February 21, 2010 – 6:51 pm
Australians child protection groups are upset that a child rapist from the United States was able to enter the country after authorities did not conduct a criminal background check. The man was granted a visa four years ago and is now on a spousal visa because is married to an Australian woman. He has been charged with a burglary in Melbourne. The 63-year-old man’s name cannot be released because of Australia law.
The man was a registered sex offender in Washington state after being convicted of raping a 14-year-old. According to reports, immigration authorities were told about the man’s conviction six months ago but did not make any efforts to deport him. Now that there is a criminal charge against him, he must stand trial on the charges before deportation procedures can begin.
Child protection groups are questioning how he got into Australia. They are asking for more thorough background checks of visitors to the country.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/child-rapist-slips-past-customs/story-e6frf7l6-1225832776441
February 20, 2010 – 5:36 am
Scholars may object to background checks even in light of last week’s murder of three professors at the University of Alabama of Huntsville. There are fears that arrests for civil disobedience could hurt them in their careers. Others say they are afraid that if the names are mixed up with someone else’s they could be denied a job.
Dr. Amy Bishop had killed her brother and been arrested for assault but that did not show up on a background check because she was never convicted. Bishop shot six people, killing three, during a staff meeting.
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=410466&c=1
February 17, 2010 – 6:38 am
Even after she shot and killed three people at an Alabama university, Dr. Amy Bishop’s criminal background check showed no indications that she would have committed the crime. However, investigations have revealed three incidents where Bishop was suspected of a crime.
The first occurred in 1986 when Bishop shot her brother. The shooting was ruled an accident. In 1993, Bishop was investigated and later cleared in the attempted mail bombing of Harvard professor. And on Tuesday it was revealed that Bishop had assaulted a woman because she took the last booster seat in a restaurant. Even though she admitted the assault in court, the charges were dismissed.
Because Bishop was never charged in any of the crimes, the incidents did not show up on a criminal background check. University officials ran a background check on Bishop on Monday, two days after the incident, and it still showed nothing. Meanwhile, Bishop is in jail charged with three counts of capital murder—a charge with carries the death penalty.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hf_Cw1b1×1DmRrdG4hiu4P55yZTgD9DTMJSG1
February 15, 2010 – 6:53 pm
Dr. Amy Bishop, accused of killing three professors at the University of Alabama at Huntsville on Friday, has two suspicious acts in her background, according to report. In 1986, Bishop shot her brother at their Massachusetts home. The shooting was ruled accidental even though investigators questioned it at the time.
On Monday, investigators revealed that Bishop had been questioned in an attempted bombing involving a Harvard professor. Reports indicate that Bishop was worried that the professor was going to give her a negative review.
These incidents did not show up on a criminal background check because Bishop was never charged in either incident. However, officials in Boston said they are going to reopen the investigation into the shooting of Bishop’s brother.
Bishop is charged with capital murder. She faces the death penalty if convicted.
February 11, 2010 – 6:39 am
New York officials arrested a chaplain for allegedly taking scissors and metal blades into a jail. As shocking as that was, police found out that the chaplain had been convicted of murder.
The arrest of Iman Zulgarnain Abdu-Shahid has led officials with the Corrections Department to review his hiring. A criminal background was done, officials said. However, job candidates are asked to tell if they have a criminal record. Since Abud-Shadi is a civilian, he may have been hired anyway.
Abdu-Shadid served 14 years in prison for killing a customer during a supermarket robbery in 1976. He has been on parole since 1993. He is being held on a $50,000 bond.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/nyregion/05chaplain.html
February 2, 2010 – 10:41 pm
In a ruling applauded by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the California Supreme Court upheld restrictions that would prohibit sex offenders from living near schools and parks. In a 5-2 vote, the court ruled that residency requirement applied to all registered sex offenders, even those who were paroled before the measure was passed in November 2006.
The law prohibits registered sex offenders from living with 2,000 feet of schools or parks where children gather. Four parolees filed suit, saying there was no place they could live. The four were paroled before the law passed and none were on parole at that time.
Justice Carlos R. Moreno said in his dissenting opinion that the law did not state it would be retroactive. The ACLU says the ruling would lead to more homelessness among sex offenders.
Schwarzenegger said he was pleased by the ruling and called the residency requirement “an important public safety measure.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jessicas-law2-2010feb02,1,7117062.story
January 31, 2010 – 8:48 pm
The failure to do a criminal background check on a convicted felon violated policy at a Charlotte, N.C. public housing complex and may have led to her death, her family said. Kenneth Cyrus is charged with the murder of 63-year-old Eva Green. Cyrus and Green were neighbors in Charlottetown Terrace, a public housing complex.
A former housing official said during her trial that Cyrus should not have been allowed to live in the complex. A background check showed that Cyrus had three felony drug charges in Maryland. The official said there was no record of housing authority officials doing a background check on Cyrus.
Neighbors said they were afraid of Cyrus who said he heard voices. Management did nothing about the complaints filed on Cyrus.
The family has filed a suit against the housing authority. However city attorneys have raised questions as to whether or not the law requires national criminal background checks.
http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/Mistakes-at-public-housing-blamed-for-elderly-womans-murder-82839157.html
January 30, 2010 – 11:30 pm
Most states require background checks before you can purchase a firearm. In New Jersey, authorities were able to catch a man wanted for leaving the scene of an accident when he tried to buy a gun.
Jeffrey Adams of East Orange was wanted for an accident that occurred on July 6, 2008 in which he hit a car head on. One of the passengers died a month after the wreck. Police issued a warrant for Adams for leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in a death. But police had no address on Adams.
Last week Adams tried to buy a gun and was rejected because of the background check. But he wrote his current address on the application which was processed through the state. Police arrested him at his home. He is being held in the Essex County Correctional Facility pending extradition to the Hudson County Jail.
http://www.nj.com/news/local/index.ssf/2010/01/background_check_for_gun_permi.html
January 26, 2010 – 1:14 pm
The city council in Richmond, Virginia wants to take a closer look at firefighters before they are hired. City Councilman Bruce Tyler is questioning the hiring practices of the Richmond Fire Department. The current policy requires a background check after the fireman is hired. Tyler said the applicants should be screened before then.
Fire Chief Robert Creecy said once the background checks are completed, they are examined on a case by case basis. Tyler says there is no law that prohibits hiring convicted felons. The police department says it is their policy not to hire convicted felons. Jurisdictions around Virginia have similar policies.
http://www.wtvr.com/news/wtvr-richmond-fire-background-checks,0,5383607.story
January 22, 2010 – 7:48 am
Officials in Greenup, Ky. are wondering how a convicted felon got into a fifth grade classroom without credentials or a criminal background. According to an investigation by a local television station, Dakoda Bowling sat in on the classroom of a veteran teacher. But students said Bowling also taught the class at McKell Elementary.
Bowling was later approved as a substitute teacher by the school board. The superintendent said a criminal background check did not show any arrests. A further check of criminal records shows that Bowling had several convictions for charges including theft by deception and bad checks. Police officials said that other charges are pending.
The school superintendent said that the incident will lead to a double check of all personnel records to make sure “no one else slipped through the cracks.”
http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/82314727.html
