National Roundup

 Maryland

Woman confesses and still cleared of child abuse  
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — A Hagerstown woman has been acquitted of charges she sexually abused four children despite her confession to police.
The Herald-Mail reports that a judge found 51-year-old Barbara Ann Williams not guilty Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court because there was no corroborating evidence.
Visiting Judge John Tisdale says a confession alone isn’t enough for a conviction.
Williams allegedly told police and a county social services worker she had abused the 1- and 2-year-old children while working as a baby sitter. She said her guilt made her confess.
Assistant Public Defender Thomas Tamm says unstable people often confess to crimes they haven’t committed. He says the alleged victims were too young to give evidence.
 
Vermont
Judge rejects bargain in prison smuggling case 
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont judge has rejected a plea agreement that would have allowed a former correctional officer to avoid jail for smuggling marijuana into the Windsor prison.
On Tuesday, Windsor County Superior Court Judge Karen Carroll rejected a deal that would have had 46-year-old Brett Jasinski pay a $500 fine and spend no time in jail.
Jasinski was charged last December with a misdemeanor for smuggling the marijuana into the Southeast State Correctional Facility that carried a maximum $500 fine and six months in jail.
The Valley News reports Carroll said the proposed deal sends the wrong message and undermines the integrity of the correctional system and the integrity of the court.”
Jasinski’s attorney told the court Jasinski took full responsibility for bringing contraband into the facility.
 
Montana
Kidnapper’s request for new trial rejected 
BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — A Wilsall man sentenced to 40 years in prison for escaping from a Bozeman pre-release center and holding his former foster mother hostage has been denied a new trial.
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that Gallatin County District Court Judge John Brown on Thursday ruled that the request by 26-year-old Charles Dustin Rickett came after a 30-day deadline.
Rickett was convicted on Feb. 27 of aggravated kidnapping, intimidation and escape for events in July 2012. He received the 40-year sentence on April 25.
At his sentencing hearing, defense attorney Steven Scott filed a motion for a new trial citing new information that might have caused reasonable doubt in the jury.
Rickett says he’s innocent, and was set up by unknown men he had been partying with in Bozeman.

Virginia
Inmate asks court to toss death sentence 
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A judge says he will rule in about three weeks on a Virginia death row inmate’s claim he shouldn’t be executed because of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in another case.
U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson heard arguments in Alfredo Prieto’s case Wednesday.
Prieto was awaiting execution in California for raping and murdering a teenager when a DNA sample connected him to the 1988 slayings of two George Washington University students in Reston. He was also sentenced to death for those.
Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that a rigid cutoff on IQ test scores cannot be used to determine whether someone is intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for execution. Prieto claims that means he cannot be executed. Attorneys for the state say the ruling shouldn’t be applied retroactively.
 
Washington
Blackwater guards face trial in Iraq shootings 
WASHINGTON (AP) — After years of delays, former Blackwater Worldwide security guards went on trial Wednesday in the killings of 14 Iraqis and the wounding of at least 18 others.
Over the next few days, a jury of 12 residents from the District of Columbia will be chosen from a pool of 150 people to decide the guards’ fate.
The trial is expected to last months.
As the trial began, one of the guards who faces the most serious charges asked that he be tried separately from the other three.
The Justice Department opposes the request by Nicholas Slatten, who’s charged with first-degree murder. Details of the request and the prosecutors’ response are sealed from public view for now. In a court filing, federal prosecutors referred to the guard’s request to sever his case.
The other three guards — Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard — are charged with manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and gun charges.
Slatten could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted. The others face a mandatory minimum penalty of 30 years in prison if convicted of the gun charge and at least one other charge.
The shootings occurred Sept. 16, 2007, at the Nisoor Square traffic circle in Baghdad.
 
Ohio
Justices: Payday loans unaffected by 2008 law 
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — In a victory for payday lenders, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that a two-week loan to an Elyria man that imposed more than 235-percent interest is not prohibited under Ohio’s mortgage lending laws.
In a unanimous decision Wednesday, the court sent Rodney Scott’s case against Ohio Neighborhood Finance, owner of Cashland stores, back to the trial court for further proceedings.
The high-stakes case was closely watched by both lenders and consumer groups.
Advocates for Scott sought to close a lending loophole that has allowed payday-style loans to continue as interest-bearing mortgage loans despite a state crackdown on predatory short-term lending passed in 2008.
A lower court ruled Ohio lawmakers intended the 2008 law to prohibit payday loans. Justices ruled Wednesday that the law doesn’t have that effect.
 
Iowa
Court: Glass pipes aren’t drug paraphernalia 
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Court of Appeals is giving a legal victory to the owners of retail head shops.
The court ruled Wednesday that glass pipes commonly sold in those stores are not drug paraphernalia under Iowa law and therefore cannot be subject to forfeiture by law enforcement.
The court is ordering the return of glass pipes that were seized by agents during a warrant served at Day Dreams in Des Moines.