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News Scan

Governor Calls for Mexican Death Penalty:  Coahuila state Governor Humberto Moreira is asking the legislature to adopt a recommendation that Mexico's Congress restore the death penalty for kidnappers who murder their victims.  An Associated Press story reports that a 2/3 majority of the Congress would be required to undo the 2005 Constitutional amendment that abolished capital punishment.

Fired Public Defender Sues:  A former Santa Clara County Deputy Public Defender, fired five years ago for refusing to answer questions during a disciplinary hearing, will have his claim that his rights were violated heard by the California Supreme Court tomorrow.  A story in the San Jose Mercury News by Howard Mintz reports that Thomas Spielbauer "invoked his Fifth Amendment rights" when his bosses began to investigate allegations that he lied to a judge while representing a criminal defendant.  

DNA Links Accused Rapist to Anchorwoman's Murder:  An affidavit filed today indicates that police identified the man charged with with October 20 beating death of Little Rock news anchor Anne Pressly with a DNA match.  The Associated Press reports that while the police believe that Pressly was killed when she intrupted a robbery, her parents believe that she may have been sexually assaulted.  Murder suspect Curtis Lavelle Vance is also accused of raping a school teacher last April and of committing several burglaries in eastern Arkansas.  Early reports suggest that the victim died from a massive stroke caused by blunt force trauma.  Every bone in her face had been broken and her hand was broken in the attack.   
   






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