Instead, state charges are being filed -- sexual assault and kidnapping -- which carry stronger penalties than federal hate crime charges. The victim, Megan Williams, 20, is black and all six suspects are white, which had raised the possibility of the federal charges. Update on this story. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Megan Williams thought she was going to a party. That's why she tagged along with a woman she hardly knew, up a remote southern West Virginia hollow to a run-down trailer surrounded by beer cans and broken-down furniture.

Update to previous post. picked by wags273 2 years ago

Six people arrested after Megan Williams was rescued in September had been charged with counts that carry maximum life sentences, but until Tuesday's indictments no one had been charged with a hate crime.

Update to this story. picked by dollyllama 2 years ago

WELL over a third of US combat troops deployed in Iraq condone torture to obtain information from insurgents and nearly one in 10 acknowledge mistreating civilians, a survey has found. picked by AutumnLotus 3 years ago

Lori Drew the woman who made the fake myspace account to mess with Megan Meier's head, but took it so far as to lead to Megan's suicide, has a blog.
She has posted her side of the story. picked by xiatethebish 2 years ago

Williams, 20, of Charleston, was held captive for more than a week at a ramshackle trailer in Logan County, where she was tortured, sexually assaulted and forced to eat animal droppings, according to criminal complaints. picked by muppet 2 years ago

A man who was last seen alive on night out in Brighton last Saturday has been found crushed to death at a waste transfer site.

The body of Scott Williams was found among rubbish deposited by a dustcart at the Sussex Waste Recycling Ltd site in North Quay Road, Newhaven, East Sussex, after apparently falling asleep in a bin.

Picture source picked by AutumnLotus 4 months ago

Allegations have been made that the US threatened to withdraw intelligence co-operation over the publication of a high court document relating to Guantanamo detainee Binyam Mohamed that would have implicated the UK in US torture operations. By extension this would also implicate the US in these operations. picked by pocksucket 10 months ago

Dolphins running back Ricky Williams said the extra free time was the reason he was thinking of using marijuana. picked by Bornbad 1 year ago

While the move represents a step toward ascertaining the legal accountability of top Bush administration officials for allegations of torture and mistreatment of prisoners in its so-called war on terror, some US specialists experts said that even if warrants were issued their significance could be more symbolic than practical, and that it was likely that they would not lead to arrests if the offic... read full post picked by dollyllama 8 months ago

Yesterday, President Obama addressed the hot topic of Neda, the young Iranian woman who was shot and killed during the protests in Teheran. As Obama was answering - attesting to how "heartbreaking" he found the video, Helen Thomas, who hadn't been called on, interrupted to ask Obama about the Iranian images with his efforts at home to suppress America's own torture photos ("Then wh... read full post picked by bingo 5 months ago

More than half of people who attend services at least once a week -- 54 percent -- said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is "often" or "sometimes" justified. Only 42 percent of people who "seldom or never" go to services agreed, according to the analysis released Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. picked by dollyllama 7 months ago

"It is no wonder that this memo ... could not withstand scrutiny and had to be withdrawn," said Leahy, D-Vermont. "This memo seeks to find ways to avoid legal restrictions and accountability on torture and threatens our country's status as a beacon of human rights around the world." picked by dollyllama 2 years ago

John Yoo, the former Deputy Attorney General at the agency’s Office of Legal Counsel, who drafted the infamous “torture memos” that gave former President George W. Bush and CIA interrogators the legal cover they needed to torture suspected terrorist detainees, offered some clues behind the genesis of the August 2002 legal opinions. picked by 2manyusernames 6 months ago

...but (you know there's a "but"). The definition of "torture" is subject to change at Bush's whim. Indefinite imprisonment of poorly defined "unlawful combatants" is allowed. Habeas corpus is suspended for detainees. Coerced testimony at trial is A-OK. Interrogators who may have engaged in torture are retroactively immunized. Witch-burning not specifically mentione... read full post picked by Galoot 3 years ago

“Kuntzkamera” is a museum in St. Petersburg founded by Russian Tsar Peter the First. He collected different weird stuff from all over Russia such as freaky people, animals preserved in alcohol, torture instruments, strange paintings and much more. Here are photos: picked by ogri2003 2 years ago

Ever had delicious cookies in the house and, try as you might, you can't avoid eating them? ... It's torture! Well, apparently U.S.officials questioning al-Qaeda operative Abu Jandal thought so. A handful of cookies later, and he talked! picked by bingo 6 months ago

Article on the use of "sleep deprivation," a term we will now have to always render in quotes, as the irony of describing one sort of torture as a means of covering up three or four other kinds of torture is both diabolical and morbidly depraved. picked by theclansman 7 months ago

Oh! my dear Brian Williams. You have given me much for which to be thankful on tomorrow's Thanksgiving Day! That lush, deep verdant cravat--with its tasteful trios of narrow pearlescent stripes widely spaced upon its grassy field--helps to close that Fashion Gap in your Tie Wardrobe. Can...paisley be next? picked by Bornbad 12 months ago

In 1979 Kit Williams published Masquerade, a book that told the story of a hare who lost his treasure. The treasure was a real gold amulet and cryptic clues scattered throughout the sixteen illustrations were intended to point the way to those with a keen eye to where the treasure was buried. Williams has been reunited with his hare for the first time. picked by pocksucket 3 months ago