Free Republic

Women lawmakers made zero gains in Congress in this cycle--they will still make up about 17 percent of those chosen by voters to come to Washington. Two notable losses were Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln and Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin of South Dakota, both moderate Democrats. This palpable lack of progress was mourned as many gathered together at American University to discuss the "year of the woman" that never came to pass--despite or because of one Sarah Palin, a Republican who governed Alaska for about 15 minutes? That was a question. Here's an answer: the woman from Alaska does other women...

An “Open Borders” policy with regard to illegal immigration is a little like engaging in unprotected sex. You can get away with it once, twice, perhaps a dozen or more times. But eventually, inevitably, your luck runs out. In the recent case of a 2 year-old girl who was brutally murdered by an illegal immigrant in McAllen, Texas, the more appropriate metaphor would be Russian Roulette. And to make matters worse, the AP’s press release omitted the most salient detail of the accused child murderer’s identity: McALLEN, Texas — A Texas man accused of fatally beating his 2-year-old stepdaughter when...

The 65-31 vote came after Democrats urged quick action so that Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius could get to work leading the federal response to the flu outbreak.

What can you say about a people who welcome a child murderer as a hero? Most Americans are familiar with the brutal murder of wheelchair-bound Leon Klinghoffer on the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985. Terrorists led by Abu Abbas (who was later given safe haven in Baghdad by Saddam Hussein) took the ship captive and threw Klinghoffer overboard. But few recall that the ship was seized to bargain for the release of, among others, Samir Kuntar from an Israeli prison. Kuntar had taken part in an earlier terror attack. In 1979, as a 16-year-old, he and four others had...

HOUSTON — The stepfather of a 2-year-old girl lost control and beat her to death because she wouldn't say "please" and "yes sir," an attorney for the girl's mother said Wednesday. A body found last month in Galveston Bay is believed to be that of the little girl, Riley Ann Sawyers, though DNA tests are pending. Her mother, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, and stepfather, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, were arrested Saturday. According to court documents, Trenor, 19, told police she and her husband killed the girl in July and hid her body in a shed before dumping it in the bay....

Oregon child killer Ward Weaver stabbed during haircut Posted by The Associated Press May 08, 2007 06:18AM Categories: Breaking News Ward Weaver ONTARIO -- Convicted child killer Ward Weaver survived a stabbing by an inmate barber at the Snake River Correctional Institution, authorities said. Weaver, 44, is serving two life sentences at the Eastern Oregon prison. He pleaded guilty in 2004 to killing two Oregon City girls whose bodies were found in 2002 at his home -- one under a concrete slab and the other in a bag in a storage shed. The barber, Marvin Lee Taylor, 44, was charged...

Environmental movement's 'patron saint' was "attitude changer" -- Rachel Carson, whose book "Silent Spring" is credited with saving species of birds and kicking off the environmental movement, would have been 100 years old this year. Now, a two-act play celebrating the life and work of Carson is the highlight of this week's 174-program Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in Gatlinburg and throughout Great Smoky Mountains National Park. "A Sense of Wonder," written and performed by Kaiulani Lee, has been touring for more than 10 years - proof Carson still has influence 45 years after "Silent Spring." When the book came out in...

<p>RALEIGH, N.C. — A mother found her 4-year-old daughter decapitated in her home, and police issued an arrest warrant for the girl's father.</p> <p>John Patrick Violette, 37, was last seen driving a Buick station wagon near his home Friday afternoon in Clayton, about 15 miles southeast of Raleigh, said Clayton Police Chief Glen Allen. Violette's wife, Amber Violette, called 911 that evening, saying she had found her daughter, Katlin, with her head severed from her body, he said.</p>

A Plano woman found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2003 drowning of her two daughters is now mentally stable and can leave a state hospital, a Collin County judge ruled Thursday. State District Judge Mark Rusch signed the order releasing Lisa Ann Diaz from Big Spring State Hospital in West Texas after a little more than two years. Judge Rusch said Ms. Diaz must remain on medication and continue treatment on an outpatient basis.

PLANO, Texas -- A Plano mother who drowned her two children in 2003 is free to restart her life. Lisa Diaz is home with her relatives, just three years after killing her two young daughters. In September 2003, Diaz drowned the sisters, 3 and 6 years old. She told police voices told her to kill them and she was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Doctors said Diaz had recovered enough to be sent home, and a judge ordered her set free. Collin County prosecutors released this statement: "Given Ms. Diaz apparent swift recovery, Judge Rusch had no choice...

LOGANSPORT – A judge entered pleas of not guilty Friday for a Kansas parolee charged with murder and criminal confinement with a deadly weapon in the slaying of a 16-year-old co-worker who had stopped to help him when he had car trouble. Danny R. Rouse, 51, who was paroled in March after serving 26 years in prison for the murder of a 5-year-old Kansas boy, is accused in the slaying of Stephanie Wagner, whose body was found in a Cass County farm field Wednesday. snip Cass County Superior Court Judge Rick Maughmer entered the pleas on Rouse’s behalf and appointed...

Child killer literally a marked man Sep 28, 2006 06:16 AM EDT David MacAnally/Eyewitness News Crothersville - Convicted child killer Anthony Stockelman's face and head were unmarked at his trial last year. But now he's turned up at Wabash Correctional Facility with a tattoo on the forehead reading 'Katie's revenge.' Katie is Katie Collman of Crothersville, the little girl he confessed to raping and killing last year. The Department of Corrections is not saying who applied the tattoo, which is against prison regulations, or why. They say they are still investigating. Katie's dad, John Neace, has his own theory. Wednesday...

This is a reference thread with links to previous FR threads discussing the arrest of a suspect, John Mark Karr, in the decade-old cold case concerning the murder of JonBenet Ramsey, plus case resources for continued commentary on investigation of the crime.

Seven-year-old Noah Yates struggled so hard while his mother was drowning him in the bathtub that his small fists remained stiff and over his head even several hours later, the medical examiner testified Wednesday. Testifying on the third day of Andrea Yates' murder trial, Dr. Luis A. Sanchez said Noah, the oldest of Yates' five children drowned that day in 2001, had extensive rigor mortis because of intense movements indicating a struggle just before death. Noah also had deep bruises consistent with someone holding him down, as did 6-month-old Mary and 5-year-old John, Sanchez testified. Sanchez also said that based...

MIAMI -- Former Attorney General Janet Reno got up and sang Aretha Franklin's "Respect" at a Miami fundraiser Thursday night. The karaoke performance was caught on tape. It happened at an event honoring the 10th anniversary of the Human Services Coalition. Proceeds went to help fight poverty. Reno suffers from Parkinson's disease, but that hasn't stopped her public appearances. Recently, she gave speeches on law enforcement at the University of Iowa and Pennsylvania State University.

WALL TOWNSHIP, NJ -- A woman abducted from a Jersey shore home where her two sons were found bludgeoned to death managed to escape from her captor and run to a gas station for help, authorities said Friday. The woman's ex-husband had called police Thursday night after she called him by cell phone, saying she had been kidnapped and forced to withdraw money from an ATM. He went to the home and found the bodies of his slain sons in the basement. Ocean County Prosecutor Thomas Kelaher said Friday that the boys, ages 7 and 14, had been beaten to...

A 50-year-old Placerville man who led police on a manhunt after reportedly killing his son and wounding his wife took his own life Thursday morning, El Dorado County sheriff's officials said. Roy Clayton reportedly confronted a 25 year-old man at the man's home on Moonshine Hill Road east of Diamond Springs at about 8 a.m., wielding a gun and demanding food and help, said Lt. Marc Adams. Adams said the man inside the home escaped and called 911.

Hudson, Ohio -- Two bodies discovered in Ohio may be those of two New Hampshire children whose father confessed to killing them and burying them somewhere along a 700-mile stretch of the Midwest 2 1/2 years ago, authorities said Friday. Police and the FBI said a dog that bolted from its owner during a walk Thursday found two shallow graves with human remains wrapped in plastic near Interstate 80, also known as the Ohio Turnpike. Scott Wilson, a spokesman with the FBI's Cleveland office, said he could not comment on the gender or age of the bodies, but added: "We're...

ELYRIA, Ohio — Three weeks after a jury convicted a single mother of murdering her 4-year-old son, then burning her house down to destroy the evidence, the same 12 people recommended she be sentenced to death. A judge accepted the jury's verdict and sentenced the 30-year-old mother to be executed by lethal injection Jan. 10, 2007. Diar stood sobbing after the verdict was read and spoke for the first time during the proceedings. "I didn't kill my son," Diar said. "I'm sorry that you people feel that way. I can't feel remorse for something I didn't do." The jury reached...

He allegedly slays family members before setting fire. A San Jose man described by his neighbor as a "cool, laid-back dude" killed his pregnant girlfriend and their two young daughters Monday before setting their home on fire, according to police. San Jose police arrested 28-year-old Rodrigo Ortiz Paniagua as he sat outside the burning home smoking a cigarette. He was being held on suspicion of three homicides. As investigators tried to figure out why Paniagua attacked his family, relatives of the slain woman said there had been earlier incidents of domestic violence. Paniagua shared the home in the 3100 block...