Montana
Bride wants plea of guilty in man’s death withdrawn
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana woman who was to be sentenced Thursday for pushing her new husband to his death in Glacier National Park wants to withdraw her guilty plea to a second-degree murder charge, her lawyer said Tuesday.
Jordan Linn Graham wants the change because prosecutors are still recommending life in prison, even though second-degree murder would normally carry a lesser sentence, defense attorney Michael Donahoe said in a motion.
Graham’s attorneys have argued the “extremely reckless but unintentional act” warranted 10 years in prison.
Donahoe said the request for a life sentence shows prosecutors’ offer to dismiss the first-degree murder charge was an “empty promise” and a way to avoid a possible verdict of manslaughter, a less serious offense than first- or second-degree murder.
The plea agreement was reached in December after the trial testimony was complete but before closing arguments were held.
Graham, of Kalispell, was charged with killing Cody Johnson on July 7, eight days after the two married.
Johnson’s body was found at the bottom of the cliff three days after he was reported missing by a friend and co-worker. Graham said at her trial that she was having second thoughts about being married so young and they went to the park to talk about it.
They argued heatedly at the edge of a steep cliff. Johnson grabbed her, she became angry and she “just pushed” without thinking about where they were, Graham said then.
She didn’t tell anybody what had happened, instead making up a story that Johnson had gone for a “joyride” with friends from Washington state.
That story unraveled when the versions she told to friends, relatives and authorities didn’t match.
Texas
Condemned killer in phony drug deal loses appeal
HOUSTON (AP) — A 45-year-old Texas death row inmate convicted of killing two men in Fort Worth for duping him into buying a phony rock of crack cocaine has lost a federal court appeal, moving him a step closer to execution.
Christopher Wilkins had argued to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that he had deficient legal help at his 2008 trial in Tarrant County.
Court records show Wilkins escaped from a Houston halfway house in October 2005 and drove a stolen truck to Fort Worth. He met a homeless man, Willie Freeman, who supplied and shared drugs with another man, Mike Silva. Freeman and his supplier tricked Wilkins into spending $20 for a piece of gravel. Freeman and Silva were together a few weeks later when they were shot by Wilkins.
Ohio
Court wants info on compensation over flood losses
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court has ordered the state to respond to complaints by landowners near Ohio’s largest inland lake that compensation for flooding losses has been delayed again.
At issue is how fast the Department of Natural Resources has responded to a court order to compensate 87 landowners near Grand Lake St. Marys, a 20-square-mile lake between Dayton and Toledo.
The landowners, almost all farmers, argue the state is revoking previous good faith financial offers and saying it will make newer and lower offers.
The court on Wednesday ordered an April 30 hearing to hear the state’s response. The state said last year that it met two court-ordered deadlines to speed up compensation.
The Natural Resources department says the agency has an obligation to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.
Maryland
Orioles baseball team sued over ball that hit girl
BALTIMORE (AP) — The family of a 10-year-old girl hit in the head by a baseball during batting practice at Oriole Park at Camden Yards is suing the Baltimore Orioles and Maryland Stadium Authority.
The Daily Record of Baltimore reports the lawsuit seeking more than $75,000 was filed Monday in Baltimore City Circuit Court. It says Jennifer Dempsey was hit by a ball last August and underwent nine hours of emergency surgery for a fractured skull, broken cheekbones and other injuries. The lawsuit also says she suffered a traumatic brain injury.
David Paulson, a spokesman for the Office of the Maryland Attorney General, says the lawsuit is the first of its kind since the stadium opened in 1992. Team representatives did not return The Daily Record’s requests for comment.
New York
Judge: Cornell U. can be sued for bridge suicide
ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — A federal judge says that Cornell University and the city of Ithaca can be sued for negligence in the death of a student from Florida who jumped to his death from a bridge over a gorge near the Ivy League school’s campus.
The Ithaca Journal reports that a U.S. District Court judge in Utica has ruled that Cornell provided ample input during the design phase of the reconstruction for the bridge from which 18-year-old Bradley Ginsburg leapt in February 2010. The judge also ruled that since the city never conducted a formal study of means restriction for the bridge, it wasn’t entitled to immunity.
Ginsburg’s father, Howard Ginsburg, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in November 2011, seeking $168 million in damages from Cornell and the city.
Arkansas
Attorney faces arrest on charge of manslaughter
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) — A Hot Springs attorney whose relationship with Attorney General Dustin McDaniel led to McDaniel withdrawing from the race for governor is now charged with manslaughter.
Garland County authorities have issued arrest warrants for 36-year-old Andrea Davis and her brother — Matthew Davis — in the shooting death of Maxwell Anderson outside Andrea Davis’ home in February 2012.
An attorney for the Davises told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he’s made arrangements with the special prosecutor in the case for both Andrea and Matthew Davis to surrender sometime this week.
McDaniel admitted in December 2012 to having an inappropriate relationship with Davis. He later dropped out of the governor’s race.
Davis’ law license was suspended last month by the Arkansas Supreme Court after she was charged with felony theft.
