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Noteworthy

Briefs and news of note.

By TIMES WIRES
Published May 16, 2006

FBI: 122 officers were killed in 2005

Fifty police officers were shot to death in the United States last year, among 122 who were killed in the line of duty. In all, 55 officers were killed intentionally, two fewer than in 2004, according to preliminary FBI statistics released Monday. Vehicles were used in five deaths, the bureau said. There were 67 accidental deaths of officers in 2005, 15 fewer than 2004, the FBI said. There was no description of how those deaths occurred.

Texas execution is postponed

HOUSTON - A Texas appeals court on Monday postponed the execution of a gang member who challenged whether the state's method of lethal injection is unconstitutionally cruel.

Derrick Sean O'Brien, 31, was condemned for the 1993 slayings of two teenage girls and had been scheduled to die today.

Jay Burnett, one of O'Brien's lawyers, said it was not certain how long the reprieve would last.

The U.S. Supreme Court last month heard arguments in a similar Florida case that questioned whether inmates can file last-minute civil rights challenges to the use of lethal injection chemicals. Critics say that a painkilling drug could wear off before the lethal drugs take effect.

The high court's decision to hear the Florida case renewed legal efforts around the country on behalf of death row prisoners. Executions have also been blocked in California, Delaware, Maryland and Missouri.

THE UNUSUAL

1st double amputee conquers Everest

A New Zealand man whose legs were severed below the knees because of frostbite more than two decades ago became the first double amputee to reach the summit of the world's tallest mountain on Monday. Mark Inglis has spent a grueling 40 days on Mount Everest in his bid to reach the 29,035-foot summit on his prosthetic legs. Inglis, 47, a mountain guide, had both legs severed just below the knees after suffering frostbite when he was trapped by storms while climbing New Zealand's highest peak, Mount Cook, in 1982. He and his climbing companion were found barely alive two weeks after they were forced into an ice cave.

UPDATE

South African trials

South Africa's former Deputy President Jacob Zuma will resume his duties as the deputy leader of the ruling African National Congress after his acquittal last week on rape charges, the party said Monday. He had voluntarily halted his official party duties when he was charged in December. Zuma was fired by President Thabo Mbeki as the deputy president after corruption charges were filed against him last year. He is scheduled to go on trial in July on fraud and corruption charges connected with a large government arms deal. Those charges were unrelated to the rape case.

[Last modified May 16, 2006, 07:17:39]