My favorite childhood story was about a herd of hippos that played hide n' seek. The baby hippo's best hiding place was on a ledge just above – though in plain view of – herd's elders, who never found baby because they never looked up. Obvious often means overlooked.

And so it is with jail overcrowding in Circle City. County jails lack space for everyone who's been arrested. Last year there were almost 2,000 emergency releases to free space.

Led by a group of mostly Republicans, including Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi and Superior Court judges Cale Bradford and William Young, there 's a move to greatly expand county's criminal justice budget, build another jail facility, expand or build a new juvenile center, elect more judges, and – if they get their way – build a brand new criminal-justice center with even more capacity to turn suspects into government prospects.

The more prospects they can harness and herd, more money taxpayers will give them.

Anyone who has watched Brizzi, Bradford or Young recently on Indianapolis television knows how callous they are toward accused. Young, who presides over county's drug court, says defendants are from 'a sludge pool." By his own count, he has personally released at least six people who have then murdered others.

Presiding Superior Court Judge Bradford chairs Marion County Criminal Justice Planning Council, which also includes Brizzi and Mayor Bart Peterson. The Council is preparing an expensive criminal justice wish list to present to City-County Council. At its January meeting, Bradford noted that county's newest jail facility, built in 1997 to handle main jail's overcrowding, was itself overcrowded.

This latest situation shows obvious, which again won't be discussed at next planning council meeting – that a new jail is not solution to latest bout of jail overcrowding. As experience shows us, a new jail will only be a standing invitation for politicians and judges to fill it.

Moazzam Begg from Sparkbrook has admitted that he did attend training camps in Afghanistan in 2001 in order to teach as a charity worker at a school. However, this was not first time that Begg had travelled abroad to war torn hot spots. He has openly admitted to supporting Chechnyan rebels which might raise some eyebrows and memories of Beslan.

Begg was seized in September 2001 by CIA. Whilst captive at Guantanamo Bay he signed a statement admitting to financial payments with possible connections to Al-Qaeda. His family claim that this is a case of mistaken identity. This statement could have been signed under duress. No access to legal representatives was allowed by US authorities who regard prisoners as detainees of a war against terrorism and therefore outside jurisdiction of normal USA law and rights.

After his arrest in Islamabad Begg was held at Bagram Airbase for about a year before his transfer to Guantanamo Bay where Begg claims he was treated badly and witnessed torture and two possible deaths whilst in captivity. Claims that he was tied up, a sack placed over his head and then kicked and beaten were made all more confusing by his statement claiming that US did not actually torture him personally.