Three Rescue Heroes Killed , Six Injured AT Utah Mine

This is a real faith test for anyone that believes in God. How much misery must these miner's families and loved ones have to endure? This additional heartbreak is beyond unbearable as nine fine fellows worked feverishly to rescue their comrades. These rescue workers were crushed by yet another cave in.

The AP photograph of this young girl’s anguish brought a tear to this old blogger’s eye.

Private Investigator Forges Her Way To A Five-Year Prison Term

I really hate this story for lots of reasons. I also hate the death penalty because witnesses lie and mistakes can be made. Further I believe no government should have the right to kill its own citizens except to save a life of a citizen or officer.

It seems that 40 year-old private investigator, Kathleen Culhane created phony documents in an attempt to thwart the death sentences of condemned convicts.

What Ms. Culhane really did was to give all criminal defense private investigators a reputation that we will have to somehow overcome. Ms. Culhane is sharing her disgrace with many PIs that are working hard to simply get their clients a fair day in court.

I have no sympathy for Ms. Culhane, and condemn her for not working in a lawful manner to realize her dream to end the death penalty through the political process. For her schemes this former PI could have been breaking rocks at the Big House for 19 years. Instead she drew a five-year term which seems pretty stiff. I wonder how that sentence would stack up against someone caught falsifying evidence in order to put an innocent man on death Row?

Here is what ABC NEWS says about this mess.

Judge Fidler’s Fat Thumb Has Been On The Scale Of Justice All Along

Judge Larry Paul Fidler has been grossly unfair to Phil Spector with nearly each and every ruling during this trial.

Judge Fidler has allowed nearly anyone on the planet to make allegations of decades old assaults even though no police reports, prosecutions or civil lawsuits ever tested the veracity of the claims. The prejudice of the material against Phil Spector far outweighs any probative value.

Judge Fidler has taken the defense lawyers to the woodshed repeatedly for badgering witnesses while allowing Prosecutors Alan Jackson and Pat Dixon to abuse defense witnesses without sanctions.

Judge Fidler’s findings that labeled renowned forensic expert Dr. Henry Lee as the “least credible witness” during a trial while the jury is not sequestered was beyond outrageous. Only a fool would believe that ruling was not published to members of the jury. The entire point of that contest quickly dissolved when Sara Caplan revealed that the object in question was not a small portion of Ms. Clarkson’s thumbnail. The label of, “least credible witness” has never been lifted from Dr. Lee by Judge Fidler.

Because Phil Spector is wealthy and famous his detractors/prosecution “witnesses” have been rewarded with fame, cash from tabloids and other possible financial benefits. Oddly enough despite these despicable claims of extreme violence, Spector has not physically harmed one person in his 67 years on this earth. That fact alone makes the allegations by Spector’s former bedmates suspect.

Judge Fidler has been caught up in the spotlight of being the ringmaster of a circus instead of a judge presiding over an inquiry into the death of Lana Clarkson and an allegation of murder against Phil Spector.

Spector’s lawyers have shown nothing but dignity, class and respect for Judge Fidler. Judge Fidler does not deserve the respect the defense lawyers have given him.

Judge Fidler lost any objectivity long ago. Judge Fidler should recognize that fact, declare a mistrial and recuse himself from all further proceedings. The jury has been tainted beyond repair.

Illumination Hit The Hollywood Virgin Megastore!

Autograph time after the concert.




Sue Ann Pinner and Paul Huebl are the creative team behind the biographical song, Illumination about the late and great Pope John Paul, II.



Okay here's the story behind these photographs...

Spector Prosecution Born Of Bad Faith

Spector lawyer Bruce Cutler said it all during his opening statement for the Defense in the Phil Spector murder trial. He said that the cops had, “Murder on their minds.” It took nearly a year for the cops and prosecutors to sell a murder theory to a Los Angeles Grand Jury.

The truth is that cops and prosecutors get famous by arresting and prosecuting the famous. That is in itself an incentive to bring forward cases that should never see a courtroom.

The most significant red flag of bad faith to me was the refusal of the cops and prosecutors to allow professionals to conduct a psychological autopsy on Lana Clarkson. This is the standard practice for medical examiners in similar cases to determine the true state of mind and suicidal tendencies of a person found dead where suicide, drug abuse or murder is not clear-cut.

The mind probing post-mortem would have opened medical records and included the input of the people treating Lana Clarkson for depression, substance abuse and pain. Her friends, family and others familiar with her history would have been interviewed. The professionals would then render their own opinion to aid in the fact-finding process.

The deliberate sidestepping of the psychological autopsy of Lana Clarkson has a foul odor to it that permeates the entire prosecution. My question is simple what were the cops and prosecutors trying to hide?

Today’s High Tech Lynch Mob Is On The Job

In America’s ugly past, the quick answer to an infamous crime was for a lynch mob to find hated suspects responsible for an infamous transgression and hang them. Thoughts and acts of retribution somehow perceived by most humans as a way of making a horrible situation better. Along the way the lynch mobs hanged a lot of innocent people. Too many people are frustrated and can’t wait for the criminal justice system with its checks and balances to bring about a fair resolution.

We’ve outlawed the lynch mob but it’s come back in another insidious form. Mass news coverage of the disappearances, murders or mysterious deaths of, young, pretty, White women has given the lynceh mob new life.

You may ask, who are the leaders of these modern day lynch mobs? They are the commentators of radio, TV and the Internet. Nancy Grace, Bill O'Reilly and an assortment of people are the new lynch mob leaders. These influential folks take a fraction of the investigative information that may be in itself inaccurate and use it to pollute the minds of their audience just as any other mob organizer would.

The truth is that the misinformation influences the actual judges and juries involved in the factfinding process.

From expierence I can say for a fact that people sitting on today's juries use the Google search engine to research the defendants and witnesses that appear before them. Yes that's in total violation of the rules to avoid news reports and broadcasts.

This works best if the victim is female, seems sympatric and attractive. Names that come to mind are Laci Peterson, Natalie Holloway, and Lana Clarkson. Irrespective of our perceptions two of these women’s manner and cause of deaths were never determined. Natalie Holloway is a missing person who we presume is dead. Laci Peterson was found dead but nobody ever established just how she died but a jury guessed she was murdered and that her lying and cheating husband must have killed her. Of course they don’t know how he killed her.

Lana Clarkson either died at her own hands or Phil Spector's. Was it suicide,an accident or murder? If it was an accident, who held the gun and pulled the trigger? Peole want to believe what they want to believe. The truth plays little part in that process.

In the Peterson case the court watchers were as much of a lynch mob as any in history. The courthouse mob actually cheered and celebrated when the jury convicted Scott Peterson!

This lynch mob mentality has had a major influence over changing or legal system to make it easier for prosecutors to win convictions. First, through the bogus issue of, so-called victim’s rights. Our founding fathers knew that victims don’t need special rights and did not provide for them. Second through the elimination of Statutes of Limitations that prevented criminal prosecutions for crimes not reported for more than seven years.

Changes to the Statute of Limitations has brought on the epidemic of Catholic priests to be prosecuted for sexual abuse claims made by alleged victims more than 30 years after the acts were to have occurred. Of course in each and every priest case the accuser has a companion civil that usually nets over $1 million dollars. Could money somehow motivate people to make phony sex abuse claims?

We’ve changed the rules of evidence to allow testimony of people about incidents remote in time to a current accusation such as in the case of suspected killer, Phil Spector’s old bedmates.

Along the way there is another strange phenomenon and that is the canonization of parents of murder victims. John Walsh, Max Klass, and Beth Holloway Twittty along with a host of others have capitalized on their newfound victim fame in a big way.

Today there is a heavy thumb resting on the scales of justice favoring the conviction of scapegoats.

Lana Clarkson’s, Lana Unleashed--A Review

The talked about, expensive and never paid for video project was itself unleashed at the Phil Spector trial during testimony of Clarkson’s former talent agent, Nick Terzian. Testimony revealed that Terzian prudently never made that video clinker available to casting directors.

The 30-minute DVD was not classifiable as a film, comedy piece or anything other than a sad attempt at self-indulgence. Lana Unleashed appeared to be a demo reel of some sort that was 29.8 minutes longer than the attention span of any Hollywood casting director, agent, or producer.

Clarkson appeared in a wide variety of costumes in a cornucopia of scenes. The writing was beyond bad and Clarkson took on personalities and accents she obviously had not studied. Lana Unleashed would quickly bring on the end of anyone’s entertainment career. Clarkson unwisely credited herself with the directing, producing, acting and writing.

I guess Lana Unleashed was an attempt at comedy. All comedy is born of pain. This was painful to watch and really magnified Clarkson's tragic life. The clips that hurt the most were when Lana was really well costumed and downright sexy. Those scenes would be interrupted and overlapped by scenes where she looked and sounded awful exhibiting exemplified bad taste.

Not a single giggle could be heard in Judge Fidler’s courtroom during this film screening.

Clarkson could have worked with numerous amateur film groups and starred in a simple four to six minute short film that was well written and interesting. Clarkson could have taken her wonderful existing tape and hired an editing professional to assemble in a way to capture the casting director’s attention for a small fraction of the money burned making Lana Unleashed.

Not lost in this testimony was the fact that Nick Terzian who professed to be a SAG franchised agent took 20% of Clarkson’s earnings. 20% is double what SAG agents are entitled to collect from actors.

Terzain claimed that Clarkson was a top money maker but records showed that after commissions she earned less then $2,000.00 the entire time he was her agent. It’s abundantly clear now that Lana Clarkson was not well served by her agent who sent her out for non-union scab jobs.

The Lana Unleashed fiasco along with Clarkson’s poverty, extensive medical bills, unhappy love life, addictions, and depression set the stage for a dramatic self-inflicted exit.

You can judge Lana's creation youself by watching a pathetic portion of LANA UNLEASHED.

Injustice Through Voodoo Science Continues

What would happen to a group of American cops and prosecutors who got caught forcing a murder suspect to submit to a spinal tap without anesthesia and later injected him with a Truth Serum? They’d get a well-deserved prison term for violating civil rights of the suspect. The suspect would also be awarded millions in civil damages.

An additional result would be that the suspect guilty or innocent would escape prosecution, trial and punishment because of the egregious prosecutorial misconduct.

61 years ago this was the undisputed scenario played out in the case of then 17 year-old murder suspect William Heirens. Heirens pled guilty to avoid an almost certain short stroll to Cook County Jail’s very own four condemned cells and electric chair. That death factory was less than 100 feet from his housing unit at tier F1. The jail’s chaplain was busy that year accompanying condemned men to their dates with the hereafter.

It was Heirens’ guilty plea that prevented any real review of evidence or consideration for a trial. The guilty plea entered by Heirens made any trial or real appeals unnecessary under law.

The issues today are redemption, rehabilitation and if the release of William Heirens would depreciate the seriousness of the crime. The board has spoken and Heirens will continue to stay where the Voodoo practitioners sent him so long ago.

Heirens history here.

Spector Defense Is Out Of Gas

The defense is winding down and famed forensic expert Henry Lee is in China and beyond the reach of a court subpoena. The defense requested to have Dr. Lee’s earlier testimony given out of presence of the jury to be read to the jury. Judge Fidler ruled against the defense request simply because the defense did not bother to serve their witness with the subpona. I somehow suspect we’ve heard the last of Dr. Lee’s testimony.

We still may see the jury’s possible field visit to Spector’s castle. There will be some testimony about Lana Clarkson’s computer data. I suspect that Arizona firearms examiner, Lucian c. “Luke Haag will be not now be called.

No defense lawyer in his right mind will put Phil Spector on the witness stand. There is no reason for Spector to say anything at all.

Was this a tactical defense plan to derail the prosecution’s rebuttal case? It looks like there will be no additional witness baring something after the prosecution’s rebuttal that’s expected to take three days.

Will the defense team pull a rabbit out of their hat to make a splash? That remains to be seen. At the rate Judge Fidler moves, this the end of this trial will see be weeks away.

Don’t be surprised if Brue Cuttler does not deliver any portion of the closing argument.

The reality is the prosecution has not presented more than theories that Phil Spector killed Lana Clarkson.

Chicago’s Lipstick Killer Up For Parole

He was dubbed the, “Lipstick Killer” who was apprehended while armed with a .25 automatic as he allegedly tried to kill a Chicago cop responding to a routine burglary call. 1946 was not a good year for prisoner’s civil rights in the Windy City. Interrogation rooms were simply confessionals. Police tactics were legendary and make brutality claims of the last three decades pale by comparison.

He was an exceptionally bright 17 year-old student and part-time burglar from the prestigious University of Chicago. The crimes committed were in the Rogers Park neighborhood. A lot of burglaries and three brutal murders were pinned on the young suspect. The most notorious of the murders was that of six-year old Suzanne Degnan who’s dismembered body parts were retrieved from various catch basins.

Lipstick was used by the killer to scrawl the ominous message on one victim, Frances Brown's living room wall, "For heavens sake, catch me before I kill more I cannot control myself."

William Heirens became Chicago’s Boogieman feared by every young mother. Heirens was soon paraded around like a wild animal in a traveling zoo exhibit. Sensational news stories and bizarre photos were the rule for this sordid saga..

Along with the beatings, in two lawless exercises of Voodoo Science of the day cops and prosecutors forced Heirens to undergo a spinal tap and injected him with the drug sodium pentathol. For a while that drug was wrongly thought to be some kind of a truth serum. Curiously Heirens easily passed the heralded, Keeler polygraph test. I can’t imagine what the courts would say today about the experiments and torture used by Chicago’s crime busters on William Heirens.

Was this lad the killer or a scapegoat? In the mid-1990s I was asked by ABC news to find a Chicago man, Richard Russell Thomas who confessed to killing the Degnan girl while he was in the Maricopa County Jail in Arizona but was quickly dismissed as a suspect by Chicago police. Police had already made their investment in Heirens and lost interest in the second confessor who was a convicted child molester.

Richard Russell Thomas died decades before my search but his family members in Austin Texas verified the confession as well as telling me about his writing of at least one song made popular by Les Paul and Mary Ford. lots of additional evidence connecting Thomas to the Degnam murder surfaced over the years. Heirens’ Lawyer Jed Stone knows this story well and was not able to develop this as a basis for a new trial.

God only knows what really happened or who the killer was or if the three murders were somehow connected. There was no security video or DNA in 1946. I don’t have much faith that justice really happened in this case.

In the end William Heirens had two choices. Plead guilty to the crimes or be convicted and quickly fried in the electric chair. Unlike today, that process could be completed with all appeals within months in 1946. The Guilty plea was accepted and Heirens has since served more time than any Illinois prisoner.

Ever since Heirens arrived at the Illinois prison system he’s never been a discipline problem and was the first inmate to get a college degree while incarcerated. 61 years later Heirens is a feeble and wheelchair bound old man. Heirens is far from a threat to anyone and his prison cell needs to be filled by a much younger convict who is really dangerous.

There were several books published about this case. The Court TV crime library has a great article on this murder investigation that can be found here.

Lots of pictures gathered from Chicago's newspapers with information about the crimes assembled by S. Sherman can be found here.

These has been loads of misinformation published that tainted this case.

There there is this from author Dolores Kennedy.

The board ruled and you can read about it here.

An update: Hereins had a parole hearing in July 2009. In late late August he was denied parole, having received two votes when eight are needed. There was concerns that he is costing the state $70,000.00 per year in care. If he was released they could hire two prison guards for younger and more dangerous prisoners.

I Lost Another Friend Today

Left to Right: Jim Cox, Scott Bowerbank, Craig Smith and Rick Krolak
When you work with fine people you are never prepared to see any of them vanish from your life in an instant. That’s exactly what happened today in Phoenix, Arizona. My friend, Jim Cox of more than 15 years was killed covering a car chase in Central Phoenix as a video-journalist for KTVK-TV.

Cox along with pilot Scott Bowerbank were killed as was KNXV-TV's Craig Smith and Rick Krolak when their two news choppers collided in mid air. All of these fine men had one thing in common, they chose to be where the action was and died doing what they loved best. Their names are now added to a long list of people killed bringing their fellow Americans the news.