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Former Khmer Rouge leader to go on trial in Cambodia

Duch ran a prison where people were tortured and killed under the Khmer Rouge.
Kaing Guek Eav is an elderly former math teacher and a born-again Christian.

He is also — prosecutors contend — a former prison chief with Cambodia’s ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge movement who oversaw the torture and killing of more than 15,000 men, women and children three decades ago. The trial of the 66-year-old man, better known as Duch, resumes Monday in front of a U.N.-backed tribunal just outside the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. He faces charges that include crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and murder. While he has admitted his role in the Khmer Rouge’s genocidal reign, Duch won’t be spared weeks of evidence. The prison he headed was a converted school, Tuol Sleng, that the regime renamed S-21. Here, men, women and children were shackled to iron beds and tortured — before they were beaten to death, prosecutors said.

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Prisoners were meticulously photographed before they were put to death. “It all seems so fresh,” said Norng Champhal, who was a starving little boy when Vietnamese forces invaded the prison. He was separated from his mother after a night in the prison and never saw her again. “It’s hard to control my feelings when I see this,” he said, as he watched footage of the prison taken 30 years ago. “I wonder whether my parents were tortured like these people,” he said. The Khmer Rouge swept to power in 1975. Three years, eight months and 20 days later, at least 1.7 million people — nearly one-quarter of Cambodia’s population — were dead from execution, disease, starvation and overwork, according to the Documentation Center of Cambodia. The organization has been at the forefront of recording the atrocities committed during the Khmer Rouge regime. Tuol Sleng was one of 189 similar institutions across Cambodia. Duch is the first former Khmer Rouge leader to stand trial. The tribunal, which is made up of Cambodian and international judges, does not have the power to impose the death penalty. If convicted, Duch faces from five years to life in prison. The trial is expected to last three or four months. “Probably the most important thing about this court is: even after 35 years, you are still not going to get away with it. That is the message,” said Chief Prosecutor Robert Petit. When proceedings began last month, more than 500 people — including three survivors from the prison Duch ran — filled the tribunal. About 50 people came from Kampong Thom province, the birthplace of now-dead Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot. “I couldn’t sleep last night. I was dreaming about my time at S-21,” Vann Nath, one of the few survivors of the prison run by Duch, told The Phnom Penh Post last month. Even though Duch was not a senior leader with the movement, many Cambodians were relieved that one of the regime’s former leaders was facing justice, said Youk Chhang, head of the Documentation Center of Cambodia.

“I think there is a feeling of, well you know, finally — now it’s finally happening after all these years of waiting — hearing, fighting, negotiating,” he told CNN last month. “People have that kind of sense of relief that it’s now moving. When I ask people around the center today, people say, ‘Oh, it’s about time.'” Four of the regime’s former leaders, also accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, await trial before the tribunal. The regime’s leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.

Obama invites major economies to energy forum

President Barack Obama has invited the leaders of 16 major economies to Washington for a forum on energy and climate next month, the White House announced Saturday.

Severe weather wreak havoc from Plains to Gulf Coast

Vehicles jam a buckled road in Mobile, Alabama, Saturday after heavy rains.
Mother Nature provided a little bit of everything throughout parts of the country on Saturday.

Heavy winds wreaked havoc on a shopping center in central Tennessee, blowing out windows and damaging the roof of a shopping center, Murfreesboro police spokesman Kyle Evans told CNN Radio. Glass storefronts at the Jackson Heights Shopping Center were blown out 100 to 150 yards into the parking lot, Evans said. Evans said three people were treated for minor injuries from flying glass and metal. Residents in northwest Murfreesboro lost power Saturday night and police are warning residents to stay indoors until traffic caused by the incident clears up. Elsewhere, a blizzard dumped more than 2 feet of snow in parts of the Plains on Saturday. The blizzard cut power, stranding drivers and prompting governors in Kansas and Oklahoma to issue disaster declarations. The heaviest snow and ice accumulated in south central and southwest Kansas. In Pratt County, 28 inches of snow fell, with snow drifts reported up to 6 feet. At least nine other counties reported 2 feet of snow, the Kansas Adjutant General’s office said. About 17,000 customers in Kansas lost electricity, more than half of those in Sedgwick County. The storm left some travelers stranded and in need of last-minute hotel accomodations, the front desk manager at the Econolodge in McPherson said. “We have two honeymoon suites open, but other than that we’re fully booked. We normally have 84 rooms,” iReporter Sally Kelley said.

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The housekeepers who made it to work were all outside shoveling, but they struggled to keep up with the snow as it continued falling Saturday afternoon. “We haven’t had people getting mad at us. The people have been great but I think they’re really frustrated.” The Adjutant General’s office said whiteout conditions and blowing snow made driving hazardous. The Kansas Department of Transportation shut down several roads in the western and south central part of the state. National Guard Humvees were used to move medical personal and patients to a hospital in Seward County. In Oklahoma, where more than a foot of snow fell, Gov. Brad Henry declared a state of emergency in 50 counties. The State Department of Transportation had several roads blocked in the state and others remained impassible. “The only people who can get out of their driveways have 4-wheel drive,” said iReporter Mark Rennie of Alva, Oklahoma. Meanwhile, rain along the Gulf Coast battered areas around Mobile, Alabama, and Biloxi, Mississippi. Watch how the rain is blocking roads in Mobile, Alabama » Mobile County Emergency Management Director Walter Dickerson said 4 to 6 inches of rain fell on already saturated ground. Fifteen to 20 roads around Mobile were closed, and several people had to be rescued after flash flooding trapped their cars. In Mobile, heavy rains caused a section of roadway to collapse. Three cars ended up in a large sinkhole, including one vehicle that landed on top of another. No serious injuries were reported. Dickerson said a temporary shelter may be opened for residents displaced by the high waters. In nearby Baldwin County, Alabama, an apartment complex was evacuated and some main roads were closed.

The main roadway leading into Biloxi, the Interstate 10 loop, was closed for several hours early Saturday before waters receded and allowed traffic to resume. But more than a dozen other roads around Harrison County remain blocked. Roads were also impassable in some parts of the Florida Panhandle. Officials in the Atlanta, Georgia, metro area, which is under flood watches and warnings, were keeping an eye on surging rivers and creeks.

Lower costs lure U.S. patients abroad for treatment

Sandra Giustina is rolled into surgery to correct her atrial fibrillation at Max Hospital in New Dehli, India.
"I was a walking time bomb. I knew I had to get on that plane if I wanted to be around to see my grandkids."

Sandra Giustina is a 61-year-old uninsured American. For three years she saved her money in hopes of affording heart surgery to correct her atrial fibrillation. “They [U.S. hospitals] told me it would be about $175,000, and there was just no way could I come up with that,” Giustina said. So, with a little digging online, she found several high quality hospitals vying for her business, at a fraction of the U.S. cost. Within a month, she was on a plane from her home in Las Vegas, Nevada, to New Delhi, India. Surgeons at Max Hospital fixed her heart for “under $10,000 total, including travel.” Giustina is just one of millions around the world journeying outside their native land for medical treatment, a phenomenon known as “medical tourism.” Experts say the trend in global health care has just begun. Next year alone, an estimated 6 million Americans will travel abroad for surgery, according to a 2008 Deloitte study. “Medical care in countries such as India, Thailand and Singapore can cost as little as 10 percent of the cost of comparable care in the United States,” the report found. Companies such as Los Angeles-based Planet Hospital are creating a niche in the service industry as medical travel planners. One guidebook says that more than 200 have sprung up in the last few years. “We find the best possible surgeons and deliver their service to patients safely, affordably and immediately,” said Rudy Rupak, president of Planet Hospital. “No one should have to choose between an operation to save their life or going bankrupt.” Planet Hospital, which works with international clients as well as Americans, books patients’ travel and arranges phone interviews with potential surgeons. Patients are greeted by a company representative at the airport in the country where they’ve chosen to be treated; a 24-hour personal “patient concierge” is also provided, a level of service that’s standard among many of the top medical travel planning companies. Watch Dr. Sanjay Gupta meet some medical tourists » “Our patient concierge was amazing,” said Giustina. “He came to the hospital every day, gave us his personal [telephone] number and after my operation, he arranged private tours of India.” Just two days post-op, Giustina and her husband, Dino, toured local markets and landmarks including the Presidential Palace and the Taj Mahal.

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“I was able to fix my heart and tour India, which is something I thought I’d never do.” Walk through a patient wing at Max Hospital in New Delhi on any given day and you’re likely to see people from around the world. In one visit, CNN met patients from the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Jordan, Afghanistan and the United States. They’re alike in choosing surgery abroad, but their reasons differ. Many South Asians and Africans said they travel abroad because they do not have access to care in their homeland. Some Canadians and Europeans said they chose to travel aboard, despite having national health plans, because they are tired of waiting — sometimes years — for treatment. Patients from the Middle East said they come to India because the technology as well as the staff is more advanced. For most Americans CNN spoke to, it came down to finding the best value. “If I could have afforded my procedure in the United States, I would have taken it, but that was not my option,” Giustina said. “I had to get online and look for a Plan B.” Read about hot destinations for medical tourism The private hospitals in India market themselves as having upscale accommodations, Western-trained surgeons and state-of-the-art medical equipment. CNN spent time at Max Healthcare in New Delhi and saw operating rooms similar to those in many U.S. hospitals. If fact, Max’s neurosurgery room had an inter-operative MRI scanner, which is technology hardly seen at hospitals in the United States. The lobby had marble floors, a book café, coffee station and a Subway sandwich shop. The patient suites were equipped with flat screen TVs, DVD players and Wi-Fi. This hospital also catered to families traveling together. The suites had adjoining rooms with a kitchenette, coffee maker and a sofa bed. Max neurosurgeon Dr. Ajaya Jha said the hospital can provide high-quality care at low prices because the staff work hard to cut waste. Watch Dr. Gupta visit an Indian spice market » “I’ve seen hospitals in the U.S. where they open up something costing $10,000 and say, ‘Oh it’s not working. OK, give me another one.’ We would never do that here. Even for 100 rupees (about $2) — we would say, “Do we need to open this suture Do we need to open this gauze’ We are very conscious of cost.” Hospital officials negotiate hard to keep costs low for high-tech medical machinery and other supplies, Jha said. “In the U.S. people are making careers out of carrying laptops and documenting things that are not really useful in the long term for the patient.” The salary of a U.S. surgeon is five times that of a surgeon in India. “We [surgeons in India] want to make a profit, but we don’t want to profiteer. We don’t want squeeze people and I think American industries should also think that way,” Jha said. Critics of medical tourism warn patients to be diligent when researching treatment aboard. “I’ve found that industry voices tend to crowd out those of us who are more cautious about the legal risks,” said Nathan Cortez, assistant law professor at Southern Methodist University, who is conducting a case study investigating what legal recourse patients have outside America. Patients don’t think about their legal vulnerabilities, Cortez said. “Some countries limit patient access to medical records so they can’t really learn what happened during the surgery. And a lot of practitioners in other countries just refuse to give you your medical records. So people have to weigh the risk versus benefits.”

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While most tourism patients from America are uninsured, major U.S. insurance companies are considering providing “medical tourism” coverage to their customers. Several have already launched pilot programs. “I think what’s really important about medical tourism is that you make the choice for what’s right for you and what’s important to them,” said a spokesman for U.S. health insurer WellPoint Inc. Experts say that every patient considering traveling abroad for surgery should inquire about postoperative care, legal rights and the safety standards and certifications of the hospital. Foreign health care providers should be willing to discuss the procedure and answer question ahead of time.

“What really helped me feel good about the process was that my doctor in the U.S. spoke to the cardiologist in India prior to my trip,” said Giustina. “They were so open about everything; I knew I’d be in good hands.” Just weeks from returning from abroad, Giustina says she has only one regret, “I shouldn’t have waited so long! I feel like a new person again, no more pain.”

Alaska’s Mount Redoubt erupts again

A series of eruptions has been rattling Alaska's Mount Redoubt volcano since Sunday.
Mount Redoubt volcano in southern Alaska has erupted again, shooting ash as high as 45,000 feet in the air on Saturday, experts said.

The eruption occurred at about 1:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. ET), the U.S. Geological Survey told CNN. Some of the ash fell around Anchorage, resulting in the airport to close, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The volcano erupted three times Friday, at times shooting ash as high as 51,000 feet. The eruptions are the latest in a series that began March 22. The Alaska Volcano Observatory has set the alert level at its highest possible designation — red — indicating that an eruption is under way or imminent and that the eruption will produce a “significant emission of volcanic ash into the atmosphere.”

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Friday’s volcano activity prompted Alaska Airlines to limit flights to and from Anchorage, according to the airline’s Web site. It canceled all its Thursday flights to and from Anchorage after an eruption earlier in the day sent an ash cloud 65,000 feet high. The eruptions are the latest in a series that began Sunday.

Analysis: Americans wary about war in Afghanistan

U.S. forces have been engaged in fierce fighting to oust the Taliban in Afghanistan.
How does the American public feel about the war in Afghanistan? In a word, wary.

President Obama on Friday announced his strategy to fight terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan, a plan that includes more troops, new legislation, improved troop training and added civilian expertise. “The United States of American did not choose to fight a war in Afghanistan. Nearly 3,000 of our people were killed on September 11, 2001,” Obama said Friday. “We have a clear and focused goal: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan,” he said. Stressing that “the safety of people around the world is at stake,” Obama said the “situation is increasingly perilous” in the region in and around Afghanistan, where the United States has been fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban for more than 7½ years after attacks in New York and at the Pentagon. Nevertheless, the American public has been wary about the war in Afghanistan, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted in February. Watch CNN’s Bill Schneider break down the numbers » Last month, Americans were almost evenly divided between those who support the war and those who oppose it, the poll showed, with 47 percent in favor and 51 percent opposed.

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Opposition to the war in Afghanistan is more muted than opposition to the war in Iraq, but it’s not so muted among Democrats. Two-thirds of Americans overall oppose the war in Iraq, but 64 percent of Democrats oppose the war in Afghanistan. The anti-war movements in Vietnam and Iraq helped define what the Democratic Party stands for. Watch: Is Afghanistan Obama’s Vietnam » “If we don’t learn from our Iraq experience, we are doomed to repeat it,” Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-California, said on the House floor Thursday. Why are Americans wary about Afghanistan The recession. Iraq War fatigue. And frustration. Only 31 percent of Americans believe the United States is winning the war in Afghanistan. Fifty percent believe the United States is winning in Iraq — the highest number in at least five years. But Americans still want to get out of Iraq. Last month, when President Obama said he would send 17,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, the public was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Democrats were willing to go along with the president, but they were less enthusiastic than Republicans A solid majority of Americans believe the United States can win a military victory in Afghanistan, but Afghanistan has become a political war. Winning depends, not just on what the United States can do, but also what Afghanistan and Pakistan can do.

Americans have far less confidence in them. The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll surveyed 1,046 adult Americans by telephone on February 18-19, 2009. The sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

Beckham sets new record in England victory

Beckham is the second most-capped player for England after making his 109th appearance against Slovakia.
David Beckham broke Bobby Moore’s outfield appearance record for England, coming on as a second-half substitute to earn his 109th cap in a 4-0 friendly win over Slovakia at Wembley.

Now only goalkeeper Peter Shilton, with 125 caps, stands in the way of the midfielder becoming the most-capped England international of all time. Aston Villa forward Emile Heskey had given Fabio Capello’s side an early lead, only to then go off injured, while Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney headed in a cross from Beckham to make it 2-0 on 70 minutes. Frank Lampard added a third and Rooney a fourth in stoppage time as England warmed up in style for Wednesday’s World Cup clash with Ukraine. Heskey opened the scoring in the eighth minute with his first England goal in six years, prodding home Steven Gerrard’s cross at the near post. And Heskey should really have doubled his account just two minutes later but he headed Rooney’s cross over the bar from close range. To complete an eventful first half, Heskey was forced to come off injured with an Achilles problem.

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With England always in control, the introduction of Beckham at half-time gave a large Wembley crowd plenty to cheer, and the on-loan AC Milan star again showed his dead-ball expertize by supplying a pin-point free-kick for Rooney to add England’s second. England’s third goal arrived when Michael Carrick supplied the pass for Lampard to finish — and Rooney had the last word with a delightful chip to round off a satisfying evening for Fabio Capello’s side. But, once again, Beckham was the star of the show, and the 33-year-old could not hide his delight at setting a new record. “I am very proud. When you grow up, you dream about playing for your country and at Wembley,” Beckham told PA Sport. “To play 109 times for England is obviously very special for me and for my family. “I dedicate it to my family, because they are the ones who have been through the ups and downs of my career and been there for the good times and also the bad times. “It has been a roller coaster, but it has been a special night tonight. All my family were here, so it meant a lot to me,” he added.

Space shuttle Discovery lands safely

The space shuttle Discovery returned to Kennedy Space Center on Saturday after a 12-day mission.
The space shuttle Discovery landed safely at Kennedy Space Center on Saturday after a mission to the International Space Station.

Earlier Saturday, NASA had scrubbed a planned 1:38 p.m. landing, citing high winds. Discovery, with its seven-member crew, lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, last Sunday, to continue work on expanding the International Space Station. The 12-day mission also dropped off astronaut Koichi Wakata at the station. He will replace NASA’s Sandy Magnus, and will be the first Japanese astronaut to stay at the station for an extended time. On Thursday, a pair of astronauts from Discovery safely completed a six-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station, installing a set of solar panels that will help the station handle twice as many crew members. Astronauts Richard Arnold and Steve Swanson bolted solar arrays into place as the last piece of the station’s expanded power system. It’s part of an expansion that will allow the size of the station’s crew to be doubled from three to six.

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“We’re very proud of their work,” said NASA spacewalk director Glenda Laws-Brown. “They were very efficient. I’ve watched several of these and this was a joy to watch.” The walk, which NASA timed at 6 hours and 7 minutes, was completed at 7:23 p.m. ET. It was Swanson’s third spacewalk and Arnold’s first, and the 121st spacewalk done in support of assembling the space station. Lead space station flight director Kwatsi Alibaruho said the walk, and operation of robotic arms by astronauts John Phillips and Wakata, were “executed flawlessly.” The crew also worked Thursday to make sure members of the space station stay physically fit — repairing a treadmill and exercise bicycle that had broken down, Alibaruho said.

‘Italian Fritzl’ and son held in incest case

The area of Turin where the family at the center of Italy's incest case lives.
Police in Italy say they have arrested a grandfather and his son for allegedly sexually abusing the elder man’s daughter for more than a 25 years, in a case likened to Austria’s Josef Fritzl.

The 41-year-old son, identified by police only by the pseudonym Giovanni, was arrested February 16; his 64-year-old father was arrested March 16, Turin Police Inspector Iolanda Seri told CNN Saturday. Both men were imprisoned, and were charged with sexual abuse of their daughter and sister, who is now 34 and has been identified by the pseudonym Laura. Both men have denied wrongdoing. Giovanni is also charged with sexually abusing the eldest of his own four daughters, who are aged 21, 20, 11 and 6, Seri said. Though only the eldest of his daughters has accused Giovanni of attempting to molest her, police — basing their accusations on phone intercepts — have also accused him of molesting his 11-year-old in front of the 6-year-old girl. Laura and Giovanni have another sister and seven other brothers, police said. The case began to emerge last October, when Laura ran away from her father’s house to seek shelter at her brother’s house, Seri said. Seri said police missed a chance to intervene 15 years ago, when Laura was 19. That was when she first ran away from home and complained to police that her father had made sexual advances, Seri said.

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But the Turin prosecutor and the psychiatrist who investigated in 1994 did not believe her assertions that she had been sexually molested since age 9, Seri said. In her recent accusation, Laura initially denied that her father had committed any crime against her, accusing only her brother Giovanni, Seri said. But — after a police interrogation — she changed her story, alleging that she was 16 years old when her father began forcing her to have sexual relations with him, Seri said. Police said Laura left school at age 11 and is unable to live independently. Seri said police were trying to determine what role, if any, Giovanni’s wife may have played in the alleged abuse. Laura’s siblings have defended their father. Sky TG24, a news channel, showed one of Laura’s brothers displaying his arm, which bore the tattoo of his father’s face. Another sibling said, “I’m 36 years old. I’ve never seen my father do those gross things.” Laura’s sister told the news channel, “My father is not a pedophile. My brother yes. He raped his own daughters when they were young.” The case has been likened to that of Josef Fritzl, the 73-year-old Austrian who was sentenced to life this month for imprisoning and raping his daughter in his basement over 24 years, during which time she gave birth to seven children.

Lawyer stabbed 38 times; husband held

Chiquita Tate was in the midde of a high-profile murder trial when she was stabbed to death in her law office.
Slain attorney Chiquita Tate was such a believer in the legal system that she had a tattoo of Lady Justice on her back, college friend T. J. Crawford recalled.

“She just had an attachment to justice and doing what’s right by people. She was always very serious about that,” said Crawford, a teacher and community organizer in Chicago, Illinois. But Tate, described by colleagues as a tenacious defense attorney who fought for her clients, could not save herself. Family members and friends in Chicago; Atlanta, Georgia, and Tate’s adopted home — tiny Baker, Louisiana — are reeling from the grisly details of Tate’s slaying, and police say it was at the hands of her husband, Greg Harris. They had been married about 14½ months. Harris, 37, is in custody, accused of stabbing Tate to death. He is charged with second-degree murder and the illegal use of a dangerous weapon. A judge last week set his bond at $500,000. In a phone interview with CNN, Harris’ attorney, Lewis Unglesby, said police have the wrong man. “Greg Harris by all accounts … is innocent. I don’t know anybody that thinks he did it, except the police,” Uglesby said. “There’s nothing in his background. He has cooperated completely with the police; he’s signed everything they’ve asked him to sign. He’s let them search his house, his car.” Tate, 34, had started her own law firm in downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and was doing well, family and acquaintances said. “She was up and coming,” said Cpl. L’Jean McKneely, a police spokesman in Baton Rouge. Tate was representing a defendant in a high-profile murder trial when, police say, she became a homicide victim herself. Her body was found inside her law office on February 20. Tate was stabbed 38 times, according to a police warrant for Harris’ arrest obtained by CNN. While questioning Harris about Tate’s death, police discovered an outstanding warrant for him in connection with a battery-domestic violence case. It stemmed from a December 22, 2007, incident at the couple’s home. Harris was accused of using “force and violence” against Tate, according to Baker City Court records. The court said Harris entered a not guilty plea on March 6, 2008, but did not appear for a May 8 pretrial conference. A warrant was issued for his arrest for contempt of court. When Tate met Harris in late 2007, she fell for him, head over heels, said East Baton Rouge Parish Juvenile Court Judge Pam Taylor Johnson, Tate’s mentor and former boss. “She came in my office one day: ‘I met the most wonderful guy! I need you to perform our marriage — tomorrow,'” Johnson recalled Tate gleefully telling her. “I told her she had to wait three days,” as required by Louisiana law, Johnson added. Tate did wait a bit. The couple’s marriage license is dated January 10, 2008, just two and a half weeks after the domestic violence report from Baker police. They married on February 8, their marriage license shows. Only the couple’s immediate family members and two friends attended the ceremony at Green Chapel in Baton Rouge, said Tate’s friend Shawn Collins, who was one of those on hand for the wedding. Neighbors in suburban Baker said the couple seemed to settle into a good life in their home on Charry Drive. Baker, population 13,000, was one of the cities that absorbed hundreds of families from the FEMA trailer homes after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The last families housed in Baker moved out last spring. Neighbors recalled seeing Tate frequently driving down the street in her late-model Hummer and Harris steering a Mercedes. Ethan Koobs, who lives across the street from the couple, said Tate was a “really nice lady, very upper-class, presented herself very well.” Koobs said he didn’t see any discontent in the couple’s lives. “They seemed like a pleasant couple, just real nice,” said neighbor Don Patton, who lives two houses down. “They kept their house and their lawn very nice.” He recalled the couple’s concern for their neighbors after Hurricane Gustav, which raked south Louisiana on September 1, 2008, before petering out in southeast Texas. It knocked out power to 1.5 million homes in southern Louisiana, and thousands of homes were damaged by the wind. Harris, a carpenter, found his skills useful. “[Harris] was just generally concerned about everybody’s well-being,” Patton said. “We’d huddle in the street and he’d ask if anybody needed anything.” The couple helped their neighbors rebuild. But the warrant for Harris’ arrest in the murder case revealed a fracture in the marriage. Tate was “planning on divorcing the defendant due to marital problems” and had leased her own apartment, the warrant stated. As far as their friends were concerned, there was no trouble in the marriage and Tate appeared to be a doting wife. She also enjoyed battling it out on behalf of her clients in the courtroom. Tate, who was raised with six siblings, was tenacious even as a youngster, recalled childhood friend Ursula Bryant-Hill. “She was always strong-willed and she analyzed everything. Everybody told her ‘You’d be a good lawyer,'” said Bryant-Hill, of Hueytown, Alabama. “If you knew Chiquita when she was growing up in Baton Rouge, she was always cautious about who she let in her intimate setting. ‘Watch your surroundings,’ that’s how she was,” Bryant-Hill added. Upon graduation from college, Tate worked briefly as a legislative secretary, recording minutes at Atlanta City Council meetings. But she longed to return home to Louisiana to attend law school at Southern University. “When she told me she was in law school, I screamed,” Bryant-Hill said. Her friend, Juvenile Court Judge Johnson, said Tate lived by one creed: Justice for all, especially for those more vulnerable in society. “I couldn’t get her to accept the fact that ‘things happen.’ I told her some things you can’t change [about the system], but it is our duty to see if we can equalize things,” Johnson said. Tate is remembered as someone who fought tirelessly for what she believed in. Now her loved ones hope the legal system will work for her. The days have been long for Tate’s family. Asked how she has been coping, Denita Tate, the victim’s sister, said, “I’m not. It’s harder every day.” “We want closure with our family and with our sister, and we want justice,” Denita Tate said.