National Roundup

Ohio State taking death penalty case to U.S. Supreme Court COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Ohio's governor and attorney general said Sunday the state is asking the U.S. Supreme Court for a ruling that Ohio's protocol for carrying out the death penalty is constitutional. Gov. John Kasich and Attorney General Mike DeWine said in a statement that the state wants the high court to reverse a federal appeals court decision to delay the Wednesday execution of Charles Lorraine. Lorraine was condemned to death in the 1986 slaying of an elderly Trumbull County couple. But the federal appeals court said Friday his execution should be delayed to review changes Ohio has made in carrying out the death penalty. Lorraine argued that Ohio broke its promise to adhere strictly to its execution procedures. But the state said that deviations from the procedures during the last execution were minor and that an inmate's rights would not be violated by changes, such as which official announces the start and finish times of an injection. "Attorney General Mike DeWine and I agree that Ohio's administration of capital punishment is constitutional and we have asked the Supreme Court of the United States to affirm that," the governor said in the statement. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling supported an earlier decision by U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Frost, who criticized the state for deviating from policy when an inmate was executed in November. After the appeals court ruling, Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins sent a letter urging the two state officials to appeal. Watkins argued the federal courts have wrongly interfered with Ohio executions. Records show Lorraine, 45, repeatedly stabbed 77-year-old Raymond Montgomery and his bedridden wife, 80-year-old Doris Montgomery, before burglarizing their Trumbull County home. Lorraine's attorney, Allen L. Bohnert, has said the case is not about the crimes for which Lorraine was convicted and sentenced, but about the state's liability to apply its law equally. Alabama Lawyer for tree poisoning suspect wants new judge AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -- The attorney for a man accused of poisoning the Toomer's Corner oak trees at Auburn University is requesting that the judge recuse himself, citing possible ties to the school. The Opelika-Auburn News reports that attorney Everett W. Wess asked Lee County Circuit Judge Jacob A. Walker III to disclose any ties to Auburn University. The lawyer for Harvey Updyke Jr. also is asking the judge to disclose whether family or friends are employed by Auburn and any available records of visits to campus. The 63-year-old Updyke has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of felony criminal mischief and other charges in connection to the damage on the iconic oaks. Wess wrote in court documents that Walker's recusal in the case would remove any doubts about bias during a trial. Florida Bank foreclosing on O.J. Simpson's Florida house MIAMI (AP) -- A bank is foreclosing on the Florida home of O.J. Simpson, who is serving time in a Nevada prison for kidnapping, armed robbery and other charges. Miami-Dade Circuit Court records show that JPMorgan Chase filed for foreclosure in September. Simpson's attorneys have since filed a motion to dismiss the case. Simpson bought the four-bedroom, four-bath house south of downtown Miami in 2000 for $575,000. Its current assessed value is $478,401. The 64-year-old former football star and actor is serving a nine-to-33-year prison sentence in a 2007 armed confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas casino hotel room. Simpson was acquitted in 1995 in the Los Angeles slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. Nebraska Years after Wounded Knee trials, a judge reflects LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- It's been more than 37 years since the federal trials of protesters who took over the Wounded Knee massacre site in South Dakota, and the Nebraska-based federal judge who presided remembers his efforts to respect the Native Americans and their traditions. U.S. District Judge Warren Urbom last week talked to students involved in a leadership project called the Native Sovereignty Youth Project. The Lincoln Journal Star says Urbom talked about the 1890 massacre and the 1973 standoff at the site between American Indian Movement protesters and federal officials. The trials of about 150 activists were consolidated, with Urbom overseeing all of them. Urbom says he tried to respect the activists, even letting many be sworn in using a medicine pipe rather than a Bible. Montana UM to hold meeting on sex assault investigations MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) -- University of Montana officials will hold a public meeting to discuss the school's investigation into several reports of sexual assault both on and off campus. UM vice president Jim Foley told the Missoulian that President Royce Engstrom will make a statement and then take questions during the Tuesday evening community forum. Former Montana Supreme Court Justice Diane Barz was hired by the university in December to investigate sexual assault reports after allegations surfaced that two students were drugged and gang-raped. Barz' preliminary report said the school appears to have a gap in reporting sexual assaults. Foley said officials won't get into names or details during the Tuesday meeting but may be able to clarify some things for the public. Missouri Woman charged in death of psychiatrist GLADSTONE, Mo. (AP) -- Police say a Texas woman is charged with killing a Missouri psychiatrist who was having an affair with her husband. Shannon L. O'Roark Griffin, of Granbury, Texas, is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of Irina Puscariu of Gladstone, a Kansas City suburb. Gladstone police say in a probable cause statement that O'Roark Griffin when to Puscariu's house Friday after her husband told her that he would not end his affair with the psychiatrist. Police say O'Roark Griffin shot Puscariu three times. The statement says she called her husband and told him about the shooting. The Kansas Highway Patrol arrested O'Roark Griffin Friday evening near Wichita. She is jailed in Sedgwick County awaiting extradition. Court records do not indicate that she has an attorney. Published: Tue, Jan 17, 2012