Mumia Abu-Jamal to get new sentencing hearing

His conviction stands, but there's a chance that Abu-Jamal could get off Death Row -- though Philadelphia's D.A. might ask the Supreme Court to intervene.

Should convicts be eligible for organ transplants?

In New York, a convicted rapist has taken himself off the list for a heart transplant, Fox 23 reports. Some legislators are upset that he was ever on the list in the first place, and they're not happy that taxpayers would have footed the bill for the procedure. The man's sister, though, says he's innocent and still deserves some consideration.

You could say it was a steal of a deal

A Utah man allegedly stole a BMW at gunpoint during a test drive because his old Mini Cooper -- ALSO stolen -- had too many miles on it, authorities tell the Salt Lake Tribune.

This is the worst Tennessee Williams play ever

A shirtless Kentucky man is accused of walking on an interstate during a rainstorm because he was upset that his dad wouldn't have sex with his mother, WLKY-TV reports.

Wednesday's Open Thread

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, please email jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Suspect in murder-suicide killed self with power saw as police arrived

The story is from Massachusetts.

Now, THAT is a lovely mugshot

From the Iowa City Press-Citizen:

Police said an Iowa City man was arrested for drunken driving Saturday after he was observed huffing aerosol whipped cream cans.

Woman, 40, killed in north KC

The victim was a woman named Julie A. Johnson.

Police responded about 12:20 a.m. to a residence in the 10300 block of North Tracy Avenue to investigate a suspicious party who had called a relative allegedly saying he killed the woman.

Teens charged in KCK boy's slaying

Wyandotte County prosecutors have filed charges against two teenagers in the death of Ryder Spillman, a 16-year-old boy who was found slain near a KCK school over the weekend. The suspects are 16 and 17 years old and attend Shawnee Mission East. From Joe Lambe:

The murder of a 16-year-old boy in Kansas City, Kan., last weekend probably was sparked by a feud among Johnson County skateboarders, police said.

The victim, Ryder S. Spillman, was a Shawnee Mission North student and suspects are associated with Shawnee Mission East, associate principal Steve Loe said in a Monday email to students and parents.

Lindsay Lohan, morgue janitor?

That's how she's going to burn off some of her community-service hours, it appears.

Does K-10 need crossover cables?

From Brad Cooper:

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback on Monday ordered the state to re-examine its policy on crossover cables on Kansas 10 after a double fatality that claimed the life of a 5-year-old boy.

Brownback also directed Transportation Secretary Deb Miller to design plans to widen the shoulders and add rumble strips to K-10 on the Douglas County part of the highway similar to what’s in place in Johnson County.

“While that may not have prevented this crash, it seems like a very important safety improvement,” Brownback said in a one-page letter to Miller.

Trial starts for Ill. man accused of murdering his wife, young sons

The trial of Christopher Coleman, an Illinois man accused of murdering his wife and two sons, is under way in Waterloo, Ill., the Post-Dispatch reports. Coleman, who worked as a bodyguard for evangelist Joyce Meyers, allegedly killed his family because he wanted to go off with his girlfriend in Florida, prosecutors claim.

Coleman's attorney says that, yes, there was an affair, but argued that his client had been getting along with his wife.

KC, OP announce DUI checkpoints

KCPD will host one this coming weekend. Overland Park plans one for May 6.

No charges after homicide victim's kin allegedly assault TV news crew

In Sacramento, prosecutors are declining to file charges after a TV news crew was allegedly attacked by a homicide victim's relatives at a memorial for the victim, KTXL-TV reports:

"Some may find the actions of Mr. Jackson to be offensive and unacceptable. Others may describe them as measured and restrained in the context of having just lost a loved one to a senseless homicide 13 hours prior to this incident."

Police had sound reason for breaking down woman's door

German police break down a woman's door and make a surprising find ...

Quote of the day

From WTAE-TV:

"He says, 'I have a sword.' That's when I said, 'I have a gun,' and he tried to stab me through my car window," Guzzo said.

Lt. governor's ride stolen, burned in Cape

Someone stole Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder's Ford Flex, smashed the vehicle into a gun shop and then set the Flex on fire, the Southeast Missourian reports.

"I was really shocked and feeling stupid that I left the keys in it," he said.

Tuesday's Open Thread

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, please email jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Something like this might make your nasty cough even nastier

A Florida man is accused of urinating on 110 packages of cough drops at a Walgreen's in Sanford.

Meth might have been a factor

In California, police arrested a man who wore a Raiders jacket, a G-string and a scrunchy around his genitals, KCRA-TV reports. (Oh, and he had some socks, presumably on his feet.) When officers caught up with the man, he was allegedly:

standing in the dirt next to the cemetery with a flashlight, yelling in the dark.

Back at the jail, there was some feces-smearing, too, police allege.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, JUNGLE JIM!

Police: Wichita boy opened fire after catching sister in bed with her boyfriend

In Wichita, a 15-year-old boy is accused of shooting his 17-year-old sister and her boyfriend after the boy found them in bed together, the Eagle reports. The sister lived, but her boyfriend is dead. (This report says the suspect is 16.)

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Mike and Mad Keith!

Man accused of assaulting pregnant girlfriend, who later miscarried

From Christine Vendel:

Kansas City police have arrested a 26-year-old man in connection with an attack on his pregnant girlfriend last month in which she was hit, cut with glass and kicked in the genitals.

The victim suffered a miscarriage after the 3 p.m. attack March 28 in their apartment in the600 block of East 9th Street. Prosecutors on Saturday charged Troy A. Tynch with second-degree domestic assault. He remained in jail today in lieu of a $50,000 bond.

Should Kansas City's police department be under local control?

At Midwest Voices, our sister blog, the Star's editorial board is arguing for local control of Kansas City's police department.

For several decades, the police departments in Kansas City and St. Louis have been run by state-appointed boards. That could be changing, at least in St. Louis, whose leaders have been pushing the state legislature to hand local control back to them.

That hasn't happened in Kansas City, but the editorial board says it should. That way it would make reform of KCPD's pension system easier to enact.

Charges filed against KC man who allegedly pointed gun at police

A man who allegedly pointed a shotgun at Kansas City police -- who then fired on him -- is now facing criminal charges in Jackson County, Christine Vendel writes.

Abernathy told officers he was in the yard with the shotgun, but he denied being on PCP, court records said.

KCK homicide victim was 16 years old

From Joe Lambe:

Kansas City, Kan., police today identified a 16-year-old boy found murdered on Sunday. He was Ryder S. Spillman of Kansas City, Kan., police said, and an arrest has been made in the case. Neighbors said children playing near Thomas A. Edison Elementary School found the body about 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.