老澳门开奖结果

In to police chief Hugh Clements, Jr., the 老澳门开奖结果 of Rhode Island has sharply criticized the Providence police department for filing felony charges against three Rhode Islanders who allegedly threw white paint at a boarded-up statue of Christopher Columbus in the Elmwood section of the city. The letter, labeling the charges 鈥渄eeply troubling,鈥� called for immediate action by the department to have those charges dropped. In the letter, 老澳门开奖结果 of RI executive director Steven Brown wrote:

鈥淩ather than being arrested for a misdemeanor offense of vandalism for splashing paint on plywood, all three people were instead charged with two felony offenses that carry a potential maximum sentence of six years in prison. Whether this overcharging was done to make it easier to get the defendants to waive their right to a trial and plead to a misdemeanor or just out of pure malice will likely never be known. What is clear, however, is that the underlying felony charges border on the ridiculous. Specifically, the three individuals have been charged with 鈥榙esecration of [a] grave,鈥� appearing in a section of the General Laws dealing with The second felony charge is for conspiring to commit the first felony.

鈥淚n relevant part, the 鈥榙esecration鈥� statute makes it a felony to willfully and maliciously deface any tomb or monument, or anything intended for the protection of the tomb or monument, that is 鈥榩laced or designed for a memorial of the dead.鈥� It also authorizes an order of restitution for any 鈥榚xpense of repairing the grave.鈥� The Columbus statue may be many things, but to equate it to monuments found in cemeteries stretches the wording of the state law beyond the breaking point.

鈥淐harging people with crimes should not be a game where points are awarded for coming up with the most serious possible charge imaginable, however far-fetched. While we are confident that these three individuals will never be convicted of this offense, they will always have to live with the fact that they were arrested and charged as felons. This is not justice. It is a blatant abuse of police authority, and one that happens all too often and needs to stop.

鈥淭o put this charge in more perspective, it is worth noting that in the past year, two Providence police officers have been charged with assault, one involving allegedly hitting a man several times after he had been handcuffed, and the other a domestic dispute that landed the alleged victim in the hospital. Both officers were charged with misdemeanors.

鈥淭his case demonstrates that, as the city, state and country grapple with issues of police accountability, the abuse of the broad discretion that police often have in deciding what charges to lodge against suspects deserves very thorough scrutiny as well.

鈥淲e ask that you immediately act to have the felony charges against these three defendants dropped. In addition, we ask that you promptly conduct a thorough review of the Department鈥檚 charging practices to prevent further travesties like this from happening.鈥�

was also sent to Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare and Attorney General Peter Neronha. The 老澳门开奖结果 is not representing the individuals on the criminal charges.