Only in Kentucky, and better than those 'Florida man' stories, even if it is conflated

 Mule-riding Kentucky man accused of unleashing raccoon in bar after being turned away

From Googles AI summary: :

Jonathan Mason, known as "Cowboy Cody" in the Murray, Kentucky area, was taken into custody after allegedly releasing a raccoon into a crowded bar that had previously denied him entry. He was taken to the Calloway County Jail and faces multiple charges, ]after someone was bitten by the raccoon. Police reported that Mason was forcibly removed from his vehicle after refusing to roll down his window or exit when they initiated a traffic stop. This incident is the latest in a series of arrests for Mason, who was previously arrested in December for leading police on a high-speed mule chase. 

Three hours after I came home last night

Two women were robbed while walking about two blocks from here. I have generally felt safe in my neighbourhood, but crime can happen anywhere, of course. I don't know if the thing last night was in any way related to that or not. Probably not. But it's highly unusual to have the police out here.

I came home this afternoon and rested (yes, that means napped), and I've spoken to YKWIA a couple of times on the phone. The last hour or so I've been trying to find an important piece of paper to make a payment on something that cannot be paid online, I don't otherwise have the information to pay it like address, account number, and amount, and I'm highly annoyed because I'm sure I put it in a 'safe place', so safe I can't find it. The payments are made quarterly, so it's not with much frequency. Tomorrow I'll have to call the company and get them to send me the information. I can go online and initiate a loan, but I can't find any information about the very small loan I'm trying to pay on. Grrr....

This morning I went to my endocrinologist, which I dreaded because I don't feel like I've really kept my diabetes under the control they needed to be. But my weight and hA1c are both down, so it was a good report. They took some blood and an urine specimen, and I went on into work. It was nice to be able to give them a report of my glucose readings from the new meter without having to type in the readings manually. Today I had two goals:

1. Drink only one diet soda. I drink far too many in a day, up to two two-litres sometimes on the weekend, but even on an average day, about 4-6 20 oz. bottles. I managed to reach that goal, and while I was a bit sleepy in the afternoon from lack of caffeine, I did okay. I drank one sparkling flavored water and the balance has been regular water. Go me!
2. Enter everything I ate into my phone application. Everything. Which I did. And I made pretty decent choices today. For example, at lunch they were doing warm chocolate-chip pecan pie with ice cream, which I totally skipped in favour of spicy vegetarian black bean soup, broccoli, summer squash, a couple of slices of tomato, and a small seeded roll. Breakfast was the worst, as with my appointment I missed breakfast at work, so I went to McDonald's and got two egg and cheese biscuits, which are a combined total of 780 calories! Dinner was more soup, corn on the cob, a small roll, and about five tater tots, so still a bit heavy on the starches, but not horrible. Later I had a couple of pieces of string cheese, a banana, some sugar-free pudding, and a little bit of hazelnut spread on bread. So I've eaten about 2000 calories today and according to the application, which records my steps, I've burned over 300 calories. Even at that, according to my doctor, at my current weight I'd lose on that, but I'd like to take it down to 1800 calories slowly. If I hadn't snacked in the evening, I'd have kept it under that.

In general I'm going to try to eat less bread, more fish, eggs, beans, fruits, and vegetables, and generally make better choices, and see what happens. Although I am pescetarian (fish but no meat), I rely far too much on bread and cheese and not enough on protein and vegetables. Now that my knee is doing better, I also want to start walking, although today was far too hot and humid to start. Perhaps in the mornings or evenings.

Okay, I think I'll go in the other room for awhile. Tomorrow I have a bunch of things planned for the afternoon and evening, including appointments and 'The Awesomes', so I'm not sure if I'll get in early enough to really blog. Have a good night.

This would almost be funny, but it's not

Young hoodlums stealing popsicles from an ice cream truck--sounds like general mischief at first. Not so. Look at what was recovered. Items taken include seven guns. The kids do not 'meet the criteria for juvenile dentention' and have been released to their parents, who will hopefully have a come-to-Jesus meeting with them.

Four youths, ages 11 to 13, charged in Lexington burglaries, ice cream truck theft

Lexington police say they have arrested four juveniles, ages 11 to 13, who allegedly committed a series of burglaries and an ice cream truck theft in the Masterson Station-McConnell's Trace area.

Each was charged Monday with one count of second-degree robbery, two counts of first-degree burglary and two counts of second-degree burglary, police said Tuesday.

Police spokeswoman Sherelle Roberts said officers recovered a variety of missing items, including seven guns, three laptop computers and two computer gaming systems during their investigation. Additional charges are possible, Roberts said.

A wonderful historical resource

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674-1913 are now online, representing a 'fully searchable edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing 197,745 criminal trials held at London's central criminal court.'

Gary Corby mentioned this on his blog, A Dead Man Fell from the Sky. He looked up an ancestor who was transported for stealing a handkerchief in 1835, at the age of 20 (Corby is a mystery writer in Sydney, Australia, so that's a fairly pivotal moment in family history).

I looked up my birth surname and didn't find any direct ancestors, but this case caught my eye:

Mary Broadbent, a Child, about 10 Years old, was indicted for stealing from her Father, Paul Broadbent a piece of an old Frock, 3 Clouts, and several other Rags, on the 5th of April, and, Mary Cosier, Mary Harding, and Phillis Harding, were indicted for receiving the same, knowing them to be stoln. Paul Broadbent thus depos'd. I keep a Barber's Shop under the Rainbow Coffee-house, in St. Martin's lane; the Prisoner Mary Broadbent, is my own Child, but living among ill Neighbours, they seduced her to rob me. I mist the Stay of a Child's Coat, and a Cloth that I used to wipe my Razors on. I and my Wife examin'd her, and she confest, and so we carried her, and the other 3 Prisoners, before Justice Ellis, and he committed them to Newgate. Mrs. Broadbent thus depos'd. We have lost Aprons, and Shifts, and Plates, and several other Things, that we could never find again, but these 2 Child's Caps, and this piece of a Callicoe Frock, we found in Cosier's House. As for the Child, I love her as well as if she had been my own a thousand Times. She has been instructed in the Fear of God; she can say her Catechism in English and French, and can answer all lawful Questions, but she has been drawn aside by wicked Neighbours. As for Mary Harding, and her Daughter Phillis, we can't charge them with receiving any Goods, but they kept the Child at their Houses, 2 or 3 Days together, and we did not know what was become of her. The Prisoners then call'd their Witnesses. Mr. Matthews thus depos'd. Mrs. Cosier lodg'd at my House. She's a poor Woman indeed, but she always bore the Character of being very honest; she used to go a Chairing at Broadbent's House, when his former Wife was alive, which is about 2 Years ago. When Broadbent and his Wife came with a Constable, to search her Lodging, they found some odd Things, which they owned, and among the rest a Quit. Says, Broadbent, I won't take this away, for I know my former Wife gave her this, and several other Things. Mrs. Miller thus depos'd. Mrs. Consier has been a Chair-woman 4 Years at my House, and I have often left her with all my Doors open, but never mist any Thing. I believe she's as honest a Woman as ever liv'd, and I could have brought Twenty creditable House-keepers, to have said the same. Mrs. Hudsen thus depos'd. I am Mr. Broadbent's own Sister. He and his new Wife have used the child very barbarously. They beat her till they made her confest any thing that they desir'd. - They made her confess that she had stolen a Chintz Gown that was her Mother's, when her Mother never had such a Gown. And since the Child has been in Newgate, he has Charged her with stealing an old pair of Window Curtains, and yet he himself, gave these very Curtains to me, soon after his first Wife dy'd. Mr. Hudson thus depos'd. The Child has met with such cruel Usage from the Prosecutor and his Wife, that she would run to any of the Neighbours for Succour. I was coming down one Morning, and found her upon my Stairs, where I understood, that she had lain all Night; for I being a Bed, when she came home, she would not knock at my Chamber Door, and was afraid to go home. I went to her Father, and asks him how he could use his own Child in such a Manner. What's that to you, says he. Have ye a Mind she should come to be Hang'd or Transported? Says he, I don't care, if I can but get rid of her. Mrs. Pearson thus depos'd. Broadbent charged Cosier with having a Child's stay. She readily answer'd, And so I have your Wife gave it me. I know she did, says he, but here are more of my Things; and then he pickt up a few Rags, that the Child had brought to dress her Doll with. The Jury acquitted them. And the Court thinking it improper she should go to live again with her Father and Step-Mother, brought him to an Agreement, to allow his Sister Mrs. Hudson, 10 l. a Year for the Child's Board and Apparel, and order'd him to pay the Prisoner's Fees.

I see the Broadbents have a long history of father-child estrangement. :) It's an unusual surname, so in all likelihood, it was a relative of some sort. This was from 1726. Good lord, she could have been transported for dressing her doll in rags, and at the age of 10 was sent to Newgate Prison whilst awaiting trial.

Crazy that your life can go upside down for a murder you didn't commit

‘Murdered’ man reappears after 10 years: Questions raised about how police extracted confession from alleged killer

The imprisoned Zhao's brother told the local Dahe Newspaper that police had forced him to drink chili water and set off fireworks over his head to force the confession.

The imprisoned Zhao narrowly escaped being executed for the crime. His sentence was commuted from a death penalty with two years' reprieve.

While in prison, his wife left him for another man and three of his four children were given to other families for adoption, the China Daily said.

Now, some humour

Spider-Man foils comic book thief in Australia

"We had about 40 people dressed up as their favourite superheroes to celebrate International Free Comic Day, so he [the thief] didn't have much of a choice but to hand the X-Men Omnibus back after a little bit of a scuffle," Mr Baulderstone told the Adelaide Advertiser.

He said a group of Jedi knights blocked the door to prevent the thief from escaping, as The Flash looked on.

"I've had a look at the security footage and it shows Spiderman running down the corridor of the shop, grabbing this guy, hauling him off," said the 45-year-old.

"It was a bit serious at the time, but now we're looking back laughing at what greeted police when they arrived."

I can so imagine this going down in the comic store I used to work in. :)

Strangest news story I've heard in awhile

This time from Florida.

Megan Barnes Driving While Shaving! Fla. Woman Arrested After Crash, Grooming "Bikini Area" Say Cops

She had her ex-husband take the wheel from the passenger seat and they crashed into a pickup, then went another half mile before stopping. This happened one day after being convicted of driving under the influence and she was driving on a revoked licence. Why was she shaving her delicate bits whilst driving? She was on her way to her boyfriend's home and, as YKWIA put it when he told me about this story, 'wanted a clean working surface'.

She should never get her licence back, ever, and her ex-husband should be prosecuted, too.

Weird and dangerous, that's what they are.

Awful

5 charged with setting Fla. teen on fire: Victim hospitalized with severe burns after attack at apartment complex

Five teenagers were charged with aggravated battery Tuesday for allegedly dousing a 15-year-old with rubbing alcohol and setting him on fire because he stopped someone from stealing his father's bicycle.

The 15-year-old who flicked the lighter is being charged with attempted murder. The boy who was burned is expected to be in the hospital for 5 months.

It makes you wonder what the world is coming to. Really.

'I am not a victim. I am victorious.'

Man arrested in 1990 rape of 8-year-old: Victim says she never gave up hope that attacker would be caught

In 1990 Jennifer Schuett, an 8-year-old girl in Dickinson, Texas, was kidnapped from her room, choked, raped, her throat slashed, and left for dead. She miraculously held on and was found 14 hours later lying naked in a field by a group of children.

It took 19 years, but they have arrested a man for the attack. 40-year-old Dennis Earl Bradford has been connected to the near-deadly assault through DNA evidence.

For more on the case, check out Schuett's website, Justice for Jennifer. I am glad to see she if finally finding justice. And may her attacker get the justice he deserves.

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me

So today's my 42nd birthday. Does that mean I get the answers to life, the universe, and everything now? (Sorry, geeky Douglas Adams humour, there.)

So far it's been nice. I'm off both jobs. I slept in until 10 am (normally I have to get up by 9). I took a nice long bath. I've been listening to meditative music and looking up some stuff online. My plan is to take a gift card Margaret gave me for Yule and go to the cinema and watch Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D. Later in the evening a friend and I plan to go out for Indian food. Yay for vegetable pakora, korma, and pishwari naan!

Last night I treated myself to two very nice African violet plants from Kroger. One is a dark purple; the other a pretty medium one. They were 2/$5. I think I'll keep them at home rather than take them into the office and see how they do here. They've each got quite a few buds on them. Violets are so perky and uplifting, don't you think? I have one at the office in rest mode (not-presently-blooming) that has white blooms with purple edges, so they're all different.

I came across this true-crime story today (it's several years old now; I think the killing was in 2004)--and yes, I'm a true-crime junkie, I know. I cannot imagine a jury convicting the killer at all. I think justice was served--she plead guilty to manslaughter, was given credit for time served in jail awaiting trial, and was put on five-year probation in lieu of a 10-year sentence. I certainly don't believe she deserved life in prison or the death penalty. In 'He Was Never Going to Harm My Daughter Again', they give the details of the case. It was also presented on the show 'Snapped'. Her teenage daughter had accused her stepfather of sexually abusing her, but he convinced everyone, including the social workers, that she was lying--so well that the daughter was prosecuted for making a false claim. But a year later the daughter, now seven months' pregnant, told her mother about a videotape which the mother viewed which did, indeed, show him to be abusing her daughter. The woman took a 20-gauge shotgun and shot him in the head whilst he slept. Once the police found the tape, they let her go, but prosecutors brought the case forward, eventually making the plea offer, which she took. I think she could have gotten out of it without any conviction--a jury would not have convicted her of either murder or manslaughter for that matter, in my opinion. Especially since 1) her lawyer interviewed his sisters, whom he'd also sexually abused as both minors and adults and 2) the DNA test on the son born to the daughter showed that the stepfather was the father. He was a sick, sick bastard and although I hate to say that some people just need killing, this is a case that would be hard to argue against. I hope the family has been able to get a great deal of therapy. I know there was a potential lawsuit against the professionals who failed to believe the girl and remove the danger of more abuse, but I don't know how that has come out.

I do know I'd never agree to convict her of murder if I were on a jury, given the evidence. Yes, she did it, but given the abuse--both the heinous nature of the abuse against the daughter and then also the isolation and abuse the mother had endured, I can't call what she did cold-blooded murder, although of course she did kill him, and given her mental state at the time, manslaughter is probably appropriate. My opinion would be to let her walk, but I'd have had to have gone with manslaughter given the evidence. One thing I've learnt through jury service is you have to very carefully weigh the evidence and not let emotions sway you. Still, I'm glad I've only served on a civil case and not a murder trial. Not all cases are as easy as this one.

She was just a year younger than me. I understand how isolation and abuse can mess with your psychology--I've been there, trust me--and she's right, emotional abuse leaves some of the worst scars, even though many people see physical abuse as worse than mere words. But that's not necessarily the case at all. In my opinion, sexual abuse is the worst, but emotional abuse is a close second. It erodes self-esteem, changes how a person thinks and interacts, and can make someone nearly incapable of taking their fate into their own hands. But it's so freeing when you do get out from under the abuse, let me tell you. I'm just glad that in my own past I've been able to walk away, cut off ties, and not had to worry about being pursued further. Most abusers are cowards. But then you get the psychos who won't let go and do things like shoot up nursing homes trying to kill their ex-wife, that kind of thing.

And it's not just men--I once got caught up in a scary divorce where the wife snapped and 1) presented a false claim of threat to get an emergency protective order, listing me as a witness when there had been no threat of violence at all, 2) stalked her husband all around town (that EPO needed to be mutual, or at least against her, let me tell you), and 3) she even stole paperwork out of the records office and scribbled madly over the divorce documents, then got the commissioner to try to blackmail me into giving her back a repossessed car (she'd not made payments on) before the divorce could proceed. Fortunately everything worked out well in the end and she was exposed as the psycho crazy woman she was, the husband was able to get his divorce/remarry, and I got to keep the car. Moral of the story, never get involved with crazy people's divorces. By comparison mine was a piece of cake.

Gee, I've known a lot of crazy people in my life, people who make me seem terribly sane and rational. Fortunately they aren't in my life anymore, and let me tell you, that's a blessing.

Crazy

$21 theft, $1 million bond

A 41-year-old Kentucky man was charged with disorderly conduct at a motel, plead guilty and was sentenced to a day in jail in Hamilton County, Ohio. That should have been the end of it, right?

But he had a theft charge on his record from 18 years ago. A judge, Richard Bernat, has ordered him to be held on a $1 million bond and refused to reduce it. Gosh, he must have taken people's life savings or something.

No. Authorities say that back in 1990 he bought items at a store valued at $21.64, paying the bill with rolls of dimes. Store employees later discovered they were rolls of pennies, and he was charged with theft.

Not to play the race card, but I'd really like to know if Gary Weaver is black. What on earth is going on in the mind of this judge that a bond would be set so high for a misdemeanor from 18 years ago? Why is this man in an overcrowded jail when there are plenty of violent criminals to make an example of? And shouldn't there be a statute of limitations on this? This is so weird.

An arms race with too many bystanders

AK-47s Are Turning Up More in US

and a different use for guns

Ricker melts guns, turns metal into art

Troubling

Record-High Ratio of Americans in Prison

My own commonwealth tops the list for growth of prison population.

The largest percentage increase — 12 percent — was in Kentucky, where Gov. Steve Beshear highlighted the cost of corrections in his budget speech last month. He noted that the state's crime rate had increased only about 3 percent in the past 30 years, while the state's inmate population has increased by 600 percent.

The rate of increase in the money on prisoners is six times that spent on higher education. In fact, four states--Vermont is the top one--spend more on prisons than colleges. On average, states spend more to house one prisoner than I make in a year. Heavier incarceration failed to affect recidivism or crime rates. Many states are looking to decrease costs by concentrating on imprisoning violent offenders and finding other ways of dealing with non-violent or relatively minor offences.

One in 30 men ages 20-34 are in prison, but for Black men of the same age it's 1 in 9.

The United States is number one in terms of numbers imprisoned, even outstripping China, which has a much greater population. It also is sixth in the world in capital punishment.

You never know about that mild-mannered library assistant in your department

Man who shot cop in '69 allowed to pay $250,000 to police fund

For about three decades, Pannell raised a family and worked as a research library assistant near Toronto under the alias of Gary Freeman. He had been fighting extradition since 2004. A graying Pannell, now 58, wore a hearing aid in each ear as Circuit Judge Daniel Darcy placed him on 2 years' probation in addition to imposing 30 days in jail. An attempted murder charge was dismissed.

The police officer shot did not die, but lost much of the use of an arm and had to retire early from the force. The officer himself was one of the people who came up with the idea of a payment into the fund as part of an agreement to lighten the sentence, figuring nothing would be served by the man spending a lot of time in jail. Joseph Pannell has already served over six years in custody in Canada, where he fled to after the crime, and the US. The fund helps support families of officers who are severely wounded in the line of duty, including scholarships for their children. It is the largest payment ever made to the fund.

Okay, how often do I go straight to bed when I should?

Two news stories caught my eye, the first certainly bizaare and very sad, the second looking like it will also end badly.

Wildlife officers kill bear suspected of mauling 11-year-old boy

The kid was asleep in his family's tent when the bear cut through the tent and grabbed the youngster, sleeping bag and all. He screamed but was just gone, it happened so quickly. At first, the precision of the tear in the tent made the family think someone had abducted the child. Authorities found his body 400 yards from the camp. They have since confirmed that the bear shot was, indeed, the boy's attacker. Normally you think, don't taunt the bears, don't leave food out, and all will be well. This was scary, as there was no real warning, although other campers had apparently encountered the same bear in the area within hours of the attack.

Police search for missing pregnant woman

Her mother, having not heard from her, stopped by the house only to find it unlocked and her 2-year-old grandson alone. There were signs of a struggle, bleach was poured on the floor and a comforter and the woman's cell phone were missing. The little boy's words were chilling: 'Mommy's in the rug'. She was just days from the delivery of a little girl. Scary. Just scary. I hope they find her and the baby alive, but it does rather look like someone tried to conceal blood or otherwise hide something.

I feel for both of these families for such tragic situations.