Little JP got some attention: http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_homicide/2009/04/little-jp-tillman-gets-some-attention.html
His father, Gregory Tillman, was sentenced to life in prison yesterday for killing his 6 month old son. I guess he thought he could do better than the State's offer of a 25-yr sentence for a plea. Thankfully, the jury told him otherwise. Robin Wilkinson, the prosecutor in this case, advises that no offer was made to Tillman. I stand corrected. I confused this case with Michael Alan Barker, convicted of killing 1-yr old Amber Shevalier. Barker was sentenced to 25 years.
I understand the need for plea agreements, particularly since the System is incredibly overburdened with cases. But after knowing as much as I now do about the circumstances surrounding JP's death, I wonder why an offer was made at all. It angers me that our legislature won't adequately fund the court system to the degree that the State could devote its energies to more prosecutions and fewer plea agreements. Perhaps if the citizens would express outrage at wasteful spending, and would pressure their legislators to spend OUR money on public safety (not just police officers, but also prosecutors, victim adovcates, support staff, etc.), our judicial system would do a better job of holding perpetrators accountable for their crimes.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Little J.P. Deserves Some Attention
On February 2, 2008 6-month old Jean Pierre Tillman (called J.P. by his family) was murdered by his 22-yr old father Gregory Tillman. The baby's parents had an argument earlier in the morning in which mom was assaulted by dad. She left J.P. in the care of his father when she went out to the flea market. The defendant called her and told her that if she didn't come home, he was going to send J.P. to the hospital. Jury selection, opening arguments and testimony by J.P.'s mother and aunt occurred yesterday.
This morning we heard from law enforcement and the medical examiner. Tillman claimed at the time that he and the baby were in the shower and he accidentally dropped him. Testimony revealed that there was a heartbeat, but no brain function. J.P.'s left leg and skull were fractured. There were approximately 10 blows to his head. The cause of death was a combination of the blows and drowning. There was additional evidence presented of an old burn injury near J.P.'s anus for which no medical treatment was sought because DCF would then be notified.
Yesterday during jury selection CourtWatch notified the Sentinel and the Newsdesks at all the TV stations in Orlando of this case. Yet nobody is here today. Everyone seems to be slogging through more Casey Anthony discovery material. Caylee's death is tragic - no doubt about it. But so is little J.P.'s death. This case doesn't have the drama that the Anthony family has provided. But it has a grieving mom who could use the support of the community. Why, in spite of our efforts to alert them to this case, has the media not cared to cover the trial? Could it be because the victim wasn't a cute little white toddler and was black/hispanic instead? Does that make J.P.'s life less valuable than Caylee's? Or are we more interested in cases where mom is the perpetrator instead of dad?
Kudos to the prosecutor, Robin Wilkinson and the victim advocate (whose name I don't know yet), for the job they're doing. Thank you for caring.
This morning we heard from law enforcement and the medical examiner. Tillman claimed at the time that he and the baby were in the shower and he accidentally dropped him. Testimony revealed that there was a heartbeat, but no brain function. J.P.'s left leg and skull were fractured. There were approximately 10 blows to his head. The cause of death was a combination of the blows and drowning. There was additional evidence presented of an old burn injury near J.P.'s anus for which no medical treatment was sought because DCF would then be notified.
Yesterday during jury selection CourtWatch notified the Sentinel and the Newsdesks at all the TV stations in Orlando of this case. Yet nobody is here today. Everyone seems to be slogging through more Casey Anthony discovery material. Caylee's death is tragic - no doubt about it. But so is little J.P.'s death. This case doesn't have the drama that the Anthony family has provided. But it has a grieving mom who could use the support of the community. Why, in spite of our efforts to alert them to this case, has the media not cared to cover the trial? Could it be because the victim wasn't a cute little white toddler and was black/hispanic instead? Does that make J.P.'s life less valuable than Caylee's? Or are we more interested in cases where mom is the perpetrator instead of dad?
Kudos to the prosecutor, Robin Wilkinson and the victim advocate (whose name I don't know yet), for the job they're doing. Thank you for caring.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Attempted Murder Bond Hearing
I monitored Judge LeBlanc's handling of a bond motion in State v. Edwin Flores (2009CF3163) and was impressed with his concern for the victim's safety in this matter. The defendant and his girlfriend were engaged in a dispute when the victim attempted to intervene and asked them to leave her property. The defendant allegedly stabbed her intentionally.
Flores was granted a bond of $100k by the I/A (initial appearance) judge. The victim testified that she has received a number of threatening phone calls from an unknown female since Flores' arrest. Assistant State's Attorney Kashi did a good job arguing for the bond to not be reduced and cited the fact that the defendant has been arrested nearly a dozen times over the past ten years in Orange, Osceola and Seminole Counties for drug, assault, traffic, burglary and robbery charges, most of which were ultimately dropped.
I hope a thorough investigation of the threatening calls is done so that the victim can be safe.
Flores was granted a bond of $100k by the I/A (initial appearance) judge. The victim testified that she has received a number of threatening phone calls from an unknown female since Flores' arrest. Assistant State's Attorney Kashi did a good job arguing for the bond to not be reduced and cited the fact that the defendant has been arrested nearly a dozen times over the past ten years in Orange, Osceola and Seminole Counties for drug, assault, traffic, burglary and robbery charges, most of which were ultimately dropped.
I hope a thorough investigation of the threatening calls is done so that the victim can be safe.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
More Pavao family members get bond
Shastine Pavao (daughter) was granted bond in the amount of $31K. She posted it yesterday. Debra Pavao (wife) also posted a $25k bond yesterday. For background on this case, see our blog dated March 26th.
4/4/09 added info: Our volunteer who monitored the case advised that Debra had no idea how many properties she owned. Nor did she have any idea how her "small" children (ages 12 & 15) were being fed. Co-defendant Shastine (age 22) owns approximately 17 properties & she believed all were in foreclosure. Her 15-yr old sister has been collecting rent on two properties (now in foreclosure) from people who were "renting to own." Appalling. That's the only word that is suitable to express our outrage at what these people are doing.
4/4/09 added info: Our volunteer who monitored the case advised that Debra had no idea how many properties she owned. Nor did she have any idea how her "small" children (ages 12 & 15) were being fed. Co-defendant Shastine (age 22) owns approximately 17 properties & she believed all were in foreclosure. Her 15-yr old sister has been collecting rent on two properties (now in foreclosure) from people who were "renting to own." Appalling. That's the only word that is suitable to express our outrage at what these people are doing.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Kudos to Judge Roger McDonald
CourtWatch monitored the plea & sentencing yesterday of Steven Joseph Piantieri, who was charged with Felony Battery (3rd Degree) which has a maximum possible penalty of 5 years in prison. The defendant pled to a lesser charge of simple battery and received 1 year probation, was ordered to have no contact with the victim, have mental health counseling and attend an anger management class (more about that later).
Our volunteer in the courtroom was impressed with the extreme care that Judge McDonald showed the victim and with the fact that he refused to withhold adjudication after she requested his record not be able to be sealed or expunged (despite his attorney's argument that a conviction could hurt his client from renewing his business license). He also, after learning that the victim had not requested restitution for medical bills and counseling, encouraged her to request compensation to cover these costs.
With respect to anger management class, CourtWatch believes that the plea offer should have insisted upon Batterer's Intervention Program (a 26-week class that counsels batterers about power & control issues) instead of the 8-hour anger management class. Florida Statute requires BIP in these types of cases. This was the responsibility of Assistant State Attorney Murphy to enforce. The judge should have asked why the agreement didn't specify BIP instead of anger management. Florida Statute also requires 5 days in jail when someone is adjudicated guilty of a crime of domestic violence. This is also the responsibility of the Assistant State Attorney to treat as non-negotiable. (see Florida Statute 741.281 and 741.283)
All in all, however, our volunteer was pleased with Judge McDonald's demeanor toward the victim. And we hope to see the State Attorney's Office be more vigorous in holding perpetrators of domestic violence accountable for their actions when negotiating plea agreements.
Our volunteer in the courtroom was impressed with the extreme care that Judge McDonald showed the victim and with the fact that he refused to withhold adjudication after she requested his record not be able to be sealed or expunged (despite his attorney's argument that a conviction could hurt his client from renewing his business license). He also, after learning that the victim had not requested restitution for medical bills and counseling, encouraged her to request compensation to cover these costs.
With respect to anger management class, CourtWatch believes that the plea offer should have insisted upon Batterer's Intervention Program (a 26-week class that counsels batterers about power & control issues) instead of the 8-hour anger management class. Florida Statute requires BIP in these types of cases. This was the responsibility of Assistant State Attorney Murphy to enforce. The judge should have asked why the agreement didn't specify BIP instead of anger management. Florida Statute also requires 5 days in jail when someone is adjudicated guilty of a crime of domestic violence. This is also the responsibility of the Assistant State Attorney to treat as non-negotiable. (see Florida Statute 741.281 and 741.283)
All in all, however, our volunteer was pleased with Judge McDonald's demeanor toward the victim. And we hope to see the State Attorney's Office be more vigorous in holding perpetrators of domestic violence accountable for their actions when negotiating plea agreements.
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