National Roundup

Rhode Island Federal appeals court hears murder case BOSTON (AP) -- A five-judge appeals court panel has heard arguments in a legal tug-of-war over a Rhode Island inmate who may face a death penalty prosecution. The case of 34-year-old Jason Pleau (plew) was heard Wednesday by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. Federal prosecutors and lawyers for Pleau and Gov. Lincoln Chafee (CHAY'-fee) presented arguments. Pleau is accused of fatally shooting a man outside of a bank in 2010. He is fighting a request from prosecutors to have him stand trial in federal court, where he may face the death penalty if convicted. Rhode Island does not have the death penalty. Chafee has refused to surrender Pleau, citing the state's opposition to the death penalty. Prosecutors say Pleau should be turned over to stand trial in federal court West Virginia 12 nursing students suing Mountain State Univ. CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- Twelve nursing students are suing Mountain State University, its former president and the board of trustees for fraud and breach of contract. And that number is expected to grow. Beckley attorney Stephen New says 30 more will sue in Kanawha County Circuit Court later this week. The Charleston Gazette says the claims so far accuse MSU of deliberately misleading students about the severity of the program's accreditation problems. Amy Pack started the lawsuits in February, claiming the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission had already notified former President Charles Polk of problems by the time she applied. The board of trustees fired Polk in January and took over operations. A school spokesman didn't immediately comment Wednesday. Nebraska State high court to re-hear sledding lawsuit appeal OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- The Nebraska Supreme Court will re-hear arguments in an appeal by the city of Omaha, which is seeking a reversal of judgments awarding nearly $2.5 million to an Omaha family whose two girls were injured in a sledding accident. Rachel Connelly was 5 and her sister, Chelsea, was 10 in December 2000 when they sledded down an Omaha park hill. Experts said the hill's slope routed the girls into crabapple trees recently planted by city workers. Chelsea suffered a punctured lung and broken rib. Rachel was left paralyzed, and the city was found responsible. The high court heard arguments in the case in September. But because one Supreme Court judge left for a federal judicial appointment, the high court says the appeal must be re-argued before a new seven-member panel. Ohio Jury indicts mother of boy who died from meth AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- The mother of a northeast Ohio toddler has been indicted on a murder charge in the February methamphetamine death of the child in a home that investigators say had a meth lab in the basement. The Summit County prosecutor's office on Tuesday said 20-year-old Heather Lerch of Akron and her boyfriend's brother, 22-year-old Ronald Legg, were indicted on murder charges. The boyfriend, 19-year-old Randy Legg, and 24-year-old Allen Ray Kostra were indicted on involuntary manslaughter charges. The Akron Beacon Journal reports the county medical examiner has said 1-year-old Patrick Lerch ingested methamphetamine during a "period of abuse and neglect" and ruled the death a murder. The four defendants lived where was found unresponsive Feb. 26 and declared dead at a hospital. No attorneys were found in online court records. Georgia Inmate sues prison over beating ATLANTA (AP) -- A Georgia inmate who says he was beaten while handcuffed claims in a federal lawsuit that he was the victim of a "sadistic and brutal" attack by prison guards. Terrance Dean's attorneys filed the lawsuit this week in federal court. It says Macon State Prison authorities routinely brought prisoners to a gymnasium with no video surveillance to beat them. The lawsuit names seven Macon State Prison guards who were previously charged by state investigators with aggravated battery and violation of oath of office in Dean's beating. A grand jury in Macon County last year declined to indict them on the charges. The lawsuit says the December 2010 beating left Dean in a coma and that he's still struggling to recover. State prison officials declined to comment on the pending litigation. Kansas Man seeks reversal of 1974 murder conviction OLATHE, Kan. (AP) -- A former school janitor who is serving a life sentence for the 1974 killing of a 13-year-old Johnson County girl is asking a judge to reverse his conviction. John Henry Horton was in court Tuesday to ask a judge to throw out his conviction for the killing of Lizabeth Wilson. She disappeared while walking to her Prairie Village from a swimming pool. Her remains were found six months later in a Lenexa field. The Kansas Supreme Court last year ordered the hearing so the Johnson County Court can determine if "prejudicial error" was committed during his second trial in 2008. The Kansas City Star reports that the judge will rule after a second hearing is held in May. The second hearing was needed because some witnesses could not attend Tuesday's hearing. Tennessee Man pleads guilty to helping father hide death GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) -- The 21-year-old son of a Browning man who killed his mother last year has reached a plea agreement on a charge that he helped hide his grandmother's body. Federal court records indicate Thomas Charles Marc Heavy Runner is scheduled to plead guilty Thursday to accessory after the fact to murder. The Great Falls Tribune reports 44-year-old Mark Saint Storm Heavy Runner pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last week for strangling and drowning 71-year-old Marie Heavy Runner on July 1. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 16. Prosecutors allege Thomas Heavy Runner came home after work to find that his father had killed Marie Heavy Runner. The father then asked his son to help hide the body. Blackfeet law officers found the body in the crawlspace of the house in November. Published: Thu, Apr 5, 2012