Open up the DP today to find coverage of two murder cases — Irina Malinovskaya’s, which ended in its third mistrial, and Raff Robb’s, which is just getting warmed up.

Both murders are domestic affairs — Irina is accused of killing her ex-boyfriend; Robb, his wife. Both murders were committed with an object of blunt force. Both were so horrific it seems unlikely that anyone but a spurned lover could have done it. Both have only circumstantial evidence linking the suspect to the scene of the crime.

These cases are so similar that it’s possible they’re linked. Maybe Robb and Malinovskaya hired the same killer. Someone vicious enough to over-kill, someone professional enough to leave no trace of his presence, someone insane enough to do it twice.

Someone like this guy:

New York City recently declared a “A Day Against Hate”. Should Philly do the same? I’m thinking not, since we’re already so angry. A pro-hate day where everyone just walks around screaming obscenities and insulting each other’s outfits would do more good for us. We could call it “Thursday”.

Upon closer reading, NYC’s a “Day Against Hate” actually refers to hate crimes. Well, that changes everything. I would go so far as to say that the city of Philadelphia should not only follow suit with its own day, it should also take an anti-hate crimes stance nearly the entire year. I might even recommend that Philly go simply anti-crime in general, but the research is still pending. I’ll get back to you later. Until then feel free to keep your own opinions about crime.

They caught him.

A nationwide manhunt for Philadelphia’s cop-killing John Lewis has ended in Miami. After shooting hoops with Dwayne Wade in the American Airlines Arena and making a new music video with Will Smith, Lewis ducked into the Miami Rescue Mission for some soup and stale donuts. Police found him at the homeless shelter’s chapel praying to God that no one would find him.

Lewis was then dragged out of the shelter, screaming, “There is no God!”

It’s good for the country, the city, and especially the family of slain police officer Chuck Cassidy that they caught this guy. But things didn’t have to turn out this well — a smarter criminal might still be on the loose. I know that if I were John Lewis, and I didn’t want anyone to find me, I wouldn’t have stepped foot outside Philly.

Remember the prostitute, raped at gunpoint, whose trial ended with the judge dropping all rape charges and converting them to “theft of services”?

The story’s not over. After a blowup in the blogosphere, Philadelphia activists began a grassroots movement supporting the disbarment of Municipal Judge Theresa Carr Deni. On Tuesday, Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Jane Leslie Dalton issued a statement that spoke forcefully against Deni’s decision, stating that “The victim has been brutalized twice in this case: first by the assailants, and now by the court.”

So now there’s controversy over Deni’s ruling and over Dalton’s statement as the rest of the bar reacts. Personally, I’m just glad that someone in the system managed to stand up and say how ridiculous and painfully biased the decision was. If it stands, it sets an awful precedent.

With the myriad shootings and other violent crimes that have recently taken place, the Philadelphia judiciary doesn’t need to give its population more excuses to commit crimes. Kudos to Dalton for her strong statement, and kudos to everyone who sent letters of complaint to the bar. Justice still has a chance.

It happened close to campus. Too close. Still, we often forget how fortunate we are to be living in this part of Philly. We are in virtually a green zone.

However, if it gets worse, let these select quotes be your survival guide to Philadelphia. Better to be prepared, as some parts of Philadelphia “have spray-painted ‘IRAQ’ in huge letters on abandoned buildings to mark the devastation”:

(more…)

I’m pretty cynical about a lot of things. The justice system? Definitely. But every once in a while, I read a story that just leaves me speechless with disbelief.

Seriously, wtf?!.

Essentially, a woman placed an ad on Craigslist and met the guy who answered in North Philly. They negotiated a deal for an hour of oral and vaginal sex (for one hundred and fifty dollars), but then he and two friends raped her at gunpoint instead. Since she consented to have sex with the man beforehand and didn’t get paid, Municipal Judge Teresa Carr Deni decided that it wasn’t rape or assault, just “theft of services.”

(more…)