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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
NEWS 864-4810
ADVERTISING 864-4358
SECTION A VOL.103.NO.74
(USPS 650-640)
Freshman denies stealing television from McCollum
While the rest of the student body begins finals Thursday, Jason D. Holloway will be appearing in Douglas County court for a crime he says he did not commit.
KU police Sgt. Chris Keary said that Holloway, St. Peters, Mo., freshman, was one of three men seen carrying a television out of McColm Hall early Saturday morning. Keary said that hall staff spotted the men outside of McColm about 4:30 a.m. and told the men to stop.
Not only did the men stop, they dropped the 27-inch television causing $600 damage, Keary said. Two of the men then ran away.
The men had carried the large television from the third floor lounge area. Keary said.
TUESDAY. DECEMBER 10, 1996
"It was an older television, but in good working condition," Keary said. "It was the kind of T.V. in a big wooden cabinet with speakers down the sides."
Holloway, who lives on the third floor, said that he was not involved with the theft.
"I went out to a friend's car and saw the men carrying the T.V. around the corner," Holloway said. "I ran over to see what they were doing. I thought it was a prank or something."
Holloway said hall staff were incorrect to identify him as one of the men carrying the television. "They ought to check the T.V. for fingerprints because mine won't be on it," Holloway said. "I'm angry that I had to go to jail for nothing."
Keary said that two additional suspects were described only as Caucasian males by hall staff.
Excellent students by their stam
Keary said anyone with information about the identities of the two other men could call KU Crime Stoppers at 864-8888.
Kansan staff report
Holloway, who posted $1,500 bond Saturday afternoon, will be charged with felony theft and criminal damage at his first appearance at 3 p.m. Thursday.
Improved relations are goals of latest talks
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary William Perry and China's defense minister began talks yesterday on improving military relations, with both men expressing hope that their discussions will lead to better relations between the two powers.
The talks started after an early morning round of honors for Defense Minister Chi Haotian on the Pentagon's frosty parade grounds. The meetings were expected to touch on issues ranging from Taiwan to weapons proliferation.
The Chinese general met briefly with President Clinton at the White House. White House representative David Johnson said the 20-minute session set the stage for the rest of Chi's U.S. visit.
Supreme Court looks at race in voting districts
WASHINGTON — The racial politics of running for Congress in Georgia and for a local school board in Louisiana provided the backdrop yesterday as the Supreme Court examined the use of race in redrawing election districts.
In separate argument sessions, the count appeared wary of redistricting efforts aimed at maximizing Black candidates' success.
In the Georgia case, the Clinton administration and Black voters are asking the court to strike down a congressional map that features one majority-Black district so a plan with two can be put in place. In the Louisiana case, a school board redistricting plan that includes no majority-Black districts is under attack.
The Associated Press
NO STATE shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
—AMENDMENT XIV, SECTION I
Photo illustration of Leroy Hendricks by Bryan Volk / KANSAN
The U. S. Supreme Court will hear arguments today in the case of convicted sexual predator Leroy Hendricks. As the court decides the constitutionality of Kansas' Sexually Violent Predator Act, KU professors and School of Law graduates are fighting for...
JUSTICE FOR ALL
The only way for Leroy Hendricks to guarantee he'll stop molesting children is for Leroy Hendricks to die
That's what Hendricks told the court during a 1994 trial after he had served 10 years for fondling two 13-year-old boys who came into the electronics shop where he worked. It was not his first offense.
In 1955, at age 20, he exposed his genitals to two young girls. In 1957, he was caught playing strip poker with a 14-year-old girl. While working at a carnival in 1960, he molested two young boys. And after serving three years for that, he was arrested again for repeatedly molesting a 7-year-old girl.
In 1965, he was convicted of performing oral sex on an 8-year-old girl and fondling an 11-year-old boy. When he was released from prison in 1972 he began to molest his stepchildren.
STORIES BY ERIN ROONEY
After the 1984 incident in the electronics shop, he was scheduled to be released on Sept. 11, 1994.
Hendricks claims Kansas violated his 14th Amendment right. He says involuntarily committing him to the mental health facility violates the Constitution's double jeopardy and ex post facto clauses and substantive due process principles.
But the state of Kansas had other plans. The 1994 Kansas Legislature had passed the Sexually Violent Predator Act mandating people like Hendricks be committed long-term to a mental facility after their release from prison.
Against his will, Hendricks was placed in the Larned State Mental Health Correctional Facility to be treated. He remains today.
The Kansas Supreme Court agreed with Hendricks. The state attorneys did not. Now Hendricks' case is scheduled
Two KU professors of law have helped prepare arguments for both sides of the case. After hearing the arguments, the Supreme Court will have to decide...
to be heard before the U.S. Supreme Court today.
Both professors have asked themselves "the Hendricks question" hundreds of times during the past few months.
David Gottlieb, professor of criminal law and procedure, has been assisting Hendricks' attorney, Tom Weilert, since the case was accepted by the Supreme Court. He thinks the state's attempt to keep Hendricks locked away is a punishment not distinguishable from a prison sentence. A position that means Hendricks should be set free.
Should this man go free?
See PREDATORS, Page 5A
Expired visa elicits danger
KU student faces persecution for protests against Ethiopia
By Bradley Brooks Kansan staff writer
in the meantime, however, he is receiving emotional and financial support from his friends and fellow students.
A KU student who has been in jail for more than three weeks and faces deportation to, and possible persecution in Ethiopia, can only wait for his future to unfold.
Hamel Mesfin, known to his friends as Mamooah, Kansas City, Mo., junior, was arrested on Nov. 16 in front of his workplace, Miracle Video, 1910 Haskell Ave., by Immigration and Naturalization Services agents for an expired visa. He is being held in Plattsburg, Mo., County Jail.
Mesfin, who came to the United States in 1988, said that he protested against Ethiopia's government as a teen-ager, and that he would be persecuted if deported.
Sources contacted to officially confirm Mesin's worries, including Human Rights Watch in New York City and KU professors, refused to go on the record. But a U.S. Department of State official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Ethiopia's government was in a tumultuous state.
"There are significant human-rights abuses that occur in Ethiopia, and the government is in dialogues to correct those," the official said. "There have been a whole raft of allegations."
According to the 1995 Human Rights for Ethiopia Report compiled by the State Department, Ethiopia's government is guilty of many abuses.
"The government at times harassed, arrested and arbitrarily detained journalists and political activists. The judicial system remains weak, understaffed, and at times, subject to political influence," the document stated.
These findings are what worry Mesfin about being deported to Ethiopia, and are what he and his attorney, Roger McCrummen, are working to avoid. Last week, McCrummen filed an application for a stay
How to help
Letters in support of Mesfin can be sent to Roger McCrummen, his attorney, at the following addresses:
E-Mail: kssrsm@micro.com
Fax: 816-474-6822
Mailing address: 1100 Main St., Suite 2001, Kansas City, Mo.. 64105
To contribute to the defense fund, make checks payable to Mamaosh's Legal Defense Fund, care of Mercantile Bank, P.O. Box 428, Lawrence, Kan., 60644.
the district director of Immigration and Naturalization Services in Kansas City, Mo., who has the authority to grant the stay.
McCrummen said that he hoped to have an application for the reopening of Mesfin's case filed with an immigration judge from the Department of Justice by Thursday.
Until a stay is granted or his case is reopened, Mesfin can only wait for a deportation order, which could arrive any day.
"I'm hanging in here waiting for a decision," Mesfin said. "I'm hoping it will come this week."
Mesfin said that the first week in jail he rarely slept, but that he was feeling more relaxed now.
"I know I can't make any difference by worrying day and night," he said. "I'm trying to take it easy and hope for the best."
Mesfin's friends in Lawrence have been working hard to aid Mesfin financially and emotionally. Mesfin said that many visitors had come to show support.
"We just want to help him out any way we can," said Anthony Case, co-founder of the band.
There has also been a legal defense-fund account set up at the Mercantile Bank.
for now, Mesfin said that while he was more acclimated to his surroundings, he was ready to come home.
"I miss all my friends. I am so grateful for what they're doing. I miss school, as crazy as that sounds," Mesfin said. "But most of all, I miss freedom."
TODAY
Weather: Page 2A
Fire truck destroys student's car
INDEX
Television ...2A
Campus ...3A, 4B
Opinion ...4A
Scoreboard ...2B
Horoscopes ...3B
Classifieds ...7B
By Andrea Albright
Kansan staff writer
The Lawrence Fire Department had an accident of its own yesterday morning after a hazardous materials fire truck struck a Geo Metro at the intersection of 19th and Iowa Streets while responding to an emergency call.
Lawrence police Sgt. Susan Hadl said that just before 10 a.m., two fire trucks were heading north on Iowa with flashing lights and sirens on, when an 18-year-old KU student rom Salina attempted to cross Iowa Street going west. The Geo Metro the student was driving never made it through the intersection.
Hadl said the Metro spun in the street and landed at the northeast corner of the intersection.
The woman driving the Metro had to be extracted from her vehicle, but had only minor injuries. Hadl said.
"They had to use the jaw equipment to get her out," Hadl said. "But she was wearing her seat belt."
Hadl said the woman was taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital where she was treated and released for cuts.
As the fire truck slid to a stop, another car waiting to turn east onto 19th Street was hit by the truck. A Ford LTD that also was driven by a KU student was slightly damaged.
No fire department personnel were injured.
Lawrence Fire Department Battalion Chief Bill Stark said other fire trucks were able to respond to the original accident north of town.
A KU student's Geo Metro is destroyed after being hit by an oncoming fire truck. The driver sustained only minor bruises and abrasions in the accident yesterday morning.