http://www.dailytexanonline.com/news/2004/06/30/StateLocal/State.Local.Briefs-690534.shtml State & Local Briefs - The Daily Texan - State & Local


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State & Local | 6/30/2004

State & Local Briefs

Inmate gets reprieve 4 hours before scheduled execution

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - A convicted killer sent to death row for a murder committed when he was 17 won a U.S. Supreme Court reprieve about four hours before he could have been executed Tuesday evening.

Lawyers for condemned prisoner Mauro Barraza had argued the lethal injection should be delayed because the high court plans later this year to review the issue of executing teenage killers.

In a death penalty case scheduled for Wednesday, a federal judge in Houston issued a temporary restraining order that blocks Texas prison officials from using a combination of three drugs in lethal injections. State authorities were appealing the order.

Barraza was condemned for the beating death of a 73-year-old Tarrant County woman, Vilorie Nelson of Haltom City, whose house he broke into in June 1989. He had turned 17 the previous month.

Federal law loophole benefiting teachers to expire today

Wednesday's expiration of a little-known loophole in a federal law has thousands of Texas teachers rushing to retire.

The loophole lets teachers get around the Government Pension Offset, a provision created to treat people who don't pay into Social Security the same way as those who do.

Created by Congress in 1977, the offset keeps teachers who do not pay into Social Security from receiving a full spousal benefit based on their husband's or wife's work.

For couples with two incomes, the lower-paid spouse's individual benefit is subtracted from the potential spousal benefit. The couple claims what, if anything, is left over.

When one of the spouses is a Texas teacher, the offset subtracts two-thirds of his or her teacher pension from the potential spousal benefit. Again, the couple can claim any amount left over.

The loophole, however, lets the Social Security Administration ignore a teacher's pension if his or her "last working day" was spent in a job that pays into Social Security. That means there is nothing to subtract from the spousal benefit, so the couple can claim the entire amount.

Federal judge bars reporter from public courtroom hearing

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - A federal judge may have improperly barred a newspaper intern from the arraignment of a prominent grocery chain manager, The Brownsville Herald reported Tuesday.

Jaime Miguel Lopez, one of the operators of the 13-store Lopez supermarket chain, pleaded guilty Monday to cashing more than $500,000 worth of stolen U.S. Treasury checks. In exchange for the plea, he agreed to help investigators with cases related to the scheme.

But the newspaper says it learned about the plea only after filing a federal Freedom of Information Act request.

Before the hearing, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, acting on a request by Lopez's attorneys, ordered the courtroom cleared of anyone not involved in the case. A bailiff escorted out newspaper intern Pate McMichael, the only such person in the room.

Jim Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights project, said the First Amendment gives the media the same access to courtrooms as the public and the reporter had the right to stay.

Police officer in 'Baby Jessica' rescue sentenced to prison

MIDLAND, Texas - A former Midland police officer who helped in the 1987 rescue of "Baby Jessica McClure" was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in federal prison on charges of sexual exploitation of a child and improper storage of explosives.

William Andrew Glasscock Jr., 52, pleaded guilty to the charges in February, admitting he used a hidden camera to film a 12-year-old girl undressing and getting in and out of the shower last summer at his home.

He also admitted he stored 400 pounds of high explosives, 1,700 blasting caps, a detonator cord, an artillery shell, two pipe bombs and four homemade hand grenades at his Midland County home.

Compiled from Associated Press Reports

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