Friday round-up

Update (June 12) - The Associated Press reports that William Cozzie was sentenced yesterday to more than three years in federal prison. From the Chicago Tribune, June 11, 2009 - A Chicago police officer, William Cozzi, faces up to 8 years in prison when he is sentenced on Thursday afternoon for the videotaped beating of a man handcuffed and shackled to a wheelchair in 2005. William Cozzi pleaded guilty in January to using excessive force when he struck Randy Miles, a hospital patient, about a dozen times with a sap, a leather spatula-shaped object.

From the Associated Press, June 11, 2009 - A report from the Government Accountability Office has found that nearly one-third of the nation’s polling places failed to provide access to voters in wheelchairs in last November’s election. The study found that 23 percent of polling places denied privacy to voters with disabilities, and 73 percent had physical features that could impede access to people with disabilities. Hundreds of millions of federal dollars have been given to states to make polling places more accessible since the 2002 passage of the Help America Vote Act.

From the Miami Herald in Miami, Florida, June 11, 2009 - "A Miami man caring for a severely disabled daughter is suing Medicaid for its refusal to pay for her diapers." The man, who is widowed and unemployed, says he can't afford the diapers and other necessities for his family, and has asked Medicaid, the state's insurance program for the needy, to help. Medicaid administrators have refused to pay. They haven't explained why they won't pay, other than say the items aren't in the state's plan, say the man's attorneys. Two other states had excluded diapers from their Medicaid plans, Arizona and Louisiana, said one of the man's lawyers with Legal Services of Greater Miami. Both states lost court challenges. "Diapers may not appear to be medical equipment or devices," said another attorney who works with Florida Legal Services. But ''there is a whole other world of children who are so disabled that they are incontinent,'' she added.

From the Associated Press in Paris, Texas, June 11, 2009 - An 18-year-old teenager with severe intellectual disabilities was sentenced to 100 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting his 6-year-old neighbor. Aaron Hart of Paris pleaded guilty to five counts, including aggravated sexual assault and indecency by contact. According to the report, the judge decided to stack the sentences against Hart after jurors settled on two five-year terms and three 30-year terms. The judge said neither he nor jurors liked the idea of prison for Hart but they felt there was no other option.

From the Fresno Bee in Fresno, California, June 10, 2009 - The mother of a California teenager with Down syndrome said she is frustrated that her son and 10 other students in his special education class were left out of the 2009 Madera High School yearbook. The district blamed the oversight on new software that weeded out photos of students whose identification numbers were not in the school system since the Madera County Office of Education, not the high school, runs the special-education class.

From the Mid Hudson News, Rockland County, New York, June 9, 2009 - A Congers woman, who cared for a disabled man, has been arrested and charged with stealing thousands of dollars from him. Debra Ann Mills, 53, was charged with grand larceny in the third degree. It is alleged that Ms Mills stole over $3,000 from a trust fund for the benefit of the man over a 13 month period. She had access to the fund set up for him by his late mother.

From Housing Wire, June 9, 2009 - An annual congressional report by the US Department of Housing in Urban Development says consumers filed a record 10,552 fair housing discrimination complaints in fiscal year 2008. Discrimination based on disability accounted for 44% of the complaints while 35% of complaints alleged discrimination based on race. Complaints were filed on the basis of alleged discrimination in terms, conditions, privileges, services, or facilities involved in the sale or rental of housing.

From The Washington Post, June 9, 2009 - The growing population of elderly and disabled people in the Washington area is threatening to overwhelm the door-to-door regional paratransit service that Metro operates for those who are unable to ride the subway or bus, according to officials.

From 24dash.com: More than half of British society sees disabled people as "inferior", according to research published June 8. Disability charity Scope said it found 53% viewed disabled people "in a negative way". The equality rights campaigners said an online survey also found 38% of respondents thought the disabled were a "drain on resources". However, the findings showed a strong public backing for action in favour of disabled people's equality. (h/t Media dis&dat)

From the New York Times, June 9, 2009 - A national survey by the National Alliance for Caregiving and Evercare, a division of the United Health Group, finds that the economic crisis has dealt a heavy blow to the estimated 44 million Americans who care for an aging or disabled relative or spouse. According to the survey, one in six caregivers said they had lost a job during the downturn. Some 21 percent said they had to share housing with family members to save money. At the same time, government and non-profit organizations that usually provide relief are being cut in the downturn.

From the Chicago Tribune, June 5, 2009 - The federal government sued United Airlines on Thursday, saying the carrier made it too hard for workers who became disabled to switch to other jobs they could perform. The lawsuit accuses United of "malicious and reckless conduct" and seeks lost wages and punitive damages for victims and an order that United stop discriminating against disabled workers.

Sex crime reports

Grand Rapids, Michigan, June 10, 2009 - Grand Rapid News reports that a former employee of Rest Haven Homes has been charged with sexually assaulting a resident with developmental disabilities between March and May last year. Daniel Griswold, 26, of Wyoming, was arraigned Friday on single counts of gross indecency between a male and female, and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Columbus, Ohio, June 9, 2009 - According to Fox News, a former caregiver at Ohio Hospital for Psychiatry, Christopher Wiggins, has been charged with sexual assaulting a 17-year-old girl who is being treated as a patient. According to investigators, the assault took place inside the facility. Columbus Police were first notified after another patient told staff something was wrong. Wiggins is also under investigation for other allegations.

Mableton, Georgia (June 3, 2009) - As reported by WSBTV, 73-year-old William Stubbs was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a disabled 61-year-old woman at Emory-Adventist Hospital in Smyrna. According to police, Stubbs, inappropriately touched the woman while visiting the hospital on May 24. He is charged with aggravated sexual battery, sexual battery and exploitation of the elderly, according to his arrest warrant.

Staunton, Virginia, June 1, 2009 - News Virginia reports that a 73-year-old Staunton man has been charged with sexually assaulting a 26-year-old blind and developmentally disabled woman at his home on Sunday morning. John Oehlerking is charged with forcible sodomy. According to an investigator with the sheriff's office, Oehlerking and the women were acquaintances.

Review of Disability Studies, Volume 5, Issue 2, on-line now

To check out the latest issue of RDS (Volume 5, Issue 2) free on-line, click here.

Here is the table of contents:

Research Articles

Gender and Disability: A First Look at Rehabilitation Syllabi and a Call to Action p. 3, Allen N. Lewis, Sarah Jane Brubaker,& Amy J. Armstrong, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA

A Race Apart: Genocide and the Protection of Disabled Persons Under International Law p. 15, A. Rahman Ford, University of Pennsylvania, USA

Promising Interventions for Promoting STEM Fields to Students Who Have Disabilities p. 29, Sheryl Burgstahler, University of Washington, USA & Chuan Chang, University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA

Essays and Creative Works

Little Displays: The Photographs of Ricardo Gil p. 48, Ann Millet, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA

Book and Media Reviews

Quick Guides to Inclusion: Ideas for Educating Students with Disabilities p. 57, Reviewed by Megan A. Conway

My Body of Knowledge: Stories of Disability, Healing, and Life p. 5, Reviewed by Steven E. Brown

The Facts of Life and More: Sexuality and Intimacy for People with Intellectual Disabilities p. 58, Reviewed by Rhonda S. Black

Instructional Materials for Teaching Sociology & Disability Studies p. 60, Reviewed by Heng-hao Chang, Disability Studies Dissertation Abstracts

(Via Megan A. Conway, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Editor, Review of Disability Studies (RDS)www.rds.hawaii.edu, Training Coordinator, OPE/IST Project http://www.ist.hawaii.edu/ Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa)

Lawsuit alleging gross negligence filed against PA psychiatric facility

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 9, 2009 - A 15-year-old girl and her parents have filed a lawsuit against Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic after she was allegedly sexually assaulted while she was a patient at the facility last summer. As reported by the Post Gazette:

The girl, who is not named in the complaint to protect her identity, claims that she was in her room about 9:50 p.m. on July 26 when a 16-year-old male patient entered and sexually assaulted her.

The lawsuit alleges that the day before the attack she told a doctor there that the boy had been acting inappropriately with her and that he had been intrusive.

According to the report, "the claim alleges gross negligence and corporate gross negligence". It also includes charges that the staff failed to properly supervise adolescent patients and allowed male and female patients to be housed on the same unit.

The story is full is here.

Wednesday blog-around

Recommended reading:

The social reality of a new disability by Brilliant Mind Broken Body

FYI by Emma over a Wheelchair Princess

Dancing in Your Bones by Wheelchair Dancer

Dora Raymaker's two posts about Susan Boyle and disablist attitudes: Ability and Vulnerability and Appearance and Expectation

Fatal fire in Pittsfield, New Hampshire

NECN in Pittsfied, New Hampshire reports that a man and his disabled daughter died in fire that broke out in their second floor apartment yesterday morning (June 8) in Pittsfield, New Hampshire. An excerpt from the article:

The fire broke out shortly after five o'clock in a four unit apartment house on Main Street.

Before long, more than 40 firefighters were on scene, but it was too late.

The victims died in a second floor apartment and were found near the front of the building.

Witnesses say that the father had run out to get help but went back inside to try and rescue his daughter.

The wife and mother of the victims was not at home at the time.

The only other tenant of the building was able to get out safely.

It is not yet known how the fire started. The names of the man and his daughter have not been released but neighbors say they lived in the building for the last eight years or so.

Op-ed: "Does disability really need to be 'fixed'?"

"Does disability really need to be fixed?" is the title of this op-ed by John Lee Clark in Sunday's Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota). John Lee Clark is a deaf-blind writer from St. Paul whose work has appeared in many publications. His chapbook of poems is "Suddenly Slow" (Handtype Press, 2008). Here is the beginning of his piece:

Every time there is an advance in surgical audiology or genetic engineering, a wave of alarm ripples through the signing community. Doctors are intent on eradicating deafness. They subscribe to the belief that there's something wrong with being deaf. So they make it their business to try to fix it, hoping to ultimately wipe it out from humankind.

But those who are culturally deaf are worried about the future of their language and their way of life, both of which are beloved to them. I can identify with their fears, because I was born deaf to an all-deaf family. American Sign Language is my native language. I graduated from the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf, where I enjoyed a rich education. I went to Gallaudet University, the world's premier institution of higher education with a mainly deaf student body.

It was where my parents met and where I fell in love with a deaf woman who is now my wife. Although our three sons are hearing, ASL is their native language, and they are members of the signing community as much as we are. I love being deaf and would not change it for the world.

The article in full is here.

NCIL annual march and rally Washington DC on Monday, June 8

From the AAPD Justice for All blog:

As a part of its Annual Conference, the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) will again be marching for the rights of people with disabilities through the streets of Washington, on its way to an energetic rally on the West Front Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

Speakers, including Senator Tom Harkin, will energize conference participants and other advocates as they prepare for their visits on Capitol Hill. NCIL would like to extend an invitation to join its march and rally to fellow CCD members and others in their organizations. If you are interested in participating in the march, here are the details:

WHEN? Monday, June 8

WHERE? Meet outside of the Grand Hyatt Washington, at the corner of 11th and G Streets NW. March participants will be organized into regions, so find the state you wish to join!

TIME? Begin lining up at from 9:30-10 a.m. The march will last until about 11 a.m. at the Capitol.

If you would like to skip the march and join us at the Capitol, here are the details:

WHEN? Monday, June 8

WHERE? West Front Lawn of the U.S. Capitol

TIME? 11:30a.m. – 12:30 p.m.


Later in the day, a Congressional briefing on long-term-care and supports will occur:


WASHINGTON, DC -- Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Chairman Edward M. Kennedy is committed to health reform that ensures vulnerable populations have access to coverage that meets their needs, including long-term services and support. On Monday, June 8, 2009 the Committee will host an open press Congressional briefing to provide an update on current HELP efforts to include long-term services and support in health reform.

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), a HELP Committee member and long-time advocate for individuals with disabilities, will be joined by senior Congressional staffers Connie Garner and Lee Perselay and Dr. Barbara Manard, from the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA). Also participating: Mike Oxford of the Topeka Independent Living Resource Center and two-time Purple Heart Recipient and disabled Vietnam Veteran John Henry Douglas from Lake City, Florida.

WHO:


* Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA)
* Connie Garner, Disability and Special Needs Population Policy Director for Senator Kennedy
* Lee Perselay, Disability Counsel for Senator Harkin
* Barbara Manard, Ph.D., Vice-President of Long-Term Care/Health Strategies for the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA)
* Mike Oxford, Executive Director of the Topeka Independent Living Resource Center
* John Henry Douglas, Disabled Vietnam Veteran and recipient of two Purple Hearts, Lake City, FL

WHAT: Congressional briefing on long-term services and support


WHEN: 2 p.m. Monday, June 8, 2009

WHERE: Russell Caucus Room (SR 325)

Hate crime charges

From the Los Angeles Times (June 4, 2009):

A 41-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and committing a hate crime after he allegedly threw a metal bolt at participants running in the Special Olympics Torch Run in Valencia, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

Deputies from the sheriff’s Santa Clarita station were running with the children in the torch run at about 3:25 p.m. at the intersection of McBean Parkway and Arroyo Park Drive when a man inside a vehicle began yelling at the children to get off the road, using a derogatory term regarding their sexual orientation, sheriff's officials said in a statement.

The man, identified as David Robert Schwartz, allegedly threw the bolt at the children, which came close to two of them. Schwartz was taken into custody a short time later. Schwartz was being held at the Santa Clarita jail in lieu of a $50,000 bail.

Detroit special education student handcuffed to school door for four hours

From Click on Detroit in Michigan, (June 6, 2009) (see also WJBK-FoxNews and AP/Chicago Tribune):

DETROIT -- The Detroit Public School District has launched an investigation into the treatment of a special education student.

The student was reportedly handcuffed to the principal's door following a fight at Sampson-Webber Elementary School on June 1.

According to school board member Marie Thorton, the school staff said the principal ordered a Detroit Public Schools police officer to handcuff the boy to a door in her office.

Thornton said the boy, a fourth-grader, remained handcuffed from 11:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. when he was allowed to go home.

The full story is here.

(h/t Patricia E Bauer)

Friday round-up

From the Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia (June 4, 2004) - Damages of $750,000 have been awarded against the owner of Dote de Neige Home for Adults, an assisted living facility in Newport News, after charges were brought against a former staffer who is accused of sexually assaulting a 55-year-old intellectually disabled man. The case against the assisted living facility and its owner, Rose Daniels Potter, was brought by the sister of the man who was a resident at the home. The lawsuit claimed the home and Potter failed in their duty to exercise "reasonable care" when they hired Junious Boyd Batten, 40, of Newport News, as a certified nursing assistant, despite his previous criminal record.

From the Providence Journal (June 4, 2004) - About 2,000 people rallied outside the Rhode Island State House this week to protest possible cuts in services for people with developmental disabilities in a time of economic uncertainty. The protest was organized in response to recent comments by the chairman of the House Finance Committee saying that budget-weary lawmakers had not ruled out sweeping cuts to human-service programs for elderly people and those with disabilities.

From the Associated Press in Orlando, Florida (June 4, 2009) - Activists for people with disabilities brought their Segways into a federal court June 3 to urge a judge to reject a settlement between Walt Disney World and three visitors restricting the use of the personal transporters at the resort. Two-dozen activists parked Segways in the back of the courtroom where U.S. District Judge George Presnell is considering whether to approve the settlement between Disney and three visitors who were prohibited from bringing the vehicles into the theme parks.

From the On Call blog for the Palm Beach Post in Florida (June 4, 2009) - A West Palm Beach nursing home has been fined $16,000 by state regulators after a patient was found injured on the floor with maggots crawling out of his leg cast. The Azalea Court nursing home was faulted for failing to have a comprehensive care plan for the resident that included caring for his broken leg. “The 120-bed facility failed to provide the necessary care and services to a resident with the cast and wound of lower leg, resulting in an infestation of maggots,” stated the state inspection report dated August 2008. (h/t to Media dis&dat)

From BBC News in the United Kingdom (June 3, 2009) - Debbie Purdy, a British woman who has multiple sclerosis, has asked the House of Lords to clarify its law on assisted suicide. Ms Purdy plans to go abroad to Swiss clinic Dignitas to end her life, but fears her husband may be prosecuted if he helps. Ms Purdy has already lost High and Appeal court cases and if she loses this challenge the only option open to her would be to go to the European Court of Human Rights. Lord Pannick QC, who is representing Ms Purdy, said she and her husband wanted to know whether he was likely to be prosecuted and what criteria the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) takes into account when deciding whether to bring a charge under the Suicide Act.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (June 2, 2009) - A group of disabled people rallied against a state Senate-passed budget proposal May 31, saying that deep cuts to key programs would force more disabled people out of their homes and into nursing homes.

From the Concord Monitor in New Hampshire, (June 2, 2009) - Disability advocate David Robar died of pneumonia on Sunday. He was 44. After recovering from a motorcycle accidentthat left him paralyzed below the chest at age 26, Robar became an advocate in Concord and Washington, D.C., for people with disabilities, "winning over lawmakers as he explained how various bills would give people like him the rights assumed by other Americans."

Shylea Thomas: an update


The Associated Press in Flint, Michigan reported yesterday that a hearing began on Tuesday to determine if Shylea Thomas's aunt and adoptive mother Lorrie Thomas will stand trial for murder and other charges in connection with her death. As conveyed in an earlier Frida post, the emaciated body of 9-year-old Shylea Thomas, who was quadraplegic, was found on April 20 in a public storage facility. 39-year-old Lorrie Thomas was arraigned on six charges, including second-degree murder, child abuse, tampering with evidence, welfare fraud and removing a body with permission. According to authorities, an examination of the evidence showed that Shylea was extremely neglected and died of malnutrition about six weeks before her body was found.


The full article is here.

Home care worker neglect charges

Saint Paul, Minnesota (June 3, 2009) - According to Pioneer Press/Twin Cities, a home care worker has been shown on videotape neglecting to feed two adolescent teens with disabilities in her care. The tape also shows her "sleeping on the job," and in one case, having sex with a male friend in the children's living area. From the article:

Concerns about the home care worker surfaced in late October after the parents took the brothers to an emergency room because of their alarming weight loss.

The children receive 24-hour nursing care due to their myotubular myopathy, a condition that severely diminishes their ability to move, eat and breathe on their own. After a doctor suggested that the family's overnight nursing aide might not be conducting their tube feedings, the family reviewed videotape from their home.

While the aide was recording regular feedings in medical records, a week's worth of tape showed that she wasn't conducting all of the scheduled feedings and was turning off the boys' feeding pumps for short periods.

The tape also showed the worker sleeping on the job and leaving for prolonged smoking breaks, and in one case she "had sexual intercourse with a male friend in the children's living quarters," according to the May 21 state report, which was released Tuesday.

The worker, who has been fired, was employed by Divine HealthCare Network, which serves eight counties and has been operating for eight years. According to the report, no penalties have been issued by the state against the agency, and there have been other substantiated cases of abuse or neglect against the agency since 2005.

A nurse from the agency said she had noticed that the aide was writing the exact same medical reports every night and was leaving out key information. The nurse also told investigators she had noticed from daily reports that the children had been losing weight.

See also this report in the Star Tribune.

School janitor charged with sexual assault

Orange, California (June 3) - According to KTLA, 49-year-old Luis Mejia, who is a janitor at El Modena High School, has been charged with sexually assaulting a young girl in the school's special education program. It is alleged that the assaults took place in his office at the school before, during and after classes, for a period of four months, starting in December 2008. From the article:

Prosecutors say Mejia lured the girl with money and gifts.

He also exchanged 'love' notes with the girl as well as more than 100 calls and text messages, according to prosecutors.

During the incidents, Mejia allegedly tricked another janitor to cover a video surveillance camera with tape when he went into his office alone with the victim. According to ABC7, he told the employee there was going to be painting done and the camera had to be protected from any paint.

Mejia has been an employee of the school for 12 years, according to the report, and is now on adminstrative leave while he faces charges. He faces a maximum of 12 years and eight months in prison if convicted.

Sexual assault and prostitution charges

Appleton, Wisconsin, USA (June 2) - John Perry-Rydz, 25, and his wife, Elizabeth Perry-Rydz, 28, were charged on Friday with the sexual assault and prostitution, sometimes in exchange for gifts, of a 21-year-old woman with developmental disabilities. According to the criminal complaint, the assaults happened over a two-year period, beginning when the woman was 19-year-old. As reported in the Post Crescent:

On at least two of those occasions, the victim was asked for sexual favors in exchange for items purchased for her by John Perry-Rydz. One of those was his payment for a belly button piercing and on another occasion, in exchange for a video game and some articles of clothing.

The couple are scheduled to appear in court on June 16 on two counts of second-degree sexual assault and two counts of prostitution.

According to the article, John Perry-Rydz has been held in jail since March 25 on 22 counts of possessing child pornography and additional charges. He pleaded not guilty by reason of "mental disease or defect" to those charges and a trial date is pending.

Dorothy Dixon update: Jury trial for Michelle Riley has been scheduled

Via the blogger at What About Our Daughters comes word that the jury trial for Michelle Riley, who has been charged with murder in the killing last year of Dorothy Dixon, has been scheduled for August 17, 2009, at 9.00am. For readers unfamiliar with this case, Dorothy Dixon was a 29-year-old, pregnant, African American woman with an intellectual disability who died in January, 2008, from the injuries she had accumulated after being subjected to months of physical abuse. According to the coroners report, Dorothy had been beaten, scalded, burned with a glue gun, as well as shot repeatedly with a BB gun. Her unborn child was delivered stillborn during her autopsy. Michelle Riley, 35, Judy Woods, 43, three teenagers and a 12-year-old boy have been charged with her murder.

The full post at What About Our Daughters is here.

Wednesday blog-around

Recommended reading:

Cripchick - On Gender and Disability (and the discussion that follows in the comments section)

ABFH (Whose Planet is it Anyway) - A Diagnostic Label is Not an Insult

Dora Raymaker (one of the authors over at the Autism.change.org) - Cross-civil rights on Marriage discrimination

Family sues NYC, alleging daughter is being abused by other students on school bus

From WABC-TV in New York (June 1, 2009):

NEW YORK -- The family of a young disabled girl is suing the city, claiming she is being abused by a fellow student on her school bus and even inside the school. Michael Tucker says his daughter, Tytia, was born with brain damage and cerebral palsy.

After several years as a special education student at P.S. 396, we're told Tytia never had a problem until last December.

On a bus outside the school, she was allegedly bitten on the face by another special education student. Tucker says there were four other incidents of biting or scratching.

The latest incident is said to have happened on May 28, apparently leading to a mark on Tytia's face.

The Department of Education told Eyewitness News that according to the Superintendent responsible for the school, all of the complaints involving Tytia were investigated and were unfounded.

But Tucker showed us a report from the Office of School Health, indicating that Tytia suffered a face bite back in December. Also, the school bus driver filed an incident report.

Tennessee sees large rise in disability and religion based hate crimes

Nashville, Tennessee (May 31, 2009) - A report released by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says there was a big increase in 2008 in bias against people based on disability and religion. According to the report, the only decline in reported cases of hate crimes in Tenessee was in crimes based on ethnicity. As reported in AP/Chattanooga Times Free Press and the Tennesseean, crimes against people with disabilities rose 88 percent to 42 total offenses, as the total number of hate crimes in the state rose 38 percent to 515 in 2008. Most of the hate crimes against people with disabilities involved theft, assault and burglaries. Experts said the increase could be attributed to the poor economy. From the article in the Chattanooga Times Free Press:

“When people are feeling desperate and pressured in times like these … you’re going to try to find the most vulnerable person to victimize,” said Carol Westlake, executive director of the Tennessee Disability Coalition.

and

“I think we sort of overall are seeing, particularly in Tennessee, a little bit of a general backlash against people with disabilities,” Westlake said. “I think that has to do with state budget crisis and money being tight everywhere.

“There’s this underlying message that too often people with disabilities aren’t as valued because there’s a perception they’re not contributing to society and the economics of the state,” making victimization easier, she said.

The article in full is here.

(h/t Patricia E Bauer)

Woman charged in husband's death

North Austin, Texas, USA - Katherine Yarbrough, 52, was charged last Thursday with murder for allegedly killing her husband, 62-year-old Lloyd Yarbrough, by injecting an overdose of prescription pills through his feeding tube. As reported in the Austin American-Statesman (May 29), it is believed that Ms Yarbrough killed her husband, who was unable to move or feed himself because of viral encephalitis, which involves swelling of the brain and nerve damage, because "she had grown exhausted from caring for him for years." Mr Yarbrough had been in that condition for two years. According to the article:

Although investigators initially believed that Lloyd Yarbrough's death was from natural causes and that Katherine Yarbrough tried to kill herself afterward out of grief, Katherine Yarbrough made comments to investigators that made them think a crime had been committed, the affidavit said.

Sgt. Joseph Chacon of the Austin Police Department said Katherine Yarbrough's goal was to kill her husband and herself with the pills.

According to the article, police found Ms Yarbrough and her husband in their home last Wednesday after a home-healthcare agency reported that they had not heard from the them. The couple were taken to a hospital, where Mr Yarbrough died. After she was revived, Ms Yarbrough began suggesting that she killed her husband, said a Travis County seriff's spokesman, who described Mr Yarbrough as requiring 24-hour care from his wife and the healthcare company.

Ms Yarbrough was in the Travis County Jail on Friday with bail set at $20,000. She faces life in prison if convicted.