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Judge lets woman charged with calling in that bomb threat to Children's take her ankle bracelet off while awaiting trial
By adamg on Fri, 09/30/2022 - 4:48pm
A federal judge today agreed to let Catherine Leavy swap in her retired father for a GPS device strapped to her ankle as a way to ensure she goes nowhere near Children's Hospital - to which she allegedly called in a bomb threat that shut down both the hospital and Longwood Avenue on Aug. 30.
Leavy, who lives in Westfield, had asked for permission to have her father watch over her instead of a GPS monitor because she has a landscaping business with jobs in even more western towns, such as Hawley, "where there is no reliable cell-service for her bracelet to connect to." That means she has had to turn down work for fear of not getting in trouble with the federal probation office, according to a filing by her attorney. In contrast, her father:
[I]s retired, lives in the home with his daughter, is in constant communication with her and aware of her whereabouts and activities twenty-four hours a day, and is fully prepared to ensure that she remains in compliance with all of her Court-ordered conditions of release.
Both the federal probation office and the US Attorney's office in Boston agreed to the change, which US District Court Magistrate Judge Judith Dein approved today.
Innocent, etc.
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Comments
If you can't wear an ankle bracelet
Don't do the crime. Don't expect any symphony from a mother and father who were trying to get their sick child into Children's Hospital while you were calling in bomb threats
I wouldn't think parents of
I wouldn't think parents of sick children have time to produce a symphony, especially for someone who makes bomb threats.
True
But it would be epic with that subject matter
Jesus
Well that’s some white privilege for ya.
Disgusting
All of it. Allowing her to go off bracelet, putting her father on this position, the privilege afforded her after causing terror and fear. She caused fear in sick children, their parents, their medical providers, and all of the other hardworking people at Children’s Hospital. Positively disgusting.
Sentencing
She should remember to bring that up during any future sentencing. Being incarcerated would also surely interfere with her business opportunities.
Ya you never
Hear of PoC being released. Not like UHub has ever posted stories about people committing violent acts while out on bail.
PS isn’t this type of release that you support. Or is progressive justice reform only for certain people?
You're starting to get it!
Yes, justice reform is aimed at leveling the playing field for people who are disproportionately policed and incarcerated for types of slipups that everyone makes, actions that don't harm anyone, actions that may cause low-level harm but are related to disenfranchised people trying to get by. It's the idea that people and communities matter more than property. When we enact these reforms, we can allot more time and resources to psychopathy i.e. those who are consciously and premeditatedly going out of their way to cause harm to those who they wouldn't usually even encounter, often due to bias and hatred.
These "reforms" you want are already in place
I get why people don't like this woman, but the idea that people on remand are allowed to remain free with conditions (turning up for court the main one, but in this case avoiding contact with the people you are accused of harassing) is fairly common in the Commonwealth.
Or as I loved to point out (until others started doing it for me)- what's the point of bail.
Right...
The purpose of bail is to make sure people show up to court.
It can also be denied based on facts demonstrating the accused likely poses a danger to the community. I don't personally or professionally believe this person should have been released under any conditions, and I wouldn't have recommended it.
And no, these reforms are not in place. Not sure where you'd get that.
The problem with bail comes
When people get emotional about the crime.
At the end of the day, her bail conditions, even after this change, is to ensure that she will be no danger to the community and that she will show up to court. She did not engage in actual violence, and what she did appears to be a one-off act. There are laws that stipulate punishment for her acts, and if she is found guilty, those punishments should be applied. That said, she has not been found guilty of the charges yet.
"And the ammonium nitrate is just for the landscaping business."
Will we hear that next?
Oh the caucasity
Westfield is a small city of about 40,000 people.
Hawley is a tiny rural town up in the hills with no industries except farming and logging.
There is absolutely zero chance that someone in Hawley is hiring a landscaper from Westfield -- or, frankly, probably at all.
This lawyer just went looking for a town without cell service, that's all.
eta: so how's her retired father supposed to "watch over her" anyway? Is he going to go along with her wherever she goes? Including to fictitious jobs in Hawley?
I've driven Route 8A a few times
It's gorgeous. And I saw no need for landscaping.
It's also more than an hour from Westfield.
Are we sure this is Catherine and not KAthERiNe?
Please
Can we not make assumptions about a town just from driving by on a main road?
I've ridden my bike through Hawley many, many times on the local roads. Yes, people there hire landscapers.
I don't think this woman's excuse is worthy of allowing her to remove the bracelet but it's not unreasonable to think someone in Westfield might have a client in Hawley. (And not unreasonable for her to tell them she can't continue the job.)
lol
Of course you would know this from riding your bike through, no doubt on a weekend.
Any landscaping done in Hawley is almost certainly going to be done by a local service, if not by the farmer down the road who owns a backhoe. But I'm willing to be proven wrong if she actually produces a real live client in Hawley.
In Boston
I hire contractors that have more then an hour commute even though there are people who are closer who can do the same job. I hire them because I like the quality of their work. I hire people based on recommendations, not physical proximity. Their commute is not my problem.
Anyway, I don't think she should be let out of the bracelet.
Red flag. When a person
Red flag. When a person talks about commiting suicide it should be taken seriously, right? So why isn't this woman being taken seriously when she obviously has thoughts about causing an act of terrorism? Especially at a Children's Hospital!! WHaaaa????!!
She had no trouble getting
She had no trouble getting cell service to make bomb threats.
Well, she didn't make the call from Hawley, feds say
According to an affidavit from an FBI agent on her case, cell-phone location data showed the call, plus earlier harassing calls, came from towers within 10 miles of her home.
Here's a good question. How
Here's a good question. How does an GPS ankle bracelet keep you from making phone calls? I get she shouldn't be anywhere near Children's Hospital after making such a threat. But until she is incarcerated for this crime she could plausibly continue making such calls from just about any location.
A wild guess
The ankle bracelet is to ensuring she doesn't actually go to Children's Hospital and blow it up. Although, how does that even work? Like is someone monitoring the bracelet 24/7 and do they call out the cops if they go where they're not supposed to?