Ohio
Death sentence upheld for killer of 2 teen girls
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A divided Ohio Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of a man who killed two teenage girls in Cincinnati despite what the court called improper remarks by a prosecutor arguing for death.
A jury convicted Anthony Kirkland in 2010 of aggravated murder, attempted rape and other charges in the 2006 death of 14-year-old Casonya Crawford and the 2009 death of 13-year-old Esme Kenney, both Cincinnati teenagers.
Before his trial began Kirkland also pleaded guilty to the slayings of two women.
The court’s 4-3 decision Tuesday rejected arguments by attorneys for Kirkland that the prosecutor’s remarks — which included implying that without a death sentence the girls’ deaths would go unpunished — inflamed the jury to the point he should have been resentenced.
North Carolina
Commission asks relief on order on opening prayers
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Forsyth County Commission wants relief from a federal court order on prayer at its meeting.
The commissioners voted unanimously Monday to have the county attorney work to get the order overturned, so they can go back to their previous policy on prayer.
The commissioners formerly invited clergy from various faiths to give the opening prayer. That stopped in 2010 when a federal judge issued an order prohibiting the board from allowing sectarian prayer in meetings.
The commissioners lost an appeal and chose not to ask clergy to deliver prayers with nonspecific references to God.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week in a New York case that the town did not violate the Constitution by allowing ministers to deliver Christian prayers at meetings, since the town had an inclusive invitation policy.
County attorney Davida Martin says Forsyth County’s previous policy is virtually identical to the New York town. She hopes to provide the board May 22 on getting the court order overturned.
Commissioner Bill Whiteheart asked if the county could seek reimbursement for the $300,000 raised by the faith community to pay for the county’s legal defense, but Martin said the decision was consistent with the law of the 4th Judicial Circuit at that time and they could not recover the money.
California
Man gets prison for operation that smuggled humans
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A man who took part in an attempt to smuggle 20 people by boat from Mexico into Orange County has been sentenced to 30 months in prison.
The Orange County Register reported Monday that Jose Ricardo Paleta Tula was arrested along with three other men last June after a 25-foot boat landed at Crystal Cove State Park in Laguna Beach. Court documents say the Tula was on shore, signaling with the light of his cell phone where the boat should land.
The 44-year-old reached a plea deal with prosecutors last August.
After authorities spotted the vessel on shore, they searched the area and ultimately took 24 people into custody, many of them in wetsuits and with flotation devices.
Two other defendants are serving sentences in federal prisons. A fourth defendant is scheduled to be sentenced next week.
Kansas
Charge dropped under state Stand Your Ground law
OAKLEY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man who was scheduled to go to trial this week for shooting a former employee has been granted immunity from liability under the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law.
David Collins of Oakley could have faced prison time if found guilty of aggravated battery in the March 5, 2013, shooting of David Bowles. The Salina Journal reports Chief Judge Glenn Schiffner’s ruling Thursday caused the case to be dropped.
Bowles was a former employee of the Collins farm and ranch and had been told to stay off the Collins property. Court documents show Bowles went to the home David Collins’ father, where David Collins confronted him.
Collins says he pulled his gun and it went off during a scuffle. Bowles survived but lost sight in his left eye.
Georgia
Allman drops suit against film team making bio of him
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Gregg Allman agreed Tuesday drop his lawsuit against movie producers who were making a film about the singer’s life when a freight train plowed into their Georgia crew and killed a camera assistant.
Attorneys for the Allman Brothers Band singer and Unclaimed Freight Productions told a Savannah judge Tuesday they reached an out-of-court agreement a day after Allman’s lawyer grilled film director Randall Miller on the witness stand about the Feb. 20 crash. Attorneys declined to discuss details of the deal, including whether Miller would be able to move forward with reviving the “Midnight Rider” movie.
“We have come together and reasoned with one another,” Allman attorney David Long-Daniels told the judge. He declined to comment further outside of court, as did Miller’s attorney, Donnie Dixon.
Allman filed suit against the film producers April 28 in Chatham County Superior Court, saying their rights to his life story had lapsed because they failed to meet production deadlines. Long-Daniels said Allman wanted Miller and his production company off the project because the train crash had harmed the singer’s reputation.
Investigators say Miller, his crew and actor William Hurt, who was to star as Allman, were shooting on a railroad bridge spanning the Altamaha River when a train came upon them at 55 mph. The train crashed through a bed set on the tracks as a prop and struck and killed 28-year-old camera assistant Sarah Jones, whose family is from West Columbia, South Carolina. Others were injured either by the train or flying debris. Sheriff’s investigators in Wayne County, southwest of Savannah, said the crew did not have a permit from CSX Railroad, which owns the tracks. Prosecutors are weighing whether to file criminal charges.
Allman, who had a liver transplant in 2010 and canceled performances in March because of illness, wasn’t in court Monday or Tuesday. His attorney told the judge the 66-year-old singer remains in poor health.
