Riverfront Times | News | AAN.org

Free at Last: Darryl Burton's Thoughts After 24 Years Behind Barsnew

For the St. Louis native, who was released from prison last week after a judge overturned Burton's murder conviction, freedom means he now reports only to himself.

Riverfront Times | Matt Kasper | 09-12-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: life after prison, murder, Missouri, crime & justice, Darryl Burton

Perverts Beware: St. Louis Area Police Have Your Numbernew

U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway has made prosecuting child pornography offenders a top priority since her appointment in July 2005. For the fiscal year that will end on September 30, the justice department predicts that Eastern Missouri will have generated 76 child-exploitation cases, making it second only to central California.

Riverfront Times | Kathleen McLaughlin | 09-05-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: Missouri, sodomy, child pornography, crime & justice, Catherine Hanaway, child exploitation, Judge Donald Stohr, Roderick McArthur

Recent Tiger Attacks Have Some in Missouri Calling for Tougher Exotic Animal Lawsnew

Missouri is one of 23 states that permit individuals to keep tigers and other big cats as pets. State law says only that owners must register their animals with a local law enforcement agency and that failure to do so is a misdemeanor.

Riverfront Times | Keegan Hamilton | 08-22-2008 | Animal Issues

Tags: PETA, animal issues, Missouri, USDA, Animal Protection Institute, exotic animals, Predator World, tigers, World Wildlife Fund

One Missouri Midwife, Now That Her Trade is Legal, Decides to Advertisenew

Dana Albillo is doing something no one in St. Louis' underground home-birth network ever dared -- she's advertising. Soon after the Missouri Supreme Court ended the state's 48-year prohibition on non-medical professionals helping to deliver babies, Albillo bought an ad in AT&T's Yellow Pages for her fledgling business, Common Ground Midwifery Services.

Riverfront Times | Kathleen McLaughlin | 08-01-2008 | Sex

Tags: Missouri, midwives, pregnancy, sex & reproductive issues, American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, home births, John Loudon, Missouri Supreme Court

Sheryl Grossman Suffers from One of the Rarest Diseases the World Has Ever Knownnew

People with Bloom's Disease -- there are fewer than 300 worldwide -- seldom grow taller than four and a half feet or weigh more than 90 pounds. Most develop cancer by their mid-twenties, and they are prone to diabetes, allergies, asthma, pulmonary disease, ear infections and immune disorders. The men are sterile. There is no cure, and no one with this genetic disorder has ever lived past 48.

Riverfront Times | Aimee Levitt | 06-27-2008 | Science

Tags: pedophile, Health & Science, Ashkenazic, Bloom's Connect, Bloom's Syndrome, David Bloom, Eastern European Jews, Sheryl Grossman, short fetishists

Wash. U. is at the Forefront of New Research to Find the Cause of Autismnew

Washington University psychiatrists Kelly Botteron and John Constantino are part of a national study that will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the brains of babies, specifically the brothers and sisters of autistic children. "No one has looked at kids this young," says Botteron, who specializes in brain imaging.

Riverfront Times | Kathleen McLaughlin | 06-20-2008 | Science

Tags: MRI, autism, Centers for Disease Control, Health & Science, brain imaging, National Institutes of Health, Washington University

Prostitutes Turn to the Web as a Means of Empowermentnew

While the idea of escorts on the internet is nothing new, a new generation of local "providers" and "hobbyists" create a virtual red-light district.

Riverfront Times | Keegan Hamilton | 06-13-2008 | Sex

Tags: Prostitution, Craigslist, web culture, sex & reproductive issues, adult service providers, bigdoggie.net, Desiree Alliance, escort services, www.stlasp.com, www.theeroticreview.com

"Mike Seely's Guide to the Final Four," "Behold the Forty," "Horse & Scissors"new

AltWeeklies Award - Cover Design

Riverfront Times | Tom Carlson | 04-21-2008 | Media

Tags: media

The Strange and Violent World of St. Louis' Bail Bondsmennew

"To my knowledge, I know of no other state that allows felons to be licensed as bail bondsmen," says Bill Kreins, spokesman for the Professional Bail Agents of the United States. "Convicted felons absolutely should not be in the bail bond business. They just do not fit."

Riverfront Times | Keegan Hamilton | 04-18-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: felons, bail bondsmen, crime & justice

Did St. Louis Daily Deliberately Give its New Blog the Same Title as the Competition?new

"The timing certainly seems odd," says Margaret Freivogel, editor of the St. Louis Platform, who notes that the Post-Dispatch accompanied its announcement of The Platform in the editorial pages of its paper with a trademark symbol.

Riverfront Times | Chad Garrison | 04-11-2008 | Media

Tags: media

One Navy SEAL's Mission to Help Fellow Iraq Vetsnew

Now 33 and released from active duty, Eric Greitens is at last back on his home turf and facing new challenges as chairman of a nonprofit -- the Center for Citizen Leadership -- that he created last fall. Its mission: To put wounded veterans back to work in public service jobs.

Riverfront Times | Kristen Hinman | 04-11-2008 | War

Tags: Iraq, veterans, jobs, war & peace

The Assassin's Brothernew

The anonymity John Ray prefers will likely end this week when 50,000 copies of his book, Truth At Last: The Untold Story Behind James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., turn up in bookstores on the 40th anniversary of King's murder.

Riverfront Times | Ellis E. Conklin | 04-04-2008 | Race & Class

Tags: race relations