Texas insanity law blasted after slaying of boy

Texas insanity law blastedafter slaying of boy
BEAUMONT, Texas -- A man who has been accused of killing a child years after being found insane in the death of his sister is the latest example of why Texas' insanity laws need to be changed, critics said Saturday.
Kenneth Lee Pierott, 27, remained jailed on suspicion of capital murder Saturday, a day after the body of his girlfriend's son was found in an oven. Tre-Devon Adams, who was either 5 or 6, had no visible injuries and the oven was not turned on, authorities have said. Autopsy results were expected Monday.
Pierott, whose sister had cerebral palsy and was beaten to death in 1996, was sent to a state hospital in 1998 after being found innocent by reason of insanity. He was released after less than a year of treatment.
Dianne Clements, president of the Houston-based victims rights group Justice For All, said the case shows that Texas' insanity laws need to be reformed. She thinks juries should have the option of finding someone "guilty, but insane," giving courts more power to keep offenders in custody.
Firefighters rescue workerfrom sewage tank
NEW YORK -- A junkyard worker fell into a fume-filled sewage tank and lost consciousness Saturday but was rescued by a firefighter lowered into the tank by a rope, authorities said.
The 19-year-old victim, whose name was not released, was revived at the scene and was listed in stable condition at a hospital.
The worker fell into the tank while working at the junkyard at about 8:30 a.m., said Fire Department spokesman Mike Loughran.
A Fire Department rescue unit, police and medical personnel used a rope to drop firefighter Dan Foley into the 10-foot-deep tank, Loughran said. Foley grabbed the man and they were both pulled out, he said.
Fire Department officials said they were unsure whether the tank was in use or if it was being junked.
Elections in Slovakia
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- A one-time ally of Slovakia's authoritarian ex-prime minister won a presidential runoff election, defeating his former mentor to lead the country into the European Union, preliminary results showed today.
With all but one district counted, lawyer Ivan Gasparovic beat Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar with 60 percent, or about 1 million, of the votes, the Central Election Commission said.
"I thank all who have helped me to reach this result," Gasparovic said at his election headquarters. "I hope that I will be able to show them my gratitude through my work."
Meciar, 61, is still remembered for his authoritarian leadership style, while Gasparovic, 63, is largely known for his former loyalty to Meciar.
President is a largely ceremonial post in Slovakia, a central European country of 5.4 million people, but the job has symbolic importance as the nation joins the EU on May 1.
Ready for Monday launch
BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan -- A spacecraft that will carry a new crew to the international space station was hoisted into launch position Saturday in preparation for the third manned mission to the orbital outpost since NASA's shuttle disaster sidelined the U.S. space fleet.
The 132-foot rocket topped by a Soyuz TMA-4 spacecraft was carefully rolled out of a hangar at the Baikonur cosmodrome and slowly drawn by rail to the launch site for manned space missions.
Police and two fire engines escorted the rocket on its two-hour journey. A sniffer dog ran ahead of the train checking the track for explosives.
Russian Cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, American astronaut Michael Fincke and Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers are to blast off Monday aboard the spacecraft on the third manned mission to the orbital outpost since the halt of the U.S. shuttle program following the February 2003 Columbia disaster.
Edwards wins in N.C.
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Sen. John Edwards won North Carolina's first-ever presidential caucus Saturday, a reward from faithful supporters looking to boost their senator's standing at the Democratic National Convention.
Unofficial results from all 100 counties gave Edwards 51 percent of the total vote among five candidates. Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive party nominee, was second at 27 percent.
Edwards stopped campaigning last month shortly before Kerry clinched the nomination, but many party members said they hoped a strong showing at home could make him more appealing as a potential vice presidential choice.
Democrats usually hold a presidential preference primary but it was scrapped this year because of litigation over legislative redistricting.
The ballot was set before Kerry sewed up the nomination and neither Kerry nor Edwards actively campaigned in the state.
Associated Press