North Carolina Death Row Inmate Writes Letter About Life of 'Leisure'

A convicted murderer on death row in North Carolina wrote a taunting letter to his hometown newspaper about his life of "leisure" in prison and making a mockery of the legal system.

Danny Robbie Hembree Jr. was found guilty of murdering 17-year-old Heather Catterton in 2009 and was sentenced to death on Nov. 18, 2011.

Hembree, 50, is on death row at Central Prison in Raleigh, N.C., but he's not looking for any pity in the letter he sent to The Gaston Gazette.

"Is the public aware that I am a gentleman of leisure, watching color TV in the A.C., reading, taking naps at will, eating three well balanced hot meals a day," Hembree asked in the letter. "I'm housed in a building that connects to the new 55 million dollar hospital with round the clock free medical care 24/7."

He also asks if the public knows that the chances of his "lawful murder" taking place in the next 20 years, if ever, are "very slim."

Hembree has also been accused of killing two other women. One was 30-year-old Randi Dean Saldana, whose burnt remains were found near Blacksburg, S.C. in 2009. The other was 30-year-old Deborah Ratchford, whose body was found in 1992.

He admitted to taking drugs and having sex with Catterton and Saldana on the days they died, but told jurors he did not kill them or dispose of their bodies, according to ABC News' Raleigh-Durham affiliate WTVD. He is scheduled to go on trial for Saldana's killing in March.

Hembree confessed to killing the three women during recorded police interviews, but later said the confessions were an attempt to cover up a string of armed robberies, according to the Gaston Gazette.

In the letter, Hembree also mocks the judicial system.

"I laugh at you self righteous clowns and I spit in the face of your so called justice system. The state of North Carolina has sentenced me to death but it's not real," he wrote.

North Carolina State Representative Paul Stam told WTVD that the letter is a travesty of justice. He said that it is more likely that Hembree will die of natural causes than of the death penalty.

"His punishment does not fit his crime at all," Stam said.

Hembree tells the citizens of Gaston County, N.C., that they should petition that state and force them to carry out his "murder sentence."

The Gaston County District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to request for comment.

"I am a man who is ready to except [sic] his unjustful punishment and face God almighty with a clean conscience unlike you cowards and your cowardly system," Hembree wrote. "Kill me if you can suckers. Ha! Ha! Ha!"

The letter is signed, "Sincerely, Danny Hembree."

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North Korea Restores Order to Kim Funeral With Photoshop

The funeral procession for Kim Jong-Il was carried out with military precision and when a handful of dawdlers messed up those regimented lines, they were eliminated. From the photo, that is.

A photo released by the North Korea's state news agency and transmitted by the Germany-based European Pressphoto Agency is slightly different from a photo taken at nearly the identical moment and released by Japanese agency Kyodo News.

The Japanese picture captured a half-dozen men near a camera on a tripod lingering behind the line of mourners on the left side of the boulevard as the motorcade passed by.

In the photo by the North Korean Central News Agency, those men, their camera and their footprints have been digitally removed, restoring absolute order to the crowds lining the boulevard as the cortege passed by.

The alterations were discovered by the New York Times with the help of digital forensics expert Hany Farid of Dartmouth College.

The European Pressphoto Agency, which distributed the doctored North Korea photo, issued a "mandatory kill" for its clients, meaning they were not to use the picture.

The agency granted an exception to ABC News "for the sole purpose of being able to show and explain what had been altered before the picture was provided to international news agencies by KCNA [North Korean Central News Agency]. We consider this as part of a transparent and responsible clarification process."

A European Pressphoto Agency spokeswoman told ABC News, "Any kind of digital manipulation violates EPA's code of ethics."

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Gale and storm warning for north

26 November 2011 Last updated at 10:26 ET

Severe to storm force winds have been forecast for parts of northern Scotland

Severe gale and storm force winds are set to hit the north east and far north of Scotland overnight, forecasters have warned.

The westerly winds are expected to reach up to 80mph in parts of Grampian, the Highlands and Orkney and Shetland.

The Met Office has issued an Amber alert for the areas, from after midnight through until Sunday morning.

Gusting winds could cause structural damage to buildings, cut power supplies in exposed areas and disrupt travel.

The Met Office said there was a slight chance winds could reach up to 95mph for a short time early on Sunday morning.

Strong winds on Saturday have seen speed restrictions on the Skye, Friarton, Erskine, Tay and Clackmannanshire bridges.

The Forth Road Bridge was closed to high-sided vehicles, bikes and pedestrians.

The weather also brought disruption and cancellations to some CalMac ferry routes, including the small isles, Skye and Lewis.

Edinburgh Castle also had to close early due to the high winds.

Northern Constabulary said there had been a landslip near to the A82 at Letterfinlay and temporary traffic lights were in use.

Heavy rain is also forecast across the country, with flood warnings in place for Caithness and Sutherland, Tayside, Easter Ross and the Great Glen.

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Continue Reading... Labels: north, storm, warning