Archive for March 14th, 2013

…saves you from trial!

Thursday, March 14th, 2013

A while back, I wrote about the case of Robert Carroll Gillham, who set fire to a Gallery Furniture store, doing $20 million in damage, and was diagnosed with a brain tumor while awaiting trial.

The HouChron has an update on the case. Good news: Mr. Gillham’s brain tumor was removed.

Good or bad news, depending on how you look at it: Mr. Gillham probably will never stand trial on the charges.

“An expert has found him incompetent and unlikely to regain competence and neither side is disputing that,” said Brett Podolsky, his attorney. “Both sides are working on an agreed order for a lengthy civil commitment.”

Summarizing, the damage that the tumor did before it was removed, the side effects of the removal, and Mr. Gillham’s age have left him in a state where both sides agree he’s not competent to stand trial.

Noted:

Gallery Furniture and [Jim] McIngvale, its colorful pitchman, are well-known Houston icons. He said Wednesday he was disappointed by the development, but had no quarrel with the criminal justice system.
“We wanted to get this behind us, and get some closure on this,” McIngvale said. “But the court system is the court system and if they say he’s incompetent, we certainly respect whatever the court system rules.”

That’s actually a pretty classy statement for a man who had $20 million worth of stuff burned up.

Posted in Clippings, Law, Neuroscience | Comments Closed

Banana republicans on trial: March 14, 2013.

Thursday, March 14th, 2013

The jury is still out in the Bell trial.

The LAT‘s “LA Now” blog ran an article yesterday speculating on the possibility of deadlock.

Over the last 2-1/2 weeks, they have struggled to reach a verdict that would answer the basic question: Could those salaries — which approached $100,000 — be excessive and still be legal?

Wouldn’t that be a kick in the head?

The general rule of thumb when it comes to deliberations tends to be one day for every week of testimony, said veteran defense attorney Paul Wallin. Anything longer, he said, is a strong sign of a hung jury or at least a deadlock on some counts.

Yesterday was day 13 of deliberations, according to the LAT. (It looks like they’re not counting the week of deliberations which ended with one juror being replaced and the judge ordering a restart.)

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, Law | Comments Closed

Happy Pi Day!

Thursday, March 14th, 2013

My celebration is subdued this year, for various reasons, but I hope all of you have a good day. I also hope that you have some pie today, whether you go out somewhere or bake your own. (And if you feel like baking your own, once again I’ll link to the King Arthur Flour pie crust video.)

Also, the good folks at O’Reilly are offering 50% off on “science and math” ebooks today, just in case you see something you’re interested in.

Posted in Books, Geek | Comments Closed