Man Raped 7 Y.O. Girl, Freed Because He Can't Speak English

[PhilDernerJr]

But if we are letting people get away with crimes such as RAPE because of language barriers, some new procedures and preparations need to be in place.

[Tom_Turner]

It gets better.....

http://blog.jonolan.net/politics/the-no-talkie-defense/

Judge Savage decided that, after three years of supposedly trying to get a translator for Mr. Kanneh’s native Vai tongue - a tribal language spoken by approximately 100,000 people worldwide - that Mr. Kanneh’s right to a speedy trial had been violated.

This is one of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make in a long time
– Judge Katherine D. Savage

The Author wonders how it could be other a “most difficult decision” to release an accused child rapist back into society without first allowing a jury to determine his guilt or innocence. Judge Savage had to carefully weigh the facts that: Mahama Kanneh attended high school and community college in Maryland, spoke English to detective and court representatives throughout the proceedings, and had previously waved his right to a speedy trial so that his defense team could conduct its own analysis of DNA evidence. It must have been very hard for Judge Savage to twist the facts in such a way so as to be able to possibly release yet another pedophile back into society.

This must have been especially difficult for Judge Savage to accomplished since one of the primary purposes for The Right To A Speedy And Public Trial is to prevent undue and oppressive incarceration prior to trial. Mahamu Kanneh had only spent one night in jail and was released on a $10,000 bond with the restriction that he have no contact with minors

[Tom_Turner]

Three interpreters already...

The first interpreter stormed out of the courtroom in tears because she found the facts of the case disturbing. A second interpreter was rejected for faulty work. After calling the Liberian Embassy and exhausting other avenues, the clerk's office contacted the administrator of the state's court interpreter program in Annapolis. He located a third Vai interpreter, but at the last minute, that person had to tend to a family emergency.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 660_2.html

[Tom_Turner]

10x the cost of interpreters in one year due to criminals' needs..... And lets not forget, the child RAPIST was granted "Asylum" in the US to begin with.... He's leading a charmed life it seems..

__________________________________________________ ___

In Montgomery and elsewhere, the proliferation of languages resulting from immigration is presenting courts with a novel challenge, legal and linguistics experts say. Rarely, however, does a court have such difficulty finding an interpreter that a criminal case must be dropped.

Court interpreters and linguists say a national database of court interpreters would help quickly locate people fluent in uncommon languages. "The burden of increased requests for rare languages makes it a necessity," said Nataly Kelly, author of a book on interpreting.

Knight said the county spent nearly $1 million on interpreters last year, 10 times the amount it spent in 2000. "It's a constant struggle, and it is extremely expensive," she said.

[Tom_Turner]

My sentiments exactly.... this is pure BULL ****!!!!

http://www.nicedoggie.net/2007/?p=870

So the very day a qualified interpreter is sworn in and present during the entirety of the proceedings, “Judge” Savage decides to dismiss the case in response to a hastily submitted oral motion? Gee, I wonder why defense counsel suddenly remembered the whole “speedy trial” bit on the exact same day that their delaying game was over?

Particularly since “speedy trials” weren’t always all that important to them:

The Washington Post reported, however, that Kanneh had waived his rights to a speedy trial.

So defendant initially waives his right to a speedy trial in order to drag out proceedings with all of the little reindeer games that his counsel can think of and then, once they run out of tricks and the last one has reached its sell-by date because an interpreter shows up, they suddenly change their minds and insist that the case be dismissed on grounds that the right that they themselves waived has been violated?

And the “Judge”, being the cupid stunt that she obviously is, immediately forgets that little fact and dismisses the case.

Suuuuuure, she was only acting in the way that the law demanded that she act.

[Tom_Turner]

Liberia's official Language... ENGLISH...

http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=liberia

Republic of Liberia. 3,390,635. National or official language: English. Literacy rate: 25% (1989 WA).