R.I.P. Benazir Bhutto

Just a little tribute to the late prime minister of Pakistan...

New Entwistle evidence

The Boston Herald has discovered some new evidence in the Neil Entwistle case: a small amount of gunshot primer residue was found on a knife in Entwistle's house. Gunshot residue is commonly found on the hands and clothing of someone who fires a gun, so this means that Entwistle probably touched the knife after he allegedly shot his wife and baby daughter.

Entwistle has told investigators that he found his wife and baby dead and was so distraught he tried to commit suicide with a knife, but could not bring himself to do it. Perhaps the part about the knife is true! Maybe Entwistle intended to carry out a murder-suicide, but the gun got jammed or was out of bullets or something... Then as a last resort he reached for a knife to kill himself, but was too afraid to. That's my theory anyway, but it could be wrong.

Check out the Herald's two recent articles:

Cracking open the Entwistle file
Entwistle lawyers target embattled ME

Merry Christmas!

Tancredo drops out

Tom Tancredo announced today that he is dropping out of the presidential race and endorsing Mitt Romney. This is a little disappointing, as Tancredo was one of the more unique candidates, with his strong anti-illegal-immigration views. Now I'm even more sure that I will vote for Ron Paul, since Tancredo was probably my second choice. Hopefully Paul will get some of Tancredo's votes now...

Ron Paul's interview

I watched Ron Paul on Glenn Beck last night, and I thought it was a great interview. I agreed with a lot of what Paul had to say, and I appreciated that he got a chance to explain his positions fully. He talked a great deal about making the government smaller and cutting government expenses.

“We spend, and then we tax, and then we borrow, and we still don’t have enough money,” he said. Paul went on to explain that he believes in cutting domestic programs and making social security optional. He also said that “You also have a right to the fruits of your labor, which is why I’m so opposed to the income tax.”

One of the reasons why I like Paul is because of his belief in the Constitution - he wants an America that's more like the America of our founding fathers. “To me the Constitution is very libertarian," he said in the interview. "The Constitution was written to restrain the government, not to restrain the people.”

As you may have seen, I added a link to his site in the sidebar; I think I've decided on him as my primary candidate. Go Ron Paul!

The jury goes back to work

The jury in the trial of Alexander Pring-Wilson met with Judge Christopher Muse today, and he basically told them to keep deliberating. He reminded the panel of what constitutes reasonable doubt - they do not need to have "proof to a mathematical certainty" but merely "an abiding conviction that the charge is true." Then he advised them to be open-minded toward each other's opinions and told them that the court most likely will not be able to find another jury "more intelligent, more impartial, or more competent than you are." If the jury still can't arrive at a verdict, then a mistrial will be declared. If this happens the prosecution is likely to try Pring-Wilson a third time.

The jury is deadlocked!

After six days of deliberations, the jury in the Pring-Wilson trial is deadlocked. The jurors announced this afternoon that they are unable to reach a consensus. Judge Christopher Muse is meeting with the jurors tomorrow to give them additional instructions, and they are expected to continue deliberating.

Pring-Wilson case goes to jury

Closing arguments took place in the Pring-Wilson trial today, and this afternoon the jury began deliberating. I couldn't be there, unfortunately, so I don't have any more details than that.

I predict that the jury will take a long time to arrive at a verdict. The evidence was not clear cut enough to make it obvious one way or another. I might be wrong, though, and I would really like to be there for the verdict, so I'll probably be calling the DA's press office from time to time to see if a verdict is imminent.

In my opinion, the jury definitely ought to find him not guilty, and I predict that they will. To convict someone in a criminal case, the prosecution needs to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and they didn't quite do that. From the evidence that was presented in court, Pring-Wilson's story makes at least as much sense as the prosecution's. I hope the jury looks objectively at the facts and makes the correct decision.