… to atone for stoning 2 dogs to death, then hanging them! Read more here.
Squeezed on:
Dude Married A Dog …
Squeezed on:
Ice Cream And Candy Crimes Serious Business In Britain
So the government spent £650 ($1,365 US) on fingerprint analysis just to show that a 16-year-old had handled a stolen Cornetto ice cream. Yes, that’s “handled,” not “stolen.” What’s the punishment for handling stolen ice cream? A conditional discharge (meaning the Cornetto Kid just has to stay out of “trouble” for a little while.) Wow. That was worthwhile.
And what about the 15-year-old who was prosecuted for writing his name on a community center wall with a Twix bar? After he was arrested, processed, interviewed, and hired a lawyer, the case was dismissed after the court was told that it was indeed a chocolate bar the boy used, not a pen. “A Twix bar you say? They’re delicious. Case dismissed.” [Okay, it didn’t go exactly like that, but the case was dismissed.] You can read more (not much) here.
Squeezed on:
Mummified Maori Head Art or Not?
So is a 19th century mummified Maori head art or not? A museum in Rouen, France tried to return a Maori head to New Zealand. Guess who stopped them? The French Ministry of Culture! Who are you with? I’m with the Rouen officials who said, as reported in the International Herald Tribune, that:
…the Maori head is a body part, not a work of art, and that according to France’s bioethics law it must be returned to its place of origin. “This object reflects the barbaric trafficking in body parts, the belief that another race was inferior to ours,” said Catherine Morin-Desailly, the deputy mayor for culture and a senator, who proposed the return of the head. “It belongs to the heritage of humanity, not in storage somewhere in a museum.”
The matter is still pending.
Squeezed on:
How Many Obscene Phone Calls Do You Have To Make To Get 2 1/2 Years In Jail?
In England, in Paul Kavanagh’s case, 15,000! He’s been at it since 1995. On one day in February of this year, he made 65 calls! After all these years, how did they catch a guy who used unregistered cell phones? He gave the police a huge clue when he told one of his victims that he “liked the way [her] hair is today.” And, as reported in the Sunday Metro, he often called a gym that he had a clear view of from his home. Why did he get 2 1/2 years? Said the Judge:
It seems to me to simply have been the case that the defendant was taking drink and cocaine and making these calls for the purposes of sexual gratification and I must say to my mind for the purposes of cruelty.
For more (just a bit) click here.
Squeezed on:
Let Me Escape Once, Shame On You. Let Me Escape Six Times?
Maybe I got this from TV, but I thought that each time you escaped, you were sent to a higher security facility. Such was not the case with Texas resident Debra Ann Murphey. Over a 2-year period, she escaped 6 times, with the last escape occurring 33 years ago from the Georgia Rehabilitation Center for Women, not the Georgia Ultra-Supermax Penitentiary. Her crimes? A string of armed robberies. And it’s not like she was real good at it, either. Two of them resulted in a haul of … $54.00. In fairness to Ms. Murphey, adjusted for inflation, that would be about $259.00 today.
As usual, neighbors described her as a quiet, law-abiding lady. (That must have been before she went back into the house and got a shotgun when the police came to get her.) As a fugitive, Ms. Murphey became a nurse, got married, and raised two kids. So how did she feel after her arrest? “Relieved,” according to the police. She is awaiting extradition to Georgia.
Squeezed on:
I Didn’t Do It! Okay, I Did It! He Didn’t Do It.
It’s September 11, 2001, you’re staying at a hotel in New York City, you’re an Egyptian named Abdallah Higazy, and, in your hotel room closet, a device that allows for communications with airline pilots is found. Not surprisingly, he was picked up and questioned. Surprisingly, he confessed. Why is that surprising? Well, because a pilot returned to the hotel and asked for his radio back! Higazy was promptly released.
So why did Mr. Higazy confess? We know why because he sued the hotel and the FBI. They tried to have the case tossed and they … lost! The Court of Appeals ruled that the case may proceed. The 44-page opinion was posted on the Court’s website, as reported by Psychsound, who was amazed to read that the FBI obtained the “confession” through some serious coercion.
Higazy alleges that during the polygraph, Templeton told him that he should cooperate, and explained that if Higazy did not cooperate, the FBI would make his brother “live in scrutiny” and would “make sure that Egyptian security gives [his] family hell.” Templeton later admitted that he knew how the Egyptian security forces operated: “that they had a security service, that their laws are different than ours, that they are probably allowed to do things in that country where they don’t advise people of their rights, they don’t – yeah, probably about torture, sure.”
Higazy later said, “I knew that I couldn’t prove my innocence, and I knew that my family was in danger.” He explained that “[t]he only thing that went through my head was oh, my God, I am screwed and my family’s in danger. If I say this device is mine, I’m screwed and my family is going to be safe. If I say this device is not mine, I’m screwed and my family’s in danger. And Agent Templeton made it quite clear that cooperate had to mean saying something else other than this device is not mine.”
So you can check out the opinion on the Court’s website, right? Wrong! As Psychsound was reading it, it disappeared, only to appear the next day in redacted form! I’m sure you can guess what was redacted. (Hint: EVERYTHING about how the coerced confession was obtained). Just one small problem – someone managed to download the opinion in its entirety before it was yanked. You can still read it here on the How Appealing website. To read A LOT more about this incredible case, check out Psychsound’s blog here.
Squeezed on:
Do The Crime, But Not The Time? How’s That?
Englishman Elliot Carnell caught one hell of a break. After drinking 15 pints of beer at a Christmas party, Carnell punched his ex-wife’s Sri Lankan boyfriend in the head – 6 times! Oh, and he hit his ex-wife and her daughter when they tried to stop him. Carnell copped to the racially aggravated assault, and was sentenced to 150 hours community service and alcohol counseling. But wait …
As if that sentence wasn’t light enough, it gets worse. When Carnell showed up to begin his community service (picking up litter), he was ordered to stop! Why? Because he’s a truck driver, and officials were concerned that, with the additional work [the community service], he would exceed the maximum of 48 hours per week for a truck driver! And he might be tired and get in an accident. Said Mr. Carnell:
I was a bit bewildered by what happened but I’m happy. I was willing to do the punishment.
Said Ms. Carnell:
I’m really upset. It’s not right. Now he’s free to go to the pub drinking with his friends and causing trouble. He should have gone to jail. It’s not a strong enough punishment. He must be laughing.
Probably. And this is not Mr. Carnell’s first racially related assault. His prior conviction was for popping a German dude wearing an England football shirt. You can read more (just a bit) in the Daily Mail article.
Squeezed on:
Jewish Student Can’t Be Outraged By Swastikas Drawn On Her Door
Why not? Because she put them there! She reported that someone had drawn a swastika on her door FIVE times in one week. Before she was busted, what did the 18-year-old George Washington University freshman have to say about the incidents? As reported on NBC4.com:
[She] called it a bad joke gone too far. She said she is not scared, but after five incidents in a week, she said she wants it to stop.
The victim said she has only been on campus since August but has already developed a close-knit group of friends who have helped her through this.
And how was she caught? GWU police installed a hidden camera. The young woman then confessed. She’s facing disciplinary and criminal charges. You can read more here and here.
Squeezed on:
Pretty Pricey Podiatrist
Cliff Blake got nailed twice – first, literally, when a nail went into his foot. Then by Milwaukee podiatrist John S. Lanham. For an office visit that took one hour, the tab was $4,378.93! How could that be?
For a cortisone shot (including the numbing shot), $1,700! (The cost of the medicine: $15!)
For 2 sterile syringes with needles (that cost about 10 cents each): $85!
Squeezed on:
Teenager, Youngest Elected Official In Indiana History, Serves As Model
… of how not to conduct yourself! David Wichlinski was 18 years-old when he was elected to the Porter Township Board. He was clearly not ready for prime time. First, he was accused of flipping off a police officer. Okay, that one was dropped. A few months later, he was busted for underage drinking and possession of drug paraphernalia, thus ending his political career (he resigned). Wichlinski avoided the pokey, promising to cool it for 6 months. Think he did? Nope. A few months later, he was busted again for underage drinking! A judge will determine his fate on November 29th.