Today on AirTalk we'll examine the psychology behind kidnapping and take a look at the latest in the Cleveland case. We'll also discuss a potential ban on fracking in California and check in on the Los Angeles mayoral race. Later, we'll talk about license plate scanning, weigh whether rewarding environmentally friendly carmakers is fair, and consider the complicated funeral plans for Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
How did kidnapping of three Cleveland women last a decade?
The pain and panic in Amanda Berry's 911 call yesterday is evidence of the severity of this case. Three woman held captive by three brothers for ten long years. In 2003, sixteen-year-old Berry disappeared walking home from her job at Burger King. In 2002, Michelle Knight 's family stopped hearing from the 20-year-old, but thought the reason was a custody dispute. In 2004, Gina DeJesus vanished on her way home from high school.
They were held in a home owned by Ariel Castro. Police say Castro and his brothers, Onil and Pedro -- all in their 50s -- conspired in the case. A six-year-old girl was also found who was reportedly born to Amanda Berry during the ordeal. The Castro house was just a few miles from where the women had all been kidnapped. While the case reminds us of other long-term kidnapping and captivity cases, such as Jaycee Dugard and Austria's Josef Fritzl, analysts say it is very unusual to have three brothers working in concert.
How did they keep it secret from neighbors, family or coworkers for so long? Why weren't the women able to escape sooner? What is the psychological profile of men like the Castros? How will these women recover?
Guest:
Eric Hickey, Ph.D., criminologist and dean of the California School of Forensic Studies, Alliant International University, former consultant to the FBI
Three bills seek to ban fracking temporarily
The controversial oil extraction process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is again coming under scrutiny in California. Last week, the Assembly Natural Resources Committee okayed three measures that would place a moratorium on fracking until its environmental impacts are fully understood.
California is in the early stages of regulating fracking. And the fight over fracking in the state has been centered around the Monterey Shale in the San Joaquin Basin, which contains about 15 billion barrels of oil.
These three bills were not the first bills to make it out of committee this year, but they are the toughest. Last year, the California Legislature killed a proposed temporary ban on the practice.
Guests:
Holly Mitchell (D-Culver City), Assemblymember for California’s 54th district, with Culver City as its center.
Tupper Hull, Vice President, Strategic CommunicationsWestern States Petroleum Association
Los Angeles mayoral race update
There are only two weeks until the May 21st runoff between mayoral candidates Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti. KPCC’s politics reporter Frank Stoltze gives us an update on the candidates’ last minute moves to gain an edge.
Guest:
Frank Stoltze, KPCC politics reporter
Privacy groups sue LAPD and Sheriffs for collecting data from license plate scanners
Privacy rights groups are suing the LAPD and the LA County Sheriff’s Department after the law enforcement agencies refused to hand over info gleaned from their license-plate scanning technology.
Officials claim the technology, which scans license plates and checks them against criminal databases, has helped officers find more stolen vehicles and criminals at large, and that the time and location data can later help investigators piece together crimes.
But the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who filed the suit, are concerned about an invasion of privacy. Peter Bibring, an attorney with the ACLU of Southern California, said his group has no objection to police using the cameras to search for stolen vehicles but wants the LAPD and Sheriff's Department to quickly erase any data on cars and drivers not connected to any crime.
Guest:
Jennifer Lynch, staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Steve Whitmore, LA Sheriff's Deptartment spokesperson
Zero-emission vehicle credits: An unfair subsidy for Tesla?
To combat air pollution, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) requires all carmakers to sell a certain number of electric vehicles in the state. Those that fail to reach the quota could purchase zero-emissions-vehicle credits from other automakers in an open market.
One of the biggest beneficiaries is the Palo Alto-based high-end electric carmaker Tesla, which could pocket as much as $35,000 for each credit sold. The board says it only wants to incentivize automakers to make more pollution-free cars. Opponents want to know why the state is subsidizing a segment of the automobile industry that the consumer has shown little interest in anyway?
Guests:
Eileen Tutt, Executive Director of the California Electric Transportation Coalition, a non profit organization. Their members include utilities and automakers.
Eric Noble, President of the CarLab
Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s body rejected for burial at Boston cemeteries
Suspected Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev is ready to be buried, but so far no one has been able to figure out how. His widow has rejected the body, and his parents, currently living in Russia, were reluctant to claim it. That left the task to his estranged uncle, who despite his disgust over his nephews’ alleged crimes, has said that he deserves a proper burial.
However, the local cemetery in Tsarnaev’s residential town of Cambridge, and cemeteries in other parts of Boston, have rejected the body for burial, stating that they wish to respect the local victims of the bombings and to avoid having his gravesite become any sort of shrine or other political symbol. Even the undertaker who received his body has had his mortuary flanked by protesters in last few days.
No US government official has claimed responsibility for the body, and Tsarnaev’s Muslim religion does not permit a cremation. So far the best is one man from Worcester, MA, a community activist who is planning to raise money to send the body to Russia.
Is this an unprecedented situation? How have other infamous people’s bodies been dealt with in the past? Do cemeteries have a right to reject bodies, and what exactly are they trying to avoid by doing so?
Guest:
David Sloane, Professor at USC’s Price School of Public Policy, and author of The Last Great Necessity: Cemeteries in American History