Tag Archive for 'Gov. Steve Beshear'

Atheists sue to take God out of state’s terrorism law

Published
by
H-L Justice Team
on December 2, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments
By John Cheves

An atheists-rights group is suing the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security because state law requires the agency to stress “dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth.”

American Atheists of Parsippany, N.J., and 10 non-religious Kentuckians are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, set to be filed Tuesday in Franklin Circuit Court.

Edwin Kagin, a Boone County lawyer and the national legal director of American Atheists, said he was appalled to read in the Herald-Leader last week that state law establishes praising God — and installing a plaque in God’s honor — as the first duty of the Homeland Security Office.

The state and federal constitutions both prohibit government from getting involved in religion, Kagin said Monday.

“This is one of the most outrageous things I’ve seen in 35 years of practicing law. It’s breathtakingly unconstitutional,” Kagin said.

Gov. Steve Beshear’s office had not seen the suit and therefore had no comment, spokesman Jay Blanton said.

The requirement to credit God for Kentucky’s protection was tucked into 2006 homeland security legislation by state Rep. Tom Riner, D-Louisville, a Southern Baptist minister.

“This is recognition that government alone cannot guarantee the perfect safety of the people of Kentucky,” Riner said last week.

Riner said he expects Homeland Security to include language recognizing God’s benevolent protection in its official reports and other materials — sometimes the agency does, and sometimes it doesn’t — and to maintain a plaque with that message at the state’s Emergency Operations Center in Frankfort.

In the suit, American Atheists argues that Homeland Security should focus on public-safety threats rather than promote religion. The suit notes that the federal and state homeland security agencies were created as a result of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by Muslim fundamentalists, and it refers to those attacks as “a faith-based initiative.”

The plaintiffs ask for the homeland security law to be stripped of its references to God. They also ask for monetary damages, claiming to have suffered sleeping disorders and “mental pain and anguish.”

“Plaintiffs also suffer anxiety from the belief that the existence of these unconstitutional laws suggest that their very safety as residents of Kentucky may be in the hands of fanatics, traitors or fools,” according to the suit.

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Ron Berry, convicted sex offender, gets partial pardon

Published
by
H-L Justice Team
on August 28, 2008
in Fayette Circuit Court
. 29 Comments

By Brandon Ortiz
bortiz@herald-leader.com

Gov. Steve Beshear has restored the right to vote and hold office to convicted child molester Ron Berry, the former head of the defunct Micro-City Government youth program.

The partial pardon, which was signed on Aug. 20 and filed Wednesday in Fayette Circuit Court, does not restore Berry’s right to own a gun or serve on a jury.

Berry, 64, was convicted of 12 counts of sodomy with 12- to 16-year-old boys in 2002. He completed a three-year prison sentence at Northpoint Training Center in 2005.

A Lexington lawyer who was instrumental in Berry’s downfall was flabbergasted by the news.

Ron Berry
Ray Larson

“I’m legitimately at a loss for words on this one,” said Gayle Slaughter, who represents several people who say they were sexually abused by Berry. “I guess it is good to know which side of the fence the governor is on in this battle against this scourge on society.”

Slaughter said she doesn’t mind allowing Berry the right to vote. “But I think allowing him to seek public office is a bit much,” she said.

In Kentucky, the governor must intervene for felons to have their civil rights restored.

A spokesman for Beshear said the governor, as a matter of policy, automatically approves the partial restoration of civil rights if applicants have served their sentence, paid restitution and have no outstanding warrants.

Having the right to vote automatically grants someone the right to run for office, spokesman Jay Blanton said.

Prosecutors can object to the partial pardon, and Beshear actually doubled the amount of time prosecutors have to review the cases, Blanton said. Prosecutors have objected in 56 instances, and in each case the governor refused to restore civil rights, Blanton said.

In Berry’s case, prosecutors did not object. He was prosecuted by Fayette Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Larson’s office.

Blanton said Berry’s application was forwarded to Larson in June.

Larson says he didn’t see it. If he had, he would have objected, he said.

“We object to people who kill people, and people who are sex offenders,” Larson said. “And I just obviously didn’t see it.”

He said it is too late for him to object now.

Larson did not have an explanation for why it did not reach his desk.

In March, Beshear, a Democrat, streamlined the process to make it easier for felons to have their rights restored. The move was praised by the League of Women Voters, the NAACP and some Republicans, including Secretary of State Trey Grayson, Blanton said.

The previous governor, Ernie Fletcher, did not automatically restore rights and required written essays.

Berry did not return a phone message seeking comment. Phone calls to a handful of his supporters were not returned.

Micro-City Government, which was founded by Berry in 1969, provided summer jobs and educational programs for disadvantaged youths, hosted dances and parties for the teens, and offered free lunches in impoverished neighborhoods. Berry led Micro-City until 1997, when allegations against Berry became public.

Micro-City was dissolved in 1998.

More than 160 people have sued the Urban County Government, claiming city officials ignored or concealed information that Berry was molesting under-age boys and girls for decades.

The lawsuits alleged that officials allowed the abuse to occur because Berry, once a prominent and powerful black leader, could deliver the black vote for them.

Slaughter said the partial pardon confirms what Berry’s critics have long said.

“Ron has friends in high places,” Slaughter said. “I guess Steve’s trying to get another vote.”

Replied Blanton, “I think that is a ridiculous assertion.”

“We apply the same standard for everyone,” he said. “It is irresponsible to make such a statement.”

Reach Brandon Ortiz at (859) 231-1443 or 1-800-950-6397, Ext. 1443.

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