Brother just can't catch a break. Madison police charged "Constitutional" Clayton Kelly with the crime of photographing or filming another without permission where there is expectation of privacy. Madison police arrested Mr. Kelly last Friday and charged him with exploitation of a vulnerable adult after he allegedly entered the Alzheimer's unit at St. Catherine's Village, took pictures of an infirm Rose Cochran, and posted them in a Youtube video that was online for a few hours. Mrs. Cochran is the wife of Senator Thad Cochran and has suffered from dementia for over fifteen years.
The applicable statute is 97-29-63:
§ 97-29-63. Photographing or filming another without permission where there is expectation of privacy; when vicitim is adult; when victim is child under sixteen
(1) Any person who with lewd, licentious or indecent intent secretly photographs, films, videotapes, records or otherwise reproduces the image of another person without the permission of such person when such a person is located in a place where a person would intend to be in a state of undress and have a reasonable expectation of privacy, including, but not limited to, private dwellings or any facility, public or private, used as a restroom, bathroom, shower room, tanning booth, locker room, fitting room, dressing room or bedroom shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of Five Thousand Dollars ($ 5,000.00) or by imprisonment of not more than five (5) years in the custody of the Department of Corrections, or both.
(2) Where the person who is secretly photographed, filmed, videotaped or otherwise reproduced is a child under sixteen (16) years of age, a person who violates subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of Five Thousand Dollars ($ 5,000.00) or by imprisonment of not more than ten (10) years in the custody of the Department of Corrections, or both.
A preliminary hearing will be held for Mr. Kelly today in Madison Municipal Court at 1:30. The police are reviewing Mr. Kelly's cellphone records and computer. Subpoenas were issued to carries and internet service providers. The police have stated they wish to intervew other "invididuals".
Earlier posts:
Madison police arrest Clayton Kelly
McDaniel issues statement
Danks keeps Kelly's bond at $100,000. Police want to speak to other individuals."
We report, you decide. Voice mail edition.
Breitbart: Campaign knew about video weeks ago
Constitutional Clayton plot thickens
29 comments:
strike two. this is the "peeping tom with a camera" statute. can't prove lewd intent. "indecent" is related to lewd and licentious. this guy had POLITICAL intent in making the photos. nice try Guest, but you fail yet again.
Sorry, but that seems pretty bogus. Lewd? Licentious? "Indecent" is doing a lot of work here.
What exactly is indecent? That is the question.
This is getting way out of hand. Anyone else would not be getting this kind of slam down.
He was in the building with a pass, took pictures/video without permissions (which yes, he should be punished for), but anyone else would not be getting the huge bail or the additional charges.
Legal interpretation is odd. The use of 3 different words may seem to mean 3 different things, but as 7:17 notes, there's a rule that words in a list affect one another's meaning. I find it dubious that I can go visit some lady I don't know in a nursing home, take her picture, and be prosecuted under this statute.
Then again, as NMC reminds me, civil lawyers can be quaint & innocent about how criminal law works. Here it seems the cops started with the desired result & then worked backwards to find a law that was broken.
Examples of indecent might be: Roger Wicker, Chris McDaniel, Pheel Bryant, the PSC commissioners, Dick Cheney, etc.
Let's see how long we can string this story out. Sounds like that DA got a call about an appointment to a federal judgeship too. You would think these guys would learn their lesson.
If Kelly offered irrefutable proof of involvement by someone on the McDaniel campaign the charges would be dropped the next day. That is all this is about.
Can we judge his intent? Do he intend to do harm? Do any of you know the answer to that? Or can you merely make wild assumptions that fit the political prism through which you view this story?
Are there signs posted prohibiting cameras? I've used a video camera in the halls and doorways of a nursing home on mother's day and Christmas and watched other doing the same. No permission to photograph was sought. What's the difference? And, yes, some of that wound up on the internet.
This garbage about 'reasonable expectation of privacy' will never stand up. Nobody was using a special lense to snap nude photos through a third floor apartment window. We see reporters every day busting into places, camera-man at their arm, microphone in hand, demanding answers to this and that, with startled 'victims' reasonably expecting privacy.
At the end of the day, all YOU are left with is your dislike for this or that candidate, your wild assumptions and your personal political perspective. Enjoy.
noscitur a sociis
(law) A rule of language used by the courts to help interpret legislation, under which the questionable meaning of a doubtful word can be derived from its association with other words.
... And criminal statutes are narrowly construed, or should be (lest one not be on notice of the prohibition).
this statute has been challenged and upheld in the context of the lewd, etc, intent. taking photos in a public place doesn't fall under this statute. See: Gilmer v. State [former constable using super zoom lense photographing woman insider her apartment through sliding glass door with curtain partially pulled back]
they simply aren't going to prove anything beyond a misdemeanor exploitation...
If photographing this helpless old woman was not indecent- was it a decent thing to do?
Whatever the purpose I find Kelly's actions offensive and disgusting, but this is just my opinion. The rest of you have yours.
"No one today knows what is indecent."-Jack Valenti
When is the release date for that "other" bombshell?
I suspect that if true, the wife's claim that Kelly didn't open the door and that it was already open will be huge in his defense. Courts have even ruled that password protected emails don't meet the expectation of privacy. I disagree.
As a bit of a litmus test, compare the Cochran's right to privacy in Rose's room to Donald Sterling's right to privacy in his home...
Indecent in this statute falls under sexual behavior. Just because your actions are in bad taste doesn't make them indecent. Let's let a real criminal out early to make some space for this rookie, he's arm ace to society.
The bigger question is WHY St. Catherine's freely gave him a visitor pass without checking his credentials. He did not break in. Most of the time the hall room doors are left wide open because of the stinch coming from the rooms. So looking into a room is not ease dropping. MISSISSIPPI POLITICS AT IT'S LOWEST FORM.
Who is paying Kevin camp? He charges a minimum of $5000.00 for first offense DUI so this will be substantial cost to Kelly who appears not too wealthy.
One thought to consider. If they are considering conspiracy charges, a high bail keeps him from communicating.
At this point I think Alan downed the whole damn bottle and has forgotten the warning to seek medical help for woodys lasting more than 4 hours.
The rumors that have been swirling for months in Natchez are finally showing up in all these blogs.
I have been to several nursing homes and I don't see how there is ANY expectation of privacy.
No way. This statute is clearly about something else-- every legal use of "indecent" I know has connotations of a sexual nature (e.g. indecent exposure is exposing genitals).
I suppose there is a chance that the picture of Mrs. Cochran was in this sense indecent, in which case the blogger better get ready to visit the penitentiary because they're going to figure out a way to put him there.
10:52, that is about right. It's not jail.
Any news of a conspirator?
What if the conspirator is from the Cochran campaign? Not that anyone would reasonably expect that to be true, but what if.
Yes Scott Brewster
Appreciate legal postings. its interesting to see words that have one meaning in everyday life and are up to ones interpretation and to read what yall are posting so we can see the legal side too.
Luckily, for all of us, the definition of 'indecent' is not the converse of 'decent'. To suggest the act was indecent since it was notdecent is assinine and sophomoric. Was that from a Georgetown Law School Freshman?
PS: How does Thadius keep up with all this shit since he has to be in bed with the rails locked in the up-position no later than eight p.m.?
7:19, it appears that you are the only one suggesting that indecent is the converse of decent.
The question WAS- "If photographing this helpless old woman was NOT indecent- was it a
DECENT thing to do?"
Your crude comment about "Thadius" says much about you.
I don't care for either candidate, but a good statesman or a promising younger politician is hard to find these days.
Merriam-webster
de·cent
adjective \ˈdē-sənt\
: polite, moral, and honest
: showing kindness : seeming to care about the feelings or problems of other people
: good enough but not the best : adequate or acceptable
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