Criminals on the RunWon't Be Fooled Again - - - Or will We???

Years ago, in my freshman year of high school there was one other freshman that brought pride to our entire class. I didn't hang out with him. Barely spoke to him because he ran with a different crowd. I never was sports minded (I'm still not) but still I took pride that there was ONE FRESHMAN, someone in my class that was on the VARSITY FOOTBALL TEAM.

That freshman was John Goldenberg. Quite a guy! Very popular (amongst the jocks anyway) Pretty good looking. Reasonably good student. Teachers liked him and, as said before, the freshman took pride in him.

My high school even won the CIF (CA state H.S. championship) if I remember correctly for two years running. If not for two years we did at least win it once. As said before I'm not real sports minded. The fog of time is lifting some. I think we played for it twice and the second time we won.

WhooHoo! We won the CIF!

THEN!!!

The world came crashing down on the (by then Junior) class.

John Goldenberg was arrested and extradited to Mississippi. The CIF win was rescinded and all the H.S. football records had to be looked over and corrected.

It seems his real name was Jay Dennis Gould, was in his early 20's, was on the lam, wanted for bank embezzlement and finally caught. He was such a great football player because he was a good 4-5 years older than anyone else in the school.

Sure had me fooled along with everybody else. Except for the father of the girl that was concerned for his daughter's welfare. It was one man's questioning of history that revealed the past of Jay Dennis Gould (alias John Goldenberg).

John/Jay had come to town, was befriended by some people who believed his story of parents deceased, mean uncle who beat him regularly, his running away, school records destroyed when the little Mississippi school house burnt down. They took him in and helped him get into high school as a sixteen year old.

Quite the con artist. Guess that was why he was able to pull off the embezzlement and the falsification of his identity.

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Which brings us closer to the present. It seems that Athens, Georgia and many in the blogging community were taken in by a man who rolled into town about a year back and established himself as an opinionated retiree who often wrote letters to the local paper, the Athens Banner-Herald.

"Norm Weatherby" also had a blog called Quantum Thought - A Palette for Thinking which had many links to other blogs. Mine included. The Blog was deleted after one final posting which said:

"Norm Weatherby is unable to Blog at this time and is asking for
everyone's prayers. He will log on again when able. Thanks for your
support."

The blog is back up at this time and has been taken over by a person only identifed as Mcdanial

Well, back to "Norm Weatherby". It seems his real name is Larry Ray Bess (66) and a fugitive who fled child rape charges in Ohio 18 years ago.

The Athens Banner-Herald story (free registration required) stated:

Bess was indicted in November 1989 on charges of rape and gross sexual imposition of a minor - a crime similar to aggravated sexual battery in Georgia - according to Wilson.

Bess also was wanted on a 1999 federal warrant charging him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Ohio prosecutors allege Bess raped his stepdaughter over a six-year period, 1983 to 1989, beginning when she was 6 years old. The assaults happened in North Royalton, a suburb of Cleveland, officials said.

Bess never was arrested, but a grand jury indicted him after the stepdaughter took her allegations to prosecutors, according to Wendy Clawson, spokeswoman for the Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

"After he was indicted, he just took off," Clawson said.

I certainly hope that the stepdaughter finds some relief and comfort through his arrest and that his case is quickly settled with justice served to Bess in the way that he deserves.

One thing this posting shows is that running from justice is not new. Catching those running is not new either. I think that justice continuing the search for those running is a good use of tax dollars.

Our world is a safer place as a result.

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Hat tip to JMAC of Safe As Houses blog for the heads up on this one.

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Write in Cary Cartter for President in 2008
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Saddam Hussein Hanged

Woke up this morn to some good news. Saddam Hussein was hanged before dawn yesterday for crimes against humanity.

The headline, "Switzerland frowns at Saddam's execution" did not surprise me.

Swiss foreign ministry stated, "For Switzerland the death penalty cannot be justified, even for the most serious of crimes. This fundamental position also applies for the case of Saddam Hussein,"


How sweet. Just like their chocolate...

Some other quotes I've found follow. (Italics mine)

"We took him to the gallows and he was saying some few slogans. He was very, very, very, broken," said Iraqi National Security Adviser Muwaffak al-Rubaie, one of the few witnesses.

Clutching a copy of the Koran, Saddam was led into the building. "You could see the fear in his face," al-Rubaie said.

What? He did not want to see Allah face to face and get his bevy of virgins?
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From his Texas ranch, US President George Bush issued a prompt statement praising Saddam's trial. "Today, Saddam Hussein was executed after receiving a fair trial - the kind of justice he denied the victims of his brutal regime," Bush said.

No sense getting too verbose. This does say it all.
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The Vatican described the execution as tragic, saying it could feed a spirit of vengeance.

The Vatican has lost it's sense of right and wrong. They, of all organizations, should know the Ten Commandments say, "Thou shalt not murder", not "Thou Shalt not kill." - This event could also feed a spirit of freedom!
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British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said Saddam had been held to account.

"I welcome the fact that Saddam Hussein has been tried by an Iraqi court for at least some of the appalling crimes he committed against the Iraqi people."

Why bother with the rest of his crimes being tried. Some shyster lawyers would just be making a living off of him.
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Among the Palestinians, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum condemned the execution, calling it a "political assassination" of a "prisoner of war" whose hanging was "in violation of international law."

What does Hamas know about International Law?
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The Fatah movement also condemned the execution, according to the Palestine News Network. It also said that the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails had announced several days of mourning.

Let 'em go on a hunger strike too. Cost less to keep 'em.
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The tribe of Saddam and the municipal council of his home town Tikrit demanded that the body would be taken to Tikrit in a US plane and under US protection so that he could be buried there.

Demanded??? What? So they can attack the plane and US personnel. Forget it.

Sheikh Ali al-Nada of the Tikrit-based al-Bayjat tribe and the town council said Saddam Hussein should be buried close to his two dead sons, Uday and Qusay.

How about we throw his remains in a wood chipper (feet first) and scatter the remains over Iran? Might get some Iranian bigwigs to thinking...

Playfuls.com - Violence, Condemnation, Jubilation As Saddam Is Hanged -
Cross posted at BloggerNews.Net

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Florida Death Penalty - - They Need to Study Veterinarians

Last Saturday I had to take my dog to the vet and have her put down. Old age and she could hardly take the single step up into the house.

I held her to keep her from being scared and not once did she even shiver or tremor. Completely painless except for one needle puncture. Less than 5 minutes from the time I picked her up onto the table to the time she started getting cold. Not a bit of pain or discomfort on her part. I'm positive I felt more hurt than she did. I cried. She didn't.

I asked the doctor why it was so easy for my dog to be put to sleep and yet with criminals it is such a long drawn out process?

MIAMI, Dec. 14 — A convicted murderer was put to death by lethal injection on Wednesday, but he took more than a half-hour to die and required a second dose of the chemicals, prompting Gov. Jeb Bush to call for a review of the execution.

The convict, Angel N. Diaz, 55, was pronounced dead at 6:36 p.m., 34 minutes after receiving the first lethal injection at the Florida State Prison in Starke, 23 miles northeast of Gainesville. Normally, death occurs within 15 minutes.

Witnesses said Mr. Diaz appeared to be moving after the first injection was administered, seemingly squinting and grimacing, at times appearing to mouth words.

NYT - 15 Dec 06
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Fox News has an article stating that the needles were inserted through the vein and into soft tissue.

The doctor's reply, simply stated was that the authorities have a series of procedures that is needless. They make it chock full of unnecessary rules that prolong the process.

I was not going to mention on my blog about putting my dog down but then I came across a post over on Bill's Comments with the title, Hi-tech death. His bottom line and a statement I agree with is, "...this attempt to be humane when executing convicted killers and those convicted of treason, is an oxy-moron. Humane is getting it over with, not trying to make it painless."

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