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Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Anti-immigration campaigner Derek Blighe given Probation Act after €500 payment to Irish Red Cross
Derek Blighe (44) of Croughevoe, Mitchelstown, Co Cork had objected to making a donation, as part of the Probation Act process, to specific charities on religious grounds after citing his faith and issues surrounding abortion. He was afforded the opportunity at Fermoy District Court last year to avail of the Probation Act by making a donation to the Irish Refugee Council. A conviction followed when he failed to donate the money. At a sitting of Cork Circuit Appeals Court last March, defence counsel Alan O'Dwyer BL explained that it was 'purely a religious matter.' He said that his client's difficulty was with the position taken by the Irish Refugee Council on the repeal of the Eighth Amendment to the Irish constitution in relation to abortion. Judge Helen Boyle told Mr Blighe that instead of paying €400 to the Irish Refugee Council he could instead pay €500 to Nasc. Nasc is an advocacy service which links migrants and refugees to their rights. Mr Blighe indicated his willingness at the time to make the contribution. However, Cork Circuit Appeals Court heard that the money had not been paid to Nasc. When the case was first mentioned, Mr Blighe told Judge Boyle that his faith did not permit him to donate the money to Nasc arising out of their stance on the unborn child. When the case came back before Judge Boyle, she asked Mr Blighe if he had the stipulated amount in court. The 44 year old said that he did and she directed that he hand over €500 to Gardaí. Judge Boyle then directed that the funds be allocated to the Irish Red Cross. Mr Blighe represented himself in court. At a previous court sitting, Inspector Jason Wallace said it was alleged that Mr Blighe had engaged in threatening and abusive behaviour during an incident at Abbeyville House, Fermoy, on December 22, 2023. Witness Christopher Gomez said he was duty manager at Abbeyville when it was being prepared as accommodation for migrants and a protest by people opposing its use for this purpose had been taking place for several months outside. Mr Gomez said he had ordered an oil delivery from a local company. When the delivery truck arrived at about 11am, he said Blighe approached the driver and spoke to him. He said Blighe then told him 'the driver's not going to give you oil' and the truck left. Mr Gomez contacted the oil company and a second truck was dispatched. He opened the gates when it arrived and the driver began making the delivery. Mr Blighe then began recording Mr Gomez with his phone and the court was shown footage he uploaded to Facebook in which he castigated Mr Gomez. In the video, Blighe can be heard telling Mr Gomez: 'You are a guest in this country. Shame on you. You should be ashamed. You will go down in the history books, you will go down in the sewers of Irish history. Go back to where you came from.' Mr Gomez said Mr Blighe live-streamed the incident which 'really traumatised me'. He later downloaded the footage and provided it to Gardaí when making a complaint. He said he had been an Irish citizen for 20 years and had 'never experienced anything like this before'. Garda Dane Murphy said he visited the protest at Abbeyville later that day and the atmosphere was 'borderline volatile'. He said Mr Blighe made a statement regarding the incident on January 9 but replied 'no comment' to every question he was asked. Judge Roberts said he found the 'black and white' attitude towards immigration 'hard to understand'. He noted that, from an Irish perspective, generations of Irish people had emigrated and 'the vast majority of them illegally'.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Lawsuit: Tippecanoe jail, medical officials ignored dying inmate
LAFAYETTE, IN — The son of a Delphi man who died last year after spending nearly a week in the Tippecanoe County Jail has filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court against Sheriff Bob Goldsmith, several jail employees, and employees of the company the jail hires to provide medical care to inmates. The lawsuit alleges deliberate indifference to 38-year-old Troy Dean Pownell, in violation of his Eighth Amendment rights against cruel and unusual punishment, in describing how Pownell was treated as he and cell mates tried repeatedly to rouse help for the man's "severe and unrelenting abdominal pain for two days." Pownell, who court records show had a history of low-felony substance abuse- and theft-related cases, had been arrested on a warrant on April 2, 2024, after missing a court date. "Although he battled drug addiction, Troy entered the jail in good health," attorneys wrote in a news release. "Four days later, Troy began to experience abdominal pain. By the early morning hours of April 8th, his abdominal pain was excruciating." In addition to Goldsmith, the lawsuit names as defendants Jail Commander Thomas Lehman; Assistant Jail Commander Carrie Morgan; and jail officers Bailey Clark, Makenzie Cheever and Cole Zimmer. Quality Correctional Care is an Indiana-based company that contracts for inmate health services in 65 of the state's 92 counties, according to its website. It, too, is a defendant in the lawsuit, along with two of the company's licensed practical nurses, Monica Flores and Briana Frazier. Pownell's son, Troy Allen Pownell, was named special administrator of his father's estate and is the plaintiff. "I miss my dad every day and just wish they would have helped him when it was so obvious that he needed to go to the hospital," the younger Pownell said in a statement. "We hope this case helps change how people with medical problems are treated when they are in jail." The lawsuit alleges the following facts: When Pownell was booked into the jail, two initial medical assessments found no concerns or symptoms, and he did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Later in the day on April 3, he began to feel ill. For two days, Pownell began to feel worse and spent most of his time on the mattress on the floor of his cell, according to video. By the afternoon of April 6, he was moved after he began to feel worse, dry heaving and with stomach pain. He spent all day the next day in his cell and complaining about severe abdominal pain. Although Pownell had told nurse Flores shortly after arrival that he had used heroin, the lawsuit quotes the World Health Organization as saying opioid withdrawal would have begun eight to 24 hours after use; Pownell's symptoms did not peak until April 8, nearly six days after he entered the jail. Pownell and his cell mates reportedly attempted to alert nurses and jail officers repeatedly, including banging on the cell door and his "begging to go to the hospital," but they were ignored or quickly dismissed. Flores "wrote off Troy's symptoms as 'faking' something serious" and merely gave him electrolytes. By then, according to the lawsuit, the man had to lean on the wall, the bunk beds or the small table in the cell. He was spending his time, according to records and videos, vomiting and spitting mucus, which was occasionally tinged with blood. One of his inmates said Pownell "couldn't move" and "looked like a frail old man." Flores noted that his hands were cold and clammy. The nurse told Pownell, "'You're not getting a free ride to the hospital today' and something to the like of 'Since you're just going to continue to f--- around, we (the nurses) are just going to leave (you here),'" according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit accuses "several" jail employees of slandering Pownell by calling him a faker and other profane names. The hostility was an "unconstitutional and widespread practice," the lawsuit said. Pownell told one of his cell mates that he thought he was dying, the lawsuit said. About 7:30 p.m. on April 8, Pownell began to convulse. Four minutes later, nurse Frazier and two jail officers responded to the cell mate's pleading for help. "Troy was cold to the touch and had no pulse by this time," the lawsuit said. Medics took Pownell to a hospital, where a physician noted he had suffered cardiac arrest, acute respiratory failure and required endotracheal intubation. The coroner said the cause of death was sepsis due to a perforated duodenal ulcer, with cirrhosis of the liver contributing. The lawsuit asks for damages for wrongful death, including funeral, burial and attorney costs. The Tippecanoe County Jail and Quality Correctional Care — and their employees — are named in another active case in the federal court system involving an inmate's death, this one involving the suicide of an inmate in December 2021. In that case, filed in May 2023, the plaintiff alleges that 25-year-old Calvin Miller had reported depression and mental health issues to correctional officers and medical providers in the months he had spent there. The lawsuit says he had written messages on his cell walls, such as "depressed," that were ignored. Miller, who was jailed in September 2021 on a warrant, had a Tippecanoe County history of meth possession and auto theft. The defendants have generally denied the allegations and filed a motion to dismiss in November that has not yet been decided. This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Lawsuit: Tippecanoe County jail, medical officials ignored dying inmate
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Will be next job': Trump proposes deporting US citizens with criminal offenses; says will find out legality
US President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable at "Alligator Alcatraz" (Image credits: AP) US President Donald Trump on Tuesday floated the idea of deporting US citizens who commit crimes, a proposal that legal experts say could violate the Constitution. During a visit to a migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades, Trump claimed that some immigrants who are now US citizens have committed serious offenses. "They're not new to our country. They're old to our country. Many of them were born in our country. I think we ought to get them the hell out of here, too, if you want to know the truth," Trump told reporters,according to ABC News. "So maybe that will be the next job." Trump admitted he was unsure of the legal basis for his proposal. "We'll have to find that out legally. I'm just saying if we had the legal right to do it, I would do it in a heartbeat," he added. "I don't know if we do or not, we're looking at that right now." The comments come just weeks after assistant attorney general Brett Shumate, a Trump appointee, issued a memo encouraging US attorneys to pursue denaturalisation cases that align with the administration's policy goals. The memo listed individuals involved in crimes such as torture, war crimes, human trafficking and human rights violations as key targets. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trending in in 2025: Local network access control [Click Here] Esseps Learn More Undo Legal experts have pushed back, warning that deporting natural-born or naturalised citizens based solely on criminal activity could breach constitutional protections, particularly the Eighth Amendment, which bans cruel and unusual punishment, reported ABC News. Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia, told ABC News that naturalised citizens can only be stripped of their status in specific cases, such as if they committed fraud during the naturalization process or engaged in acts like treason. 'An unrelated crime could not be the basis for denaturalising and deporting somebody," said Frost. Trump visited the 'Alligator Alcatraz' migrant detention center in Florida. While critics have described the facility as 'inhumane' due to the administration's tough immigration policies, the president leaned into the controversy during the center's official opening.
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
25 million Americans at risk? Trump's most shocking deportation call targets US citizens as he sets bizarre conditions
US President Donald Trump Tuesday paid a visit to the new Florida detention centre dubbed " Alligator Alcatraz ", where around 3,000 migrants are expected to be held as part of his crackdown on illegal immigration. While touring the facility in the Florida Everglades, Trump said it will soon hold the most "menacing migrants, some of the most vicious people on the planet". He again floated the idea of deporting US citizens who commit crimes, which legal experts say is "unconstitutional". Speaking to the press during a tour of a migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades, Trump repeated claims that there are many immigrants who are now citizens and have been committing serious crimes. ALSO READ: Elon Musk to be deported? Trump's bold warning raises explosive questions about Tesla CEO's future Trump to deport US citizens? The US President called for the deportation of some US citizens who have committed crimes, like 'hitting people with a baseball bat.' "They're not new to our country. They're old to our country. Many of them were born in our country. I think we ought to get them the hell out of here, too, if you want to know the truth," he said. "So maybe that will be the next job." He said that people who kill others by wacking a baseball bat on their head or knifing needed to be thrown out of the US, even though they were citizens, and called it his administration's 'next job'. Live Events 'I think we ought to get them the hell out of here, too, if you want to know the truth. So maybe that will be the next job,' Trump added. ALSO READ: US rapper Kanye West's WW3 album crosses line? 'Heil Hitler' track title sends global shockwaves The President also mentioned New York, adding that the city had seen many such incidents, which, he said, weren't accidents. 'Even if we forget about them, we've had some very bad accidents in New York. They were not accidents,' he said. Trump acknowledged that he didn't know if deporting US citizens who are convicted of crimes is legal. "We'll have to find that out legally. I'm just saying if we had the legal right to do it, I would do it in a heartbeat," he added. "I don't know if we do or not, we're looking at that right now." Trump's proposals 'unconstitutional' Trump's proposal came weeks after Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate released a memo giving US attorneys wide discretion to decide when to pursue the denaturalization process to "advance the Administration's policy objectives", reported ABC News. Individuals who have engaged in torture, war crimes, human trafficking and human rights violations are some of the cases US attorney should pursue, the memo says. ALSO READ: Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill unveiled: Tax cuts, mass deportations, child credit and more Legal experts have flagged that Trump's proposals are unconstitutional claiming they violate the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. The issue has not come before the courts yet. Amanda Frost, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, told ABC News in April that the administration could try to target naturalized US citizens, who can lose their immigration status if they've committed treason or falsified information during their naturalization process. However, she said those instances are rare. "If someone's a naturalized citizen, there could be an effort to denaturalize that person and deport them," Frost said. "But then it would have to be that they committed some sort of fraud or error in their naturalization process. An unrelated crime could not be the basis for denaturalizing and deporting somebody." ALSO READ: Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill could leave 12 million without healthcare and America drowning in debt Last month, the US Justice Department issued a memo stating it will revoke citizenship of certain people, including those who committed crimes, espionage, or concealed material facts by wilful misrepresentation. The report also stated that if implemented, the Donald Trump administration's move will impact as many as 25 million US citizens. 'The citizenship of individuals will be revoked if they engage in the commission of war crimes, extrajudicial killings, or other serious human rights abuses; to remove naturalized criminals, gang members, or, indeed, any individuals convicted of crimes who pose an ongoing threat to the United States; and to prevent convicted terrorists from returning to US soil or traveling internationally on a US passport,' the memo read.
01-07-2025
- Politics
Trump again brings up the idea of deporting US citizens for crimes
President Donald Trump continued on Tuesday to float his idea, which some legal experts say is unconstitutional, to deport U.S. citizens who commit crimes. Speaking to the press during a tour of a migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades, the president repeated claims that there are many immigrants who are now citizens and have been committing serious crimes. "They're not new to our country. They're old to our country. Many of them were born in our country. I think we ought to get them the hell out of here, too, if you want to know the truth," he said. "So maybe that will be the next job." The proposal came weeks after the Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate -- a Trump appointee -- released a memo giving U.S. attorneys wide discretion to decide when to pursue the denaturalization process to "advance the Administration's policy objectives." Some of the cases U.S. attorneys should pursue are those against individuals who have engaged in torture, war crimes, human trafficking and human rights violations, the memo says. Legal experts have warned that Trump's proposals are unconstitutional claiming they violate the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. The issue has not come before the courts yet. Amanda Frost, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, told ABC News in April that the administration could try to target naturalized U.S. citizens, who can lose their immigration status if they've committed treason or falsified information during their naturalization process. However, she said those instances are rare. "If someone's a naturalized citizen, there could be an effort to denaturalize that person and deport them," Frost said. "But then it would have to be that they committed some sort of fraud or error in their naturalization process. An unrelated crime could not be the basis for denaturalizing and deporting somebody." Trump acknowledged that he didn't know if deporting U.S. citizens who are convicted of crimes is legal. "We'll have to find that out legally. I'm just saying if we had the legal right to do it, I would do it in a heartbeat," he added. "I don't know if we do or not, we're looking at that right now."
