Garland and McVeigh: Charlie Savage has this story in the New York Times on SCOTUS short-lister Merrick Garland, emphasizing his participation in the Oklahoma City bombing case.
DNA Links Sex Offender to S.F. Murder: Staff writer Jaxon Van Derbeken of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on San Francisco prosecutors' decision yesterday to file murder charges against Donzell Francis, 41, for the 2007 sexual assault slaying of a transgendered prostitute, 27-year-old Ruby Ordenana. This case gained attention when the DNA evidence was recovered from Ordenana's body remained untested for two years at the police crime lab. Francis, who is currently serving a 17-year prison sentence for another sexual assault, pleaded not guilty yesterday in San Francisco Superior Court. He also pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and sexual assault charges in a February 2008 attack of another transgender prostitute. In 2001, Francis slashed a woman's face with a razor. His DNA was taken in prison, and he was paroled in 2007. While Francis may be eligible for the death penalty, DA Kamala Harris, a DP opponent, has never sought it. During the two years that the recovered DNA evidence from Ordenana's body was sitting untested, Francis allegedly committed a series of rapes and other attacks on as many as four other victims. The department's crime lab previously had a policy of not giving priority to testing of evidence when there was not a known suspect. This policy has since changed. Fortunately, DNA evidence contributed to a separate conviction of Francis for another assault back in 2007, in which he choked and sexually assaulted a transgender woman before she managed to escape.
Another DNA Hit Leads to Murder Charges: According to a local television station report, Edward Byrns, 48, was arraigned in Contra Costa County Superior Court (in the East Bay region of California) yesterday in connection with the murder of Louis Fernandez, 55, who was shot to death inside a bar in Oakley 17 years ago. Investigators allegedly tied Byrns to the murder after his DNA was found on a beer bottle at the bar. Byrns is charged with murder, robbery, and the use of a firearm. The district attorney's office could file a special circumstances charge because the murder was allegedly committed during a robbery, making Byrns eligible for the death penalty. The district attorney's office has not made a decision yet. Detectives began to investigate the 1993 murder after receiving a $455,000 grant from the National Institute of Justice specifically to work on cold cases using DNA evidence.
DNA Links Sex Offender to S.F. Murder: Staff writer Jaxon Van Derbeken of the San Francisco Chronicle reports on San Francisco prosecutors' decision yesterday to file murder charges against Donzell Francis, 41, for the 2007 sexual assault slaying of a transgendered prostitute, 27-year-old Ruby Ordenana. This case gained attention when the DNA evidence was recovered from Ordenana's body remained untested for two years at the police crime lab. Francis, who is currently serving a 17-year prison sentence for another sexual assault, pleaded not guilty yesterday in San Francisco Superior Court. He also pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and sexual assault charges in a February 2008 attack of another transgender prostitute. In 2001, Francis slashed a woman's face with a razor. His DNA was taken in prison, and he was paroled in 2007. While Francis may be eligible for the death penalty, DA Kamala Harris, a DP opponent, has never sought it. During the two years that the recovered DNA evidence from Ordenana's body was sitting untested, Francis allegedly committed a series of rapes and other attacks on as many as four other victims. The department's crime lab previously had a policy of not giving priority to testing of evidence when there was not a known suspect. This policy has since changed. Fortunately, DNA evidence contributed to a separate conviction of Francis for another assault back in 2007, in which he choked and sexually assaulted a transgender woman before she managed to escape.
Another DNA Hit Leads to Murder Charges: According to a local television station report, Edward Byrns, 48, was arraigned in Contra Costa County Superior Court (in the East Bay region of California) yesterday in connection with the murder of Louis Fernandez, 55, who was shot to death inside a bar in Oakley 17 years ago. Investigators allegedly tied Byrns to the murder after his DNA was found on a beer bottle at the bar. Byrns is charged with murder, robbery, and the use of a firearm. The district attorney's office could file a special circumstances charge because the murder was allegedly committed during a robbery, making Byrns eligible for the death penalty. The district attorney's office has not made a decision yet. Detectives began to investigate the 1993 murder after receiving a $455,000 grant from the National Institute of Justice specifically to work on cold cases using DNA evidence.
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