Albemarle detective K.W. Robinson has been sentenced to 90 days in jail for his August 2001 assault on recently-acquitted suspect Corey Faison while Faison was in custody and undergoing interrogation. The judge described Robinson’s attack on Faison as “pure assault and battery, any way you look at it.” Rejecting Robinson’s defense that the beating of Faison (which required medical attention at a hospital) was reasonable force with police guidelines, Judge R. Edwin Burnette Jr. said: “If that is the case, then I fear for all our safety.” Adrienne Schwisow has an extensive story in today’s Progress that provides much more information.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
four six and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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This is made even worse by the fact he was innocent of the charges. That could have been you or your son being beaten.
I concur. However, I would like to draw attention that it took a "temp" judge from Lynchburg to convict this sadistic local cop. My own exposure with the civil branch of our local legislature has put a permanent dent in my faith of what we all commonly refer to as "Justice".
I wonder how the staff at the Joint Security Complex will handle his incarceration? Seems like he’d need to be kept isolated for his own protection.
This really isn’t that important, but "visiting" judges are a common practice, especially when the accused is related to the judicial system. Perhaps you’ve heard of attempting to ensure impartiality, both for the prosecution and the defendant.
This really was standard practice, and not something "necessary" to get a conviction.
It happens most frequently when a lawyer from the area is on trial for something, they bring in a "visiting" judge, so if he’s found not guilty, he doesn’t have to practice in front of a judge who was forced to consider all the evidence. Similarly, if this Detective was found not guilty, a future local judge would not be tainted.
No, I didn’t know that’s standard practice.
But this *is* extremely important in my opinion. In civil court, magistrates and lawyers act as if "the law is the law" and I’ve witnessed firsthand that lawyers can be almost afraid to speak up when a particular judge is a maverick (no names here, as the judge I’m thinking about might hunt me down, god save me).
What this means, to me, is that everything is subjective, that personalities and personal opinions play a much larger role than people realize. So when it is affirmed that someone has been “convicted”, that does not imply guilt in my opinion. Likewise, when an individual has been “cleared” from a prosecution, this does not equate to “not guilty”, as the court often erroneously interchanges.
For some, my comments are a “duh!”. But for the common person, if that person has never personally have to deal with the law, then these may be shocking statements.
I have been told by inmates that the Joint Security Complex is an extreemly safe jail. They say the gaurds do everything they can to prevent inmate violence. You will not be assaulted or raped there. Those are problems in prisons, but not here.
Faison was *aquitted* of the charges. That is not defined the same way as innocent. I’m not saying that he was guilty, because I wasn’t there, but being aquitted doesn’t mean that you were necessarily innocent of the charges. It just means that there was reasonable doubt. Ex. OJ Simpson.