Court stays punishment for 31 offenders
Thirty-one minor offenders who have been sentenced to brief jail terms will not serve their punishment until the Superior Court rules on the Office of the Public Defender’s complaint about the inhumane condition of the correctional facilities in Susupe, government lawyers said yesterday.
Superior Court Associate Judge Timothy Bellas has stayed the execution of sentence for the defendants’ until Aug. 27.
Asst. Public Defender Daniel Bowen, however, said he expects the court to issue a decision when it hears the jail case on Aug. 11.
“This is done to allow the parties time to negotiate a disposition and allow the court time to rule,” stated a stipulation paper signed by Asst. Attorney General Barry Hirshbein and acting Public Defender Masood Karimipour.
“There are disagreements on how much work needs to be done on the jail,” Hirshbein said in a brief telephone interview.
Bowen and Hirshbein said most of the defendants were convicted of “driving under the influence of alcohol” and are facing a maximum of three days in jail.
“The judge has postponed the date that they are to report to the Division of Corrections. Until the hearing is over, that postponement will continue,” Hirshbein said.
The stay of the execution of the defendants’ sentence was made in response to a motion originally filed by former Public Defender Harvey Palefsky, who resigned last June.
The “campaign” for a better jail was initiated some years ago by Palefsky’s predecessor, Daniel DeRienzo, who had described the Susupe jail as “medieval dungeon.”
The jail problem has since haunted the local government. (MCM)
