Farmer on mobility scooter shot trespassers by accident while aiming at fox

A farmer unwittingly shot two suspected burglars who were allegedly targeting a cannabis factory, which he didn't know existed, on his property.

Edward Tibbs, 62, had been aiming at a fox which he had pursued outside on his mobility scooter.

However, he found himself arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after two men who had ventured on to his land turned up in hospital with gunshot wounds.

The farmer says he had no idea he had injured the men until 16 armed police stormed his home in Crays Hill, Essex, later that day.

Mr Tibbs, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and neuralgia, told detectives he had been awoken by the sound of geese and, after going outside on his mobility scooter, had shot three times into the dark, believing he was firing at a fox.

“It was an accident as far as I am concerned. I was out shooting that night on my land and apparently two people got shot there,” he said.

“I didn’t know anyone had been hit. If I did, I would have called the police. Apparently they went to hospital and police were called and they said where it happened. It happened at 4am, but the first I knew about it was when the police came.”

The two men, aged 27 and 30, arrived at accident and emergency with gunshot wounds to their legs and backs.

Police later discovered that a cannabis factory had been set up in a rented outbuilding on Mr Tibbs’s farm and it was thought that the two men were attempting to burgle it when they were shot.

Mr Tibbs, who said he had no knowledge of the cannabis plants, was later released without charge.

The injured men, from Basildon, were arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm but were also released without charge. Two women who were arrested in connection with the discovery of 50 cannabis plants were also freed after questioning.

Mr Tibbs complained that police had revoked his two shotgun licences following the incident. But an Essex Police spokesman said Mr Tibbs was “unfit to be entrusted with a firearm and may present a danger to public safety and peace”.

Link

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Hmm... Likely story...

I'm pleasantly surprised that all Essex Police did was revoke his SGC, though I suspect the fact that he's old and obviously unwell had something to do with that decision.  I would very much expect to be prosecuted (as well as divested of my firearms certificate) if I did something this stupid.

An enraged father who disapproved of his daughter's older boyfriend went to his home and castrated him with a bread knife.

Helmut Seifert, 47, an ethnic German originally from Russia, was enraged when he heard his 17-year-old daughter was having a relationship with Phillip Genscher, 57.

He went to police in the town of Bielefeld where he lives but officers said they were powerless to intervene.

"The man then recruited two work colleagues at his factory and then went to the house of the victim," said police.

"The man was forced to remove his trousers and, fully conscious, he was castrated. The severed testicles were taken away by the perpetrator."

The man was close to bleeding to death but managed to call police. His life was saved but he remains a eunuch for life.

Seifert pleaded guilty and will be on trial for attempted murder next year. But he has remained silent on who his accomplices were.

He told police: "I received a phone call anonymously that my daughter was involved with a guy 40 years older than her. You said you couldn't stop him – so I did.

"I saw it as my duty as a father."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/8197617/German-man-castrates-teenage-daughters-57-year-old-boyfriend.html

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Ouch...

No, seriously!  Surely the Saudi Arabian government can see why quite a few people would be a little uneasy about this ironic contract, even though the Binladin Group (owned by Osama's family, of which he is surely the most famous member) has disassociated itself from him and there are no security risks involved?


Binladin group wins $7.2 bln Jeddah contract

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The Saudi Binladin Group has won a 27.1-billion-riyal (7.2-billion-dollar) deal to build a new terminal and infrastructure at Jeddah international airport, the Saudi airports authority announced on Sunday.

The project, to be completed over 36 months, will expand the capacity of the King Abdul Aziz International Airport to 30 million passengers per year from the current traffic of 17 million passengers, the General Authority on Civil Aviation said in a statement.

The contract for the deal was signed on Saturday by Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the country's defence and aviation minister, in Agadir, Morocco, the statement said.

In the three-year project Binladin, the country's largest builder, will construct a single 670,000-square-metre (more than seven million square feet) terminal with 94 aircraft bays to replace the two ageing facilities currently handling airport traffic.

It will also build what the statement called the world's tallest airport control tower at 133 metres (436 feet), and infrastructure linking the terminal with roads and the planned high-speed railway that will join Jeddah with Mecca and Medina.

Jeddah is the main hub for millions of Muslim pilgrims who visit the two holy cities every year.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i_UlErytipM4tyfH_ZgHTdnGN5Dg

...but you just can't suppress it.  There's just so much wrong with this story that I really don't know where to begin:



Transgender human rights lawyer who died after being 'pushed' under Tube train was working as an escort

A renowned human rights lawyer allegedly pushed to his death under a Tube train was living a secret life as a transsexual escort.

David Burgess, 63, who was also known as Sonia, offered his services on a website, where he advertised himself as a 'pre-op' transsexual escort looking for paid encounters with men.

Mr Burgess was killed instantly when he was hit by a train at King's Cross Underground station during rush hour on Monday evening.

A 34-year-old woman, Nina Kanagasingham, has been charged with his murder.


Killed: David Burgess, also known as Sonia, died under a Tube train at King's Cross station
on Monday evening. A woman has been charged with his murder

Mr Burgess, who had two adult daughters and a son by his ex-wife, was a senior partner in his firm, with more than 40 years’ experience in immigration law. He had brought human rights cases against North Korea.

His family knew him as both Sonia and David.

Mr Burgess had been dressing in women's clothing for four years and had set up profiles on two transgender websites as Sonia Jardiniere.

On the website Birchplace, which bills itself as a 'lifestyle fetish community', the solicitor advertised himself as an escort and posted several photographs of himself as a woman, describing himself as having a 'party doll' personality.

His page was titled 'Sonia (escort) - TV - London' and he described himself as a private Capricorn, slim, brown-eyed and ironic.

Under the heading 'things I like', he wrote: 'Fashion, makeup, shopping, romance, Look magazine, romantic films and most guys but let’s not forget girls a guy is for 40mns [though maybe the next one will fall in love with me...] but a wardrobe is for a season.'

Under his dislikes he states: 'Not many, really. Unkindness.'

Other users of the site responded positively to Mr Burgess's page, writing, 'Hot stuff', 'absolutely gorgeous', 'my dream date', 'we just have to meet', 'you sound like fun', 'very sexy' and 'fancy a s**g?'

On another transgender website, Mr Burgess wrote he was seeking 'mature admirers' and was looking for casual and serious relationships.

     
Distinguished career: Mr Burgess as a young man, left, and pictured 11 years ago

News of his death has led to several tributes from fellow members. Suzanne Clare, a 'crossdresser from London', posted: 'I feel devastated by the meaningless destruction of a loving and gifted person. I am proud to have been one of her friends - her passing will always leave a void in my life.'

Mr Burgess is reported to have lived with a 33-year-old Oriental man at his Soho flat.

Miss Kanagasingham, of Cricklewood, North London, yesterday appeared at City of Westminster magistrates’ court charged with murder. Police are investigating how the pair knew each other.

Mr Burgess’s identity was only revealed after the court refused pleas by the police and Crown Prosecution Service to keep it secret.

According to the Evening Standard, he had been married to Youdon Lhamo, a former client who was a Tibetan asylum seeker. They are believed to have divorced in 2006. Ms Lhamo lives in Scotland.

His former wife and children said in a statement: ‘Sonia (David) was a loving and wonderful person and will be missed deeply. We would appreciate being given space to come to terms with our loss.’

A spokesman for his firm, Luqmani Thompson and Partners, said: ‘[He was] an enormously talented practitioner, an inspiration to a generation of lawyers practising in this field, and a great friend.

‘He was a pioneer in setting legal tests and trends in genuinely trailblazing cases.

‘We shall not be the same firm without him.’

Miss Kanagasingham yesterday appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court charged with Mr Burgess's murder. She spoke only to confirm her name and date of birth at the brief hearing.


Death: The scene at King's Cross Tube station after the incident


King's Cross Station: The Picadilly Line was closed for hours on Monday evening, causing
chaos for commuters making their way home

There was no application for bail and she was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey.

Mr Burgess had worked for his law firm in Wood Green, north London, having previously been senior partner at the renowned immigration firm, Winstanley Burgess Solicitors.

His work since the 1970s had led to significant judgments in the House of Lords, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

A citation on his employer's website said his abilities 'bring an added depth to our firm'.

He had been involved in cases regarding fair trials in foreign countries, people facing exclusion from the Refugee Convention, civil claims against the Ministry of Defence for unlawful detention, as well as country guidance casework on North Korea.

A commendation by London barrister Raza Hussain QC reads: 'David Burgess was a partner in the firm Winstanley Burgess Solicitors, the gold standard immigration law firm in the 1990s.

'He was responsible for what was described by Professor Sir William Wade as the most important constitutional case for centuries (M v Home Office), which began with David's attendance out of hours before a Duty Judge challenging the unlawful removal of his client to Zaire.

'M Orders' have entered the lexicon of public law. David had personal conduct of the evidential aspect of the argument in Chahal v UK, perhaps the most important European immigration law case of the last few decades.

'David has superb analytical skills, and total commitment to his cases.'

King's Cross station had to be evacuated and the Piccadilly line closed as police recovered Mr Burgess's body after the incident.

It was initially reported that a woman had died.

British Transport Police Detective Superintendent Ashley Croft said that several witnesses had come forward and CCTV from the station was being reviewed.

The Piccadilly line was suspended through King's Cross until late into Monday evening, causing rush-hour chaos for thousands.

Scores of passengers were forced to abandon their train and walk along tracks to Caledonian Road station after the line was closed.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1324425/Transgender-lawyer-died-Tube-train-working-escort.html

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Human rights law, pre-op transsexual, and afterhours escort 'girl'.  Interesting resume...

But seriously... pushed under a train?  I guess that Nina, the alleged perpetrator, must be a real drama queen.  To literally push somebody under a train must have required some significant and dramatic bitch-versus-bitch action prior to the murder.  Christ.

Reports: U.K. spy slain, dumped in sports bag



LONDON — Detectives have launched a murder probe after the body of a man reported to be an intelligence officer was discovered in a central London apartment.

London's Scotland Yard said Wednesday that officers found the man, believed to be aged in his 30s, at a home near the headquarters of Britain's MI6 spy agency.

According to media reports, the man worked for eavesdropping agency Government Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ, and was on a secondment to MI6.

Britain's Telegraph newspaper reported that his body had been stuffed in a large sports bag and left in the bathroom.

Police responded to an apartment in the affluent Pimlico area of London at about 4:40 p.m. (11:40 a.m. EDT) Monday following reports that its occupant had not been seen recently.

"A police officer came to my house and asked if we had noticed anything suspicious in the last 10 days, so I think that the body has been there for a while," a neighbor told the Telegraph.

Investigators pronounced the victim dead at the scene, police said in a statement sent to msnbc.com.

The victim's cell phone and sim cards had been laid out in a ritualistic manner in another room in the apartment, according to the newspaper.

Police said they have not made an arrest in the case.

A Scotland Yard spokesman told msnbc.com that the body has not been positively identified, and therefore no next of kin has been notified. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.

Police and Britain's Foreign Office — the ministry that oversees MI6 — declined to confirm the victim's details, citing sensitivity over intelligence issues.

The police spokesman told msnbc.com that homicide detectives, as opposed to terrorism investigators, were handling the probe.

A landlady who rented the victim an apartment in Cheltenham, where the GCHQ's main office is located, told The Daily Mail that her tenant "was polite and mild-mannered and wouldn’t hurt a fly. He was forever off on bike rides but never really had friends around.

"Sometimes you could hear tapes whirring from his flat," she added.  "It must have been audio cassettes he used for work. He never told me what they were."

The victim is thought to have a doctorate in mathematics from Cambridge University, according to reports.

If investigators link the murder to the victim's reported line of work, it would be the highest-profile espionage-related murder since that of Alexander Litvinenko.

Litvinenko, a former KGB agent, died in November 2006 from the effects of radioactive polonium 210. Russian operatives are suspected in the death.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38844509/ns/world_news-europe/

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Somebody is going to have one hell of a stick inserted up their arse when they're caught...

Just because something is a crime doesn't mean it's not funny — sometimes they can be funny because they're so stupid.

This one is no exception.




Gregory Denny Charged With Impersonating U.S. Marshal, Falsely Deporting Woman

HEMET, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California man was charged Friday with falsely deporting his cousin's wife to the Philippines by posing as a U.S. marshal.

A federal indictment unsealed Friday in San Diego accuses Gregory Denny, 37, and his wife Karen, 52, of kidnapping, conspiracy and other crimes that carry a potential life sentence.

The Hemet couple were jailed without bail and it wasn't immediately clear whether they had obtained an attorney.

Police said Denny and his wife barged into his cousin's home in January. Denny flashed a phony badge and a replica gun and handcuffed his cousin's wife of three years, Cherriebelle Hibbard, claiming she was in the U.S. illegally, police said.

Craig Hibbard told police that immigration officials had told recently told Cherriebelle, who was five months pregnant at the time, she could stay in the U.S. while she waited for a reissued green card to be processed.

Hibbard later said he didn't question his cousin because he had a U.S. Marshals shirt on and a badge. Three days later, when he called the U.S. Marshals Service, they told him Denny was not an agent.

Denny has said that Hibbard's father told him Cherriebelle was in the country illegally and the couple was having problems at home.

Denny and his wife drove Cherriebelle to a Border Patrol Station in Murrieta where they told agents that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had issued a fugitive warrant for her arrest, according to the indictment. The agents refused to take her into custody.

They later took her to their home, called Craig Hibbard and told him to buy his wife a plane ticket to the Philippines, according to the indictment. They told her that she and her husband would go to jail for five years if she didn't leave the U.S.

Then they drove her to the San Diego International Airport, where Denny told Transportation Security Administration staff that he was escorting a prisoner to a flight. Cherriebelle flew to Manila alone and remains there without a green card.

She has said that she never met Denny and didn't realize he was her husband's cousin.

In February U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., asked the Department of Homeland Security for documents related to the incident to determine whether TSA staff followed procedures or were poorly trained.

Gregory and Karen Denny will appear in court on Monday.

This is not technically Ohio death penalty news, and might instead be deserving of its own thread, but it has some relevance which I shall explain below.

____________

Thomas Moyer, Long-Serving Ohio Chief Justice, GOP Political Figure, Dead at 70

Thomas J. Moyer, chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court for 23 years and a revered figure in the state Republican Party, died unexpectedly on Friday. He was 70.

The affable Moyer was third longest-serving chief justice in Ohio history and dean of current state supreme court justices across the country, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

Before his election to the state's high court, Moyer served as president of the Columbus School Board during turbulent times in the early 1970s when the city wrestled with school desgregation. He was also executive assistant to the late Gov. James A. Rhodes later that decade. In both of those positions and on the court, Tom Moyer was known as a quiet voice of moderation and a man who worked easily with Republicans and Democrats alike.

A cause of death was not immediatey released. Moyer had hip replacement surgery last year and appeared frail, but few around him suspected he was seriously ill. He presided at an Ohio Supeme Court session Wednesday.

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/04/03/thomas-moyer-long-serving-ohio-chief-justice-gop-political-fig/

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In Ohio, the Supreme Court is tasked with the issuance of death warrants.  The Chief Justice is primarily responsible for attending to death penalty issues and on his motion alone executions can be delayed.  Justice Paul Pfeiffer, in his capacity as the longest serving associate justice, has now assumed the post of acting chief justice in accordance with the Ohio Constitution.  He is also known to be generally opposed to capital punishment, at least as practiced in Ohio, and almost always dissents without comment when the Court sets an execution date.  There have been "whispers" in some corners that Ohio's recent roll in conducting executions, which can in part be attributed to Chief Justice Moyer, might abate somewhat while Justice Pfeiffer is in the big seat.

...is that scumbags like Ian Huntley can be attacked by other prisoners.

____________

Soham killer Ian Huntley's throat slashed in prison Ian Huntley, who killed schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham in 2003, has been taken to hospital after having his throat slashed. Huntley is being treated in hospital for the wound to his throat, which is said to be serious but not life-threatening. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson confirmed the injury was sustained in an assault by another prisoner on Sunday afternoon.   "A prisoner at HMP Frankland was assaulted by another prisoner at about 3.25pm on Sunday 21 March," said a spokesman. "The prisoner was taken to outside hospital for treatment. His condition is not thought to be life-threatening." Huntley, 36, is currently serving two life sentences at Frankland Prison, a maximum-security facility in County Durham, where he has reportedly been given "special treatment" by guards to prevent a reprise of previous suicide attempts. He was transferred there from Wakefield prison in West Yorkshire, where in 2005 he was reportedly attacked with boiling water by another prisoner. In 2008, it was claimed the killer was considering converting to Islam after he fell in with a group of Muslim inmates, having been threatened by other prisoners. Huntley, a former school caretaker, was jailed for life in December 2003 after being found guilty of murdering the two 10-year-old girls as they left their homes in August 2002. He was set a minimum sentence of 40 years, but he has been told by judges he has "little or no hope" of ever being released. Last week three prison officers were attacked with a broken bottle at Frankland Prison. The Category A prison has seen a number of assaults on staff in recent years and in 2008, HM Inspectorate of Prisons raised concerns over levels of violence. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/7494730/Soham-killer-Ian-Huntleys-throat-slashed-in-prison.html

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For those who aren't familiar with the Soham murders, there's plenty of information to be found on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soham_murders

Pilot hits his own house with plane

MONTREAL - The pilot of a small ultra-light plane hit his own house after it crashed Tuesday afternoon near Chertsey, north of Montreal.

The plane's 53-year-old male pilot did suffer minor injuries, mostly from flying glass, authorities said. The man's 17-year-old son, who was a passenger on the aircraft, was not hurt at all.

The accident was caused by a faulty maneuver on take-off, SQ spokesperson Benoît Richard stated. Police were continuing to investigate if the plane crashed directly into the house or if it ended up hitting it after landing.

Witnesses said there was no one in the house at the time and the house was owned by the pilot himself.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2010/03/16/13253826-qmi.html

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Ooops.  Bet his wife is going to be pissed. 

Two DHS Agencies Reportedly Lose 1,000 Computers in One Fiscal Year

Two agencies within the Department of Homeland Security reportedly lost nearly 1,000 computers in fiscal year 2008, costing taxpayers approximately $13.3 million.

According to documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act by Todd Shepherd of the Independence Institute, inventories of lost, stolen and damaged equipment indicate that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) lost at least 985 computers combined.

CBP's total inventory of lost and stolen equipment, or 1,975 pieces, totaled $7.5 million; ICE's inventory, meanwhile, was 1,547 items, equating to a loss of $5.8 million.

[...]

CBP reportedly insists that none of the lost computers contained sensitive or classified date. Other losses, according to the Independence Institute, include 235 night vision scopes by CBP officials and an "international harvester vehicle truck" -- valued at $116,349 -- on behalf of ICE officials.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/25/dhs-agencies-reportedly-lose-computers-fiscal-year/


and:

Homeland Security reports losing guns

WASHINGTON — The nation's Homeland Security officers lost nearly 200 guns in bowling alleys, public restrooms, unlocked cars and other unsecure areas, with some ending up in the hands of felons. The problem, outlined in a new federal report, has prompted disciplinary actions and extra training.

Most of the misplaced weapons — including handguns, shotguns and military rifles — were never found. "Most losses occurred because officers did not properly secure firearms," says the Homeland Security inspector general report.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-02-17-lost-guns_N.htm


Bet that news makes y'all feel real safe...

What I want to know, though, is how it is possible to lose an "international harvester vehicle truck."  While it might occasionally be possible to mislay a handgun or a laptop, I bet that "international harvester vehicle truck" didn't just get up and walk away...

IT'S A NEW PRISON!

In Austria.

I bet the PTO dolts would love this place...

If you're at work and have a prudish boss, you'd be advised not to click any of the links in this thread.  And get back to work, you lazy git.

"Australia's government is "banning" adult publications and films featuring women with "small breasts," says Aussie activist Fiona Patten, on the grounds that such images encourage pedophilia. Patton, leader of the anti-censorship Australian Sex Party, is taking issue with a 2005 ruling which specified that even depictions of women who are over 18 but "appear to be" underage may be judged "illegal." Is this alleged practice a strategic way to fight child pornography, or — as Patten maintains — an absurd reaction to a perfectly normal female body type?"

http://www.theweek.com/article/index/105766/Australias_small_breast_ban

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Guess Australia is one more refuge of sanity I'm going to have to strike off my list!  Y'all really do need to elect a more sensible federal government at the next opportunity.

Small boobs FTW.

Kato sorry for Akihabara massacre



Tomohiro Kato pleaded guilty Thursday to murdering seven people and injuring 10 in Tokyo's popular Akihabara electronics district in June 2008.

With the guilty plea, the trial at the Tokyo District Court will now turn on whether the 27-year-old's mental condition at the time of the massacre was stable enough to assign criminal responsibility. This determination will influence his sentence, which could be the death penalty.

"First of all, I would like to apologize to those who have passed away, to those who were injured and to their families," Kato said as presiding Judge Hiroaki Murayama asked him to enter his plea.

"Although there are some parts that I have no memory of, I admit that I committed (the crime) and that I am the culprit," Kato read from a memo he had prepared in advance.

With trimmed hair and dressed in a black suit with white shirt, the pale-looking Kato bowed to the gallery when he first entered the courtroom. Several survivors and relatives of the victims were among the audience.

Kato stands accused of plowing a rented truck into a crowd of pedestrians at around noon on June 8, 2008, then getting out of the vehicle and going on a stabbing rampage.

Three died from the impact of the truck and two were injured. Wielding a dagger, Kato then stabbed four people to death and knifed another eight who survived. Most of the victims had been shopping.

In their opening statement, the prosecutors said they will establish that Kato was criminally responsible for his actions.

Kato, a temporary worker at a car repair factory in Shizuoka Prefecture at the time, had been constantly posting messages on a cell phone bulletin board.

The prosecutors said Kato had a strong sense of being ignored by society and the bulletin board provided his only escape.

When people began to criticize his entries, the prosecutors argued, Kato felt betrayed and could not forgive them.

They said that a few days before the rampage, he became incensed when no one replied with kind words to a post saying he was upset about the disappearance of his work clothes at the factory.

After searching for his clothes in vain, Kato took it as a message from his employer to quit the factory, the prosecutors said.

Kato continued to write on the bulletin board, entering his moves leading up to the attack, including purchasing of a dagger and other knives, renting a 2-ton truck and that he was in Akihabara and was about to proceed with his plan.

Kato ran a red light and barreled into an intersection crowded with pedestrians. The area was mostly closed to traffic because it was a Sunday.

The prosecutors said a psychiatric test performed before Kato was indicted indicated he did not have any mental problems and was criminally responsible, and they will prove their case during the trial.

Kato's lawyers asked the court to focus carefully on his upbringing and how his ways of thinking developed.

They also asked the court to pay close attention to what the online bulletin board meant to their client.

"It is impossible to understand his motives without understanding what the bulletin board meant to him," said the lawyer who made the opening statement for the defense.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100129a1.html

Mongolia leader calls for end to death penalty

Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj has announced a moratorium on the death penalty, and called for the punishment to be abolished.

Mr Elbegdorj told parliament that the punishment degraded Mongolia's dignity.

He is known to have commuted at least three death sentences since taking power last year.

Exact figures on capital punishment in Mongolia are hard to establish, but at least one man was executed in 2008, and nine are believed to be on death row.

Challenge ahead

"The majority of the world's countries have chosen to abolish the death penalty. We should follow this path," Mr Elbegdorj told parliament.

As president, he has the power to commute any death sentences, but changing the law is likely to be much more of a challenge.

He will need help from members of Mongolia's opposition-dominated parliament, many of whom still favour harsh punishments.

According to Amnesty International, 95 countries have so far banned the death penalty, but in much of Asia the death penalty is still an important part of the judicial system.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8458717.stm

Naked rambler faces life in prison

The naked rambler, Stephen Gough, has been told he will spend the rest of his life behind bars if he continues refusing to wear clothes in public.

The former Royal Marine, who became notorious for his naked hike from Land's End to John O'Groats in 2003, has spent much of the past seven years in prison for repeatedly appearing nude in public.

He was yesterday found guilty of breaching the peace when he walked naked from Perth prison in December after finishing a 12 month sentence for the same offence. Mr Gough was warned he will continue to be jailed every time he steps out of prison without any clothes on.
 
The 50-year-old, who conducted his own defence while appearing in court completely naked, turned down an offer to walk free yesterday on the condition that he got dressed.

Perth Sheriff Lindsay Foulis told Gough she would consider granting him bail to go home to his "warmer" house in Eastleigh, Hampshire, if he agreed to put some clothes on. The former lorry driver refused the offer and was remanded in custody.

Ordering psychological and psychiatric reports, the Sheriff said: "When the day comes for you to be released, you will be apprehended and the same process gone through again.”

Mr Gough said he accepted he could "potentially" remain in jail forever and added: "This is about individual freedom."

The father of two has spent most of the past seven years in Scottish jails after stripping off on a flight to Edinburgh. Since then he has declined to wear prison uniform or to appear clothed in court, resulting in further custodial sentences for contempt.

Mr Gough completed his first naked ramble across Britain in 2003. He was arrested 15 times during the journey and spent 140 nights in jail, mainly in Scotland where the authorities take a stricter approach to public nudity than in England and Wales. He finished his second hike with his then girlfriend Melanie Roberts three years later.

It was while returning to Edinburgh to appeal against contempt of court convictions in Scotland that he undressed on board an early morning flight from Bournemouth airport.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/6977441/Naked-rambler-faces-life-in-prison.html
(Nota bene: The picture in the article contains mild, non-frontal nudity.)

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Thoughts?

Life in prison sounds suitable to me for truly repeat offenders.