Delaware man executed for ax slaying

    Robert Jackson III, the Delaware man convicted of killing a woman with an ax, was executed as planned earlier this morning, despite numerous appeals.

    Jackson was pronounced dead at 12:12 a.m. Friday morning in the execution chamber of the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna.

    Read Bill Cook’s report from Delaware here. 

    Just before his death, Jackson again voiced his innocence.

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    AP-PA–Right Now,1330Latest Pennsylvania news, sports, business and entertainment   ARRESTED ON FLIGHT   Calif. woman charged in Philly over flight threats   (Information in the following story is from: WPVI-TV, http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi )   PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Prosecutors say a psychiatric evaluation has been ordered for a California woman who was arrested at Philadelphia International Airport after she made threats on board a flight arriving from London.   WPVI-TV reports police arrested Hannah Shiner, of Roseville, Calif., on Wednesday afternoon. Investigators say she threatened the flight crew and passengers, saying she’d blow up the plane. Police have not said what they believe prompted her statements, which the TV station reported including references to Osama bin Laden.   The Delaware County district attorney’s office says Shiner faces charges of disorderly conduct and making terroristic threats. Officials with the prosecutors’ office tell WPVI that Shiner was arraigned Thursday and is being held on $250,000 bail.   It is not clear if she has an attorney.   LE-NATURE’S FRAUD   Pa. jury finds last Le-Nature’s defendant guilty   PITTSBURGH (AP) — A federal jury has delivered guilty verdicts against the last defendant in the complex fraud case of a bankrupt western Pennsylvania beverage maker.   The jury on Thursday found 67-year-old Robert Lynn, a former vice president, guilty of 10 counts of bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy relating to the operations of Le-Nature’s, Inc., a Latrobe, Pa.-based water bottler that collapsed in bankruptcy in 2006. That’s according to a statement from U.S. Attorney David Hickton.   Jurors heard two weeks of testimony in the complex fraud case in which Lynn and other defendants were accused of bilking lenders out of $856 million.   Lynn, of Ligonier, Pa., is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 1. He could face a total sentence of 220 years in prison, a fine of $2.5 million, or both.   PA CORRUPTION SCANDAL   DeWeese lawyers file motion in Pa. corruption case   HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — State Rep. Bill DeWeese’s legal team is mounting a wide-ranging challenge to his prosecution on government corruption charges.   A motion filed Thursday in Dauphin County court in Harrisburg alleges that the state attorney general’s office charged DeWeese without probable cause and misrepresented the facts at his preliminary hearing. It also challenges the state conflict-of-interest law as unconstitutionally vague and asks for a second time that DeWeese’s trial be moved to another county.   The Greene County lawmaker is a senior member of the House Democratic caucus. He is charged with conflict of interest, conspiracy and three counts of theft for allegedly misusing his public office for campaign purposes.   The attorney general’s office declined to comment on the filing. DeWeese is scheduled to go on trial in January.   FATAL STANDOFF-FIRE   Man shot, house ablaze after Pa. police standoff   BRODHEADSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Officials say a man has been shot after a standoff with police in northeastern Pennsylvania and that the house where it happened caught fire.   It happened early Thursday night in Brodheadsville, about 70 miles north of Philadelphia.   The Morning Call of Allentown reports troopers started shutting down roads in the area in mid-afternoon because a man was holed up in the house. The newspaper reports police later radioed that they had a gunshot victim and that the house was on fire, possibly from tear gas canisters.   WNEP-TV reports the coroner’s office was later called to the scene. The man’s name has not been released.   FATAL SHOOTING-FREDERICK   Frederick, Md., slaying suspect arrested in Pa.   FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — Police say their suspect in the fatal shooting of a Frederick woman is in custody in Pennsylvania.   Frederick police say 27-year-old Melvin Smith was arrested in McKeesport, Pa., early Thursday afternoon.   He was wanted in the July 8 slaying of 33-year-old Tranice Richardson outside a Frederick apartment complex.   Police say Smith is being held pending extradition to Maryland.   Investigators say Smith and Richardson were romantically involved. Court records show that he fathered at least one of her four children.   Smith served five years for a manslaughter conviction stemming from a shooting in Frederick in 2000.   INDIANA BOY-ABDUCTION   Indiana boy recovered by police in Kentucky   TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — Authorities say a 4-year-old boy has been recovered in Kentucky two days after he was taken from his Indiana home.   Terre Haute police and the FBI say John Johnson-Christian was recovered unharmed Thursday by officers in Pikeville, Ky.   FBI spokesman Drew Northern says federal, state and local officers arrested the two suspects who police believe abducted the boy Tuesday. It wasn’t clear if they had attorneys.   Police say the boy’s mother let her ex-boyfriend, 24-year-old Nicholas Runyon, and 28-year-old April Bell take the boy Tuesday morning for a trip to a birthday party but they didn’t return him.   The Tribune-Star reports Terre Haute police Detective Jimmy Richardson told a judge Wednesday that Runyon claims he is the child’s father, but that a court has ruled another man is the father.   DIVER DEATH   Pa. diver dies while exploring wreck off Montauk   (Information in the following story is from: Newsday, http://www.newsday.com )   EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — New York authorities say a Pennsylvania scuba diver has died after surfacing from a shipwreck 60 miles southeast of Long Island’s Montauk. It’s the second death connected to the same dive boat in the last week.   East Hampton police Chief Eddie Ecker tells Newsday that 64-year-old Timothy Barrow, of Reading, Pa., went into cardiac arrest Thursday. He says he died despite attempts by the crew of the John Jack dive boat to administer CPR.   On Sunday, 27-year-old Michael LaPrade, of Los Angeles, was one of three divers descending to the wreck of the Andrea Doria off Nantucket when he apparently let go of a rope and disappeared. His body was found about three hours later and the death remains under investigation.   The John Jack is temporarily based in Montauk.   COURTHOUSE FUMES   Fumes at Pa. courthouse send dozens home early   (Information in the following story is from: WGAL-TV, http://www.wgal.com)   LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — Lancaster County’s top prosecutor says fumes from roofing work at the courthouse forced him to send dozens of employees in his office home early.   District Attorney Craig Stedman says he sent 75 workers home early Thursday after 20 employees complained about feeling sick from the fumes. He says some people chose to stay anyway.   WGAL-TV reports that a roofing company is using an adhesive to install a new rubber roof. A representative of the roofing company says county officials cleared them to do the work.   HERSHEY FOUNDATION-SCHOOLS   School district sues a Hershey education trust   HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — The school district that is home to Hershey, its tourist attractions and the candy maker is suing one of the charitable foundations established by the chocolate magnate, Milton Hershey.   The Derry Township School District said Thursday it filed a court petition seeking money from the education-focused M. S. Hershey Foundation.   The district is also asking the Dauphin County Orphans Court whether the foundation violated its agreement of trust by providing money for the Hershey Theatre, The Hershey Story, Hershey Gardens and the Hershey Community Archives.   Foundation executive director Don Papson says the board decided more than 40 years ago to help those four attractions, and believes its help for them is proper. He says it provides hundreds of thousands of dollars every year in income from its holdings.   PHILADELPHIA NEWSPAPERS-BUILDING   Company sells building housing 2 Philly newspapers   (Information in the following story is from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.philly.com )   PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News is selling the newspapers’ downtown headquarters to a local real estate developer.   Philadelphia Media Network announced Thursday that it has agreed to sell the 18-story building to Bart Blatstein, of Tower Investments, for an undisclosed price.   The building was erected in 1925 and houses both newspapers and their shared website, philly.com. The Inquirer reports its parent company is exploring whether to remain as a tenant or look for new space in the region.   Philadelphia Media Network bought the newspapers for $139 million at a bankruptcy auction in September.   The company has about 1,750 employees.   (Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)   APNP 07-29-11 0158EDT

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