Tragically, a family was murdered in New Jersey last week. The father of the family, Hossam Armanious, was a "Coptic Christian" who had argued with Muslims in an internet chat room. The Coptic Christian community in New Jersey believes the murder was a hate crime. Authorities say it's only one theory under investigation.

Already, conservative christian commentators are spreading filth. With headlines like Jihad in New Jersey, they want to know why this family's murder isn't receiving the attention of the Scott Peterson or Kobe Bryant case. Read the column, it's sick and a reminder of how many hatemongers are out there and how destructive they can be.

Bump and Update: It's great to see the media covering Wilbert Rideau's release from jail. Here's our coverage from Friday to Sunday:

Bump and Update: The Louisiana jury returned a manslaughter verdict Saturday as requested by the defense in prison journalist Wilbert Rideau's fourth trial. He will be freed, having served the maximum sentence for that offense. In fact, George Kendall, Wilburt's excellent defense attorney was already going to get the car to take them away. What a difference a fair trial makes.

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Original Post, 1/15/05, 7:07 a.m.

Update: Tulia undercover cop Tom Coleman gets seven years probation, no jail. AP report here.

Guilty of one perjury count, not guilty on the other. Grits for Breakfast has the details.

Update: Associated Press here. Houston Chronicle article here. Quick recap on the drug case from the article:

CrimProf blog today discusses possible sources of the leak of Barry Bonds federal grand jury testimony in the "Balco case" to the San Francisco Chronicle. The Judge in the case has denied the defense request to dismiss the charges due to the leak, ruling that it has not been proved that the source was the government or an agent.

Conte, Anderson, lab Vice President James Valente and veteran track coach Remi Korchemny are charged with conspiring to distribute human growth hormone, testosterone cream and a designer steroid called THG to star athletes through the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative in Burlingame. All four men have pleaded not guilty and are free on bail.

...In the two days after the hearing, The Chronicle published articles based on transcripts of grand jury testimony by Bonds, of the San Francisco Giants, and the New York Yankees' Jason Giambi. Giambi said he took steroids supplied by Anderson; Bonds described using similar-looking substances obtained from his trainer but said he thought they were flaxseed oil and arthritis cream.

That's not the only leak that the defense believes the Government has made to the media:

For reactions on the Andrea Yates decision, see:

• Drop Capital Murder Charges Against Yates.

• Set the Bar Higher: False Witness Rightly Cancels Yates Conviction

• Yates Release, Change in Law Unlikely

• Yates Wins, Shrink Was Delusional

A Texas appeals court has reversed the conviction of Andrea Yates, convicted of drowning her five children in the bathtub and sentenced to life in prison. The opinion is here.

The reason for the reversal was the false testimony of psychiatrist Park Dietz:

During her March 2002 sentencing, a jury rejected Yates' insanity defense and she was convicted in the deaths of three of her five children. She was sentenced to life in prison. Her attorneys argued that she suffered from postpartum psychosis, and she had a well-documented history of postpartum depression.

The Texas First Court of Appeals ruled that the conviction should be reversed because an expert witness for the state, Dr. Park Dietz, presented false testimony when he said Yates may have been influenced by an episode of the "Law & Order" television program. No such episode had ever aired.

Yates will face a new trial. I would rather the Court had found her insane despite the jury's verdict.

by TChris

The fries at Burger King surely aren't worthy of a fuss like this.

Township police Sgt. Rod Fairman said [Gregg] Luttman made an obscene gesture to the drive-thru clerk [after being told that the restaurant was out of fries], then entered the building with another man. Luttman repeatedly cursed at the restaurant staff then walked back to his vehicle; when he noticed restaurant workers taking down his license number, Luttman revved his pickup in reverse, nearly hitting one of the employees, Fairman said.

Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager hasn't appeared in court to prosecute a case since she was elected in 2002. But she's decided to personally prosecute Chai Vang, accused of murdering six deer hunters. She says she decided to take the case herself because of her "personal interest" in crimes against people. Like this is the only case of violent crime in the state of Wisconsin? Why doesn't she just admit she's doing it for the glory and the media attention? This feeble excuse puts her credibility at issue in our book.

Mr. Vang pleaded not guilty today and waived his preliminary hearing, which is not uncommon. Trial is set for September 12.

A big welcome home to Erik Aude, the 24 year old actor released from a Pakistani jail this week. He arrived back in California tonight where he reunited with his family. More details emerge about why Pakistan released him:

Aude's mother and manager said a Pakistani judge earlier this month ordered his sentence commuted to time served after the man who hired him was convicted in the United States on drug-smuggling charges. In a deposition, the man said he never told Aude he would be picking up opium on the trip, they said.

In addition to his mother Sherry who worked tirelessly to free him, praise is also due Rep. Howard McKeon (R-CA) who lobbied the Pakistanis for his release and provided them with the dealer's statement exculpating Aude.
Here is the must read article about Aude, by Seamus McGraw.

by TChris

A 26-year-old man locked his keys in his car while robbing a convenience store across the street from a police station, authorities said.

He was stealing cigarettes ... and his arrest is further proof that smoking is bad for you.

by TChris

Suffolk County, Massachusetts District Attorney Daniel Conley is making a stink about five jurors who lied about having criminal records.

Prosecutors learned of the jurors' criminal records Wednesday, Conley said, the day after the jury acquitted a second defendant -- Marquis Nelson, 25, of Roxbury -- of first-degree murder in the death of Persad, a 10-year-old who police said was caught between two rival gangs in a Roxbury park.

The jury hadn't reached a verdict against the first defendant (six were for acquittal, four for conviction, and two undecided) when prosecutors conducted a background check on the jurors and discovered the convictions, causing the judge to declare a mistrial in the prosecution of that defendant. The defense questions whether the prosecution, having just suffered an acquittal, searched for a way to derail the jury before it acquitted the other defendant.

Conley claims that "These corrupted jurors helped a killer to go free," a claim belied by the agreement of the jurors with clean records that the government failed to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Sounds like sour grapes from a prosecutor who built a case on the dubious testimony of a gang member.

In any event, a criminal conviction shouldn't disqualify a citizen from jury service. People who have been through the criminal justice system bring a real-world perspective to jury deliberations that are otherwise dominated by those who believe that "Law and Order" presents a realistic view of the way that police and prosectors operate.

by TChris

A police union that evidently has little else to do produced a 44 page report criticizing the "special treatment" given to Diana Ross while serving her sentence for drunk driving.

[Police Chief] Walters allowed Ross to keep a cellular telephone in her jail cell, have food delivered and let her go home in the middle of her sentence ...

Other inmates deserve the humane treatment extended to Ross, but the real question is why the union -- which "voted no confidence in the chief this month, citing the Ross issue and other matters" -- is so upset. Have a heart, people. It's Christmas.