Court says no to release of paralyzed rapist

SF Gate ^ | 06 Apr 10 | Bob Egelko

[Drew68]

A rapist who was paralyzed from the neck down in a prison stabbing may still be dangerous and can be kept behind bars under a state law that allows the release of some permanently disabled inmates, a state appeals court ruled today.

Although Steven Martinez is no longer capable of assaulting anyone, his past crimes and later verbal abuse of prison nurses show he is "an evil, angry and violent person" who might enlist others to commit attacks after release, said the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento.

"Quadriplegics ... are capable of committing violent crimes," the court said in a 2-1 ruling, citing a 1987 case in which a wheelchair-bound man allegedly killed his bride by firing a pistol using a string in his mouth.

The dissenting justice, Richard Sims, said the majority relied on "utter speculation" and undermined the 2008 law that allowed permanently incapacitated inmates to win release if they no longer pose a threat. The state spent $1.25 million caring for Martinez over a two-year period while his family was prepared to assume the cost at home, Sims said.

Martinez, now 41, was sentenced to 157 years to life in prison for driving his car into two women outside a San Diego nightclub in March 1998, then taking one of the women to a secluded area and raping her.

In February 2001, while at a prison in Imperial County, Martinez was stabbed in the neck by another inmate, cutting his spinal cord. He is diabetic and incontinent, has trouble breathing and will need 24-hour care for life, according to medical testimony quoted by the court.

[Drew68]

Keep him in prison at a huge expense to the taxpayers of the bankrupt State of California (where more able-bodied criminals are routinely released due to the high cost of incarceration) or release him to his parents and let them bear the cost of his care?

Either way, it appears that karma was served.

[driftdiver]

Either way taxpayers are gonna foot the bill. I say let him go swimming and call him Bob.

[Graybeard58]

might enlist others to commit attacks after release

Molestation by proxy.

[ExpatGator]

Too bad he cannot feel the pain as he rots away.

[mirkwood]

Anyone remember the Lockerbie bomber? Dead in 3 months?

[mainsail that]

The state spent $1.25 million caring for Martinez over a two-year period while his family was prepared to assume the cost at home

Save the violin, you will pay $2,000 every single day for the rest of life, plus 2-3X inflation. Apparently the CA Prison Union charges $2k a day to move around a wheelchair bound prisoner. No wonder they don't him out and no wonder CA is broke!

[mamelukesabre]

Insane. He’s no longer a threat. I don’t care what these bozos say.

[Drew68]

Anyone remember the Lockerbie bomber? Dead in 3 months?

I don't think anyone truly believed that the Lockerbie bomber was so close to death. As it turns out, they were right and the whole thing was a bad joke.

This guy, on the other hand, isn't just paralyzed, he's "Christopher Reeve" paralyzed. Inside or outside the cellblock, he's a prisoner until the day he dies. I think the only risk would be that sometime between now and then they figure out a way to cure neck-down paralysis. This scenario seems unlikely.

[Drew68]

Apparently the CA Prison Union charges $2k a day to move around a wheelchair bound prisoner.

Not to mention the round-the-clock medical care and assistance. He needs to be fed, changed, cleaned, clothed and on and on. This kind of care doesn't come cheap.

[Cyman]

BS. The scheme was to get his drooling ass out of prison. Once that was accomplished they would leave him on the side of the road just long enough to have the state pick up the tab for him now being indigent. Either way we will be the deep pockets. I would rather someone else have a shot at him in jail where his fellow inmates won’t sit there and say “there, there Stevie”. They’d just as soon finish what was started. Prison officials don’t move inmates because they are delightful to be around.

[Drew68]

I would rather someone else have a shot at him in jail where his fellow inmates won’t sit there and say “there, there Stevie”. They’d just as soon finish what was started.

Well, it looks like that's what he's going to get.

I'd be curious to learn the details of his stabbing; who did it and why and what happened to him?

[mirkwood]

The only bad joke about the Lockerbie bomber was he was not that sick. The friggin Scottish made a deal with Libya and part of the agreement was to say he was dying. He just had a huge birthday party. May the scottish and libyan deal makers ROT IN HELL.

[TNdandelion]

In other cases, I'd be ok with releasing him but he's been abusive to his caregivers while in prison. Although I'm entertained by the idea of him being released and left alone to rot in his soiled bed by neglectful caregivers, he'd be able to to do whatever he wanted within his physical limitations. Go outside, watch tv, porn, go out to eat, shop, etc. If he was in prison, he wouldn't have that freedom.

For me, it's all about his attitude and lack of remorse or consideration of others. Let him rot in prison.

[Lucas McCain]

Maybe they could use him for home plate in the prison yard baseball games.

[boop]

Have you seen “Lockup” om MSNBC? Sex offenders are harassed mercilessly by the other inmates. One inmate said it was his “duty” to make sure the child molesters suffer.