Juvenile justice in America: a Florida case

by Larry Miller

I remember once starting to read Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and asking myself, “Why am I reading this?  It’s as depressing as sitting through a screening of Rosemary’s Baby."  Not a fun thing to do.

But fun sometimes has to take a back seat to the necessity of examining the human condition and what it is that causes humans to sometimes become so misguided.

“Misguided” may be a bit euphemistic when describing juveniles who commit heinous crimes.  What are those things that make some youngsters stray from “normal” teen years and end up spending life in prison?  The answers are not simple.  And the U.S. legal system struggles for a path to true juvenile justice.   

Good friend Bill Kunerth recently shared excerpts of a book written by his son, Jeff, who is a writer for the Orlando (FL) Sentinel.  I was intrigued by what I started to read -- but had those flashbacks to In Cold Blood.

Then, a few weeks ago, I received a copy of the book from Jeff.  It’s entitled Trout, and it’s a true story of “murder, teens, and the death penalty.”  

I started the book late one evening, read the first chapter, and was lured into the story by Jeff’s riveting style.  It reads like a novel.  It’s anything but.

I’ll not provide details about Trout, other than to share that it’s a revealing story about high school-age boys in Pensacola who become wrapped up in an horrific event that ends tragically for almost all the families involved. 

“…I thought I was writing about a case of mistaken identity murder-for-hire by three Pensacola teens in 1991,” said Kunerth, who acknowledges that the book evolves into scrutinizing juvenile justice within the U.S. adult court system.

Jeff Kunerth - Orlando Sentinel

The writing style is called “creative nonfiction,” and it’s well suited for journalist Kunerth, who has sourced the story extensively.  He assembles just the right tools to tell the story of a gruesome murder of a clerk at Trout Auto Parts in Pensacola, Florida.

I don’t fancy myself a literary critic, but Jeff Kunerth’s style reminded me of Barbara Tuchman's work.

Like Tuchman, Kunerth may not consider himself an historian, but his detailed recounting of this event, accompanied by nagging questions about the implications for juvenile justice, are every bit as compelling as Tuchman’s “Guns of August” dissection of the events leading up to World War One.  And like it or not, juvenile violence is as much a part of our history as war -- and its impact is just as devastating.

The topics for both books were meticulously researched, thoughtfully written, and both authors spared no ink in assembling and listing their sources.  At just 195 pages, Trout is a fast read.  Twenty-two of those pages are source notes.

Like any good book, it leaves you wanting to know more.  And more is to be found online at www.jeffkunerth.com where visitors can ask questions, make comments, and get additional information, including links to the PBS Frontline documentary, When Kids Get Life.

Secrecy in government hiring

Retired journalism professor and life-long ranch guy Bill Kunerth of Belle Fourche has been following the secrecy surrounding the hiring of a new superintendent for Rapid City schools. He re-visits key points he made some 30 years ago in an op-ed piece for the Des Moines Register about secrecy in the hiring of government officials.

(1) If candidates are identified some will be lost. And, although almost all candidates would prefer not to be identified, it is the weak and/or insecure ones who are most likely to refuse to apply if identified. The strongest, most competent ones will be the most willing to be identified. If not given the choice of anonymity, the best, serious candidates will usually apply. If there is a state law, as there should be, requiring identification – at least of the finalists -- then they would have no choice.

(2) In almost all employee-employer relationships at this level, the employee looking for another job is committed to or will usually tell the boss he is applying elsewhere (If he doesn't he may suffer more than if he did). And all employers take for granted that their most competent employees are likely to be looking to move into better positions. Good employees usually improve their current status if is known they are looking elsewhere.

(3) Even if a candidate is not identified, the likelihood of keeping the application of a high-level employee secret from an employer is remote. As soon as the application is received, the prospective employer is on the phone or mailing letters to several references. The references may be sworn to secrecy but that's highly unlikely.

(4) Secrecy breeds rumors and unfair publication of names--whether accurate or inaccurate. Although, my guess is that the South Dakota media are less aggressive about this than the media in most states, the common pattern is for the press to be nosing about, doing its best to uncover the names of candidates and it often goes with whatever reports it gets.

(5) Secrecy allows for a "good old boy/girl" situation in which, for personal or political rather than public interests, members of the hiring body do not consider excellent candidates. For example, a city council in a city manager form of government might be reluctant to hire a highly competent, independent manager who would clean up city departments, identify incompetent employees and root out favoritism. These candidates can be ditched without the public even knowing they applied. The same may be the case for a school board, whose main interest is in hiring a superintendent of schools whom it can manage.

(6) The most important stakeholders in the search for appointmive govermental officials are those most affected by those being hired, For example--in the search for a school superitendent, it is the teachers, students and their parents. In the hiring of a city manager or a police chief, it includes their potential employees but also the entire community. These are the parties who need as much information as possible about likely candidates before they are hired so they can provide valuable input.

(7) Only the job security of prospective appointees is considered in the discussion of identifying job candidates. Equal attention should be paid to the impact on the large number of persons who work for the candidate, especially in the case of school administrators. Many sub-administrators and teachers are likely to look for new jobs if their superintendent is doing so. And, in their cases, the appointments are often made after they sign contracts.

(8) A public agency should question whether or not it is wise to hire an individual who prefers a policy of secrecy in hiring. This is likely to be indicative of his entire philosophy about the city, county or school governance.

(10) Of course, the hiring agencies prefer confidentiality. They want as smooth a process as possible (no outside involvement) and they want as much control of the hiring process (candidates) as possible.

Bill Kunerth is a retired Professor of Journalism at Iowa State University in Ames. He lives in Belle Fourche.

The news is all about the news

We've been on the road for the past fews weeks, so postings to the Black Hills Monitor have been scarce. Below, we're pleased to share with you a "guest editorial," penned a few weeks ago by Bill Kunerth, publisher of the Idaho State Journal and used here with his permission.

Last week’s announcement that the Rocky Mountain News was closing its doors put the newspaper business front and center in the media spotlight. In somewhat of a turnaround, the news was all about the news.

But while it’s a shame to see one of our brethren newspapers fall, especially one with such a storied past, it’s not the death knell of newspapers that some may think or predict. While large metropolitan newspapers are the most vulnerable due to large debt from recent acquisitions or challenges from competing in two newspaper cities, the community papers such as ours continue to be strong and steady.

At the Idaho State Journal, for example, our core circulation has actually increased the last five years.

We’re proud of this accomplishment and feel that a key to our success and circulation growth is our primary focus on local news. Look through our newspaper, and you’ll see that close to 70 percent of our news is locally generated. These stories run the gamut from bond elections to Boy Scout awards; our award-winning photographers capture everyday life in southeast Idaho; and our Opinion page provides an engaging and lively forum for our community.

Our niche is local news and we feel that no one covers southeast Idaho better than we do. And, we do it 365 days of the year.

What has changed, however is that we are continually devoting increased time and resources to producing a viable and engaging website. In a strategic decision made several years ago, we divided our website into two offerings. Instead of giving away the entire product, we decided to offer a free site and a paid site. The paid site offers readers the opportunity to subscribe to our online edition, which is an exact replication of the newspaper. The free site, www.idahostatejournal.com, offers expanded news coverage through breaking news, photo galleries, community calendar, videos, blogs and reader comments. We also carry complete online state, national and international news and videos provided by the Associated Press.

Because readers know they can turn to our website for credible and continually updated information, we have become one of the most popular websites in eastern Idaho. And with the combination of print and online, we are actually reaching more people through both mediums than we ever did through just print.

So, yes our business is changing and due to the present economy some newspapers are going to fail, just like other types of media or businesses will, too.

But the newspapers that have positioned themselves as the source of local information and have viable print and online products will not only survive this recession, but will actually thrive.

That is why you, our reader, can have tremendous confidence that your hometown newspaper, the Idaho State Journal, will always be an important and integral part of your daily life.

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Bill Kunerth is publisher of the Idaho State Journal.

South Dakota..."failed miserably"

Good friend Bill Kunerth delivered the bad news, which we somehow had managed to avoid for several weeks: South Dakota has again failed miserably in a national survey conducted by the Better Government Association. One of our continuing disappointments is the fact that, in general, South Dakota politicians place little value on open government, and this fact has come home to roost in this report. South Dakota ranks dead last among all 50 states in the 2008 BGA study, which included extensive examination of five critical areas:

Freedom of Information (FOI) Laws
Whistleblower Protection Laws
Campaign Finance Laws
Open Meetings Laws
Conflict of Interest Laws

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Here’s an excerpt from their report:

Overall, the BGA - Alper Integrity Index reveals that states have taken a patchwork approach towards promoting integrity which indicates a lack of the proper amount of concern regarding integrity and corruption. The BGA hopes that this study will help spark a renewed focus and debate on these issues in all the states and ultimately lead to the improvement of the laws we reviewed...

The top five states in our survey were New Jersey, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Washington and Louisiana. The bottom five states were Montana, Tennessee, Alabama, Vermont and South Dakota. The top five states tended to do well relative to their sister states across all the laws while the bottom five under-performed or failed miserably across all the laws we reviewed.

You can find all the gruesome details on-line at BGA-Alper Integrity Index.

We don’t believe there’s widespread corruption in South Dakota government, but it would be naïve to think it doesn’t exist. What should alarm citizens is the fact that conditions exist that readily foster corruption and malfeasance. The BGA study was “conceived as a tool to describe the extent to which each state has protected itself against possible corruption and made its processes open and accountable to its citizens.”

South Dakota has so much about which it can be proud. Open government is not one of them. With a lot of encouragement from interested citizens, perhaps the 2009 legislature will move aggressively to turn this around. There’s no better place to start than by revisiting Senator Nancy Turbak Berry's open records bill that was scuttled by legislative leaders last year.

An Inconvenient Concept?

South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds has many fine attributes. And I like his position on most issues. But listening to him tip-toe around the topic of open records on South Dakota Public Radio yesterday, it was clear that he just doesn’t grasp the concept that our public records should be presumed to be “open records” for the public. His examples of how the Governor’s office would be impacted made it obvious that open records would be inconvenient…..at least for the Governor!

Perhaps he should read the letter about open records written to legislators by Bill Kunerth of Belle Fourche, a staunch advocate of open government.

There’s also a good column written by Chuck Baldwin of Vermillion that appears in the Rapid City Journal and the Black Hills Pioneer. Both the Baldwin and Kunerth pieces are worth a read!

Kunerth on Fighting Poverty

Another Bill Kunerth piece shared via the Argus-Leader newspaper in Sioux Falls, which asked the question: What's the best way to help prevent people from going hungry in our state and nation, not to mention the world? The average person on food stamps in South Dakota reportedly gets $21 a week for food -- much less than some of us spent in one day for Thanksgiving. Here's Bill's take on the topic:

In answering questions that involve major social problems, my response is always the same—coordination among many individuals and agencies. So, the best way we can deal with hunger (poverty in general) is through a cooperative effort at all levels of government, the business community, churches, the educational system, medical and legal communities, and voluntary efforts by individuals and organizations.

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An excellent example is the Beyond Welfare program in Ames, Iowa, which is entering its 11th year. Beyond Welfare is a non-profit organization which helps people move from welfare into the main stream of society. It is funded by city, county, and state governments, foundation and federal grants, churches, and local donations. It operates with a board of directors, the majority of whom are participants in the program. Weekly pot-luck meetings are held in a church and involve participants, staff members and volunteers who discuss the program, individual concerns, success stories, and future activities.

Unlike many other similar programs, Beyond Welfare emphasizes bringing people out of isolation and into a friendly, caring, supportive community.

Beyond Welfare has a Wheels to Work program which has provided 150 cars to persons without transportation, loans to cover emergencies, assistance in employment, clothing, housing, budgeting, nutritional advice, child care, and help in returning to school. Participants are expected to contribute services to others, especially when they get on their feet. For more information on the program, call 515/292-5992, beyondwelfare.org

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Bill Kunerth lives in Belle Fourche and is Emeritus Professor of Journalism at Iowa State University. Here is an excellent video about Beyond Welfare.

Kunerth: Legislature Has Work To Do!

Good friend Bill Kunerth of Belle Fourche is on a panel that regularly provides viewpoints to the Sioux Falls Argus-Leader on a variety of issues. It's part of what they call Dakota Comments. The Legislature has been studying whether to adopt a code of conduct. Do we need one, in light of Ted Klaudt's actions in the past year? And if we do, what ought to be included in the code? Here's Bill Kunerth's take on the topic.

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The state definitely needs a conduct code for legislators, and more. Some state codes spell out specific conduct prohibitions. e.g. improper sexual activities, alcohol and drug abuse. Others refer to general behavior.

I prefer the latter, such as in the Illinois code (I know, it’s a lousy state to use as an example) which cites “conduct unbecoming to a legislator or which constitutes a breach of the public trust.” Then, allow a bi-partisan ethics committee of legislators and/or an ethics commission of parties outside the legislature to define and enforce the rules.

The South Dakota Legislature does not have a permanent ethics committee but formed an ad hoc group to hear the case against Senator Dan Sutton. It was dissolved after the hearing.

In addition to rules on moral conduct, South Dakota needs to strengthen its accountability and openness laws. Our state ranked 50th in a 2002 Integrity Index of state governments which evaluated these areas. It was conducted by the Better Government Association and the Ford Center for Global Citizenship (check “BGA Integrity Index”) and judged freedom of information laws, whistle blower protection, campaign financing, gifts/honoraria, and conflicts of interest. Not much has changed since the study, except for a commission named by Attorney General Larry Long which is helping close some of the gaping loopholes in the state’s open records law.

South Dakota also received an F in a 2007 study on campaign disclosure by the UCLA Law School and Center for Government Studies. These reports make clear that the South Dakota Legislature has work to do in the areas of ethics, accountability and openness.

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Bill Kunerth is an Iowa State University Emeritus Professor of Journalism.