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As well as bricks and knives.Sugar can be dangerous too, you know.
The death sentence of a man convicted of killing three Birmingham police officers more than a decade ago was upheld by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday. The judges rejected the appeal of death row inmate Nathaniel Woods, who claimed his lawyer wasn't effective during his trial in the fatal shootings of officers Carlos Owen, Harley Chisholm and Charles Bennett, according to The Associated Press.
Officers Harley Chisholm III, Carlos Owen and Charles Bennett
The three police officers were serving a warrant at a one-story row house near 18th Street and Avenue P, in the Ensley area of the city around 1:30 p.m. on June 17, 2004 when the incident occurred. Owen and Chisholm entered the apartment through the back door to arrest the man on a misdemeanor assault charge when he broke away from them and ran toward the front of the house where Bennett was about to come through the front door.
One of the suspects then opened fire with an automatic SKS rifle, killing all three officers and wounding a fourth officer. The Woods, the gunman, and several other suspects were taken into custody near the scene by a SWAT team a short time later. On January 19, 2005, Woods was convicted of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder and later that year was given three death sentences.
Death Sentence Upheld for Man Who Killed Three Alabama Officers
Harris County Constable May Walker settled into the chair in her Precinct 7 office and made the appeal that's been on her mind since mid-April: Help Houston police investigators find the person who shot her deputy. It's been more than two weeks since the night of April 13 when a man ambushed Alden Clopton, shooting the 48-year-old Precinct 7 deputy constable four times in the back and side as he was chatting with a colleague after a traffic stop. "We need some more information so we can find this perpetrator," Walker said. "We felt that was an ambush. We want to make sure none of the law enforcement officers in Houston or anywhere else is subject to anything this bad."
The shooting sent Clopton to Memorial Hermann's Texas Trauma Institute. Though doctors initially said he would be able to leave the hospital in a week, the married father of six married remains there in "fair" condition, according to the facility's doctors. His recovery could take between six months and a year, Walker said, Friday. "We're just trying to keep the message alive and hope he'll be out of hospital and start his recovery and know we did go out and find the suspect," she said.
Deputy Constable Alden Clopton
The shooting, which came just months after the high-profile murder of Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth, highlighted the dangers peace officers face, said Harris County Deputies' Organization President David Cuevas, who separately urged tipsters to come forward. "Any time there's an ambush type shooting, it always raises a concern among the rank and file as well as the public," he said, of the impact such incidents have. "We're just reiterating to our members - to be cautious while doing their job, and it brings reality to how things can change from day to day and call to call."
Crime Stoppers of Houston, a non-profit public safety organization, has doubled a reward to $10,000, for information leading to the arrest of the shooter. The Houston Police Department, meanwhile, has been investigating the shooting, initially questioning a man whom they said matched the description of the shooter. That lead didn't pan out, however, and after watching the case fall off the public radar, Walker and her colleagues took to the airwaves Friday in support of her deputy, making a public plea for information.
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