Free Republic

A wealthy gold dealer who murdered his estranged wife as they fought for control of his multi-million dollar trading business has been sentenced to death. A Los Angeles jury decided on Tuesday that James Fayed, 48, should face the death penalty. He was convicted two weeks ago of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the fatal stabbing of his wife, Pamela.

<p>Gunmen shot dead a former KGB spy in his car a few hundred yards from the office of Vladimir Putin.</p> <p>More than 20 shots were fired at the Mercedes of Shabtai von Kalmanovic — who had embarked on a career promoting sports teams and music concerts.</p>

Russian mafia killings threaten Putin legacy By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow Last Updated: 7:16pm GMT 24/02/2008 A surge in contract killings reminiscent of Russia's mafia wars in the 1990s is threatening to damage Vladimir Putin's legacy of stability in the dying days of his presidency. As the Russian leader prepares to hand power to his handpicked sucessor, Dmitry Medvedev, after Sunday's election, the Kremlin has been keen to remind Russians the president replaced Yeltsin era lawlessness with what he calls "the dictatorship of the law". But last week, Yuri Chaika, Russia's prosecutor general, was forced to admit mafia-linked assassinations were...

A Russian sniffer cat used to track down fish smugglers has been run over in a suspected contract killing. Russian television said Rutsiq the cat was hit by a car in which he had found smuggled sturgeon several years ago. Rutsiq was originally adopted as a stray at a police check point in the Stavropol region, but he quickly became Russia's only sniffer cat when his ability to find hidden sturgeon was discovered.

<p>Maureen McDermott is on Death Row at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla.</p> <p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP)Maureen McDermott should be executed for plotting her housemate's murder, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday in upholding the first death sentence of a woman in more than 25 years.</p>