Saturday, October 27, 2007
High court frees teen
sentenced in sex case
FORSYTH, Ga. — A former high school football star given 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex with another teenager was freed Friday by Georgia’s highest court, which ruled that his sentence amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.
Genarlow Wilson spent two years behind bars in the case that led to widespread protests of racism and heavy-handed justice.
“I was in total disbelief,” Wilson told reporters outside the prison. “I’m finally happy to see we’ve got justice now.”
Wilson, 21, also said he wants to help other teens and offered some advice: “They should be very hesitant before they join certain crowds and make certain decisions.”
In its 4-3 decision, the Georgia Supreme Court noted that state lawmakers had scrapped the law that required a minimum 10-year prison term.
Boy admits planning
attack at high school
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — A 14-year-old boy admitted Friday that he planned a Columbine-style attack on a suburban Philadelphia high school, which could keep him in juvenile custody for up to 6 1/2 years.
Dillon Cossey’s admission came about two weeks after authorities searched his Plymouth Township home and found a 9 mm rifle, about 30 air guns modeled to look like high-powered weapons, swords, knives, a bomb-making book, videos of the 1999 Columbine attack in Colorado and violence-filled notebooks.
Cossey tried to recruit another boy in the plan, which included chaining shut the doors at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School and backing a car up to the door, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. said Friday.
Astronauts add new
room to space station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronauts added a new room to the international space station Friday in the way of Harmony.
That’s the name of the school bus-size compartment that was attached by a team of spacewalkers working outside and robot arm operators working inside.
“I don’t know that anybody’s ever told our crew that we bring harmony with us, but we sure bring fun,” Discovery’s commander, Pamela Melroy, said as the spacewalk ended and the congratulations began.
The Italian-built Harmony — 24 feet long and 31,000 pounds — was unloaded from the shuttle’s payload bay and hoisted into place by the space station’s robot arm. It is a temporary location; it will be moved to its permanent spot once the shuttle leaves. European and Japanese laboratories will latch onto Harmony in the coming months.
Man gets three years for
tossing puppy off balcony
CHARLESTON, S.C. — An incredulous judge sentenced a man to three years in prison for tossing a 10-week-old puppy off an apartment balcony during an argument with his girlfriend.
The Yorkiepoo, a cross between a Yorkshire terrier and a poodle, was in a soft-sided container but suffered head injuries and had to be put to death.
Javon Patrick Morris, 22, apologized for throwing the puppy off the third-floor balcony last March and pleaded guilty to animal cruelty.
“You mean he threw a helpless animal off three floors because he was mad at someone?” Circuit Judge Edward Cottingham asked a prosecutor before issuing the sentence Thursday.
The judge, who has owned nine dogs, said he was obligated to issue a tough sentence.
“There is nobody in this world that can understand that,” Cottingham said.
Israeli leader promises
no humanitarian crisis
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised the Palestinian president Friday that Israel would not cause a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip despite his government’s intention to cut power to the territory in hopes of curbing rocket attacks.
He made the pledge during a working lunch with Mahmoud Abbas at the Israeli leader’s Jerusalem residence, responding to Abbas’ concern that electricity stoppages could hit hospitals and other essential services, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.
The meeting was the latest in a series aimed at working out differences between the two ahead of a U.S.-sponsored peace conference. The men greeted one another with warm handshakes and broad smiles. Aides say Olmert and Abbas have good chemistry, but talks between them are so far showing little evidence of progress.
Associated Press