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Penalty phase begins for man convicted in officer's killing: ChildProtective Services, documented five times throughout his childhood thatthe department received calls of abuse, neglect and drug use in the home
Penalty phase begins for man convicted in officer's killing By Bruce Gerstman STAFF WRITER Article Launched: 08/22/2007 01:52:15 PM PDT http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_6689868 MARTINEZ -- Alexander Hamilton was raised by a alcoholic mother and a stepfather who taught him how to use a gun at age 5, and was ignored by several child welfare workers throughout his childhood, a defense attorney told a jury today in Superior Court. Jurors must take these issues into consideration as they hear evidence to decide whether the 20-year-old should be punished by execution or life in prison without parole for murdering Pittsburg police Officer Larry Lasater, said assistant public defender Robin Lipetzsky. "We are not providing excuses to you. There is no justification for what happened to Officer Lasater. There is no excuse for it," Lipetzsky said in her opening statement at the penalty phase of Hamilton's death penalty trial. "This is about shedding some light into this man's life, and it's not going to be pretty." But deputy district attorney Harold Jewett said earlier in the morning that jurors should impose the death penalty after weighing how Lasater's death has affected the people who loved him. He also traumatized the bank clerks he robbed at gunpoint earlier that day and a woman who protected her child in the bank. "She is a victim," Jewett said. "That is not an experience she is going to forget." Attorneys presented opening statements this morning in the penalty trial of Hamilton, who was convicted of murder, robbery and special circumstances in Lasater's shooting death on April 23, 2005. The same jury convicted Moffett of murder and robbery. However, he was 17 at the time of the incident and is not eligible for the death penalty. After robbing a Raley's supermarket and Wells Fargo Bank in Pittsburg about 5:45 p.m. that day, Hamilton and his co-defendant at trial, Andrew Moffett, fled into Antioch. Lasater pursued them. The officer looked for Hamilton on the De Anza Trail. Hamilton, hiding in bushes, shot Lasater as he approached. Police found Moffett in a nearby back yard. Lipetzsky posted childhood photographs of Hamilton on the back wall of the courtroom and told a story of how her client's life, filled with violence and without emotional support, shaped him without a "moral compass." He was hospitalized at birth after he was born addicted to alcohol. His mother continued to drink and use drugs throughout his childhood. "She's pretty much never been without a beer," Lipetzsky said, pointing to the woman in the packed courtroom. "I suspect even right now she's got beer flowing through her veins." His only father figure in his life was his stepfather, who sold drugs from their home in Pittsburg, fathered a child with another woman across the street and introduced the young Hamilton to guns in elementary school, Lipetzsky said. The county's Children and Family Services department, previously called Child Protective Services, documented five times throughout Hamilton's childhood that the department received calls of abuse, neglect and drug use in the home, Lipetzsky said. The department closed each case without further investigation. Jewett posted on the wall a photograph of Lasater in his police uniform before he told the jury that Lasater's family and friends will testify about different eras of Lasater's life, from childhood and his career in the Marines, being a married man expecting a child and a police officer. Jewett said seven witnesses, whom he called "The Magnificent Seven," will describe how Lasater's death has devastated them. But he said those witnesses are only a portion of those who cared for Lasater. "We could line up witnesses from here to Pittsburg," he said. Trial resumes this afternoon when Lasater's mother and wife are expected to testify. Reach Bruce Gerstman at 925-952-2670 or . CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA WIRETAPPING PROGRAM.... CPS Does not protect children... It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even killed at the hands of Child Protective Services. every parent should read this .pdf from connecticut dcf watch... http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US These numbers come from The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN) Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS *Perpetrators of Maltreatment* Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59 Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13 Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241 Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12 Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5 Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per 100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a bunch of social workers. CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON... BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION... |
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