Man sentenced in 2016 hammer slaying of wife
PORT HURON, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan man convicted of killing his wife with a hammer maintained his innocence before being sentenced to life in prison without parole.
The Times Herald of Port Huron reports 40-year-old Douglas Ball Jr. of Port Huron was given the mandatory punishment Thursday for first-degree murder. A St. Clair County jury earlier convicted him of murder and torture in the August death of 30-year-old Lydia Ball.
Douglas Ball read from a statement, saying: “From the bottom of my heart, I did not kill my wife.”
Prosecutors say Lydia Ball was struck 14 times in the head. Douglas Ball's lawyer had argued that investigators ignored or overlooked evidence that might have pointed to another suspect.
Ball received a 19- to 30-year-sentence for torture to be served at the same time.
State Sen. Colbeck announces run for Michigan governor
MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (AP) — State Sen. Patrick Colbeck, a conservative who has clashed with Gov. Rick Snyder on Medicaid expansion and higher fuel taxes, announced Thursday that he is running for governor in 2018.
The 51-year-old aerospace engineer, who first won election in 2010 during the tea party wave, is the second Republican to actively campaign for the job, though more are expected to jump in. Snyder cannot run again due to term limits.
"Michigan deserves principled solutions that prioritize the best interests of all of our citizens, not an influential few," Colbeck said in an email to supporters. "I have spent my career engineering innovative solutions that satisfy the best interests of my customers. It is about time that elected officials remember that our customers are all of our citizens not simply the ones who contributed the most to our campaigns. The government works for the people, not the other way around."
Colbeck, of Wayne County's Canton Township, made his announcement during the same week that other likely GOP candidates such as Attorney General Bill Schuette and Lt. Gov. Brian Calley are attending the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference. Colbeck has been an outspoken critic of expanding government-provided health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, hiking gasoline taxes and vehicle registration fees to better fund roads, and implementing Common Core education standards.
Most recently, Colbeck's bill to create an anti-abortion "Choose Life" fundraising license plate has gained traction in the Legislature.
Until now, Saginaw doctor Jim Hines has been the only Republican to be actively campaigning.
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