TresSugar

War on Drugs Makes Women the Enemy

TresSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:00:45 -0800

If you've been following the story of Cleveland's alleged serial killer Anthony Sowell, you know it's horrific. Eleven female bodies have been found in and around the man's home, leaving the public wondering how could these crimes go on undetected for years. Writing in the Daily Beast, Cleveland journalist Mansfield Frazier says he knows why: Sowell was able to kill drug-addicted women without anyone noticing because the war on drugs targets women. Let's examine the evidence he uses to support this allegation after the jump.

Front Page: Murder Suspect Ryan Jenkins Found Dead in Motel

TresSugar — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 06:00:34 -0700

Fugitive murder suspect and former reality contestant Ryan Jenkins was found dead in a motel in Canada in an apparent suicide. Jenkins was accused of killing his ex-wife. - AP
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are considering promoting routine circumcision for all US-born boys as a method of HIV prevention. - New York Times
Greek firefighters are trying to control fires on two fronts, both approaching Athens. - Bloomberg
The US Justice Department has recommended reopening investigations into prisoner abuse allegations, potentially exposing CIA agents to prosecution. - Reuters

Megan Wants . . . a Murderer?

TresSugar — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:00:00 -0700

I bet Megan Hauserman (previously from Rock of Love 2 and I Love Money) did not think that her money-hungry ways could blind her from seeing a potential murderer in her midst. But that’s exactly what happens on Megan Wants a Millionaire, VH1’s show about a bunch of douches who want to date a gold-digger. It turns out that contestant Ryan Jenkins is a person of interest in the murder of his wife, Jasmine Fiore, whom he married (and possibly killed!) after the show finished taping. It's been reported that he's already fled the country.

I saw a few episodes of Megan Wants a Millionaire, and even for reality TV, it’s pretty awful. Just when you thought the worst character infraction the contestants could have was being douchey, this news comes out. Very, very scary.

Does This Man Look Like a Murderer?

TresSugar — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:30:00 -0700

Clean cut blond man. Medical student with a fiancée.

In almost every news story that you read about alleged Craigslist killer, Philip Markoff, who is accused of murdering a masseuse whose ad he answered, there is always some comment about the incongruity between his looks and/or educational background and the murder of 26-year-old Julissa Brisman that he's accused of.

Do these reporters have amnesia about America's most notorious serial killers, like Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy? Last time I checked, each of them looks like the boy next door (albeit with a lot of crazy in the eyes). If Markoff doesn't look like a killer - who does? What is our expectation, rational or not? To read about Markoff and to hear more baffling comments from experts, read more.

New York forensic psychologist Michael Welner told Good Morning America that, although Markoff targeted masseuses (usually a code word on Craigslist for prostitute), the alleged crimes were about money, not sex or power. Um, really? It's stupefying to me that an "expert" could say this. I'm no expert - but I would venture to guess that his alleged crimes were about a combination of all those motivations.

As more details emerge about Markoff - that he has a gambling addiction, and today, that he collected his victims' panties (before Brisman, he roughed up and robbed another masseuse, Trisha Leffler, who was lucky he didn't kill her) - the mystery deepens as to who this man is. But the mystery should not settle around how a clean-cut blond man could commit murder.

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Six Gay Men Shot and Killed in Iraq

CitizenSugar — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 06:00:02 -0700

Sadr City, Baghdad is popular among gays in Iraq. But that doesn't mean it's safe for them. Over the last 10 days, six gay men have been shot and killed following a tribal meeting where members decided to target the homosexuals within their tribe.

If you're gay in the Middle East you are most likely breaking the law in whichever country you find yourself. In Iraq, homosexuality is punishable by seven years in prison. Under the religious militias in Iraq, which rose in influence following the US invasion, the situation has become increasingly dangerous.

An anonymous official in Sadr City described one of the killings without a trace of remorse, saying: "Two young men were killed on Thursday. They were sexual deviants. Their tribes killed them to restore their family honor."

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Chicago's Murder Rate Double American Soldiers Killed in Iraq

LibertySugar — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:00:43 -0700

Chicago residents have faced an exceptionally deadly Summer this year - 123 people were shot and killed, twice the amount of US soldier casualties in Iraq over the same period.

Throughout 2008, murder rates in Chicago have risen. In July Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich said he was prepared to call in the National Guard to help restore order to the "out of control" city.

Police officials note that the pace still keeps the rate at historical lows; however, there's a real possibility that Chicago could finish the year with more than 500 murders, for the first time since 2003. Most murders are related to gang activity, and a high number of offenders and victims have a criminal history.

While some compare the American soldier casualties in Iraq and Chicago to depict the dire condition of Chicago, ignoring civilian and Iraqi deaths in Iraq could paint an inaccurate picture.

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War Is Hell: US Soldiers Killed Iraqi Prisoners For Revenge?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:00:10 -0700

It's a story that shocks a civilian frame of mind and raises so many questions about the effect of war on mankind: Three US Army soldiers murdered four Iraqi prisoners by firing shots to the backs of their heads, execution-style, in the spring of 2007.

The story has surfaced from a source close to one of the soldiers who says after they committed these murders, the US Army officers then dumped the corpses into a Baghdad canal. The killings were meant to avenge the deaths of two of their army comrades, and to this point, all members of Company D, First Battalion, Second Infantry, 172nd Infantry Brigade have not been charged with a crime.

Lawyers representing other members of the platoon who witnessed the slayings, believe the Army officers involved will probably be charged with murder. One of the soldiers involved described in great detail how and why the killings took place.

To see the story, read more.

After receiving small-arms fire, the patrol pursued some men into a building and arrested men who they believed to be the perpetrators. On the way back to the detainment center, they were then informed that they might not have enough evidence to convict and to release the suspects.

Though the soldiers were ordered by army superiors to release the prisoners, one sergeant ordered the soldiers to "take the detainees to a canal and kill them." They then avenged the two fellow soldiers killed by a sniper and executed the suspects themselves by handcuffing, blindfolding, and then shooting them with pistols in the back of their heads, dumping the remains in the canal.

With all we're beginning to know about the effects of PTSD after war, does the warrior mentality change a person? Could these soldiers have been acting under an unspoken military protocol one might not know if one hasn't been in war?

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Not Guilty! DNA Evidence Clears JonBenet Ramsey's Parents

CitizenSugar — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:45:03 -0700

Nope, your browser hasn't crashed back to 1996 - the Boulder, CO, district attorney has just announced that new DNA tests have cleared JonBenet Ramsey's entire family in the killing of the 6-year-old beauty queen, 12 years ago.

The tests point to an "unexplained third party" as the culprit in the crime from DNA left behind in skin cells, one who is presumably still at large.

It's been confirmed that prosecutors no longer consider any member of the Ramsey family to be a suspect, though for years her parents, John and Patsy Ramsey, were thought to be under an "umbrella of suspicion" in the girl's slaying.

For this the DA apologized, saying, "To the extent that this office has added to the distress suffered by the Ramsey family at any time or to any degree, I offer my deepest apology."

Throughout the unsolved murder saga, with suspicion cast on the family, and John Mark Karr inexplicably and falsely confessing to the crime, father John Ramsey has maintained all along that he believes the case will be solved. JonBenet's mother Patsy Ramsey died in 2006 of ovarian cancer at the age of 49.

Considering this new information and the botched initial investigation, will we ever know who killed JonBenet?

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Child Rape Death Penalty Unconstitutional, For Murder Only

LibertySugar — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:00:00 -0700

The US Supreme Court struck down the death penalty for cases of child rape as unconstitutional today, continuing its tendency to narrow, rather than expand, capital punishment. The broad ruling held that the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment requires that the defendant killed, and intended to kill, the victim in order to trigger the death sentence. The Court left room for death in cases of treason, by discussing only crimes against individuals.

Justice Kennedy wrote the opinion, which sited the unfairness and inaccuracies of the death penalty as reasons to be cautious when expanding its application. He also brought up that the death sentence requires repeated and painful testimony from the child victim, writing: “The way the death penalty here involves the child victim in its enforcement can compromise a decent legal system."

To see what Justice Alito, writing for the conservative dissenters, wrote read more. Alito argued: "The harm that is caused to the victims and to society at large by the worst child rapists is grave. It is the judgment of the Louisiana lawmakers and those in an increasing number of other states that these harms justify the death penalty."

When the Court heard oral arguments on this issue a while back, you all weighed in on whether you think the death penalty for child rape constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Now that the Supreme Court has decided, and you've seen their reasoning, do you agree that death is a disproportional punishment to the crime? Should children be protected from having to testify repeatedly through a long drawn-out death penalty trial and appeal process?

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Experts: Justified That Witnesses Didn't Stop Toddler's Murder

LibertySugar — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:00:44 -0700

Police and psychologists say that the inaction of those who witnessed a 27-year-old California man beat his 2-year-old son to death on the side of the road was justified. The savage incident in which the grocery store working father pulled over to stomp and beat the innocent boy occurred Saturday night. None of the people at the scene, including a volunteer firefighter, intervened to stop the fatal beating.

Experts say that violent emergencies can result in shock, and thus inaction, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Witnesses say they called 911 immediately but were afraid to physically stop the man, as they did not know if he had a weapon on him. The father only stopped after police and a helicopter intervened, shooting him to death. According to experts, the witnesses lacked the experience to respond with force.

The violent nature of this tragedy sort of helps me differentiate it from the video of bystanders failing to help an elderly man who was hit by a car and left in the street. Maybe human instinct prevents us from acting how we wish we could in shocking circumstances.

Can you wish the witnesses did something to stop him, without judging them for their inability to do so? Can anyone know how one would act if confronted with this horrific situation?

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