CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Last February, Damien Torres got into a fight with his girlfriend. She called 911 and told officers that he had strangled her and smashed her head into a wall. Torres was arrested and charged with domestic violence and felony battery.
He’s been held at the Milwaukee County Reintegration Center while awaiting trial.
And he was given a tablet.
Now he is facing new charges. He’s accused of sending threatening messages and making phone calls to his victim – 2,429 times. Each one of them violates a court order that he have no contact with the victim. Among his messages, “you will pay for taking everything from me.” And “I will get payback one day”,
Torres knows that the case against him falls apart if she would only change her story.
The idea behind the tablet program is that defendants could be in contact with their lawyers and could assist in their own defense. While that’s a noble goal, people who are incarcerated lose their access to the outside world. The tablets have been used to contact victims and witnesses and to access pornography. Obviously the tablet program doesn’t properly monitor communication to and from the devices.
The tablet program has already been the topic of attack ads against David Crowley. He’s the democrat nominee for governor and Milwaukee County Executive. It’s a completely legitimate question why he allows the tablet program to continue.
Mr Crowley: Take the tablets away. Shut this dangerous program down.
Chris Conley
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