Page 4/The Battalion/Wednesday, March 26, 1986
Autumn Hills case ends in mistrial
Prosecutors say they will move to get charges dismissed
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The
murder trial of a nursing home
chain and four people ended Tues
day in a mistrial and prosecutors
said they would move to dismiss the
charges alleging an elderly patient
died from neglect.
State District Judge Dpn Morgan
ended the trial, which began with
jury selection in September, after ju
rors sent him a fourth note indicat
ing they were deadlocked following
about 36 hours of deliberations.
It was the first case ever in which a
nursing home corporation and its
administrators had been charged
with murder in the death of a pa
tient, attorneys said.
Galveston County District Attor
ney Mike Guarino said the case
would not be retried and he would
move within the next few weeks to
have the charges dismissed.
The state had charged Autumn
Hills Convalescent Centers Inc. and
five of its current and former em
ployees with murder by neglect in
the death of Elnora Breed, 87.
Breed died about six weeks after she
was admitted to an Autumn Hills
nursing home in Texas City.
The state argued Breed died of
starvation and infection, both the re
sult of poor nursing care. The de
fense said Breed died of cancer, a
disease for which she had under
gone surgery three times.
The individual defendants in
cluded Autumn Hills president Rob
ert Gay, 59; vice president Ron Pohl-
meyer, 43; nursing consultant
Mattie Locke, 44; and former nurs
ing home administrator Virginia
Wilson, 64.
Former nursing director Cassan
dra Canlas was granted a separate
trial after the prosecution rested in
December. Guarino said charges
against Canlas also would be dis
missed.
A conviction on the murder
charge carried a maximum sentence
of life imprisonment.
The overall cost makes it not feasi
ble to retry the defendants, Guarino
said. Galveston County spent about
$260,000 in the court action, he said.
The state spent about $1 million,
according to Assistant Attorney
General David Marks.
“We tried the best case that we
knew how to try and the jury was not
able to resolve it,” Guarino said.
“There has to be some finality to
these kinds of lawsuits.”
Marks, who started the prosecu
tion effort in 1979, said the mistrial
disappointed him.
“I think this case sends a message
to the rest of the nursing home oper
ators — that they can be subject to
the full extent of the law,” he said.
Gay, who at one time owned 17
nursing homes, said he was happy
about the mistrial and predicted it
would have some affect on the nurs
ing home industry as a whole.
Gay said he plans to stay in the
business, but for others, the case will
make you think twice before going
into the nursing home business.
Pohlmeyer said he is not totally
satisfied with the outcome.
“I’m just glad it’s over with,” he
said.
Jurors said an initial vote was in
favor of a conviction for all de
fendants. But gradually the vote
swung in favor of a conviction for in
voluntary manslaughter against the
corporation and innocent for the in
dividual defendants, they said.
“There was a lot of neglect —
criminal negligence. To me, it wasn’t
enough to convict of murder,” Sher
man Miller said.
The state called several nurses,
aides and state health inspectors who
testified that patients at the Texas
City home were left lying for hours
in their own waste. Witnesses also
said there were staffing shortages
and a lack of food, supplies, medi
cine and equipment.
According to prosecution wit
nesses, Breed was kept on a “starva
tion diet” of 600 calories daily for
most of her stay at Autumn Hills.
Others said she had three serious
bedsores.
But the defendants testified they
took great pains to make sure good
care was given. Breed’s doctors testi
fied they ordered the 600-calorie
diet because her cancer-ridden di
gestive system could not tolerate
more.
Other experts testified bedsores
are unavoidable on certain elderly
bedridden patients.
An autopsy performed on Breed’s
skeletal remains last year was incon
clusive.
Fights mark
spring break
in Texas
PORT ARANSAS — The
mayor of Port Aransas says more
people crowded onto the island
for spring break this weekend
than any time in his 16 years of
witnessing the influx of vacation
ers.
Mayor Dale Bietendorf said,
“You wouldn’t believe it. I have
never seen anything like it.”
There were probably 150,000
students on the island from Fri
day through Sunday night, he
said.
Bietendorf said traffic was
backed up two miles on Park
Road 53 south of Beach Access
Road 1A.
Seven reported stabbings and
fights involving tire tools and pick
axes made this past weekend on
Mustang Island near Port Aran
sas the most violent in recent
memory, Nueces County consta
ble DeeWayne Matthews said.
He said that most of the fights
were caused by local students who
followed the college students with
fighting in mind.
Justice of the Peace Jim Atwill
said he had heard of more than
100 citations issued mainly over
beach-related fights.
New boss of shuttle promises
conservative flying, safety
SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) — The new shuttle
boss promised NASA workers Tuesday that every el
ement of the spaceship will be re-examined and, if nec
essary, redesigned before it flies again, and said when
launches do resume the emphasis will be on “conserva
tive flying.”
In addition, Richard H. Truly, a former astronaut
and NASA’s associate administrator for space flight,
said in a speech that he will direct a reassessment of
NASA’s management, and a redesign by this nation’s
best talent of the rocket booster suspected of causing
the destruction of the shuttle Challenger.
Space shuttle flights have been suspended since
Challenger exploded on Jan. 28, killing its seven-mem
ber crew.
Truly said he could offer no date when flights will re
sume, or say how many flights would be planned.
He said the safest way to start would be with a day
light launch of an all-astronaut crew and a payload of
the type that has flown before. Landing, he said, would
be at Edwards Air Force Base in California, considered
the safest runway for the shuttle.
Even with this plan. Truly said, spaceflight always
will be a “bold” venture with dangers.
“We cannot print enough money to make it totally
risk-free,” he said. “But we will correct any mistakes we
have made in the past.”
At a later news conference. Truly said the only way to
be “perfectly safe is to stay on the ground and I think
that’s too darn safe.”
Truly was appointed director of space flight for the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration in Feb
ruary and has been directing a fact-gathering task force
assisting a presidential commission.
Truly said there would be a thorough review of the
NASA management structure, including the “commit-
to-launch process” and that any changes needed to as
sure confidence and safety would be made.
Truly said all critical parts on the shuttle will be re
evaluated and, if necessary, re-designed.
Truly said a team of engineers would be organized at
the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama to rede
sign and test the rocket booster joint.
He said there also would be a re-examination of
launch techniques, along with means of returning the
crew safely to Earth if there are problems.
In response to a question, Truly said he did not ex
pect to build crew escape pods into the shuttle, as some
have suggested, but added, if the presidential commis
sion says we should do that, we would.
Truly spoke at a Johnson Space Center auditorium
jammed with NASA workers. His remarks were carried
by closed-circuit television to other NASA centers.
At a news conference later, Truly said he did not be
lieve NASA had ignored flight safety in the past, but
that because of the Challenger accident, “We’ve lost
some of our perceived credibility and we must gain that
back ... We are going to review every part of this busi
ness to emphasize flight safety and conservative flying.”
Astronaut Robert Crippen, also at the news confer
ence, said Truly had briefed the astronaut corps on the
space shuttle program plans, and that the astronauts
were in agreement.
Truly said that there will be “quite a backlog of pay-
loads” waiting when the shuttle does resume flights, but
he expects that Department of Defense space cargo will
have first consideration.
Asked about a memo by chief astronaut John Young
which criticized NASA’s plans to land the shuttle at the
Kennedy Space Center, Truly said severe weather is a
problem in Florida and that “it may be prudent to go to
Edwards on the majority of the flights.”
Truly said he was uncertain when, or if, civilians
would fly on the shuttle again. Teacher Christa McAu-
liffe, the first ordinary citizen on the shuttle, died in the
Challenger accident.
In Advance
ean
CS Council to exomine y a
crime prevention plan )SC0
By CRAIG RENFRO
Staff Writer
College Station City Council
will discuss implementation of a
crime prevention program and
consider the formation of a Col
lege Station Historic Preservation
Committee in its workshop meet
ing today at 5 p.m.
The regular council meeting
will be Thursday at 7 p.m.
The crime prevention pro
gram, requestecl by Lt. Bernie
Kapella of the College Station Po
lice Department, will present
seminars to help citizens reduce
their chances of becoming a
crime victim.
In Thursday’s meeting, the
council will discuss amending the
city’s ordinance code to maintain
the current tax level forthth^jjyjpgyi
occupancy tax. The cumr;LjV s sear
of6 percent expiresJune# prisone ;. s
1 hr council estimates iff ars acn
passing this ordinance andi tat t h e c 0
taining the 6 percent nul^ .
proximately $550,000 inreP 6
will be generated for the ,
i,.. ,l v, ,, awrence 1
l 1st .11 V cai . F r , » Qr
Council also will comic^
ordinance i c-cniii ingthecinlP 1 7 CVV1
miic- c it \ o| lie oils and enipd*?’ 1 ^ e , S
against liability incurred n1 ^ 1
suit ol |)< i loi linin' c its p sau1,
I lose C\ <1 . 1 lie l IIS SNlll
responsible for any datmij! e '' '
expenses incurred by tit sout
pic >\ees who commit illegal>Bl n & erou
ac t n>ns in \iolation he incide
In othei husiness, theoBniber
will hold a public hearing ; f rom t he
rezoning requests. Essaid.
Student body candidate,
ston said I
escape
ids. The
ugh a sk;
to hold debate Thursday™
about 19
By FRANKSMITH
Staff Writer
Student body presidential can
didates will debate on Thursday
at 7 p.m. in MSC 226.
Five students — Jim Cleary,
Mike Hachtman, Marty Roos,
Brett Shine and Mike Sims — are
competing for the office. Spring
elections will be held on next
Wednesday.
Chris Gavras, election co-com
missioner, said the debate will
have a different format this year
than in the past.
In the past the outgoing stu
dent body president asked all the
questions at the debate. This year
the election commission
have a moderator and i|
member panel madeupol
Ixrrs of the student commii!
hie
Gavras explained thai»
panel member will be allcOUSTON
ask one question of each;ind Penn;
date. Each candidate Viillbttle their
minutes i<> iespoiHt toeadHut th<
lion, lu- said. In .idtliiK .Pennzoil
candidate will lx* allowed lelday’s n
minute closing statement,(tnlzoil Cl
said. hief exec
Gavras said Lindsey Dm; -ke sugge;
Student ('.ovei nment’s ext« ) Janiail
\ ic c pi cm<lent. will betheiwail said
ate>i I he panel iiicinbemzland tha
l>een confii med asoflues ings, but
lt h Texac
spokesm
Emotional, legal aspects
1 matters
of date rape to be discusse m< “'^
By JEANNE ISENBERG
Staff Writer
A four-member panel will dis
cuss the emotional and legal as
pects of date rape tonight at 7 in
206 Memorial Student Center.
Jan Winniford, assistant direc
tor of student affairs, says the
program will begin with a movie
that re-enacts a date rape situa
tion and an interview with a date
Lt. Bernard Kapella oftln
lege Station Police Depai
will explain the legalities oil
rape and the exact processl
tim goes through after dtt
to press charges.
rape victim.
On the panel, Winniford says,
Dr. Charlene Muehlenhard, an
A&M assistant professor of psy
chology who has researched sex
ual aggression, will discuss date
rape and its occurrence at A&M
and around the nation.
Winniford also says Dr.
Hope, associate director oil
A&M Student Counseling
ice, will discuss the adjH
period of the victims, andHF
an A&M student and date®*
survivor, will talk about het
sonal experience.
The program is spomorej
the National Organizatioi
Women and the Texas Aid!
partment of Student Affair)
LaRouche-backed
AUSTIN (AP) — The state Dem
ocratic Party chairman, wary of a
Texas replay of the Illinois primary,
is mailing 18,000 copies of a list of
Lyndon LaRouche-backed candi
dates in the May Democratic pri
mary.
The message is simple. Chairman
Robert Slagle of Sherman said Tues
day.
“Unless you know who it is you
are voting for against an incumbent,
you better vote for the incumbent,”
he said.
The LaRouche faction is not wel
come in the Democratic column,
according to Slagle.
“We don’t encourage the Ku Klux
Klan to come participate with us ei
ther,” Slagle said.
“I’m not going to call anybody a
lunatic fringe. But I’m going to de-
“We don’t encourage the
Ku Klux Klan to come
participate with us either. ”
— Robert Slagle, state
Democratic party chair
man.
scribe what it is they say and I’m
going to say I don’t think it’s
healthy.”
A top LaRouche backer in Texas
said Slagle’s move “smacks of Stali
nism.”
Harley Schlanger of Houston, a
congressional candidate, said, “But I
thank him for sending out our
names. We’ve never hidden. Our
Stttdctvt
Official ^ ,
Tanning Center „ T ^. ° r f n * 1
of the Perfect Tan
Miss Texas A&M Pagent
Post Oak Square, Harvey Road
764-2771
candidates getting attention in Texo
candidates run as open LaRouche
candidates.”
The LaRouche forces recently
scored two major Democratic pri
mary wins in Illinois, grabbing the
nominations for lieutenant governor
and secretary of state. Democratic
officials there say voters were at
tracted to simple names and didn’t
know they were voting for La
Rouche backers.
Slagle wants to make sure Texas
Democrats know who’s who in the
primary.
“They tend to go to sleep at the
wheel a little bit” in non-presidential
election years, he said of precinct
and county chairmen.
An estimated 200 supporters of
LaRouche, an arch-conservative and
1984 third-party presidential candi
date, will be on Texas Democratic
primary ballots. Only one, agricul
ture commissioner Noel Cowling of
Dublin, is seeking statewide office.
Two of the 12 LaRouche candi
dates for Texas congressional seats
are certain to win the Democratic
nomination. Harry Kniffen and Su
san Director of Houston are unop
posed on the Democratic ballot.
Kniffen will face incumbent Re
publican Bill Archer in a strong
GOP area. Director faces a similar
situation against incumbent Republi
can Rom DeLay of Sugar Land.
One LaRouche congressional con
tender, Clyde Riddle Jr. of Dallas, is
seeking the GOP nomination for the
seat now held by Republican Dick
Armey of Denton.
Many of the LaRouche candidates
are seeking local-level party posts.
“I’m not going to call any
body a lunatic fringe. But
I’m going to describe what
it is they say and I’m going
to say I don’t think it’s
healthy. ”
— Robert Slagle.
and the group has four candidates
for the Legislature.
Slagle said he was concerned
about the LaRouche wing even be
fore the Illinois primary. The La
Rouche wins there have forced
Democratic gubernatorial nominee
Adlai Stevenson III to consider a
difficult third-party bi
GOP Gov. James Thompsoul
than run with a LaRouchtf
running mate.
Slagle says the LaRouckj
are not “real Democrats
they refuse to back the part) 1 !
nees.
Schlanger, southwest cod'
for LaRouche’s NationalDt®
Party Committee, said belli!
gle “doesn’t re-tell the saint
slanders that some of the me!
been putting out.”
LaRouche blames many
tion’s economic woes on a cot
of bankers. The LaRoucht
also support nationwide
for AIDS, and a quarantine^
patients.
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