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Vol. XC, No. 128
Ann Arbor, Michigan-Friday, March 14, 1980
Ten Cents
Fourteen Pages
Ford found innocent in
Pinto
From AP and UPI
WINAMAC, Ind.-A jury from the
nation's heartland yesterday found
Ford Motor Co. innocent of reckless
homicide charges in the first criminal
prosecution of a corporation in a
products defects case.
Defense attorney James Neal said
the acquitals on charges stemming
from the fiery highway deaths of three
teen-agers showed even a giant
corporation can win the day if it has "a
fair and reasonable story."
WHEN THE VERDICT, was
delivered to the Ford company board of
directors, it drew a cheer.
"We heard the results in the middle of
the board meeting," said Henry Ford
II, whose decision to resign as
chairman of the company was up for
action by the board. "Everyone was
highly elated."
Attorneys for the nation's second
largest automaker, which spent $1
million defending itself in the landmark
case, said the verdict vindicated the
Pinto. But two members of the jury said
they wouldn't drive the compact cars.
homicide case
"WE FELT THE state never
presented enough evidence to find Ford
guily," said jury foreman Art Selmer,
62, a retired farmer. "We were waiting
for more evidence."
Elkhart County prosecutor Michael
Losentino said, "We were severely
limited in being able to present our
evidence."
He said Judge Harold Staffeldt's
rulings limited the evidence he could
present about crash tests that really
counted, those for the 1973 model Pinto,
and during rebuttal.
THE VERDICT CAME in the fourth
day of the jury's deliberations,
including a marathon session that went
into the early morning hours yesterday.
Cosentino said after the verdict that
there was a "strong possibility" he
would appeal the judge's rulings in the
case.
Neal said of a possible appeal, "I
don't care aboutathe appeal. They can
appeal all the points of law they want.
I'm through with the case."
Because a corporation cannot be
imprisoned, a conviction in the case
could have carried a maximum penalty
of a $10,000 fine on each of the three
counts. But the case was considered a
landmark battle because of its possible
effect in other such cases and on
pending civil suits concerning the
Pinto.
An Elkhart County Superior Court
grand jury issued the indictments in
September, 1978 under an Indiana law
that allows corporations, as well as
individuals, to be prosecuted
criminally.
Windfall profits bill
passes House easily;
Republicans quashed
Daily Photo by CYRENA CHANG
Winter (continued)
Though Ann Arbor residents may be ready to enjoy spring's audacious
regeneration, nature refuses to cooperate. Unloading its worst on Michigan
and the rest of the country, nature again covered the area with a blanket
of snow and ice yesterday.
ANTI-REGIS TRA TION PROTEST CALLED TOO DRASTIC:
From AP and UPI
WASHINGTON - The compromise
version of President Carter's "windfall
profits" tax on the oil industry swept
through the House yesterday after
Republican-led efforts to soften it were
defeated.
The vote of 302-107 sent the landmark
energy measure to the Senate, where
final congressional action is expected
next week.
THE TAX would take back from the
oil industry an estimated $227.7 billion
of the.$1 trillion that consumers are ex-
pected to pay in the 18)980s because of
Carter's decision to end federal price
controls on U.S. crude oil.
The bill earmarks 60 per cent of the
tax, or $137 billion, for income-tax
reductions, although any tax cut would
Teach
By GREGG WOLPER
Several of the professors participating
* today's teach-in programs do not
support the boycott of classes called by
the Committee Against War, which is a
sponsor of the teach-in.
History Prof. John Broomfield, who
will be leading a discussion of the
Afghanistan situation, said that while a
teach-in is an effective method of
protest, present conditions do not call
for a boycott.
He would support a boycott in a time
of national crisis such as the U.S.
'vasion of Cambodia in 1970, he said,
ut added that "I don't see the present
crisis at that level,".
"YOU SHOULD reserve big guns for
big occasions," he said.
Jury
gives Gacy
electric
chair
From UPI and AP
CHICAGO - John Gacy, convicted
Wednesday for the murders of 33 young
men and boys, was sentenced yester-
ay to die in the electric chair.
The jury, which took less than two
hours to convict Gacy of more killings
than anyone else in U.S. history, took
two hours and 15 minutes to decide on
the death penalty for Gacy. Cook Coun-
ty Circuit Judge Louis Garippo imposed
the sentence immediately after his
clerk read the jury's decision.
Earlier, the defense had asked that
the jury be discharged and replaced by
new one for the sentencing phase.
ATTORNEY Sam Amirante told
Garippo that "obviously the jury wa
predisposed in finding Gacy guilty and
was out only an hour and 50
minutes . .. it is wholly unbelievable
that this jury could have examined all
the evidence in the case. . . their mm-
ds were made up."
in profsopse bocot
Political Science Prof. J. David foreign policy. He added that he would said. "Interest peaked about a month
Singertalso opposes the boycott "be surprised if anyone comes" to his and a half ago."
althogrhesopsesteyin faoofdiscussion. Economics Prof. Frank Stafford does
although he is "completely in favor of "I DON'T SENSE that much concern not expect students to miss class to
. the teach-in," and he said that most about these matters on campus," he See TEACH-IN, Page 5
have to be approved in subsequent
legislation. Another 25 per cent, or $57
billion,,would help an estimated 18
million low-income families pay rising
energy costs. The remaining $34 billion
would finance energy programs.
In addition to imposing the tax, the
bill authorizes $3.1 billion in energy aid
to low-income families in 1981; $8.3
billion worth of tax inicentives for
businesses to conserve energy and
produce non-oil fuels, and an expanded
tax credit - up to $4,000 - for in-
dividuals who install a solar or wind
energy system in their homes.
PRESIDENT CARTER has promised
to sign the final version hammered nut
by House and Senate negotiators even
though it recommends making more
than half the revenue available for tax
cuts instead of energy programs.
Opponents claim the tax will be paid
ultimately by consumers. Backers say
consumers will pay because of decon-
trol; the only issue, they add, is
whether the oil industry keeps all the
price increase or whether a share goes
to the government.
Oil producers contend the nation
would be better off if they were allowed
to keep the $227.7 billion and re-invest it
in the search for more energy. The Car-
ter administration notes the tax still
would leave the industry an extra $221
billion that it would not have received
had price controls remained in effect.
See HOUSE, Page 2
'r
protessors in isa epartment agree witn
him.
"A boycott implies that classes are
something between a waste of time and
a form, of positive support for the rise of
militarism," he said. Singer will be
holding a discussion of the Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan.
Allen Whiting, also a Political
Science professor, agrees that a boycott
is unnecessary. "The information
available can be obtained without
boycotting classes," he said. Whiting
said that he does not expect students to
miss class to attend his 9 a.m. talk on
Suspended
play es quiet
scholarships
in question
By ALAN FANGER
The five Michigan football players
who were suspended Monday by
Coach Bo Schembechler for a drug-
related violation of a team training
rule maintained their silence on the
matter yesterday, while University
administrators attempted to learn
more about the issue.
The suspended players - quar-
terback B. J. Dickey, wolfman Mike
Kligis, offen'sive tackle Dan
Kwiatkowski, outside linebacker
Ben Needham, and placekicker
Bryan Virgil - were dismissed from
the squad at a meeting of the team's
junior members. Three other
players, including middle guard
Mike Trgovac, were placed on
probation, but University officials
said they will remain on the team.
Needham and Kwiatkowski, who
were scheduled to make a public,
statement at 1 p.m. yesterday, later
decided to remain silent instead.
However, informed sources said
Needham was prepared to make a
statement sometime today.
See FIVE, Page 11E
Tanker tips on I-94,
causes evacuation
By LORENZO BENET
Fifteen Ann Arbor homes were
evacuated yesterday morning when a
tanker truck carrying 6,000 gallons of
acetone, a highly volatile chemical,
jack-knifed and began leaking the sub-
stan'ce. The truck, while heading east
on I-94, hit a jeep from behind and
drove into a ditch alongside the high-
way early in the morning.
The only injury resulting from the in-
cident involved 26-year-old Ann Arbor
native Susan Stalker, who was driving,
the jeep. She was treated for minor cuts
and bruises, and released from St.
Joseph Mercy Hospital yesterday.
MAJOR WALTER Hawkins of the
Ann Arbor Police Dept. said at 12:00
noon that the police had asked the
Dickens Elementary School to keep its
pupils from going home for part of the
day.
The truck's trailer, which flipped
over on its side after becoming
detached from the cab, was leaking
about one gallon of the highly explosive
chemical per hour, according to State
Police Officer Bill King. There was
some chance of the acetone spilling into
a nearby drain and getting into the Ann
Arbor and Pittsfield Township water
supplies, King added.
Arthur Anthus, the driver of the truck
bound from Chicago to a Ferndale fac-
tory, said the roads had been very icy.
When traffic suddenly began to slow up
in front of him, he hit his brakes twice,
went into a spin, and skidded into a
nearby ditch, he said. The trailer unhit-
ched in the process.
"I CAN'T tell you whether or not I hit
the jeep, I don't remember," said the
39-year-old native of Lake Village, In-
diana.
Trooper King said that Anthus swer-
ved and hit the jeep, which made the rig
jack-knife. The trailer then ripped off
the cab and flipped over on its side, ac-
cording to King.
The I-94 eastbound lane was closed
immediately after the accident. Both
westbound and eastbound lanes were
closed between the exits at 3:00 p.m. so
the acetone could be transferred into
another truck from Dow Chemical
Corp. in Toledo. Meanwhile, motorists
were advised to use either U.S. 23 or M-
14 as detour routes.
King explained that crews were busy
plugging the drain that leads under the
highway. Once the drain was plugged,
he said, the crews could upright the -
trailer and begin transferring the
acetone from the leaking truck.
Daily Photo by MAUREEN O'MALLEY
A TRUCK OVERTURNED on 1-94 southwest of Ann Arbor begins to leak its load of acetone into the air yesterday. The
truck in the foreground dumps dirt to protect a water drain from contamination by the volatile chemical.
See JURY, Page 5
'U 'U
census takers, paying them while they attend classes on
street etiquette and people counting. "Intensive testing" of
applicants is scheduled for middle and late March, and if
the applicant passes the test, work begins "soon." [7
The high cost of munching
Price increases due to inflation have almost become a
fact of life and most consumers have learned to grudgingly
accept them. Nevertheless, a recent increase in the price of
girl scout cookies has many sweet-addicts up in arms. It
seems as if in its present cookie drive, the Huron Valley
One-time offer
Money can buy you almost anything these days-
including virginity. That's right, for a mere two dollars you
can become a member of the Tuskegee Institute Prudent
Association, which entitles you to a Certificate of Virginity
to help publicly proclaim your status. The association was
started by three Tuskegee students as "kind of a joke,"
explained president Willie Berringer. "We wanted to give
people some kind of novel gift and also to make a little
money," he said. Berringer emphasized that no one is
year-old student will be the oldest rookie lawyer ever to
graduatefrom that school when he receives his sheepskin
in the fall. "It-was tough-still is for that matter," Kocurek
said. Maybe you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but you
can apparently teach him to sue the pants off of someone
else.
On the inside
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