Word: murderings
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...Londongrad" is abuzz with controversy in the wake of Litvinenko's ghoulish Nov. 23 demise and his deathbed accusation that his murder was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin's denial of involvement was complicated by the discovery that former Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar, a Putin critic, had fallen ill in Ireland the day after Litvinenko died. Gaidar has since tested negative for radiation poisoning. But Litvinenko's wife and an Italian security analyst who met him at the sushi restaurant the day he fell ill have tested positive for radioactivity...
OVERTURNED. The conviction of Derek Tice, 36, one of the "Norfolk Four" Navy sailors found guilty of the 1997 rape and murder of a Navy wife; by a judge who ruled that police had violated Tice's Miranda rights in obtaining his confession; in Norfolk, Va. Tice, who is serving a life sentence, and three other sailors claimed they confessed falsely under police coercion. A fifth convicted man--the only one linked to the crime by DNA--says the sailors were not involved. A judge will rule on Dec. 20 on whether Tice should be released...
...cleric himself is still deep in hiding. During the summer's fighting, the Israelis made no secret that they were trying to assassinate him. Western diplomats in Beirut say they are trying to persuade the Israelis that killing the Hizballah boss is no longer a good idea. His murder could spark reprisals across the Middle East. Hizballah has ways of taking revenge. After Israelis targeted a previous Hizballah leader in 1992, the militia blew up the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires. Should Nasrallah be killed, Israeli missions today would be similarly at risk--as would U.S. interests around the world...
...Though newly discovered DNA evidence has helped right close to 200 wrongful convictions in recent years, the DNA evidence that failed to link Tice, Williams and Dick to the murder was actually presented to the juries before they were convicted. What they didn't hear anything about, however, was the phenomenon of false confessions; until recently, most juries were in the same position, so it's no wonder that few confessions are ever thrown...
...Whatever the agenda of those behind the killings, the effect may be more devastating than they intend. Says former KGB General and now a dissenting Duma member Alexei Kondaurov: "The Litvinenko murder landmarks the precedent of nuclear terrorism. Unless it is resolved, terrorists of any mettle will know they can get away with it." Putin's failure to help resolve that crime will also further institutionalize violence as a tool of political struggle, he believes. "Then, both the state, factions within the state, and opposition forces will habitually resort to murder as a political expediency. This will smash the country...