Foreign
Idaho man in ‘Doomsday’ killings is sentenced to death
![](https://naijablitznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Chad-Daybell.jpg)
An Idaho judge on Saturday sentenced a man to death, two days after he was found guilty of first-degree murder and other charges in the 2019 killings of his first wife and two of his current wife’s children, capping a case that drew scrutiny because of the couple’s “doomsday” religious beliefs.
The decision came after jurors took more than a day to deliberate during the special sentencing proceeding in the case against the man, Chad Daybell, 55, in Ada County District Court in Boise, Idaho.
Earlier on Saturday, the jury had recommended the death penalty before the judge ordered a short recess to make a final sentencing decision.
As the judge, Steven W. Boyce of the Seventh Judicial District, read his sentencing decision, Mr. Daybell sat with his hands in his lap, expressionless at the defense table. Defense lawyers did not have any questions when asked by the judge.
On Friday, relatives of the victims delivered statements, often struggling for words.
Prosecutors said the death penalty was justified, pointing to aggravating factors. They argued that the crimes were particularly “heinous, atrocious or cruel”; that Mr. Daybell was motivated by the desire for remuneration; and that he continued to represent a danger to society.
Lindsey Blake, a prosecutor, described extreme religious claims by Mr. Daybell of having visions in which he could determine whether someone was “dark” or “possessed,” in which cases “the body had to be destroyed or die.”
What he sought, she contended, was to pursue a new life with his current spouse after collecting life insurance and other payments to be alone on a beach, “unencumbered by earthly obstacles.”
Mr. Daybell’s lawyer, John Prior, asked jurors to consider the rationale behind the original charges and see that his client was accused of espousing religious beliefs and was not motivated by money, nor was he the only suspect linked to the murders.
Even if the jurors believed that he had killed his first wife, Mr. Prior said, “that doesn’t reach the heinous, atrocious conduct” for a death penalty case.
Several relatives told of immeasurable loss, pausing to regain their composure.
“My sister was ripped from our lives,” said Samantha Gwilliam, the sister of Mr. Daybell’s first wife, Tammy Daybell.
She should not have met a violent end, but should have been doting on grandchildren and taking care of her animals and smiling, Ms. Gwilliam added.
“I will grieve for her for the rest of my life, she said. “I speak up for her now because she needs a voice.”
On Thursday, Mr. Daybell remained expressionless as he heard the guilty verdicts for three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and grand theft by deception, one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and two counts of insurance fraud.
Prosecutors filed charges in 2021 against Mr. Daybell and his wife, Lori Vallow Daybell, in the deaths of Joshua Vallow, 7, known as J.J.; and Tylee Ryan, 16. Mr. Daybell was also charged with murder in the death of his previous spouse, Tammy Daybell.
Mr. Daybell and Ms. Vallow Daybell, now 50, had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In May last year, Ms. Vallow Daybell was found guilty of murder in the deaths of her two children and of conspiring to murder her husband’s former wife. She was sentenced in July to three consecutive life terms in prison without parole.
The couple’s religious beliefs drew attention from prosecutors and the public because of their potential role in the case. According to the indictment, the couple “did endorse and teach religious beliefs for the purpose of justifying” the deaths of the children.
One of the prosecutors, Robert H. Wood, said the murders showed an “utter disregard for human life.”
Mr. Prior, the defense lawyer, described Mr. Daybell growing up in a small town in Utah and being married for 29 years, raising five children, before the “trajectory” of his life changed to “chaos” after he met his would-be wife.
“The Lori Vallow bomb being dropped on Chad Daybell’s life,” he added, “changed the path of his life. It’s not where we would be going.”
Relatives of the children and Tammy Daybell recounted the pain they felt and mourned the lost potential of their lives.
Matthew Douglas, Tammy Daybell’s brother, said she was the “emotional heart and glue of our siblings.” Annie Cushing, an aunt, described memories of a surprise hug from J.J. and of Tylee’s sweetness. “This defendant stole all of that,” Ms. Cushing said.
Ms. Vallow Daybell was referred to as the “Doomsday Mom” in headlines and in a Lifetime documentary by that name. Mr. Daybell has written novels with doomsday themes, and both he and Ms. Vallow Daybell were linked to an entity called Preparing a People, which looked to prepare its followers for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, according to its website.
The couple married in 2019, shortly after his wife, Tammy Daybell, was found dead at her home in Idaho. At first, her death was attributed to natural causes, but after Ms. Vallow’s children disappeared, the authorities began an investigation that extended into a re-examination of her death. An autopsy later attributed the cause to asphyxiation.
Tammy Daybell’s death occurred about a month after Mr. Daybell had increased the amount of coverage in a life insurance policy for her.
In February 2020, Ms. Vallow Daybell was arrested in Hawaii after the authorities said that she had not cooperated in the search for her missing children, whose remains were discovered later that year on Mr. Daybell’s property in Idaho. He was arrested and charged with concealing evidence.
The post Idaho Man in ‘Doomsday’ Killings Is Sentenced to Death appeared first on New York Times.
Foreign
Thousands protest against new France prime minister
![](https://naijablitznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/images-71.jpeg)
By Francesca Hangeior
Thousands of left-wing demonstrators on Saturday took to the streets across France to protest against the nomination of the centre-right Michel Barnier as prime minister and denounce President Emmanuel Macron’s “power grab”.
Protests took place in Paris as well as other cities including Nantes in the west, Nice and Marseille in the south and Strasbourg in the east.
Macron on Thursday appointed Barnier, a 73-year-old former foreign minister who acted as the European Union’s Brexit negotiator, as prime minister, seeking to move forward after July snap elections in which his centrist alliance lost its relative majority in parliament.
Barnier said on Friday night that he was open to naming ministers of all political stripes, including “people from the left”.
But a left-wing coalition, which emerged as France’s largest force after the elections, although without enough seats for an overall majority, has greeted Macron’s appointment of Barnier with dismay.
On Saturday, many demonstrators directed their anger at Macron and some called on him to resign.
“The Fifth Republic is collapsing,” said protester Manon Bonijol. “Expressing one’s vote will be useless as long as Macron is in power,” added the 21-year-old.
Hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, whose France Unbowed party (LFI) and allies belong to the left-wing bloc, has charged that the election had been “stolen from the French” and called on French people to take to the streets.
On Saturday, he urged supporters to prepare for battle. “There will be no pause,” he vowed.
“Democracy isn’t just the art of accepting that you’ve won, it’s also the humility of accepting that you’ve lost,” Melenchon said from a truck at the Paris protest.
Abel Couaillier, a 20-year-old student, said he was stunned by the appointment of Barnier, whom he called an “old elephant”.
“I am still young, I want to believe that we can change things and I will continue to go and vote,” added Couaillier.
The left-wing alliance wanted Lucie Castets, a 37-year-old economist, to become prime minister, but Macron quashed the idea, arguing that she would not survive a confidence vote in the hung parliament.
Foreign
French President Macron Appoints Michel Barnier As New Prime Minister
![](https://naijablitznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Michel-Barnier.jpg)
The EU’s former chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has become France’s new prime minister, the French president’s office says, which ends two months of stalemate after inconclusive parliamentary elections.
In a statement on Thursday, the Élysée Palace said: “The President of the Republic has appointed Michel Barnier as Prime Minister. He has to form a united government to serve the country and the French people.”
The statement added that Barnier’s appointment comes after “an unprecedented cycle of consultations” in order to ensure a stable government.
The 73-year-old staunch Europhile, is a member of the Republicans party which represents the traditional right. He is best known on the international stage for his mediating role for the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.
Barnier has held various ministerial positions in France, including roles as foreign, agriculture and environment ministers. He served twice as a European commissioner as well as an adviser to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. In 2021, Barnier announced his bid for presidential elections but failed to garner enough support within his party. He has served in French and European politics
Macron accepted the resignation of former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and his government in July, after his centrist party was defeated in the second round of France’s snap parliamentary election. The president has since faced calls from across the political sectors to appoint a new PM. Last week, Macron told journalists during a trip to Serbia he was “making all the necessary efforts” to finalize a name.
“I will have the opportunity in a few days, in just a few weeks, to state the major legislative priorities and proposals on behalf of the new government before parliament. It will be a question of responding, as much as we can, to the challenges, to the anger, as you mentioned, to the suffering, to the feeling of abandonment, of injustice that runs through our cities, our neighborhoods and our countryside far too much,” Barnier said, speaking alongside Attal during the transfer of power at Hotel Matignon, the prime minister’s office in Paris.
Attal congratulated Barnier in presence of family members and lawmakers.
“The French know you. They know that you are a great local elected official,” said Attal, praising Barnier’s “almost unmatched experience of serving the state in various international and European functions.”
But he did not hide his frustration that his tenure came to such an abrupt end.
“Eight months is too short,” Attal said, warning that the country’s politics is suffering, “but recovery is possible.”
Barnier’s prospects for forming a stable government are unclear. Currently, France’s far-right National Rally (RN) is one of the largest parties in parliament following the election in early July. It has previously suggested it could be open to working with Barnier and would not immediately veto him.
Still, RN politician Laurent Jacobelli spoke disparagingly of Barnier, telling French television network TF1: “They are taking out of mothballs those who have governed France for 40 years.”
Barnier served as the chief negotiator during the UK’s exit from the European Union. The lengthy talks between London and Brussels ran from 2016 to 2021 and he is known among Brexiteers in the UK for driving a hard bargain.
Barnier was born in January 1951 in a suburb of the Alpine city of Grenoble, he was first elected to parliament at the age of 27.
The leaders of France’s main far-right and far-left political parties had condemned the appointment of Barnier following the announcement on Thursday.
Foreign
Hush Money: Judge delays Trump sentencing until after US election
![](https://naijablitznews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Donald-Trump-1.jpg)
The sentencing of Donald Trump in his New York hush money trial was delayed on Friday until after November’s presidential election, marking a win for the Republican as he battles Democrat Kamala Harris in the closely contested race.
The former president had been scheduled to be sentenced on September 18 for falsifying business records in a scheme to silence a porn star’s politically damaging story.
However, Judge Juan Merchan postponed it to November 26 — well past the November 5 election, as requested by Trump’s lawyers.
“This is not a decision this Court makes lightly, but it is the decision that, in this Court’s view, best advances the interests of justice,” he wrote in his decision.
Trump was convicted in May of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, preventing her from disclosing an alleged sexual encounter on the eve of the 2016 election.
He was originally scheduled to be sentenced on 11 July.
However, this was delayed after the US Supreme Court ruled that a former president has broad immunity from criminal prosecutions.
Trump’s lawyers have asked for his New York conviction to be dismissed following the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling. Merchan stated he would rule on the dismissal motion on 12 November.
The postponement comes as the already extraordinary White House race enters a newly tense phase, with Harris and Trump set to hold their first televised debate next Tuesday.
Hours before the ruling, instead of addressing key voter issues like immigration or the economy, Trump was in New York delivering rambling remarks about his myriad legal problems as he denied multiple women’s accusations of sexual harassment or assault.
“This is not the kind of publicity you like,” Trump acknowledged from the lobby of Trump Tower, even as he spent an hour, unprompted, reminding voters of his extensive legal troubles and accusations of rape and sexual assault by various women, including writer E. Jean Carroll.
The legal drama unfolded on the day the first mail-in ballots of the election were due to be distributed.
The battleground state of North Carolina was scheduled to mail out around 130,000 absentee voting slips, marking the symbolic start of a nationwide process that, during the bitter 2020 election, saw 155 million Americans cast ballots.
However, a state appeals court halted the process after a last-minute lawsuit by independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is seeking to have his name removed from ballots. The fringe candidate from America’s most famous political family has dropped out and endorsed Trump.
North Carolina is among a handful of swing states that Harris and Trump have been crisscrossing as they embark on the most intense phase of an election expected to be decided by razor-thin margins.
Other states will soon follow in mailing out initial batches of ballots, and early in-person voting begins across 47 states as soon as September 20.
Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks later on Friday in North Carolina.
AFP
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