13 siblings’ parents say innocent again
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California couple already accused of starving and shackling some of their 13 children have pleaded innocent to new charges of child abuse.
David and Louise Turpin entered pleas Friday to three new charges of abuse. Louise Turpin also pleaded innocent to a count of felony assault.
They previously entered innocent pleas to torture and a raft of other charges and each is being held with bail set at $12 million.
The Turpins were arrested last month after their 17-year-old daughter escaped from the family’s home in Perris, Calif., and called 911.
Authorities say they found a filthy home and malnourished children. Some of the siblings are now adults.
Gymnasts’ training described as abusive
Former U.S. gymnasts and coaches, in numerous interviews with The Associated Press, described a culture rife with verbal and emotional abuse, saying girls were forced to train with injuries and broken bones.
They said the culture was tacitly endorsed by USA Gymnastics and institutionalized by former star coaches Bela and Martha Karolyi. Such a culture resulted in lifelong injuries, anxiety and eating disorders.
The gymnasts said the Karolyis’ oppressive style created a toxic environment in which former doctor Larry Nassar could thrive. Nassar was recently sentenced to decades in prison for sexually assaulting young athletes for years under the guise of medical treatment.
“He was their little puppet,” said Jeanette Antolin, a former member of the U.S. national team who trained with the Karolyis. “He let us train on injuries. They got what they wanted. He got what he wanted.”
USA Gymnastics declined to comment. The Karolyis’ lawyer denied they abused anyone.
State told to keep files on execution halt
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — After an aborted lethal injection in which lawyers contend a condemned prisoner endured 2½ hours of medics trying to access his veins, a federal judge on Friday ordered Alabama to maintain records about the incident.
U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre issued the order in response to a request from Doyle Lee Hamm’s attorneys who say they want to know more about what happened during the attempt to execute him.
Hamm, who has lymphoma, was to be executed Thursday for the 1987 slaying of a hotel clerk. However, prison officials announced about 11:30 p.m. Thursday that they were halting the execution because medical personnel did not think they could obtain “the appropriate venous access” before a midnight deadline. The announcement came about 2½ hours after the U.S. Supreme Court had cleared the execution to proceed.
The state prison commissioner said the execution was delayed because of a “time issue” while an attorney for Hamm argued that the execution was botched and the state should be “ashamed” for what happened.
Bernard Harcourt, who represents Hamm, said he had argued in court filings that lethal injection would be difficult and painful because Hamm’s veins have been severely compromised by lymphoma, hepatitis and previous drug use.
Mayor says hurricane recovery dragging
HOUSTON — Six months after Hurricane Harvey’s flooding wreaked havoc in Houston, recovery efforts in the United States’ fourth-largest city aren’t “happening fast enough,” Houston’s mayor said Friday.
Thousands of people still need help as they continue living either in hotels or in damaged homes, Mayor Sylvester Turner said. He praised local efforts, including from nonprofit groups and residents, saying they’ve filled in some of the gaps as the city awaits additional state and federal funding for recovery efforts.
“While we acknowledge that we are making progress, we also want to be very clear the recovery is not happening fast enough for any of us,” Turner said.
As of Tuesday, people from more than 3,420 Houston households remain in hotels and thousands more are living in homes in dire need of repair, he said.
Houston also is working to repair the $2.5 billion in damage that city buildings and other infrastructure suffered, including its municipal courts building and performing-arts center.
Delays in federal funding also have resulted in the postponement of a program that will pay up to $60,000 to repair damaged homes.
A Section on 02/24/2018