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Friday, January 25, 2008
14 jail bed nights, and counting…
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
Last week, I posted this item about Marvin Montgomery, my brother-in-law, who was arrested for making false calls to 9-1-1. He is mentally handicapped, under the Hamilton County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (MR/DD). Tonight, I was out with some in-laws, and asked for an update on Marvin. He is still in jail. That’s about 14 jail bed nights, and counting, for a developmentally disabled man picked up for making a phone call.
I do understand that Marvin cannot go around making false calls to 9-1-1. I really do. (Please read the original link to get some background on his situation.)
But we are in the middle of an alleged jail space crisis.
Why is a developmentally disabled man still sitting in jail for making a phone call?
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25 Jan 2008 at 10:58 pm | #
Why hasn’t be been bailed out? Isn’t a developmentally disabled citizen considered innocent until proven guilty? Has the family gotten him a lawyer?
25 Jan 2008 at 11:04 pm | #
.
Because you let the politicians and the public know that he is related to you !
Because you opposed the jail tax.
We recommend a video chase of hindlick !
You were right, they don’t need another jail, they have plenty of room !
.
25 Jan 2008 at 11:47 pm | #
Same questions as Cincy Sue
He must have a public defender, are no family members willing to go to court, ... who is the judge?
26 Jan 2008 at 08:05 am | #
I am unwilling to share any further personal details about my family. However, I think it interesting that questions have turned on the family, as opposed to a system that puts a developmentally disabled man in jail for two weeks for making a phone call.
26 Jan 2008 at 02:55 pm | #
With all due respect Dean, you are the one who posted your familial relationship to this gentleman.
No one on this board can really make a fair judgement of the situation without knowing details that you, for your own good reasons (and I respect those reasons) choose not to come expound upon.
To even come close to making a conclusion I at least would need to know:
1) The extent of his disability.
2) His past records, both criminal and medical.
3) Does he have a public defender? An attorney paid for by his family? One appointed by MRDD?
4) Due to the stress this situation must cause him, is he a danger to himself or others?
5) Has bond been set?
6) Can the family afford bond if it has been set?
7) Is he in any way a flight risk?
8) Has anyone else ever been jailed or required to post bond for a similar offense?
I think folks are reacting to the fact that your in-law is in jail and the only visible sign that they see that the family is trying to get him out is a story on the Beacon. I doubt that that is all that’s been done, but you certainly haven’t given anyone much more than that to go on.
You’ve attempted to frame the debate to a single issue, taken out of context. We need context to properly discuss the issue.
Perhaps this best left a private matter for you and your family to deal with, rather than the denizins of the ‘net.
26 Jan 2008 at 04:00 pm | #
Ike, I don’t believe we need to have all of that information about his family to make a judgement about whether a man should spend 14 days in jail for making a phone call when we are being told that there is a crisis because of overcrowding.
I think the Dean’s point is that this is another example of a problem with the system. This isn’t about the man’s family. He shouldn’t have to have a private attorney to receive just treatment. If the man or his family can’t afford bond then it is set too high, unconstitutional and therefore unlawful. This is a major problem and the real cause of this alleged crisis.
This man needs treatment and should be doing community service instead of jail time. The Sheriff has the nerve to threaten our community with letting voilent criminals out on the streets while they have non-violent offenders clogging up our so-called justice system. Citizens should be concerned with what is going on with thier tax money and in their name instead of how his family is dealing with this injustice.
26 Jan 2008 at 06:29 pm | #
On a society level - I certainly don’t believe that the family has an obligation.
I was concerned about him as a person - just one person, and asked questions relevant to helping him personally,not the social issue.
That’s all I meant by it.
(But if the facts pan out, this should be an interesting case study in what the hell happens down there)
26 Jan 2008 at 09:56 pm | #
.
“...I am unwilling to share any further personal details about my family. However, I think it interesting that questions have turned on the family, as opposed to a system that puts a developmentally disabled man in jail for two weeks for making a phone call....”
With all due respect: We kill people with DD, so called, criminals !
DD is not a get out of jail free !
We shared personal family matters, as well.
We offered an attorney recommendation.
So if you are surprised after 14 days, perhaps your readers are, as well !
Perhaps your readers assumed with your investigative drive that you would become a full-force advocate for your FAMILY !
We know we would be for our family.
So, the question truly is: WHY is this guy in jail after 14 days ?
.
27 Jan 2008 at 08:10 am | #
I did not say DD equates to getting out of jail free. I merely questioned whether 14 jail bed nights and counting should be used for the “crime” of making a phone call, when we are in a jail space crisis.
If I did not mention that he was my brother-in-law, someone would have figured it out and complained. So I say he’s my brother-in-law. Now everyone is pissed that I am not personally working to get him out of jail. That, however, is not my job.
27 Jan 2008 at 03:09 pm | #
What if he didn’t have any family? How would the people on this topic feel then? Personally I would rather be paying for getting him help and save the jail cell for violent offenders.
27 Jan 2008 at 04:24 pm | #
I’m not turning on the family but when I saw the first post I was amazed that you, in print, said he was guilty. I didn’t think you say that. And you said as much in this post as well. That’s why I brought up that he should be considered innocent until proven guilty. I think it’s legitimate to ask, since he’s been named, if he has the appropriate legal representation and I would presume that you know that. Why’s that out of line?
27 Jan 2008 at 07:41 pm | #
My mother-in-law left this comment on the other strand, so I feel inclined to cross-post it here:
27 Jan 2008 at 10:47 pm | #
.
<i>”...ALL BLACK MEN ARE NOT CRIMINALS!!!!!!...”
Nor are all criminals ‘black men’ !
It is certainly not anyone’s job to get him out.
Why do we feel there is more to the story ?
He should have a Social Worker and he should qualify for for Public Defender.
Has bond been set ?
Did he make threating statements while being questioned !
Has the police had several conversations about the calls, with warnings, before arrest ?
Maybe all the unconcerned individuals, in the loop, have decided that shock incarceration is the best medication ?
How do you know he is not getting his medication ?
The story, so far, defies logic ?
We sense much, much more ?
.
28 Jan 2008 at 10:43 pm | #
According to the Court Case, it’s 7 counts of false calls & 7 counts of inducing panic. In addition, he had a probation violation on disorderly conduct, where the Judge suspended a 30 day jail stint & put him out on 1 year probation.
Today, Judge Duane Mallory continued his probation on the disorderly conduct & put him out on OR bond for all those trick phone calls.
The blogsters only got part of the story. The Beacon side of the story. These are crimes against the public at large.
The bottom line here is when an individual engages in dangerous prank phone calls for emergency services, they are putting everyone else in peril. Our children who might be ill. Our elderly who could be suffering a heart attack or a stroke episode. Our teens who have been in an horrific vehicle accident. Our mothers having a pregnancy crisis. Everyone is put at grave risk when one plays telephone games.
Families of the disabled persons need to do a better job, not “we”. I take care of my elderly, handicapped mother & I have several of my grandchildren with me while their parents are in Iraq & Afghanistan. I’m a taxpayer & hold down a full-time job. I volunteer in my community. My days are very long because my family is well taken care of & provided with everything they need. It’s the families who need to get up off their sorry asses & start taking care of their own & not foist the burden on to the “we”, and then blame the systems, including the court system, & the ever-present color/race thing.
31 Jan 2008 at 10:55 am | #
I just do not see how puting a developmentally disabled man in jail teaches him anything about not making prank phone calls. To me it just seems like a waste of tax payer money. It is silly to even try to punish someone who is not going to understand the punishment and maybe not even understand what he did wrong. If the crime he was committing directly hurt someone then I could understand, but come on are these seriously the kind of criminals you want to brag about keeping off the streets. I can tell all my buddies about how I feel real safe now that they have stopped that menace of telphone prankster,Marvin. Laws are important but so is common sense.
31 Jan 2008 at 11:40 am | #
Why is a developmentally disabled man still sitting in jail for making a phone call?
Why didn’t you disclose that there are multiple calls and multiple counts against this man?
If you (your family) doesn’t care enough about him to bail him ouot, i sure taht you don;t care wnough to get him the care he needs.. (as evidenced by what has happened here and in the past)
03 Feb 2008 at 09:19 pm | #
It’s not that we the family do not care....we cared enough to put him in a group home so that he can become a productive citizen within the community. His disability does’nt calls for his faamily to shelter him! We are not supporting the law he broke either. He made prank calls and he needs to be punished, however, holding him in jail for something so minor when there are vicious “gang bangers”, drug dealers and other waliking the streets of the city who really need to occupy the jail space should be. I salute Jones in all that you do to keept it all together with your family. Most families I know are very disfunction and have a very difficult time keeping it together especially where there is an adult individual with disabilities. Marvin does have a family that cares....bailing him out was not the issue.....I believe it has to do with
how the judicial system discriminates against people with disabilities in this community......it DOES HAPPEN and IT NEEDS TO STOP!!!!