List of All Articles with Tag 'pce'

Michael Sterling has, however, pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges in the case against him

Jurors in Pittsburgh have begun considering whether the gunman in a white supremacist 2018 shooting at a local synagogue complex should get the death penalty. In June, Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue, was convicted on 63 federal counts. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, experts called by his attorneys have been arguing in court in recent days that he was so mentally damaged by the time of the shooting he shouldn’t face the death penalty, which is forbidden against people with certain intellectual handicaps. They pointed out how Bowers had been in multiple psychiatric hospitals by the time he was 13 years old, diagnosed with depression and other ailments. As a teenager, he also attempted to kill his mother by spraying an aerosol toward her and trying to light it on fire. By 16, he was voluntarily committed again to a mental facility and had made “repeated suicide attempts,” according to the defence. Richard Rogers, a forensic psychologist who met with Bowers four times while he was in prison, told jurors the gunman showed signs of delusional thinking tied to his white supremacist ideas. “He did not just believe [his conduct] to be correct,” Mr Rogers said, “he believed it absolutely had to be done.” A majority of families whose loved ones died in the shooting have voiced their support for the death penalty in the case. “We are not a ruthless, uncompassionate people; we, as a persecuted people, understand when there is a time for compassion and when there is a time to stand up and say enough is enough — such violent hatred will not be tolerated on this earth,” they wrote in a 2022 letter in the Pittsburg Jewish Chronicle. “Our beloved 11 were taken from us in a brutal, cold-blooded act of hatred and violence. We, the undersigned, will feel further violated by letting the defendant have the easy way out. His crimes deserve the death penalty.” Others tied to the tragedy, the deadliest antisemitic shooting in US history, argued the death penalty violates Jewish tradition. “Jewish practice as I understand it does not — outside of self-defense — allow humans to take the lives of other humans. Not even the life of a murderer whose guilt is beyond doubt,” Beth Kissileff, whose husband, a rabbi, was in the Tree of Life facility during the shooting, wrote in The New York Times. “The death penalty does nothing to promote healing; it only continues more killing,” she added. The Independent and the nonprofit Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ) have launched a joint campaign calling for an end to the death penalty in the US. The RBIJ has attracted more than 150 well-known signatories to their Business Leaders Declaration Against the Death Penalty - with The Independent as the latest on the list. We join high-profile executives like Ariana Huffington, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson as part of this initiative and are making a pledge to highlight the injustices of the death penalty in our coverage. Read More A copycat Zodiac Killer terrorised New York years after the California original. This is how he got caught Pittsburgh synagogue killer has extensive history of mental illness, defense expert testifies Doctors give mixed testimony on whether tests show brain damage in the Pittsburgh synagogue killer

Several netizens pointed out Kyle Richards’ closeness with country music singer Morgan Wade as they have been seen together on many occasions

Riley Keough does not believe her mother Lisa Marie would want Priscilla Presley 'interred with her'

Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans are still in the process of determining custody arrangements for their two daughters

Georgia's Foreign Ministry criticized Ukraine on Tuesday for urging the Georgian ambassador to return to Tbilisi for consultations over the poor health of imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili, who is also a Ukrainian citizen. The Foreign Ministry called Ukraine's action “an extreme form of escalation.” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry had summoned Georgian Ambassador George Zakarashvili to express its protest over the apparent significant deterioration in the health of Saakashvili, who was convicted of abuse of power while he was president in 2004-2013. “The decision of the Ukrainian authorities causes serious damage to the strategic relations between the two countries and represents a direct interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state,” Georgia’s Foreign Ministry said in its statement. Saakashvili appeared severely emaciated Monday during a videolink testimony to a court considering a new abuse-of-power case against him. Saakashvili and his supporters claim that he has been poisoned while imprisoned and that he now weighs about 60 kilograms (132 pounds), half of what he weighed when he was arrested in October 2021. Speaking from a private clinic where he is being held, he told the court that despite his poor health, he is “spiritually fit and determined to serve the country,” according to local news site Agenda. Saakashvili, who became Georgia’s president after leading the Rose Revolution protests that drove the previous president out of office, left for Ukraine after the end of his second term. He was later convicted in absentia of abuse of power and sentenced to six years in prison. He was arrested in October 2021 after returning to Georgia to try to bolster opposition forces before nationwide municipal elections. He is now on trial on charges connected to the violent dispersal of an opposition rally in 2007. Saakashvili holds Ukrainian citizenship and was governor of that nation’s Odesa region in 2015-16. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday called on Georgia to send Saakashvili to Ukraine for medical treatment. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide

Jennifer Lopez is setting the record straight on her relationship with alcohol as the owner of her own recently launched cocktail brand, after having been previously known to not imbibe.

It's almost time, folks! Sound the alarms! Barbie hits theaters in less than three weeks!

'Van Hunt is easygoing and great with Halle Berry's children but the idea of saying 'I do' only to have the marriage burn scares her,' a source said

A man who met Kevin Spacey in a pub says that at one point when they were alone during a night of heavy drinking with others, the actor kissed his neck twice and grabbed his crotch

'I never felt really down. I mean, I have my moments, of course. But my spirits are high,' said Ringo Starr

Two sisters have taken to TikTok to talk about their mother passing whilst the two were at a Taylor Swift concert. The video features a text overlay that reads “our mom died while we were at the Taylor Swift concert” and was posted by user @lindsorito. The caption reads: “this [is] us coping”. In the TikTok clip, which currently has over 11 million views, creator Linds and her sister Morgan shared the story of being surprised with tickets to see Swift on her Reputation tour back in Christmas of 2017. However, two weeks before the sisters and their mother were supposed to attend the concert, their mother’s cancer spread to her brain and she was in hospice and unresponsive. The sisters stood by her side every day, but ultimately decided to go to the show. “We talked with out dad, and we just decided that she would still want us to go to the concert,” Linds explained, with Morgan adding that Ally, her best friend from college, took their mum’s ticket for the night. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter @lindsorito this us us coping #erastourtaylorswift #griefandloss @Morgan After the concert the girls received a message from their dad that read: “You guys need to come here now.” In that moment the girls said they knew their mom had died. They also sadly added that a year after the concert Ally, who had attended the Reputation show with them, was murdered. The two girls then went to divulge into a “weird coincidence” between their mother and Taylor Swift. Going on to say that “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” is releasing exactly five years after their mother passed away. At the end of the video, the sister say that their dad had given them something that they couldn’t open until their Eras tour concert. In a follow-up video, the two shared that it was “a letter from my dad written to us from the perspective of my mom in heaven, sating she’s so proud of us for all the stuff we’ve done since she died and that we should have so much fun tonight.” @lindsorito update on the letter!! sorry it took a bit!! @Morgan Many viewers left their condolences and support in the comment section of the original video. Many said they were sorry for the sister’s losses, others said that their mother was “with them in spirit” at the Taylor Swift show. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.