Senator Whitehouse’s Legislation Tied to Early Release of Alleged Federal Hill Murderer
Friday, October 11, 2019
The man who is accused of the murder of Troy Pine on Federal Hill was a convicted felon -- and released years early under the provisions of the recently adopted First Step Act.
Joel Francisco, accused of killing Pine, was freed from serving a life sentence in federal prison just eight months ago under the First-Step Act, legislation that was drafted and championed by Rhode Island’s junior U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.
The early release of accused murderer Francisco has sparked outrage locally and even hit the national cable news coverage. Fox News Tucker Carlson criticized the legislation on Wednesday night’s show -- legislation that Whitehouse had said would only be applicable for non-violent prisoners.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"Importantly, the bill preserves cooperation incentives to aid law enforcement in tracking down kingpins and stiffens penalties for individuals convicted of serious violent felonies," said a Whitehouse press release.
Whitehouse, who negotiated the legislation with President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, said last December when the bill was passed by Congress, ““This bill is the product of years of bipartisan hard work, patience, and strong advocacy by Rhode Islanders and people across the country, including those who have gone through the system themselves."
“The bill will also address serious issues with sentencing practices that land too many people in prison for too long. Thank you to the Rhode Islanders who contributed to this bill, and to my colleagues from both sides of the aisle who joined me in this effort,” said Whitehouse.
Whitehouse refused to respond to questions about his legislation.
Jennifer Rivera and Whitehouse
This is the second time that a violent death of a Rhode Islander has ties to Whitehouse.
When Whitehouse served as Rhode Island Attorney General, a young girl who had testifed against an accused killer was murdered on the street while jumping rope. Community leaders and law enforcement blasted Whitehouse for failure to protect the girl.
Federal Judge Ernest Torres wrote in a decision relating to the Rivera family seeking damages from the state of Rhode Island and the City of Providence for failing to protect their daughter, “This is a truly tragic case. The relevant facts alleged in the complaint are as follows. On August 28, 1999, Jennifer Rivera, a 15-year old girl, witnessed a murder committed behind her home. At the request of a Providence police officer, Jennifer signed a statement and, later, identified Charles Pona as someone that she saw running from the murder scene.”
“On March 1, 2000, Pona was indicted for murder and later released on bail. On May 15, 2000, White and Page [prosecutors in Whitehouse's office of Attorney General] caused a subpoena to be issued directing Jennifer to appear as a witness in Pona's trial. Two days later, Jennifer, again, expressed concern to representatives of the [Whitehouse’s] Attorney General's office about the death threats she had received. They, again, promised Jennifer that she would be safe; but, on May 21, 2000, Pona shot Jennifer to death in front of her home.”
Torres issued the ruling in 2004.
Since the Rivera murder, the RI Fraternal Order of Police has consistently endorsed Whitehouse's opponents -- most recently, GOP challenger Robert Flanders in 2018.
Whitehouse and Kushner Worked Together on First-Step Act
As GoLocal report in 2017, Whitehouse was reportedly among a bipartisan group of members of Congress who dined at Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump's house in the Kalorama neighborhood in Washington, D.C.
Jonathan Swan for Axios reported the following:
Jared and Ivanka have been working with the White House Office of Legislative Affairs to host dinners with Democratic and Republican members of Congress at their home in the upscale D.C. neighborhood of Kalorama. The dinners, which have been going on for months but have been ramping up more recently, have focused on a range of policy issues, and have yet to result in any substantive leaks.
According to a Whitehouse press release, "Whitehouse met with a range of stakeholders in Rhode Island and nationwide in crafting the legislation. Among those meetings was a dinner with President Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, who have been working on the bill."
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