0 Page 2 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, January 19, 1990 Jury finds Buckeys innocent LOS ANGELES (AP) - Preschool operators Raymond Buckey and his mother were acquit- ted yesterday of 52 child molestation charges in the nation's longest and costliest criminal trial, inciting outrage among parents of youngsters in the case. Jurors deadlocked on 12 sex abuse counts against Buckey and a single conspiracy count against him and his 63-year-old mother, Peggy Mc- Martin Buckey. Superior Court Judge William Pounders declared a mistrial on those charges. The investigation of alleged mass molestation at the suburban Mc- Martin Pre-School ignited a nation- wide wave of worry about child abuse when it came to light in 1983. It produced widespread fear among working parents that their children might be at risk at school. The trial lasted nearly three years and cost $15 million, making it the longest and most expensive criminal proceeding in U.S. history. Buckey, 31, spent nearly five years in jail because of the charges, rA..... boR and his mother was jailed for almost two years. Announcement of the innocent verdicts brought gasps and sobs in the packed courtroom while the de- fendants cried but were restrained in their reactions. About an hour after the verdicts were read, parent Jackie McGauley said: "I'm still in shock. ...When I first heard it, I didn't believe it. I thought someone had made a mis- take." Parent Mary Mae Cioffi added: "It shows that our justice system needs a revamp for kids." "I know my children were mo- lested. I had my daughter sleep be- tween my husband and I for a whole year because she was so afraid some- body would come and get her, that they would kill her, because she told," she said. Mrs Buckey said: "I've gone through hell and now we've lost ev- erything. My concern was for my son and what they've done to him... because my son would never harm a child." THEATERS 1 & 2 " STH AVE. AT LIBERTY - 761-9700 $2.75 SHOWS BEFORE 6 PM & ALL DAY TUESDAY (' SOME EXCEPTIONS MAY APPLY) "I feel wonderful," said Charles Buckey, father of Raymond and hus- band of Mrs. Buckey. Prosecutor Lael Rubin said, "We ultimately must respect the jury's decision even though I personally disagree with it. ...I believe that the families involved in this case and the children involved in this case... can- not be forgotten or overlooked in terms of what they have had to en- dure in the kind of system we presently have." Pounders scheduled a Jan. 31 hearing to determine whether the dis- trict attorney will refile charges against Buckey on the 13 deadlocked counts. Rubin said she would con- sult with parents in the case before deciding. The conspiracy count alleged that Buckey and his mother conspired to commit an assortment of lewd and lascivious acts on children under 14 years old. "This is somebody else's sys- tem," complained parent Bob Curry. "In baseball, it's never over till it's over. In child molestation, and this is a good example of it, it's never over when it's over." The jury spent nine weeks delib- erating on the charges against the Buckeys, who were accused of mo- lesting 11 children over five years at the family-owned school in suburban Manhattan Beach. When he announced, "You are excused from further jury service," the panelists broke into shouts and applause. In interviews in the courtroom afterward, the jurors said they be- lieved some of he children were mo- lested, but the prosecution never established that the defendants were responsible. They also said parents' fears aind the techniques of psychologists who interviewed the students may have planted ideas in the children's heads. [CL AS4*IED ADSI Call 764-0557 Let TheiKnow How*You Feel! I DAILY PERSONALS 764-0557 --,hisY XII j~d~i~x-,ep e ~u /' ' [u/y e: #"9SoJd I1 IN BRIEF Compiled from Associated Press and staff reports House report: Mackinac bridge repairs unnecessary LANSING - Spending millions of dollars to make changes to the Mackinac Bridge would be a waste of money and might cause more acci- dents, according to a House report released yesterday. That report directly contradicts a Senate study released earlier this week that called for several major changes, including the installation of higher guardrails and a median barrier. The House Transportation Subcommittee on Mackinac Bridge Safety's chair, Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Menominee), said there was no evidence that structural failures were to blame for the accident that killed Leslie Ann Pluhar, of Royal Oak, Sept. 22, 1989. "I have to compliment this committee for having the courage to say we're not going to spend millions of dollars because in 32 years one car in 65 million traveling east and west went over a guardrail designed to protect cars traveling north and south," Stupak said. Slower economy predicted WASHINGTON, D.C. - America's trade deficit widened to $10.5 bil- lion in November, its worst showing in 11 months, as U.S. exports took a tumble caused in part by a strike at Boeing, the Commerce Department said yesterday. The increase, coming on the heels of an even worse 20 percent surge in the October deficit, left private economists disheartened about the chances for further improvement in the country's trade performance any time soon. Many economists are forecasting that the trade deficit this year will begin rising again, reflecting a growing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, a further slowdown in U.S. export sales abroad and continued demand by American consumers for foreign products. With the export boom showing signs of running out of steam, many analysts are predicting that the overall economy will grow at just half the rate turned in 1989 Candidate calls for legal pot LANSING - Long-time Democratic activist and Michigan Senate candidate Zolton Ferency unveiled yesterday a 10-point plan that would treat marijuana like liquor, and put the state in charge of buying and. selling it. Ferency's plan calls for having the Liquor Control Commission li- cense growers, test their product, then distribute it through special distrib- utors. Customers would have to be 21 or older to buy the marijuana. Don Reisig, head of the Office of Drug Agencies, described the whole idea as "just plain wrong." "We do not need another intoxicant, social lubricator, whatever you want to call it in our legal marketplace," he said. Ferency's plan calls for the marijuana sale profits to go to drug and al- cohol treatment programs. He said he didn't have an estimate on how much that might be, but pointed to recent reports indicating that 25 mil-, lion to 30 million Americans regularly use marijuana. Soviets call in reserve troops to curb violence in Caucasus MOSCOW - The Defence Ministry called up reserve troops yesterday to help 29,000 soldiers quell ethnic violence in the Caucasus that has killed at least 66 people and wounded more than 220. Defence Minister Dmitri Yazov said the additional troops were necessary to maintain order and possibly enforce a curfew - a measure' authorities in the republic of Azerbaijan have refused to impose despite reports of vicious attacks by Azerbaijani extremists on Armenian. residents. At least 10,500 Armenians reportedly have been evacuated from the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, where rampaging Azerbaijani mobs began the' violence last Saturday. Extremists have obtained heavy weaponry, including helicopters, tanks' and ground-to-ground missiles in what Interior Minister Vadim Bakatin yesterday called a "civil war." EXTRAS Study finds coffee may ward off impotence among elderly ROYAL OAK, Mich. - Elderly coffee drinkers appear to be more sexually active than those who avoid the beverage, but the researcher who made that finding said that coffee isn't necessarily an aphrodisiac. In a study of 744 adults conducted by Dr. Ananias Diokno of William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, 62 percent of married women 60 and older who drank coffee said they were active sexually. Forty percent of married women older than 60 who did not drink coffee said they were ac- tive sexually. Among married men of the same ages, 36 percent of coffee drinkers: said they sometimes were impotent, compared with 59 percent of those' who did not drink coffee. Diokno said his study did not ask respondents how much coffee they drank or wether it was regular or decaffeinated. Coffee and caffeine are popular research topics; since 1983, medical journals have carried more than 500 studies on their effects. The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. Subscription rates: for fall and winter (2 semesters) $28.00 in-town and $39 out-of-town, for fall only $18.00 in-town and $22.00 out-of-town. The Michigan Daily is a member of The Associated Press and the Student News Service. ADDRESS: The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. PHONE NUMBERS: News (313) 764-0552, Opinion 747-2814, Arts 763-0379, Sports 747-3336, Cir- culation 764-0558, Classified advertising 764-0557, Display advertising 764-0554, Billing 764-0550 EDITORAL STAFF: 0 L' . -W { / 1-- YC I 0 aYo ,ACASS Ar 6Xe ;, e' 0 ~ «A/ Univernityv Furnished) Apartments 5 36 S. Forest Ave. Ann Arbor. MI 48104 (313) 761-2680 I TODAY! 0- ( 0 S OA VA use "O' t0 ea' tine a$11' ' oYe G v Ro0o 1NL yo 19 Y' e ,ale a Editor in Chief Managing Editor News Editors Adam Sdiager Steve Knopper Miguel Cruz, Alex Gordon, David Schwartz Sports Editor Associate Sports Editors Nike Gil Adam Benson, Stive Blonder, Richard Eisen, Lory Knapp, Taylor Lincoln Opinion Pape Editors Elzabeth Esch, Amy Harmon Arts Editors Andrea Gadd, Ayssa Katz Associate Opinion Editors PNip Cohen, Camille Cdatos Rim Tony Silber Sharon Holand Music Nabeel Zuberi Letters Editor David Levin Books Mark Swartz Weekend Editors Alyssa Lusdgman, Theatre Jay Pekala Andrew Nils Photo Editor David Lubliner Weekend Staff Jm Pordewozik Graphics Coordinator Kevin Woodson News: Karen Akerlol, Joanna Broder, Jason Carter, Diane Cook, Laura Counts, Marion Davis, Heater Fee, NoahF inkel, Tara Gruzen, Jenniler Hir, Ian Hoffman, Britt Isaly, Terri Jackson, Mark Katz, Christine Kloostra, Kristine LaLonde, Jennifer Miler, Josh Milnick, Dan Poux, Amy Ouck, Gi Renberg, Taraneh Shail, Mike Sobel, Vera Songwe, Noele Vance, Ken Waker, Donna Woodwel. Opinion: Jonathan Rn, Christina Fong, Deyar Jami , Fran Obeid, Liz Paige, Henry Park, Greg Rowe, Kathryn Savole, Kim Springer, Rashid Taher, Luis Vazquez, Dima Zalatimo. Sports: Jamie Burgess, Steve Cohen, Theodore Cox, Jeni Durst, Scott Erskine, Andy Gotlesman, Phil Green, Aaron Hnkin, David Hyman, Bethany Kipec, Eric Lemont, John Niyo, Sarah Osbnm, Matt Rennie, Jonathan Samnick, David Sdechter, Ryan Schreiber, Jelf Sheran, Peter Zelen, Dan Zoch. Arts: Greg Baise, Sherril L Bennett, Jen Blik, Mark BinelI, Kenneth Chow, Sheala Durant, Brent Edwards, Wne Fiscer, Forrest Green, Sharon Grinberg, Brian Jarvinen, Mike Kunavsky, Ami Mehta, Mike Molitor, Carolyn Pajor, Kristin Palm, Annette Petusso, Jay Pinka, Gregod Roach, Peter Shapiro, Rona Sheramy. Photo: Jennifer Dunetz, Amy Feldman, Julie Hdknan, Jose Juarez, Jonathan iss, Josh Moore, Samantha Sanders, Kenneth Smler, 9 I