Stephen Jordi Indicted in Bomb Plot
MIAMI - A man accused of plotting to blow up abortion clinics was indicted on three charges Tuesday by a federal grand jury. Federal prosecutors have said 35-year-old Stephen John Jordi was plotting to firebomb abortion clinics, apostate churches and gay bars across the Eastern United States and was on the brink of carrying out his plans when he was arrested Nov. 11. He was indicted on charges of attempted arson, distribution of information on explosives and possession of an unregistered firearm - a silencer. He is scheduled to be arraigned today. If convicted as indicted, Jordi faces up to 20 years in jail on each the first two counts, 10 years in jail on the third and as much as $250,000 in fines on each charge.
(Check out this headline):
Accused Abortion Bomber To Court
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The Florida man accused of trying to attack abortion clinics is expected to enter a plea today. Police say Stephen Jordi was plotting to firebomb abortion clinics across the East Coast. He could face up to thirty years in jail, if convicted. We'll continue to follow this story for you on First Coast News.
Unabomber Lawyer Joins Rudolph Team
A lawyer with more than 25 years of experience, who represented unabomber Ted Kaczynski and other high profile defendants accused of capital crimes, has been added to Eric Robert Rudolph's defense team. U.S. District Judge C. Lynwood Smith Jr. on Monday appointed Judy Clarke, who is employed by Federal Defenders of San Diego Inc. to assist Birmingham lawyers Richard Jaffe and William Bowen in defending Rudolph. Rudolph is charged in the Jan. 29, 1998, bombing at the New Woman All Women Health Care Clinic that killed a Birmingham police officer and wounded a clinic nurse.Court records show Clarke has served as co-counsel for Susan Smith, who is serving life in prison for killing her toddler sons, and Kaczynski, sentenced to life for a series of bombings.
Prosecutor Charges Man With 'Fetal Homicide'
ABERDEEN, S.D. - A man accused of stabbing his pregnant girlfriend in the stomach and beating his sister will stay in jail on $500,000 bond, a judge ruled Monday. Sundance Medicinehorn Keeble, 24, of Aberdeen, is charged with fetal homicide, multiple counts of aggravated assault and simple assault. The Brown County prosecutor, Mark McNeary, said Keeble's 21-year-old girlfriend was four to five months pregnant and that the baby died after Friday's attack. The woman is still in the hospital. McNeary said he thinks Keeble stabbed her knowing she was pregnant.
Burt Trial Rescheduled
John Burt's trial on molestation charges has been delayed at least four months while attorneys attempt to arrange an interview with his teenage accuser in Northern Ireland. Circuit Judge Ron Swanson agreed Tuesday to send Burt, his lawyer and the prosecutor overseas at the state's expense to question the 16-year-old girl. He delayed jury selection scheduled for Dec. 15 until March 22. Burt, 65, is accused of improperly touching the girl, then 15, and writing her a note propositioning sex while she resided in a home for troubled girls he operated in Milton.
Testimony Set in Ireland for Abortion
Protester's Child Molestation Trial
MILTON, Fla. (AP) -- Testimony will be obtained in Northern Ireland for the child molestation trial an anti-abortion protester with ties to gunmen and bombers who attacked clinics in nearby Pensacola (which has absolutely nothing to do with this case), if the United Kingdom lets him go there. Circuit Judge Ron Swanson on Tuesday agreed to send defendant John Burt, his lawyer and a prosecutor overseas at state expense[?] to question the alleged victim, now 16. She was 15 when allegedly molested in June at a home for troubled girls that Burt runs in this Florida Panhandle city. The teen's father, who lives in South Florida, sent her to Northern Ireland after Burt's arrest. He has refused to let her return to testify at trial but has agreed she could be questioned in Belfast, said Assistant State Attorney Harmon Massey.
Pro-Lifers Win Injunction
Against Pro-Abort Officials
The injunction prohibits the Long Beach Unified School District, a high school principal, six Long Beach police officers and the city from arresting or otherwise interfering with the pro-lifers "holding signs, distributing literature, and discussing abortion with students and other present on the sidewalk adjoining Millikan High School during school dismissal periods." The decision arose out of a civil rights action filed by Dan McCullough, Eric Milton, Myh Vo, and Christine Reeves. On September 26, 2002, the four were holding signs and distributing literature on the public sidewalk in front of Millikan High School in Long Beach. The police told them they were trespassing because the sidewalk was considered school property and the principal didn't want them there.
Schiavo Asks Judge To Rule Without Trial
TAMPA, Fla. -- A husband battling Gov. Jeb Bush over the fate of the man's severely brain damaged wife is asking a circuit court judge rule to on the case now, rather than go through the process of a trial, an attorney said Tuesday. George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, also responded to the governor's defense of the new law which let him stop Terri Schiavo from dying, saying the explanation that government action was needed in the case has an "Orwellian ring."
A State's Motor Vehicle 'Bureaucrat' Rejects
Proposal For Choose-Life License Plate
TRENTON, N.J. -- The state has rejected an anti-abortion group's bid to produce special license plates featuring the slogan "Choose life" and a drawing of two smiling children. The New York-based Children First Foundation had raised $12,500 in donations to cover the application fee and submitted the names of 500 New Jersey residents it says would have put them on their vehicles. However, [Diane Legreide], chief administrator of the Motor Vehicle Commission, said the plates did not comply with state regulations. "This is not issue-based or based on my personal views." Legreide said Tuesday. If Planned Parenthood wanted plates that said 'Pro Choice,' I would have turned them down, too."
Judge Will Not Dismiss Charges in Baby’s Death
RICHLAND CENTER — A judge Tuesday refused to dismiss charges of reckless homicide and hiding a corpse against a woman accused of letting her newborn baby die and hiding the body in a storage bin.
But Richland County Circuit Judge Edward Leineweber put off ruling on prosecutors’ motion to admit evidence related an the earlier death of another infant prosecutors say Kristin Scott also secretly gave birth to and concealed in a storage bin. Dist. Atty. Andrew Sharp wanted to admit testimony that Scott covered up both pregnancies and drank as much as a 12-pack of beer a night while carrying the second child because she was planning to kill the baby or let it die to avoid the repercussions.
Pregnant Addicts Face Rise in Prosecutions
NEW YORK -- Stacey Gilligan is accused of drinking so much vodka during her eighth month of pregnancy that her baby was born drunk. Tayshea Aiwohi is charged with consuming such huge amounts of crystal meth while she was pregnant that her son died of methamphetamine poisoning two days after his birth. Regina McKnight was convicted of using so much cocaine during her pregnancy that her baby was stillborn. Across the country, prosecutors increasingly are leveling criminal charges against women who abuse drugs or alcohol while pregnant. The charges range from misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child to criminal homicide. At least two women who were convicted were sentenced to life in prison.
Man Accused of Torturing Pregnant Girlfriend
An Indianapolis man accused of torturing his pregnant girlfriend is due in court Wednesday. Michael Harney, 47, was arrested over the weekend and now the prosecutor has filed charges of attempted murder and rape against him. Last Thursday, 32-year-old Terina Gonzalez was found bound and beaten in an east side apartment. Gonzalez remains in the hospital. So far her unborn child is alive. The prosecutor also filed a charge of attempt feticide because the baby is not considered viable and therefore the charge cannot be attempt murder.
Father Accused Of Killing Infant Son
PLAIN CITY, Ohio -- A Madison County father is accused of killing his infant son. Ronald Stollings, 21, is charged with voluntary manslaughter in the death of his 2-month-old son, Devin. His bond was set Monday at $100,000. Prosecutors said Stollings has a violent history, including a recent domestic violence conviction. Prosecutors also are reviewing the voluntary manslaughter charge, as it could be changed to murder. Authorities said this was the first homicide in Plain City since the 1800s.
Man Threatened to Harm Mom's
Unborn Baby in Sexual Assault
A suspected smuggler held a gun to a pregnant woman's head Saturday and threatened to harm her unborn baby if she did not submit to sexual advances, according to court records. Jorge Luis Rodriguez-Rodriguez, 28, of Mexico, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and people smuggling, authorities said. Carol Capas, a Cochise County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman, said Rodriguez-Rodriguez is also a suspect in the attempted sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl.
Man Sentenced to Probation in Grandaughter's Death
A South San Francisco man whose granddaughter died in the back of a hot vehicle parked outside his Arroyo Drive home was spared jail time today by a San Mateo County Superior Court judge. Lonnie Sopko, 61, pleaded no contest to accidentally causing the death of his 5-month-old granddaughter Kiana Madeline Sopko on June 5, 2002. The infant was found dead in the back of a vehicle parked outside home, police said. San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Stephen Hall sentenced Sopko to three years probation and 750 hours of community service after suspending his involuntary manslaughter sentence. Investigators said Sopko was caring for the girl that day and at some point forgot that she was with him. Temperatures in South San Francisco soared to the mid-80s that Wednesday afternoon.
Dad Acquitted of Murder in Month-Old Baby's Death
A Lombard father who at first blamed a family dog for fatally injuring his month-old adopted daughter was acquitted late Tuesday of first-degree murder charges in the infant's death. But Bruce Keintz, 34, was convicted of a lesser, misdemeanor charge -- reckless conduct -- which carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail. Had Keintz been convicted of murder, he would have faced a minimum of 20 years in prison. A DuPage County jury deliberated more than seven hours Tuesday before rejecting prosecutors' claims that a frustrated Keintz killed his 5-pound 13-ounce daughter on Feb. 17, 2001, by violently shaking her when she wouldn't stop crying. Keintz and his wife had just brought home the adopted baby less than two weeks earlier. During Keintz's trial, two doctors called by prosecutors testified that the massive brain injuries Alexis suffered, along with hemorrhages she sustained in her eyes, indicated the infant had been forcefully shaken.
A Baby Killer is Convicted
Boulder Daily Camera (Bleeding heart editorial) -- Joseph E. Dowler committed child abuse resulting in death. He committed seven counts of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury. But he did not commit first-degree murder. So declared a jury of Dowler's peers on Monday. Dowler fractured the infant Tanner Dowler's ribs, broke both of the baby's arms, snapped both of the child's legs, and severely burned his feet. Having been judged a killer but not a murderer, Dowler, 35, faces a prison sentence of 16 to 272 years. He is scheduled to be sentenced in January. After the verdict on Monday, a television reporter asked a predictable but patently inane question: Is this justice?
Change of Venue Would Open up
Many Scenarios in Peterson Trial
Moving Scott Peterson's trial on double murder charges would be costly, but officials refused Monday to lay out estimates.
"It's expensive," Stanislaus County Chief Deputy District Attorney John Goold said. "It's expensive to take all the witnesses and all the law enforcement people and all the evidence to where we (would be) located." Peterson's attorneys have said they will file a motion to move the trial, contending that massive publicity has tainted the county jury pool against the Modesto fertilizer salesman.
Commercial Pressures Help Industries
Turn Off Our Moral Tap
History has shown that the world has not always been well served by scientific research that has been driven by commercial pressures... The apparent strategy of facilitating scientific debate in order to induce apathy so that persons will not negatively affect the commercial enterprise is common and very effective. Perhaps the most senseless commercial battle where this strategy is used is within the abortion industry. The abortion industry is build upon the assertion by scientists that the aborted material is merely tissue while it is clearly a baby. The last 20 years have seen a merciless slaughter of unimaginable proportions that makes slavery seem comparably tolerable. Yet we sit comfortably in the mist of the horrific torture and death, much as the Europeans did during slavery. The Europeans justified their apathy with the scientists’ conclusions – they are only savages. Our response is similar – it is only tissue.
Science of Genetics Evolving at Rapid Pace
Dr. David Wargowski, professor of clinical genetics and associate professor of pediatrics, spoke about the role genetics play in both the laboratory and in lives. "Genetic disorders affect people of all ages," he told the packed auditorium. "It is one area of science that has received public and media attention in recent years, but the challenge is in the application of the research and its social implications."
Baby Blood Samples Raise Privacy Concerns
A blood bank holding genetic material from 1.9 million people is giving an increasing number of samples to "third parties", figures show. The National Testing Centre in Auckland has been storing baby blood for 30 years and now has genetic material from half of all New Zealanders.
Spray-On Contraceptive Pill Under Trial
Australian women are to play a key role in the trial of a spray-on contraceptive. The Australian developed technology is designed to allow women to spray the contraceptive onto their skin where it absorbs into their bloodstream. Dr Andrew Humberstone says the spray is easy to apply. He says the timing of its use is less of a concern.
"At the moment you're required to take [some contraceptive pills] at a particular time each day and there's only a couple of hours leeway either side of that," he said. "The spray will be much more flexible. If you've got the dose in the morning for example you could probably apply it in the afternoon and there would be no problem."
Implant Trial Needs Men
Experts need men to test a new male contraceptive implant. The Edinburgh University team need volunteers for a year-long trial.
A hormone implant will fool men's bodies into switching off sperm production.
Male Contraceptive Implants 100% Effective in Tests
Trials of a male contraceptive which avoids regular injections have proved 100% effective in Scotland. The sperm count in a group of men dropped to the same levels achieved after a vasectomy within four months of starting the treatment.