Two Fast Guns gangsters get life for killing 5-year-old Cape Town boy
The Western Cape High Court has sentenced to two Fast Guns gangsters to life imprisonment for the murder of 5-year-old Valentino Grootetjie.
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Associated Press
an hour ago
- Associated Press
Former police chief known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks' pleads not guilty to a prison escape charge
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A convicted murderer and former police chief known as the 'Devil in the Ozarks' pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a charge stemming from his recent escape from an Arkansas prison. Grant Hardin, who was captured June 6, appeared at the hearing via video. He pleaded not guilty to second-degree escape, was found to be indigent and was appointed a public defender. Hardin was captured 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) northwest of the Calico Rock prison from which he escaped on May 25. Authorities said he escaped by donning an outfit designed to look like a law enforcement uniform. After his capture, Hardin was transferred to a maximum security prison in Varner, a small community about 65 miles (124 kilometers) southeast of Little Rock. A jury trial was set for the week of Nov. 5, with a pretrial hearing scheduled for Oct. 21. Hardin, a former police chief in the small town of Gateway, near the Arkansas-Missouri border, is serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He was the subject of the TV documentary 'Devil in the Ozarks.' A spokesperson said Hardin's escape remains under investigation. Legislators also plan to review it.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man formerly on death row can't serve 2 life terms at the same time, Tennessee Supreme Court rules
MEMPHIS, Tenn., (AP) — A Tennessee judge did not have the authority to give Pervis Payne, who was formerly on death row, concurrent sentences of life in prison after ruling that he was intellectually disabled and could not be executed for two 1987 killings, the state Supreme Court said Monday. The court's ruling said a Memphis judge lacked the jurisdiction to give Payne two life sentences to run at the same time rather than one after the other. The concurrent sentences allowed Payne to be eligible for parole in 2026 — 30 years earlier than if the sentences were consecutive. The Supreme Court did not issue the consecutive life sentences for Payne in its ruling. Instead, it returned the matter to the trial court in Memphis for further proceedings. Payne had been on death row for the killings of a woman and her 2-year-old daughter. In January 2022, Judge Paula Skahan sentenced Payne to concurrent sentences of life with the possibility of parole after ruling in November 2021 that his death sentences must be vacated because he was intellectually disabled. The case has drawn national attention from anti-death-penalty activists and included the involvement of the Innocence Project, which argues for the use of DNA testing in cases claiming wrongful conviction. DNA tests failed to exonerate Payne. Skahan's ruling that Payne should be removed from death row was based on a Tennessee law passed earlier in 2021 that made prohibiting the execution of intellectually disabled people retroactive to past cases. Before the 2021 law, Tennessee had no mechanism for people to reopen a case to press an intellectual disability claim. Executions of intellectually disabled people were ruled unconstitutional in 2002, when the U.S. Supreme Court found they violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Payne, 58, was convicted of first-degree murder for the killings of Charisse Christopher and her 2-year-old daughter, Lacie Jo, who were repeatedly stabbed in their Millington apartment and left in a pool of blood. Christopher's son, Nicholas, who was 3 at the time, also was stabbed but survived. Payne, who is Black, has always maintained his innocence. He told police he was at Christopher's apartment building to meet his girlfriend when he heard the mother, who was white, screaming and tried to help. He said he panicked when he saw a white police officer and ran away. During his murder trial, prosecutors said Payne was high on cocaine and looking for sex when he killed Christopher and her daughter in a 'drug-induced frenzy.' Prosecutors said the evidence overwhelmingly pointed to Payne as the killer. However, evidence presented by two experts showed Payne was intellectually disabled, while Payne's supporters said he had taken significant steps in his rehabilitation while serving three decades in prison. It was not immediately clear Monday when Payne would be eligible for parole under the Supreme Court's decision. A hearing must be set to address the new ruling. Payne's lawyer, Kelley Henry, has pushed for Payne's full exoneration. 'Pervis Payne remains incarcerated for a crime he did not commit,' she said in an email Monday. 'We will continue to fight for his freedom and to bring him home to his family.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Karen Read's retrial (live verdict watch): Deliberations resume after judge answers jury questions
Tuesday marks the second full day of jury deliberations in the murder retrial of Karen Read, the woman charged in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend. WATCH LIVE: Verdict watch in Karen Read's retrial continues HAPPENING NOW -- Jurors deliberating Karen Read's fate have asked three questions: What is the timeframe for the OUI charge, 12:45 a.m. or 5 a.m.? Are video clips of Karen Read evidence, and how do we consider them? Does convicting guilty on a sub-charge convict on the overall charge? (In reference to manslaughter OUI charge) Follow live court updates from Ted Daniel: The jury was unable to reach a verdict on Monday, the first full day of deliberations in Read's second trial. Jurors got the case on Friday afternoon and deliberated for just under two hours following weeks of testimony and closing arguments. Each morning of deliberations will begin with Judge Beverly Cannone issuing a formal opening to the jury before being sent off to deliberate, and the afternoons will feature a formal closing. The jury, which consists of seven women and five men, is allowed back in the courtroom if any questions arise. On Monday, it was radio silence from the jury. Last year, the jury sent three notes to the judge over three days before a mistrial was declared. The jurors have a lot to consider after hearing from 50 witnesses over 31 days of testimony: Did Read hit O'Keefe? Was there any collision at all? Or is someone else responsible for his death? They are trying to reach a verdict on three charges that Read faces: Second-degree murder Manslaughter while operating under the influence Leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death Verdict slips: See the choices jurors in Karen Read's retrial face When a verdict is ultimately reached, both the prosecution and defense will be notified and called back to court. The highlight from court on Monday came when Judge Cannone denied a motion from the defense that sought to amend a verdict slip that was provided to jurors. In the filing in Dedham's Norfolk Superior Court, Read's lawyers argued that the verdict slip on their client's second charge of manslaughter while operating under the influence of liquor is unclear and could confuse the jury. Read's lawyers asked the court to add a 'not guilty box' on the lesser included charges, since there is only one 'not guilty' option on the slip that applies to all of count two, compared to four guilty options. 'The current jury verdict slip has the real potential to confuse the jury and cause errors,' the defense motion states. 'The form doesn't explain the process the jury should follow while completing it.' The motion continued, 'This imbalanced presentation visually favors guilty options and risks creating bias toward a guilty verdict in degradation of Ms. Read's rights.' In denying the motion, Judge Cannone stated that the verdict slip is 'consistent with Massachusetts law' and 'viewed in conjunction with the jury instructions,' which she provided to jurors on Friday. When asked outside of court about Cannone's ruling, Read said the motion was denied without a proper hearing. 'I think what happened last year with the same verdict form explains jurors said as much, and we just wanted to avoid that again,' Read said. 'Apparently, the court is not concerned, so we'll just move forward and wait on the jury.' When asked how she feels about the jury, Read said, 'I feel well, I feel strong, and the jury will do the right thing. We choose them.' Read, 45, of Mansfield, is accused of striking John O'Keefe, 46, with her Lexus SUV and leaving him to die alone in a blizzard outside of a house party in Canton at the home of fellow officer Brian Albert on Jan. 29, 2022, following a night of drinking. Throughout her second trial, the prosecution's theory of jaded love turned deadly was countered by a defense claim that a cast of tight-knit Boston area law enforcement killed a fellow police officer. Read's lawyers argued that O'Keefe was beaten, bitten by a dog, then left outside Albert's home in a conspiracy orchestrated by the police that included planting evidence against Read. Read's first trial ended in a mistrial after five days due to a hung jury on July 1, 2024. Several jurors later came out to say that the panel had unanimously agreed that Read was not guilty of the most serious charge of second-degree murder. Get caught up with all of the latest in Karen Read's retrial. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
