February 11, 2009
UN Representative comments on Jim Main Jr. trial
U. N. representative comments on Main trial
(Created: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 12:28 PM MST)
(Created: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 12:28 PM MST)
Jim Main Jr., was convicted of deliberate homicide in a rush trial. Longtime Gros Ventre activist Jim Main Sr. died just days before the trial.
Article by Tim Leeds Havre Daily News tleeds@havredailynews.com
Article by Tim Leeds Havre Daily News tleeds@havredailynews.com
(Photo: Vernie White Cow Main holds a photo of her son, Jim Main, Jr./Photo by Brenda Norrell)
The murder trial of James Main Jr. In Havre attracted the attention of representatives of the United Nations, with one saying it is a sad commentary on the state of justice for Native Americans. Paul Haible, a deputy delegate to the United Nations for Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Rigoberta Menchu Tum’s foundation, said the testimony at the trial made it apparent that the death of Lloyd “Lucky” Kvelstad in Havre on Nov. 25, 2006, was a “sorry, ugly incident. “But that doesn’t mean you rush to judgment and not give the opportunity for a fair trial,” he said. Haible — who said he knew the father of James Main Jr., James Main Sr., for some 20 years — said the family of the defendant had called to tell the United Nations the case might be of interest in seeing how indigenous people are treated in court.
The murder trial of James Main Jr. In Havre attracted the attention of representatives of the United Nations, with one saying it is a sad commentary on the state of justice for Native Americans. Paul Haible, a deputy delegate to the United Nations for Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Rigoberta Menchu Tum’s foundation, said the testimony at the trial made it apparent that the death of Lloyd “Lucky” Kvelstad in Havre on Nov. 25, 2006, was a “sorry, ugly incident. “But that doesn’t mean you rush to judgment and not give the opportunity for a fair trial,” he said. Haible — who said he knew the father of James Main Jr., James Main Sr., for some 20 years — said the family of the defendant had called to tell the United Nations the case might be of interest in seeing how indigenous people are treated in court.
“This is a call from the family to see if there was a rush to justice,” he said. Main was charged after the body of Kvelstad, beaten and with a drawstring from a hooded sweatshirt tied tightly around his neck, was found in the residence of Melissa “Missy” Snow. Snow pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence at the scene, and a jury in November convicted Kim A. Norquay Jr. Of charges of deliberate homicide and tampering with evidence stemming from the incident.
Following a six-day trial which Haible watched, and a fellow delegate for Menchu Tum, Ali El-Issa, watched through last Friday, a jury Monday evening disagreed with Haible’s assessment. It convicted Main of deliberate homicide for committing or aiding or abetting the commission of an aggravated assault that resulted in Kvelstad’s death. Norquay was convicted of the same charge. Haible said during an interview while the jury deliberated that he was concerned the investigation had been slanted to convict Main, as the defense contended.
“I felt it was pretty well-structured in support of early judgment,” Haible said. Haible cited some specifics, such as a piece of evidence — apparently a piece of bloody tissue found outside of Snow’s residence the night of the incident — that was never tested at the state Crime Lab. “Why wasn’t the tissue tested?” Haible asked. “That was an incredible oversight. … “Nobody is owning up to why that happened,” he added.
Haible said that he did believe the defense, presented by Great Falls attorney Kenneth Olson, did a good job in arguing Main’s innocence and in pointing out problems in the investigation and prosecution of the case. The defense contended that the investigators and prosecutors had looked for evidence proving Main’s guilt from the start. It claimed that items were not tested at the state Crime Lab which should have been tested, and that investigation of statements from witnesses that could have absolved Main were not followed up. The prosecution replied that testing of evidence at the Crime Lab was prioritized to test evidence with the most value in the case. The defense also had the opportunity to have evidence tested, it said. The prosecution also said that witnesses were interviewed, and although it did not use the testimony, it provided the defense with information it used for its investigation while claiming the prosecution had not investigated the witnesses.
Haible said that problems inherent in the system — and not just in Montana but throughout the country — lead to problems for Native Americans. “Everybody knows an Indian could have difficulties in the court system in Montana,” he said. One he pointed out was that the system used in Montana to seat the jury led to only one Native American on the jury, rather than selecting more Native Americans who were present in the jury pool.
“It set up a situation where it was not a jury of his peers,” Haible said. Haible said he got the perception that there, indeed, was a rush to judgment on the case of the prosecution. That comes at a time when the issue of rights of indigenous people around the world, like Native Americans in the United States, is at a forefront. On Sept. 13, 2007, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted The Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, drafting of which began in 1985.
Ali El-Issa said Friday that only four nations have not signed that declaration — Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. Haible said he believes he saw issues raised around the world concerning the rights of indigenous people at the trial. “Issues that have been raised the last several years dovetail into issues we see here,” he said. ———
On the Net: U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues:
www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii
On the Net: U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues:
www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii
Obama Administration maintains Bush secrecy policy on US torture
Why Should the U.S. Government's Right to Secrecy Trump the Right of People Not to be Tortured?
US torturers made incisions in his body and poured in hot stinging liquids, broke his bones
By The World Can't Wait
Binyam Mohamed is no longer a non-person, even though he's still in Guantanamo. After being flown around the world by the CIA, and tortured in both Pakistan and Morocco, he's fighting the torture. Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union have direct testimony of torture from the five who were transported in CIA sponsored flights by Jeppesen Datalan, a subsidiary of Boeing, and testimony to show that employees of Jeppesen knew they were planning flights in what has become known infamously as the "Torture Taxi."
Yesterday, the ACLU represented Mohamed and 4 other men who were tortured and "rendered" by the CIA in the US Court of Appeals, 9th District in San Francisco. The Bush administration had gotten a judge to throw out the men's lawsuit against "extraordinary rendition." The ACLU and others hoped that the Obama administration would not stand on "national security" and let the suit go forward.
But no. The New York Times reports today, "the Obama administration seemed to surprise a panel of federal appeals judges on Monday by pressing ahead with an argument for preserving state secrets originally developed by the Bush administration." The ACLU provided testimony from Mohamed that, "he was routinely beaten, suffering broken bones and, on occasion, loss of consciousness. His clothes were cut off with a scalpel and the same scalpel was then used to make incisions on his body, including his penis. A hot stinging liquid was then poured into open wounds on his penis where he had been cut. He was frequently threatened with rape, electrocution and death."
The World Can't Wait continues to demand an end to torture carried on directly by the United States or its allies; the overturning of the Military Commissions Act and "enhanced" interrogation whether carried out by U.S. military, CIA, private contractors, or allied governments' the closure of Guantanamo, Bagram and other indefinite detention facilities controlled by the United States. It believes that the rights of the people to be free of government spying supersede the secrecy rights of the government. Read more
http://worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5370:world-cant-wait-asks-why-should-the-us-governments-right-to-secrecy-trump-the-right-of-people-not-to-be-tortured&catid=117:homepage&Itemid=289
US torturers made incisions in his body and poured in hot stinging liquids, broke his bones
By The World Can't Wait
Binyam Mohamed is no longer a non-person, even though he's still in Guantanamo. After being flown around the world by the CIA, and tortured in both Pakistan and Morocco, he's fighting the torture. Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union have direct testimony of torture from the five who were transported in CIA sponsored flights by Jeppesen Datalan, a subsidiary of Boeing, and testimony to show that employees of Jeppesen knew they were planning flights in what has become known infamously as the "Torture Taxi."
Yesterday, the ACLU represented Mohamed and 4 other men who were tortured and "rendered" by the CIA in the US Court of Appeals, 9th District in San Francisco. The Bush administration had gotten a judge to throw out the men's lawsuit against "extraordinary rendition." The ACLU and others hoped that the Obama administration would not stand on "national security" and let the suit go forward.
But no. The New York Times reports today, "the Obama administration seemed to surprise a panel of federal appeals judges on Monday by pressing ahead with an argument for preserving state secrets originally developed by the Bush administration." The ACLU provided testimony from Mohamed that, "he was routinely beaten, suffering broken bones and, on occasion, loss of consciousness. His clothes were cut off with a scalpel and the same scalpel was then used to make incisions on his body, including his penis. A hot stinging liquid was then poured into open wounds on his penis where he had been cut. He was frequently threatened with rape, electrocution and death."
The World Can't Wait continues to demand an end to torture carried on directly by the United States or its allies; the overturning of the Military Commissions Act and "enhanced" interrogation whether carried out by U.S. military, CIA, private contractors, or allied governments' the closure of Guantanamo, Bagram and other indefinite detention facilities controlled by the United States. It believes that the rights of the people to be free of government spying supersede the secrecy rights of the government. Read more
http://worldcantwait.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5370:world-cant-wait-asks-why-should-the-us-governments-right-to-secrecy-trump-the-right-of-people-not-to-be-tortured&catid=117:homepage&Itemid=289
Rodriguez: 'The Face of the New American Bigot'
Newspapers can pick up column by contacting New America Media. Individuals can suggest to their newspapers to carry the column, also by contacting New America Media.
NEW AMERICA MEDIA
The Face of the New American Bigot
By Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez
Feb 11, 2009
On the issue of immigration, there is little difference between conservatives and extremists. Both camps have come to greatly admire Sheriff Joe Arpaio – America's toughest sheriff. To this Arizona lawman, there is nothing wrong with racially profiling red-brown peoples and communities. And of course, his supporters applaud his every antic, including the recent public spectacle of humiliating some 220 migrants in Phoenix by parading them in public.
This is arguably why the GOP is dying. Arpaio has become the Bull Conner of our times. For conservative Republicans to embrace him – akin to how extremists embrace him – gives the nation a clear message: the GOP is more interested in preserving its outdated ideology and
(racial) heritage, than in expanding its base. As the economy continues its uncontrolled convulsions, the nation also continues to convulse with an increasing number of ugly cases of racial bigotry and acts of violence against immigrants. Indeed, this era is now marked
by the rise of the New American Bigot. The old one has undergone an extreme makeover; save for lawman Arpaio, the New American bigot is no longer the Aryan extremist or unrepentant segregationist. George Wallace is out and CNN's jolly Lou Dobbs is in.
Link to rest of column at:
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=852f40a74bb623a207837d5d6e278c70
NEW AMERICA MEDIA
The Face of the New American Bigot
By Roberto Dr. Cintli Rodriguez
Feb 11, 2009
On the issue of immigration, there is little difference between conservatives and extremists. Both camps have come to greatly admire Sheriff Joe Arpaio – America's toughest sheriff. To this Arizona lawman, there is nothing wrong with racially profiling red-brown peoples and communities. And of course, his supporters applaud his every antic, including the recent public spectacle of humiliating some 220 migrants in Phoenix by parading them in public.
This is arguably why the GOP is dying. Arpaio has become the Bull Conner of our times. For conservative Republicans to embrace him – akin to how extremists embrace him – gives the nation a clear message: the GOP is more interested in preserving its outdated ideology and
(racial) heritage, than in expanding its base. As the economy continues its uncontrolled convulsions, the nation also continues to convulse with an increasing number of ugly cases of racial bigotry and acts of violence against immigrants. Indeed, this era is now marked
by the rise of the New American Bigot. The old one has undergone an extreme makeover; save for lawman Arpaio, the New American bigot is no longer the Aryan extremist or unrepentant segregationist. George Wallace is out and CNN's jolly Lou Dobbs is in.
Link to rest of column at:
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=852f40a74bb623a207837d5d6e278c70
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