Expect Delays On Highway 29 In North Escambia
May 28, 2014
Drivers can expect minor delays on Highway 29 in North Escambia through Friday. From 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. each day, crews will perform routine maintenance work along Highway 29 from Neal Road in Molino to the Alabama state line in Century.
FDOT said motorists are reminded to travel with care through the work zone and to watch for construction equipment and workers entering and exiting the roadway.
All planned activities are weather dependent and may be re-scheduled in the event of inclement weather.
U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Florida’s Use Of IQ Rule In Death Cases
May 28, 2014
Siding with a Death Row inmate convicted of killing a pregnant woman in 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Florida’s use of a “rigid” IQ score in determining whether defendants should be shielded from execution because they are intellectually disabled.
The court, in a 5-4 decision, said Florida’s use of an IQ score of 70 “creates an unacceptable risk that persons with intellectual disability will be executed, and thus is unconstitutional.” In 2002, the court found that executing people who are intellectually disabled, or in the common terminology at the time, mentally retarded, violates the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment
Attorneys for Freddie Lee Hall, on Death Row for the February 1978 murder of 21-year-old Karol Hurst after she left a Leesburg grocery store, presented evidence in state courts that he had an IQ score of 71. The Florida Supreme Court, however, said Florida’s legal threshold for considering an inmate intellectually disabled was a score of 70.
Writing for the majority in Tuesday’s U.S. Supreme Court opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy said using the 70 IQ score as a cutoff prevents courts from considering other types of potentially important evidence in determining whether a person is intellectually disabled. That evidence can include such issues as social adaptation, medical history, behavioral records, school reports and family circumstances.
“Intellectual disability is a condition, not a number,” wrote Kennedy, who was joined in the majority by justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. “Courts must recognize, as does the medical community, that the IQ test is imprecise. This is not to say that an IQ test score is unhelpful. It is of considerable significance, as the medical community recognizes. But in using these scores to assess a defendant’s eligibility for the death penalty, a state must afford these test scores the same studied skepticism that those who design and use the tests do, and understand that an IQ test score represents a range rather than a fixed number. A state that ignores the inherent imprecision of these tests risks executing a person who suffers from intellectual disability.”
But Justice Samuel Alito wrote in a dissent that the 2002 case, known as Atkins v. Virginia, relied on states to determine how best to identify defendants with intellectual disabilities. The dissent also took issue with parts of the majority opinion about looking at a person’s adaptive behavior in making such determinations.
“No consensus exists among states or medical practitioners about what facts are most critical in analyzing that factor, and its measurement relies largely on subjective judgments,” wrote Alito, who was joined in the minority by Chief Justice John Roberts and justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. “Florida’s approach avoids the disparities that reliance on such a factor tends to produce. It thus promotes consistency in the application of the death penalty and confidence that it is not being administered haphazardly.”
Tuesday’s decision sends Hall’s case back to Florida courts for further consideration. Hall, now 68, is being held at Union Correctional Institution.
Hall was sent to Death Row in the murder of Hurst, whose body was found in a wooded area of Sumter County. Hall and another man, Mack Ruffin, accosted Hurst after she left a Leesburg grocery store. The woman, who was pregnant, was beaten, shot and sexually assaulted, according to court records.
After leaving the scene of the Hurst murder, the men went to a Hernando County convenience store, where a clerk became suspicious and called police. Hall and Ruffin were arrested a short time later and were also charged with shooting to death sheriff’s Deputy Lonnie Coburn outside the store, the court records say.
The Hall case has bounced through the courts for more than three decades, with his IQ a heavily debated issue. The state attorney general’s office argued in a brief last year that the U.S. Supreme Court should not take up the case, in part pointing to findings by the Florida Supreme Court that evidence during a 2009 hearing indicated Hall had an IQ higher than 70.
“Not only did the Florida Supreme Court hold that Hall has not produced an IQ score falling in the range of mental retardation, the true facts are that Hall has scored as high as 80 on intelligence testing, and such a score is well outside any possible diagnosis of mental retardation,” Senior Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Nunnelley wrote in a July brief. “This court (the U.S. Supreme Court) has long recognized that its jurisdiction does not lie to review decisions from state courts that rest on adequate and independent state law grounds, which this most certainly is.”
But Kennedy’s majority opinion Tuesday took issue with the state’s use of what he described as the “rigid” 70 IQ score.
“Florida’s rule disregards established medical practice in two interrelated ways,” Kennedy wrote. “It takes an IQ score as final and conclusive evidence of a defendant’s intellectual capacity, when experts in the field would consider other evidence. It also relies on a purportedly scientific measurement of the defendant’s abilities, his IQ score, while refusing to recognize that the score is, on its own terms, imprecise.”
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Molino Man Sentenced On Drug And Traffic Charges
May 28, 2014
A Molino man has been sentenced to just under a year in jail on a variety of drug and traffic charges.
Charles Anthony Carpenter, 57, was sentenced to 11 months and 15 days after being convicted of possession of controlled substance without a prescription, possession of drug paraphernalia, petit theft, committing theft and resisting recovery of property, brawling, operating a motor vehicle while driver’s license revoked as a habitual traffic offender and attached registration license plate not assigned.
Carpenter was sentenced by Judge Terry Terrell.
Northview Presents Grade 9-11 Awards
May 28, 2014
Northview High School presented end of the year awards to students in grades 9-11 on Tuesday.
Awards were presented to the following:
English 1 Honors
Highest Average: David Weber
Exemplary: Alyssa Borelli
English 1
Highest Average: Hadley Woodfin
Exemplary: Victoria Amerson
English II
Highest average: Jensyn Warner
Exemplary: Lillie Allen
English II Honors
Highest Average: Jessica Amerson
Exemplary: Niki Coleman
Algebra II Honors
Highest Average: Jessica Amerson
Exemplary: Tristan Brown
Algebra II
Highest Average: Kendal Cobb
Exemplary: Penny Banda
Pre: Cal
Exemplary: Kelton Wooten
9th Grade Reading
Highest Average: Daniel Nielsen
Exemplary: Desmone Knight
10th Grade Reading
Highest Average:Jensyn Warner
Exemplary: Kasey Dorch
PE
9th: Brandon Korinchak& Jasmine Elliott
10th : Zachary Calloway & Savanna Roux
11th: Tristan Brown & Angelique Brown
Girl’s Weightlifting
9th: Victoria Amerson
10th: Hanna Ging
11th: Anissa Smiley
Anatomy Honors
Highest Average: Niki Coleman
Exemplary: Megan Bryan
Anatomy
Highest Average: Adrianne Lee
Exemplary: Rachel Sepulveda
Physics
Highest Average: Joshua Borelli
Biology
Highest Average: Lillie Allen
Exemplary: Elizabeth Sanders
Guitar I
Highest Average: Abbie Johnson
Exemplary: David Weber
Guitar II
Exemplary: Austin Adams
Music Theatre
Exemplary: Madison Weber
Exemplary Ag Student Award
9th Grade Agriscience Foundations: Mitchell Singleton
10th Grade Agriscience Technology: Haylee Weaver
11th Grade AgriscienceTecghnology: Tiffany Cruce
Sociology
Highest Average: Kyndall Hall
Exemplary Student: Kayla Fears
Biology Honors
Highest Average: Jessica Amerson
Exemplary: Haylee Weaver
American Legion Academic
c/PO1 Jason Perritt
American Legion Leadership
c/PO1 Kyle Smith
Voice of Democracy Essay Contest
1st Place: MoriahMcGahan
2nd place: Madison Weber
3rd Place: Jessica Amerson
9th Grade Reading
Highest Average : Victoria Amerson
Exemplary : Chelsea Waters
Advanced Reading
Highest Average: Emily Heard
Exemplary : Jasmine Elliott
World History Honors
Highest Average: Jessica Amerson
Exemplary: Madison Weber
World History
Highest Average: Lawrence Douglas
Exemplary: Carly Ward
Spanish I
Highest Average: David Weber
Exemplary : Kelton Wooten
Spanish II
Highest Average: Jessica Amerson
Exemplary: Jordan Taylor
Honors English III:
Highest Average: Ryan Chavers,
English III:
Highest Average: Rachel Sepulveda
Exemplary: Tiffani Cruce
Family & Consumer Science
9th Highest Average: Brandon Edward Korinchak
9th Exemplary: April Gayle Payne
10th Highest Average: Benjamin Tate Preston
10th Exemplary : Lawrence CW Douglas
11th Highest Average: Matthew Ryan Chavers
11th Exemplary : Mallory Mason Ryan
Automation and Production Technology
Highest Average: Bradley Van Pelt
Exemplary: Trevor Levins
Drafting III
Exemplary: Tristan Williams
U.S. History
Highest Average: Autumn Ates
Exemplary : Kaitlyn Kline
U.S. History Honors
Highest Average: Jessica McCullough
Exemplary : Kelton Wooten
Algebra 1: B
Highest Average : Sarah Dutton
Exemplary Student : Elizabeth Sanders
Algebra 1
Highest Average: Brittanie McLemore
Exemplary Student: Kylie Brook
Geometry Honors
Highest Average: Niki Coleman
Exemplary: Jada Tucker
Geometry
Highest Average: Natalie Barrow
Exemplary: Tiffani Cruce
Naval Science I
Highest Average: Alyssa Borelli
Exemplary Student: Sara McCreary
Naval Science II
Highest Average: MoriahMcGahan
Exemplary: Triston Reaves
Naval Science III
Highest Average: Joshua Borelli
Exemplary: Angelique Brown
Introduction to Information Technology
Exemplary: Kaitlyn Pugh
Digital Design I
Highest Average: Jada Tucker
Exemplary: Lawrence Douglas
Digital Design II
Highest Average: Samantha Sharpless
Liberal Arts Math
Highest Average: Nathan Singleton
Exemplary: Dustin Shaw
Physical Science Honors
Highest Average: David Conrad Weber
Physical Science
Highest Average: Adrian King
Exemplary: Brittanie McLemore
Environmental Science
Highest Average: Rickey Smith
Algebra I: A
Highest Average: Brianna Smith
Exemplary: Rheanna Black
11th Grade Reading
Highest Average: Lakelynn Parker
Exemplary: Decordic King
DCT
Highest Average: Samantha Sharpless
Accounting
Exemplary Student: Desiree Elliard
Atmore Youth Leadership
Morgan Ward
Business certification awards will be published in a future story.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
University Of Florida: Consumer Confidence Dips Slightly In Florida
May 28, 2014
The state’s consumer confidence has decreased slightly over the past month, according to a University of Florida report.
On a scale that ranges from two to 150, confidence among Floridians sits at 78, two points lower than in April but where the state was as the year began, according to numbers released Tuesday by UF’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
“Confidence among Floridians seems to be stuck within a five-point range, with the exception of last October when the government shut down,” Chris McCarty, director of the center, said in a prepared statement. “This month pessimism seems to be more concentrated among respondents under age 60 and those with slightly higher incomes. Respondents in those categories are particularly pessimistic about U.S. economic conditions in the short and long term.”
by The News Service of Florida
Mississippi Braves Walk Off Over Wahoos 3-2 In 11
May 28, 2014
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos claimed an early 2-0 lead, but it evaporated in the seventh allowing the Mississippi Braves to win the game 3-2 in 11 innings Tuesday night at Trustmark Park. Jones, who flew out with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, came up with the winning run at third in the 11th inning and drove a single to left-center field to hand the Blue Wahoos their third straight loss.
Robert Stephenson started for Pensacola and got a no-decision. He went 6.1 innings and allowed 2 R/1 ER with a couple of walks and five strikeouts. He allowed just four singles and didn’t allow a runner past first base until an RBI triple by David Rohm in the seventh.
The bullpen kept the game tied until James Walczak (L, 1-2) allowed the winning run in his only inning of work. Rohm, who scored the game winner, moved up to third on a two-out error by the shortstop which kept the inning alive. The Blue Wahoos had a chance to go in front in the 10th when Travis Mattair was thrown out at home on a two-out single to left by Yorman Rodriguez. Left fielder Cedric Hunter’s throw just beat Mattair at the plate to end the inning.
Chasen Shreve (W, 3-0) worked just one perfect inning out of the bullpen to earn the win. He struck out the side in order in the top of the 11th before earning his third win of the year.
The Blue Wahoos will try to snap their skid behind RHP Jon Moscot (3-3, 2.35) on Wednesday night. The Braves will counter with Atlanta’s No. 3 prospect J.R. Graham (0-2, 4.86). First pitch is slated for 7 p.m. from Trustmark Park.
Ethel Catherine “Cathy” Wilson
May 28, 2014
Ethel Catherine “Cathy” Wilson of Walnut Hill was born March 1, 1937, and passed away on May 16, 2014.
She was preceded in death by her mother, father and one sister.
She left behind a husband of 58 years, James Wilson; 13 siblings (all residing in Canada); six children Jackie (Timmy) Bryars; Leonora (Danny) Grissett, Lynette (Hank) Hepstall, Michelle (Jimmy) Burt, Dawson (Daphne) Wilson, and Quint (Sonya) Wilson; 14 grand children, Andy Faircloth, Kuiana Hubbard, Amanda Willis, Randall Christiansen, Jamie Burt, JJ Burt, Brittany Burt, Calvin Jacobson, Clayton Jacobson, Jennifer Reynolds, JD Wilson, Jeremy Wilson, Patrick Wilson, and Danielle Wilson; and 17 great-grand children.
No Injuries In Minor School Bus Accident
May 28, 2014
There were no injuries in a minor school bus accident Tuesday afternoon on Nokomis Road.
The Florida Highway Patrol said an Escambia County School District bus driven by Cynthia Formby of McDavid was southbound on Rockaway Creek Road and stopped at the intersection of Nokomis Road. A 1999 Dodge 3500 pickup driven by Daryl O’Farrell of McDavid was westbound on Nokomis Road approaching Rockaway Creek Road.
Formby began to make make a left turn onto eastbound Nokomis Road at about the same time O’Farrell began making a right turn onto northbound Rockaway Creek Road. The school bus tracked across the center as the driver made the turn, according to the FHP, causing the side of one vehicle to strike the side of the other. Formby was cited for making an improper left turn by the FHP.
There were 14 Bratt Elementary School students on the bus at the time. There were no injuries.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
One Injured In Wreck Involving County-Owned Pickup Truck
May 27, 2014
One person was injured in a collision involving a county-owned pickup Tuesday afternoon in Oak Grove.
The Florida Highway Patrol said an Escambia County Road Department Ford F250 driven by Anthony Delano of McDavid and a 2009 Chevrolet Silverado driven by Ronald Martin of Atmore were both northbound on County Road 99 just before 2 p.m.
Delano failed to see Martin passing as he attempted to turn on County Road 99A, according to the FHP. The front of Martin’s pickup struck the rear tail light and bumper of the county truck. Delano was transported by ambulance to Atmore Community Hospital with minor injuries; Martin was not injured.
Delano was cited for an improper left turn, according to the FHP.
The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Atmore Ambulance also responded to the crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Walnut Hill Man Gets State Prison On Drug Possession, Conspiracy Charges
May 27, 2014
Another North Escambia resident has been convicted and sentenced to prison in connection with last year’s Operation Blister Pack 2.
Jonathan Paul Kite, age 40 of the 700 block of North Highway 99 in Walnut Hill, was convicted of felony drug possession of a listed chemical and conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. He was sentenced by Judge Ross Goodman to 18 months in state prison to be followed by three years probation and eight hours of community service per month.
Operation Blister Pack 2 targeted about 80 individuals on methamphetamine and pseudoephedrine related charges. Many of those arrested were involved with drug groups dubbed “The Village Group”, centered around “The Village” area of Forrest Street and Lakeview Avenue in Cantonment; and “The Ayers Group”, a group centered around Ayers Street in Molino, according to the Sheriff’s Office.