Saturday, June 15, 2013
The History of Dueling
Famous duels
Dueling was amazingly popular in the United States from the country’s birth until about the 1860s. Before taking office, Andrew Jackson is thought to have fought in more than one hundred duels, almost all with pistols, and lived to tell the tale. One book, British Dueling Pistols, by John Atkinson, details that only some 6% of pistol duels ended in fatalities. However, the practice of firing away was not universally accepted.National anthem composer Francis Scott Key, naval hero Steven Decatur, and the first Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton all died from pistol shots received in duels. Hamilton, who had fought in 11 previous honor trials, fired first and into the air while then-Vice President Aaron Burr returned fire and mortally wounded the man who now graces the $10 bill. Celebrated Russian author Alexander Pushkin, survivor of 29 previous duels before being killed in his 30th, is another example of how the practice of ‘shooting away’ was not universally followed.
By the 1860s, dueling had largely been regulated away but this did not stop it from becoming a sport in the 1906 and 1912 Olympics—with the shooters firing at mannequins dressed in frock coats. In most cases, the ‘high-noon’ gunfights of the Wild West were more Hollywood than the real deal although notable exceptions would have absolutely shattered the gentlemen of the 1700s sensibilities.
Whitey Bulger's Gun Collection
Guns.com
Jurors in the James “Whitey” Bulger trial were presented with photos of the notorious gangster’s massive collection of firearms that included six machineguns.
James “Whitey” Bulger
Bugler, now 83, was a leading organized crime figure in Boston, Massachusetts. Known for his Robin-Hood-style of social banditry, he was also the mastermind of numerous protection rackets, alleged murders and even a stoolie for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. But “Whitey” fled Boston in 1994 after receiving a tip from his former FBI handler and had been on the run until his 2011 capture in Santa Monica, California.
After Bulger’s arrest, authorities said they found about $800,000 in cash and more than 30 guns in his apartment. Retired state police Col. Thomas Foley identified weapons found during a 2000 investigation that included six machineguns and multiple revolvers and automatic pistols.
America Is Breeding A New Generation Of Criminals By Sending Too Many Teenagers To Jail
Business Insider
Sending teenage offenders to juvenile hall makes them 13 percentage points less likely to finish high school and 22 percentage points more likely to be imprisoned as adults.
That's the finding of a new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper by Anna Aizer and Joseph Doyle.
The authors looked at defendants in Chicago juvenile courts between 1991 and 2006. Offenders were randomly placed in front of different judges, some of whom were more likely to send defendants to jail than others.
Joe Scarborough Accuses the NRA of Race Baiting
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Texas Dad Charged with a Misdemeanor
Local news reports
Killeen police Thursday arrested and charged the father of a 2-year-old child injured in an accidental shooting May 31.
Stephan Lemar Hicks, 24, turned himself in to police after a warrant was issued for his arrest Thursday on a charge of making a firearm accessible to a child, a misdemeanor.
Hicks, an Army specialist, is assigned to the 411th Military Police Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade.
Hicks remains in Killeen City Jail. He will be arraigned today, with bond suggested at $5,000.
The child suffered serious injury after being shot with a .40-caliber pistol left loaded and within reach, Killeen police spokeswoman Carroll Smith said.
“She’s going to be OK, but she has some pretty bad injuries,” Smith said.
At night, Hicks would leave the weapon accessible to him, according to police. In the morning, he would typically place it in a secure place in his home.
However, on the day of the shooting, he forgot to replace the weapon, Smith said.
He forgot. Anybody could do that. Certainly, a misdemeanor is all that merits.
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Friday, June 14, 2013
Four Killed in Murder-Suicide in St. Louis
Family members arrive after four people were found dead inside A K Home Health Care, located inside the Cherokee Place Business Incubator, on Thursday, June 13, 2013. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com
STL Today
The operator of a home health care business gunned down three people who worked there — including his business partner — Thursday afternoon before taking his own life, police and others said.
The shots were fired about 1:40 p.m. at A K Home Health Care in the Cherokee Place Business Incubator at 2715 Cherokee Street, police say.
Officers recovered a semiautomatic handgun at the crime scene.
Police identified the gunman as Ahmed Dirir, 59, of the 900 block of Carr Avenue.
The victims were Khadra Muse, 44, of Indian Circle Drive in Olivette; Seaeed Abdulla, 29, of the 700 block of Cole Street; and Bernice Solomon-Redd, 54, of the 2400 block of Ridge Avenue in East St. Louis.
St. Louis Police Capt. Michael Sack said surveillance video showed the shooter opened fire after having a brief argument with others inside the business.
“We don’t know if this is a prior thing that carried over,” Sack said.
Sack said the victims all appeared to have connections to the health care business. Dirir and Muse are listed in public records as owners.
Police sources and relatives at the scene said Abdulla was married to Dirir’s step-daughter and that Muse and Abdulla were also related by marriage.
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