Associated Press reported Wednesday that Wal-Mart's shareholders meeting Friday is going to feature complaints about the company's health benefits, wages, and the way Wal-Mart does business.
That may be news to some people, but not those who read The Turner Report, which carried the story on May 8.
AP notes that a group of shareholders is attempting to get items on the agenda that would address complaints about Wal-Mart. This is the item that ran May 8 in The Turner Report.
While many Wal-Mart workers in stores across the United States are eligible for Medicaid and food stamps, company officials have done all they can to enrich themselves.
At least that is the portrait painted in an exempt solicitation filed Friday with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission. In the solicitation, Bartlett Naylor, a longtime union official who has a history of similar filings with Wal-Mart and numerous other large businesses, submits for consideration of Wal-Mart stockholders a proposal that would require the company's board consist of two-thirds independent directors.
The same proposal was submitted two years ago and was approved by 23 percent of stockholders, according to the filing. "For any company, an independent board is important," Naylor said in the filing. "Since 39 percent of Wal-Mart's stock is controlled by the five Walton heirs, we believe that such a structure is even more important for Wal-Mart shareholders as a whole."The situation is even more urgent now, Naylor said, due to recent events, several of which he cited in the filing.
-"Board member Thomas M. Coughlin was reportedly forced 'to resign from the board following an investigation into fraudulent expense accounts and invoices and misuse of company-owned gift cards,' Naylor said, quoting from an article in the March 28 Wall Street Journal.
-From that same issue of the Journal, Naylor noted that a gender discrimination lawsuit against the company has been allowed to proceed as a class action suit possibly including 1.6 million women. Wal-Mart is appealing that decision.
-"In March, Wal-Mart paid $11 million to settle a federal investigation into its use of undocumented workers in floor-cleaning crews."
Naylor noted that company directors and their relatives are raking in the bucks from Wal-Mart. Among those cited in the filing:-Former CEO David D. Glass's son "owns Springdale Card & Comic Wholesale, Inc., which Wal-Mart paid $3,802,243 in fiscal year 2005."-James Beyer "owns more than 10 percent of Groove Networks, which Wal-Mart paid $278,003 in 2005 for computer software and services."-Christopher Williams' firm "received $103,000 during fiscal year 2005 from Wal-Mart," even though the filing noted that Wal-Mart has declared it will no longer use the firm while Williams is on the board of directors.-Roland A. Hernandez "owns more than 10 percent of Inter-Con Security Systems, which Wal-Mart paid $731,006 in fiscal year 2005."
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Graham packaging deal set
Graham Packaging, which recently bought the Tetra Pak plant in Joplin, has finalized a deal to buy the remaining equity interests of Industrias Innopack in Graham Innopack de Mexico, according to the business publication Plastics in Packaging.
The deal should not have any impact on the Joplin plant. Graham has owned 51 percent of the company since 1999 and bought the other 49 percent with this deal, according to the article. Graham now owns three manufacturing plants in Mexico, which has a growing plastics packaging market, the article said.
The deal should not have any impact on the Joplin plant. Graham has owned 51 percent of the company since 1999 and bought the other 49 percent with this deal, according to the article. Graham now owns three manufacturing plants in Mexico, which has a growing plastics packaging market, the article said.
KSN show is an embarrassment
I don't care if the show is cleaning up in the ratings (and I have no idea how it is doing), the Gary and Tiffany show at 5 p.m. each weekday on KSNF is an embarrassment.
Maybe it's the fact that I have always been a news junkie, but I appreciate that KODE and KOAM get right into their newscasts at 5 p.m. Today, while Gary and Tiffany extolled the virtues of whichever Wal-Mart they were doing a live telecast from, their presentation of the news did not begin until five minutes past five.
Did someone really believe there was a longing in the community for this kind of newscast?
The viewers deserve better and so do Gary Bandy and Tiffany Alaniz. If they want to give them what essentially amounts to a variety program, put them in that 12:30 p.m. slot that has been reserved for infomercials.
Maybe it's the fact that I have always been a news junkie, but I appreciate that KODE and KOAM get right into their newscasts at 5 p.m. Today, while Gary and Tiffany extolled the virtues of whichever Wal-Mart they were doing a live telecast from, their presentation of the news did not begin until five minutes past five.
Did someone really believe there was a longing in the community for this kind of newscast?
The viewers deserve better and so do Gary Bandy and Tiffany Alaniz. If they want to give them what essentially amounts to a variety program, put them in that 12:30 p.m. slot that has been reserved for infomercials.
Strong story for Cavanna
As far as I could tell, KODE's Alan Cavanna was alone on a story about the possible shutdown of Carterville's Fire Department. Cavanna has had a string of strong stories lately and has been one of the saving graces of a news department that appears to be run on a shoestring.
Again, KODE has a lot riding on who it selects to take over Jimmy Siedlecki's post when Siedlecki moves on to Omaha to rejoin Malorie Maddox.
Again, KODE has a lot riding on who it selects to take over Jimmy Siedlecki's post when Siedlecki moves on to Omaha to rejoin Malorie Maddox.
ConAgra hit with lawsuit
ConAgra is facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit in U. S. District Court in Nebraska, according to an Associated Press article.
The article says ESPN is suing the company for allegedly backing out of advertising agreements for golf and college football contests that would have paid the network millions of dollars.
ConAgra has a plant in Carthage and is a partner in Renewable Environmental Services, which has been under the gun for causing an odor in Carthage for several months.
The article says ESPN is suing the company for allegedly backing out of advertising agreements for golf and college football contests that would have paid the network millions of dollars.
ConAgra has a plant in Carthage and is a partner in Renewable Environmental Services, which has been under the gun for causing an odor in Carthage for several months.
Sawyer was White House aide
One of the dangers of the small talk that TV news anchors have to indulge in each day is that at some point you are going to say something that is totally incorrect.
That happened to Sarah Pierik on KOAM this morning when she and Dave Pylant discussed Deep Throat. When it was mentioned that Diane Sawyer was one of those who was suspected of Deep Throat, Miss Pierik noted that she was a White House correspondent at the time.
Miss Sawyer actually worked in the Nixon White House and later was one of those who went with him after he resigned office and worked with him at his home in San Clemente, Calif. It was that partisan relationship that made her have to work even harder to gain the respect of her fellow reporters after she joined the journalism ranks in later years.
That happened to Sarah Pierik on KOAM this morning when she and Dave Pylant discussed Deep Throat. When it was mentioned that Diane Sawyer was one of those who was suspected of Deep Throat, Miss Pierik noted that she was a White House correspondent at the time.
Miss Sawyer actually worked in the Nixon White House and later was one of those who went with him after he resigned office and worked with him at his home in San Clemente, Calif. It was that partisan relationship that made her have to work even harder to gain the respect of her fellow reporters after she joined the journalism ranks in later years.
Deep Throat revelation disappointing
I find the revelation that former No. 2 man at the FBI Mark Felt was Woodward and Bernstein's source "Deep Throat" during their Watergate investigation three decades ago a bit disappointing.
It's not because I thought it was someone else. I didn't care if it turned out to be Fred Fielding or George H. W. Bush or Henry Kissinger or Alexander Haig or Diane Sawyer. I just hate to see the mystery end. How many secrets can remain secrets for more than 30 years?
My initial exposure to Watergate came through the Ervin Committee's televised hearings in 1973. Senator Sam Ervin's folksiness and Senator Howard Baker's oft-repeated line, "What did the president know and when did he know it?" are indelibly etched in my memory. For some reason, I can remember the names of committee members, Herman Talmadge of Georgia, Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, Lowell Weicker of Connecticut and it seems like there was a Senator Gurney from Florida. The counsel for the Democratic senators on the committee was Sam Dash, while his Republican counterpart was Fred Thompson, better known now as the actor who plays District Attorney Arthur Branch on Law and Order.
The highlights of those hearings were many. It was the summer between my junior and senior years at East Newton High School and I watched every day. It was shocking when former presidential counsel John Dean, long since made a sacrificial goat by President Nixon showed a nearly photographic recall of events that had taken place in the days following the Watergate burglary.
After listening to all of the big names, Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell, Dean, appear before the committee, the most electrifying testimony was offered by a heretofore unknown named Alexander Butterfield, who revealed that the president had taped all of his conversations. It was that revelation, as much as anything done by Woodward, Bernstein, Deep Throat, or anyone else, that directly led to the first resignation of a United States president.
It is hard for younger people to understand how tense the atmosphere was in this country during the last few months before the president's resignation. A genuine fear existed that the president would declare martial law or that he would defy the Supreme Court, not turn over his tapes and create a constitutional crisis. The system survived, with one victim who deserved what he got, President Nixon, and one who did not, his successor Gerald Ford, who made the right decision when he pardoned Nixon to spare the country the spectacle of a former president on trial or in prison. When President Ford said, "Our long national nightmare is over," he was correct, but he also guaranteed that he would become a footnote in history as the only man to serve as president who was never elected as either president or vice president. The Nixon pardon angered Americans enough that they opted for an unknown former governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter, over Ford in 1976.
"All The President's Men," Woodward and Bernstein's best-selling non-fiction account of their Watergate investigation for The Washington Post, has always been my favorite book. It is credited for the increase in enrollment in schools of journalism across the U. S. It didn't have that effect on me. Though I read it first when I was in college at MSSC, I was there to become a history teacher, not a reporter. I enjoyed it for its background information on how the Watergate story developed. It's still the best non-fiction book on investigative journalism ever written.
It's not because I thought it was someone else. I didn't care if it turned out to be Fred Fielding or George H. W. Bush or Henry Kissinger or Alexander Haig or Diane Sawyer. I just hate to see the mystery end. How many secrets can remain secrets for more than 30 years?
My initial exposure to Watergate came through the Ervin Committee's televised hearings in 1973. Senator Sam Ervin's folksiness and Senator Howard Baker's oft-repeated line, "What did the president know and when did he know it?" are indelibly etched in my memory. For some reason, I can remember the names of committee members, Herman Talmadge of Georgia, Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, Lowell Weicker of Connecticut and it seems like there was a Senator Gurney from Florida. The counsel for the Democratic senators on the committee was Sam Dash, while his Republican counterpart was Fred Thompson, better known now as the actor who plays District Attorney Arthur Branch on Law and Order.
The highlights of those hearings were many. It was the summer between my junior and senior years at East Newton High School and I watched every day. It was shocking when former presidential counsel John Dean, long since made a sacrificial goat by President Nixon showed a nearly photographic recall of events that had taken place in the days following the Watergate burglary.
After listening to all of the big names, Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell, Dean, appear before the committee, the most electrifying testimony was offered by a heretofore unknown named Alexander Butterfield, who revealed that the president had taped all of his conversations. It was that revelation, as much as anything done by Woodward, Bernstein, Deep Throat, or anyone else, that directly led to the first resignation of a United States president.
It is hard for younger people to understand how tense the atmosphere was in this country during the last few months before the president's resignation. A genuine fear existed that the president would declare martial law or that he would defy the Supreme Court, not turn over his tapes and create a constitutional crisis. The system survived, with one victim who deserved what he got, President Nixon, and one who did not, his successor Gerald Ford, who made the right decision when he pardoned Nixon to spare the country the spectacle of a former president on trial or in prison. When President Ford said, "Our long national nightmare is over," he was correct, but he also guaranteed that he would become a footnote in history as the only man to serve as president who was never elected as either president or vice president. The Nixon pardon angered Americans enough that they opted for an unknown former governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter, over Ford in 1976.
"All The President's Men," Woodward and Bernstein's best-selling non-fiction account of their Watergate investigation for The Washington Post, has always been my favorite book. It is credited for the increase in enrollment in schools of journalism across the U. S. It didn't have that effect on me. Though I read it first when I was in college at MSSC, I was there to become a history teacher, not a reporter. I enjoyed it for its background information on how the Watergate story developed. It's still the best non-fiction book on investigative journalism ever written.
10 more fired at O'Sullivan Industries
The year-long effort to sweep O'Sullivan Industries clear of Lamar influence continued today with the firing of 10 more Lamar-based officials, The Turner Report has learned. At the same time, and with much fanfare...memos circulated around the company welcoming two new officials, one of them, of course, coming from Newell Rubbermaid, the previous stopping place for million-dollar CEO Bob Parker and most of the new executives he has brought to this now-Atlanta-based company.
Seven employees, each with more than 20 years of experience were fired...Larry Christie, George Dighero, Larry Edge, Walter Powell, Hal Sutton, Connie Montgomery, and Kevin Rook. Shawna Phipps, who had been there about a decade, also lost her job in the June 1 massacre. Two others were also reportedly fired.
Newly minted senior vice president, operations, Kelly Terry, another Rubbermaid refugee, sent out the memo welcoming another former Rubbermaid employee, Jimmy McAfee, who will serve as director of process improvement and quality "responding directly to me," according to the memo.
"He will be based in our Lamar, MO facility, but his responsibilities will span both the Lamar and South Boston, VA facilities. In his new role, Jimmy will focus on driving cost improvements in manufacturing, distribution, and purchasing through process improvements and the implementation of lean principles. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with such terms, don't worry. Most of the officials who use them don't understand them either.) A key area of Jimmy's leadership impact will be improving cost and consumer satisfaction by dramatically reducing our defectives and missing component occurrences. Additionally, Jimmy will develop and implement a robust cost reduction system that will be based in process improvement and waste reductions throughout our operations."
The memo continued, "Jimmy comes to O'Sullivan from Rubbermaid Commercial Products, a division of Newell Rubbermaid, where he was operational excellence manager. He was responsible for managing the company's lean manufacturing implementation and cost reduction efforts for their three facilities. Jimmy has held various other operations roles during his 12-year career at Newell Rubbermaid including plant manager, engineering manager, and production manager.
"Jimmy has a bachelor of science degree from the University of Tennessee in industrial engineering and an MBA from the University of South Carolina. He has a very broad operations background and will serve O'Sullivan well by leading our efforts to improve our overall cost position through process improvement. Jimmy, his wife Kim, and their two children will be relocating to the Lamar area in the near future.
"Please join me welcoming Jimmy to O'Sullivan Industries and wishing him great success as we strive for operational excellence...'excellence in everything we do."
It was signed "Kelly Terry, senior vice president, operations"
In a shock, the other person whose hiring was announced actually has a southwest Missouri connection, having received a degree from SMSU. That memo was issued by Brad J. Young, director of engineering.
It read, "It gives me great pleasure to announce that Steve Stansbury has been hired into the position of lean manager for O'Sullivan Industries reporting to me. In this role, Steve will champion the effort of driving lean principles throughout the O'Sullivan organization, particularly in operations. Steve will play a key role as we strive to achieve operational excellence in everything we do.
"Steve comes to O'Sullivan Industries from General Motors, where he was the global manufacturing system implementation manager. The GMS, used by General Motors, is synonymous with the Toyota Production System (TPS) used by Toyota and many other world-class manufacturing companies. At GM, Steve was tasked with implementing GMS at the Pontiac, MI assembly plant and the Lansing MI assembly plant. Prior to joining General Motors, Steve served in a variety of engineering roles at Butler Manufacturing Corporation, Custom Metalcraft, and Avatar Components. Steve holds a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering technology from Southwest Missouri State University and a master of science degree in manufacturing operations from Kettering University.
"Steve, his wife Stasi, and his daughter Samantha (age 7) and son Zach (age 4) will be relocating to the Lamar area in the near future. Please join me in welcoming Steve to the O'Sullivan team." The memo was signed "Brad J. Young, director of engineering."
O'Sullivan's most recent moves come just two weeks after company officials issued a disastrous quarterly report. For more information about that, check out the May 16 Turner Report.
Seven employees, each with more than 20 years of experience were fired...Larry Christie, George Dighero, Larry Edge, Walter Powell, Hal Sutton, Connie Montgomery, and Kevin Rook. Shawna Phipps, who had been there about a decade, also lost her job in the June 1 massacre. Two others were also reportedly fired.
Newly minted senior vice president, operations, Kelly Terry, another Rubbermaid refugee, sent out the memo welcoming another former Rubbermaid employee, Jimmy McAfee, who will serve as director of process improvement and quality "responding directly to me," according to the memo.
"He will be based in our Lamar, MO facility, but his responsibilities will span both the Lamar and South Boston, VA facilities. In his new role, Jimmy will focus on driving cost improvements in manufacturing, distribution, and purchasing through process improvements and the implementation of lean principles. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with such terms, don't worry. Most of the officials who use them don't understand them either.) A key area of Jimmy's leadership impact will be improving cost and consumer satisfaction by dramatically reducing our defectives and missing component occurrences. Additionally, Jimmy will develop and implement a robust cost reduction system that will be based in process improvement and waste reductions throughout our operations."
The memo continued, "Jimmy comes to O'Sullivan from Rubbermaid Commercial Products, a division of Newell Rubbermaid, where he was operational excellence manager. He was responsible for managing the company's lean manufacturing implementation and cost reduction efforts for their three facilities. Jimmy has held various other operations roles during his 12-year career at Newell Rubbermaid including plant manager, engineering manager, and production manager.
"Jimmy has a bachelor of science degree from the University of Tennessee in industrial engineering and an MBA from the University of South Carolina. He has a very broad operations background and will serve O'Sullivan well by leading our efforts to improve our overall cost position through process improvement. Jimmy, his wife Kim, and their two children will be relocating to the Lamar area in the near future.
"Please join me welcoming Jimmy to O'Sullivan Industries and wishing him great success as we strive for operational excellence...'excellence in everything we do."
It was signed "Kelly Terry, senior vice president, operations"
In a shock, the other person whose hiring was announced actually has a southwest Missouri connection, having received a degree from SMSU. That memo was issued by Brad J. Young, director of engineering.
It read, "It gives me great pleasure to announce that Steve Stansbury has been hired into the position of lean manager for O'Sullivan Industries reporting to me. In this role, Steve will champion the effort of driving lean principles throughout the O'Sullivan organization, particularly in operations. Steve will play a key role as we strive to achieve operational excellence in everything we do.
"Steve comes to O'Sullivan Industries from General Motors, where he was the global manufacturing system implementation manager. The GMS, used by General Motors, is synonymous with the Toyota Production System (TPS) used by Toyota and many other world-class manufacturing companies. At GM, Steve was tasked with implementing GMS at the Pontiac, MI assembly plant and the Lansing MI assembly plant. Prior to joining General Motors, Steve served in a variety of engineering roles at Butler Manufacturing Corporation, Custom Metalcraft, and Avatar Components. Steve holds a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering technology from Southwest Missouri State University and a master of science degree in manufacturing operations from Kettering University.
"Steve, his wife Stasi, and his daughter Samantha (age 7) and son Zach (age 4) will be relocating to the Lamar area in the near future. Please join me in welcoming Steve to the O'Sullivan team." The memo was signed "Brad J. Young, director of engineering."
O'Sullivan's most recent moves come just two weeks after company officials issued a disastrous quarterly report. For more information about that, check out the May 16 Turner Report.
No hearing for Mouse who attacked man
Is is the only known case of a Mouse being convicted for assaulting a man and the Missouri Supreme Court is not going to hear an appeal of that conviction.
The Court Tuesday said it would not hear Nicholas Mouse's appeal of his 2002 conviction in Jasper County Circuit Court.
Mouse had claimed Judge Jon Dermott erred in not allowing an expert witness who could have testified as to his state of mind. There were no allegations that there wasn't enough evidence to convict Mouse.
The opinion related the evidence that was presented at trial. William Wilkerson was talking on his phone at his Jasper County home when Mouse knocked on his door. He told him to come in and while Wilkerson continued to talk on the phone, Mouse attacked him with a knife, stabbing him at least 12 times. Wilkerson was able to call 911 and was taken to Freeman Hospital, where his family was told he would probably not survive the night.
Mouse said he did not remember much. He remembered eating at Burger King then going to Wilkerson's home, being told to come inside and hearing Wilkerson say, "Hi, Indian, be with you in a minute." He also remembered reaching into his pocket, taking out his knife and unfolding it, then scuffling with Wilkerson. "Defendant said he noticed a large knot on Wilkerson's head, (and) that he asked himself what he had done."
After Mouse left the Wilkerson home, he went to a friend's home, throwing his beer cans out his truck window. He told the friend he needed to hide his truck because "the cops would be looking for him." He took a shower, then left and went to another friend's home. After he left there, another friend picked him up and convinced him to turn himself in at the Jasper County Sheriff's Department.
Mouse's appeal was directed at Judge Dermott's refusal to allow him to present evidence that his drinking and drug use had affected his state of mind. The expert testimony was not allowed since Mouse's use of these substances was voluntary.
The Court Tuesday said it would not hear Nicholas Mouse's appeal of his 2002 conviction in Jasper County Circuit Court.
Mouse had claimed Judge Jon Dermott erred in not allowing an expert witness who could have testified as to his state of mind. There were no allegations that there wasn't enough evidence to convict Mouse.
The opinion related the evidence that was presented at trial. William Wilkerson was talking on his phone at his Jasper County home when Mouse knocked on his door. He told him to come in and while Wilkerson continued to talk on the phone, Mouse attacked him with a knife, stabbing him at least 12 times. Wilkerson was able to call 911 and was taken to Freeman Hospital, where his family was told he would probably not survive the night.
Mouse said he did not remember much. He remembered eating at Burger King then going to Wilkerson's home, being told to come inside and hearing Wilkerson say, "Hi, Indian, be with you in a minute." He also remembered reaching into his pocket, taking out his knife and unfolding it, then scuffling with Wilkerson. "Defendant said he noticed a large knot on Wilkerson's head, (and) that he asked himself what he had done."
After Mouse left the Wilkerson home, he went to a friend's home, throwing his beer cans out his truck window. He told the friend he needed to hide his truck because "the cops would be looking for him." He took a shower, then left and went to another friend's home. After he left there, another friend picked him up and convinced him to turn himself in at the Jasper County Sheriff's Department.
Mouse's appeal was directed at Judge Dermott's refusal to allow him to present evidence that his drinking and drug use had affected his state of mind. The expert testimony was not allowed since Mouse's use of these substances was voluntary.
Alvarez wants to file amended petition
A prisoner who is suing the Newton County Sheriff's Department for injuries he suffered during a beating in his jail cell is asking for permission to file an amended petition.
Oscar Alvarez claims former jailers Adam Babbitt and Shane Smith opened his cell door, allowing other prisoners to enter the cell and beat him. Sheriff Ron Doerge was listed as a defendant in the initial petition, but was removed from the lawsuit by the judge and replaced by current Sheriff Kenneth Copeland.
In the amended petition, filed Tuesday in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Alvarez claims that Babbitt or Smith did the following:
-"Unlocked Alvarez' cell door
-"Turned off the video surveillance camera monitoring Alvarez' cell, or arranged for it to be turned off
-"Unlocked the cell doors of two other prisoners or arranged for their cell doors to be unlocked
-"Allowed one of the inmates to stand watch while another inmate entered Alvarez' cell and attacked Alvarez causing him serious bodily injury.
The new petition says that Doerge "either instructed the jailers under his control to use disciplinary measures designed to violated, or having the effect of violating, inmates' constitutional rights."
Those disciplinary measures, according to the lawsuit, were: "taking beds and blankets away from inmates, taking away shower privileges, locking inmates in solitary confinement for up to 30 days at a time, locking inmates in solitary confinement with other inmates for the purpose of inciting or encouraging those inmates to fight with one another, denying water to inmates for up to 10 hours at a time, and inappropriately using tasers for the purpose of disciplining inmates."
Because of these policies, the petition said, Alvarez received facial injuries and suffers from "headaches, back injuries and brain damage."
Alvarez continues to suffer from emotional distress, the petition said, because he feared for his life following the alleged attack in his cell. The beating violated his Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment, according to the petition.
The petition asks for unspecified monetary damages. The new petition came on the next to last day before the court deadline for changing the petition.
Under the schedule filed March 16 in federal court, the trial is set for Feb. 21, 2006, with a pretrial hearing planned for Feb. 10 in Springfield.
***
As revealed earlier in The Turner Report, though he is no longer a defendant in the Alvarez lawsuit, it still places Doerge in a tricky position. Doerge apparently ignored evidence that could have cleared Smith and Babbitt of their alleged roles in Alvarez' beating and made it appear that the beating might have been planned by Alvarez and another prisoner.
In March 2004, Doerge told Joplin Globe reporter Dena Sloan that his investigation had determined that the cameras trained on Alvarez' cell had been turned off for a few minutes so the cell door could be opened and two prisoners let in, one to stand watch and the other to beat up Alvarez. Another prisoner also received a less serious beating in the incident.
In his response to Alvarez' lawsuit, filed when he was still listed as a defendant, Doerge claimed to be "without adequate knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the factual allegations."
The felony charges against Smith and Babbitt in connection with the case were amended to misdemeanors in exchange for their Alford plea. In an Alford plea, the defendant does not actually plead guilty, but admits there was enough evidence to convict if the case had gone to trial.
Smith and Babbitt were never told that the Sheriff's Department had evidence that could have either cleared them or at the least created reasonable doubt. This evidence included an affidavit signed by another Cell Block A inmate saying Alvarez and another inmate had concocted a plan to have Alvarez beaten to prevent Alvarez from being deported.
At the time, Alvarez was facing a felony charge of non-support which, if he had been convicted, would have been enough to have forced him to leave the United States. One day before Doerge gave the interview to Ms. Sloan of the Globe, the charge against Alvarez was amended to a misdemeanor, enabling him to stay in this country. The sheriff also apparently only accepted the word of four inmates, including Alvarez and the man who beat him that the cameras were turned off, although there was no other evidence that that was what had happened and each of the men had something to gain by telling the story.
The man who admitted to beating Alvarez and the other inmate had already been convicted, but was waiting in line for a trip to the Department of Corrections, where he would have considerably more freedom than he had at the Newton County Jail. Alvarez' hearing, the one which would have almost directly led to his deportation, was scheduled for later that week. His cellmate, who also claimed he was beaten, was looking for special favors from the sheriff, ones which had been denied right up until the time of the alleged beating, but then were suddenly granted.
No evidence ever existed, other than the inmates' story that anyone ever actually entered their cell. The videotape system used in the Newton County Jail had numerous incidents of the picture fading in and out... incidents which happened on a regular basis anyway because of the use of the same videocassettes over and over again. The time stamp on the machine never showed that it had been shut off at any point.
After Smith and Babbitt were fired, another inmate in the cellblock signed an affidavit saying he had heard Alvarez and his cellmate come up with the plan. When they entered their Alford pleas, the two jailers had no idea the affidavit existed.
Both men, indicating they felt they had been railroaded by the sheriff, later filed lawsuits against him in Newton County Circuit Court. Both cases were later dismissed.
Oscar Alvarez claims former jailers Adam Babbitt and Shane Smith opened his cell door, allowing other prisoners to enter the cell and beat him. Sheriff Ron Doerge was listed as a defendant in the initial petition, but was removed from the lawsuit by the judge and replaced by current Sheriff Kenneth Copeland.
In the amended petition, filed Tuesday in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Alvarez claims that Babbitt or Smith did the following:
-"Unlocked Alvarez' cell door
-"Turned off the video surveillance camera monitoring Alvarez' cell, or arranged for it to be turned off
-"Unlocked the cell doors of two other prisoners or arranged for their cell doors to be unlocked
-"Allowed one of the inmates to stand watch while another inmate entered Alvarez' cell and attacked Alvarez causing him serious bodily injury.
The new petition says that Doerge "either instructed the jailers under his control to use disciplinary measures designed to violated, or having the effect of violating, inmates' constitutional rights."
Those disciplinary measures, according to the lawsuit, were: "taking beds and blankets away from inmates, taking away shower privileges, locking inmates in solitary confinement for up to 30 days at a time, locking inmates in solitary confinement with other inmates for the purpose of inciting or encouraging those inmates to fight with one another, denying water to inmates for up to 10 hours at a time, and inappropriately using tasers for the purpose of disciplining inmates."
Because of these policies, the petition said, Alvarez received facial injuries and suffers from "headaches, back injuries and brain damage."
Alvarez continues to suffer from emotional distress, the petition said, because he feared for his life following the alleged attack in his cell. The beating violated his Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment, according to the petition.
The petition asks for unspecified monetary damages. The new petition came on the next to last day before the court deadline for changing the petition.
Under the schedule filed March 16 in federal court, the trial is set for Feb. 21, 2006, with a pretrial hearing planned for Feb. 10 in Springfield.
***
As revealed earlier in The Turner Report, though he is no longer a defendant in the Alvarez lawsuit, it still places Doerge in a tricky position. Doerge apparently ignored evidence that could have cleared Smith and Babbitt of their alleged roles in Alvarez' beating and made it appear that the beating might have been planned by Alvarez and another prisoner.
In March 2004, Doerge told Joplin Globe reporter Dena Sloan that his investigation had determined that the cameras trained on Alvarez' cell had been turned off for a few minutes so the cell door could be opened and two prisoners let in, one to stand watch and the other to beat up Alvarez. Another prisoner also received a less serious beating in the incident.
In his response to Alvarez' lawsuit, filed when he was still listed as a defendant, Doerge claimed to be "without adequate knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the factual allegations."
The felony charges against Smith and Babbitt in connection with the case were amended to misdemeanors in exchange for their Alford plea. In an Alford plea, the defendant does not actually plead guilty, but admits there was enough evidence to convict if the case had gone to trial.
Smith and Babbitt were never told that the Sheriff's Department had evidence that could have either cleared them or at the least created reasonable doubt. This evidence included an affidavit signed by another Cell Block A inmate saying Alvarez and another inmate had concocted a plan to have Alvarez beaten to prevent Alvarez from being deported.
At the time, Alvarez was facing a felony charge of non-support which, if he had been convicted, would have been enough to have forced him to leave the United States. One day before Doerge gave the interview to Ms. Sloan of the Globe, the charge against Alvarez was amended to a misdemeanor, enabling him to stay in this country. The sheriff also apparently only accepted the word of four inmates, including Alvarez and the man who beat him that the cameras were turned off, although there was no other evidence that that was what had happened and each of the men had something to gain by telling the story.
The man who admitted to beating Alvarez and the other inmate had already been convicted, but was waiting in line for a trip to the Department of Corrections, where he would have considerably more freedom than he had at the Newton County Jail. Alvarez' hearing, the one which would have almost directly led to his deportation, was scheduled for later that week. His cellmate, who also claimed he was beaten, was looking for special favors from the sheriff, ones which had been denied right up until the time of the alleged beating, but then were suddenly granted.
No evidence ever existed, other than the inmates' story that anyone ever actually entered their cell. The videotape system used in the Newton County Jail had numerous incidents of the picture fading in and out... incidents which happened on a regular basis anyway because of the use of the same videocassettes over and over again. The time stamp on the machine never showed that it had been shut off at any point.
After Smith and Babbitt were fired, another inmate in the cellblock signed an affidavit saying he had heard Alvarez and his cellmate come up with the plan. When they entered their Alford pleas, the two jailers had no idea the affidavit existed.
Both men, indicating they felt they had been railroaded by the sheriff, later filed lawsuits against him in Newton County Circuit Court. Both cases were later dismissed.
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