The Michigan Daily
Vol. LXXXVII, No. 33-S Ann Arbor, Michigon-Soturdoy, June 18, 1977 Ten Cents Twelve Pages
Surprise witness saw mental
patient near VA victim's bed
By KEITH BERNARD RICHBURG - 'a
Special To The Daily "
DETROIT - A second "man in green" has been implicated
in one of the poisoning attacks at the Ann Arbor Veterans Ad-
ministration (VA) hospital during 1975.
During testimony yesterday from a surprise witness-a former
VA patient whose room was. right across the hall from one of the
poison victims - the court learned that a mental patient dressed
in green hospital pajamas had been in the victim's room for 15
minutes, "feeling" and "stroking" the victim's intravenous (IV)
medication tubes.
THE VICTIM, John Ilerman, was found dead minutes later,
and one of the VA nurses, Filipina Narciso, is accused of poison-
ing him by injecting a muscle relaxant into the patient's IV line.
The witness, VA heart patient William Miller, said he never
saw Narciso on the floor that night.
Miller, who said he could "look right across from my bed to
(Herman's) bed," told of seeing a man enter Herman's. room.
"I THOUGHT when I saw the man that he was an attendant
fror surgery because he was wearing a green uniform," Miller
said. "He was a black man and he went to the IV tubes. He stood
there and made motions with his hands on the IV, feeling it, even gm ..
stroking ..."
See WITNESS, Page 4
Fleming, Regents
discuss V.P. pick
By MICHAEL YFLLIN
President Robben Fleming
met with the Board of Regents
in private yesterday afternoon
to discuss who is to be the next
Vice President for Academic.
Affairs.
to become president of Cornell "
University. His current posi-
tion is the second rhost power-
ful in the University Adminis-
tration.
-THE BOARD of Regents met
briefly in public yesterday and,
acting uncharacteristically fast
in making their monthly deci-
sions, -broke for private lun- uai v hto v C H I ER
cheon to discuss Rhodes' suc-
cessor. Fin ger-pickin' good!
There has been sou'ie con-
cern voiced in the community If there's such a tune as the "Travelling In The Back Of A Pickup Truck Blues," then that's pro-
about the legality of such pri- bably what this wandering minstrel is singing. There's nothing like leaving the driving to some-
See REGENTS, Page 4 one else to free your fingers for the pickin'!
WATERS DOWN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION:
House restricts abortion funding
riemin g
Fleming said last night there
would be no final choice made
before Monday or Tuesday but
added, "Three names are being
considered . . . I can't name
people for you."
411 DISCUSSED all three peo-
ple with the Regents," 'leming
said, "and all three met with
the Regents approval."
Fleming did not indicate whe-
ther he had a preference for
any of the candidates but said
he would have to make his
- choice before-leaving town for
a whsile early oer week.
The current dice President
for Academic Affairs, Frank
Rhodes, is leaving in one month
WASHINGTON (UPI) - The House yes-
terday voted for the second time in a year
to ban use of federal funds for abortions
for poor women, an issue that probably will
be resolved by the Supreme Court.
The House also voted to limit the gov-
ernment's authority to implement affirm-
ative action programs which try to make
up, for past discrimination against women
and minorities.
- THE ANTIABORTION amendment, ap-
proved 201. to 155, and the affirmative ac-
tion restrictions were put into a $61.3 bil-
lion money bill which the House- approved
and sent to the Senate. -
The measure would fund the Depart-
ments of Labor and Health, Educatio.
and Welfare in the 1979 fiscalyear that
starts Oct..1.-
Rep. Henry Hyde, (R-III.), offered the House last year and was modified in House-
amendment, which bans use of federal Senate conference to make an exception
funds for all abortions, making no excep- for women whose lives are endangered by
Lion even if a woman's life is endangered pregnancy.
by pregnancy,
A. U.S. DISTRICT Court ruled the provi-
THE ABORTION issue was the most sin unconstitutional on grounds it violated
explosive in the big money bill, but it also the equal rights amendment and the case
includes a ban - approved Thursday - is expected to be determined by the Su'
on use of foods for busing children to preme Court.
schools that are paired or merged into
clusters to achieve racial integration. Reaction from pro abortion forces came
along predictable lines.
Another civil rights oriented provision was
watered down before being added to the Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman (D-N.Y.) said
bill by voice vote yesterday. It prohibits "the real victims of this amendment are
HEW from using quotas to enforce anti- the young teen-age victims of rape and in-
discrimination. laws in job hiring and pro- cest who eannot afford an abortion," and
meting and in admissions to educational Rep. Yvonne Burke .(D-Calif.) said "this
institutions. .should be called the forced child bearing
- - amendment. We don't believe. young-.girls
The Hyde abrtiomamendment .paasses.0. should be forced to have children."