That Other Possible Death Penalty Case

Kudos to MishkaZena for reminding us about the other possible death penalty case, the murder of Tallie Antolin. According to MishkaZena, the murder happened earlier than the Wright case, yet Tallie's case is still awaiting trial. She wrote, "Some speculated it may be due to problems getting qualified interpreters."

I'd like to raise the possibility that there could be another reason. That reason is publicity - or the lack thereof. When Darlene VanderGeisen was killed, the media jumped on the case. It was truly a stunning case, "made" for the media. In contrast, the only way I learned about Tallie's murder was through another blogger's post. My theory is, there may indeed have been difficulty in getting qualified interpreters for the court, but in the Wright case, the intense glare of publicity may have either generated more effort to find interpreters, OR interpreters may have somehow become more readily available.

In legal cases, it is not unusual to bring in specialists from elsewhere to testify. Why should it be any different with interpreters? If one state has a shortage of qualified court interpreters (like New Jersey in this article) why can't qualified interpreters be brought in from another state?

Hawk Relay Adds Text, AIM Relay

Just got this e-mail from Samuel Hawk:

Hi Jamie,

I wanted you to be among the first to know: Last weekend, we rolled out text and AIM relay options. Your blog was the catalyst to a series of events that led to the two previously unplanned services being available to Hawk Relay customers. For that, I thank you.

If you would check our web site (www.hawkrelay.com), you will see the newer version with information on text and AIM relay options. You could also go directly to the text applet using this address: www.hawkrelay.com/IP

Again, thank you and I hope you will choose Hawk Relay with text and AIM relay options available.

Keep blogging,

Samuel Hawk

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Cheers! Now those of us who don't use video relay or can't use video relay, can use Hawk Relay and indirectly support DeafRead!