When we read about some crimes, we start thinking about the worst punishments imaginable, something vile and unspeakable, preferably in a setting that would allow the public to buy tickets and watch:
A San Antonio couple is accused of trying to trying to trade sex with the woman's 5-year-old daughter for an apartment, a used car and child care for her 10-month old daughter.
What in the world is going on with the Indianapolis Police Department? Ten officers have been charged, jailed or investigated for alleged wrongdoing this year. Now there is this case:
An incident that led to an Indianapolis police officer being charged with rape Thursday began, prosecutors say, with a proposition.
I guess I've had a naive idea about what "work release" involves. An offender isn't violent and is a good risk, so they let him ot of jail to work -- still getting a paycheck, perhaps even repaying whomever he victimized -- and he comes back to jail every night until his sentence is served. But why leave it at that when a bunch of government geniuses can improve on the concept?
The public can see the new Hendricks County work release center Friday.
Let's see. You get out of jail after serving your time on an auto-theft charge. Do you: A) Thank your lucky stars the ordeal is over and vow to go straight? Or, B) Hide from your friends and family for a few days because you're so ashamed? Or, C) Go into a deep depression and seek counseling?
Then, there is always D:
A Sullivan County man found himself back in jail Wednesday morning after about 12 hours of freedom, during which he allegedly stole a car and some beer and led police on a high-speed chase.
[. . .]
My Spanish teacher in high school supplemented his income by painting houses in the summer. This seems to be the modern version of that time-honored kind of education moonlighting:
A Cleveland High School teacher, in Houston, Texas was charged with prostitution after meeting a man in an online chat room and soliciting him in a downtown Houston hotel.
Police said Laurie Ann Lewis, 38, was arrested Tuesday at the Four Seasons in an undercover sting.
Not to be outdone by the federal government in meddling, Jeffersonville takes aim at a group of small businesses:
The Jeffersonville City Council is considering an ordinance that would make drivers pay before pumping gasoline -- an effort to reduce the number of people who speed away from gas stations without paying.
Don't you sometimes wish you had as much power as a judge? Grant County Superior Court Judge Randall Johnson says he has mold in his blood consistent with the mold in his courtroom, causing his health to deteriorate. So he's moving the court somewhere else temporarily and telling the county commissioners to fix the joint up:
I confess that I haven't followed very closely the "conscience clause" controversy brought on by some pharmacists who don't want to fill certain prescriptions -- the "morning after" pill and even other birth-control measures -- because of religious beliefs. I could see the arguments on both sides and haven't felt any pressing need to jump in. But now doctors are getting into the act:
With all kinds of crime and corruption going high-tech, it's nice to know there's still room in the world for some good, old-fashioned petty improprieties:
Hooray for the South Bend Tribune, which joins the list of newspapers calling for the state to end one contradiction between the state constitution and state law. The constitution requires that a "free" education be provided for Hoosier children. But under state law, parents have to pay for textbooks, so that constitutional requirement isn't being met:
When the Indiana Constitution and the Indiana Code are at odds, which should take precedence?
