Sentence Appealed for Cambodian War Crimes Convict: The AP reports that prosecutors for the U.N.-backed genocide tribunal today filed an appeal seeking a longer sentence for Kaing Guek Eav (aka Duch), who was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Duch served as the chief jailer of a prison during the 1975-79 communist Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, during which an estimated 1.7 million people died from execution, work conditions, and disease. Despite Duch's role in the genocide, he received a sentence of only 35 years - which, with time served, was reduced to 11 years. In their appeal, prosecutors argued that the tribunal gave too much consideration to mitigating factors.
Source of Hair Strand Questioned in Executed Texan's Case: Some advocates are calling into doubt the murder conviction of Claude Jones, a Texas death row inmate who was executed ten years ago, reports the AP. In 1989, Jones - on parole after serving time for robbery and setting a fellow inmate on fire - shot 44-year-old Allen Hilzendager three times while robbing the man's liquor store. Jones was convicted of murder and sentenced to death based on the testimony of two accomplices, eyewitness identification, and a strand of hair found in the liquor store, which an expert testified could have come from Jones but not the other men. Jones's case was reviewed by seven state and federal courts, none of which reversed the judgment. Now, based on requests from Jones's son and several innocence projects, a judge has ordered re-testing of the hair strand. The article notes that a DNA test result that shows the hair did not belong to Jones would not exonerate him.
Federal Judge Orders Release of Detainee: The AP reports that a federal district court judge has ordered the release of Adnan Farhan Abd Al Latif, who has been a Guantanamo Bay detainee for over 8 years. Latif was suspected of receiving al-Qaida military training in Afghanistan, but the judge ruled that the government failed to show he was part of an al-Qaida force.
Source of Hair Strand Questioned in Executed Texan's Case: Some advocates are calling into doubt the murder conviction of Claude Jones, a Texas death row inmate who was executed ten years ago, reports the AP. In 1989, Jones - on parole after serving time for robbery and setting a fellow inmate on fire - shot 44-year-old Allen Hilzendager three times while robbing the man's liquor store. Jones was convicted of murder and sentenced to death based on the testimony of two accomplices, eyewitness identification, and a strand of hair found in the liquor store, which an expert testified could have come from Jones but not the other men. Jones's case was reviewed by seven state and federal courts, none of which reversed the judgment. Now, based on requests from Jones's son and several innocence projects, a judge has ordered re-testing of the hair strand. The article notes that a DNA test result that shows the hair did not belong to Jones would not exonerate him.
Federal Judge Orders Release of Detainee: The AP reports that a federal district court judge has ordered the release of Adnan Farhan Abd Al Latif, who has been a Guantanamo Bay detainee for over 8 years. Latif was suspected of receiving al-Qaida military training in Afghanistan, but the judge ruled that the government failed to show he was part of an al-Qaida force.
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