MASKSFORDOCS, INMATE RELEASE AFTER ACQUITTAL, AND CSI THE TV SHOW - 085

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transcript:

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​This week on the Writer's Detective Bureau, Masks for Docs, Inmate Release after Acquittal and CSI, the TV show. I'm Adam Richardson and this is the Writer's Detective Bureau.

Welcome to episode number 85 of the Writer's Detective Bureau, the podcast dedicated to helping authors and screenwriters write professional quality crime-related fiction. If this is your first time listening to this podcast, this is the part where I'd normally give shout outs to my amazing Patreon patrons for supporting this show. I have a few different support tiers at 20, 10 and $2 per month and I love my patrons, but right now as the COVID-19 pandemic becomes a critical strain on the world's healthcare system. I'm donating 100% of the money I get from my Patreon patrons to an organization called Masks for Docs. I'm sure you've heard the stories of frontline healthcare workers having insufficient PPE supplies. Heck, the N-95 masks I've been using at work were ones I bought a couple of years ago at CVS during the wildfires that we had here in California. But when it comes to personal protection equipment, the situation really is dire, especially because on a global scale we're starting to see countries horde PPE and medical supplies for their own citizens, sometimes blocking exports of those supplies, which I can understand, but it puts us in the United States in a precarious position.

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​Over the last several decades, the US has been largely unable to compete with overseas manufacturing prices, so American factories have folded and entire cities and towns crumble across the country as a result. And that's true for most physical products, not just medical supplies and PPE, but Masks for Docs is addressing the PPE shortage head on. They have one goal, get protective supplies into the hands of healthcare workers as quickly as possible. If you have supplies, you can donate them. If you are a maker or have a 3D printer, you can fabricate them. Or in my case, if you have the money that can be donated, that always helps to.
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Conversely, if you are on the medical front lines and are in need of PPE, Masks for Docs, we'll get you matched with supplies. Masks for Docs are a community of volunteers from around the world, from the tech, business, design and nonprofit community and as it says on their guiding principles page, anything donated is given away, period. You can learn about this initiative by going to masksfordocs.com. Groups like this should give us hope. We are smart, strong, capable and kind. We will get through this by stepping up and doing what we can.

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This week's first question comes from Rob Kerns and you can find his work at knightsfall.press and that's knight like knight takes king, checkmate. Rob writes, "Firstly, I want to thank you for all you do, both for the author and writer community as well as people in general as a police officer. I've been an avid subscriber of your podcast since I discovered you through your interview on Joanna Penn's podcast." Thanks, Rob, I appreciate that. "My question relates to the outcome of a trial. Here's the scenario. A person is arrested for a crime for the sake of conversation, let's say murder, and is remanded to custody while awaiting and during trial. During trial, the person is allowed to attend court in regular clothes, not a jail jumpsuit or uniform, and the jury acquits the person of the crime. As the defendant is standing there in the courtroom wearing a suit, will he or she be taken back into custody and returned to the jail to be processed out or will the defendant just have to appear there within a certain amount of time to fill out the paperwork and such? Thanks again regards, Rob."

Excellent question, Rob, and thank you for the kind words. The defendant will have to return to the jail to be processed out, but it would happen in a pretty short amount of time. Usually within just a few hours. When the defendants are in court for trial and they are wearing a suit, they're often wearing some sort of hindrance that will prevent them from escaping easily underneath their suit. So normally during the trial, the defendant is brought into the courtroom before the jury...                                                                                                Continue reading...