In the News

Men arrested in Va. slayings had been investigated in Pa. death

WASHINGTON, Pa. – Ricky Javon Gray and Ray Joseph Dandridge are charged with murder and conspiracy in the New Year’s Day slayings of a couple and their two children and three killings in another home on Jan. 6, all in Richmond. Members of both families were bound and their throats cut.

Gray and Dandridge were under investigation in the death of Gray’s wife, but police didn’t have enough evidence to arrest them before the Richmond slayings, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

The body of Gray’s wife, 35-year-old Treva Gray, was found Nov. 5 near woods in Washington, about 20 miles south of Pittsburgh. There was no sign of trauma to her body. The cause of her death is not known.

“No one has a crystal ball,” Washington County District Attorney John C. Pettit said Tuesday. “We didn’t have the evidence and there was no indication as to these people going anywhere and doing what ultimately occurred in Richmond, Virginia.”

Pettit said Ricky Gray and Dandridge were considered “persons of interest” in Treva Gray’s death. But he said he agreed with police, after a thorough investigation, that there was not enough evidence to arrest them for the Pennsylvania deaths.

If enough evidence is discovered, Pennsylvania officials would consider arresting the men and trying to extradite them, but “Virginia should proceed first,” Pettit said.

California executes second oldest death-row inmate

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. – California executed its oldest death row inmate early Tuesday despite arguments from prisoner advocates that condemning a blind and wheelchair-bound inmate in his 70s violated the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Clarence Ray Allen, whose 76th birthday was Monday, was pronounced dead at 12:38 a.m. at San Quentin State Prison. He became the second-oldest inmate put to death nationally since the Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to resume in 1976.

Allen, who was blind and mostly deaf, suffered from diabetes and had a nearly fatal heart attack in September. He required four correctional officers to lift him out of his wheelchair into the death chamber.

The high court rejected his requests for a stay of execution about 10 hours before he was to be put to death. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denied Allen clemency Friday.

Russia, China join in demanding Iranian nuclear compliance

LONDON – Moscow and Beijing joined the U.S. and its European allies in demanding Monday that Iran fully suspend its nuclear program, while Vladimir Putin held out hope for a compromise, saying Tehran might agree to move its uranium enrichment program to Russia.

China, Russia, France, the United States, Germany, and Britain expressed “serious concerns” about Iran’s resumption of small-scale uranium enrichment, Britain’s Foreign Office said.

The powers stopped short of referring the issue to the U.N. Security Council, which could impose sanctions, instead calling for an emergency board meeting of the International Atomic Energy on Feb. 2-3 to discuss the issue. The 35-nation IAEA board could itself refer the issue to the Security Council.

The diplomatic activity came days after Iran removed U.N. seals at its main uranium enrichment plant and resumed nuclear fuel research after a two-year hiatus.

Iraq’s electoral commission says more than 99 percent of parliamentary vote valid

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraq’s electoral commission ruled Monday that more than 99 percent of the ballots from the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections are valid, opening the way for a new government to start coming together.

Final election results have been delayed by fraud complaints mainly lodged by the Sunni Arab minority, and groups looking for a political edge in dealing with the Shiite Muslim majority could still make further protests and hold up the naming of new leaders for two or three months.

Iraq’s electoral commission announced it was throwing out votes from 227 ballot boxes because of fraud, a tiny percentage – less than 1 percent – of the total vote that shouldn’t affect the overall results.