Jackson Trial Update
Thursday, April 28

Ex-wife Debbie Rowe continues to buck the prosecution. Her second day of testimony supported Jackson. In addition to calling Jackson a great father,

"Jackson's ex-wife Deborah Rowe also depicted the entertainer as a victim of "opportunistic vultures" in his inner circle who sought to make millions from his troubles."

"By portraying Jackson as a victim of his associates, Rowe may have undermined the prosecution's child molestation case. That is because she was called to bolster a charge that the singer and the associates conspired to hold the accuser's family captive to make a video praising him."

Now the prosecution says it won't rest until Tuesday. The case sounds like its sputtering to a close.....

Jackson Trial Update
Wednesday, April 27

Debbie Rowe, the mother of Michael Jacksons eldest two children and his ex-wife, was called as a witness today by the prosecution. In opening argument, the prosecution told the jury Rowe would testify that Jackson and his team had scripted her interview in video intended to counter the negative British documentary in which Jackson said he allowed boys to sleep in his room.

Prosecutors expected Rowe to shore up the accuser's mother's testimony that she and her kids were held hostage to get them to agree to participate in the rebuttal video using a prepared script.

But Rowe said just the opposite on the witness stand today.

Why is Laci Peterson more important than Lisa Eatmon? Both were 8 months pregnant when they were killed and dumped in the water. In both cases, their husbands were charged amid claims by authorities they were running for the border. But I bet you've never even heard of Lisa Eatmon, let alone seen her face every night on the cable news shows.

A Brooklyn man charged with killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend and dumping her body in the Hudson River pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder yesterday. The suspect, Roscoe Glinton II, , 42, entered his plea in State Supreme Court in the death of the woman, Lisa D. Eatmon, 33, whose body was found off a Chelsea pier on April 3. She was eight months pregnant with Mr. Glinton's child, and had been shot in the head, the police said.

Mr. Glinton, a sanitation worker, was arrested on Friday after a grand jury returned an indictment against him. Two weeks earlier, the prosecutor contended, he had planned to flee to the Bahamas with $20,000, but was arrested after driving away from officers at speeds up to 100 miles per hour on the Belt Park.

Even the husband's defenses are similar:

by TChris

Two former NYPD detectives, accused of moonlighting as Mafia hit men, entered not guilty pleas this week. (TalkLeft background here.) The NY Daily News talks to Louis Eppolito Jr. about being the son of "the dirtiest cop ever."

"He has a son who walks around with his name, but I felt ignored, invisible," Louis Jr., 35, told the Daily News.

It's official. Police say the claim that a woman found a fingertip in a bowl of chili at Wendy's is a hoax. She was arrested today on grand larceny charges that allege she caused Wendy's to lose $2.5 million.

But whose finger is it?

by TChris

A Washington woman gave new meaning to the phrase "bad hair day" by robbing her stylist at gunpoint a week after getting a haircut that left her dissatisfied. After taking the money, the woman shot the stylist's car, then drove to a different salon to get her hair redone.

Ken Lay won a round of sorts today when U.S. Disrict Court Judge Sim Lake agreed to postpone his bank fraud trial until the end of his Enron trial.

Initially, Lay moved for a severance from codefendants Jeff Skilling and Rick Causey, saying he wanted a speedier trial. The Judge denied the request for severance of the Enron charges but severed his bank fraud charges.

The Prosecution, trying to take him up on his speedy trial offer, asked the judge to set the bank fraud charges this summer. Lay then moved for a delay until after the Enron trial. He had already offered to waive the jury and have the Judge decide the bank fraud charges. The Court liked the idea but the Government wouldn't commit to waiving the jury (Jury waivers must be agreed upon by both parties.) Shortly before today's hearing, the Government agreed to waive the jury.

So here is how it will work: Lay, Skilling and Causey go to trial in January on the Enron case. When the jury begins deliberating, expected to be around July, the Judge will begin hearing evidence in the bank fraud case.

Caption, anyone?

Police say Esteban Carpio killed James Allen while being questioned at police headquarters Sunday and was injured in a failed escape attempt. But Carpio's family shrieked when he shuffled into a courtroom Monday for his arraignment with his hands and legs shackled.

"Oh, my God, look what they did to him!" somebody yelled. Carpio's mother and another woman were wrestled out of the courtroom as they screamed about police brutality.

Authorities said Carpio jumped out of a third-floor window, injuring his leg, arm and head, and was captured after a struggle a few blocks away. There was no indication that police used excessive force to subdue him, Police Chief Dean Esserman said.

"If (Carpio's relatives) have allegations, if they have concerns, we will not be deaf to that," Esserman said.

Good. Start the investigation, Chief. Now.

by TChris

Elizabeth Smart's uncle criticizes the Salt Lake City police in a new book about his niece's kidnapping, arguing that without family intervention, Elizabeth wouldn't have been found.

Tom Smart said the book also shows why focusing on a particular theory or suspect, such as one-time "person of interest" Richard Ricci, can be damaging. Ricci had done work for the Smarts and the investigation centered on him for some time. ... Police focused on Ricci even as Mary Katherine Smart, Elizabeth's younger sister and the only witness to the abduction, said the former Smart handyman was not the man she saw come into the girls' shared room.

The best article I've read so far about the Michael Jackson trial is this one in the Sunday Observer. It lays out the damaging testimony from the prosecution's witnesses, and reports:

But the picture of a doomed Jackson is far from true. The prosecution has now fired most of its big guns and Jackson is still standing. The defence phase of the case has yet to begin and will probably last until the end of June at least. Already there are hints that the prosecution's best days could be behind it. The defence will rely on two main tracks. Firstly, that Jackson's accusers are after his money. Secondly, that all the witnesses so far are disgruntled former employees who have sold their stories to the tabloids. There is ample evidence for both.

As expected, the mother of the current accuser self-destructed today under cross-examination. For one thing, she admitted lying under oath twice in her previous lawsuit.

"The mother of Michael Jackson's young accuser acknowledged Friday that she twice lied under oath in a lawsuit as the singer's lead defense attorney fired a fast-moving barrage of questions meant to portray her as the mastermind behind bogus molestation charges."

Bump and Update: It's official. Convicted bomber Eric Rudolph will be serving out his life sentence at Florence, Colorado's Supermax.

Jim Cavanaugh of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Birmingham, Ala., said Thursday Rudolph would be held on the "bomber's row" at Supermax, which holds Nichols, Kaczynski and other convicted bombers.

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Original Post:

Eric Rudolph pleaded guilty today to bombing an abortion clinic in exchange for two life sentences. He was not remorseful, and said the Government could "just barely" prove its case. He didn't speak much but he did express praise for his attorneys.

When asked by the judge whether he had set off the bomb in Birmingham, Mr. Rudolph responded, "I certainly did, your honor." But he also volunteered that the government could "just barely" prove its case against him, and that his lawyers were "very, very good, superlative attorneys."