California
SoCal ACLU chief Ramona Ripston to retire at 83
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The head of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, Ramona Ripston, is stepping down after nearly 40 years.
Ripston, who's 83, says she'll retire as executive director in February of next year. She took the post in 1972.
Under Ripston, the local ACLU has waged legal battles over alleged police brutality, treatment of prisoners and the homeless.
But Ripston says the poor economy has taken a toll. She had to lay off five out of 60 employees last year. She also says it's time for the chapter to attract younger people.
A spokesman says the chapter will launch a nationwide search for a successor.
Mississippi
Tacker biofuels fraud trial opens in Aberdeen
ABERDEEN, Miss. (AP) -- A federal trial is under way for a man accused of defrauding the U.S. Department of Agriculture out of $2.8 million in bioenergy subsidy money.
Testimony began Monday in the case of 56-year-old William T. "Tommy" Tacker.
He's accused of 10 counts of conspiracy, fraud and wrongful profiting.
The government says Tacker and a Tennessee attorney, H. Max Speight, filed false statements to obtain money for a biofuels business they operated in Nettleton.
Speight and Tacker were partners in the operation, Biodiesel of Mississippi Inc., which went bankrupt in 2006.
Speight has pleaded guilty to one count, according to The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.
The trial could go late into the week.
Illinois
Alleged cartel leader set to answer charges
CHICAGO (AP) -- An alleged leader of Mexico's Sinaloa narcotics cartel is headed for court in Chicago to answer sweeping charges that he conspired to flood the city with large amounts of heroin plus tons of cocaine.
Jesus Vincente Zambada-Niebla was brought to Chicago from Mexico last Thursday in what federal officials are calling the largest international narcotics conspiracy case in the city's history.
He is due for arraignment Tuesday before federal Judge Ruben Castillo.
Nebraska
Four wrongfully convicted sue state for damages
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Four people wrongfully convicted in the 1985 rape and murder of a Beatrice woman and later exonerated are suing the state. They're seeking damages under a new law for the years they spent in prison.
Joseph White, Kathleen Gonzalez, Ada Joann Taylor and Thomas Winslow filed separate civil actions on Monday in Gage County District Court.
They were exonerated after DNA testing cleared the four of them and two others in the rape and murder of Helen Wilson.
A spokesman for the attorney general's office said Tuesday that he couldn't immediately comment.
The Legislature passed a bill last year that allows those wrongly convicted of a crime to collect a maximum of $500,000 for time spent in prison.
Alabama
Death penalty recommended in baby's killing
GADSDEN, Ala. (AP) -- Jurors in Gadsden have recommended the death sentence for Ronnie Lynn Kirksey after convicting him of murdering his girlfriend's son, 23-month-old Cornell Norwood.
Jurors deliberated less than two hours on Monday before the returning the unanimous recommendation. The same jurors convicted Kirksey Thursday of capital murder.
Etowah County Circuit Judge David Kimberley has set sentencing for April 30. Kimberley can follow the jury's recommendation or sentence him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
During the sentencing phase, Kirksey's family members pleaded for jurors to spare his life.
A forensic psychologist testified that Kirksey did not sense he had done anything to cause the child's death.
Prosecutor Marcus Reid said Kirksey stood on the child and crushed him.
Tennessee
Defendant in murder case files suit against judge
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) -- A man accused in the dismemberment murders of a teenage couple has filed a lawsuit against the judge overseeing his case.
Howard Hawk Willis filed a federal lawsuit against Judge Lynn Brown, reported the Johnson City Press.
In his lawsuit, Willis claims Brown has violated a number of his constitutional rights, including that of being represented by an attorney.
The newspaper reported the lawsuit was filed last month, but no hearings were set.
Willis is charged with killing Adam Crismer and Samantha Leming in October 2002. Their bodies were found in a Johnson City rental storage unit.
Willis been jailed since his arrest and has asked the court to replace a number of attorneys appointed to represent him. Finally, the judge declined to appoint another lawyer.
The state is seeking the death penalty against Willis.
Massachusetts
Northampton teller accused of bilking customer
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (AP) -- A teller at a Northampton bank has been charged with stealing $14,000 from a 70-year-old customer's account.
The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports that Claire O. Vukovich pleaded not guilty Monday in Northampton District Court to 14 counts of larceny from a person over the age of 60.
The 21-year-old Vukovich, who has no prior criminal record, told police she used the money to pay bills. She was released on her own recognizance.
Prosecutors say she alleged victim contacted police Dec. 14 after noticing a series of unauthorized withdrawals from her personal checking account with Bank of America. The bank also launched an internal investigation.
Zambada-Niebla was indicted last August along with three dozen other defendants including his father -- allegedly one of the cartel's two top leaders.
Published: Wed, Feb 24, 2010
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