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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 16, 1999)
A [iUkL EWS ^ourt reverses conviction or Austin girl in toddler death torneysplan next move: Supreme Court ► een Kb. "w Barryir; Arquette ^cted by Hollywoc: AUSTIN (AP) — A girl accused Bting .) toddlei to death when F 'e was 11 may face a third trial erin appellate court reversed r conviction Thursday, ruling Jic^ may have obtained her con- siop illegally. Lacresha Murray, now 14, orig- ■ was charged with capital rder, making her the youngest oCou’esi» Tson j n 70X33 to f ace such a mdArque ar g e After two trials, she was MeverBet entually convicted of injury to a ild and sentenced to 25 years for e beating death of 2-year-old t ( yla Belton. The 3rd District Court of Ap- aniedy, i vi table, itmareot! als on Thursday remanded the Jk|o juvenile court, saying the itement she gave police should it have been used at her trial be- use it resulted from an illegal in- '1.1 rroeation when she was “isolat- urewriter..'. T, , ..and alone. •i< heut “At a minimum, we cannot say , t 0; 1 at appellant’s statements were vlt f, (f,. >t the product of fright and de- itsonia ’ a i r > court said, ufefimtei Keith Hampton, the teen’s at- nightdut rney. said the next move is up to •filled v e prosecutor, who may seek a re- brothe. .‘aring before the appellate court, while aid ke it to the Supreme Court or ity. try the case. ioportray “I am going to assume that d popular ey’re going to retry her a third guv and d ne,” he said. a driven no Lacresha will remain at a Texas I'onuae- >uth Commission facility unless ; loia osecutors drop the charges, nk ’ amjiton said. wnoreni Prosecutors had no immediate imment. 3ayla died May 24, 1996, of assive internal injuries, includ- 1 g a ruptured liver, after spending le day in the home Lacresha _ tared with her grandparents and five brothers and sisters. The fam ily often baby-sat for Jayla and other children. After Jayla’s death, Lacresha and her siblings were taken into protective custody and placed at a children’s shelter, where Lacresha was interviewed by two Austin po lice detectives and a representa tive of the department’s victim services division. Neither her grandparents nor her lawyer were present. "/ would like to see the prosecution admit they made a mistake, and I would like them to go after the real killer” — Barbara Taft People of the Heart During the interrogation Lacre sha denied killing Jayla at least 40 times in a two-hour span, but signed a statement written by po lice saying she may have dropped and kicked the toddler. In Texas, a juvenile taken into custody by police must go before a magistrate before being ques tioned. Prosecutors argued that Lacre sha was not officially in custody and could have left at any time, so she did not need to go before a magistrate. Justice Lee Yeakel, writing for the appeals court, disagreed. “She was not, however, told that she was free to leave the in terview room or the children’s shelter, and she was never told she could call her grandparents or any other friendly adult,” Yeakel said. A bill by Rep. Sylvester Tlirner, D-Houston, pending in the Texas House would clarify that such in terrogations are illegal and a mag istrate should decide whether the youth may be questioned. The jury in her first trial found Lacresha guilty of criminally neg ligent homicide and injury to a child, sentencing her to 20 years. District Judge John Dietz or dered a second trial, saying he was not certain justice had been served. The second jury found Lacresha guilty of injury to a child and sentenced her to 25 years. The case has been high-profile in the state capital, where dozens of protesters have gathered monthly outside the courthouse where the case was pending. “Three years ago I promised a little girl that we would get this case reversed and that she would come home, and she will,” said Barbara Taft, who quit her job as a legal secretary to devote herself to People of the Heart, an organi zation she created to help overturn the verdict. “I would like to see the prose cution admit they made a mistake, and I would like them to go after the real killer.” Columnist Bob Herbert of The New York Times also has champi oned her cause, writing several columns arguing that the sup posed facts of the case do not add up. Herbert suggested that anoth er relative might have beaten the child. ne fad. ryan ILE( r'sloai' iH,yoii Ci .fveo^j fldebif' ,00, wilt iter, if 1 det /ou’l lit WHO’S WHO AMONG STUDENTS IN AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES 1998-99 The following Aggies have been selected as the recipients of the Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges for I 998-99: Jennifer Elaine Allen Frank S. Aswad Kathryn FJelen Bahr Tase Edward Bailey Charles John Bechert Elicia Dawn Bennet Joseph Lee Dale Benningfield Ke\ly IVlichelle Boley Ross Thomas Bown Aaron Wayne Campbell Melissa Rene Conley Dana Denise Devlin Joshua D H. Duncan Toan Duy Duong Andrew Benjamin Ebert Curtis Allen Franke Alice SuzAnne Gonzalez Ryan Collins Green Victoria Elizabeth Guerra Justin Scott Harper Kelly Chaundel Hartline Michael Redmond Haughey Clark Michael Kardys Kendall Ryan Kelly Robert William Kimmel Kristen D’Lynne Kirby James Phillip Lary Ann Elizabeth Leslie Lorelei Arlene Luna Amy Elizabeth Magee Brian Roger Marks Carla Denise Martinez Madison Auge Mauze’ Kristen Anna Maxey Pablo Francisco Merheb Brian Eugene Minyard Jenny Snow Morris David James Muckerheide Andrew Murr Mark Andrew Naftanel Reese Edward Neumann Kim Thi Nguyen James Weston Poston Lesliam Quiros Richard Scott Rolison Carl David Roth Nicole Christine Smith September Anne Smith Lee D Stanley Kaycie Lynn Swain David Osborn Taylor Becky Lynn Thorne Stephanie Suzanne Toone Brent Edward Troyan Donald Vincent Turilli Beau James Voelkel Toni Ann Watjus Caren Alison Williams Lacie Deanne Winters Justin Keith Wood Graduate Students Patricia Leigh Draughn Jan Finley Fernandez Patricia A. Lowe Rakhi Roy James Nick Rugila Lisa Katrice Thompson Page 7 « Friday, Anril 16, 1999 NASA launches imaging satellite VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — NASA’s Land- sat 7 satellite was launched Thurs day on a $770 million mission to monitor global conditions ranging from soil moisture and snowpacks to the effects of flood, fire, earth quakes and volcanos. A two-stage Boeing Delta II booster with nine strap-on solid rockets roared off the launch pad at 11:32 a.m. PDT, carrying the 4,400- pound satellite toward polar orbit. All went well through the first phase of the flight, ending with cut off of the second stage and the rock et and satellite coasting at 17,000 mph, launch control reported. The second stage was to restart 57 minutes after liftoff and burn briefly before separating from the satellite at an altitude of 434 miles. The Landsat series dates to 1972. Landsat 5, launched in March 1984, is still operating. The Landsat 7 mission, with updated technolo gy, was designed to maintain the flow of Earth observation data gath ered over the past quarter century. Project scientist Darrel Williams said the orbit was designed to have Landsat 7 to repeat coverage of any given area every 16 days. Com bined with Landsat 5’s data, each area will be covered every eight days. The data can be used to deter mine the health of crops and other vegetation by monitoring water content of the soil, keeping tabs on natural disaster impacts, and mon itoring population changes in met ropolitan areas. STILL haven’t fixed that hail damage? Get your vehicle looking great again by calling AUTOMOTIVE DENT SPECIALISTS at 574-5200 We will take the dents out using PAINTLESS DENT REPAIR, saving you UP TO 50%! Our service is convenient for your busy schedule: • We do FREE mobile estimates at your dorm/home, anytime • We offer FREE pickup and delivery .* You only lose your car for a day! Plus, we take care of insurance paperwork, even from out of town, so you don’t have to! (or your parents) Don’t put it off any longer! Call today. 574-5200 Automotive Dent Specialists 1808 Drillers Drive, Bryan T ime to Rent a TUXEDO For Ringdance Complete Tuxedo Ensembles From $49.95 to $64.95 Includes: Coat, Trousers, Wing-tip Shirt, Tie and Cummerbund or Tie and Vest and Lace Shoes. (studs and cufflinks included with shirt rental) (Designer Vest or Mandarin Collar Shirt: $14.95 extra) Ladies and Lords Texas Ave. Across from the Main Entrance to Texas A&M 409-764-8289 By Popular Request Ladies and Lords will not be changing it’s name. Parents' Weekend dinner dry and flavorless? Put a little Variety in your life Nutritional Information Serving Size 9 acts (1 guest) Calories 1 Not a significant source of calories from showing up. You must enjoy the show and laugh, cry and applaud. Ammount'Serving %DV Total Acts 8 90% 1 special guest 5% Host / me 5% Singing 30% Bands 20% Dancing 30% Variety 100% I * Percent daily values (DV) are based on a typical Parents Weekend. Surgeon Generals Viferning-, Without a sense of Variety Show, you may experience boredom, fatigue and loneliness Side effects include extreme laughter, excitement and an overall sense of fun. - presents Variety Show hosted by FRt^pAN April 16th Parents'Weekend Rudder Auditorium Tickets are $8 in the MSC Box office