TODAY IN CRIME: August 17

 

310 Roman emperor Maxentius banished Pope Eusebius to Sicily, where he promptly died, probably from a hunger strike. Eusebius believed Christians who had denied their faith during persecutions by the state should be allowed to take communion after proper penance.

1896 A few weeks after Parliament increased the speed limit for motor vehicles to 14 mph, a car traveling 4-8 mph struck and killed 44-year-old Bridget Driscoll as she crossed the grounds of the Crystal Palace in London. Driscoll was the first recorded case of a pedestrian killed in a collision with a motor car in the UK. A coroner's jury returned a verdict of "accidental death" after a six-hour inquest. Coroner Percy Morrison said he hoped "such a thing would never happen again."

1915 A mob in Cobb County, Ga., lynched Jewish businessman Leo Frank, who had been sentenced on flimsy evidence for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Phagan.

1962 On the first anniversary of Communist East Germany’s completion of the Berlin Wall, border guards shot and killed 18-year-old Peter Fechter as he attempted to cross over into the western sector, spurring riots.

1982 The U.S. Senate approved an immigration bill that granted permanent resident status to illegal aliens who had arrived in the U.S. before 1977.

1986 Forty-two people were beaten or stabbed at a Run D.M.C. concert in Long Beach, CA. Members of the rap group feared gang trouble and had requested extra security from police and auditorium management.

1987 Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler's second in command, committed suicide at Spandau prison. The 93-year-old had been the only inmate there for more than 20 years.

1991 Taxi driver Wade Frankum went on a rampage in the Strathfield Plaza, a shopping mall in Sydney Australia, stabbing and shooting seven people and injuring six others before turning the gun on himself. Victim Gary Read, who was shot in both feet, was awarded the Star of Courage for saving more lives during the unexplained killing spree.

1998 A grand jury questioned U.S. President Bill Clinton in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. He was the first U.S. president to testify as the subject of a grand jury investigation. Clinton admitted that he had an "improper physical relationship" with the intern and that night confessed on national television that that their relationship was "not appropriate."

2005 Terrorist set off more than 500 bombs at 300 locations in 63 out of the 64 districts of Bangladesh.

2005 Israeli security forces began the forcible removal of Jews from four settlements in the Gaza Strip.

2010 After 14 days of deliberation, a federal jury found ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich guilty of lying to federal agents but could not agree on the remaining 23 corruption charges lodged against him, and the judge declared a mistrial. After a retrial, he was found guilty of 17 charges and sentenced to 14 years in prison.