Murder suspect to pay C$ from jail????

OK, is it me or did we all just get whisked off to the Twilight Zone? In
jail this guy isn't going to have anyway to earn him cash to pay for
anything, so just how did the judge come up with the idea he should continue
paying for something that the court knows full well he can't afford???

The insanity is mind boggling.
-----------------------------------------------

http://blogwonks.com/2008/07/17/shou...ort-from-jail/

Should Murder Suspect Pay Child Support from Jail?

Glenn Sacks

July 17, 2008

Here's another idiotic aspect of the child support system--demanding that
incarcerated obligors continue to make child support payments even though we
know they have no income and no ability to pay. Then, when they're released,
they're several thousand dollars behind on child support (with interest on
overdue payments added), and are subject to arrest or driven underground.

This problem has now been recognized by the Justice Department and Hillary
Clinton actually addressed it during her campaign--to learn more, see my
co-authored column New Justice Department Report's Recommendations Could
Reduce Prisoner Recidivism (Chicago Sun-Times, 10/26/07).

Usually the above scenario applies to low-income minority men incarcerated
as part of the asinine War on Drugs. In the case below, the charges are far
more serious--murder.

Nonetheless, it is still stupid and unfair to continue the man's child
support obligation. If he's convicted, he'll be in jail the rest of his
life, so the obligation is irrelevant--it'll never be paid. If he's
acquitted, then he'll be behind on child support when he's released, with
all the concomitant problems, even though he is legally blameless.

From Murder Suspect Ordered To Continue Paying Child Support From Jail
(Southern Maryland Online, 7/13/08):

A Lexington Park man accused of murdering his estranged wife's boyfriend and
attempting to kill her in the process must continue paying child support for
their three children.

A ruling by Circuit Court Master F. Michael Harris last week determined that
Koummane Virasith must still make the child support payments to Melissa
Virasith despite being detained in the St. Mary's County Detention Center.

The double shooting that took the life of Thomas John Saunders, 38, and
seriously injured Melissa Virasith, 40, occurred April 10.

Before the shooting occurred, Melissa Virasith had filed two domestic
violence complaints against her husband for alleged abusive behavior. The
couple separated in 2006, court documents stated, with Koummane Virasith
made to pay $400 a month in child support.

Melissa Virasith wrote to the court in late June stating that child support
was now vital to her keeping her family going while she was recovering from
the shooting.

"I have no income and will not have any income for some time to come,"
Melissa Virasith wrote. "I feel that he is still responsible for the support
of our three sons and I do not want to modify our support agreement."

Melissa Virasith stated in her letter that she was currently a paraplegic as
a result of the shooting and was undergoing therapy at a hospital in
Baltimore.

In a letter to the court written little more than a week after Koummane
Virasith allegedly shot the two victims, he stated that he had always paid
his child support on time every month while gainfully employed.

His incarceration in the detention center now made that impossible, he wrote
in the letter.

-------------------------------------------------------------

http://somd.com/news/headlines/2008/7934.shtml

Murder Suspect Ordered To Continue Paying Child Support From Jail

Posted on July 13, 2008

By Guy Leonard, County Times

HOLLYWOOD, Md. (July 10, 2008) -- A Lexington Park man accused of murdering
his estranged wife's boyfriend and attempting to kill her in the process
must continue paying child support for their three children.

A ruling by Circuit Court Master F. Michael Harris last week determined that
Koummane Virasith must still make the child support payments to Melissa
Virasith despite being detained in the St. Mary's County Detention Center.

The double shooting that took the life of Thomas John Saunders, 38, and
seriously injured Melissa Virasith, 40, occurred April 10.

Before the shooting occurred, Melissa Virasith had filed two domestic
violence complaints against her husband for alleged abusive behavior. The
couple separated in 2006, court documents stated, with Koummane Virasith
made to pay $400 a month in child support.

Melissa Virasith wrote to the court in late June stating that child support
was now vital to her keeping her family going while she was recovering from
the shooting.

"I have no income and will not have any income for some time to come,"
Melissa Virasith wrote. "I feel that he is still responsible for the support
of our three sons and I do not want to modify our support agreement."

Melissa Virasith stated in her letter that she was currently a paraplegic as
a result of the shooting and was undergoing therapy at a hospital in
Baltimore.

In a letter to the court written little more than a week after Koummane
Virasith allegedly shot the two victims, he stated that he had always paid
his child support on time every month while gainfully employed.

His incarceration in the detention center now made that impossible, he wrote
in the letter.

Harris agreed to enforce the current order, court records ref lect, and even
more Harris actually found that Virasith had had himself incarcerated so
that he could avoid making the payments.
Virasith was first ordered to start making the payments in October of 2007.

Pauline Mandel, an attorney with the Maryland Crime Victim's Resource Center
who represents Melissa Virasith, said that her client declined to comment on
recent proceedings.

Virasith is set to be tried for Saunders' murder and the shooting of his
wife in September, according to court papers.

State's Attorney Richard Fritz told The County Times that he will seek life
imprisonment for Koummane Virasith for the double shooting; Fritz said he
was also considering filing motions that called for the defendant to
imprisoned without the possibility of parole.

Fritz said in a hearing before Circuit Court Judge C. Clarke Raley that he
had been waiting for three to four weeks for an attorney from the Public
Defender's Office to enter an appearance as Koummane Virasith's lawyer in
the murder trial.

The public defender's office has taken the case.

Fritz said progress in the case had stalled as he was waiting for another
attorney to receive the discovery of all the evidence uncovered in the
shooting investigation.

"I'm happy because discovery can continue and we can move towards trial,"
Fritz said. "We want to stay on course."

RELATED INFORMATION:

Ex-Husband Shoots Wife, Another Man Dead, April 11, 2008
http://somd.com/news/headlines/2008/7483.shtml

"Dusty" wrote in message
...
OK, is it me or did we all just get whisked off to the Twilight Zone?
In jail this guy isn't going to have anyway to earn him cash to pay
for anything, so just how did the judge come up with the idea he
should continue paying for something that the court knows full well he
can't afford???

The insanity is mind boggling.
-----------------------------------------------

Worse yet, realize that the people who devised and demand this type of
nonsense are the same ones running the most heavily armed military in
the world. If you think this makes no sense, you have not been properly
and thoroughly brainwashed.
It is the same type of thinking that continually draws the US into
fighting in other countries civil wars (Viet Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan and
several in different countries in Africa as well as South America, as
examples) and losing.
It is the same people who have ordered other political leaders to be
assassinated.
It is the same people who declared "war on drugs", only to see the US
become the highest abuser of legal and illicit drugs.
It is the new society, the silent majority or whatever the newest slogan
of the day is.
It is the same ones who have silently declared war on fathers, families
and society at large.
Phil #3


http://blogwonks.com/2008/07/17/shou...ort-from-jail/

Should Murder Suspect Pay Child Support from Jail?

Glenn Sacks

July 17, 2008

Here's another idiotic aspect of the child support system--demanding
that incarcerated obligors continue to make child support payments
even though we know they have no income and no ability to pay. Then,
when they're released, they're several thousand dollars behind on
child support (with interest on overdue payments added), and are
subject to arrest or driven underground.

This problem has now been recognized by the Justice Department and
Hillary Clinton actually addressed it during her campaign--to learn
more, see my co-authored column New Justice Department Report's
Recommendations Could Reduce Prisoner Recidivism (Chicago Sun-Times,
10/26/07).

Usually the above scenario applies to low-income minority men
incarcerated as part of the asinine War on Drugs. In the case below,
the charges are far more serious--murder.

Nonetheless, it is still stupid and unfair to continue the man's child
support obligation. If he's convicted, he'll be in jail the rest of
his life, so the obligation is irrelevant--it'll never be paid. If
he's acquitted, then he'll be behind on child support when he's
released, with all the concomitant problems, even though he is legally
blameless.

From Murder Suspect Ordered To Continue Paying Child Support From Jail
(Southern Maryland Online, 7/13/08):

A Lexington Park man accused of murdering his estranged wife's
boyfriend and attempting to kill her in the process must continue
paying child support for their three children.

A ruling by Circuit Court Master F. Michael Harris last week
determined that Koummane Virasith must still make the child support
payments to Melissa Virasith despite being detained in the St. Mary's
County Detention Center.

The double shooting that took the life of Thomas John Saunders, 38,
and seriously injured Melissa Virasith, 40, occurred April 10.

Before the shooting occurred, Melissa Virasith had filed two domestic
violence complaints against her husband for alleged abusive behavior.
The couple separated in 2006, court documents stated, with Koummane
Virasith made to pay $400 a month in child support.

Melissa Virasith wrote to the court in late June stating that child
support was now vital to her keeping her family going while she was
recovering from the shooting.

"I have no income and will not have any income for some time to come,"
Melissa Virasith wrote. "I feel that he is still responsible for the
support of our three sons and I do not want to modify our support
agreement."

Melissa Virasith stated in her letter that she was currently a
paraplegic as a result of the shooting and was undergoing therapy at a
hospital in Baltimore.

In a letter to the court written little more than a week after
Koummane Virasith allegedly shot the two victims, he stated that he
had always paid his child support on time every month while gainfully
employed.

His incarceration in the detention center now made that impossible, he
wrote in the letter.

-------------------------------------------------------------

http://somd.com/news/headlines/2008/7934.shtml

Murder Suspect Ordered To Continue Paying Child Support From Jail

Posted on July 13, 2008

By Guy Leonard, County Times

HOLLYWOOD, Md. (July 10, 2008) -- A Lexington Park man accused of
murdering his estranged wife's boyfriend and attempting to kill her in
the process must continue paying child support for their three
children.

A ruling by Circuit Court Master F. Michael Harris last week
determined that Koummane Virasith must still make the child support
payments to Melissa Virasith despite being detained in the St. Mary's
County Detention Center.

The double shooting that took the life of Thomas John Saunders, 38,
and seriously injured Melissa Virasith, 40, occurred April 10.

Before the shooting occurred, Melissa Virasith had filed two domestic
violence complaints against her husband for alleged abusive behavior.
The couple separated in 2006, court documents stated, with Koummane
Virasith made to pay $400 a month in child support.

Melissa Virasith wrote to the court in late June stating that child
support was now vital to her keeping her family going while she was
recovering from the shooting.

"I have no income and will not have any income for some time to come,"
Melissa Virasith wrote. "I feel that he is still responsible for the
support of our three sons and I do not want to modify our support
agreement."

Melissa Virasith stated in her letter that she was currently a
paraplegic as a result of the shooting and was undergoing therapy at a
hospital in Baltimore.

In a letter to the court written little more than a week after
Koummane Virasith allegedly shot the two victims, he stated that he
had always paid his child support on time every month while gainfully
employed.

His incarceration in the detention center now made that impossible, he
wrote in the letter.

Harris agreed to enforce the current order, court records ref lect,
and even more Harris actually found that Virasith had had himself
incarcerated so that he could avoid making the payments.
Virasith was first ordered to start making the payments in October of
2007.

Pauline Mandel, an attorney with the Maryland Crime Victim's Resource
Center who represents Melissa Virasith, said that her client declined
to comment on recent proceedings.

Virasith is set to be tried for Saunders' murder and the shooting of
his wife in September, according to court papers.

State's Attorney Richard Fritz told The County Times that he will seek
life imprisonment for Koummane Virasith for the double shooting; Fritz
said he was also considering filing motions that called for the
defendant to imprisoned without the possibility of parole.

Fritz said in a hearing before Circuit Court Judge C. Clarke Raley
that he had been waiting for three to four weeks for an attorney from
the Public Defender's Office to enter an appearance as Koummane
Virasith's lawyer in the murder trial.

The public defender's office has taken the case.

Fritz said progress in the case had stalled as he was waiting for
another attorney to receive the discovery of all the evidence
uncovered in the shooting investigation.

"I'm happy because discovery can continue and we can move towards
trial," Fritz said. "We want to stay on course."

RELATED INFORMATION:

Ex-Husband Shoots Wife, Another Man Dead, April 11, 2008
http://somd.com/news/headlines/2008/7483.shtml