US judge rules Rwanda murder confessions coerced by torture News
US judge rules Rwanda murder confessions coerced by torture

[JURIST] US Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle [official profile] of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled [PDF text] Thursday that the confessions of three Rwandan rebels charged with killing two American tourists in Uganda were achieved through torture and coercion and ruled that the confessions are inadmissible in court. The rebels, who according to experts displayed scars consistent with torture, claim Rwandan officials assaulted them by binding them in difficult positions and beating them with rocks and sticks, inducing their confessions to US investigators.

Americans Rob Haubner and his wife Susan Miller were murdered in 1999 [AP report] when rebels allegedly sought out and attacked English-speaking tourists in an effort to disrupt US and British relations with Rwanda's ruling government. Six other tourists were also allegedly killed by the rebels. The rebels face the death penalty if convicted. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.