The Counselor and The Con

On this special episode of the Counselor & the Con marijuana legal reform activist, public speaker, and founder/ executive director of El Paso NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) Colt Demorris comes by the BAMS studio to hang out with me and Iggy for a timely and festive 420 episode. Hi, my name is Nico Adjemian and I produce the Counselor & the Con.  While I usually try and stay behind the scenes, unfortunately this day I had to step into the role of host while our dear Kam was out sick!Today's episode is part 1 of a 2 part series with Colt about his story and journey with medical marijuana and the current legal status as well as complications of cannabis. DISCLAIMER:  Our conversation with Colt features course language and frank discussions about drug abuse and terminal illness. 

Valentine's Day 2021 has passed, but crimes of passion can happen any time of year.  In this episode, Kam and Iggy discuss when love goes bad and the moment where heartache turns into homicide.  Even though we are tackling a serious topic, it's not all adultery and ammunition.  So hug your significant other (not too tight!), and join us for this lighthearted look at heart-filled homicide!Sources:The crime of Passion | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute (cornell.edu)The Most Violent Crimes Of Passion | Crime News (oxygen.com)The crime of passion - WikipediaThe Gay Panic Defense (gwu.edu)5 Bizarre Crimes of Passion - AvvoStoriesOnline Love Triangle, Deception End in Murder - ABC News (go.com)

On this episode of The Counselor and the Con, we take a look at a controversial tool utilized in the American justice system with at-risk youth. The “Scared Straight” programs that gained popularity with courts and citizens alike seemed to be successful at first, but later the efficacy and even safety of the programs were called into question. Iggy himself went head to head with adult prisoners and lived to tell the tale – find out whether Iggy was scared, straight, or something else entirely!Sources:Scared Straight! 1978 documentary directed by Arnold ShapiroBeyond Scared Straight: Where are they now? Released to YouTube dated April 4-11, 2020. A&ENetwork.Finckenauer, James O. (June 1980). ""Scared Straight" and the Panacea phenomenon: discussion". Annals ofthe New York Academy of Sciences. 347 (1): 213–217. Bibcode:1980NYASA.347..213F. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1980.tb21271.x. PMID 6930902.Petrosino, Anthony; Turpin-Petrosino, Carolyn; Hollis-Peel, Meghan E.; Lavenberg, Julia G. (April 30,2013). "'Scared Straight' and other juvenile awareness programs for preventing juvenile delinquency". TheCochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (4):CD002796. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD002796.pub2. ISSN 1469-493X. PMID 23862186.^"College of Policing: What Works Crime Reduction Toolkit - "Scared Straight" Programs". February 19, 2015.Retrieved July 5, 2018.Laurie O. Robinson and Jeff Slowikowski. "Scary -- and ineffective" Archived April 16, 2011, at the WaybackMachine. Baltimore Sun. January 31, 2011Aos, Steve; Lieb, Roxanne; Mayfield, Jim; Miller, Marna; Pennucci, Annie (September 7, 2014). Benefits andCosts of Prevention and Early Intervention Programs for Youth (PDF)(Report). Olympia, WA: Washington StateInstitute for Public Policy. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 2, 2014. Retrieved July 28, 2014.

Show Notes  In this episode, we continue our multi-part series on interactions with law enforcement. We start out talking about an important lesson taken from the impact of the job on the mental health of LEOs, and it turns into a deep dive! Kam and Iggy are joined on this episode by our producer and former EMT Nico Adjemian to talk about what it means to encounter these experiences on a regular basis, and then ourspecial guest, comedian Ponchi Herrera, talks about the impact of comedy on mental health. It turns out, we are all just broken toys!Sources:American Warrior Radio, “Police Suicide – Mark Dibona” dated January 12, 2020, accessed athttps://americanwarriorradio.com/2020/01/police-suicide-mark-dibonna/Mark DiBona, “Police Perspective: The Man in the Mirror” dated June 3, 2016, accessed athttps://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/June-2016/Police-Perspective-The-Man-in-the-MirrorAlex S. Vitale, “Five myths about policing,” The Washington Post dated June 26, 2020, accessed athttps://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/five-myths-about-policing/2020/06/25/65a92bde-b004-11ea-8758-bfd1d045525a_story.htmlDoug Wyllie, “Telling the Stories of American Police Officers' Courage and Compassion,” POLICE Magazine dated August 31, 2018, accessed at https://www.policemag.com/374576/telling-the-stories-of-american-police-officers-courage-and-compassion

In this episode, we begin a multi-part series on interactions with law enforcement.  It is our goal to discuss these events from multiple perspectives, both positive and negative.  Hear about the retired officer that helped Iggy turn things around and about a man who was able to forgive the officer that wrongfully accused him of a crime.  Kam talks about what recourse is available when officers act outside the law.  Even though we are pursuing a serious topic, we still have some laughs along the way!Sources:Brent Ashcroft, Handcuffs to Handshakes: a journey of forgiveness and friendship (2017, repub. June 2019), accessed athttps://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/local/michigan-life/handcuff-to-handshakes-bad-cop-victim-reconnect/69-191467ba-8bd3-4bbc-bc17-5a4fd04e766eJameel Zookie McGee, Andrew Collins, and Mark Tabb, Convicted: A Crooked Cop, an Innocent Man, and an Unlikely Journey of Forgiveness and Friendship (WaterBrook 2017)U.S. Department of Justice, Law Enforcement Misconduct, updated July 6, 2020, accessed athttps://www.justice.gov/crt/law-enforcement-misconduct18 U.S.C. § 242 (2019)Screws v. United States, 325 U.S. 91 (1945)Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989)Whitley v. Albers, 475 U.S. 312 (1986)

No sources this week folks! Iggy and Kam discuss a special event the night before, and Iggy talks about his close ties to the law enforcement community.  Also, Kam recaps the past three episodes while Iggy dishes on what you listeners can expect in the next three exciting episodes!

Show notes – Episode 3Kam gets Iggy to open up about his family and living circumstances that led to his very first crime. Don't worry though, it's not all feelings and sad tales of juvenile delinquency! We talk about those very first crimes that kids and young adults commit, including a famous author who went from stealing apples to armed robbery and how those first “gateway crimes” lead to future offenses.Sources:Kathleen Michon, accessed on www.nolo.com: Juvenile Court: An Overview When Juveniles are Tried in Adult Criminal Court Sealing Juvenile Court RecordsOffice of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention – Statistical Briefing Book;https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/crime/overview.htmlHttps://datacenter.kidscount.orgPub Med – Community Ment Health K, 2001 Aug; 37(4): 347-58. Is stealing a gateway crime? By E R Taylor, J Kelly, S Valescu, G S Reynolds, J Sherman, V GermanMungan, Murat C., Gateway Crimes (August 22, 2016). Alabama Law Review, Forthcoming, George Mason Law & Economics Research Paper No. 16-36, available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2827880www.wikipedia.com – Noel “Razor” Smith

It turns out Iggy isn't the only former criminal turned comedy!  Kam and Iggy sit down with nationally touring stand-up Anthony Perez to talk about his prior life of crime in this episode about Note Jobs, also known as bank robberies!  Hear the true story of a bank teller who predicted that a robbery would occur and what leads a Marine in Southern California to the bank, federal prison, and finally back to his roots to a career in comedy.Sources:Kelly's story is retold from an anonymous source.www.wikipedia.com/bankrobberywww.imbd.com/banditsSami Azhari, 18 USC 2113 Federal Criminal Bank Robbery Laws, accessed at https://www.federalcriminallawyer.us/2020/05/11/18-usc-2113-federal-criminal-bank-robbery-laws/ U.S. Sentencing Commission, Federal Sentencing Guidelines, 2018 Manual  

Counselor Kam Nichols and former Con turned comedian Iggy Samaniego kick off their very first episode with a dive into Iggy's area of expertise…burglary!  Tune in for true crime stories from a burglary victim and learn what happened when Iggy tried to “double dip”.  Kam weighs in on the historical aspects of burglary.  From the Saxons to the sexy, this is a crime that has changed a lot!  Sources: www.wearenotavictim.org (for Scott's full story)Ballantine's Law Dictionary 3rd Editionhttps://englishlegalhistory.wordpress.com/2013/05/30/history-of-burglary/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burglaryhttps://dataunodc.un.org/data/crime/burglary (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-2018-crime-statistics