There was an emotional and dangerous moment in court last week when Van Terry faced the murderer of his daughter Shirellda Terry. Terry was giving his victim statement when his understandable emotions took over and he leapt over the table to attack Michael Madison, as captured on videotape.
Continue reading “Ohio Father Attacks Serial Killer After He Grins During Victim Impact Statement”
This is Erick A. Cox, 32, who was arrested for burying his boss with a bulldozer. Known as “Pork Chop,” Cox took this action after arguing this his 57-year-old boss at the construction site of a new Walmart in DeBary, Florida.
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Man Was Charged With?”
For those supporting the British exit from the European Union, a new video could not come at a better time. EU critics have argued that Britain is being ruled by five “presidents” that no one can name and Brits have little voice in selecting. As if on cue, one of those five –Luxembourgish politician Jean-Claude Juncker — appeared in public in what appears to be an inebriated state — even playfully slapping people.
Continue reading “President of EU Commission Caught Apparently Drunk in Public Event”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor.
There was an interesting case last month before the Washington Supreme Court where the court was asked to determine the admissibility of evidence obtained during the defendants’ booking process related to criminal street gang affiliation.
Defendants in the case, Ricardo Juarez Deleon, Anthony Deleon, and Octavio Robledo moved to suppress evidence gathered by the state obtained through questions relating to the alleged involvement in gang activity while in the furtherance of a crime, a sentencing enhancement and a status in of itself that can be in violation of law or subject a defendant to revocation of probation and other court imposed restrictions.
A legitimate state purpose exists in asking arrestees if they are gang-affiliated or have hostility toward other inmates for the purpose of order and the safety of staff and the inmate population. It is well known that members of rival gangs housed together lead to a probability of fighting and disruption. A question remains if an arrestee should a choice between answering that they are gang-affiliated to secure a protection through separate housing and remaining silent and face retaliation from other inmates. The petitioners argue this constitutes duress where they are unlawfully required to make incriminating statements to protect their safety.
By Darren Smith, Weekend contributor
An environmental advocacy group alleges that a Seattle recycling company disposed of electronics in overseas nations without following contractually mandated recycling practices. Seattle based “Total Reclaim” now faces investigation by the Washington State Department of Ecology and the potential loss of state contracts.
Environment NGO “Basel Action Network” initiated a two-year investigation of recycling methods by using, among others things, GPS transponders in two hundred devices hidden in recycled items dropped off at recycling locations throughout the United States. BAN then tracked the devices to record their migration and if the material did in-fact arrive at large recycling locations.
Reportedly thirty percent of electronic recyclables instead arrived in foreign nations such as Kenya, Hong Kong and Mexico; locations having questionable environmental practices.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
The standard for which Marijuana Impairment presumptive levels in DUI prosecutions are likely to be under scrutiny due to what some are regarding as unproven scientific evidence. Presumptive impairment levels for THC concentration in blood samples might not satisfy legal requirements from an actual driving impairment perspective. They could in-fact be regarded arbitrary and not scientifically supported.
States do have the legal authority to establish presumptive impairment levels, that is a measurable quantity of a substance sufficient to establish an element of DUI. In fact while the present presumptive alcohol level in the United States for ordinary drivers is .08, states have established .04 for commercial vehicle driving and some states have .02 for those under twenty one years of age who violate analog status offenses that do not define impairment as an element.
Now, the American Automobile Association’s Foundation for Traffic Safety cited a study that differences between individuals can be wide and greatly varied regarding impairment at a set blood THC level. While some drivers show obvious signs of impairment at low levels of THC blood concentration, other persons can have greatly elevated readings and show no outward appearance of signs of DUI.
The famed Denali National Park and Preserve wolf pack is now down to one lone wolf after a hunter killed her mate when he wandered just outside of the park. Now, rangers are hoping that the lone black female will have pups, but environmentalists are again calling for the end of wolf hunting, particularly just outside of the park. She is all that remains of the East Fork pack. Last year, hunters legally killed a pregnant female and a male. It is incredible that hunting is allowed around such a dwindling and important population, but global calls for the state to curtail hunting outside of the park have been rebuffed.
Continue reading “Famed Denali Wolf Pack Down To Lone Wolf After Hunter Kills Gray Male”
The academic world lost a gifted member in the murder of UCLA professor William Klug, who was gunned down by a former student Mainak Sarkar, 38. Sarkar is a former doctoral student that Klug mentored and was upset about his grades, according to police. Sarkar left what is described as a “kill list” that led police to the body of a Minnesota woman who was gunned down in her home. The list included another professor’s name, but thankfully that professor was not hurt.
Continue reading “UCLA Professor Killed By Former Doctoral Student”
The former information technology adviser to Hillary Clinton is reportedly intending to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at a deposition next week in answering questions about Clinton’s decision to use an unsecure personal server exclusively in her communications as Secretary of State. Bryan Pagliano made the disclosure in a court filing where he also sought to prevent the videotaping of his invocation of the privilege against self-incrimination.
Continue reading “Former Clinton IT Advisor To Take The Fifth In Deposition On Email Scandal”
You may recall the controversy of a press conference at the State Department was later edited to remove an embarrassing question and answer regarding the Iran negotiations. When the exchange with Fox New Reporter James Rosen was found missing, Elizabeth Trudeau, director of the press office insisted that “Genuinely, we think it was a glitch.” Now, the State Department is admitting that it was not a glitch but an intentional editing of the transcript to remove the exchange. However, State Department spokesman John Kirby insists that they cannot determine who ordered the deletion.
We have been discussing the rollback of free speech on university and college campuses, particularly when it comes to conservatives or right-to-life advocates. As discussed recently, conservative speaker Milo Yiannopoulous has been the target of some of the most egregious effort to silence certain speakers and prevent other students from hearing opposing views. The latest such protest was held at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). After protesters blocked fellow students and faculty from entering to hear Yiannopoulous, campus police found an alternative avenue for the audience. However, a bomb threat was later called in and the room cleared by police. Once again, there does not appear to be outrage at the effort of students to block access to such speeches for other students and the denial of free speech on campus. I have no problem with protests but preventing speakers from being heard runs against the core values of an academic community.
I was on NPR yesterday on the Diane Rehm Show to discuss the Clinton email scandal. Appearing on the show was Brian Fallon, spokesperson for Hillary Clinton, who offered a new and rather implausible spin on the worsening scandal. Fallon said that Clinton was relying on her knowledge that Colin Powell used a personal email account as the reason that she thought her server was approved.
Continue reading “Clinton Offers New Explanation For Email Scandal”
The Louisiana Supreme Court has issued an interesting ruling for a new trial for two medical malpractice plaintiffs due to the conduct of Judge Timothy Ellender — conduct described as “bizarre and disturbing.” This is not the first such finding of improper conduct by Ellender, though there was a dissent based on the evidence cited for this conduct in the medical malpractice trial.
Continue reading “New Trial Ordered in Louisiana Due To Judge’s “Bizarre and Disturbing” Conduct”
If you answered the earlier mugshot challenge correctly, you are a genius. If you answer this one, you are a God. This is Colin Murphy, 23, who was arrested at a Kroger store in Cincinnati after stripping naked (apparently a trend this week) and defecated on a self-checkout scanner. I assume that folks moved to the next counter for a while.
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Man Was Charged With?”
Ok, this one is a tad unfair. If you answer running naked down a trail wearing nothing but several bells hanging from his genitals, you are a criminal studies genius and should immediately apply to the Federal Bureau of Investigations. It certainly brings a new meeting to saying “I will be there with bells on.”
Continue reading “Can You Guess What This Man Was Charged With?”