KARLSRUHE, Germany -- Germany has been very good to Spec. André L. Shepherd since he deserted the U.S. Army.
The 31-year-old former mechanic of the 601st Aviation Support Battalion is enjoying perks that eluded him back home in Ohio: a bed, a bank account, a cellphone and friends.
Best of all from his standpoint, he isn't back in Iraq.
"I'm having the time of my life," says Mr. Shepherd, the only American bunking at a refugee-processing center in southern Germany.
The U.S. deserter enters uncharted legal territory on Wednesday, when Germany begins weighing his request for political asylum. The case will put to the test a 2004 European Union directive requiring member countries to grant asylum to soldiers protesting unlawful wars.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123318899887026687.html
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Cops: Dad Ordered to Pay Child Support Kills Son
NEW ORLEANS — A man who initially told police gunmen kidnapped his 2 1/2-year-old son was arrested Saturday, accused of committing an "extremely hideous" murder because he was ordered to pay child support, Police Superintendent Warren Riley said.
Danny Platt confessed, told police where to find the child's body and will be booked with first-degree murder of Ja' Shawn Powell, Riley said at a news conference.
"He had said he would kill either his wife or his child before he paid child support," which he recently had been ordered to do, Riley said.
Riley said he did not know the amount of child support and would not describe how the boy was killed, saying the coroner would do that after the autopsy was complete. The coroner's spokesman did not immediately return a call.
"The mother is in a safe place," Riley said.
Although he had visiting rights, Platt, 22, of New Orleans, had never visited the boy until he picked him up Friday, Riley said.
Police put out a notice Saturday asking people to look for the boy and saying his father had told them three men with dreadlocks and AK-47 rifles had piled out of an SUV and kidnapped Ja' Shawn shortly before midnight Friday.
"His story never really added up," Riley said. "He was a suspect from the very beginning."
Riley said Platt eventually confessed and told officers where to find the body.
Platt had only a couple of "very minor" previous arrests, he said.
"How does an individual — because he's ordered to pay child support to take care of a kid ... believe that this is so much pressure that he would face — he would do this hideous act to his own child, or to any child, and think that is a remedy to paying child support?" Riley said. "I mean there are some sick individuals in this society, and this
Danny Platt confessed, told police where to find the child's body and will be booked with first-degree murder of Ja' Shawn Powell, Riley said at a news conference.
"He had said he would kill either his wife or his child before he paid child support," which he recently had been ordered to do, Riley said.
Riley said he did not know the amount of child support and would not describe how the boy was killed, saying the coroner would do that after the autopsy was complete. The coroner's spokesman did not immediately return a call.
"The mother is in a safe place," Riley said.
Although he had visiting rights, Platt, 22, of New Orleans, had never visited the boy until he picked him up Friday, Riley said.
Police put out a notice Saturday asking people to look for the boy and saying his father had told them three men with dreadlocks and AK-47 rifles had piled out of an SUV and kidnapped Ja' Shawn shortly before midnight Friday.
"His story never really added up," Riley said. "He was a suspect from the very beginning."
Riley said Platt eventually confessed and told officers where to find the body.
Platt had only a couple of "very minor" previous arrests, he said.
"How does an individual — because he's ordered to pay child support to take care of a kid ... believe that this is so much pressure that he would face — he would do this hideous act to his own child, or to any child, and think that is a remedy to paying child support?" Riley said. "I mean there are some sick individuals in this society, and this
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Independent autopsy to be performed on Johnson
By MARGARET BAKER - mbbaker@sunherald.com
The head of the George County chapter of the NAACP said this morning that they have found a pathologist to perform an independent autopsy on George County football star Billey Joe Johnson.
The autopsy will be performed some time today or Friday, George County NAACP head Willie Gaines said Thursday, though he said he did not yet want to identify the pathologist scheduled to perform the procedure.
Johnson died at 5:40 a.m. on Dec. 8.
A George County sheriff's deputy had pulled Johnson over near Mississippi 26 for running a red light and stop sign. In the incident report, the officer said that he was at his patrol car checking Johnson's driver's license when he heard a gunshot and breaking glass and then saw Johnson dead outside his truck with a shotgun on top of him.
The sheriff said Johnson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, something Johnson's family and the NAACP are questioning. In fact, the attorney for the Johnson family said that that the wounds on Johnson's body were not consistent with what was reported on the police report.
The head of the George County chapter of the NAACP said this morning that they have found a pathologist to perform an independent autopsy on George County football star Billey Joe Johnson.
The autopsy will be performed some time today or Friday, George County NAACP head Willie Gaines said Thursday, though he said he did not yet want to identify the pathologist scheduled to perform the procedure.
Johnson died at 5:40 a.m. on Dec. 8.
A George County sheriff's deputy had pulled Johnson over near Mississippi 26 for running a red light and stop sign. In the incident report, the officer said that he was at his patrol car checking Johnson's driver's license when he heard a gunshot and breaking glass and then saw Johnson dead outside his truck with a shotgun on top of him.
The sheriff said Johnson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, something Johnson's family and the NAACP are questioning. In fact, the attorney for the Johnson family said that that the wounds on Johnson's body were not consistent with what was reported on the police report.
Three men arrested in gang rape of gay woman
RICHMOND, Calif. - One man and two teens have been arrested on suspicion of gang-raping a woman last month in the San Francisco Bay area while allegedly taunting her for being a lesbian, police said Thursday as they searched for a fourth suspect.
Read the rest of the article here.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28462081/
Read the rest of the article here.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28462081/
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