National Roundup

Mississippi Stevens to take appeal to US Supreme Court JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Attorneys for death row inmate Benny Joe Stevens say they will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to stop his execution now scheduled for Tuesday at the state penitentiary at Parchman. Stevens has been placed in a holding cell near the execution chamber as is the usual procedure at the prison. Corrections officials say the prison would be placed on lockdown later Monday. The execution is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday. Stevens, now 52, was sentenced to death for the 1998 slayings of four people, including two children. Glenn Swartzfager, director of the Office of Capital Post Conviction Counsel, says he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution and allow Stevens to appeal on grounds that his trial attorney should have done a better job. Wisconsin Judge grants extension in Supreme Court recount MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A Dane County judge has given Waukesha County about three more weeks to recount votes in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Judge Richard Niess (NEYES) on Monday granted an extension to the county, the only one that hasn't yet completed the recount. Waukesha County will have until May 26 to finish. The county's attorney Tom Farley says the county has completed about a third of the recount and is being meticulous about the work because it's at the center of the maelstrom. Niess says county officials may be moving slowly, but they are not shirking their responsibility. JoAnne Kloppenburg asked for the recount after results of the April 5 election showed her about 7,300 votes behind incumbent Justice David Prosser. Following the election, the Waukesha County clerk announced she had failed to report 14,000 votes from the Republican-leaning city of Brookfield. The new votes flipped the election for Prosser. Virginia Appeals court to hear health care challenge RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- President Barack Obama's health care overhaul gets its first federal appeals court test in Virginia. On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond will hear arguments in Virginia's lawsuit challenging the law. The federal government is appealing U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson's ruling striking down the law's provision requiring individuals to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. Hudson declared the mandate unconstitutional. The same three-judge panel will hear arguments Tuesday in a similar challenge by Liberty University. In that case, U.S. District Judge Norman Moon ruled the insurance mandate is a proper exercise of congressional authority under the Commerce Clause. The two Virginia lawsuits are among 31 that have been filed seeking to invalidate the law. Illinois Newspaper: Ethics of anti-crime funds questioned BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) -- Defendants in five southern Illinois counties can pay into a crime fund, and that's raising ethical questions about whether such payments get the suspects probation or even get their charges dropped by prosecutors who benefit from or control the funds. The Belleville News-Democrat reports that the payments negotiated by prosecutors and approved by judges range from $1,000 to $15,000 and involved defendants accused of rape and other serious crimes. The newspaper says the payments resulted in probation or dismissal of felonies in 17 cases in Saline, Pulaski, Franklin, Wayne and Hardin counties. Critics say that undermines public trust in courts and makes it appear defendants with money get preferential treatment. Saline County prosecutor Mike Henshaw says he ended his office's connection to their fund after the newspaper questioned it. Georgia Atlanta preacher charged with shooting 13-year-old ATLANTA (AP) -- An Atlanta preacher whose church caught fire in January is awaiting a court appearance after being charged with shooting a 13-year-old who police say threw a rock that broke the rear window of the preacher's car while he was driving. Police say the preacher, Bishop Rev. Alex Williams of the Mechanicsville United Church of God in Christ, is charged with aggravated assault in the Saturday night shooting and is due in court Monday. Police say the teen is reported in stable condition after he was shot in the hip. Williams' church caught fire in January. Williams told WSB-TV at the time that he believed the fire was arson. A friend of the preacher, Travis Gordon, says Williams has spoken out against drugs, and his church has been repeatedly damaged. Connecticut Hospital settles doctor-sex abuse lawsuits HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- A Connecticut hospital has settled 32 lawsuits involving a late doctor suspected of molesting scores of children over three decades in what police investigators say was a bogus human growth study. Monday's settlement came in the middle of jury deliberations in the first of more than 90 lawsuits against St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center to go to trial in Waterbury Superior Court. The hospital was accused of failing to monitor and failing to prevent the actions of Dr. George Reardon, who died in 1998. Terms were not disclosed. The plaintiff in the lawsuit, known only as John Doe. No. 2, was seeking up to $8 million in damages. The hospital says in a statement that Reardon deceived his colleagues, who had no idea what he was doing. Delaware Pediatrician waives right to jury trial WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) -- A judge, not a jury, will decide the fate of a former Delaware pediatrician charged with sexually assaulting scores of young patients over more than a decade. At a hearing Monday, a judge granted Earl Bradley's request to waive his right to a jury trial. The judge also indicated that because selecting a jury untainted by media reports is no longer an issue, Bradley's trial may be moved from Wilmington back to Sussex County, where he is alleged to have committed his crimes. Also, since defense attorneys do not intend to argue that Bradley is guilty but mentally ill, the judge said a psychiatric evaluation of Bradley that he had previously ordered is no longer necessary. Bradley's trial is set to begin June 1. Published: Tue, May 10, 2011