50^ George Benson Releases New CD Mixes soul with contemporary urban edge See Focus, page A 7 SS' Fortiani» © ‘City ity of Roses’ A4 ... . Established in 1970 Committed to Cultural Diversity Volume XXXIV • Number 26 T, Week in TheReview www.portlandobserver.com Wednesday • July 07, 2004 SENTENCED Edwards Added to Ticket HARD TIME Democratic presidential candi date John Kerry on Tuesday se lected fom ierrival John Edwards to be his running mate, calling the former trial lawyer and rookie senator a man who showed "guts and determination and political skill” in his unsuccessful race againstKerryforthe party ’ s nomi nation. Ten years after Measure 11 HIV Hits Record High in 2003 New HIV infections hit a record high last year as the virus contin ues to outpace the global effort to contain it, according to a U.N. report published Tuesday. Archdiocese Goes Bankrupt j T h e P o rt land A rch diocese will file for bank ru p tc y b e cause it can’t afford to pay the potential Archbishop cost o f sex JohnV Iazny abuse lawsuits, becoming the first Roman Catholic diocese in the nation to seek such court relief. The action freezes the start o f a priest abuse civil trial involving the late Rev. MauriceGrammond, who was accused o f molesting more than 50 boys in the 1980s “The pot of gold is pretty much empty right now,” Archbishop | John Vlazny said.. Blair Doubts WMD Exist Prime M inister Tony Blair said Tuesday that Saddam Hussein’s illicit weapons o f mass destruc tion may never be found in Iraq, but insisted the dictator had | posed a threat to the world. Stampede in Spain by J aymee R. C uti T he P ortland O bserver Ten years after Measure 11 be came the law, experts and families still dispute its ability to be applied fairly. According to critics, mandatory sentencing takes decisions away from judges. The result has been devastating to an African-Ameri can community, which is over-rep- resented in the justice system. The measure passed overwhelm- ilirlao resenting 10.5 percent o f Measure 11 offenders. Many authorities in the legal profession say Measure 11 ’s m an datory sentencing im plications have not been used for its intended purpose, resulting in a loss of dis cretionary power to judges, those who are most qual ified to make s«. tencing decisions for minors and first-time offenders. Juvenile offenders are tried as adults at the age o f 15 under Measure 11. They’re assigned probation officers for adults who often have larger caseloads than their youth counterparts. ingly by voters in a statewide elec tion in 1994 to keep the most violent offenders in prisons and off the streets, but it has disproportion ately imprisoned African Ameri cans. Making up approximately 3 per cent of O regon’s populations, Af rican Americans are locked up at more than three times that rate, rep- Instead, some say it empowers prosecuting attorneys to convince inmates to plead guilty to lesser charges, with the threat o f a M ea sure 11 offense looming over their heads. “The measure passed because these were considered the most violent crimes but a couple years continued , «4 « . . photo by D avid P ie c h i TT hk P ortland O bserver Ju d g e M ichael J. M cS h a n e p o n d ers th e e v id e n ce p r e se n te d by a p ro se cu to r in M ultnom ah C ounty Circuit Court. yf on page A2 Law is Tough on Teens Two dozen offenses get you locked up by J ohanna S. K ing to an adult court, with the rights to a non-Measure 11 charge, how T he P ortland O bserver bail and a trial by jury. ever, mercy is rarely given. Mandatory minimum sentenc According to the Multnomah Amy Holmes Hehn, who is in ing not only forces juvenile o f County juvenile corrections sys charge o f juvenile cases in the fenders to serve hard time for tem, juveniles under 16 are held in M u ltn o m ah C o u n ty D istric t committed crimes, but also makes county detention facilities. Indi Attorney’s Office, said there’s them face the harsh reality of the viduals 16 and over can legally be careful attention given to ju v e consequences n ile ca se s L'lat follow crimi through a pro nal behavior. cess o f re view by I f I ’m with someone and they commit a crime, Z won’t gel in Oregon vot a committee of trouble, right? e rs a p p ro v e d p ro sec u to rs to Ballot Measure Wrong I f you help that person in any way, such as telling them decide on proper 11 in November to commit the crime, helping them plan the crime or being a d isp o s itio n o f 1994 to apply lookout, you could get locked up, too. youth offenders. mandatory mini In2(X)2,anew Instead: fry to talk them out o f it. I f that doesn 't work, leave right mum prison sen measure to repeal away and get some help to stop the crime. tences to certain the drastic pun crimes with no possibility for any placed in adult county jails, but are ishments set on young offenders reduction in sentence, such as almost never housed with adults. was added to the ballot but was good behavior or a first offense. No youth under the age of 18 is put widely defeated. U nderthe law, juveniles 15 and into adult prisons. The district attorney’s office older are treated and sentenced Young offenders who go to trial said the get-tough-on-crime m ea the same as adults for up to 24 and arefound guilty ofaM easure 11 sure sticks because people arc felony crimes, from sexual abuse, crime will definitely go to prison and tired o f violent crime and want to robbery and assault to murder. could stay there fora long time. Most put in prison anyone, including Youths charged with these of juveniles can opt for a plea bargain, juveniles, who commit certain fenses are referred automatically where they plead guilty to a lesser or crimes. Is the Crime Worth Your Future? A rocket fired from a balcony burst into a mosaic o f glittering aluminum dust over Pamplona, Spain Tuesday, signaling the start [ o f the San Fermin festival known for its running o f the bulls. Pain Relief for Crafty Dr. Colleen McDonough, a chi ropractor sees many patients with sewing-related ailments which prompted her to start ErgoSew, a Salem-based business that sells | ergonomic support products. c c «D I— Cl O T c o 51) U ® n J ¡2 £ • - -J 2 ¡2 - O -C > 51) O ' C ’S e t 3 I — u c u Si) Cosby Doesn’t Mince Words on Black Says detractors are trying to hide 'dirty laundry’ (A P)— Bill Cosby is not backing down on his tirade against failures in the black com munity, telling a room full of African-Ameri can activists that too many black children are running around not knowing how to read or write and “going nowhere.” Cosby made headlines in May when he upbraided some poor blacks for their gram mar and accused them o f squandering op portunities the civil rights movement gave them. He shot back Thursday, saying his detractors were trying in vain to hide the black com m unity’s “dirty laundry.” “Let me tell you something, your dirty laundry gets out of school at 2:30 every day. it’s cursing and calling each other n---------- as they're walking up and down the street,” Cosby said during an appearance at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and Citizenship Education F und's annual conference in Chicago. Bill Cosby, with J e s s e J a c kso n (right) h e a d o f th e Rainbow P ush Coalition, a d d r e s s e s th e civil rights organization's a nnual co n fere n ce in Chicago (AP photo) Tils "They think they’re hip," the entertainer said. “They can ’t read; they can 't write. T hey're laughing and giggling, and they're going nowhere." In his remarks in May at a commemoration o f the anniversary o f the Brown v. Board of Education desegregation decision, Cosby denounced some blacks’ gramm ar and said those who commit crimes and wind up be hind bars “are not political prisoners." I can t even talk the way these people talk, ’Why you a in 't,' ’Where you is’ ... and I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk," Cosby said then. “And then I heard the fathertalk... Everybody knows it’s important to speak English except these knuckleheads. You can 't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth.” Cosby elaborated Thursday on his previ ous comments in a talk interrupted several times by applause. He castigated some blacks, saying that they cannot simply blame whites for problems such as teen pregnancy and high school dropout rates. “For me there is a tim e ... when we have to turn the mirror around," he said. "Because for me it is almost analgesic to talk about what continued y f on page A2