the execution.

He did not show any outward signs of pain, they said.

Moore’s attorney, Lindsey Vann with Justice 360, cried and held a small cross. His spiritual advisor held her hand after Moore appeared to take his last breath. Two unnamed members of Mahoney’s family and 7th Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette watched stoically, media witnesses said.

Moore, 59, was sentenced to death in 2001 for killing Mahoney, a gas station clerk, in Spartanburg County two years prior. He was the second death row inmate to die since executions resumed in September.

In his final statement, Moore apologized to Mahoney’s family and told his children he loved them.

“To the family of Mr. Mahoney, I am deeply sorry for the pain and sorrow I caused you all,” Moore’s last statement read, said prison spokeswoman Chrysti Shain. “To my children and granddaughters, I love you, and I am so proud of you. Thank you for the joy you have brought to my life. To all of my family and friends, new and old, thank you for your love and support.”

Media witnesses did not hear his statement read.

 Two jurors, the trial judge, and the state’s former corrections director were among more than two dozen people who wrote letters to McMaster as part of a clemency application, submitted Wednesday, asking the governor to instead give Moore life in prison.

A third juror joined their calls Friday, saying Moore “appears to be a positive influence on his peers” while in prison, according to an email provided by Moore’s attorneys.

“I understand that Mr. Moore has shown much regret, and changed his life,” juror Jennifer Stone wrote. “I also see that he has children that love him and want him in their life.”

Four more inmates have exhausted their appeals processes, making them eligible for death warrants. Executions in the state are expected to continue every five weeks through March.

Moore entered Nikki’s Speedy Mart in Spartanburg around 3 a.m. on Sept. 16, 1999. He went first to the store’s cooler, then to the counter, where 42-year-old clerk Mahoney was watching the news for information on a hurricane, according to court documents.

Terry Hadden, a regular customer playing video poker nearby, testified during Moore’s trial that he turned after hearing Mahoney say, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Hadden, who was blind in one eye, told jurors that when he turned, he saw Moore holding both of Mahoney’s hands in one of his own, with a gun in the other hand.

What happened between Moore and Mahoney that night remains unclear. Prosecutors said Moore, who entered the store unarmed, took the gun the store owner kept behind the counter. Moore, who had just lost his job, wanted to rob the store to get money to buy crack cocaine, prosecutors argued.

Moore didn’t testify at his original trial, but in a later appeals hearing, he said he and Mahoney got into an argument because Moore was a few cents short on his purchase. Mahoney took out his gun, which he kept in his waistband for protection. Moore managed to get the other gun from behind the counter and shot Mahoney in self-defense, his attorneys have said.

Moore fired at Hadden, who fell to the floor and played dead, Hadden testified. He didn’t see what happened next. At some point, Mahoney shot Moore in the left arm, and Moore shot Mahoney through the heart.

Before he left, Moore stepped over Mahoney’s body and took a blue vinyl bag containing $1,408, according to court documents.

Moore, still bleeding, drove to his drug dealer’s house and asked to buy cocaine, or for his dealer, George Gibson, to take him to the hospital, Gibson testified. When Gibson refused, Moore drove off.

On his way out, he hit a pole, attracting the attention of a police officer. The officer came over, and Moore got out of the car, allegedly saying, “I did it. I did it. I give up. I give up,” the officer later testified.

The stolen money, covered in blood, sat in the front seat of Moore’s truck, alongside an open pocket knife, the officer testified.

Moore, who is Black, was convicted two years later, in 2001, by a jury with no Black members.

His attorneys have argued repeatedly and unsuccessfully that prosecutors struck potential Black jurors because of their race.

The state’s prosecutors have maintained the attorneys in that trial did not consider race in removing jurors. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Thursday in an order declining to halt Moore’s execution.

Moore’s attorneys claim they can prove Mahoney fired the first shot, which struck the wall above Hadden. The placement of shell casings found at the crime scene supports Moore firing in self-defense, private forensic investigator Robert Tressel said in a statement included with Moore’s clemency application.

But no court ever agreed to hear that evidence because the rules around appeals are so strict, said Vann, Moore’s attorney.

Retired Circuit Court Judge Gary Clary, who oversaw Moore’s 2001 trial and death sentence, called for Moore to receive clemency in a letter submitted to the governor Wednesday.

“In no way do I quibble with the jury’s verdict, and I make no excuse on behalf of Mr. Moore for his actions that resulted in the death of James Mahoney,” wrote Clary, a Republican who was elected to the state House after he retired from the bench.

“Over the years, I have studied the case of each person who resides on death row in South Carolina,” his letter continued. “Richard Bernard Moore’s case is unique, and after years of thought and reflection, I humbly ask that you grant executive clemency to Mr. Moore as an act of grace and mercy.”

Clary, who represented part of Pickens County for three terms, did not elaborate on what he felt made Moore’s case unique.

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U.S. in heightened threat environment heading into Election Day

 The United States is in a heightened threat environment heading into Election Day, with multiple extremist factions threatening to disrupt the electoral process, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Two prominent assassination attempts on former President Trump have occurred against a backdrop of myriad disrupted plots and a record high number of threats to public officials, as violent political rhetoric raises the stakes. Both foreign adversaries and Salafi-jihadist extremists have sought to take advantage of this fractious moment by inspiring or launching acts of violence in the United States.  

The days (or weeks) following the election could prove the most consequential, particularly if a clear winner has not emerged for the presidency. Such uncertainty gives conspiracy theories greater space to develop and circulate and can significantly increase political unrest or even violence within local communities. In 2020, for instance, vote-tallying centers in swing counties and cities—including Maricopa County in Arizona, Philadelphia, and Detroit—were targeted by extremist protests or terrorist plots. 

This year, violent far-right extremists likely pose the greatest threat, given the January 6, 2021, precedent of violence within a political transition, as well as violent rhetoric repeatedly issued by the Republican Party’s candidate. The Department of Homeland Security has even warned that the “heightened risk” of violence might include extremists attempting to sabotage ballots—a step that, if successful, could launch the country into a constitutional crisis. Recent arson attacks on ballot boxes in Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, remain unsolved. Meanwhile, anti-government militia groups remain active on Facebook—the social media platform appears to have allowed its artificial intelligence (AI) systems to auto-generate pages for the groups—and continue to coordinate over the platform to conduct vigilante monitoring of ballot boxes to prevent “ballot stuffing,” a move better suited to intimidating voters than illuminating electoral irregularities.

The unrest could continue up to Inauguration Day on January 20, 2025, and even beyond.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson vows to repeal the Affordable Care Act stripping coverage from 45 million Americans

 Heather Cox Richardson reported on Halloween this frightening plan:

House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has responded to news stories about his plan to get rid of the Affordable Care Act (or Obamacare) by claiming his comments at the closed-door campaign event on Monday were taken out of context. But they weren’t. The tape is clear. Johnson said that Republicans want “massive reform” to the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare.” When an attendee asked, “No Obamacare?” Johnson laughed and agreed: “No Obamacare. The ACA is so deeply ingrained, we need massive reform to make this work, and we got a lot of ideas on how to do that.” 

45 million Americans are covered under the Affordable Car Act.

Creators: Homicides Are Down but More Murderers Are Walking the Streets

Matthew T. Mangino
Creators Syndicate
October 29, 2024

In September, The New York Times declared that "the number of murders reported in the United States dropped in 2023 at the fastest rate on record."

The FBI reported that there were about 2,500 fewer homicides in 2023 than in 2022, a decline of 11.6%. According to Jeff Asher, a crime data analyst who publishes on Substack, the data suggests "the largest year-to-year decline since national record-keeping began in 1960."

However, the picture is not all rosy. In the criminal justice system, "clearance rate" is a term used to measure the rate at which law enforcement agencies solve crimes. In the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, law enforcement agencies can clear, or "close," offenses in one of two ways: by arrest or by exceptional means.

Clearance by exceptional means could include the death of a suspect or the reluctance of the victim or witnesses to cooperate in an investigation.

Declining clearance rates are a problem. A murder in America has a 50% chance of being solved.

Clearance rates have declined precipitously over the last 60 years. In 1965, clearance rates for murder hovered above 90%. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2022, the last year of available data, the clearance rate nationwide was 52.3%.

Although homicides have declined, solving murders has become more difficult. Even with modern investigative techniques, more homicides than ever remain unsolved.

The scope of the problem is enormous. For instance, in 2022, according to the FBI, there were 24,849 homicides. Based on the clearance rate for homicides in 2022, there are approximately 11,853 unsolved murders. That means there are probably more than 10,000 murderers walking the streets from 2022.

If you take the total number of murders over the last 10 years and divide that number by the average clearance rate, the result is more than 80,000 unsolved murders.

More than half of America's major police departments are struggling to solve homicides at the same level of success they enjoyed just a decade ago, according to a 2010 study of federal crime records by the nonprofit Murder Accountability Project.

The study focused on the nation's 160 police departments that investigate at least 10 homicides a year and annually report crime data to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. Fifty-four percent of those departments reported less success in solving murders committed during the 10 years prior to the report than in the previous 10 years.

The problem is about more than police work. The MAP study found most departments with declining murder clearance rates also experienced an increase in homicides. These departments often are located in areas with declining tax bases or facing other kinds of fiscal challenges.

Some crime analysts have also cast doubt on FBI data. According to Newsweek, the concerns stem from the suggestion that the data "only covers 77 percent of the U.S. population and should be considered preliminary, given that state and local law enforcement agencies have months to report their data and correct any errors."

In addition, participating in the FBI's Uniform Crime Report is voluntary. If a police department refuses to provide data, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to replicate the data.

This summer, the FBI said the first three months of 2024 saw a "historic" drop in rates of violent crime and murder across the country. That is good news, but is it accurate?

Asher wrote, "Crime almost certainly declined nationally in the first three months of 2024 compared to the first three months of 2023, but the FBI's data is almost certainly overstating that decline."

Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book "The Executioner's Toll, 2010" was released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on X @MatthewTMangino).

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Go to the state capital and 'confront' lawmakers with 'evidence of the illegitimate steal'

In the weeks after the 2020 election, retired Gen. Michael T. Flynn, Donald J. Trump’s former national security adviser, was a key figure in efforts to subvert the election outcome. In recent interviews and speeches, he and an associate are warning that this year’s election will be stolen from Mr. Trump, advising supporters to take action to prevent a theft and vowing retribution once Mr. Trump is back in power, reported The New York Times.

At the Rod of Iron Freedom Festival, a far-right event in Pennsylvania this month, Mr. Flynn told the crowd that after a Trump victory: “Katie, bar the door. Believe me, the gates of hell — my hell — will be unleashed.”

At the same event, Ivan Raiklin, a close associate of Mr. Flynn’s who serves on the board of directors of Mr. Flynn’s organization America’s Future, urged Trump supporters in Pennsylvania to go to the state capital, Harrisburg, and “confront” their state representatives with “evidence of the illegitimate steal” after the election if Mr. Trump loses.

Mr. Raiklin also called on Republican-held state legislatures to withhold their electors in the event of a Trump loss that Republicans consider illegitimate.

“We run the elections,” he said. “We try to play it fair. They steal it, our state legislatures are our final stop to guarantee a checkmate.”

The maneuver Mr. Raiklin laid out appears to defy the Electoral Count Reform Act, the bipartisan law passed in 2022. The law was meant to prevent a repeat of Mr. Trump’s attempt to exploit the Electoral College vote to overturn his defeat in 2020. It states that only state executives, not state legislatures, can certify the slates of electors that determine the winner.

But the notion of withholding electors has been circulating in some corners of the right. Mr. Raiklin laid out similar plans days later in North Carolina and at a county Republican Party event in Maryland. He argued that North Carolina’s legislature should preemptively allocate its electoral votes to Mr. Trump, even before the state’s ballots were counted, on account of hurricane-related disruptions.

Appearing at the Maryland event with Mr. Raiklin, Representative Andy Harris, the Maryland Republican who chairs the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, said the plan “makes a lot of sense,” before backtracking on Friday and saying in a statement that “every legal vote should be counted.”

Mr. Flynn and Mr. Raiklin, neither of whom responded to requests for comment, have been prominent exponents of false claims and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election for years. But they have recently focused on specific tactics to avoid what they predict will be the theft of the 2024 election.

 In a September interview on a podcast dedicated to the QAnon conspiracy theory, Mr. Flynn applauded right-wing activists who are surveilling election infrastructure as the “modern-day Minutemen of this cold civil war that we are currently facing,” a reference to the Revolutionary War militia.

The extent of Mr. Flynn’s current relationship with Mr. Trump is unclear. The former president fired him less than a month into his presidency for lying to Vice President Mike Pence and to federal agents about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador to the United States. But in his last months in office, Mr. Trump granted Mr. Flynn a full federal pardon.

On Dec. 18, 2020, Mr. Flynn and several associates met with Mr. Trump at the White House and tried to persuade him to use federal law enforcement and military personnel to seize voting machines in an effort to hold onto power, a meeting that has been a focus of investigations into the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

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