Forbes Most Dangerous Cities

Forbes Magazine has released their list of the country's most dangerous cities.  In order to qualify, a city has to meet some basic criteria.  The city must have a population greater than 200,000.  The statistics are compiled by looking at the number of violent crimes per 100,000 citizens.  Violent crimes is defined as murder, voluntary manslaughter, forcible rape, armed robbery and aggravated assault.  The top five cities are set forth as follows:

1.  Detroit, Michigan - First place with 345 murders and 1,111 violent crimes per 100,000 citizens.  

2.  Memphis, Tennessee - The poorest large city in the United States.

3.  Springfield, Illinois - Springfield just barely qualified to be included in this survey because they only have a population of 206,601.  The high crime rate is associated with the fact that 44% of Springfield's population is under the age of 44.  Crime is associated with the youth.

4.  Flint, Michigan - High unemployment for a long period of time.

5.  Anchorage, Alaska - Anchorage has been hit by a big methamphetamine problem.  Plus, there is a high rate of forcible rapes.

Rounding out the top ten is Lubbock, Texas at number 6, Stockton, California at number 7, Tallahassee, Florida at number 8, Las Vegas, Nevada at number 9, and Rockford, Illinois at number 10.  

Other than Michigan, Illinois is the only other state with the distinction of having 2 of its cities on the top 10 list of the country's most dangerous cities.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295. 

Supreme Court Rules Against Man Wrongly Jailed For 18 Years

On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court ruled against a man who had won a $14 jury verdict against New Orleans prosecutors after he spent 14 years on Death Row for a murder that he was convicted of after prosecutors failed to disclose evidence that proved his innocence.  John Thompson was convicted of murder and sentenced to death.  Prosecutors first tried him for an armed robbery as a way to keep Thompson from taking the stand in his murder case and then to use the armed robbery conviction as a way of having the death penalty imposed.  After he was sentenced to death, a private investigator working for Thompson's attorneys discovered that a blood test conducted in the armed robbery case showed that Thompson did not commit the armed robbery.  The prosecutors admitted that they had intentionally withheld that blood evidence from Thompson's attorneys.  As a result, the armed robbery was dismissed and he was granted a new trial on the murder case.  New evidence emerged at the murder trial and he was found not guilty of the murder.  Thompson sued the district attorney's office and a jury awarded him $14 million.  Thompson spent a total of 18 years in prison, 14 of them on death row.  The Supreme Court overturned the jury verdict and upheld the general immunity that prosecutors have from civil liability.  The decision came down along partisan idealogical lines with the 5 conservative justices winning out.  Apparently, the justices found that a prosecutor cannot be sued for not ensuring that those who work for him were properly trained and followed the law.

The case is Connick v. Thompson.

For more information about the Chicago criminal defense attorneys at Legal Defenders, P.C., visit us at www.thelegaldefenders.com or call us anytime at 1-800-228-7295.