Juan Martinez prosecutor in the Jodi Arias trial is frustrated with the defense expert Alyce LaViolette being unresponsive.
Juan Martinez the prosecutor in the Jodi Arias murder trial has been frustrated with Alyce LaViolette, who has avoided for the most part giving direct answers, when being questioned by Martinez.
LaViolette has even went so far as to ask Martinez if he was angry at her and then earlier this week she told him, that if he was in her group that she would need to put him in timeout.
Can you imagine a witness in the O.J. Simpson trial telling Johnny Cochran that he needed to be put in timeout? Martinez is a bulldog in the courtroom relentlessly questioning witnesses and it seems to be working. LaViolette actually admitted that Travis Alexander was afraid of Arias, which could derail the self-defense theory espoused by the defense.
LaViolette has continuously refused to answer yes or no questions posed by Martinez and instead started talking about unrelated topics. Martinez then comes back and says he is not asking her about the unrelated topic. Martinez has several times complained to the judge, about LaViolette being unresponsive and Judge Sherry Stephens admonished her for her unresponsiveness.
The defense will have problems answering why LaViolette more or less took Arias at her word. She talked to Arias for 44 hours, yet never checked with anyone to see if what Arias was saying was true, since it is a well-known fact that Arias is a chronic liar, that will answer questions, in a way which correspond with her self-defense story.
Defense attorney Jennifer Willmott shown at the right of Jodi Arias is now trying to rehabilitate defense expert Alyce LaViolette after being questioned by Juan Martinez.
Jennifer Willmott one of the defense attorneys has the job, of now trying to rehabilitate defense expert LaViolette, after she admitted that Travis Alexander was afraid of Jodi Arias. Willmott also addressed the stalking issue, which was brought up by Martinez.
Stalkers are known to be serious threats to whoever they are stalking. If Arias slashed the tires of Alexander, then it stands to reason that she wouldn’t stop at anything, to exact revenge on the man who broke up with her.
The closing arguments of the prosecution will almost certainly be the death knell for the self-defense claim, since it will detail how Arias planned the trip to Mesa and how she stole a gun from the house of a relative. Personally, I don’t buy the Arias story of getting a gun off a shelf, without falling or leaving the bookshelves disheveled. Even if she did get the gun off the shelf it would have been her stolen gun being in a hiding place on the shelf, so when she needed it she would know where to retrieve it, without it being seen by Alexander.
We may never know exactly what happened during the murder, since we only have the word of Arias, on what events took place and in what order. It would make sense that she would shoot him first and then proceed to stab him, when he would offer the least resistance. If she was in any danger it seems that she could have left the house with neither of them being hurt or killed.
I can’t even begin to understand the rage she was in to shoot him, stab him almost 30 times and then slit his throat. Nobody stabs someone 30 times in self-defense. By that point it becomes overkill, eliminating any self-defense claim.
You can see that Arias is starting to realize, that she could be given a death sentence, since her defense experts have crumbled during their questioning by Martinez.
If all goes well this trial will be over in a couple of weeks, but with the way this trial has been so drawn out it may continue for another month.
The closing arguments by the prosecution should seal the fate of Jodi Arias. However, we won’t know what the jury is thinking, until they render their verdict. If Arias is sentenced to death it doesn’t mean she will be put to death. There hasn’t been an execution of a woman in Arizona, for the last 83 years and that was in 1930.
It would be a shocker of the first magnitude if Arias were to be acquitted, since there is so much evidence against her including her confession that she killed Travis Alexander, but in self-defense.
I would like to commend HLN for their excellent coverage of the trial, but it may be better to record the trial and watch it later, to prevent so many commercial interruptions.
There will be electricity in the courtroom, when the jury enters the courtroom to reveal their verdict. Let us hope justice will be served.
Only Jodi Arias would be smiling in her mug shot after being booked for first degree murder.
The Jodi Arias trial started on January 2 and 83 days later is still going strong, with no end in sight. Arizona permits jurors to ask questions and when they do it slows down the trial. The judge asks the witness the questions, then the prosecutor and defense in turn get to ask questions, about the questions that the jury asked.
When Jodi Arias testified on the witness stand for 18 days, then it really slowed the trial down. The defense attorneys Kirk Nurmi and Jennifer Willmott would ask her softball questions, then prosecutor Juan Martinez would ask her questions like ” Were you crying when you shot Travis Alexander?”, “Were you crying when you stabbed Travis Alexander?” and “Were you crying when you slit his throat?”.
He also made a very good point, when Arias was telling she couldn’t commit suicide, because it hurt too much to cut herself, then he asked her “How do you think Travis Alexander felt when you plunged the knife into his chest?”.
Martinez showed she had planned a trip to the house of Travis Alexander, with the intent of killing him. Why else would she take filled gasoline cans with her, except to avoid being filmed when she stopped to buy gas? Martinez caught her in a lie, when she said she was nowhere near Mesa, then Martinez showed her the receipts from convenience stores, where she had bought gas. Taking an oath”to tell the truth and nothing but the truth so help me God” made no difference to Arias. She has a long of history of lying and wasn’t going to stop because it was in a courtroom.
Jodi Arias dressed like her defense attorney Jennifer Willmott in an effort to give a good impression to the jurors, but she is a liar no matter what she looks like.
The trial has been slowed down by the numerous sidebars, requested by the judge and the attorneys. Even worse each sidebar usually results in more commercials.
With HLN network now being the sole network broadcasting the trial the viewers are being deluged by commercials, about every 10 minutes. It seemed like when TruTV (formerly Court TV) was also broadcasting the trial, that the commercials were less frequent on that network. Somebody made an executive situation to move the trial to HLN, so more money could be made from more commercials.
Judge Sherry Stephens consults with prosecutor Juan Martinez and defense attorneys Jennifer Willmott and Kirk Nurmi during one of the frequent sidebars during the Jodi Arias trial.
Dr. Richard Samuels a witness for the defense has been one of the most discombobulated witnesses ever seen in a death penalty trial as he was totally unprepared when he testified in the courtroom.
When Dr. Richard Samuels was called to testify you could almost feel the case for the defense starting to crumble. It was bad enough that the jury had to endure 18 days of lying by Arias, but then they had to see an expert witness that was a stumble bum on the witness stand that made numerous errors, while scoring PTSD reports of Arias.
Prosecutor Juan Martinez called attention to the mistakes of Samuel numerous times, who didn’t bring all the papers he needed on the first day he testified.
The jurors had many questions for Dr. Samuels, that only gave the prosecution more ammunition in attacking the credibility of Dr. Samuels. If there is ever a class telling expert witnesses what not to do, while on the stand, then Dr. Samuels would be the poster boy.
It is crucial that the prosecutor wrap up the trial with his closing arguments. It will be interesting to see how he describes the timeline of her trip and how she more than likely brought the gun, which had been stolen from the home of a family member. It is too much of a coincidence that the gun was stolen, about the same time she was leaving to murder Travis Alexander.
The gun that Arias said Alexander owned probably did not exist and it is almost certain that Arias hid the gun in the closet, so she could get it when she was ready to murder him.
We will probably never know if Alexander became angered, when Arias dropped his new camera. We are depending on Arias telling the truth, since there are no witnesses and the only time Arias told the truth was when her lips weren’t moving.
The more I know about the case the more I think it was premeditated murder, because Arias knew she could not have Alexander and wanted to make sure nobody else would have him.
Her self-defense claims to me at least are a bunch of malarkey. If this wasn’t a planned murder, then she would have simply left the house if Alexander actually threatened her, which I doubt ever happened. Someone that felt threatened would not have hung around long enough to shoot Alexander and stab him close to 30 times.
If there was any “fog” clouding the memory of Arias it was from the cloud of lies she told detectives, in the days after the murder.
Arias may have been better claiming insanity, since it may hold more water, than her self-defense claims. Someone never stabs someone that many times, unless it is out of rage and the slitting of the throat to the spine tells me that this was the work of a woman who had been spurned and rejected by her former boyfriend. She only knew he had to pay and he paid with his life at the hands of an evil woman, who had no remorse after killing him.
The detective interviewing Arias at the police station had to have a lot of patience. Every time he presented evidence that she was there at the house the day that Alexander was killed, then she would say ” I wasn’t there”. He knew she was feeding him nothing but lies. A less patient interrogator would have read the riot act to her, as soon as he or she would know that she was piling lies on top of lies.
When she asked the detective, if she could clean up before she was booked I knew she had no remorse for what she did. Doing hand stands in the interview room and singing a song about her memory tells me that Arias is a criminal of the worst sort.
It will be interesting to see what verdict the jury renders in this case. We can only hope if it is not over by Easter, that it will be over by the 4th of July.
Jodi Arias is not eager for the trial to be over, unless she thinks there will be one jury member, that is unwilling to send a woman to death row, but her best case scenario is life in prison with no parole. I don’t know if the world is ready for a Jodi Arias retrial, but it would be worth going through all of this again, to see her sentenced to death or life in prison.
Debra Milke, Wendi Andriano, Shawna Forde are the three women on the Arizona death row and would be joined by Jodi Arias if she is sentenced to death at the conclusion of her trial.
The lady on the left has had her conviction overturned, so Arias may be one of three women on the Arizona death row. The prison for women is located at Goodyear, Arizona, where the state prison for women is located.
This link is about the lady above who had her conviction overturned. It is a particularly hideous murder, so don’t read this link if you don’t to read about a heinous murder.
It will be interesting to see how the latest defense expert witness Alyce LaViolette fares, when questioned by Martinez, if he gets to cross-examine her today. The defense doesn’t need another fiasco, like the Dr. Samuels debacle to materialize.
Martinez did cross over the line in my estimation, when he accused Dr. Samuels of having feelings for the Arias, which infuriated Dr. Samuels as he said ” I beg your pardon”. Martinez was visibly angered when the defense asked the judge to tell Martinez to stop yelling and Martinez said “I object to the speaking objection of the defense”.
It is very doubtful that the trial will end this week, since we don’t know how long LaViolette will be on the stand and if the jurors will have questions for her.
Even if she does prove that Alexander was abusive towards Arias it won’t excuse her behavior on June 4, 2008, when she killed him in a jealous rage. If she was so scared of him why did she take such a long trip to see him? I think she caught Alexander in a moment, when he was helpless and in the shower and murdered him in cold blood.
My only hope is that Juan Martinez, in his closing arguments can convince the jury that Arias killed him in a premeditated murder.
I think America is ready for this trial to be over and the sooner the better.
Jesus, an employee at O’Neill makes a bad impression on Undercover Boss Toby Bost of O’Neill Clothing by telling him he knows where to get some good weed and asks the boss if he ever thought about opening a pot dispensary.
Toby Bost the CEO of O’Neills Clothing was shocked when he encountered an employee named Jesus in one of his stores. Jesus didn’t win any points by saying the clothes were clothes a five-year old would wear. He won even fewer points by telling his boss, who was disguised as Frederick that he knew where to score some weed. Jesus even went so far as to ask Frederick if he ever thought about opening a pot dispensary. He also revealed he took drugs before going to work to make it through the workday. Bost said in a film snippet that he was worried that Jesus might offer other employees or customers some weed. Surprisingly he didn’t fire him on the spot, but I wouldn’t have blamed him if he had.
Toby Bost left, is shown by employee Jorge how to make a T-shirt at the print shop.
Bost then meets the polar opposite of Jesus at the print shop. Jorge loves his job and is patient with Frederick as he shows him to make T-shirts. However, Jorge has a sad back story as he talks to Frederick on a break. He asks Frederick if his children are healthy, then tells about his child having a rare disease and telling about how the child is being fed by a tube.
Won’t go into details about the other employees he encounters, since these were the two most interesting employees to me.
Jesus, Jorge and the other employees featured on the program are sent to meet with someone about how Frederick did on the job. They are really there to meet Toby Bost the CEO of O’Neill Clothing, who reveals his true identity to them. It was not a fun meeting for Jesus, as Bost tells him how disappointed he was in his behavior at the store and mentioned that about the weed and pot dispensary. Jesus asks if he is fired, but Bost says he is not fired but will have to undergo a training program to learn how to treat customers and fellow workers with respect. Jesus thanks Bost for the second chance and at the end of the show it is mentioned that he may even stop smoking.
The meeting with Jorge went much better as Bost thanked him for his company loyalty and then offered a large sum of money to help with the medical expenses of Jorge’s sick child. This is when the show really connects with the audience, when you see someone who did their job the right way be rewarded.
Rick Silva CEO of Checkers and Rallys fast food restaurants appeared as Alex Garcia, who had a pharmacy go out of business in Philadlelphia. trying to find work in the fast food business.
Rick Silva the CEO of Checkers and Rallys fast food restaurants went undercover as Alex Garcia in an episode of Undercover Boss. He learned that almost none of the staff had been trained for their jobs. He took particular interest in a worker named Todd who worked hard, but was constantly being hounded by the general manager. Todd needed the job to help support his mom and was trying to go to culinary school to be a chef.
The behavior of the general manager upset Alex enough to talk to him in the parking lot, about how he treated his employees. The general manager named Stevens said he had to yell at them, for them to pay any attention to him. Alex finds out during the conversation that Stevens was thrust into the general manager’s position after completing only three weeks of the six weeks training course. He reveals to Stevens that he is the CEO of Checkers, so he lost his secret identity as Alex to correct the situation.
Alex then apologized to Stevens for not providing more training before he was promoted to the general manager position. Alex tells Stevens that he is closing down the store immediately. He then reassures the employees that they still have their jobs and apologizes to them for not making sure they had been trained properly. He then tells the employees that he is going to have several general managers in the store next day, to train the employees and to get the restaurant back on track.
When Todd goes to meet the boss after Alex has returned to being Rick Silva again he is not shocked since he already knew Alex was really Rick the CEO. Silva tells Todd how much he appreciated him as a worker then tells him he is giving him $15,000 to go to culinary school and to help his mother.
These two episodes of Undercover Boss made me realize how good this show is. It shows how CEO’s don’t have a clue, as to what is happening at their stores and how inept they are at doing the work of the employees. It also shows how CEO’s can be compassionate, when they learn about their employees struggling to pay their bills.
This show is reality television at its best. There is more real emotion in the last 15 or 20 minutes of this show, when the CEO’s reveal themselves and help their workers financially, than most reality shows have in an hour.
This article tells more about the Checkers episode and has photos of the show:
Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive! Sir Walter Scott, Marmion, Canto vi. Stanza 17.Scottish author & novelist (1771 – 1832)
Jodi Arias apparently never heard of Sir Walter Scott’s famous quotation above, because she has woven such a web of lies and deceit, that not even she can remember them all. Few criminals are smug enough to be shown smiling in their mug shots, but it is par for the course for Arias, who left a trail of lies behind after murdering Travis Alexander.
The salacious audio recordings of her and her ex-boyfriend talking about sex are a prime example of how the media has changed and how cable news networks are getting away, with foisting this stuff on the American public. The major networks would have been heavily fined for presenting the lurid details of their sexual encounters in such graphic terms.
The defense and prosecutor even played some of the same recordings, in their prosecution of and defense of Arias.
Arias Claiming Self Defense
It is ludicrous that Arias is trying to save herself from going to death row, by using the self-defense claim. It seems preposterous that she would claim self-defense, when Alexander was shot and stabbed 27 times. If it was self-defense then why would she stab him 27 times? Rage had a lot more to do with his death, than self-defense since stabbing him that many times shows that Arias was not content with him being almost positively dead. She could have fled the house sooner if it was really self-defense, since Alexander was not in any shape to endanger her life.
Prosecutor Juan Martinez battled with Arias for many days, while she was on the stand. She showed time and time again, that she was not capable of answering a simple yes or no question. She often pointed out any mistakes Martinez made. Martinez would ask a question and Arias would go off on a tangent that had nothing to do with his question. So he had to repeatedly ask the same questions over and over again. I doubt Martinez has ever encountered a more reluctant witness than Arias.
Martinez went into details of how Arias had lied to the detectives and showed the 48 Hours interview, which clearly showed her making up lies as she went along.
The defense allowing Arias to testify was a formula for disaster and Thursday we saw just how a big mistake it was for her to testify. Once Martinez started questioning Arias about the day of the murder we saw her smirk disappear, because she was now being cornered into admitting more, than she wanted to admit on the stand.
Were Tears Fake?
We will never know if her tears yesterday were real or only more of her act. I think she sent herself to death row yesterday by her testimony. Martinez pointed out how well she was remembering other events on the day of the murder, but her mind was in a complete fog, when it came to remembering murdering Alexander.
Martinez mentioned earlier while questioning Aria that she had attempted to commit suicide, but couldn’t stand he pain of cutting her wrist, so Martinez asked her “If you thought that nick was painful, then imagine what pain Alexander had felt when she plunged a knife into his heart. That question rid the smirk off the face of Arias.
The key point about her mind being in a fog to me is that how can anyone stab someone 27 times and not even remember it? Her mind was not in a fog and she knew exactly what she was doing.
It was a mistake on the part of the defense to let Arias testify and she may have signed her own death warrant yesterday, with her testimony of being in a fog that day, while Martinez pointed out many discrepancies in her testimony, that showed that she was not even close to being in a fog.
My concern is that she may have been on the stand so long, that a juror may have begun to feel sorry for her and that is the only hope for Arias now to have a hung jury. I would be in complete shock if a not guilty verdict is rendered, but not so surprised to have a hung jury. Let us hope that doesn’t happen, because I don’t know if the nation would want to go through this trial for a second time.
Tried to Cover Her Tracks
Arias tried to cover her tracks by leaving voice mails, texts and email, addressed to Alexander while knowing good and well she had already killed him.
The communications pictured her as a concerned friend, who wanted to see how he had been doing and acting as if she knew nothing about his death.
There reportedly will be no trial today and court will re-convene on Monday.
We can only hope for a rapid end to this trial. Arias has to know that she should have taken the advice of Sir Walter Scott, instead of weaving a web of lies and deceit that could lead to her execution. The following poll asks the question, that if you were a juror, with your knowledge of the trial as of today, which verdict you would render…Guilty or not guilty.
I may be in the minority, but I think The First 48 is the best crime show on television. The show makes me respect homicide detectives, for being called out at all times, to arrive at the scene of homicide, for the ups and downs they face, during an investigation and how to find out the truth, when two or more criminals are telling different stories.
Most of us can only imagine what the detectives see at the scene of a homicide. Watched one particularly gruesome story about a mom and her two-year old son, being shot while sleeping.
There are a large number of cases, that are connected with drug deals gone wrong. One killer was upset that he got one gram less of the drug, so killed the drug dealer. It is surprising how many drug dealers are out there, who otherwise seem to be solid citizens. Another reason for a drug killing is when one dealer invades the territory of another drug dealer.
It is interesting to see the detectives, as they knock on doors of houses close to the crime scene. Sometimes the residents are scared and say they don’t know anything, while others will name and/or names of the shooters.
When crimes are committed inside a store or the parking lot, the detectives will ask the store manager for video that matches the time of the crime. It helps identify the suspects and sometimes they can find the car of the suspect, especially if someone gives them the name of the suspect, making it easier to find the car and search it. They have to have a warrant to search a vehicle.
The detectives follow leads to see where they will take them. They use the standard police forensics to solve cases. Ballistics experts can identify if a bullet was shot from a certain gun and fingerprints and DNA are extremely important in many cases.
When the identity of the victim is unknown for several days, it makes it almost impossible to solve a crime, until their identity becomes known.
One lady suspect was called in for questioning and was asked when she last saw the victim. She said “The last time I saw him was the day I killed him.” The detectives knowing she was a suspect in a murder in another state also elicited a confession from her for that crime.
The toughest part of being a homicide detective is having to break the news of a loved one’s death to the family. Then after they arrest a suspect they notify the family. It doesn’t provide closure for the family, but at least they know the suspect will not kill again if convicted.
Family celebrations are often missed by the detectives, when working on the first 48 hours of a homicide.
Questioning the suspects is always a crapshoot, since they have no idea if a suspect will confess, or if they will immediately ask for a lawyer, when they know they are facing a capital murder case.
We can be thankful for the homicide detectives, who are often working while we sleep, to get criminals off the streets and make our streets safer.
Daryl Lamont Keener an habitual bank robber has been sentenced to a 1,256 year sentence. He had served only part of a six-year sentence for a previous bank robbery charge. Evidently that sentence did nothing, to prevent him from ending his life of crime. Instead he participated in eight more robberies and Colorado treats repeat offenders harshly as Keener found out at the sentencing.
Keener will be 1,287 years old when his sentence ends in the year 3268, so could be the oldest man on earth at that time. It is doubtful that Keener will re-embark on his bank robbing career, after his sentence ends since he will probably be using a walker by then.
The Kardashian family franchise may be showing signs of crumbling in the last few months. First of all there was the backlash, after Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from NBA player Kris Humphries. There are questions now if their wedding was genuine or a made for television sham that had nothing to do with reality.
Kourtney Kardashian is having a second baby born out-of-wedlock with Scott Dissick the father. That only shows a weakening of family values in American society, when a family with one child out-of-wedlock has another one on the way. Apparently Kourtney is still waiting for Dissick to prove his worth as a father for the children, but to me that should have been decided long ago. Of course Ryan Seacrest who produces Keeping Up With the Kardashians wants this kind of tension between Kourtney and Scott to continue, since drama drives ratings and the more drama the better for the E network.
Khloe and Lamar Move To Dallas
The relationship of Lamar Odom and his wife Khloe is being tested by the trade, that sent Odom to the Dallas Mavericks from the Los Angeles Lakers. Odom has not played well since joining the Mavericks and it could be that he is still incensed over being traded, so is not the player he was with the Lakers. He is too good of a player, to suddenly become a terrible player.
Odom is earning over $8 million this season and will continue to be paid his salary. The situation can’t be helped by the filming of Khloe and Lamar. All the drama during the filming may make for good television, but it can’t be good for the relationship or for Odom’s basketball career.
The situation became even worse last week when Odom was demoted to the developmental team but in the last 22 minutes that move has been rescinded. The same player who was voted the best sixth man in NBA last year is having a season to forget.
A quick look at Odom’s percentage numbers this season compared to last season show badly he is playing this year. His field goal percentage has dropped from .530 last season to .357 this season. His free throw percentage fell from .675 to .577 and his scoring has almost been cut in half from 14.4 points per game last season to only 7.7 points per game this season.
Back To Lawsuit
Meanwhile back to the lawsuit, it raises the question, of if celebrities who endorse products should be financially liable, if that product is not as advertised. Assuming that the Kardashians actually used QuickTrim, they should have some idea of whether it is a good product or not. If they knew it was not as advertised and continued to endorse it, then they may be liable. However, it may be impossible to prove in a courtroom, that they knowingly endorsed a less than effective product, while knowing that product was not worthy of their endorsement.
One positive outcome from the suit is that it may warn celebrities, to really check out the products they are endorsing and not just assume they are as advertised.
This situation is reminiscent of when Pat Boone appeared in commercials touting Acne-Statin which was supposed to clear up skin blemishes. This Wikipedia entry tells about what happened to Boone, when it was proved that Acne-Statin was not what it was cracked up to be:
In 1978, Boone became the first target in the Federal Trade Commission‘s crackdown on false claim product endorsements by celebrities. He had appeared with his daughter Debby in a commercial to claim that all four of his daughters had found a preparation named Acne-Statin a “real help” in keeping their skin clear. The FTC filed a complaint against the manufacturer, contending that the product did not really keep skin free of blemishes. Boone eventually signed a consent order in which he promised not only to stop appearing in the ads but to pay about 2.5% of any money that the FTC or the courts might eventually order the manufacturer to refund to consumers. Boone said, through a lawyer, that his daughters actually did use Acne-Statin, and that he was “dismayed to learn that the product’s efficacy had not been scientifically established as he believed.”[14
It will be interesting to follow the class action suit against the Kardashians, to see if they have to make restitution or whether they can emerge from the lawsuit, without having to pay anyone.
There are plans for even more Kardashian spin-off shows on the E channel. It is surprising that people still watch these shows knowing there is very little reality involved in the so-called reality shows. Ryan Seacrest is getting richer and is making all the Kardashians richer from these shows.
Maybe the Kardashian family will be more cognizant of the fans that buy the products they endorse and make more of an effort to insure that those products do what the Kardashians say they will do.
Their world may not be crumbling, but there are signs of cracks in the foundation.
Gov. Robert F. Kennon was governor of Louisiana from 1952-1956.
It was almost 60 years ago when Louisiana State Police Superintendent Francis Grevemberg started making surprise raids on gambling establishments in the 50′s and seized and smashed slot machines, rendering them to the point of which they were completely useless.
Grevemberg and his associates made 1,000 raids and destroyed 8,229 slot machines during 1952-1956 when Gov. Robert F. Kennon was the governor of Louisiana.
Gangster Frank Costello was forced out of the slot machine business in New York City when Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia destroyed the machines and pushed them into a watery grave in the 30′s.
Senator Huey P. Long sensing a chance to make some quick money offered Costello a deal, where he could set up his slot machines in Louisiana, with Long demanding ten percent of the profits.
That is how Louisiana became saturated with slot machines and Grevemberg was given the task of ridding the state of slot machines.
Former Louisiana governor, Edwin Edwards was a Crowley attorney at the time and argued that the slot machines were legal, since they were being taxed by the state. For more on the raids and the history of slot machines see this Eunice Today article:
Louisiana State Police Superintendent Francis Grevemberg shown smashing slot machines during a raid in the 50′s on a gambling establishment during the Gov. Robert F. Kennon administration.
Governor Earl K. Long took office in 1956 and ordered a stop to the destruction of slot machines. Little did Long or anyone else for that matter foresee that the gambling industry was down, but not down for the count.
Now it is almost 60 years later and slot machines are in operation, by the thousands in Louisiana casinos. There are now 22 casinos in operation currently in the state of Louisiana.
With the proliferation of casinos today in Louisiana, the chances of slot machines being destroyed are slim and none. The taxes from the casinos are pouring into Louisiana coffers and any opposition to gambling casinos is probably a waste of time.
So instead of smashing slot machines being smashed, they are kept in good repair, so the state of Louisiana can continue to reap tax dollars from their use.
1959 was not a good year for Governor Earl K. Long, the Democratic governor of Louisiana. Governor Long wanted to retain his position as governor, but was prevented from running again, since he was not allowed to succeed himself. So that problem, along with the return of his heavy drinking and taking up smoking again, combined to place him in a bad mental state. In addition he was taking pills to make him sleep, in combination with uppers and downers.
The situation was exacerbated when he was in a rage as he ranted during a legislative session. He later meant to apologize for his behavior, but instead flew into another rage instead.
The following short audio of Governor Long ranting in the legislature can be heard here:
Jesse Bankston, the Louisiana Director of Hospitals, thought that Long needed immediate treatment, so had him restrained for two days, while mulling over what to do next about the governor.
It was determined that it would be better to transport Governor Long to an out-of-state hospital, so that he could not use his power of governor, so he was sent to a Galveston, Texas hospital.
Taken to Galveston Hospital
He was strapped into a gurney and flown from Baton Rouge to Galveston and taken to John Sealy Hospital. Dr. Titus Harris had been informed that Governor Louisiana was there on his own volition, but found out that was not the case.
Governor Long filed papers to be released from the hospital, after threatening his wife Blanche with federal kidnapping charges, for having him transported across state line to Texas. He then made a deal with Blanche and Russell Long, that he would consent to be sent to Oschner Foundation Hospital in New Orleans.
However after one day there, he told Blanche wanted to Winnfield to rest. Blanche told him that he had promised to stay at Oschner, but Earl said that he didn’t say how long he would stay.
Blanche Long worried about what the governor might do next, had Chester Williams the coroner of Baton Rouge prepare the papers, to have Governor Long committed to a state mental institution. Meanwhile Long who had left Oschner Foundation Hospital in New Orleans, was intercepted by six sheriff’s deputies and taken to Baton Rouge.
This paragraph from Inside Northside Magazine describes the chaotic scene at the courthouse:
The deputies dragged the governor of Louisiana, kicking and screaming, out of the car. They punched him, knocked him to the ground, and put him in their car. He was examined by the coroner, who was not a psychiatrist, and by a psychiatrist who had never met him. The psychiatrist rendered a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, which was quite commonly used at that time to commit anyone for any reason.
He was taken to Southeast Louisiana Hospital in Mandeville, where he was admitted under the commitment order. While he was treated there, the acting director of the hospital, Dr. Charles Belcher, later indicated that they had not made any final diagnosis of his true condition.
Governor Long contacted Joe Sims to represent him in a habeas corpus hearing in Covington, Louisiana. The governor had a trick up his sleeve though. He called a meeting of the state hospitals board to meet before the hearing.
The governor had Jesse Bankston removed from office at the meeting, then appointed a friend of his as the new director. The new director then proceeded to fire Dr. Charles Belcher the superintendent of Southeast Louisiana Hospital. The new superintendent, then stated that there was no reason for Governor Long, to remain in the hospital and authorized his release.
Feared Being Poisoned
Governor Long was taken to the Green Springs Motel in Covington to eat breakfast, but refused to eat food off his plate, fearing it might be poisoned, so helped himself to the food on the plates of the others eating there.
He would spend the next few days at the Pine Manor Motel in Covington and while he was there Blaze Starr a stripper, from Bourbon Street in New Orleans paid him a visit on July 2, 1959. His romance with Starr seemed to be more of a revenge thing, after Blanche had him committed.
Long Garnered National Attention
Governor Long was in the national news that summer and we happened to be on vacation from Louisiana to Canada. One vehicle we encountered on the trip had someone holler “Hey Governor Long” at us. They probably couldn’t help themselves, when they saw the Louisiana license plates on our vehicle.
To read the complete article about him being committed the entire Inside Northside Magazine article, which is very lengthy can be read here:
53 years have passed since our governor went off the deep end and while researching today, have learned more about those days in one day, than what I have learned in the previous 53 years.
Runs For Lieutenant Governor
Governor Long was intent on becoming governor, but when he saw it wasn’t going to be allowed, he ran on the Noe-Long ticket with former governor of Monroe. The ticket came in a disappointing fourth place polling only 97,654 votes. They finished behind deLesseps Morrison with 278,956 votes, former governor Jimmie Davis with 213,551 votes and Senator Willie Rainach, who Long had ranted against in his legislature outburst received 143.095. The three candidates garnered 635,602 votes compared to the 97,654 votes for the Noe-Long ticket.
It looked like the political career of Governor Earl K. Long was dead in the water. But this is Earl K. Long we are talking about and he entered the race for the 8th Congressional District against incumbent Rep. Harold B. McSween. Surprisingly he won the election but died on September 5, 1960 at the age of 65, before he could take office.
The years 1959 and 1960 were turbulent years for Governor Long. It all started with his rant in the Louisiana legislature, then progressed to him being committed in two mental institutions, firing the administrators to be released. Then came his affair with the Bourbon Street stripper Blaze Starr, his loss as a lieutenant governor candidate in 1959, then he arose from the ashes to win the 8th Congressional representative seat, shortly before dying.
I only saw Governor Long once. He was at the Continental Trailways bus station making a speech on the stump, while handing out chickens to those, he hoped would vote for him.
Louisiana politicians were and are still known for taking their politics seriously and nobody took politics more seriously than Earl K. Long.
It is hard to comprehend that 48 years have passed, since President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on Nov. 22, a Friday morning that will live forever in history. I was subbing for the company postal clerk, who was on vacation, for the 25th Administration Company of the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii on that date and was the first to tell the company commander about the president being shot, after hearing the news on the radio. Meanwhile the regular postal clerk was flying military standby back to the mainland. He was trying to make a connection to New York City, from California, but was routed to Dallas, Texas of all places, arriving there about the time of the assassination.
Reading Warren Commission Report
I had a copy of the Warren Commission Report, that I had never really read until this last week. President Johnson commissioned the report a week after the assassination.
President Johnson was eager to have the Warren Report released, as soon as possible, to avoid having it contain any conspiracy theories, that might create doubt among the American public.
There is plenty of circumstantial evidence, that makes it appear that Lee Harvey Oswald fired the rifle, from the six floor window, of the Texas Schoolbook Depository building. Some witnesses on the ground reportedly saw a figure holding a gun, but as far as I know, nobody identified that figure as being Oswald. It is doubtful anyone could see someone inside a sixth story window, then be able to identify that person, since only their arms and the gun would be seen.
I am not saying that Oswald didn’t fire the shots, that killed President Kennedy and also wounded Texas Governor John Connally. He just appeared to be the one most likely to have fired the shots.
Lee Harvey Oswald: Portrait Of An Assassin
Lee Harvey Oswald had all the credentials of an assassin. He was a loner, that was an activist in liberal causes. He was a frustrated individual, who never really fit in with most political groups. He was living in Russia, thinking he had found a better way of living, but left when he saw their government didn’t care about the little people like him.
It wasn’t until after the assassination, that it was found out, that Oswald had attempted to shoot General Edwin Walker in his Dallas home on May 10, 1963. This shooting and the Kennedy assassination, proved that Oswald would just as soon shoot a conservative like Walker as well as a liberal like Kennedy.
By now everyone knows, that Oswald who never had a driver’s license told his co-worker Wesley Frazier, that he needed to go to Irving, Texas to pick up some curtain rods. He normally went to Irving on Fridays, but he needed those “curtain rods” for work on Friday, ostensibly to kill the president of the United States. Everyone also knows now, that those “curtain rods’ turned out to be the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle found inside the sixth story window, of the Texas Schoolbook Depository building.
Why was Oswald in Mexico City two months before the assassination? It is still a mystery, to my knowledge, what he was doing in Mexico City. It is known that he was trying to secure a visa to Cuba through the Cuban embassy, but there is little record of what he was actually doing in Mexico City. There are even reports that another individual, had used Oswald’s name, during the time he was in Mexico City. If there was a conspiracy, this may have been where it was planned.
Patrolman M.L. Baker was in the Texas Schoolbook Depository, looking for the shooter, when he encountered Oswald in the lunchroom. Oswald from the reports I have read, showed no signs of being under duress, while Baker was holding a gun on him. His coolness in that situation sealed the fate of both Officer J.D. Tippit, who would be killed less than an hour later, when he stopped Oswald on a Dallas street. If Oswald had exhibited any fright or seemed to be in distress, it is likely that Patrolman Baker would have arrested him in the lunchroom.
Oswald would have been without a weapon and presumably would have been taken to the police station without incident. However, Oswald may have tried to take the policeman’s gun, which could have been deadly.
There are so many incidents that day that could have changed history. Officer Tippit could have just as easily killed Oswald, instead of being gunned down himself by Oswald. That would have prevented the circus that ensued at the police station, after Oswald was arrested at the theater. History would have changed if Officer Tippit had stopped Oswald before he had a chance to receive his gun from the North Beckley residence.
Oswald allegedly fired his first shot at President Kennedy at 12:30 PM Dallas time. He encounters Patrolman Baker in the lunchroom and is leaving the Texas Schoolbook Depository by 12:33 PM. The building is reportedly sealed at 12:48, enabling Oswald to make his getaway. President Kennedy arrives at Parkland Hospital at 12:38 PM. Dallas Police homicide chief, who is awaiting the arrival of President Kennedy calls at 12:51 to ask if Kennedy is still coming to the Trade Mart for the luncheon in his honor, but is told it is very doubtful and in reality, Kennedy was dead nine minutes later.
By 1:00 Oswald has killed Officer Tippit and is seen entering the Texas Theater, while President Kennedy is being pronounced dead at that same minute.
Dallas police car #207 honks horn twice outside the Oswald house. This doesn’t sound very believable, so may not have even happened. Since when do police warn a criminal that they are outside their house?
The following timeline gives an interesting look at the events of that day. However, it can’t be taken too seriously accuracy wise, as it has Oswald arriving at the Texas Theater, ten minutes before Officer Tippit is found dead in the street, which doesn’t sound right to me.
Rose Cheramie was en route to Dallas with some other criminal types and said this about her reasons for being in Dallas:
“She said she was going to, number one, pick up some money, pick up her baby, and to kill Kennedy.” (p. 9 of Fruge’s 4/18/78 deposition)
While at the hospital Cheramie predicted the precise moment the assassination would take place:
At the hospital, Cheramie again predicted the assassination. On November 22nd, several nurses were watching television with Cheramie. According to these witnesses, “…during the telecast moments before Kennedy was shot Rose Cheramie stated to them, ‘This is when it is going to happen’ and at that moment Kennedy was assassinated. The nurses, in turn, told others of Cheramie’s prognostication.” (Memo of Frank Meloche to Louis Ivon, 5/22/67. Although the Dallas motorcade was not broadcast live on the major networks, the nurses were likely referring to the spot reports that circulated through local channels in the vicinity of the trip. Of course, the assassination itself was reported on by network television almost immediately after it happened.) Further, according to a psychiatrist there, Dr. Victor Weiss, Rose “…told him that she knew both Ruby and Oswald and had seen them sitting together on occasions at Ruby’s club.” (Ibid., 3/13/67) In fact, Fruge later confirmed the fact that she had worked as a stripper for Ruby. (Louisiana State Police report of 4/4/67.)
There is reportedly no mention of Cheramie in the Warren Report. You would think someone who accurately predicted the moment President Kennedy would be shot, would be taken more seriously by the Warren Commission, but then that would back up the conspiracy theorists, which the Warren commission avoided at all costs.
It is not so much a matter if Oswald shot Kennedy but more of a matter, of was he aided by a conspiracy. Kennedy had a myriad of enemies, who wanted him dead. They included the unions, mobsters, Castro, KGB, possibly the CIA who were peeved at Kennedy for withdrawing air support for the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Even President Johnson has been mentioned as someone, who would like to see Kennedy dead, since he had the most to gain (the presidency). One online report even states that Oswald was seen at Johnson’s ranch in Mexico. That may be a false report, but worth looking into.
Jack Ruby Becomes Prosecutor and Jury, Killing Oswald
Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby, showed up at the police station on the Friday night of the assassination, to see the Oswald press conference. Ruby became emotionally distraught over the death of Kennedy and decided the American people would never have the chance to know if there was a conspiracy, behind the assassination of Kennedy.
Ruby singlehandedly started a wave of books about the assassination, since Americans would never know about any conspiracies, since Oswald was dead and dead men tell no tales.
Hundreds of books have been written about the assassination. The Warren Commission Report has focused on proving that Oswald was the lone gunman in Dallas 48 years ago. They seemed to have glossed over any conspiracy theories. Oswald was a very shady character, who was all over the place and may have been covering up for some sinister group of conspiracists.
It is still a mystery of how Ruby was in the basement of the Dallas Police station on Sunday, November 24 and how he got in there. He reportedly arrived in the basement a couple of minutes before Oswald was to be moved to another facility.
Ruby said he killed Oswald, because he hated that Jackie Kennedy would have to return to Dallas for the trial of Lee Harvey Oswald.
Summary
I am not saying that the Warren Commission was a complete cover-up, but it seemed to be intent, on promoting the lone gunman theory. By not admitting a conspiracy was possible, it took a lot of the enemies of Kennedy off the hook, including the new president Lyndon B. Johnson, who was relegated to being a do-nothing vice president, until Kennedy’s death, propelled him to the presidency.
He was no longer the second banana to President Kennedy and his inner circle. The only reason Kennedy chose Johnson as a running mate, was so that he could garner some southern votes, attracted by Johnson being on the ticket as vice-president.
After 48 years, there is still no smoking gun that I know of that points to anyone besides Oswald being the assassin. I have heard for years about shots coming from the grassy knoll, but don’t think it is even mentioned in the Warren Report.
There are a lot of what-ifs that came into play on November 22, 1963:
What if it had rained that day and the bubble-top would have been down, ruining any chance of any assassin shooting the president?
What if Patrolman Baker would have arrested Oswald before leaving the schoolbook depository, which would have saved the life of Officer Tippit?
What if someone had walked in on the shooter from the sixth floor window seconds before the first shot?
What if the Dallas Police department had kept the crowds under control at the police station, during the interrogation of Oswald?
What if someone had stopped Ruby from entering the basement of the police station?
What if someone had taken Rose Cheramie seriously and prevented the assassination?
JFKLancer.com has some very interesting observations about what the Warren Commission Report failed to tell the American people:
Alger Hiss who was convicted of perjury in 1950 after a House Un-American Activites committee which included Richard Nixon sent the case to a grand jury and eventually led to his conviction.
Richard Nixon was a first term Republican congressman, from California, when he was appointed a member of subcommittee of three to investigate the Alger Hiss case. Nixon, Edward Hebert of Louisiana and John McDowell from Pennsylvania were given the job to determine whether Whittaker Chambers or Alger Hiss were giving truthful testimony.
They found enough evidence to bring the Hiss case to a grand jury, even though FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover had told them, he was told to not cooperate with the committee. The committee investigators unearthed enough evidence, to bring the case to the grand jury.
Alger Hiss had advanced into a high position in the U.S. government, serving as an assistant to Secretary of State Edward Stettinus. Hiss accompanied Stettinus,to the Yalta Conference in February of 1945. The purpose of the conference ,was for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill, to plan the defeat of Adolf Hitler, which came a couple of months after the conference.
Hiss would later be found to have given intelligence to the Russians as early as the 1930′s. The fact that reached such a high standing, in the American government is troubling. It was alarming at the support he received from top government officials during his trials.
Chambers would produce five rolls of micro-film, which would become known as the “Pumpkin Papers”, since Chambers had hidden them inside a pumpkin.
This website has extensive information about the Pumpkin Papers:
A grand jury indicted Hiss on two perjury charges, but he wasn’t charged with espionage, because of the statute of limitations. Hiss then went to trial on May 31, 1949 and ended in a hung jury on July 7 of the same year.
The case against Hiss seemed to take a turn for the worse, when the key government witness, Chambers admitted he had given false testimony in the past. Hiss had friends in high places, in President Harry Truman, who called the trial a “red herring” and Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, who thought Hiss was innocent.
The second trial which started on May 17, 1949 ended on November 17, 1949 and it ended on January 21, 1950.
Typewriter Key Evidence
The key evidence against Hiss was that experts identified his typewriter, as the one which had been used to type stolen documents, then the top-secret papers were given to the Russians. Hess claimed until he died, that he had been framed and that the government, had committed forgery with his typewriter, to make it appear the documents, had been typed on his Woodstock typewriter.
Hiss Receives Five Year Sentence
Alger Hiss was convicted of two counts and sentenced to five years in prison, on January 25, 1960, on two perjury counts. He would be released 44 months later on November 27, 1954. Ironically, Hiss would be allowed to practice law in Massachusetts d on August 5, 1975. Hiss died on November 15, 1996 in New York City, claiming his innocence to the end.
Richard Nixon handout from his first Congressional election in 1946 in California which he won.
Nixon Rises to National Prominence
Richard Nixon made the most, of his first national exposure and would be elected a U.S. Senator from California in 1950. Two years later in 1952 he would be chosen to be the vice presidential candidate in the 1952 presidential election in which Dwight D. Eisenhower would become the first Republican president, since Herbert Hoover left office in 1929. Nixon would serve as vice president until 1961.
Checkers Speech
Nixon would make the headlines many times in the future. Nobody who was around back then, can forget his “Checkers” speech, when he addressed questions about his campaign finances.
Nixon Attacked in Peru, Venezuela
He would make news again when he confronted anti-American demonstrators in Peru, then his limousine would be attacked in Caracas, Venezuela, with both events in 1958.
Kitchen Debate With Khrushchev
Who can forget Nixon’s famous “Kitchen Debate” with Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev, over the merits of capitalism and communism in 1959?
Lost 1960 Presidential Election
Nixon would win the Republican nomination. in 1960, but after a poor performance in the first presidential debate, would lose the presidential election, to John F. Kennedy by a slim 120,000 votes.
Loses By 300,000 Votes in California Governor Race
Many wrote the obituary for Nixon’s political career, when he lost to Gov. Pat Brown in the 1962 gubernatorial race, by a margin of 300,000 votes.
Rises From the Ashes in 1968
After his loss in California, Nixon practiced law and supported 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, then supported 1966 congressional candidates. He was nominated to be the 1968 Republican candidate, while Senator Hubert H. Humphrey was nominated by the Democrats, at a tumultuous convention, in Chicago due to demonstrations, by anti-Vietnam war protesters in the streets of Chicago. Nixon wins by a half million votes over Humphrey.
Wins Overwhelming Victory in 1972
Nixon would win every state except Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, in an overwhelming victory over Democratic candidate George McGovern.
President Gerald Ford, Betty Ford, Pat Nixon and former President Richard Nixon walk toward helicopter, that would leave with them for the last time on August 9, 1974 after his resignation.
Watergate Ends His Political Career
Five men broke into the Democratic National Convention offices, in the Watergate Hotel on June 17, 1972. There was no reason for the break-in as Nixon won the 1972 presidential election easily.
Nixon would use every political trick imaginable to cover up, White House involvement with the cover-up of the break-in. Nixon’s tactic was to deny, deny and deny some more, that the White House was involved. His own taping system in the White House came back to haunt him. We will never forget his famous “I Am Not A Crook” speech, but eventually admitted he was a crook by leaving office in disgrace, becoming the first president to resign from office. We can only imagine, what Nixon and his wife were feeling as the helicopter, left the White House grounds, for the last time.
The following article includes a link to an article that shows Casey Anthony shopping at an Old Navy store in Ohio and includes three photos.
The New York Post published an article today that shows Casey Anthony shopping in Ohio. A Florida judge today ruled that Anthony will not have to return to Florida today as part of a probation requirement for check fraud. She had written $644.25 of bad checks after stealing a checkbook from a friend.
Anthony was spotted shopping at an Old Navy store in Ohio and didn’t seem to be too happy to see a photographer snapping her photo. It is assumed that the photographer followed her home, so her cover may be blown. Now that the paparazzi knows where to find her, they should descend on the Ohio town in droves.
It is a mystery who is bankrolling her finances, since she has not as of yet signed any deals to tell her story. The Hustler magazine offer for her to pose nude for $500,000 apparently is still on the table. That is one way she could make money, since some interview deals, include a contingency that she be required to take a lie detector test. There is no way, she would accept a deal like that and the public outcry against any entity paying her for an interview may prevent her from telling her story for money.
Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the jury returning the not guilty verdict on murder charges, but guilty charges for lying to police.
This link takes readers to the article, with photos of Casey Anthony:
Matt McDonald tells in his blog about the day he was arrested, which turned out to be his last day of freedom, before being arrested.
Like Matt related in the blog, he had stopped selling oxycodone eight months before he was arrested. He was at work for a meeting when he was arrested. He talks about seeing his parents in the courtroom at the trial.
It turns out that being on Big Brother 9 was not a good thing. He would never have met Adam Jasinski, the winner that year who may or may not have ratted Matt out, to avoid a longer prison sentence. Jasinski got him started selling drugs, but apparently McDonald had second thoughts about it after selling drugs, then eventually stopped selling.
His past caught up with him though and he is paying the price now for selling the oxycodone. Hopefully, McDonald will be released soon and given a chance to get his life in order. His posts from jail are very interesting and gives us an idea of what prisoners have to face, in their day-to-day lives behind bars.
He focuses in the blog a lot on the fact that the indictment said the United States vs. Matt McDonald, feeling the whole country was against him.
Matt McDonald shown about the time he was on Big Brother 9.Matt McDonald shown in a mug shot after being arrested.
Matt McDonald who was known as Matty on Big Brother 9 is now in a federal prison in Massachusetts. He was convicted of conspiring with Big Brother 9 winner Adam Jasinski to sell Oxycodone.
Jasinski used a large portion of his $500,000 winnings to buy Oxycodone, then conspired to enlist McDonald in the drug selling operation.
When Big Brother’s premiere show is shown each year, the house guests are shown getting the news about being selected for the show.
For Jasinski and McDonald it was only the precursor of bad news for the duo. They might not have the money they received from their drug operation, but at least they wouldn’t be spending years in prison for selling illegal drugs on the streets. Being chosen to be on Big Brother 9 was the worst thing that ever happened to them.
Big Brother house guests for the most part are never heard from again after the shows for that season are over. But for Jasinski and McDonald made the news for all the wrong reasons.
McDonald has also been arrested for beating up his pregnant girlfriend, which tells me he has little respect for women.
The following post from McDonald’s blog on June 22, 2011 seems to be genuine, but he may be in a position where he will write anything, if it means an earlier release from prison.
The language he uses is not family friendly, so want to forewarn anyone that might be offended so they can refrain from reading the next two posts.
This post tells more about his day-to-day life behind prison bars. For some reason, he is looking forward to a transfer federal prison, but he better be careful what he wishes for.
In conclusion, McDonald seems to be repentant for what he did in the past, including flooding the streets withOxycodone. He seemed to be a jerk on Big Brother 9, but his posts do show a different side of McDonald. One can only hope he has truly learned by his mistakes and that they won’t be repeated when he finishes his three-year sentence.
It seemed like to me that Nancy Grace went overboard with her criticism of the not guilty verdict in the Casey Anthony trial.
I can understand her disappointment in knowing that Casey Anthony who probably did kill her daughter Caylee is going to walk free, maybe as early as this week.
Reasonable Doubt
However, the American justice system still specifies that a juror must not vote guilty if there is a reasonable doubt. There was more than enough reasonable doubt to not send Casey Anthony to her death.
The prosecution erred in asking for death penalty, given the fact that there was no slam dunk evidence presented to the jury.
If the prosecution had asked for a life sentence, the jury may have even come back with a guilty verdict.
Not Enough Evidence
The jury simply did not have enough concrete evidence to support a death penalty.
If the jury had rendered a guilty verdict and a death sentence was given and carried out, there would be no recourse, if it later became known that Ms. Anthony had not committed the crime.
Grace Went Overboard With Comments
The reaction of Nancy Grace to the verdict went way overboard in my opinion. It was like she was waging a personal vendetta against Casey Anthony. I can understand why she would emphasize that Caylee Anthony’s killer went unpunished. The one thing both sides can agree on is that Caylee Anthony is dead.
It didn’t take long yesterday to tire of hearing Grace call Casey tot mom. She has a name and it is Casey, not tot mom. When Graces says tot mom, it has a derogatory sound to it.
No Fingerprints Or DNA Linking Anthony
It is one thing to want justice for a murderer. However, it is another thing to want justice so much that someone like Nancy Grace would send Casey Anthony to death row, with no fingerprints or DNA linking Casey to the crime.
Grace may be correct in saying that Casey’s lies may have led to the not guilty verdict by the jury. If she had told the truth to the detectives, she would likely either be on death row now or serving a life sentence.
Lying May Have Kept Anthony Off Death Row
The Miranda law says Casey had the right to remain silent, but by lying she may receive a four-year sentence, instead of the death penalty or a life sentence.
There was an abundance of circumstantial evidence presented during the trial by the prosecution. However, you can’t send someone to their death on circumstantial evidence.
Wanted to Stay on Good Side of Grace
It was evident that the reporters and legal analysts on the program with Grace, were being careful to not get on the wrong side of Grace with their comments,
except for Dr. Drew saying that the prosecution did not prove motive, which I don’t think Grace agreed with.
A professional reporter and legal analyst like Grace are entitled to their opinion, but yesterday we think the professionalism gave way to a personal vendetta by Grace, against Casey Anthony.
Personally, I think the jury made the correct verdict, when considering the physical evidence didn’t link Casey to the crime. If one person is sent to death row because of circumstantial evidence, it is one person too many.
Poll Questions
The following polls ask if the jury made the correct decision and if Nancy Grace went overboard with her comments after the verdict.
The Miranda rights or warning was enacted after the Supreme Court ruled that the 5th and 6th amendment rights of Ernesto Arturo Miranda had been violated when he was arrested for rape and kidnapping.
When making an arrest a police officer doesn’t have to cite the Miranda warning in a certain order, but needs to convey to the arrested person their rights, in a way they can understand.
The Miranda law was enacted after the Supreme Court ruling in the Arizona vs. Miranda decision in 1966. There have been numerous court rulings in different aspects of the law since then, but the basic Miranda rights still apply today.
Ernest Arturo Miranda whose arrest culminated in the reading of the Miranda rights to suspects when being arrested.
The state of Virginia has a line that allows a suspect being questioned to terminate the interview at any point and exercise their Miranda rights.
There are some circumstances when a suspect may be read their rights, but may not be capable of understanding what they mean because of a developmental disability. It is not clear to me what would be done in this situation, but someone reading this may be able to clarify the situation.
Sometimes a police officer has to take the safety of the public into account when arresting someone, so the Miranda warning is not read until after the suspect has been handcuffed.
The following paragraph from Wikipedia outlines the six factors needed for Miranda to apply:
The Miranda rule applies to the use of testimonial evidence in criminal proceedings that is the product of custodial police interrogation.[10] Therefore, for Miranda to apply six factors must be present:
the evidence must have been obtained while the suspect was in custody[12]
the evidence must have been the product of interrogation[13]
the interrogation must have been conducted by state-agents[14] and
the evidence must be offered by the state during a criminal prosecution.[15]
Undercover law enforcement officials do not have to read the rights to a suspect, since the undercover official may jeopardize his own safety by revealing he is a police officer.
ERNESTO ARTURO MIRANDA
The first time Ernesto Arturo Miranda was arrested for kidnapping and rape the Supreme Court ruled that suspects should be read their Miranda rights in the Miranda vs. Ariz. case. Miranda was retried and convicted, even with his admission of guilt being thrown out.
He was sentenced to 20 to 30 years, but was out on parole in 1972 so didn’t spend much time behind bars. Miranda saw a way to make money off his name, by selling autographed Miranda rights cards for $1.50.
Miranda was later arrested for gun possession but the charges were dropped. He was still sent back to prison for a year for violating his parole, but it is confusing as to why he would be sent to prison if the charges were dropped.
Miranda’s life would come to an end when he was stabbed during a card game in a Phoenix bar. Ironically he had several Miranda cards in his possession at his death. Even more ironically the suspect used the Miranda rights to remain silent and was released. The murderer was never apprehended.
His life ended 10 years after the Miranda rights law had gone into effect.
Readers are welcome to comment and give additional information about the Miranda rights.
Richard Jewell went from being a hero for discovering a pipe bomb at the 1996 Summer Olympics and apparently saving lives of many by evacuating them, but was later looked on as a suspect by the FBI and the media.
Richard Jewell was a 33-year-old security guard for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Next month will be the 15th anniversary of that day when a terrorist put his terrorist agenda ahead of the safety of innocent bystanders there to enjoy the 1996 Olympics.
However, Jewell was in the right place at the right time, or the death toll may have been much higher when the bomb left by the terrorist exploded shortly after midnight on July 27.
Life Changed Forever
Jewell’s life would be changed forever on July 27, 1996 when he discovered a backpack underneath a bench in Centennial Park. The backpack contained a pipe bomb.
He immediately alerted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation about his discovery and helped evacuate the area, even before Eric Robert Rudolph, who later admitted being the bomber had made his 911 call to warn about the impending bomb explosion.
One of the mysteries that day was how Alice Hawthorne was killed by the explosion and over a hundred were injured since the bomb didn’t explode till 13 minutes later. A cameraman also died while running to cover the situation.
Mystery Why So Many Bystanders Were Injured, One Killed
It may have been a case of spectators wanting to see what was going on with their curiosity getting the best of them, rather than getting as far away from the scene as possible. It seems like law enforcement officials and security guards could have made sure that the area was empty as possible, since they had 13 minutes to evacuate the bystanders.
Richard Jewell at first was regarded as a hero, but then the FBI and the media combined to make him the prime suspect in the bombing. Their theory was that he planted the bomb then alerted authorities so he would become a hero.
Never Formally Charged By FBI
Jewell was never formally charged by the FBI with the bombing. He even reportedly passed a lie detector test, which should have cleared him of any wrongdoing. His case was that of FBI profiling gone wrong. The FBI was so intent on proving that Jewell fit the profile of a lone bomber that they were focusing on the wrong man.
Piedmont College President Raymond Cleere and college spokesman Scott Rawles were sued by Jewell for giving false information to the FBI with Cleere describing Jewell as a “badge wearing zealot” when he called the FBI about Jewell.
Eric Rudolph admitted to bombing at the 1996 Olympics in a plea bargain which gave him life imprisonment in exchange for the Justice Department dropping their request for the death penalty which exonerated Richard Jewell.
It was 1998 before the FBI even made Eric Rudolph their main suspect in the bombing at Centennial Park. It would be five more years before he would be arrested in 2003 after hiding in the woods of North Carolina.
Rudolph agreed to a plea bargain in 2005 admitting his guilt for the bombing at Centennial Park in exchange for the Justice Department dropping their request for the death penalty.
Filed String Of Lawsuits
Once Jewell had been cleared of being the Centennial Park bomber, he filed a string of lawsuits against the media who had taken a FBI leak blaming Jewell for the bombing. That lawsuit ended with him receiving an undisclosed settlement.
His lawsuit against NBC and Tom Brokaw resulted in him receiving a $500,000 settlement. CNN also settled with Jewell, for an undisclosed amount.
Purchased Home For Mom With N.Y. Post Settlement
He also received a settlement from the New York Post. It was enough to pay his legal expenses, plus he bought a new home for his mother with the settlement.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was able to avoid paying Jewell a settlement in 2007 when Judge John R. Mather dismissed the case in December of that year. By then however, Jewell had died four months earlier.
Died Due to Natural Causes
His death on August 29, 2007 was due to natural causes. He died in Woodbury, Georgia at the age of 44.
It is bad enough when someone charged with a crime is tried in the media. But in Jewell’s case, he was never charged but still vilified by the media.
The last 11 years of Jewell’s life were a nightmare, since he was portrayed as a criminal by most of the media, without being charged.
Hopefully, the media learned their lesson from the Richard Jewell saga, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
Five years ago Charlie and Maria Cardoso paid cash for a house in Spring Hill, Florida. All was going well for them until Bank of America foreclosed on the Cardoso residence. However, it turned out they had foreclosed on the wrong house instead of a house down the street.
Worst of all even after being told it was the wrong house, Bank America proceeded with the foreclosure. The following article details the nightmare the Cardosos experienced due to the negligence of Bank of America. My question is how could they foreclose on a house with no mortgage?
However, that isn’t the end of the story. Today’s front page on the Drudge Report says the Bank of America has been foreclosed on and they are getting a taste of their own medicine.
Bank of America ignored a judge’s order to pay the legal fees of the Cardosos, so the bank was padlocked to get their attention.
Leroy Fick 59, won $2 million in the Michigan lottery but despite telling food stamp officials that he won $2 million in the lottery, was told to keep using his food stamp card.
It is a mystery why he continues to use his food stamp card, since there is no way someone with $2 million would need food stamps.
It is almost a certainty that the law will be changed, but it should have been changed long before it got to this point.
Too many hardworking taxpayers are paying taxes to fund the food stamp program and they won’t be happy to learn about this waste of state money.
This man is rich enough to buy the grocery store, yet continues to draw from the public trough and is having his cake and eating it too.
It will be interesting to see how much longer this millionaire continues to buy his groceries with food stamps.
We have seen truly needy families helped by Ty Pennington and his design crew and volunteer builders, but in this case the family given a new home turned out to be scammers that were out to get a new home for nothing not to mention a secret they kept from the researchers trying to verify if they really needed a new home.
The Chuck and Terri Cerda home was more than the family could pay for, so they moved to Oregon from Las Vegas.
The reason that ABC had the home built in the first place was that their daughters Maggie and Molly both supposedly had to wear masks to avoid the germs in their old house before the new house was built.
Six doctors said the two girls were not in any medical jeopardy. Even worse Maggie and Molly were victims of medical child abuse.
The girls apparently had been trained to feign illness when being examined by doctors, yet were able to run and play when they had the chance.
It is good that the Cerda family was not able to make the payments on their new home given to them by ABC.
When they moved to Oregon, the Oregon health system saw through their chicanery and recognized they were using the children for monetary reasons.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition has helped a lot of families, but the Cerda family’s story of having two daughters who had to wear masks to avoid germs, turned out to be a lie according to the following article.
Many other families who had houses built for them by ABC have had to give up their homes because they couldn’t afford the payments.
Sometimes when the families are shown their new home, someone will present them a check to pay off the mortgage for the family.
However, the families in this Wall Street Journal article, had to give up their homes and put them on the market. So when Ty Pennington says “welcome home” to the family moving into their new house, it doesn’t mean the family always is able to live in the homes for many years to come.
ABC needs to be even more careful about who they give these new homes to, now that they know a family may only be pretending to actually need a new home.
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition also needs to build smaller houses to keep the monthly payments down for the families.
Photos like this remind us of the hazards of driving on interstate highways at high rates of speed.
The Texas House of Representatives has already approved changing the maximum speed limit in the state to 85MPH. The bill will now go to the Senate.
If a car maintains the 85MPH pace for two hours they will have driven 170 miles. I am not sure that cars can withstand being driven at that speed for two hours without overheating. It is pushing a car to its limit.
It would also take longer to stop if a car traveling at that rate of speed were to hit another car. For instance a car traveling 85MPH which came up behind a car traveling at 55MPH might not be able to stop in time to avoid a collision.
The higher rate of speed, more importantly would be more likely to result in more fatalities, plus there would be more cars totaled, which would result in higher insurance premiums. The car insurance companies would have to raise the premiums to pay for the damage inflicted by cars going 85MPH.
Another scary thought is the mentality of many drivers, who think they can go five or ten miles over the speed limit. That could mean cars could be driven 90-95MPH on the interstates.
The thought of getting to your destination faster is nice but it is even nicer to drive 70MPH and arrive safely at your destination, with no damage to your vehicle.
The DeRidder jail became known as the "hanging jail" after two murderers were hung there in 1928 for the robbery and murder of a taxi cab driver.
DeRidder, Louisiana is a small city of 9,000 (according to the 2000 census) but is known for its hanging jail. The jail is now 97 years old having been built in 1914.
The double hanging took place on March 9, 1928 some 83 years ago, when Joe Genna and Molton Brasseaux hung for robbing and murdering 45 year old J.J. Brevelle, a taxi driver.
The jail was closed in 1984 which is 27 years ago, but it still is drawing interest from paranormal groups.
LA Spirits is a paranormal group that explored the facility. After setting up their equipment they said they heard footsteps, heard a shower running and could smell pipe smoke.
There is a website that give many details about the jail, the crime which caused the two murderers to be hanged and how they were apprehended.
This website also features a video taken inside the jail and the webmaster is to be commended for their research.
General Electric has reported that the company made $14.2 billion in profits, in their worldwide operations. It is a sad situation, while the Social Security coffers are reportedly being depleted, a huge corporation like General Electric is paying no tax.
The company has invested millions of dollars, while pushing for changes in tax law. Worst of all, President Obama has appointed Jeffrey R. Immelt a GE executive, to help formulate plans, to discuss corporate taxes. It is evident that Immelt will not suggest, or support any changes, that would cause GE to pay taxes.
I am not against corporations making a profit, but when they are earning billions of dollars in profits, while not paying any taxes, it is time to question the whole corporate tax situation.
Hopefully, President Obama will realize something needs to be done now, or the economy will only get worse, as companies like GE lay off workers. Then the government has to spend money to retrain those workers or support them financially as they receive financial assistance from federal and state agencies.
President Ronald Reagan made an effort to force companies like GE to pay their fair share of the tax, but now the companies are focusing on avoiding taxes. The worst thing is they are getting away with it and will continue to avoid paying taxes, unless the government puts an end to what amounts to stealing from the government.
N.Y. Times has a four page article detailing how GE is cheating the government out of millions and maybe billions of taxes they should be paying.
Archive.org will keep a reader entertained for hours.
Archive.org is probably the best source for audio and video online this side of YouTube. The home page for the website as I write this article has a link to an audio version of a Grateful Dead concert at Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum at New Haven, Connecticut on May 11, 1981.
The concert is only one of 803,305 audio recordings at the website. There are 2,214 old time radio related links to old time radio shows and magazines that were printed during the height of the popularity of old time radio.
One Roy Rogers episode has been downloaded 74,882 times showing that the website is available for downloading many of the old time radio shows we grew up with.
Old time radio fans will love looking at list after list of old time radio shows available for downloading including some of the more obscure shows which have very few episodes in existence.
The live music archive features 88,813 archives while the moving image archives total 451,934.
Avid readers will enjoy knowing that there are 2.694,639 texts including books and ebooks. The new Bookreader at the site includes Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin and is the example shown of how the Bookreader works.
There is an audio version of some books but the one I listened to was not of the best quality and seemed to be a computer generated voice which probably would be tiring to listen to for an entire book.
Most readers may not enjoy the voice and instead opt to read the books without sound. For those that like the audio they should enjoy the feature that highlights the portion of the book being read by the voice.
The Mega Reader iPhone app provides access to the 1.8 million free books at archive.org so they each iPhone user can have their own personal reader.
Each volume of the Warren Report investigation of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is available to read.
The site is an excellent source of reading material for educators and students who are looking for books that are no longer copyrighted.
One word of caution: it could take hours just to look at what is available at archive.org. This website may have the most content of any website online and is worth going to the website to see for yourself what is available.
William Shatner looked a lot different in this publcity shot early in his career and made his first television appearance in 1954 on Canadian television when he portrayed Ranger Bob in a Canadian version of Howdy Doody in 1954.
William Alan Shatner was born on March 22, 1931 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Shatner made his movie debut in 1951 in The Butler’s Night Off portraying a crook in a Canadian movie that grossed $35,000.
Shatner now has been in show business for 50 years and has seldom gone more than a year without being in a movie or television show.
He was in live stage productions when television presented live plays. He has one of the most extensive resumes ever since he has appeared in several different television shows as a guest star and he appeared in the Defenders from 1961 to 1965 acting in one episode in each season portraying a different character in each season.
William Shatner as he appeared portraying Capt. James T. Kirk on Star Trek which has been the most significant role in his career.
His big break came when got the role of Capt. James Kirk in Star Trek in which he appeared in 79 episodes during the 1966-1969 run.
Star Trek returned to television in 1973-1974 and Shatner starred in 22 of those episodes. He starred in Star Trek the Motion Picture in 1979. He appeared in five more Star Trek movies with his last Star Trek movie appearance being in 1991 in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
Shatner was seen in either a Star Trek television series or movie intermittently from 1966 to 1991 spanning 25 years.
Heather Locklear and William Shatner as they looked during the five year run of T.J. Hooker.
Shatner’s next long running TV series was T.J. Hooker in which he co-starred with Heather Locklear from 1982 -1986. Shatner appeared in 90 episodes of the show.
Adrian Zmed and the singer James Darren also were in the cast.
The shows can be seen on the Universal HD channel presently since he has been on the channel since September of 2010.
Both Shatner and Locklear have been seen on television for many years and should be seen for many years to come with Shatner now 79 and Locklear who is 30 years younger than Shatner is now 49.
James Spader and William Shatner in a scene from Boston Legal television series.
William Shatner would have another long running series in Boston Legal which ran from 2004-2008. He has a series being shown today on CBS network but the name is one of the worst names ever for a television series so won’t even name it.
William Shatner has reportedly been paid well for his appearances in Priceline.com commercials seen on television.
The great singer William Shatner singing Rocketman one his biggest hits. One of his albums at Amazon.com is ranked 414,000th in sales. At least he will never have to worry about making an acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards show. He still may be a shade better of a singer than the immortal William Hung of American Idol fame.
Perry Mason was telecast on the CBS television network from 1957-1966.
Raymond Burr will always best known for his portrayal of Perry Mason in the CBS television series Perry Mason from 1957-1966.
As far as I know Perry Mason cannot be seen on any television network today according to
This episode from the series titled The Case of the Borrowed Brunette was originally shown on December 31, 1959 according to cbs.com but it is listed as being shown first on January 10, 1959 by other internet sources and was the 52nd episode of the 271 episode series.
