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...