April 25, 2006
Thanks, Eric!
CNN.com - Clinic bomb victim's restitution: $57.69 - Apr 25, 2006
As Emily Lyons says, it's enough for a tank of gas and a little more. Not that she's driving anywhere, what with having only one eye and being on painkillers after the 25 surgeries. The money came from a stash seized from Rudolph's trailer and from the sale of his property. His cigarette money has not yet been garnishied.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:26 PM | Comments (1)
September 13, 2005
He's lucky he was in federal court
Rudolph's defense cost $4 million
To give you a little perspective, that's about a cent and a half per American. Hey, the Feds take care of their high-profile defendants. In the Alabama courts, he'd be lucky to get a full-time lawyer with access to a photocopier.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:59 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 23, 2005
Grendel's mom said the same thing
CNN.com - Rudolph's mother: Son not a 'monster' - Aug 22, 2005
Apparently, she's a Calvinist. Or a Jedi.
"I think each man is destined in life to fulfill whatever he's called to do, and some people, unfortunately, are on the dark side," Pat Rudolph, 77, said in an exclusive interview from Florida that aired Monday on CNN, her first television appearance.
Oh, and though she brought her family into the racist "Christian Identity" movement, she's not a racist. She just did it for the home schooling. It was the Army that made Eric a racist.
Oh, and she's writing a book.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:03 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
August 22, 2005
Creep
CNN.com - Rudolph apologizes for Olympic bombing - Aug 22, 2005
He's so sorry:
"Listening to the victims, I can't begin to understand the pain I inflicted on these innocent people... I accept full responsibility for the consequences. I would do anything to take that night back and, to those victims, I apologize."
He's sorry! He wishes he could take it back! Isn't he adorable? Note that he never apologized for the Birmingham bombing.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:59 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 20, 2005
Huge shocker there
al.com: NewsFlash - Some victims have moved on as Olympic bomber faces sentencing
1. It's been about nine years now.
2. There were over 100 people injured in the attack.
It woudl be a surprise if some of them hadn't moved on.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:03 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 18, 2005
No surprises
al.com: NewsFlash - Victim says Rudolph "a monster"; serial bomber denounces abortion
The best of Emily Lyons:
"The full responsibility for this would have been the death sentence... When it was your turn to face death you weren't so brave again... You want to see a monster, all you have to do is look in the mirror... It really doesn't matter what you say because I will go back to my home and you will go back to jail. The clinics in town will still be open and abortion will still be legal."
Also speaking was Robert Sanderson's widow Felicia:
"I want to tell you there is no punishment in my opinion great enough for Eric Rudolph. When Eric Rudolph leaves this earth and has to face final judgment, I'm going to leave the final judgment in God's hand... Being a police officer was all he wanted to be. It wasn't just a job for Sande. It was a true calling. God knows how afraid I was for him, but Sande was never afraid to put that uniform on," she said. "I know in my heart that my husband wears that uniform in heaven."
And clinic director Diane Derzis:
"It gives me great delight to know you are going to spend the rest of your life sitting in an 8-by-12 box. My wish for you is that you live a very long life."
Now, isn't that nice of her?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 17, 2005
Some title
Rudolph `failed,' victim set to say
Bombing victim Emily Lyons has a book coming out Monday, which is also her birthday and the day that Eric Rudolph will be sentenced. The title is Life's A Blast. Oh, I don't know... She's going to speak at the sentencing, apparently.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:51 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 05, 2005
Murdering terrorist gets off easy
al.com: NewsFlash - Anti-abortion extremist unapologetic
Eric Rudolph's mama shares his writings with the world. They're what you'd expect.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 24, 2005
He's also writing an essay on pacifism
al.com: NewsFlash - Bomber-turned-author Rudolph writes story of life on the run
Apparently he sent a 5,500-word story of life on the run (technically, life on the squatting-in-a-hole-in-the-ground) to an anti-abortion website. At least, it sounds like his stuff. There's no point for him in professionally publishing because any money he made would just go to Emily Lyons. He really should get a blog.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:23 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 18, 2005
Sloppy work there
al.com: NewsFlash - Rudolph plea deal includes mistake about how bomb was planted
An assistant US Attorney on the Rudolph case acknowledges that the plea agreement is wrong when it says Rudolph planted the bomb under a shrub. Actually, there were no shrubs in the area where the bomb was left. It doesn't matter in the case, since Rudolph waived his right to appeal. However, paranoiacs will say that this proves there's more going on. Ladies and Gentlemen, start your conspiracy theories!
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Conscience?
al.com: NewsFlash - Rudolph had planned more attacks, but conscience stopped him
I have seen no evidence that Eric Rudolph has even a rudimentary conscience. His refusal to even make an insincere apology to his innocent victims is but the latest in a long string of psychopathic behavior.
No, Rudolph did not commit the additional bombings (five bombs instead of one at the Olympics, an attack on the FBI agents searching for him in North Carolina, and another abortion clinic bombing) for other reasons. Maybe he's just making it up. Or maybe it's the same cowardice that led him to live in a hole for five years. As for the second abortion clinic attack, he's probably telling the truth when he says that the truck he stole broke down on the way.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 17, 2005
I thought they weren't supposed to have beliefs yet
Rudolph jurors' beliefs sought
Oh, you mean their religious beliefs. Like how often they read the Bible. The possibility that they might have read some other holy book doesn't enter into it, I guess. Doesn't matter now.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:10 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 15, 2005
Hooray for incompetence!
Remember the Hubble? And how they screwed up the lens so everything was blurry? Well, the techniques NASA created to compensate for that turned out to be of use in the Eric Rudolph investigation. Cleaning up tape shot by an LA tv station at the Olympic bombing, they found a man who looks a lot like Rudolph.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 14, 2005
I'd imagine so
Rudolph's demeanor irks victims
Though one wonders what they'd expected. The man's a terrorist. The only reason he's not a mass murderer is that Richard Jewell and Sande Sanderson spotted his bombs before he had a chance to set them off. Rudolph thinks he's a holy warrior; would you expect remorse from Muhammad Atta? The only difference in the two is that Rudolph's more incompetent and cowardly. Expecting remorse from sociopathic scum will only disappoint.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:37 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Hooray for lawyers
UAB student, lawyer credited with crucial tip
The man who followed Rudolph after the abortion clinic bombing, got a look at him, and wrote down his license plate number is now a student at Harvard Law. The other man who wrote down the license plate is an attorney from Opelika. Oh, and neither of them claimed any part of the reward.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Yeah, that makes sense
Because of abortion, he set up a bomb at the Olympics. And another one at a gay nightclub. (Gays are notorious for getting pregnant and then having abortions. Oh, wait.) And to do something about the "doctor-killer" (his term for a physician who performs abortions) he blew up an off-duty police officer who was working as a security guard.
Here's his full statement. Read it, if you have a strong stomach. Scanning it, I particularly enjoy where he blames John Lennon.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:18 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 13, 2005
"Right-wing extremist"
al.com: NewsFlash - Rudolph pleads guilty in Olympic bombing
You know, calling him a right-wing extremist kinda makes it easier on the other right-wing extremists. I mean, maybe they've called for judges to be killed or whatever, but they haven't actually done anything about it. So they look positively moderate.
Rudolph is, of course, slime. He still hasn't admitted anything beyond the bare admission that he did the crimes. And he apparently is proud that he did them.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 04:41 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
He sounds like Donald Trump
al.com: NewsFlash - Eric Rudolph pleads guilty to Ala. bombing
Rudolph's most elaborate statement was regarding his attorneys."They're very, very good, superlative attorneys," he told the judge.
Anyway, Rudolph apparently didn't have to fully allocute. One of those superlative attorneys says that he will eventually explain himself, but for now he just said he agreed with the evidence of the prosecutors. And that he thought that the prosecution "just barely" could prove its case.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:23 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Eric + Mary Jane 4eva!
Rudolph liked pot a lot, Army pal says
Look at it this way: if it wasn't for pot, maybe Rudolph would have been more energetic and have blown up even more buildings.
Rudolph's former Army roomate says that one night at Fort Campbell, Rudolph declined an offer to go out drinking. (Booze = acceptable, legal mind-altering substance.) When he got back, he found Rudolph had a pillowcase full of marijuana. (Cannabis = unacceptable, illegal, evil mind-altering substance that leads to cocaine and/or blowing things up.)
Rudolph also kept to himself (that was inevitable) except for when he screamed at the television news. (Yeah, CNN hits me the same way sometimes.) "He didn't like any minorities," says the roommate, and resented a former girlfriend. After Rudolph was discharged for smoking pot, the roommate kept in touch until they had a fight because he didn't want to join Rudolph's pot-growing business.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:08 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 12, 2005
An explanation by a psychopath
Attorney: Rudolph to explain guilty plea
Those are always entertaining. "I'm innocent, I was framed, I... Oh, wait a minute. I did it, and I'm very sorry. The media is to blame, especially [circle one] prime-time television/HBO/Internet pornography/videogames. I only wish that the victims of my horrible crimes didn't have to suffer any more."
Anyway, Eric the Terrorist will issue a written statement (he can write?) sometime in the next day or so.
Questions continue as to why Rudolph carried out the bombings. He has been characterized as a pot-growing white supremacist with fanatical religious views and a distrust for the federal government.Bowen said Rudolph has been mischaracterized.
"He is an intelligent, articulate young man with his own opinion and ideas," Bowen said.
For instance, have you ever really listened to the Dead? I mean, really listened? It'll blow your mind!
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:04 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 11, 2005
Oh, I know, I know!
CNN.com - Why did Rudolph do it? - Apr 11, 2005
It was because he was a pot-smoking, white supremacist, right-wing religious nut, right? Beyond that, you're trying to find logical reasons behind the actions of a person (or group of people, if he had assistance) who is not governed by logic. Crazy people do crazy things, and trying to figure out their thought processes will only serve to make you crazy in turn.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:40 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 10, 2005
I'll bet
al.com: NewsFlash - With Rudolph plea, some wonder if he'll tell who helped him
I can see it now: "Please don't let him tell on me. Please don't let him tell on me. Please don't..."
Posted by Mac Thomason at 04:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 09, 2005
Boom
Hills echo with blasts from Rudolph stash
[JULIE ANDREWS]The hills are alive, with the sounds of explosions![/JULIE ANDREWS]
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:58 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
She's earned the right to be bitter
Clinic survivor disappointed with plea
Emily Lyons wanted Eric Rudolph executed. I'm not a big fan of the death penalty, but I certainly understand where she's coming from. Leave aside the death of off-duty police officer Robert Sanderson. Mrs. Lyons is going into surgery next week to remove shrapnel from her face and neck. It will be the twentieth surgery she's needed since the bombing. She lost her left eye. She's in pain much of the time even now. Her husband looks on the bright side:
Jeff Lyons said federal authorities told him that Rudolph would be imprisoned in maximum security federal prison in Florence, Colo., where the Unabomber, Theodore Kaczynski, is incarcerated. That existence and a conviction that ensures he will die in prison amounts to a death sentence, Jeff Lyons said."He's going to be in a cage and have a pulse," Lyons said. "Personally I don't call that living."
Arguably, however, it's a step up from living in a hole in the ground. Or not living in a hole in the ground, as the case may be.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 08, 2005
All of them, actually
Eric Rudolph to Plead to Atlanta Bombing | ajc.com
So much for that trial. I'll have to settle for Scrushy, I guess.
Apparently, he will plead guilty to all four bombings (the abortion clinic bombing in Birmingham that he was about to go to trial for, the Olympic bombing, and two other Atlanta bombings). He'll receive four life sentences and avoid the death penalty. He was amazingly guilty in the Birmingham case, but the Atlanta cases were more problematical. I assume he'll allocute as part of the agreement.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:43 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 07, 2005
Decimation
Rudolph jury process opens with 340 people
Gosh, they're already down 160 potential jurors (500 were summoned -- some just didn't show up, others were dismissed for hardship) and they haven't even started selection yet. The Rudolph trial is expected to start in June. They're waiting on the Scrushy trial to end, because they'll be using the same courtroom.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 04, 2005
Room service
Selection of jury for Rudolph trial to start
Because there isn't enough room at the courthouse to select from the 500 potential jurors, selection will take place at the downtown Sheraton. All they'll do for now is fill out a questionnaire. The attorneys will look those over for the next few weeks, then individual questioning will begin May 16.
Rudolph waived his right to appear at the screening. Weird. Guy lives in a hole for five years, then in jail, and now he waives the right to go to a nice hotel for a few hours.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 02, 2005
Well, it's cheaper
Wal-Mart gives clues to clinic bomb
Of course Eric Rudolph shopped at Wal-Mart.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:42 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 01, 2005
More than zero
Rudolph team zeroes in on lab techniques
Apparently, the new tactic of the Terror Dream Team is to attack evidence because ATF scientists can't produce written rules on how to interpret a mass spectrometer. And to say that imaginary elves caused all the positive readings for explosives, I guess.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 30, 2005
Of course he would
Agent defends ATF actions in Rudolph case
The Rudolph Terror Dream Team is still trying to get evidence of their client's terrorism suppressed, in this case explosive residue tying the abortion clinic bombing to Rudolph's trailer. I'm certain we've been through this already.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 29, 2005
I don't get it
al.com: NewsFlash - Prosecutors allege Rudolph, activist link
Sometimes the Feds overreach. In this case, trying to tie Rudolph to an anti-abortion activist named John Grady may be such a case; I can't find any evidence Grady has advocated violence. Also, the suggestion that Rudolph financed his terrorism by growing selling marijuana seems farfetched.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 25, 2005
Because courtrooms are always safe
Rudolph security readied for hearing
For some reason, the security for Eric Rudolph's second visit to a Huntsville courtroom will be lighter than for the first. It's yet another attempt to get forensic evidence thrown out; I doubt it has any chance of success.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 16, 2005
Field trip!
al.com: NewsFlash - Rudolph prosecutors want to show jury scene of clinic bombing
They want to load the jurors on a bus and take them to Southside to see the site of Rudolph's work. I doubt that will happen. What certainly won't happen is the defense request to throw out the indictment because the jury questionnaire asks potential jurors if they understand English or have physical or mental disabilities.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:43 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 01, 2005
Knock it down!
al.com: NewsFlash - Prosecutors defend work of labs, agents in Eric Rudolph case
Since their client is obviously, amazingly, preposterously, guilty, Eric Rudolph's Terrorist Dream Team has little choice but to attack the evidence and the FBI, hoping to confuse the issue. It's a Hail Mary tactic. Reminding me somewhat of the OJ Simpson Double Murderer Dream Team, the ERTDT is claiming that agents in the field mishandled evidence. Or the labs mishandled it. Or their client was framed. Or that the evidence should be excluded because just because their client ran away and lived in a hole in the ground for five years doesn't count as fleeing the jurisdiction. Of course, this sort of thing worked pretty well for the OJSDMDT.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 03:17 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 24, 2005
I don't know about "culture" per se
Rudolph wants expert on culture to testify:
From what I can tell, the Rudolph Terrorist Dream Team wants to have an expert in "western Carolina culture" come in to say that it's perfectly normal for someone of Rudolph's background to run off into the woods and live in a hole in the ground for five years.
(Third item. Thanks to Susan.)
Posted by Mac Thomason at 05:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 10, 2005
Yes, and I want to date Aishwarya Rai
Rudolph defense wants eyewitness expert
That's not going to happen either. Really reaching here... The Terrorist Dream Team wants to call a professor to the stand who will say, basically, that black people can't identify white people because all white people look the same to them. Yeah, that's going to happen.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 09, 2005
Attack the science
Rudolph challenges bomb-making evidence
Not a bad strategy, I guess. They're going off on both the bomb model and the evidence of bomb-making collected at Rudolph's trailer. Of course, that leaves the question of why an innocent man would live in a hole in the ground in the middle of the woods for five years, but fortunately for them that's probably not admissible evidence.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 05, 2005
Die! Die! Die! (etc.)
Judge gives U.S. preliminary consent to seek Rudolph's death
They're all very happy, they'll get to seek the death penalty against Eric Rudolph. No surprise, since the defense claim, as I understand it, was that they couldn't because the death penalty is unconstitutional. I'm pretty sure we've been over that, haven't we? The magistrate mocked them for it.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:37 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 01, 2005
Stone age
al.com: NewsFlash - Prosecution links bomb at Alabama clininc to Rudolph book
Jeez, even in 1998 you could get bomb information off the Internet. But Eric Rudolph ordered a book. How gauche. The detonator used in the abortion clinic bombing matched one described in the book.
Speaking of books, Rudolph wrote in his Bible notes including:
"eye for eye" and "Bombs"... "Death Penalty," "Sacrifice is all," "Buy a Sword" and "Christian Soldiers requirement."
Did he ever actually buy a sword?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:06 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
January 19, 2005
You got seventeen months
al.com: NewsFlash - Magistrate rejects Rudolph opposition to death charge
Rudolph's lawyers (henceforth, the Terrorist Dream Team, or TDT) claimed that the Feds waited too long to say that they were seeking the death penalty against their client. From the context, it's not clear if they mean too long after his actual capture (about eight months) or too long after he blew up a clinic, killing an off-duty police officer, and went to hide in a hole in the ground for five years. Presumably the former, but you can never tell with defense attorneys. The judge was not impressed and told them they had plenty of time to prepare.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 15, 2005
Read it and weep
Rudolph seeks to bar U.S. witness
A handwriting expert. Personally, I'm not wild about handwriting experts, because they're pseudoscientists. Anyway, he analyzed a Bible seized from Rudolph's trailer. One thing in the Bible is the words "BOMB" written in the margins. Of Revelation, naturally.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 01:12 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 07, 2005
Cha-chung!
al.com: NewsFlash - Expert cited for false claims in Texas helped FBI hunt Rudolph
The psychiatrist whose bizarre lie about consulting on a non-existent Law & Order episode got Andrea Yates' conviction overturned consulted with the FBI in zeroing in on Eric Rudolph as a suspect in the abortion clinic bombing. He also participated in tying that bombing to the Atlanta bombings. The prosecutors don't intend to call him in the upcoming Rudolph prosecution, but I bet the defense is thinking about it. All I know is that this Law & Order episode writes itself.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:39 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 05, 2005
A camping trip
Rudolph attorneys: No plan to flee
That's what Eric the Terrorist's lawyers say. He hadn't abandoned his trailer when he ran into the woods and started living in a hole in the ground. He was just on a camping trip. One in which he forgot to even shut his front door before leaving on. "Laugh test", anyone?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 22, 2004
Government must share its toys
Rudolph lawyers get bomb model access
If the prosecutors want to use a model of the bomb from the abortion clinic blast at trial, they have to let the defense play with it first.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 16, 2004
A sure sign of desperation
Rudolph defense: Police targeted
With no evidence that Eric Rudolph didn't commit the abortion clinic bombing, and lots of evidence that he did, his lawyers have one recourse: to claim someone else did it. This happens on TV all the time, but I don't think it's very common, or very effective, in real life.
The latest claim is that the bombing, from 1998, is similar to a Birmingham police headquarters bombing attempt from 1996. That attempt actually had some similarity to the Olympic bombing, which Rudolph is also charged with, but not really to the abortion clinic attack.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 09, 2004
They'll do what the judge says
Government: Rudolph evidence given
The Feds say that most of what Rudolph wants he already has, and that some of the rest doesn't actually exist. Fine. But they also say that they'll give up the rest closer to trial, "as mandated by law". The judge has scheduled an evidentiary hearing next week.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:58 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 24, 2004
I would hope so!
Rudolph lawyers seek helpful evidence
Isn't that part of their job?
More specifically, they're looking for any evidence out of investigators' files that they can use in favor of their client. It's pretty standard.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 02:28 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 14, 2004
Bootstrapping
al.com: NewsFlash - South Wire: Atlanta evidence an issue in case against Rudolph
Evidence rules are a problem sometimes. The case against Eric Rudolph in Birmingham is the strongest; after all, that's where he messed up and the investigators were able to ID him. But evidence from the Atlanta bombings might help. The prosecutors have decided not to introduce any of the Atlanta evidence, it seems, but the defense wants to. At one point -- I am not making this up -- it was insinuated that the defense was thinking of blaming Richard Jewell for the Olympic bombing, but apparently they were trying to say that if the FBI got it wrong once, they're always wrong.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 05:55 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
November 03, 2004
I'm feeling bloodthirsty
Judge: Rudolph warrant looks valid
Let's go ahead and execute the SOB.
The judge didn't rule on if the search warrant for Rudolph's trailer was valid, but indicated that he thinks is probably is. I'm not sure why the defense can claim that seizing some evidence there was okay but some wasn't.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:22 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 21, 2004
He probably didn't rewind either
Detectives suspected Rudolph after he didn't return video
Seriously. Eric Rudolph rented City of Industry the night of the abortion clinic bombing, then returned it the next day and rented Kull the Conqueror, which he never returned. Since nobody likes Kevin Sorbo movies that much, the FBI knew there was something unusual going on.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 12, 2004
A cornerstone of American policing
Prosecutors: Rudolph arrested properly
Look, if police officers aren't allowed to hassle random homeless people found digging in a dumpster -- as Eric Rudolph seemed to be at the time -- then virtually every street officer in the country is in trouble. And the statements in question don't seem to be important anyway. It's just the defense trying to obfuscate.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 06:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 07, 2004
So he's not totally stupid
Officials: Rudolph bought supplies after link to blast
Terror-boy found out that the FBI was after him for the abortion clinic bombing, so he went to Burger King. Expect to see this promoted heavily in their upcoming commercial campaigns. (Hey, it can't be any worse than that guy having a rubber-faced Burger King feeding him in bed. Now, that's creepy.)
Then Rudolph went to the supermarket and bought "14 containers of oatmeal, nine cans of green beans, seven packs of batteries, eight containers of nuts, eight cans of tuna fish, soap, and eight containers of raisins." I particularly like "soap". It doesn't say how much he bought. I like to think one bar.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 06, 2004
Little notes
Federal judge will review FBI notes in Rudolph case
The Rudolph defense team wants to see handwritten notes taken during interviews with possible prosecution witnesses. It seems to me that the defense has a reasonable case here; they're supposed to be able to see all the evidence. At any event, the notes are being reviewed by the judge in the case, after which he'll decide if they can see them all and use them in the case. The current defense strategy seems to be the old invent-a-conspiracy-my-client-was-a-minor -part-of gambit, used unsuccessfully by Rudolph's fellow right-wing terrorists in Oklahoma City.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 22, 2004
Oh, please
Lawyers: Rudolph should face life sentence, not death
Look, I'm not ecstatic about the death penalty. But if you're going to execute anybody, wouldn't Eric Rudolph, the serial terrorist, be on the list? They also want Rudolph's arrest in North Carolina ruled illegal, apparently because he gave the police who rousted him a false name, so they only arrested him for being a vagrant.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 10:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 15, 2004
That's not going to happen
Judge asked to block Rudolph evidence
Once again, this isn't Law & Order, so the judge isn't a total moron and isn't going to block evidence seized with a warrant just because the warrant "wasn't specific". Maybe before 9-11 one might have, but I doubt it.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 31, 2004
I wouldn't serve under those conditions
Rudolph prosecutors back a 'semi-anonymous' jury
The government is asking that the jurors' names and occupations be kept secret from the general public, but not the parties in the case. I wouldn't want Eric Rudolph to know my name if I was on the jury. Would you?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 20, 2004
I was wondering
Do you think Eric Rudolph is watching the Olympics?
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:46 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 17, 2004
So much for that defense
Justices uphold judgment against Rudolph
If you're looking to avoid a massive civil judgment against you, you cannot hide in a hole in the ground to avoid being served and then claim that you weren't properly notified of the lawsuit.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 15, 2004
You might want to stay away from "attack"
Rudolph lawyers attack anonymous jury for 2005 trial
Eric Rudolph's terror lawyers want to know the names of the members of the jury in his trial. Yeah, that's a really good idea. Give out identifying information of the people who are going to possibly convict Rudolph; it's not like he's supported by a movement of religious fanatics who have been known to blow up buildings or anything.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 12:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 10, 2004
He has three more
Two Rudolph attorneys leave bombing case
The two (former lead attorney Richard Jaffe and local star Emory Anthony) don't say why they're leaving. I like to think that it's because they don't like associating with the sort of people who would represent Susan Smith and Ted Kaczynski.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 09:13 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 09, 2004
Speaking of delayed Federal cases
Rudolph lawyers want new deadline
In further continued to the apocalypse news, Eric Rudolph's lawyers want the deadline for handing in a jury questionaire pushed from Monday until Dec. 15. Might as well, since the case has already been continued. But then they'll probably say they need more time to study the questionaire.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 08:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 03, 2004
Defense strategies of the desperate
Rudolph filing says details inconsistent
What to do when your client is obviously guilty? Attack the evidence, of course. Eyewitnesses always have minor inconsistencies in their statements; that's the nature of eyewitness testimony.
Posted by Mac Thomason at 11:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack