Daily Rotten Archives January 7, 2005 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 Yates wins appeal, new trial ABC News | Submitted by: xdfgf "A three-judge panel of the First Court of Appeals in Houston has overturned Texas mother Andrea Yates' capital murder convictions for the 2001 slayings of three of her children and ordered a new trial. In its ruling, the panel cited false testimony by key prosecution witness, psychiatrist Park Dietz, who was the only psychiatrist who testified at trial... Experts agreed that Yates suffered from postpartum depression and schizophrenia, but defense and prosecution witnesses disagreed over how severe her illness was and whether it stopped her from knowing the difference between right and wrong." [Goddamned liberal Texas judges.] Read article... Train collision dumps poison gas, kills locals Wire Services | Submitted by: potheadpaul "Townspeople and night-shift workers at a textile mill heard the scrape of metal and a house-shaking boom. Then, in rolled a greenish-yellow fog that smelled powerfully like bleach, searing their eyes and lungs and making them cough and gasp... At least eight people died and more than 250 were sickened after a freight train carrying toxic chlorine gas crashed early Thursday in one of the nation's deadliest chemical spills in years. Authorities said all of the deaths appeared to have been caused by the plume of gas that settled over its victims in their homes, their cars and in the textile mill... The crash happened about 2:40 a.m. when a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying 42 cars struck a parked train at a crossing next to the textile plant, where 400 workers were on the night shift making denim and other fabrics. Five workers died at the mill. A man was found dead in a truck near the plant. The train engineer died at a hospital." Read article... Man somehow fails at chainsaw suicide News 24 South Africa | Submitted by: Burgermeister Meisterburger "A 32-year-old Czech tried to commit suicide by cutting his throat with a chain saw but survived after the machine missed his jugular artery and got stuck in his spine, a report said on Wednesday. This was his second suicide attempt, CTK news agency reported. He had earlier tried to hang himself from a tree branch but the branch snapped and he broke both legs in the fall, it said... His first suicide attempt came after his wife threatened to divorce him and take their daughter with her." Read article... Alleged KKK geezer arrested for 1964 murders Lubbock Avalanche-Journal | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "A reputed Ku Klux Klansman was arrested late Thursday on murder charges in the 1964 slayings of three voter-registration volunteers... [Sheriff Larry Myers] said [Edgar Ray Killen], a 79-year-old preacher, was being held on three counts of murder... until recently there has been little progress in building murder cases against those involved in the Ku Klux Klan slayings of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner." Read article... and This article... Mueller possibly lied to Congress MSNBC | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "Newly available documents have prompted some senators to question whether [FBI Director Robert Mueller] may have misled the Senate Judiciary Committee when he was questioned closely about [alleged torture at Guantanamo Bay] in an appearance last May. At least some of the internal FBI documents indicate that, for nearly a year prior to Mueller's testimony, top FBI officials were strongly objecting... Yet when Mueller appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 20, 2004, just a few weeks after the Abu Ghraib scandal had broke, he gave little hint of the concerns by his own agents... the new documents clearly suggest that the abuse of prisoners at Guantanamo was far worse than the government has ever publicly acknowledged." Read article... CIA report blames Tenet for 9-11 failures USA Today | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "A report from the CIA's independent investigator is expected to conclude officials at the highest level of the agency are to blame for pre-Sept. 11 intelligence lapses. The report by the CIA's inspector general, John Helgerson, which is nearly complete, concludes that senior leaders should be held accountable for failing to provide adequate resources for combating terrorism... Among those who receive the most pointed criticism in a draft version are former CIA Director George Tenet and former Deputy Director of Operations Jim Pavitt, both of whom resigned last summer." Read article... Pentagon forced to purchase foreign bullets Wire Services | Submitted by: jo666py "The United States is planning to buy hundreds of millions of bullets from Taiwan in the first such deal as its supplies are running low after wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, a report said. Citing Taiwanese military sources, the United Evening News said Washington had made the request to acquire some 300 million 5.56-millimeter bullets for rifles for an estimated $62.5 million... An unnamed general quoted by the paper said it would be the first time for Washington, Taiwan's leading arms supplier, to acquire arms from the island." Read article... Pundit paid $240K to endorse Bush policy USA Today | Submitted by: Jonny Plasma "The Bush administration paid a prominent black pundit $240,000 to promote the law on his nationally syndicated television show and to urge other black journalists to do the same. The campaign, part of an effort to promote No Child Left Behind (NCLB), required commentator Armstrong Williams 'to regularly comment on NCLB during the course of his broadcasts,' and to interview Education Secretary Rod Paige for TV and radio spots that aired during the show in 2004. Williams said Thursday he understands that critics could find the arrangement unethical, but 'I wanted to do it because it's something I believe in.' [Then why accept the $240,000?] The top Democrat on the House Education Committee, Rep. George Miller of California, called the contract 'a very questionable use of taxpayers' money' that is 'probably illegal.'" Read article... Preacher, wife charged with child molestation Myrtle Beach Sun News | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "A Darlington youth minister and his wife were arrested by Horry County police Wednesday after being charged with committing a lewd act on a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Richard N. Johnson, 34, and his wife, Natalie Johnson, 27, are being investigated for an incident that reportedly happened in 2001 in Myrtle Beach, police said. The victim, now 16, was 13 when the alleged incident occurred, police said." Read article... Middle school teacher allegedly fucked students KNSD-TV 7 San Diego | Submitted by: Darth Suffer "An Orange middle school teacher accused of having sexual contact with two 13-year-old boys who were former students was arraigned Thursday. Sarah Suzanne Bench-Salorio, 28, of Orange, was charged with 20 counts of lewd acts on a child under 14 years old. The suspect, who taught for two years at Santiago Charter Middle School, was arrested Tuesday, a day after one of the boys told his parents about the alleged contact with his former teacher, Sgt. Dave Hill said... The district attorney said Bench-Solorio seduced the students over dinner, and through e-mails and phone calls, during a series of months before the alleged sexual contact. An attorney for Bench-Solorio said she is 'embarrassed.'" Read article... Wal-Mart settles gun lawsuit Sacramento Bee | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "Wal-Mart Stores agreed to pay $14.5 million in fines and other costs to settle a state lawsuit over thousands of gun sales violations at California stores between 2000 and 2003... Wal-Mart agreed in April 2003 to suspend gun sales at its sporting goods counters in 114 California stores after the state documented hundreds of violations... A subsequent investigation by California Department of Justice officials uncovered 2,891 more violations between 2000 and 2003... State agents said the stores sold guns to 23 people who weren't allowed to possess them and delivered 36 more to customers who bought them for people not allowed to own guns. Other offenses included gun sales without background checks and failures to identify buyers through thumbprints and drivers license scans." Read article... Wal-Mart threatens to arrest photographer WJZ-TV 13 Baltimore | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "The appearance of a naked man outside the Hagerstown Wal-Mart led to not one, but two, exposure issues. First for the man, and then for the freelance photographer who snapped his picture. Store security officers wrapped the unidentified man in a blanket until police could escort him to a mental evaluation. That's when a security guard ordered photographer Duane Roy to hand over his camera, claiming Roy hadn't been authorized to take pictures. Roy refused, and a Wal-Mart spokeswoman tells a Hagerstown newspaper that he could be banned from the store or arrested for trespassing if he returns." [Brilliant PR move. Bravo.] Read article... Surgical instruments soaked in hydraulic fluid News and Observer | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "Two Duke University Health System hospitals in Durham and Raleigh have notified about 4,000 patients that they may have been operated on with surgical instruments that weren't properly cleaned... drums labeled 'detergent' actually contained a petroleum-based hydraulic fluid... The problem was discovered after hospital employees noticed that surgical instruments seemed unusually slick and oily... The health system has determined that a Durham elevator company, Automatic Elevator, emptied hydraulic fluid into several empty detergent drums while performing maintenance." Read article... Man sues Fear Factor over rat entree Wire Services | Submitted by: Howard Sterns Balls "Watching contestants eat dead rats on NBC's gross-out stunt show Fear Factor so disgusted a Cleveland man that he has sued NBC for $2.5 million, saying he could not stomach what he saw. In a handwritten four-page lawsuit filed in federal court in Cleveland on Tuesday, paralegal Austin Aitken said, 'To have the individuals on the show eat and drink dead rats was crazy and from a viewer's point of view made me throw-up as well an another in the house at the same time.' ... He said the show caused his blood pressure to rise so high that he became dizzy and light-headed, and when he ran away to his room, he bumped his head into the doorway. In a brief telephone interview with Reuters, Aitken said, 'I am not at liberty to discuss the complaint unless it is a paid-interview situation.'" Read article... Tourists secretly filmed fucking Borneo Bulletin | Submitted by: The Good Doctor "Sarawak police smashed a Kuching-based syndicate believed to be behind the production and distribution of pornographic VCDs in the state. Four persons, including the ringleader were arrested and 1,100 pornographic titles were seized. Initial investigation showed that the syndicate not only distributed foreign pornographic VCDs but also used hidden cameras to secretly film guests having sex in budget hotels in Sarawak." Read article... Whore snitches on john over alleged child porn CNN | Submitted by: Oobatz "A prostitute turned in a customer after seeing child pornography, including a video of an apparent toddler rape, on the man's home computer, police said. Detective Carlos Negron said police were contacted by the woman on Tuesday, saying that while working at the man's apartment as a prostitute she saw numerous pictures of children who appeared to be between ages 3 and 16 performing sex. The woman told police that it was a disturbing video that showed the rape of a younger child, perhaps no older than 2, that caused her to make the call... Negron said Federico Eduardo Amezaga, 29, let investigators search his apartment, where they found numerous photos and videos of children performing sex acts." Read article... Cop allegedly beats geezer, 85 Minneapolis Star Tribune | Submitted by: Oobatz "Despite calls from community leaders for discipline and criminal charges against the St. Paul police officer accused of beating an 85-year-old man, Police Chief John Harrington says that judging by what he has seen so far, he is standing behind officer Michael Lee... The chief's news conference Thursday came hours after three dozen people gathered at St. Paul's Martin Luther King Center to support Leon Nins, who says he was sprayed with a chemical irritant and beaten with a baton during an incident that began as a traffic stop for expired license tabs... Although Leon Nins denies provoking Lee in any way, the officer's report states that Nins was a combative man who swore, spit and elbowed Lee in the face, provoking the altercation." Read article... 18 sick dogs confiscated Kendallville News-Sun | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "18 frostbitten and malnourished dogs and one dead dog were found confined in outdoor kennels in the 2800 block of Mapes Road... [Deputy Christopher Moriarity] observed that the dogs were malnourished and one appeared to have a large tumor. 'A bunch of the dogs were walking around and laying in their own feces,' Moriarity said... The dogs may have been fed lard to make them look fat and healthy, which has rotted their teeth, according to the [animal shelter] worker." Read article... Special prosecutor named in brainsnatching case Portland Press Herald | Submitted by: Ed Wood "Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe has appointed a special prosecutor to direct the state's investigation of brain harvesting at the Medical Examiner's Office. The appointment of Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Murphy follows disclosures that members of Rowe's department had connections to the now-suspended program. Ninety-nine brains were sent to a Maryland lab that studies mental illness between 1999 and 2003, and numerous ethics and oversight problems have since been discovered." Read article... Security pro on trial for alleged teen sexchat Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "Ian Finlay of Shadyside, a former computer security expert at Carnegie Mellon University's CERT Internet policing center, told a Westmoreland County jury yesterday that he was baiting state police in the summer of 2003 when he solicited a 15-year-old Latrobe girl for sex in online chat rooms and e-mails. After exchanging more than 60 sometimes-explicit e-mails with a policeman posing as 'Kelly,' Finlay was arrested outside a McDonald's restaurant in Hempfield Aug. 22, 2003, where the 'couple' had agreed to meet for sex... Finlay, 28, said he knew police were then training at Edinboro University on how to pose as girls and nab child molesters who solicit youngsters for sex on the Internet. He decided to pull a prank on the police, he said. 'I always had a real dislike for cops,' he told the jury." [OK, but then why the rendezvous?] Read article... Baretta blamed wife's murder on pornographers BBC | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "Los Angeles police officer Sam Issa said [Robert Blake] told police he carried a gun to protect Bonny Lee Bakley. Mr Issa told Los Angeles Superior Court Mr Blake said he carried the gun after his wife had been 'shot at' in a previous incident in Arkansas... 'He said his wife was in the illegal porn business and she asked him to bring the gun.'" [Precisely what kind of illegal porn are we talking about here?] Read article... Specter promptly outclasses Hatch Las Vegas Sun | Submitted by: Reid Fleming "Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter opened his first hearing Thursday by allowing more criticism of the Bush administration than his predecessor... He permitted multiple rounds of questions - and criticism for the White House - from senators of both parties, while [Orrin Hatch] had usually allowed only one round at such hearings. Specter also agreed to let two law school professors and a human rights advocate testify against [Alberto Gonzales]. He questioned extending some of the police powers in the Patriot Act passed by Congress after the Sept. 11 attacks, particularly language requiring judges to issue warrants without making police or prosecutors justify them. 'Why can't we have that traditional probable cause requirement on the obtaining of those records?' asked Specter." [Excellent question.] Read article...