National Roundup

Wisconsin
Jury awards $450,000 in Sandy Hook defamation case

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A jury in Wisconsin has awarded $450,000 to the father of a boy killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting after he filed a defamation lawsuit against conspiracy theorist writers who claimed the massacre never happened.

A Dane County jury on Tuesday decided the amount James Fetzer must pay Leonard Pozner, whose 6-year-old son Noah was among the 26 victims at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012.

Fetzer, a retired University of Minnesota Duluth professor now living in Wisconsin, and Mike Palacek co-wrote a book, “Nobody Died at Sandy Hook,” in which they claimed the Sandy Hook shooting never took place but was instead an event staged by the federal government as part of an Obama administration effort to enact tighter gun restrictions. A judge earlier ruled Pozner was defamed by statements in the book that claimed he fabricated copies of his son’s death certificate.

Fetzer called the damages amount “absurd” and said he would appeal.

Palacek reached a settlement with Pozner last month, terms of which were not disclosed.

Pozner thanked the jury “for recognizing the pain and terror that Mr. Fetzer has purposefully inflicted on me and on other victims of these horrific mass casualty events, like the Sandy Hook shooting,” and emphasized that his case was not about First Amendment protections, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.

“Mr. Fetzer has the right to believe that Sandy Hook never happened,” he said. “He has the right to express his ignorance. This award, however, further illustrates the difference between the right of people like Mr. Fetzer to be wrong and the right of victims like myself and my child to be free from defamation, free from harassment and free from the intentional infliction of terror.”

Pozner testified during the trial that he’s been repeatedly harassed by people who don’t believe the Sandy Hook shooting occurred, including through messages posted to photos of his son on a memorial website. He said Fetzer’s writing caused him to worry about his safety and his family’s safety and how his surviving children could be treated. One of his two daughters is Noah’s twin.


New York
Lawsuit: Albany Med program exploits nurses

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A nurses’ union accused Albany Medical Center of effectively forcing Filipino nurses to continue working there under the threat of severe financial penalties and deportation in a federal lawsuit Tuesday.

The New York State Nurses Association claims nurses recruited from the Philippines must sign contracts with a provision forcing them to pay the hospital up to $20,000 if they resign within their first three years of employment.

The lawsuit claims the fees are disproportionate to the costs of bringing the nurses over and that the provision is “designed to coerce these recently-arrived immigrant nurses into continuing employment with AMC.”

The contract claims failure to pay “may constitute fraud” and lead to the hospital calling immigration officials, according to the lawsuit, which alleges violations of forced labor provisions in federal human trafficking law.

Albany Med has brought more than 580 nurses from the Philippines since 2002.
The federal complaint cites unidentified nurses unable to take higher paying jobs in other U.S. cities because they could not afford penalties ranging from $10,000 to $20,000.

Dr. Dennis McKenna, the hospital’s CEO designee, called the lawsuit “a blatant mischaracterization of an excellent program” that was being used to try to influence negotiations for a nurses’ contract.

Washington
Man charged after roommate attack, believed he was a vampire

BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) — A Washington state man was charged with a felony assault after police say he attacked his roommate believing he acknowledged being a vampire.

Kitsap Sun reported Monday that a Kitsap County court charged the 40-year-old Bremerton man Monday after he was suspected of using a metal rod to nudge his roommate in the chest.

The roommate told county deputies that the suspect accused him of being a vampire, threatened to kill him and struck him with a metal rod.

The roommate says he feared his life because the suspect has severe mental health issues and is physically larger.

The suspect’s brother told deputies the roommate jokingly said “Is that what the kids are calling me these days?”

Authorities say the suspect believed the roommate acknowledged being a blood-sucking creature.

Alabama
Court orders new sentencing for Alabama death row inmate

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal appeals court says an Alabama man condemned to die for a killing more than 30 years ago should get a new sentencing hearing because of questions over his mental competence.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals released the decision Tuesday in the case of James McWilliams.

Court records show McWil­liams is on death row after being convicted of sexually assaulting and killing Patricia Vallery Reynolds in Tuscaloosa in 1984.

McWilliams challenged a judge’s refusal to appoint a psychiatrist to examine his mental health status at his sentencing. While state appeals courts upheld the decision, federal judges disagreed.

McWilliams has been on death row since his conviction in 1986. He and his mother testified he had head injuries as a child.

Pennsylvania
Judge: Man will stand trial in 28-year-old cold case murder

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A judge has ruled that a man accused of killing a Pennsylvania woman nearly 30 years ago will stand trial on murder and numerous other charges.

The judge issued the ruling Tuesday during a preliminary hearing for Theodore Dill Donahue, where a parade of witnesses offered circumstantial evidence against him. The judge also rejected a defense request to release Donahue on bail, agreeing with Philadelphia prosecutors that he posed a danger to the community.

Donahue is charged in the 1991 death of his 27-year-old girlfriend, Denise Sharon Kulb. He maintains his innocence.

Authorities say the case was built on new investigative tools, including photo-enhancing technology that connected a pair of separated socks, including one that was found on the body.