National Roundup

Illinois Mother accused in kids' shotgun deaths apologizes BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) -- An Illinois woman accused in the shotgun deaths of two of her children says in a jailhouse letter to a judge that she was hearing voices the day of the killings and is "truly sorry." The Belleville News-Democrat reports that 25-year-old Yokeia Smith told St. Clair County Circuit Judge Milton Wharton she believed police were after her even before the Aug. 31 killings. Smith's attorney wants to have Smith tested to gauge her mental fitness for trial on first-degree murder counts in the deaths of the children, ages 5 and 4. Authorities say the victims were killed in the family's East St. Louis apartment. Smith later was arrested in St. Louis after hitting two pedestrians. She has pleaded not guilty and is jailed without bail. Alabama Judge tosses suit over telephone fees MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- A judge has tossed a lawsuit challenging the state's transfer of $30 million to the education budget from a private fund that pays for telephone services for the deaf and blind. Alabama Public Service Commission member Terry Dunn says he's disappointed by the decision Monday of the Montgomery County Circuit Court judge. But he said the PSC has taken the steps necessary to transfer the money. The Alabama Dual Party Relay Board, which oversees money collected from telephone customers to pay for the service, had filed suit. Under a new state law, money collected from a surcharge on all landlines in Alabama will be transferred to the state education budget. Rep. Jay Love, a Republican from Montgomery who sponsored the law, said he's glad the judge upheld the law. Connecticut State High Court upholds state's death penalty HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- The Connecticut Supreme Court has upheld both the state's death penalty law and the death sentence of a man who killed a 13-year-old boy with a sledgehammer in 1997. Both of Monday's decisions came in the appeal of 33-year-old death row inmate Todd Rizzo, whose lawyers challenged Rizzo's convictions and the legality of the state's death penalty under the Connecticut Constitution. The high court issued a 6-1 decision rejecting all of Rizzo's arguments and upholding his death sentence. Rizzo was an 18-year-old ex-Marine in 1997 when he lured 13-year-old Stanley Edwards IV into his back yard in Waterbury under the guise of hunting snakes and beat him to death with a 3-pound sledgehammer as the boy begged him to stop. Kentucky Trial at least a year off in killing of mom-to-be BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) -- Jeannie Stice had no parties or gifts for what would have been her daughter's 22nd birthday on Monday. Instead, Stice, along with about two dozen relatives and friends, spent the morning in court watching attorneys discuss the case of 34-year-old Kathy Michelle Coy of Morgantown. Coy is charged with killing Jamie Stice and taking her baby boy in April. "I'm having a hard time doing this," Jeannie Stice said after the brief hearing in Warren Circuit Court. "It's hard. It's hard." Attorneys said Coy's trial date is likely a year or more away. Warren County Commonwealth's Attorney Chris Cohron and defense attorney Jim Gibson said they'll set a trial date for late 2012 or early 2013 at a pre-trial conference in January. Coy has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, tampering with physical evidence, resisting arrest and kidnapping. Stice's remains were found in Warren County on April 14. Police say Coy used a stun gun to subdue the woman before killing her and cutting the baby boy from her body. The baby, named Isaiah Allen Stice Reynolds, survived the incident. Police arrested Coy after she arrived at a hospital with a newborn baby. Investigators said she showed no signs of giving birth. Coy, who has a hearing loss, showed no emotion and appeared to follow a real-time transcript of the proceeding. She remains lodged in the Warren County Regional Jail. After the hearing, Cohron said he plans to have a decision by the Jan. 20 hearing about whether to seek a death sentence for Coy if she's convicted. "This case bears strong consideration for the death penalty," Cohron said. After the hearing, Cohron briefed family members on what to expect as the case moves forward. Relatives and friends, some wearing sweat shirts with Stice's name and nickname, "JaJa," hugged and consoled each other instead of celebrating a birthday. Jeannie Stice, who spent the time before the hearing passing out hand-made stickers saying "Happy Birthday Jamie Stice We Love & Miss You," is ready for a long legal fight of as much as five years. Stice said Isaiah stays with his father, James Reynolds, with Stice's family getting the 7-month-old every other weekend. Stice said Isaiah, who has a patch of dark hair and has visited his mother's grave, is learning to crawl, is outgoing and laughs frequently. Family members make sure he sees photos of the mother he'll never know, Stice said. "I have a whole wall of pictures of Jamie," Stice said. Stice took balloons to her daughter's grave at Bowling Green Gardens on Sunday -- a small memorial marking the first birthday after her death. It's something she's prepared to do, even as her grandson gets older, Stice said. "He won't ever forget his mama," Stice said. Tennessee Judge rules Russian adoption case will be open SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A Bedford County judge has ruled that pretrial hearings will be open to the public in the case of a woman who sent her adopted Russian child back to his home country. Torry Hansen was living in Shelbyville in April 2010 when she sent her then-7-year-old son on a plane to Moscow by himself with a note saying she didn't want to be his mother anymore because he had psychological problems. The World Association for Children and Parents is suing Hansen, seeking child support. Hansen's attorney asked to exclude the media from hearings, but a group of eight media organizations opposed the motion. Judge Lee Russell on Monday ruled in favor of the media. He also instructed attorneys to try to reach an agreement on what related records to release. Published: Tue, Nov 22, 2011