Utah inmate asks to die by firing squad.

(CNN) -- A Utah death row inmate, convicted of beating a man with a tire jack and puncturing his liver with an inserted tire iron, has requested that he be allowed to die by firing squad, officials said Thursday.

Fourth District Judge Donald Eyre on Wednesday signed such a death warrant for Michael A. Archuleta, 49.

But the April 5 execution is not likely to happen, considering Archuleta still make can federal appeals.

The last convicted killer to die by firing squad in Utah was Ronnie Lee Gardner, executed in June 2010.

Gardner was only the third person to die by firing squad in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

Assistant Attorney General Tom Brunker said Archuleta, when convicted in 1989, did not request a specific manner of execution, and was not legally entitled to die by firing squad. But the state did not object Wednesday to Archuleta's request, although it reserves the right to ask for lethal injection, Brunker said.

Brunker said there is no question of guilt in the case.

In 1988, according to court records, Archuleta and Lance Wood met Gordon Ray Church, 28, at a convenience store in Cedar City and rode with him to a secluded area. At that point, Church told them he was gay, and Archuleta began to engage in a sexual act on Church, but stopped.

The two then bound Church, put him in the trunk of his car and drove to another location nearly 80 miles away.

The two attached battery jumper cables to Church's testicles in a failed attempt to electrocute him. They inflicted blows to his head with a tire jack and iron, records show. A tire iron was forced inside the college student's rectum and it punctured his liver.

Church's body was found with tire chains wrapped tightly around his neck, records show.

The attackers took Church's wallet and watch, Brunker said.

"They both said the other one did everything," said Brunker. "Archuleta's pants were soaked in the victim's blood. Wood had some blood spots."

Wood received a life sentence.

An attorney for Archuleta did not immediately return a message left by CNN.

But in one of three appeals, Archuleta raised questions about the competence of his previous counsel and alleged errors by the trial court. The Utah Supreme Court turned down that appeal in November 2011.

According to Brunker, after a statutory change in 2004, lethal injection became the only available method of death in Utah for those who did not elect firing squad at sentencing.

A spokesman for the Utah Department of Corrections said four of the eight individuals on death row initially asked for the firing squad option at the time of their sentencing. Seven were sentenced before the 2004 law change.

In Utah, five anonymous marksmen, each with a matching .30-caliber rifle, are used in firing squads.

They stand behind a wall cut with two gunports, said corrections spokesman Steve Gehrke. One of the rifles will hold an "ineffective" round, similar to a blank, which delivers the same recoil as a live round.

The marksmen fire from a distance of 25 feet. The inmate is blindfolded and strapped to a chair with a target pinned to his chest.

SOURCE: CNN NEWS

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Death of 10-year-old involved in school fight declared a homicide.

Fifth-grade student Joanna Ramos died last week after 

an altercation with a female classmate in Long Beach, California. 

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Officials have ruled the death of a 10-year-old girl who got into a fight last week to be a homicide, authorities said Monday.

Joanna Ramos, a fifth-grade student at Willard Elementary School, died of blunt force trauma to the head six hours after an altercation with a female classmate that lasted less than a minute, said Long Beach Police spokesman Sgt. Rico Fernandez.

Authorities have identified the other girl, who is 11, as well as several onlookers, and they are continuing to investigate what happened.

"There are several accounts of what transpired based on interviews with witnesses, but we have not concluded the precise motive," Fernandez said.

In a statement, police said Ramos and her unidentified classmate had challenged each other to a planned fight when their school session ended Friday. "The two girls met in a nearby alley next to a church and began hitting each other," Fernandez said.

The fight was brief, and no weapons were involved, authorities said.

According to Long Beach Unified School District spokesman Chris Eftychiou, Ramos finished her regular school session at 2:12 p.m. Friday and was supposed to remain on campus to begin her scheduled after-school program at 2:30.

"We believe the altercation occurred during that 15-minute window because she apparently left and returned for the session, which involves help with homework and academic-related activity," said Eftychiou.

After the fight, the girls left and went their separate ways.

Ramos stayed in the afternoon session for about an hour but did not exhibit obvious signs of physical trauma, said Eftychiou. "When she did complain of not feeling well, her cousin picked her up, but we had no indication she was involved in an altercation," he said.

"Only when she was at the hospital did we get word about the altercation, and there is no indication that bullying was a factor," said Eftychiou.

Once the investigation and autopsy are complete, the findings will be turned over to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for review and to determine whether charges will be filed in the case.

No arrests have been made, authorities said.

On Monday, grief counselors were brought into Willard Elementary to assist instructors and students. "It was a somber day," said Eftychiou.

Ramos had been enrolled at the school for about a year and a half, he said.

SOURCE: CNN NEWS

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Malaysia deports Saudi blogger behind Prophet Mohammad tweets.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia deported a Saudi Arabian blogger on Sunday, police said, despite fears voiced by human rights groups that he could face execution in his home country over Twitter comments he made that were deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammad.

Hamza Kashgari, a 23-year-old columnist, sparked outrage in the oil-rich kingdom with comments posted on the Prophet's birthday a week ago that led some Islamic clerics to call for him to face the death penalty.

Kashgari fled the country, but was arrested by police in majority-Muslim Malaysia on Thursday as he transited through Kuala Lumpur international airport.

"The Saudi writer was repatriated to his home country this Sunday morning," a police spokesman told Reuters. "This is an internal Saudi matter that we cannot comment on."

Malaysia has a close affinity with many Middle Eastern nations through their shared religion. The Southeast Asian nation is also a U.S. ally and a leading global voice for moderate Islam, meaning that the decision to extradite Kashgari is certain to be controversial.

"Saudi clerics have already made up their mind that Kashgari is an apostate who must face punishment," Christoph Wilcke, senior Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement on Friday.

"The Malaysian government should not be complicit in sealing Kashgari's fate by sending him back."

Kashgari's lawyer in Malaysia, Mohammad Noor, told Reuters by telephone that he had obtained a court order to prevent the deportation, but had not been allowed to see his client.

"If the government of Malaysia deports him to Saudi Arabia, disrespecting the court order, this is clearly contempt of court, unlawful and unacceptable," he said.

The Star newspaper quoted Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein as saying that Kashgari had been repatriated and that the charges against him would be decided by Saudi authorities.

"Malaysia has a longstanding arrangement by which individuals wanted by one country are extradited when detained by the other," he was quoted as saying.

Blasphemy is a crime punishable by execution under Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law. It is not a capital crime in Malaysia.

Reuters could not verify Kashgari's comments because he later deleted them, but media reported that one of them reflected his contradictory views of the Prophet - that he both loved and hated him.

Kashgari later said in an interview that he was being made a "scapegoat for a larger conflict" over his commen.

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Illegal Sex, Brother and sister in lift sex.

A TWISTED brother and sister are facing jail after they were spotted having sex in a train station lift.

Richard Finlayson, 21, and sibling Kirsty, 18, romped in the elevator as they were filmed by CCTV cameras.

The shocking 15-minute clip showed them exiting the lift — only to return a short time later to have sex AGAIN.

And as they left for a second time Richard gave Kirsty a £20 note.

The depraved pair were later arrested by police after a railway worker at Motherwell Station raised the alarm.

Last night a family friend said the revelations had left the pair's family "destroyed".

It came after Richard, of Carluke, Lanarkshire, and Kirsty of Lesmahagow, admitted having unlawful sexual intercourse in June last year.

Hamilton Sheriff Court heard how they left an 11-year-old boy who was with them on the platform during their illicit tryst.

Depute fiscal Amanda Gallagher said: "They both went into the lift and were seen having sexual intercourse on the CCTV.

"Both accused then exited the lift for a short period before returning and continuing having sexual intercourse.

Sordid ... lift at railway station

"Both accused then stood up and left the lift. At which point Mr Finlayson was seen giving his sister some money."

The court was told Kirsty Finlayson had admitted the sordid act to police.

But she denied she'd had sex for cash — while Richard said he gave her the £20 "as a brother, not for payment".

Last night the family friend said: "We're devastated. I was sickened when I heard about it.

"Most of the family knew nothing about it until letters for the case came in.

"We can't believe it. It is a nightmare."

Sheriff Ray Small ordered Richard to be placed on the sex offenders' register. The brother and sister will be sentenced next month.

 

Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk

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Riot inciter jailed – despite no evidence his message led to disorder.

Sam Lowe jailed for 39 months for sending BlackBerry message telling 160 contacts to 'kick off' in Nottingham

Riots in Birmingham in August. Sam Lowe has been jailed for sending messages inciting riots in Nottingham. Photograph: David Jones/PA

A man has been jailed for 39 months for sending messages from his BlackBerry telling people to join in last August's riots in Nottingham.

Sam Lowe, 21, from Nottingham, had admitted a charge of encouraging violent disorder after he sent a BlackBerry Messenger instant message, or BBM, telling his 160 contacts to "kick off" during disorder in the city in 2011.

Nottinghamshire police said the message, which Lowe later deleted, read: "Girls, grannies, mums, dads, lads, grandads – everyone meet on Sneinton Dale tonight at 9 o'clock as we are all going to kick off…"

The message also urged his friends to show the police "what it's all about".

More than 141 people were arrested and 87 were charged after cars, pubs and shops were damaged in August 2011 in Nottingham. However, the court heard there was no evidence that Lowe's message had led to public disorder in the area.

He was arrested in the early hours of 9 August after he had hidden from police in bushes for two hours. Further examination of Lowe's phone messages found he had claimed to have "a bin full of bricks".

The judge acknowledged Lowe had previously done a lot of good in his community and had been given a "volunteer of the year" award.

However, he told Lowe: "What you did, potentially, you took a large amount away from your community."

But the sentence has caused consternation among rights organisations. Jodie Blackstock, director of criminal and EU justice policy at Justice, said: "We don't think that this is the right approach – a harsher sentence isn't going to achieve what they [the courts] are looking for. In a case like this, a high level community sentence would be appropriate. Considering nothing occurred, and arguably it was carried out in the heat of the moment without any intention – 39 months is a huge leap."

David Cameron has previously defended the sentences handed out to those involved in the riots, and said: "They've decided to send a tough message and it's very good that the courts feel able to do that."

Rich Henson, a detective with Nottinghamshire Police said: "BBM is not your standard mobile communication. It is much more secure. The fact that BBMs have advanced security and encryption means they are almost impossible to access by third parties.

"That is why Lowe's conviction is a particularly great result for the force, demonstrating some first-class work by our digital investigation unit."

He added: "Let this be a clear warning to those criminals out there who think they are safe using BlackBerrys."

Detective chief inspector Rob Griffin, who is leading the investigation into the August disorder in the city, said: "The judge today has handed down a sentence to reflect the seriousness of Lowe's actions. It is impossible to quantify the impact and effects of the messages he sent that night.

"It is clear, however, that this was an irresponsible and criminal act at a time when people were rising up against the police on a national scale."

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/

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