Crime / Punishment

A man suspected in a series of fatal stabbings in the Flint, Michigan area has been found guilty of first-degree murder in one of those fatal stabbings. Elias Abuelazam was convicted of the August 2010 murder of Arnold Minor in the first of the cases to go to trial.

Under Michigan law, Abuelazam faces life in prison without parole. Read More...

A 21-year-old California man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and kidnapping in connection with a 15-year-old girl who has been missing since March. Antolin Garcia-Torres is being held in the Santa Clara County Jail in the disappearance of Sierra LaMar, who was last seen March 16.

Garcia-Torres is the owner of a red VW Jetta that was confiscated by police May 8. Read More...

Kentucky death row inmate Robert Foley, 55, has been trying to get a hip replacement operation for over a year, but according to prison officials, because he is considered to be extremely dangerous no surgeon or hospital is willing to get involved.

Foley was found guilty of killing six people in Kentucky from 1989 until 1991, which gives him the highest victim count than any other death row inmate in the state. Now his lawyer has filed a lawsuit stating that Foley has the right to receive proper care, regardless of how difficult a task it may be for the state to provide that care. Read More...

When the trial of a former Illinois policeman for the death of his third wife begins at the end of July, prosecutors will not be able to mention that his fourth wife may also be dead. After three years of court battles, the trial of Drew Peterson for the murder of Kathleen Slavio is scheduled to begin July 23.

Former Bolingbrook police sergeant Peterson is also suspected, but not charged, in the death of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson. Read More...

A 67-year-old Washington man has been found guilty of voyeurism in a case that was prompted by evidence found during an investigation into the 2009 disappearance of his daughter-in-law, Susan Powell. Steven Powell was convicted of 14 counts of voyeurism stemming from photographs he took of two little girls who were his next door neighbors.

Susan Powell has not been seen since she disappeared from her Utah home in December 2009. Read More...

After a Peruvian judge approved provisional detention for convicted killer Joran Van der Sloot, the main suspect in the disappearance of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway announced his plans to fight extradition to the United States. Van der Sloot faces extortion and wire fraud charges in the U.S. in connection with the Holloway case.

Van der Sloot has been indicted in the U.S. for taking $25,000 from Beth Holloway in exchange for telling her where she could find Natalee, which he never did. Read More...

The Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled that a woman can be found in contempt of court and sent to jail if she refuses to testify against a man she accused of sexual assault.

The ruling came after a Kansas woman refused to testify against a man that she said sexually assaulted her 17 years ago when she was seven years old. She later refused to testify against him saying that to do so would cause her and her family deep humiliation. However, according to state law, when it comes to criminal cases, witnesses cannot refuse to testify because of shame or fear of being publicly disgraced.

Poll: Should victims be forced to testify in criminal cases or face the possibility of jail time?

1. Yes.
2. No.
3. It depends on the case.
4. Undecided.

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An hour after telling the judge they were split, a Chicago jury returned guilty verdicts against the former brother-in-law of Jennifer Hudson for murdering three members of her family in 2008. William Balfour was found guilty of killing her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.

Under Illinois law, Balfour faces mandatory life without parole sentences for the multiple murders. Read More...

A Mississippi man accused of kidnapping a Tennessee woman and her three daughters has died as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and two of the sisters have been found alive. Adam Mayes shot himself in the head in the woods near Guntown where he had been holding the two girls, whom he may have believed were his biological daughters.

Authorities said Alexandria Bain, 12, and Kyliyah Bain, 8, were suffering from dehydration and exhaustion, but otherwise appeared okay. Read More...

Defense attorneys offered no opening statement as the murder trial of a man accused in a series of stabbings in the Flint, Michigan area in 2010 got underway. Elias Abuelazam is on trial for the stabbing death of Arnold Minor on Aug. 2, 2010.

Minor was killed in front of a motorcycle shop on South Saginaw on Flint's south side. Read More...