Condemned Ohio killer facing execution found hanging in cell
Condemned Ohio killer facing execution found hanging in cell
CLEVELAND — A man condemned to death for fatally stabbing a neighbor during a Cleveland burglary was found hanged in his cell Sunday just days before his Wednesday execution.
Billy Slagle, 44, was found at about 5 a.m. at the Chillicothe Correctional Institution south of Columbus and was declared dead within the hour, prison spokeswoman JoEllen Smith said.
“He was in his cell alone. No other inmates suspected to be involved,” Smith said in an email. “It does appear to be a suicide.”
Under regular prison policy, he was scheduled to be placed under pre-execution watch Sunday morning but “was not yet placed under constant watch,” Smith said.
Slagle’s defense team was shocked and saddened at the news and had no clue he might commit suicide, attorney Vicki Werneke said.
Egyptian authorities: Clock ticking on talks to end pro-Morsi sit-ins
CAIRO — Egypt’s highest security body warned Sunday that the clock is ticking for a peaceful end to the standoff over sit-ins by supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, suggesting that authorities will break up the protests unless mediation efforts produce results soon.
More than a month after the military overthrew Morsi, thousands of the Islamist leader’s supporters remain camped out in two main crossroads in Cairo demanding his reinstatement. Egypt’s military-backed interim leadership has issued a string of warnings for them to disperse or security forces will move in, setting the stage for a potential showdown.
Also Sunday, authorities announced that a court case accusing the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and his powerful deputy of inciting violence will start Aug. 25. Morsi hails from the Brotherhood.
A top U.S. official visiting Cairo urged all sides to find a peaceful resolution to the standoff to avoid a repeat of violence that has killed more than 250 people — at least 130 of whom pro-Morsi protesters shot dead by security forces — since the July 3 military coup.
While diplomats raced to find a compromise, the Egyptian interim government signaled that its patience with the pro-Morsi sit-ins was running out.
‘Giant leap for robots’ as Japanese rocket heads to space station
TOKYO — Japan has launched the world’s first talking humanoid robot “astronaut” toward the International Space Station.
Kirobo — derived from the Japanese words for “hope” and “robot” — was among five tons of supplies and machinery on a rocket launched Sunday from Tanegashima in southwestern Japan, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said.
The childlike robot was designed to be a companion for astronaut Koichi Wakata and will communicate with another robot on Earth, according to developers. Wakata is expected to arrive at the space station in November.
Robot designer Tomotaka Takahashi, of the University of Tokyo, advertiser Dentsu and automaker Toyota Motor Corp. worked on the robot.
The challenge was making sure it could move and talk where there was no gravity.
By wire sources