Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 1997)
lu i P oru ani ) O bserver • F ebruary 19, 1997 P age A3 Capital punishment jurors may not understand their task People called ed upon to sit on juries juries for capital crimes often do not un derstand the language o f the law, the factors they are supposed to weigh in considering a sentence, or even that they have final responsibility for imposing punishment. New research funded by the Na tional Science foundation (NSF) seeks ways to improve the judgment o f jurors who literally make life and death decisions. Richard L. Wiener, a psycholo gist at Saint Louis University who by D axxv B ell studies how juries juries make decisinn« decisions, has received a three-year research grant for almost $200,000 from NSE to identify the most pervasive and problematic errors jurors commit which may influence deliberations and final sentencing in first-degree murder trails. Earlier research shows that po tential jurors do not reliably com prehend instructions which direct them to weigh “ aggravating” and “ M itigating” factors to determine whether to sentence a defendant to i.t« ► “ l c* z x vx ZX .x a lx life I in f Y rx prison or to z4 death. Wiener says many jurors are not clear about the legal definition o f these terms, and are often confused about the difference between "count ing” and “ w eighing" these critical factors. Many misunderstand what it means to find a defendant worthy o f the death penalty “ beyond a rea sonable doubt,” he says Not only do many jurors not com prehend legal terms; they may not understand legal procedures. "Some jurors may base a decision a . I * ■ . to impose the death penalty on the belief that the final responsibility o f imposing a sentence rests with the judge, 'says W iener;"however,pun ishment in first-degree murder cases is the responsibility o f the ju ry .” In the first part o f his NSF-sup- ported research, Wiener w ill inter view potential jurors to assess their understanding o f the legal process, such basic terms as “ m itigating,” and what the law in their states expects o f juries in capital cases. Wiener and his team o f researchers w ill develop modifications to com mon court procedures to help jurors better understand their responsibili ties and make decisions that are more consistent with the law Wiener intends next to test his innovations with potential jurors During ju ry simulations, he plans to show volunteers videotapes o f the guilt and penalty phases o f re-en acted murder trials and allow them to arrive at their own decisions Wiener's modifications include presenting jurors a list o f common conceptual errors to avoid in court, and using a diagrammed flow chart to trace the procedural path for jury decision-making rather than rely ing on a traditional description in legal language Evaluating the resulting decisions o f mock juries should “ contribute to a better understanding o f how to improve the present process o f guid ing jurors in America’s courtrooms,” says Hannon Hosch, who directs NSF’ s Law and Social Science Re search Program. The Gift Program addresses gangs affected youth In an era in which the perpetra tors of violence, drug traffic and gang activity has been traditionally associated with young males, there has evolved a program initiated by M ultnom ah C ou nty and im p le mented by various Portland agen cies to address the needs o f young women and girls who are affected by gang related behaviors. Due to the fact that 100% o f the gang shooting were in three geo graphic regions o f Portland's City lim its in 1994, The G ift Program Y 1 / — Y O t set-up ? ZY I II IX I in IX X lx ZX ZX ZX ♦ three lx *• ZX ZX Z areas X Zz ZX ZX _ Y L I x. Z 1_ was those North Northeast and Southeast. The De Launay Fam ily o f Services G ift Project works w ith young women in North Portland. They provide ser vices to clients ranging between the ages o f 16-20. Among the services is case man agement. A case manager along with support components in the commu nity provide: individual and fam ily counseling; life skills development; education, including high school completion or GED, and college or vocational programs; job training I I .... and employment; parenting skills development; health services; recre ational activities and childcare In practical terms this may mean literally rescuing a homeless young mother o f f the street or from a shel ter and finding them a more stable place to stay. Case manager Sandra Johnson o f the De Launay Family o f Services comments that “ Sometimes we have taken a young woman o ff the street or negotiated with a landlord who is w illin g to take someone without ref erences or work history, in order to find them a place to stay.” Johnson also states “ we have a program that is volunteered (par ticipation o f young women) and our mission is to build life skills, parent ing skills, any skills that are neces sary to move within and access the community and to understand the system.” Under the life skills development there are a number o f objectives; academic progress and monitoring; employment skills development; knowledge and a b ility to access health care services, including fam- Geared to work with people with disabilities, St. Vincent de Paul Staff ing Services began in 1991 as the temporary services division o f the St. Vincent de Paul Rehabilitation Ser vices. After receiving their first con tract from the State o f Oregon a sec ond office opened in Portland due to the rapid expansion o f serv ices. I odate, St. Vincent de Paul Staff ing Services is the largest provider ol temporary services to the state; St. Vincent also has contract with county government and most recently with the Port o f Portland. St Vincent de Paul Rehabilita tion Services employs permanent personnel and St. Vincent de Paul Stalling Services employs tempo rary personnel which has no a ffilia tion w ith de Paul Drug Treatment, The St Vincent de Paul Society, or St Vincent Hospital. During its evo lution St. Vincent Staffing Services has become a model throughout the United States fortem porary services. Employing 300-500 people a week in which 75 percent o f the tempo rary jobs fall under the category o f clerical workers, ranging from data entry to administrative assistants and secretaries. The other 25 percent o f the jobs available are labor jobs such as janitorial jobs available at all Port land Community College campuses. St. Vincent offers m ultiple job related experiences and free tutorial opportunity. A person can get on the jo b experience, improve their re sume and get introductions to hiring managers. There is no buy out fee, no employ ment contracts, and an applicant can utilize the computer lab as long as needed while upgrading their skills. The staffing services also o ffe r a comprehensive benefit package for their temporary employees. Medical benefits are offered to employees after they have worked 260 hours and maintained at least 80 hours o f work per month at which time they becomeeligible formedical benefits w ith P acifiC a re or Kaiser St. Vincent de Paul pays h alf and the employee pays the other h a lf Vaca tion is available after 1500 hours in a calendar year; employees w ill re ceive 5 paid vacation days. St Vincent de Paul contributes 5% o f employees annual salary into a retire ment plan. Other benefits include: weekly paychecks, employees may join Costco and sign up for credit union privileges; employees are also covered by workmans compensation. Anyone with a documented disability may apply at St. Vincent de Paul Staffing Services, located at 500 NF Multnomah. Suite 240 or phone 2 32- 8807 for more information. partake o f the program succeed, there are a number o f successes as well. A case in point is Marty Johnson, a young woman who completed her high school education while on the program and who w ill be complet ing the G ift Program this year In the w ords o f her m oth er Tam m y Johnson...’ The most rewarding part that I get out o f this whole thing is my daughter. Her life has totally flipped and totally turned around. I no longer see her with the gangs., she finished school and that was some th in g !” F un , F ood & Music T he T ower of P ower C oming M arch 22 nd St. Vincent de Paul, the caring temporary service BY D \ \ BEL! ily planning and well baby care; independent living skills; personal safety and violence prevention and parent-youth relationship building. Among the activities that the pre ceding agenda may entail are going to the library, cooking classes, rap sessions, looking at community bul letin boards to find things to do about what's happening in the com munity. "W e usually have babies w ith us a ll the tim e ,” says Johnson..."we like to observe the babies with the moms parenting." Although not all the clients who at the C hinooïc W ïnds Casino at Lincoln City Join Us for... • Music, Fun & Games (3:00 p.m. Shuttle) • Or Just Fun & Games (11:00 a.m. Shuttle) Free Buffet with Paid Tour Ticket Tour Ticket with Concert Included #30.00 Each or Two for $55.00 Tour Ticket without Concert $10.00 Each or Two for $15.00 For more information contact Danny at 288-0033 Sponsored in part by C kinook W inds and (The ^lortlanb (©bsvrüer newspaper America’s Most Popular Business Seminar! Y Peter Lowe International Presents “How much you earn is determined by how much you learn.“ Learn the latest strategies for business and personal success. Executive Producer: Anthony Robbins Productions Featuring All Speakers In Person-All in One Day! P resented by P eter L owe I nternational - A non - profit educational organization ANTHONY ROBBINS Top Personal Achievement Expert BARBARA BUSH GERRY SPENCE Former First Lady & Best-Selling Author PETER LOWE LOU HOLTZ Prestigious Attorney & Expert on American Justice America’s Success Authority BRIAN TRACY Notre Dame Coaching Legend Am erica’s #7 Authority on Selling GEN. COLIN POWELL Former Chairman o f the Joint Chiefs o f Staff Also Featuring: President George Bush & Other Inspiring Speakers! f Tuesday, April 15,1997 «8:00 am -5:30 pm Rose Garden Arena • Portland, OR Special Discounted Rates and Reserved Seating for Rrter Lowe offers a special 15 minute optional bonus session on the B ibkal secrets of success PORTLAND OBSERVER Readers! À Tickets start as low as $49 for the entire day!* Special pricing ends Next Week! PETER LOWE IN TE R N A T IO N A L The Success Authority Ask about the special VIP packages which include breakfast or lunch with our guest speakers. 'Ask about discount prices for larger groups »Plus a minimal processing charge per order. Tickets are Selling Very Quickly so Call Today 1-800-208-5010 0 » /
