USEC IM USA Edition

Nathan Dunlap Reprieve: Hickenlooper’s Decision To Block Execution Sharply Criticized

ollado — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:05:56 +0000

By DAN ELLIOTT AP

DENVER — Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper’s decision to block the execution of convicted killer Nathan Dunlap for as long as he is governor infuriated victims’ relatives and drew quick criticism from Republicans ahead of the 2014 election.

Hickenlooper on Wednesday granted an indefinite reprieve to Dunlap, who is on death row for the ambush slayings of four people – three teenagers and a 50-year-old mother – in an Aurora Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in 1993.

The reprieve essentially guarantees Dunlap, 38, will stay alive at least through Jan. 13, 2015, the last day of Hickenlooper’s first term.

“I think it’s highly unlikely that I will revisit it,” Hickenlooper said.

“We feel the governor has taken the cowardly way out,” said Marj Crowell, whose 19-year-old daughter, Sylvia Crowell, was killed. “They’re just hoping we’ll forget about this until we get the next governor.”

Hickenlooper is running for re-election next year, and Dunlap’s fate is certain to be a campaign issue.

Citing Hickenlooper’s decision, former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo – who ran as a third-party candidate in the last gubernatorial election – announced Thursday he will run again as a Republican.

Wednesday’s decision prompted unusually personal criticism.

“Hickenlooper should’ve been up front with voters when he ran for office if he could not carry out the death penalty,” GOP Attorney General John Suthers said in a statement.

“He’s made himself into Nathan Dunlap’s guardian angel,” said George Brauchler, the Republican district attorney in the office that prosecuted Dunlap. “He’s said, `As long as you keep me in office, Nathan Dunlap never has to face death.’”

“This is something we’ve seen consistently out of this governor,” said Rep. Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs, minority leader in the state’s lower house. “`I’m not going to make a decision.’”

Hickenlooper has an image as a pragmatic problem-solver, and he enjoyed bipartisan popularity until this year. But he has been forced to take a stand on an increasing number of divisive issues since his party won back the statehouse in November.

He signed sweeping gun control legislation and approved laws to help people who are in the country illegally and to establish civil unions for same-sex couples this year.

On the death penalty, Hickenlooper has appeared to be searching for a middle way.

In a December interview with The Associated Press, he said of repealing the death penalty: “I wrestle with this, right now, on a pretty much daily basis.”

Legislators this year considered a bill that would have ended the death penalty, but they dropped it when Hickenlooper sent word he might veto it.

In his reprieve order, Hickenlooper said the death penalty is used inconsistently across Colorado, and he cited problems in obtaining the drugs required for lethal injection, the execution method mandated by state law. He also said many states and nations are moving toward banning executions.

Dunlap, whose execution was scheduled for the week of Aug. 18, got only a reprieve, not the clemency he sought. Clemency would have removed the possibility of execution and changed his sentence to life without parole.

“Mr. Dunlap was grateful. His expressions of remorse were genuine. He is truly sad for what happened,” said Phil Cherner, one of his attorneys. “This is not a day to celebrate.”

Cherner has said Dunlap had undiagnosed bipolar disorder at the time of the crime, and that his attitude has changed since the state prison system began medicating him in 2006.

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Associated Press writers Nicholas Riccardi, Colleen Slevin, Catherine Tsai and Kristen Wyatt contributed to this report.

___

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Source: huffingtonpost.com

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Steve Powell, Missing Utah Mom Susan Powell’s Father-In-Law, Won’t Be Released From Prison

ollado — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:04:25 +0000

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The father-in-law of missing Utah mother Susan Powell won’t be released from prison Thursday, the Washington state Corrections Department said.

Steve Powell has been serving time on voyeurism charges for secretly recording images of young neighbor girls. He was sentenced in June 2012 to 2 1/2 years in prison.

May 23 was the earliest possible date Steve Powell could be released, based on sentence reductions he earned in prison for participating in programs and avoiding serious infractions, Corrections spokesman Chad Lewis said Wednesday.

To get out early, inmates must submit an acceptable release plan. Lewis said the state was still reviewing Powell’s proposed plan. If it’s approved, the state still requires 35 days to allow staff to notify victims and local law enforcement.

Police in Utah said this week they were closing the active part of the Susan Powell investigation and released their case file. She disappeared from her home in December 2009. Her husband, Josh Powell, was a focus of the investigation until he killed himself and the couple’s two children last year in an explosive house fire in Graham, Wash.

Investigators turned their attention to Josh Powell’s brother, Michael Powell, who, they now believe, helped Josh Powell dispose of Susan Powell’s body. Michael Powell committed suicide by jumping off a parking garage in Minneapolis three months ago.

Josh Powell and his two young sons moved into his father’s home in Puyallup, Wash., after Susan Powell’s disappearance.

Steve Powell had a sexual obsession with Susan Powell and thoroughly documented it in journals seized by police. Officers investigating her disappearance searched his home.

Police in Utah said Monday they do not believe Steve Powell was directly involved with Susan Powell’s disappearance but may know more about it than he has let on.

Police said both Steve Powell and Michael Powell were uncooperative in the investigation.

Source: huffingtonpost.com

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Eric Toth Hearing: Ex-Teacher Accused In Child Porn Case Due In Court

ollado — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:03:16 +0000

WASHINGTON — A former elementary school teacher who was on the FBI’s list of most wanted fugitives is due in federal court on a child pornography charge.

Eric Justin Toth is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Thursday afternoon in Washington.

He was arrested in Nicaragua last month after five years on the run. The FBI last year added him to its “Ten Most Wanted” list to try to drum up attention to the case.

In 2008, Toth was escorted from the campus of Beauvoir, an elementary school on the grounds of the National Cathedral, after another school employee reported finding images of child pornography on a school camera in Toth’s possession. He fled before he could be arrested.

Source: huffingtonpost.com

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Michael Bellah Rapes Ex-Girlfriend After 911 Operator Tells Her There Are No Police Available To Help

ollado — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:02:10 +0000

A woman was raped and assaulted by her ex-boyfriend because there were no cops on duty to answer her 911 plea for help.

“I don’t have anybody to send out there,” the operator said. “You know, obviously, if he comes inside the residence and assaults you, can you ask him to go away.”

Minutes later, court documents obtained by NPR said, Michael Bellah broke into the woman’s Josephine County, Ore., home and choked and sexually assaulted her.

Bellah later pleaded guilty to kidnapping, assault and sex abuse related to the August 2012 incident, according to Think Progress. The story is making headlines now because this week, Josephine County residents narrowly defeated a ballot measure that may have prevented tragedies like this one.

Think Progress reports that, because of steep budget cuts at the federal and county level, “deputies are only available eight hours a day, Monday through Friday. The woman’s desperate call came on a Saturday. The county dispatcher transferred her call to state police, but at the time of the crime, there were no state troopers available to help.”

The ballot measure voted down on Tuesday would have “raised county property taxes from 59 cents per $1,000 of property value, the lowest in Oregon, to $1.48 for the next three years,” according to Think Progress. The extra funds would have been used to bolster law enforcement resources in the county, which were slashed after a federal timber subsidy expired.

Les Monk, who runs a convenience store outside Grants Pass, explained to OPB.org why he wouldn’t vote for the tax increase.

“Things are no worse or better now than they were when they were fully funded,” Monk said. “People have to understand you will, and are able, to defend your property.”

Source: huffingtonpost.com

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Teen Brother Arrested After 2 Utah Boys, Ages 4 And 10, Found Dead

ollado — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:00:51 +0000

By PAUL FOY AP

WEST POINT, Utah — A teenager was arrested Thursday in the deaths of his two younger brothers, ages 4 and 10, at the family home in a Salt Lake City subdivision of new homes and tidy lawns, police said.

Davis County Sheriff Todd Richardson said authorities believe the boys died from knife wounds. It appears the 15-year-old boy acted alone, he said.

“As result of the emerging details, the 15-year-old juvenile has officially been taken into custody,” Richardson said. Formal charges have yet to be filed.

The Associated Press is wiithholding the name of the boy because of his age.

The bodies of the brothers were found Wednesday night at the home in West Point, about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City.

Police said the boys had been left with their older brother while their mother took her other children to a dance recital.

Richardson didn’t take questions at the news conference and offered only scant details. He said the mother found her 4-year-old dead on the floor and called 911.

She thought both her 10-year-old and 15-year-old were missing, but police discovered the body of the 10-year-old while searching the house.

Police found the 15-year-old shortly before midnight. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation. Police declined to comment on his mental status.

The boys’ father is active duty military and has been deployed in another state for some time.

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Information from: KSL-TV

Source: huffingtonpost.com

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Jodi Arias Jury Deadlock: Judge Orders Jury Back To Deliberations Room

ollado — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:59:30 +0000

David LohrDeadlocked jurors return to the deliberations room Thursday after Judge Sherry Stephens told them to keep trying to reach a unanimous decision to the final question in the Jodi Arias trial: Should she get life in prison or the death penalty.

On Wednesday, the eight-man, four-woman panel notified Judge Stephens that they were stuck. They were called into the courtroom, where she offered some suggestions.

“You may want to identify areas of agreement and disagreement and discuss the law and the evidence as they relate to the areas of disagreement. If you still disagree, you may wish to tell the attorneys and me which issues, questions, law or facts you would like us to assist you with,” Stephens said.

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Under Arizona law, a hung jury in the death penalty phase of a trial requires a new jury to be seated to decide the punishment. If the second jury cannot reach a unanimous decision, the judge would then sentence Arias to spend her entire life in prison or be eligible for release after 25 years.In the event of a hung jury in the Arias trial, the case could drag on for several more months, said former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley.

“If that happens, this jury would be dismissed and a second jury would be impaneled, and you’d literally have to go through the whole case again,” Romley said, adding the murder conviction would stand and the new panel would be considering only the sentence.

However, the new jury would have to review evidence and hear opening statements, closing arguments and witness testimony in a “Cliffs Notes” version of the trial, Romley said.

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF TRAVIS ALEXANDER

Romley also noted that if the current jury deadlocks, the prosecutor could decide to take the death penalty off the table. If that happens, the judge would determine whether Arias spends her entire life in prison or is eligible for release after 25 years.

The judge cannot sentence Arias to death.

Following her conviction last week, Arias told a local TV station that she preferred the death penalty. However, she said Tuesday night that she changed her mind after a tearful meeting with family members, realizing her death would only cause them more pain.

“I felt like by asking for death, it’s like asking for assisted suicide, and I didn’t want to do that to my family,” she told the AP.

Source: huffingtonpost.com

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Iowa kidnapping suspect probed in cousins’ deaths

ollado — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:57:05 +0000

Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa – An Iowa police chief says a dozen investigators are looking into whether the suspect in Monday’s kidnapping of two girls is connected to last year’s slaying of two cousins who vanished 90 miles away.

Authorities believe Michael Klunder kidnapped 15-year-old Kathlynn Shepard and her 12-year-old friend as they walked home from school. The 12-year-old was able to escape, but Kathynn is still missing.

Evansdale Police Chief Kent Smock said Thursday that investigators are now scrutinizing Klunder in connection with the deaths of Lyric Cook and Elizabeth Collins because of similarities in the cases.

The cousins were 10 and 8 when they disappeared while riding bikes last July. Their bodies were discovered in December.

Smock says investigators are “exploring anything and everything” about Klunder, who was found dead earlier this week.

Source: foxnews.com

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One child missing, one killed in Minnesota field trip landslide

ollado — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:55:26 +0000

By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News

Authorities continued their recovery efforts Thursday for a Minnesota child who remained missing after a gravel slide swept several children on a school fossil-hunting trip into a pit, killing one.

The fourth-graders from a St. Louis Park elementary school were hiking in Lilydale Regional Park on Wednesday when a steep slope soaked by rain gave way, authorities have said. Two trapped children were dug out by firefighters who clawed away gravel with their hands and shovels, they said.

“It appears they were walking along and the ground, after the rain we’ve had, was so soft and it gave way and they fell into what became a hole and the earth came on top of them,” St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard said at a news conference, according to NBC News affiliate KARE.

Scott Takushi / AP

An emergency worker attends to a person on a stretcher, being evacuated out of a rockslide site by helicopter, on the West Side of St. Paul, Wednesday, May 22, 2013.

One of the children pulled from the pit later died, and has not yet been identified by authorities. One child injured in the slide has been released from the hospital and another remains in serious condition, officials said on Thursday.

“The slide had fallen down on top of them,” Zaccard said. “One was partially buried, one was completely buried.”

The search for the missing student was suspended overnight as rescuers battled worsening conditions.

“Water is flowing right into the hole making it extremely dangerous for rescuers to work anymore,” Zaccard said. “We are working with our partners in Parks and Public Works to make the scene safe for what’s become a recovery effort for what might be a fourth victim.”

A man who identified himself as the missing child’s uncle said the student “liked geology,” according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.

“Thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the children and to our first responders who continue to deal with the situation as it develops,” said St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman.

Classes went on at Peter Hobart Elementary, where the students were from, on Thursday, district officials told KARE

“This is an incredibly sad time for our schools and our entire school community. Our hearts go out to the families, friends, and everyone touched by today’s accident,” St. Louis Park Public Schools Superintendent Debra Bowers said in a statement. “We, like everyone else, want to understand how this tragedy occurred, but today we ask for your continued thoughts and prayers for everyone involved.”

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Okla. funeral to be held for ‘precious’ 9-year-old who died with best friend

ollado — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:53:50 +0000

By Alastair Jamieson, Staff writer, NBC News

A nine-year-old girl killed by the Oklahoma tornado will be laid to rest Thursday with her family taking comfort in the belief that she was with her best friend when she died.

Antonia Candelaria is one of seven children who perished at the Plaza Towers elementary school in Moore, Okla. Her closest friend, fellow third-grader Emily Conatzer, was with her — a source of solace for her parents.

‘I know Tonia and Emily were together and holding hands and taking care of each other,” Antonia’s mother said after learning of her daughter’s death, according to Moore Schools Superintendent Susan Pierce.

Antonia’s funeral is the first of three to be held in the next two days for children who died in Monday’s storm, which claimed a total of 24 lives and damaged or destroyed 13,000 homes in the Oklahoma City suburb.

“She was a beautiful young lady on the inside and out,” said an obituary for Antonia published in The Oklahoman newspaper. “She had her own most special and beautiful way of looking at the world. She could find the positive, good and joy in everything.”

Tannen Maury / EPA

A monster tornado hit Moore, Okla., Monday afternoon, leaving at least 24 dead.

Nicknamed “Ladybug,” she was “specially gifted in art as well as music” and “loved to draw, paint, color and make crafts,” the obituary said.

“We will miss our precious little Ladybug everyday but will rejoice for the day we will be reunited with her again someday,” it added.

Authorities said Thursday they believe everyone who was missing after the twister has been tracked down and the death toll will stand at 24, including 10 children.

The victims include a mother who sought shelter in a 7-Eleven that collapsed, killing both her and her four-month-old son, and two sisters who were torn from their mother as she huddled with them in a bathtub.

Laurinda Vargyas, 30, told the Oklahoman that she was flopped around and when she landed, 4-year-old Karrina and 7-month-old Sydnee were gone.

She found the baby in a driveway, “just laying there helpless.”

“All I could do was sit there and hold her. She was already gone. They say she didn’t suffer. So I’ve got to find peace with that,” she told the newspaper.

Karrina’s body was found later in the rubble of a neighbor’s house. Varygas and her husband have two older children who were not harmed.

Beyond the human cost, the damage from Monday’s EF-5 tornado could top $2 billion, officials said late Wednesday as the focus shifted to huge task of clearing mile upon mile of of debris.

Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis said Wednesday he would propose an ordinance in the next couple of days to require all new homes to have storm shelters.

NBC News’ Tracy Connor and Kate Snow contributed to this report.

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JODI ARIAS DEATH PENALTY VERDICT WATCH: Jurors Mull Life vs. Death

ollado — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:43:34 +0000

David Lohr

Jodi Arias pleaded for her life Tuesday, two weeks after proclaiming that she would prefer the death penalty over spending the rest of her days in prison.

Why the change of heart? Arias told The Associated Press that her family influenced her decision.

“I felt like by asking for death, it’s like asking for assisted suicide and I didn’t want to do that to my family,” Arias said in a surprise jailhouse interview just hours after a jury began deliberating her fate.

Arias repeated many of her past claims and testimony to the AP. However, she did insist she was against having cameras in the courtroom for her murder trial.

“The prosecutor has accused me of wanting to be famous, which is not true,” she said.

Arias has been convicted of first-degree murder in the slaying of her ex-lover, 30-year-old Travis Alexander. Arias stabbed Alexander nearly 30 times, shot him in the head and cut his throat from ear to ear in his Mesa home on June 4, 2008.

The jury heard 19 weeks of testimony and closing arguments in the case before reaching their guilty verdict on May 8.

The defendant, dressed in black on Tuesday, pleaded with the jury to spare her life. She referenced a statement she made to the media on May 8, that she would prefer the death penalty.

“I’ve made many statements I would prefer the death penalty over life in prison … To me, life in prison was the most unappealing outcome … but as I stand here now, I can’t in good conscious ask you to give me death,” Arias said.

Arias told the AP she changed her mind after a tearful meeting with family members. She said she realized her death would only serve to cause her loved ones additional heartache.

The Jodi Arias jury returns to court Wednesday for Day 2 of deliberations in the penalty phase of her capital murder trial.

The eight-man, four-woman panel, concluded their first hour of deliberations at about 7:30 p.m., Tuesday.

Deliberations resume at 1 p.m. Eastern time.

The jury will decide if Arias, 32, gets the death penalty or life imprisonment.

Source: huffingtonpost.com

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USEC IM USA Edition

Nathan Dunlap Reprieve: Hickenlooper’s Decision To Block Execution Sharply Criticized

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Eric Toth Hearing: Ex-Teacher Accused In Child Porn Case Due In Court

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