Justice is served!

The following is an article from today's Sun-Sentinel. I post this article for several reasons: #1. The prosecutor is a friend of mine and #2. What happened here is fucking ridiculous.

To the poor schmuck who was found guilty of exposing his sexual organs in public: you were wrongly convicted. Jail is not a public place. Last time I checked you had to do something bad to get in there. A person cannot just walk in from off the street, hang out and maybe grab a coffee. This case is easily appealable and I am volunteering to handle the appeal--this can be my pro bono case of the year, it will make my Mom proud!

To the dumb bitch prison guard who made a big deal out of the poor schmuck masturbating in prison: You are a fucking retard. Don't tell me that you are surprised people that people masturbate in jail. What else is there to do when you are locked up for a year??? You've been a prison guard for 9 years. Aren't you used to seeing activity like this yet? Better yet, didn't you engage in behavior worse than this before you found religion and were elevated to the oh-so-coveted position of prison guard? I bet back in the crack whore days you did some skanky shit.

FYI--as a judicial clerk a few years ago, I went on a tour of the Broward County Jail with other law students working in the courthouse that summer. While there we all saw a guy jacking off. Did we make a big deal about it?? NO!!!! And we were only there for an hour or 2. Was the guy probably doing it because we were all there staring at him like a caged animal? Probably. Was it directed towards us? Probably. Did we laugh it off? Yes! Listen prison guard lady, I know you are the proud mother of a 19-month-old. And you probably haven't had any sex in the last 19 months. But could you please relax? And I see you're recently been transferred. Where to? the strip search unit? Things should work out much better for you there. Good luck!!!

To my friend the great legal warrior: Great job! But, come on, his cell is not his home. Ok fine, but it kind of is his "home" for the time that he is sentenced to live there. PS--how did you keep a straight face through voir dire? The questions the defense attorney was asking were too funny. I would have laughed my way through the entire thing!!! Why didn't you call me to come watch? I have nothing but time to kill at the office. It would have been the highlight of my month. Next time you are prosecuting an alleged masturbator, please think a little less about trial prep and a little more about entertaining your friends! Our Trial Ad prof and Clinic prof will be so proud of this accomplishment. I think I will send them both an e-mail right now so they can be proud sooner. Gotta run!

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Jury convicts Broward inmate of indecent exposure in his cell
By Tonya Alanez South Florida Sun-Sentinel
July 26, 2007

The jailhouse deputy didn't bring the indecent exposure charge against the inmate until the third time he masturbated in front of her.That's what Deputy Coryus Veal told Broward County jurors Wednesday as they heard the state build its case against Terry Lee Alexander, 20.Every time he did it, he stared directly at her, said Veal, 45, a nearly nine-year veteran with the Broward Sheriff's Office and mother of a 19-month-old.
It was the deliberateness of the act that offended her, she said.Had he covered himself with a blanket, Veal said, "we wouldn't be here today."It took the four-man, two-woman jury about 45 minutes to reach a guilty verdict.The crux of deliberations was whether the jail was a public place, said juror David Sherman, a Fort Lauderdale science-fiction novelist.The jury concluded it was. "Limited access, to be sure," Sherman said, "but it's not a private place."Masturbation wasn't the issue, he said, but rather the manner in which it was done. "None of us had any problem with masturbation in private," Sherman said."It was about him exposing himself to her," said jury foreman Ed Welch, of Coral Springs.County Judge Fred Berman sentenced Alexander to 60 days in jail. He faced up to one year.Alexander was charged with indecent exposure Nov. 12 while in jail waiting to resolve an armed robbery case.He sat at the foot of his bunk alone in his cell. Veal could see Alexander, she said, from a glassed-in, centrally located control room with a direct view of inmates' cells."He was staring directly at me," she said. "I observed him long enough to recognize what he was doing and I looked away."She had looked away the first time, too, she said. That time, and the next time, he stood just outside his open cell door looking her way, she said. After the second incident, she had him moved to a cell where they could not see each other and issued this warning over the intercom: "You can do it in private where I will not be exposed to it."He soon ended up back in a more visible cell, she said.Alexander's court-appointed attorney, Kathleen McHugh, emphasized her client was 19 at the time and had been jailed for months."We're talking about a basic, innate need of all humans," McHugh said. "There's nothing shameful or vulgar about masturbation."She criticized Veal for choosing a job where she was bound to see such behavior, for construing Alexander's sexual impulses as all about her, and for being the only corrections deputy, male or female, to bring such charges against inmates.Veal has brought similar charges against eight inmates — including Alexander — from November to May. Of the seven other cases, three are pending, three have pleaded out and the state dismissed one."This is all about her," McHugh said. "Don't let this hypersensitive person define vulgar and indecent for you."She urged jurors to use "common sense" when defining a public place. "The general public is not permitted in his cell," McHugh said.Prosecutor Cynthia Lauriston countered that Alexander had no right to privacy in jail, his cell is not his home and a number of deputies, nurses, program specialists and visitors pass by the cells on any given day."We're not here to determine whether masturbation is right or wrong," she said. "We charged the defendant with exposing his sexual organs in public."Veal should not be subjected to Alexander's lewd behavior, she said. "She didn't sign up for this," Lauriston said. "It is not a part of her job. It's not expected."Twelve days after he was charged with indecent exposure, Alexander pleaded guilty to armed robbery and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. That sentence will begin after he completes the 60 days for the exposure conviction.Veal told jurors she recently asked for, and has been granted, a transfer. She did not specify her new assignment.