Free Republic

including a 'hand-shaped bruise' on his face - because 'he is too young to tell them what happened' One-year-old Jacob's parents left him with the babysitter in March They claim they returned to find him screaming and the babysitter asleep The next day, they claim they found Jacob was covered in bruises and went to police They want criminal charges filed against the babysitter but authorities have decided not to pursue the case Jacob's father took to Facebook to vent about the lack of action The DA was unavailable for comment on the case An Oregon couple claim their...

On April 12, a Wednesday, a boulder-size concrete block was hurled at my car as I passed the Janie Poe public-housing complex on Central Avenue in Sarasota's Newtown. [The predominantly black neighborhood north of downtown.] It narrowly missed the windshield and, after swerving out the way of oncoming traffic, I hotheadedly pulled a U-turn back toward the 15 or so youths -- who appeared to be 12- to 18-year-olds -- standing in front of and just beyond the wall of an apartment at the edges of Janie Poe. I turned into 23rd Street and called 911, and several of the...

ST. PAUL - Minnesota and Polk County officials should pay for allowing Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. to go free, the family of slain college student Dru Sjodin says through an attorney. Letters sent to the state and Polk County indicate the family probably will sue "for well in excess" of $1 million. Attorney Timothy R. Murphy spelled out why the family believes officials erred in freeing Rodriguez after he served a 23-year prison sentence. The letter indicates state and county officials should have tried committing Rodriguez to a state hospital, where he would undergo sex offender treatment. That often is what...