Browning Law News Blog

Original 1984 Case and Trial : Lane Photo Source: Duhaime John Lane was sentenced to life in prison because he put his girlfriend's, Cynthia Palmer, daughter into an oven where she burned to death. Palmer supposedly tried to intervene, but Lane beat his girlfriend unconscious.  Lane pushed the girl into the oven and propped a chair against it, so she couldn't come out, and turned the heat to the highest setting. Court evidence showed that the girl suffered a severe scalp laceration before she was placed into the oven. The police were brought to the scene because they noticed a smell and smoke from the apartment. Some of the neighbors complained about loud religious music coming from the apartment, and that they heard the little girl screaming, "Let me out, daddy, let me out!" The police officer who discovered the scene quit his job soon after because he was disturbed by what he saw. Lane pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but his defense fell apart....

Photo Source:  BRYAN WOOLSTON/REUTERS   On May 12, 2015,  an Amtrak train was derailed which caused at least eight deaths and over 200 injuries to those on board. Preliminary data shows that the train was approaching a curve going around 100 miles per hour during the time of the derailment, when the speed limit of that section of track was 50 mph and just before the curve the speed limit is 80 mph. The section of the track was not equipped positive train control which is an automated speed control system, though Amtrak has put out a statement saying that they have plans on fully activating the speed control system by the end of this year. with It looks like the engineer set the brakes before the crash, but it is unsure exactly what happened because he sustained a concussion during the crash. Authorities are looking to see whether the crash was due to human or mechanical error. The Federal Railroad Administration has said that this is Amtrak's 9th derailment this ye...