Jury gives death penalty to convicted killer in La.

Jury gives death penaltyto convicted killer in La.
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Already sentenced to life in prison for one murder, Derrick Todd Lee faces execution for the beating and stabbing death of a 22-year-old woman after a jury rejected defense claims that he is mentally retarded.
The panel took a little more than 90 minutes Thursday night to decide on the death penalty for the suspected serial slayer.
As he was being taken from the courtroom, Lee held up the "V" sign for victory and shouted to his family, "God don't sleep. ... They don't wanna tell you about the DNA they took eight times," continuing his suggestions that law enforcement planted the DNA evidence that helped convict him.
Lee's mother and sister each shouted, "I love you," while the victims' family members gasped, cried and hugged each other in a courtroom packed with the relatives and more than a dozen deputy sheriffs.
Lee, 35, was convicted for the first-degree murder of Charlotte Murray Pace, who was raped and riddled with more than 80 stab wounds in a brutal struggle throughout her home in May 2002.
He already faces a life sentence for his August conviction in the slaying of a woman in West Baton Rouge Parish.
Authorities have linked Lee to the deaths of seven women from 1998 to 2003 by DNA evidence, and prosecutors introduced the gruesome details of four other killings in the Pace trial.
The judge will formally sentence Lee to death Dec. 10.
Leader in Zimbabweis acquitted of treason
HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was acquitted on treason charges today, a surprise end to a yearlong trial that his party had said was orchestrated by the government of President Robert Mugabe.
Hundreds of Tsvangirai's supporters danced for joy outside the courthouse when the verdict was announced. Inside, Tsvangirai's wife, Susan, hugged and kissed him and defense attorney George Bizos stood with tears of joy streaming down his face.
Tsvangirai had been charged with treason two weeks before he contested presidential polls that Mugabe narrowly won in March 2002. He and his party had described the trial as a way to sideline a main government opponent. He still faces a separate charge of advocating Mugabe's violent ouster.
The charges stemmed from state accusations Tsvangirai plotted to kill President Robert Mugabe with the help of Canada-based political consultant Ari Ben Menashe.
IRA issues an apologyfor killing teen in 1973
BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- The Irish Republican Army apologized for abducting and killing a Belfast teenager 31 years ago, a gesture that might signal the outlawed group's willingness to tell the truth about other murders.
Politicians have debated whether Northern Ireland would benefit from establishing a South African-style truth commission, in which killers could confess their crimes in exchange for immunity from prosecution. More than half of 3,600 killings committed during Northern Ireland's conflict remain unsolved.
Bernard Teggart, a Catholic from west Belfast, was just 15 when the IRA abducted him and his twin brother in November 1973.
The twin was freed -- the IRA supplied him a coat and bus fare home -- but a British army patrol found Bernard mortally wounded with a bullet wound to the head. The IRA had pinned a sign reading "tout," meaning informer, on his chest.
The apology was published Thursday in the weekly edition of An Phoblacht-Republican News, the newspaper of the Sinn Fein-IRA movement.
"At the time, no formal claim of responsibility for his death was issued. We can now confirm that Bernard Teggart was shot by the IRA," the IRA statement said. "We offer our sincere apologies to the Teggart family for the pain and grief we have caused. The killing of Bernard Teggart should not have happened."
The Teggart family accepted the apology as overdue proof that Bernard was innocent.
Early lead in election
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Interim leader Hamid Karzai took an early lead as vote counting began in Afghanistan's landmark presidential election, after allegations of ballot-box stuffing, voter intimidation and multiple voting forced five days of delay.
The tally was halted today so the 1,000 Afghans on the counting staff could have the day off to celebrate the start of Ramadan, the Islamic fasting month. Counting was to resume in all eight regional counting centers Saturday.
Final results are not due until the end of the month. Still, the first official returns gave encouragement to Karzai.
Associated Press