Arkansas
Justices hear arguments on lethal injection
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A case that examines whether a 2013 law gives the state's correction department too much authority in setting lethal-injection protocol is now before the Arkansas Supreme Court.
The court on Thursday heard oral arguments from an assistant state attorney general and a lawyer representing nine death-row inmates, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
Pulaski County Judge Wendell Griffen last year put lethal injections on hold in the state. He said the law stipulating the department use a barbiturate wasn't adequate and gave the department too much leeway to decide what drugs to use and how they should be administered.
The ruling is a response to a 2013 lawsuit by the nine death-row inmates who challenged the latest rewrite of the Method of Execution Act, which replaced the electric chair with lethal injection in 1983.
Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Merritt said during oral arguments that the law provides "sufficient guidance" to prison officials.
Josh Lee, the inmates' public defender, said that the statute also allows the correction department to decide whether medical personnel should be present at an execution.
"What the General Assembly has said is, 'We can have a quick and painless death, or a slow and agonizing death. Department of Correction, it's up to you,'" Lee said.
He also said in an email after the hearing that "This case is really not about the death penalty. It is about making sure that government agencies don't exceed their authority. Not just prisoners but also Arkansas businesses and ordinary citizens need government agencies to stay within the limits of their constitutional authority."
Wyoming
Teenager gets at least 60 years in jailer's death
GERING, Neb. (AP) - A district court judge has sentenced a Wyoming teenager to at least 60 years in prison for killing a western Nebraska jailer.
Sixteen-year-old Dylan Cardeilhac, of Torrington, Wyoming, was convicted in November of second-degree murder for strangling Scotts Bluff County jailer Amanda Baker in February 2014.
Judge Travis O'Gorman sentenced Cardeilhac on Thursday to 60 years to life in prison. He said that Cardeilhac's criminal history and his lack of remorse demonstrated that the public needed protection from the teen.
Cardeilhac was sentenced in May to a maximum of 15 years in prison on separate charges of armed robbery and use of a weapon in a convenience store robbery.
His latest sentence on the murder conviction will be served consecutively to his sentence in the robbery case.
Mississippi
Watchdog agency seeks suspension for county judge
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A judicial watchdog commission is asking the Mississippi Supreme Court to suspend a Madison County judge recently arrested for simple assault on a vulnerable person.
The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance filed the petition Thursday with the court. The petition cites Justice Court Judge Bill Weisenberger for assaulting a mentally disabled African-American male at a flea market last May and using a racial slur. The male's name was not given.
The commission is asking that Weisenberger be suspended without pay.
Weisenberger was released on a $10,000 bond. If convicted on the felony charge, he faces up to five years in prison. Weisenberger has waived his arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty. His trial has been set for June 8.
In Weisenberger's response to the complaint, he denies the allegations.
Mississippi law defines a vulnerable adult as a person, whether a minor or adult whose ability to perform the normal activities of daily living is impaired due to a mental, emotional, physical or developmental disability or dysfunction, or brain damage or the infirmities of aging.
The formal complaint against Weisenberger also includes several counts of misconduct, including imposing an illegal DUI sentence against an African American in his courtroom, along with charging and jailing another African American for the nonexistent charge of "roaming cattle."
Weisenberger, in his response, denies assaulting or using a racial slur against anyone. He also said the illegal sentence was a mistake, and after recognizing the error, changed the sentence to 48 hours to serve.
Wyoming
Man charged in murder-for-hire involving parents
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Federal prosecutors have charged a Wyoming State Penitentiary inmate with trying to hire someone to kill his parents so he could collect their life insurance money and inherit their house.
The complaint against 23-year-old Andrew Silicani of Cheyenne was filed in U.S. District Court on Feb. 12. He made an initial court appearance Thursday.
A confidential source told prison staff in November that Silicani had asked if that person would be willing to kill his parents.
The informant agreed to pose as a hit man to determine Silicani's intentions. In an exchange of letters, Silicani provided the supposed hit man with the names and address of his parents and said he didn't want to pay more than $100,000 for the "demolition work."
Court records said Silicani expected to receive $850,000 in life insurance and property.
Minnesota
Woman, man indicted in fake death scam
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A Twin Cities woman and her ex-husband have been indicted on accusations of defrauding an insurance company of $2 million by faking his death in an eastern European country.
Forty-seven-year-old Irina Vorotinov, of Plymouth, and 50-year-old Igor Vorotinov, are charged in federal court with mail fraud and a related count. She's also charged with money laundering. Their 25-year-old son, Alkon Vorotinov, was earlier charged with covering up the scheme.
A criminal complaint says Igor Vorotinov bought a life insurance policy in 2010 and listed his wife and son as beneficiaries. In 2011, Irina Vorotino traveled to Moldova and identified a body as her former husband. The Star Tribune reports prosecutors say he's living in Ukraine under a new identity.
Published: Mon, Feb 23, 2015
