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Nation in brief

Texas drifter executed for slaying of art student

By wire services
Published July 29, 2005

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - A one-time drifter was executed Thursday for the rape and murder of a woman who was attacked on a jogging trail eight years ago.

David Martinez, 29, was put to death for the slaying of Kiersa Paul, an art student from Minnesota who had gone to meet him at an Austin park. She had met Martinez through mutual friends.

"Only the sky and green grass goes on forever, and today is a good day to die," Martinez said in a brief statement.

As the lethal injection began taking effect, Martinez sputtered and gasped several times before losing consciousness. He was pronounced dead eight minutes later.

Paul's parents, holding hands with another of their daughters, watched through a window. He made brief eye contact but said nothing to them.

On the night she was killed, the 24-year-old Paul told her sister she was heading to a popular Austin park to meet someone she knew only as "Wolf," which was Martinez's nickname.

The next morning, her body was found by a jogger. She had been raped and strangled.

FORT STEWART, Ga. - An Army mechanic who refused to go to Iraq while he sought conscientious objector status was acquitted of desertion Thursday but found guilty of a lesser charge and sentenced to 15 months behind bars.

Sgt. Kevin Benderman, 40, also was given a dishonorable discharge and a reduction in rank to private on the charge of missing movement. If he had been found guilty of desertion, he could have faced five years in prison.

Benderman failed to deploy with his 3rd Infantry Division unit in January, 10 days after he told Fort Stewart commanders he was seeking a discharge as a conscientious objector. He has previously said he refused to deploy to Iraq after his first combat tour during the 2003 invasion made him opposed to war.

Benderman's company commander and direct supervisor in the division's 3rd Forward Support Battalion flew to Fort Stewart from Iraq to testify Thursday that the soldier disobeyed orders to deploy and demoralized his fellow troops after they left without him.

Like proud parents, San Diego Zoo officials announced Thursday that one of their giant pandas was expecting twins.

Bai Yun, whose name means White Cloud, has shown signs of pregnancy since mid July, making a nest in the zoo's birthing den, eating less and spending more time indoors, officials said.

Zoo veterinarians observed two heartbeats during an ultrasound last week and Tuesday saw both fetuses during a second ultrasound.

Zookeepers had been hopeful for another pregnancy from the two-time mother. The father is Gao Gao, whom officials saw mating with Bai Yun earlier this year.

[Last modified July 29, 2005, 00:52:10]