JURY GIVES HARVE JOHNSON THE DEATH SENTENCE

Jurors took 95 minutes on Monday to decide Harve L. Johnson should die for fatally beating 2-year-old Darisabel Baez, in what they also decided was a case of torture.

It was about five minutes longer than they took to convict him on Friday of first-degree murder.

The six-man, six-woman jury rejected an impassioned plea by defense attorney Ari Weitzman to spare Johnson’s life, and also rejected the argument that Johnson’s own horrendous childhood should be taken into consideration when deciding his fate.

Jurors unanimously agreed Johnson should die for his crime. The only other possible punishment was life in prison without the possibility of parole.  Read more... (1065 words, 3 images, estimated 4:16 minutes reading time)

There is some justice is the word after all. Just when I get to the point that I think that everything I’m doing here might be a waste of time, and the fools who comment on this website and tell me that I’m just fooling myself, that no one really cares about right and wrong and honesty and truth, something like this happens.

On Saturday, December 15th, 2007, four bystanders rescued Michelle Lynn Kehoe, 33, of Coralville, Iowa and her two young sons after she drove her minivan into the icy Iowa River. Kehoe said she lost control of the car when she was distracted by her kids and drifted off the driving surface of the road onto the dirt shoulder.  Read more... (2160 words, 3 images, estimated 8:38 minutes reading time)

DEATH PENALTY SOUGHT AGAINST MOTHER IN TODDLER’S DEATH

Lillington, N.C. — Harnett County prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty against the mother of an 11-month-old girl whose remains were were found in the attic of a Spring Lake home two years ago.

Johni Michelle Heuser, 27, of 1680 Ray Road, was indicted in September on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Harmony Jade Creech.

Deputies found the toddler’s remains in her mother’s attic on Oct. 20, 2007. The indictment states the child was killed between Aug. 31, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2007.  Read more... (547 words, 2 images, estimated 2:11 minutes reading time)

History can be fun. Years after deaths and triumphs, the challenges that were endured to get from way back then to now can provide hours of entertainment to readers and even viewers of historical events translation to film, music or art. History can also dredge up horrible memories of horrible, torturous events when many of us felt that the very streets we lived and worked on had become a battle ground in a struggle between religious and philosophical beliefs.

It’s been just over 7 years since Lee Boyd Malvo and John Allen Muhammad were arrested, sleeping in their 1990 Chevrolet Caprice Sedan. The murder weapon the two had used to kill ten people, a Bushmaster .223 rifle was found inside the car, and was later conclusively linked through ballistics to 8 of the 10 shootings, though the eventual conviction that led to Muhammad’s death sentence relates to only a single shooting, that of Dean Harold Meyers, a 53 year-old man who was just pumping his gas.  Read more... (627 words, 2 images, estimated 2:30 minutes reading time)

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE PRESS RELEASE

Lake Tapps Pilot Pleads Guilty to 35 Counts of Production of Child Pornography, Sex Traveling, and Obstruction

April 24, 2009 — Weldon Marc Gilbert, 48, of Lake Tapps, Washington, pleaded guilty yesterday evening to 35 counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor in the Production of Child Pornography, Transportation of a Minor to Engage in Illegal Sexual Activity and Obstruction of Justice.  U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez remained at the Seattle federal courthouse into the evening hours to conduct the plea hearing, to ensure GILBERT knowingly and voluntarily entered his guilty plea.  GILBERT remains detained at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac, and will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle in Tacoma on August 17, 2009.  Under the terms of the plea agreement, GILBERT must be sentenced to between 19 years and 25 years in prison.  Prosecutors will ask for a 25 year prison term.  The plea is also dependent upon GILBERT’s guilty plea to charges in Pierce County Superior Court.  He will serve both sentences concurrently.  Read more... (676 words, 1 image, estimated 2:42 minutes reading time)

Hi there readers. As you can see, this is a different kind of update than you’re used to here at PYSIH. Usually, an update is just an article an portion of an article from an online newspaper, followed by commentary by yours truly (for what it’s worth).

But this time I thought I’d handle things differently. Many updates are inspired by comments from supporters of on of our featured members, protesting one of our stories on their friend or family member and claiming their innocence. That forces me to dig into their friend or family members case.

That’s exactly what happened here, only I had to do quite a bit of research in Randy P. Aaser’s case. Not because it was difficult to find, but because there was so much of it, all pointing directly at his guilt.  Read more... (730 words, 1 image, estimated 2:55 minutes reading time)

JURY FINDS ZEIGLER GUILTY OF CAPITAL MURDER
from an article by Harvey Rice – The Houston Chronicle

A Galveston County jury deliberated for more than fours hours today before finding Royce Clyde Zeigler II guilty of capital murder in the death 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers, who became known as Baby Grace.

Prosecutors portrayed Zeigler as helping his wife kill his stepdaughter during a cruel disciplinary session and then concocting elaborate lies to help cover up the slaying and disposal of the body.

The defense countered in final arguments that Zeigler, 26, was a good man who had nothing to do with the death of Riley Ann Sawyers, but loved his wife so much that he helped her pack Riley’s body in a box and eventually toss it into the Gulf of Mexico.  Read more... (1514 words, 4 images, estimated 6:03 minutes reading time)

PROSECUTORS MUST PROVE THEY CAN KEEP LEON DAVIS IN JAIL
by Suzie Schottelkotte – The Ledger.com, Lakeland FL

June 12th, 2009–State prosecutors will unveil the crux of their case against accused murderer Leon Davis in a hearing next month, although the hearing essentially has nothing to do with proving him guilty or innocent.

Circuit Judge Michael Hunter ruled Friday that prosecutors must prove that they have enough evidence to keep Davis in jail. When he was arrested on Dec. 13, 2007, the day two women were fatally burned during an attempted robbery at a Lake Wales insurance office, prosecutors had 21 days to officially charge him with those crimes.

Hunter ruled Friday that the state missed that deadline, which means Davis is eligible for a preliminary hearing on the allegations against him.  Read more... (624 words, 3 images, estimated 2:30 minutes reading time)