Oklahoma: Man convicted in trooper’s death to be resentenced
LAWTON, Okla. (AP) — A man convicted of killing an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper in 2003 faces a resentencing trial.
The Lawton Constitution reports that the trial to determine if 36-year-old Ricky Ray Malone will receive a death sentence or life in prison will begin Monday in Comanche County District Court.
Malone was convicted in 2005 of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the Dec. 26, 2003, shooting death of Trooper Nik Green. Authorities say Green caught the former firefighter making methamphetamine on the side of a rural Cotton County road.
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the death sentence and ordered another sentencing trial.
Earlier this year Malone waived his right to allow a jury to determine his mental competency, clearing the way for the resentencing trial.
Georgia: Feds seek to limit disclosure in judge’s case
ATLANTA (AP) — Prosecutors want to keep more details under wraps in the case against a federal judge facing drug and gun charges after a stripper told authorities he used cocaine with her once.
Federal prosecutors filed a motion last week requesting that any discovery filed in Senior Judge Jack Camp’s case be used solely by the 67-year-old’s defense attorneys.
The motion said that the public disclosure of certain information “could pose a threat to the safety of certain individuals.” It also said public disclosure could lead to the destruction of evidence and compromise the investigation.
Camp’s attorneys say he intends to plead not guilty to drug and gun charges after his arrest earlier this month.
Nebraska: Convicted girlfriend killer loses another appeal
LEXINGTON, Neb. (AP) — A 38-year-old man imprisoned for murdering his girlfriend in their Overton home has lost his bid for freedom.
Court records say Timmy Timmens had argued that he didn’t have effective representation during his trial and appeal.
Timmens says his trial attorney should have raised the defense that Timmens was too drunk to make a decision to kill Tracy Giugler in July 2000. And Timmens says his appellate attorney was ineffective for failing to argue that the trial attorney should have raised the issue of intoxication.
Judge James Doyle of Dawson County District Court ruled last week that Timmens’ trial attorney could not raise the issue because Timmens stuck to the simple claim that he did not kill Giugler.
Timmens is serving 45 years to life.
Ohio: Handcuff collector charged with sex crimes
CINCINNATI (AP) — A Cincinnati area man who has claimed to have the world’s largest handcuff collection is being held on charges involving sexually oriented material with children.
Hamilton County authorities say 67-year-old Stanley Willis was jailed Sunday after his extradition from Dade County in Florida. He had been indicted in May on two counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor and one count of tampering with evidence.
He was being held Monday pending court action. Attorney information wasn’t immediately available.
The Cincinnati Enquirer says Willis ran a website from his Amberley Village home featuring more than 1,500 different kinds of handcuffs and restraints. The site was listed as “down for maintenance” Monday.
South Carolina: State Supreme Court to hear poker arguments
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Supreme Court is to hear arguments on whether poker is a game of luck or skill.
The Post and Courier of Charleston reported the justices are to hear arguments on Tuesday on an appeal of a local judge’s ruling that Texas Hold’em is a game of skill, not chance. Circuit Judge Markley Dennis’ ruling meant that playing the game in a private home does not violate the state’s anti-gambling laws.
Attorney General Henry McMaster is appealing Dennis’ decision.
Dennis’ decision overturned the conviction of five people who had been arrested when police raided a card game in Mount Pleasant four years ago. The judge said skilled players generally beat those with fewer skills and players improve with practice.
It’s expected to be several months before the justices make a decision.
Tennessee: Road workers: Political retribution led to firing
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Eighteen former road workers in Monroe County are suing the new Republican superintendent for firing them for what they allege are political patronage reasons.
The workers were mostly manual laborers, and the federal lawsuit filed in Knoxville on Friday claims they were fired by newly elected Superintendent Steve Teague in retaliation for supporting incumbent Phillip Axley.
The lawsuit seeking damages and the workers’ jobs back charges that Teague violated the former employees constitutional rights of freedom of speech and political affiliation.
Attorney George Barrett said in a statement that the lawsuit seeks to “ensure that Tennesseans do not have to choose between their jobs and their political beliefs.”
Nobody answered calls seeking comment at the Monroe County roads office over the weekend.
Washington, D.C.: Black D.C. firefighters allege discrimination
WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of black Washington firefighters are alleging systematic racial discrimination in a federal lawsuit that claims they are subjected to harsher discipline and promoted less often by white supervisors.
A spokesman for the department declined comment on the suit filed Friday, saying officials had not had an opportunity to review the lawsuit.
The suit says senior white officers in the department, which is more than half black, have created a climate of fear and intimidation, punishing black firefighters of all ranks more severely. The suit filed by about 30 firefighters seeks class-action status for as many as 1,000 black firefighters.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
