Software Developed By Six Convicted Businessmen Is Critical To The War On Terror, Says Advocacy Group, A Just Cause
Denver, Colorado (PRWEB) September 03, 2013
Advocacy group, A Just Cause, continues its investigation of the
wrongful prosecution and conviction of six executives of a
Colorado-based company, IRP Solutions Corporation. The advocacy
organization believes that the federal government's efforts to track
terrorist organizations and collaborate with other agencies in the war
on terror could be resolved with software developed by the now-jailed
CEO and former executives of this small minority-owned software company.Efforts to track terrorist activities was brought to the forefront with the 9/11 Commission Report. The 9/11 Commission Report states, “The FBI did not have the capability to link the collective knowledge of agents in the field to national priorities.” The report further stated, “The FAA’s capabilities to take aggressive, anticipatory security measures were especially weak.” (National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, August 2004, http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/).
The 9/11 Commission analysis stated, “The FBI did not have an adequate mechanism for validating source reporting, nor did it have a system for adequately tracking and sharing source reporting, either internally or externally.” (National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, August 2004, http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/).
“We have found that the software developed by IRP Solutions (Case Investigative Life Cycle – CILC) meets or exceeds many of the requirements called out by the 9/11 Commission, as well as what is suggested as best practices by the National Institute of Justice”, says Sam Thurman, A Just Cause. “In fact, the CILC software made such a splash in the market that it was referenced in the 8th Edition of “Criminal Investigation”, a textbook written by Wayne Bennett and Karen Hess”, adds Thurman.
According to the 8th Edition of “Criminal Investigation” (Bennett and Hess 2007), “It (CILC) organizes major investigations by the three common investigative phases: initial, follow-up and prosecution. . . . The software meets standards described in the National Institute of Justice tract, “Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for Law Enforcement,” which has best practices guidelines that include handling evidence, interviews, searches and crime scene security. Starting with an initial investigation, CILC lets investigators organize incident, crime scene, witness, evidence and responder information. It then follows investigators through follow-up stages, including evidence analysis, a case-related calendar and “categorized suspect and non-suspect interview tracking.” Finally, CILC’s prosecution phase helps both investigators and prosecutors prepare for court using its calendar, witness and jury information, and discovery log. At all stages of the investigation, CILC allows investigators to generate waiver, press release and search warrant forms. (Criminal Investigation, Bennett and Hess, 2007, Thomson Wadsworth)
“According to government executives, the federal government has tried and failed a couple of times to develop software that would do what The 9/11 Commission mandated. Based on forensic evidence presented during the IRP6 trial, we believe that IRP's CILC software is designed will fulfill the government's requirements”, says Thurman. (Califorensics Analysis, Case 1:09-cr-00266-CMA Document 298-2, 10/8/10 USDC Colorado)
Jack Israel, former Chief Technology Officer of the FBI, in a 2012 interview with Fierce Government IT discussed the challenges and failures of the Sentinel project. In 2005, the FBI launched the Sentinel project to modernize their case management system after failure of the $400 million Virtual Case File project by SAIC in 2004. Lockheed Martin was awarded the Sentinel Contract which ended up costing taxpayers another $825 million. The Sentinel project "started unraveling" when the bureau tried to "build...an independent electronic case management system", says Israel. (http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/qa-jack-israel-fbi-sentinel-and-federal-it-development-shortcomings/2012-07-01)
"In reviewing the 9/11 Commission Report, we believe that CILC provides answers to all the areas Jack Israel identified as problems for Sentinel: big data management and state of the art search capabilities, secure and selective information sharing, electronic records management secured by digital signatures and certificates, the ability to rapidly duplicate the look and feel of paper documents on a web form tied to a database and integrated with workflow, capability to automatically generate tasks and provide notification of new tasks, SOA capability through web services implemented for selected program functions and rapid prototyping support", says Gary Walker, CEO IRP Solutions Corporation. "Israel put it perfectly when he said, ‘Prototyping was something that we (the government) should have done at the beginning of Sentinel’", added Walker.
"I am 100% confident that CILC can immediately help the FBI resolve the case management challenges identified by Jack Israel. "CILC was designed to be able to do what no other investigative software in the world could - morph itself to work within the process of any law enforcement agency", concludes Walker.
Court records (Ct. No. 1:09-CR-00266-CMA) show that during the trial of the IRP executives, software forensics expert Don Vilfer of Califorensics analyzed the CILC software. According to the analysis conducted by Califorensics, “The software (CILC) contained many notable features, making it a functional product for the intended consumer,” (Califorensics Analysis, Case 1:09-cr-00266-CMA Document 298-2, 10/8/10 USDC Colorado). Court records also show that the report stated, “No one software application would meet the needs of all agencies, but the functionality that we observed in our review of the CILC software would undoubtedly be of interest to many law enforcement agencies.” (Califorensics Analysis, Case 1:09-cr-00266-CMA Document 298-2, 10/8/10 USDC Colorado)
“A Just Cause is troubled by the outcome of the IRP 6 case”, says Thurman. “That's why we continue to push for them during this appeals process. Evidence of the validity of the CILC software, as well as other key testimony were not allowed during trial, which we are convinced had it been allowed the IRP 6 would have proven their innocence and won their case”, adds Thurman.
Court records (Ct. No. 1:09-CR-00266-CMA) show expert witnesses for the defense were not allowed to testify during trial. Andrew Albarelle, Principal Executive Officer of Remy Corporation, a Denver-based staffing company, took the stand to testify on behalf of the defendants, but Judge Arguello dismissed Mr. Albarelle. Court transcript shows that Mr. Albarelle was not allowed to testify with the judge citing that the prosecution was not notified in a timely manner about his qualification and testimony. Kelli Baucom, a Denver-based recruiter, was also not allowed to testify as an expert witness on behalf of the defendants based on the same ruling of timeliness of notification. Court records show that Albarelle stated in a letter to U.S. Attorney Walsh (Denver), "I ask that this case be dismissed without prejudice as in review we see no activities outside the normal activities of operating a staffing firm." (Discover: Albarelle Letter, Ct. No. 1:09-CR-00266-CMA).
Court records show that the IRP 6 submitted a proffer to U.S. Attorney Walsh outlining evidence of their defense (D. Ct. No. 1:09-CR-00266-CMA). “After reviewing court documents, A Just Cause feels that the proffer that the IRP 6 submitted was also strong evidence of innocence for the IRP6”, says Thurman. “Court records show that the IRP 6 signed statements indicating acceptance of penalties if they made any false statements in the proffer. No false statements were found to have been made in the proffer, so we are puzzled that this case went as far as it did”, concludes Thurman
Court records show that during jury deliberations the jurors asked if there was additional evidence to be reviewed. According to court transcripts the jury was instructed that all evidence had been presented (D. Ct. No. 1:09-CR-00266-CMA). "If the jury had been given the opportunity to view the letter from Albarelle, it could have been a very different outcome," says Thurman.
The IRP6 case concerns an African-American company (IRP Solutions Corporation) in Colorado that developed criminal investigations software for federal, state and local law enforcement. The IRP6 were convicted in 2011 after fighting the U.S. Government pro se at trial and have been incarcerated at the Federal Prison Camp in Florence, Colorado since the summer of 2012. The IRP6 continue to maintain their innocence. (D. Ct. No. 1:09-CR-00266-CMA)
The case of IRP Solutions (IRP6 - Kendrick Barnes, Gary L. Walker, Demetrius K. Harper, Clinton A. Stewart, David A. Zirpolo and David A. Banks) is currently under appeal (US District Court for the District of Colorado, Honorable Christine M. Arguello, D. Ct. No. 1:09-CR-00266-CMA; Case Nos: NO. 11-1487, Case Nos. 11-1488, 11-1489, 11-1490, 11-1491 and 11-1492). For more information about the story of the IRP6 or for copies of the legal filings go to http://www.freetheirp6.org. Appellate Court panel includes the Honorable Senior Judge Bobby R. Baldock, Honorable Judge Harris L. Hartz, and Honorable Judge Jerome A. Holmes
Related press releases: http://www.a-justcause.com/#!press-releases/c21pq
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