10 dead as Texas prison bus plunges off highway, is hit by train

Wednesday, January 14, 2015 | 2:04 PM    

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – A bus carrying 15 prison inmates and staff plunged off a Texas highway overpass and onto railway tracks below, where it was hit by a train Wednesday, killing 10 people.

“Two correctional officers and eight offenders have died from injuries sustained in the accident,” a spokesman from the Texas Department of Corrections said in a statement, adding that five people were hurt.

“One staff member and four offenders have been transported to the Medical Center in Odessa and are receiving medical treatment,” the statement said.

Jason Clark, director of public information for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, told AFP that the accident occurred on a busy stretch of highway shortly after dawn, as the bus carried inmates from one prison facility in Abilene in western Texas to another in the city of El Paso.

“The bus left the roadway and made contact with the train,” Clark said.

Officials said they did not know what caused the bus to leave the roadway, but said that visibility at the time was poor and the roadway was slick, with temperatures hovering around freezing.

“The conditions were less than favorable this morning,” Sergeant Gary Duesler of the Ector County Sheriff’s Department told AFP.

“For whatever reason, whether it was for icy conditions or whatever, it went down the embankment and into the path of an oncoming train,” Duesler said.

Officials said the accident scene was horrific.

“It’s as bad as you can imagine. In 32 years it’s as bad as anything I’ve seen,” Kavin Tinney, chief of a firefighter battalion, told the Odessa American newspaper.

Texas prison officials, who said an investigation was underway, lamented the loss of life.

“It’s with a heavy heart that we mourn the loss of those killed and injured this morning in a tragic accident.

“Their loved ones will be in our thoughts and prayers,” Brad Livingston, Executive Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said in a statement.

Duesler said sheriff’s deputies worked to secure the scene as the investigation continued.

“We’ve got the road closed off because it’s a major accident scene,” he told AFP.

“There are some inmates that were transported to the hospital, and of course, they’re still inmates, so we’re providing security for them,” he said.

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10 dead as Texas prison bus plunges off highway, is hit by train

WOMAN WHO DRESSED UP AS NURSE TO STEAL BABY DIES IN PRISON

A woman serving time for kidnapping a newborn baby from a Pittsburgh hospital has died.
Officials say 22-year-old Breona Moore died Thursday night.

Moore was sentenced to 30 to 60 months in prison back in June for taking the baby from UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital.
Moore still had several months left in her sentence at the state correctional institution at Muncy. Her attorney got a phone call Friday morning from her confused and grief-stricken family saying she had passed away.

“Our preliminary investigation is that she was in prison, she was sick and they took her to the local hospital and unfortunately that hospital … I don’t believe she was there too long until she passed away,” said attorney Blaine Jones. “So I spoke with her mother today. I’m going to be meeting with her mother and other family members within the next day or two and we’re going to determine what course we’re going to take, whether that’s some type of legal action or what we’re going to do.”

Authorities say Moore died of natural causes while being treated at a Danville hospital. According to police, Moore entered Wanda King’s hospital room in August 2012 wearing newly-purchased hospital scrubs and said she was taking her newborn baby for tests.

Moore put the baby in a zippered bag, left the hospital and boarded a bus heading for Downtown. Friends say she had claimed she was pregnant and now had a 3-day-old baby. The Assistant D.A. said she even put pictures on Facebook showing off her new baby. Eventually, police tracked her to an office in a building on Fourth Avenue where she had done volunteer work. Officers found her hiding in a closet with the newborn.

At her hearing in June, Moore apologized to the family, saying she kidnapped the newborn from Magee because she just wanted someone to love. “Breona said ‘I don’t want to put the mother through that, I know I messed up,’” said Jones. “She owned it the entire time, once she became mentally stable.”

Her relatives knew about the mental illness, but they apparently had no knowledge of any physical medical conditions. Her family and her attorney have a lot of questions. “A 22-year-old shouldn’t just be passing away like this,” Jones said. “We want to know what’s going on.”

What do you think…karma?

: CBS

Posted in: Breaking News, International. Tags: WOMAN WHO DRESSED UP AS NURSE TO STEAL BABY DIES IN PRISON.

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WOMAN WHO DRESSED UP AS NURSE TO STEAL BABY DIES IN PRISON

Man boxed ex gets 30 days in prison

A man who boldly told the court, “I neva beat har up, I just cut har two box,” after being accused of inflicting several blows to his ex-girlfriend’s body, was sentenced to 30 days in prison when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court on Monday.

Pleading guilty with explanation to assault occasioning bodily harm is 46-year-old David Wilson of a Kingston 12 address.

According to reports, on August 13 at around 7:30 p.m., the complainant was walking along 6th Street in Kingston when Wilson asked her to return a cellular phone he had given her. The complainant complied but requested he gives her the memory card that was in the phone.

The accused allegedly became upset and began beating his ex-girlfriend, hitting her on her right ear, back, face and head, resulting in pain and bruises.

After Wilson daringly admitted to “cutting the complainant two box,” Senior Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey asked him, “What I should do with you? Cut you four box?” To which he laughed.

She then asked, “Why do you think you shouldn’t go to prison for three years for cutting her the two box?” Wilson did not respond.

RM Pusey then stated, “You’re going to jail for this you know, right?” He nodded and responded, “Yes, I know.”

He was then sentenced.

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Man boxed ex gets 30 days in prison

Teen convicted of killing baby gets life in prison

News

Thursday, September 12, 2013 | 5:51 PM

BRUNSWICK, Georgia (AP) — A Georgia teenager convicted of fatally shooting a baby in a stroller while trying to rob the child’s mother was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without parole.De’Marquise Elkins, 18, was sentenced in Georgia’s Glynn County Superior Court less than two weeks after a jury found him guilty of murder in the slaying of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago.The toddler was in his stroller and out for a walk with his mother when he was shot between the eyes March 21 in the Georgia coastal city of Brunswick. The mother and a younger teenager charged as an accomplice testified at the trial that Elkins killed the boy after his mother refused to give up her purse.Elkins was spared the death penalty because the killing occurred when he was 17, which the US Supreme Court has ruled is too young to face capital punishment. Under Georgia law, the only possible punishments for Elkins were life with or without a chance of parole.Prosecutors said Sherry West was pushing her son in his stroller as she walked home from a post office when two teenagers approached her that day in March, just a few blocks from her apartment.Dominique Lang, 15, testified at the trial he was with Elkins when the older teen pulled a gun and demanded West’s purse. When she refused to give it to him, Lang said, Elkins twice threatened her baby and counted down from five.West testified she pleaded with Elkins that she had no money and tried to cover her child with her arms as the gunman fired a warning shot, fired a bullet into her in the leg and shot her baby in the face.Police recovered a .22-calibre revolver from a saltwater pond, and prosecutors said it matched the gun used in the killing. Prosecutors also have said information from Elkins’ mother and sister led them to the weapon.Lang also faces murder charges in the case. No trial date has been set and it’s unknown how his cooperation in the prosecution of Elkins might affect how his case gets handled.Elkins’ mother, Karimah Elkins, stood trial alongside him and was convicted of evidence tampering for helping dispose of the gun. Elkins’ sister and aunt have also been charged with trying to help him avoid prosecution in the case.The killing in the Southeast port city of Brunswick drew national attention and Elkins’ trial was moved more than 300 miles away to the Atlanta suburbs because of pre-trial publicity.Elkins’ never testified at his two-week trial in August. But his defence attorneys argued police rushed to build a case against Elkins without considering other possible suspects. They even suggested the slain child’s own parents may have been the real killers.Kevin Gough, Elkins’ lead attorney, has said he plans to appeal the murder conviction.

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Teen convicted of killing baby gets life in prison

Bolivia prison riot death toll rises

24 August 2013 Last updated at 18:50 ET Relatives are still waiting for a list of those killed in Friday’s riot The number of people killed as a result of a riot at a prison in eastern Bolivia on Friday has risen to 31.

Another 37 inmates were seriously injured when fighting broke out between rival gangs inside the jail.

Most of the victims burned to death after inmates blew up two propane tanks and used others as flamethrowers.

Among those killed is an 18-month-old toddler, one of the many children living in the prison with its incarcerated parents.

Inferno

Under Bolivian law, children under six years of age can stay in jail with their parents if there is no other relative to look after them.

The authorities have so far not released a list of those who died in the riot at Palmasola prison outside the city of Santa Cruz. Palmasola is Bolivia’s largest jail.

Relatives and friends of inmates have been waiting outside the prison for news. The latest victim died on Saturday of burns sustained during the riot.

Interior Minister Carlos Romero said the violence started when inmates in one cell block knocked a hole in the wall separating them from another block.

They then attacked their rivals with propane gas tanks, machetes, knives and sticks.

The fire spread quickly as straw mattresses were set alight. Guards took several hours to put out the fire and regain control of the prison.

Some prisoners jumped off the roof to escape the flames.

President Evo Morales has ordered an investigation into the incident.

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Bolivia prison riot death toll rises

Many dead in Bolivia prison riot

23 August 2013 Last updated at 18:57 ET A number of inmates were taken to hospital with burns after the riot A riot at a jail in eastern Bolivia has left at least 29 people dead and more than 50 injured, officials say.

The head of police, Alberto Jorge Aracena, said many of the bodies had been badly burnt.

He said fighting broke out early on Friday between inmates at the maximum security area of the Palmasola jail in the city of Santa Cruz.

“There was a fight for control in two cellblocks in the prison,” said Mr Aracena.

He said prisoners in one of the blocks had blown up a metal propane tank in another block around dawn.

Local media reported that shots had been heard after the explosion. A fire that broke out shortly afterwards took almost two hours to put out.

Mr Aracena said the authorities had brought the situation under control.

Another government official, Celso Parada, said the gas explosion had caused many injuries.

“I saw some 60 injured inmates. Some of them were badly burnt,” he said.

Mr Parada said the death toll could eventually be much higher.

He also said he had seen the charred body of a small boy.

Prisons in Bolivia are often overcrowded, but not only with adults. Hundreds of children live in them while their parents serve their sentences.

Under the country’s legislation, children under six years are allowed to stay in their parents’ cells.

But many remain there even longer, as there is nowhere else for them to go.

President Evo Morales expressed “dismay” over the deaths, ordering an urgent investigation.

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Many dead in Bolivia prison riot

VIDEO: Inside Peru"s Ancon 2 prison

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VIDEO: Inside Peru"s Ancon 2 prison

Honduras troops take over at prison

3 August 2013 Last updated at 21:22 ET Security forces were guarding injured inmates taken to a hospital in Tegucigalpa, to prevent any attempt by gangs to free the prisoners Honduras has sent troops to take control of the country’s main prison near the capital Tegucigalpa after three inmates were killed in a riot.

Three security guards were also wounded in the clashes, officials said.

The move was aimed at ending “the reign of criminals in our prison system”, President Porfirio Lobo said.

It follows the release of a report, which said the government had given up on rehabilitating criminals and left prisons to be controlled by inmates.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said the country’s prisons were impoverished, overcrowded and corrupt.

Government figures show more than 12,000 people in Honduras are currently incarcerated in prisons that were built for just 8,000.

‘Cell-by-cell review’

A police spokesman said a riot broke out at the National Penitentiary after fighting erupted between gang members and other prisoners.

The prison, located north of Tegucigalpa, reportedly houses some 3,300 inmates.

Authorities were carrying out a “cell-by-cell review to find out what happened”, prison director Simeon Flores was quoted as saying.

After the clash, the authorities found hand grenades and firearms in the prison.

Hours later, the government ordered an immediate military takeover at the facility saying it should end the reign of criminals in the prison.

Security forces were also guarding injured inmates taken to a hospital in Tegucigalpa, to prevent any attempt by gangs to free the prisoners.

The violence occurred a day after a new report described the jail system in Honduras as “dehumanised, miserly, and corrupt”.

The Washington-based Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said the jails were under the de-facto command of inmates – often belonging the country’s violent criminal gangs – who even set rules and enforce physical punishments.

The report also found that women shared prisons with men and were often victims of abuse.

“It is essential that the state take on this crisis in the prison system as one of its priorities, because the system has totally collapsed,” said commission spokesman Escobar Gil.

The report highlighted a lack of staffing, resources and organisation, saying the government had abandoned its responsibilities towards funding and rehabilitation programmes.

It called on authorities to deal with what it called a deep structural crisis.

The commission also criticised the government’s response to a fire, which killed some 360 prisoners at the Comayagua prison in February 2012.

The report urged further investigation into the cause of the deadly incident.

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Honduras troops take over at prison

Texas prison system running out of execution drug

News

Thursday, August 01, 2013 | 11:00 AM

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The nation’s most active death penalty state is running out of its execution drug.The Texas Department of Criminal Justice says its remaining supply of pentobarbital expires in September. Department spokesman Jason Clark says officials are exploring all options but have yet to find an alternative.Texas has lethally injected 11 death-row inmates so far this year, most recently yesterday Wednesday July 31. Two executions are scheduled in September and at least five others are set for following months.It wasn’t immediately clear if the September executions may be delayed.Other death penalty states have encountered similar problems as drug manufacturers have balked at using their products for capital punishment.Texas has executed 503 inmates since 1976, when the Supreme Court allowed executions to resume. Virginia is second at 110.

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Texas prison system running out of execution drug

Texas prison system running out of execution drug

Latest News

Thursday, August 01, 2013 | 11:00 AM

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The nation’s most active death penalty state is running out of its execution drug.The Texas Department of Criminal Justice says its remaining supply of pentobarbital expires in September. Department spokesman Jason Clark says officials are exploring all options but have yet to find an alternative.Texas has lethally injected 11 death-row inmates so far this year, most recently yesterday Wednesday July 31. Two executions are scheduled in September and at least five others are set for following months.It wasn’t immediately clear if the September executions may be delayed.Other death penalty states have encountered similar problems as drug manufacturers have balked at using their products for capital punishment.Texas has executed 503 inmates since 1976, when the Supreme Court allowed executions to resume. Virginia is second at 110.Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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Texas prison system running out of execution drug

Mass jailbreak from Libyan prison

27 July 2013 Last updated at 15:51 ET The jailbreak followed protests over the death of Abdelsalam al-Mismari About 1,200 inmates have escaped from a jail in the restive Libyan city of Benghazi.

A security official told the AP news agency that most of the escapees were facing serious charges.

Another report said a riot had taken place inside the al-Kwafiya prison.

The jailbreak comes a day after the assassination of a prominent political activist triggered protests in the city, although it is not clear whether the two are connected.

Benghazi is one of the most unstable parts of post-revolution Libya. Last year the US ambassador and three other Americans were killed there.

On Saturday protesters attacked offices linked to the Muslim Brotherhood following the assassination of the prominent political activist Abdelsalam al-Mismari. Hundreds of mourners attended his funeral.

‘Reinforcements’

A security spokesman in Benghazi told the BBC that some of those who escaped from the prison had been captured but he did not specify how many.

In a news conference, the Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said residents in the southern area of the city had stormed the prison in protest at its existence in their district.

The inmates include a small number of people thought to be supporters of Col Muammar Gaddafi, the BBC’s Rana Jawad reports. The former leader was toppled and killed in an uprising in 2011.

The Gaddafi supporters had been charged with attacking security bases after the conflict, our correspondent says.

AFP news agency quoted a security official saying that there had been unrest inside the prison before the breakout.

“There was a riot inside al-Kwafiya prison, as well as an attack from outside,” he said.

“Special forces called in as reinforcements were given orders not to fire at the prisoners.”

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Mass jailbreak from Libyan prison

Somali pirates face life in prison

2 August 2013 Last updated at 16:49 ET Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar (left) and Ahmed Muse Salad (right) leave the court house earlier in the trial A US jury has recommended that three Somali pirates be sentenced to life in prison for the 2011 killing of four Americans off the coast of East Africa.

Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Ahmed Muse Salad, Abukar Osman Beyle and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar, who were convicted in July.

They were among 19 men who hijacked the Americans’ yacht S/V Quest, hoping to ransom them for millions of dollars.

The Americans were killed as rescue talks with the US Navy broke down.

The three men maintained an armed guard over the Americans and shot and killed them as the US Navy closed in, prosecutors said.

In July they were found guilty of all 26 counts against them, including piracy, murder and kidnapping. Federal Judge Rebecca Beach Smith will formally sentence the men in November in the courtroom in Norfolk, Virginia.

Eleven other men have pleaded guilty to piracy in the case and have been sentenced to life in prison.

Jean and Scott Adam were shot dead, along with two passengers Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay

The victims, Jean and Scott Adam and their guests Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay, were the first US citizens killed in a wave of pirate attacks that plagued the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean in recent years.

The Adams had been sailing around the world in their yacht, the S/V Quest. Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay had joined them for the Indian Ocean leg when the Somalis struck.

After intercepting the hijacked yacht, the Navy offered to let the pirates keep the vessel in exchange for the hostages, according to court records. When the Somali man negotiating with the Navy refused the bargain, he was arrested.

Then, one of the men aboard the S/V Quest fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the Navy warship and the US sailors heard gunfire from the yacht.

Special forces fighters boarded the vessel and found the Americans had been killed, the military said.

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Somali pirates face life in prison

Life in prison for Ohio abductor

26 July 2013 Last updated at 14:29 ET Ariel Castro said he understood he would not leave prison alive

The Ohio man accused of raping and holding three women captive in his home for about a decade has agreed to a plea deal that will see him imprisoned for life without the possibility of parole.

Ariel Castro, 53, was arrested in May after one of the women escaped.

He abducted Michelle Knight, 32, Amanda Berry, 27, and Gina DeJesus, 23, from Cleveland streets between 2002-04.

Castro was charged with murder for beating and starving one of the women, who was pregnant, until she miscarried.

Following the hearing, a law firm representing the three women said they were “satisfied” with the resolution.

“Amanda, Gina, and Michelle are relieved by today’s plea,” the law firm Jones Day said.

No death penalty

In the courtroom in Cleveland, Ohio, on Friday morning, Judge Michael Russo repeatedly warned Castro he would never be let out of prison.

“Is that clear?” he asked Castro, who sat clad in an orange jail jumpsuit, his hands cuffed in front of him.

The three women were all taken from the same street between 2002-04

“I do understand that, your honour,” Castro, an unemployed school bus driver, replied. “I knew I was pretty much going to get the book thrown at me.”

Under the terms of the plea deal Castro will receive an additional prison sentence of 1,000 years and his property and other assets will be forfeited. He will also be classified as a sex offender.

The agreement protects him from further charges and from the death penalty.

The judge said there were plans to demolish the house where the women were held.

At the hearing, Castro told the judge he was abused as a child and said, “My addiction to pornography and my sexual problem has really taken a toll on my mind.”

Castro was charged with 977 counts including two of aggravated murder for the “unlawful termination” of one of the women’s pregnancies, as well as multiple counts of kidnapping and rape.

Other charges included gross sexual imposition, felonious assault and endangering children.

The three women were abducted after accepting car rides from Castro, police said. Neighbours said they did not think anyone had been living in the house where the women were imprisoned.

Brutal treatment

They were rescued from the house after Ms Berry kicked open a door while Castro was out of the house and was aided by a neighbour who heard her struggling and screaming.

The house where the women were found will be demolished, the judge said

When officials arrived they freed Ms Knight and Ms DeJesus, as well as Ms Berry’s six-year-old daughter, who was fathered by Mr Castro.

Ms Knight disappeared in 2002 when she was 20 years old. The following year Ms Berry vanished the day before her 17th birthday. Ms DeJesus went missing in 2004 at the age of 14.

While in captivity, one of the women became pregnant many times and suffered multiple miscarriages.

One woman also said that she was forced to help Ms Berry deliver her baby and was threatened with death if the baby did not survive.

Castro was accused of chaining the women to a pole in a basement, to a bedroom heater or holding them inside a van.

Prosecutors also said Castro garrotted one of the women with a vacuum cord after catching her trying to escape.

Months after their release, the three women appeared in a video thanking the public for their support. Otherwise, they have requested privacy and a speedy resolution to the case against Castro.

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Life in prison for Ohio abductor

Mass jailbreak from Libyan prison

27 July 2013 Last updated at 15:51 ET The jailbreak followed protests over the death of Abdelsalam al-Mismari About 1,200 inmates have escaped from a jail in the restive Libyan city of Benghazi.

A security official told the AP news agency that most of the escapees were facing serious charges.

Another report said a riot had taken place inside the al-Kwafiya prison.

The jailbreak comes a day after the assassination of a prominent political activist triggered protests in the city, although it is not clear whether the two are connected.

Benghazi is one of the most unstable parts of post-revolution Libya. Last year the US ambassador and three other Americans were killed there.

On Saturday protesters attacked offices linked to the Muslim Brotherhood following the assassination of the prominent political activist Abdelsalam al-Mismari. Hundreds of mourners attended his funeral.

‘Reinforcements’

A security spokesman in Benghazi told the BBC that some of those who escaped from the prison had been captured but he did not specify how many.

In a news conference, the Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said residents in the southern area of the city had stormed the prison in protest at its existence in their district.

The inmates include a small number of people thought to be supporters of Col Muammar Gaddafi, the BBC’s Rana Jawad reports. The former leader was toppled and killed in an uprising in 2011.

The Gaddafi supporters had been charged with attacking security bases after the conflict, our correspondent says.

AFP news agency quoted a security official saying that there had been unrest inside the prison before the breakout.

“There was a riot inside al-Kwafiya prison, as well as an attack from outside,” he said.

“Special forces called in as reinforcements were given orders not to fire at the prisoners.”

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Mass jailbreak from Libyan prison