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Hans Reiser in Court Today 496
An anonymous reader writes "Hans Reiser has pled not guilty to murdering his wife and invoked his right to a speedy trial. He will attend a hearing today where the judge will decide if the state has a case " We had covered this story back when it had first broke; and for those of you playing catch-up, Hans is the author of ReiserFS.
Thank you media (Score:3, Interesting)
This just goes to show you that stuff like this happens all the time that never gets seen in national media.
Re:Thank you media (Score:5, Insightful)
Personally I like the fact that national media leaves a lot of local stories uncovered. It gives the accused a chance to have an unbiased jury, though a change of venue may be required. If they're cleared, the minimal media slam means they can rebuild elsewhere after the page 2 apologies fails to change the minds of those who "know" they're guilty.
Papparatzi chasing famous people while they make fools of themselves in public is one thing. That same mentality destroying careers on the basis of accusation instead of conviction is not what "freedom of speech" was ever about.
Canadian courts typically restrict publication from the initial hearing onwards. The only time you see further information is if the defense is making preliminary statements about their planned approach, especially if they expect to raise constitutional or human rights issues. That serves to warn the bar that there may be a precedence case coming up.
I hope the accusations turn out false, but Hans' infamous temper isn't going to help him with this argument.
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Re:Interesting thoughts... (Score:4, Informative)
Not quite true. Firstly, this only applies to England and Wales. Scotland still has the "no double jeopardy" rule. Secondly, the state can try once for a second trial, but only if evidence which could not have been available at the initial trial is available. ISTR that permission from the House of Lords is needed to even launch another trial - and the HoL will refuse if the evidence is not the sort which would have radically altered the original outcome if not challenged. Also, I think that the offences covered for this sort of double jeopardy must be the most serious type (murder, rape, etc.)
I can't say I really approve of it (equality of arms, and all that), but then, we don't have the death penalty, so it's not like a defendant appeal couldn't be launched. The first conviction under these rules was for someone who had been acquitted and then confessed publicly to the murder [although even a freely given confession doesn't necessarily count as new evidence!]
The block who 'fessed up pleaded guilty at the second trial. See here [bbc.co.uk] for more details.
--Ng
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The kid must be a Marine.
Re:Thank you media (Score:5, Insightful)
Reiser's wife probrably wasn't as attractive as Laci Peterson. The media only showcases good looking victims.
Other factors:
Laci was pregnant. Laci went missing on Christmas Eve (I believe). Laci had a lot of friends and a large family, all of whom coordinated a media blitz.
Just check the history (Score:3, Funny)
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Re:Just check the history (Score:4, Funny)
We had covered this story... (Score:2, Insightful)
Yet somehow you managed to never run a single story on James Kim.
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Re:We had covered this story... (Score:5, Informative)
Wikipedia Entry [wikipedia.org]
Re:We had covered this story... (Score:4, Insightful)
doesn't interest nerds (Score:3, Insightful)
Dvorak couldn't freeze (Score:3, Funny)
You talk like you think Reiser did it (Score:3, Insightful)
Recall the case of Chandra Levy, once an intern working for former Congressman Condit. When she vanished, many people had no problem believing she had been murdered, and thinking up motives Condit might have for doing it, with the most popular being so that she couldn't talk about the affair he had with her. Circumstantial evidence started pouring out, and things were looking very bad for Condit for a while. Condit lost the next election, but was never arrested or charged, and a year later they found Lev
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re:We had covered this story... (Score:4, Informative)
No, ultimately, his biggest mistake was to try to get across the Coast Range on Forest Service roads in November. This is stupid whether you have GPS or not. In Oregon, you stick to main roads in winter unless (a) you know the area very well or (b) you have a very urgent reason to be on those roads. And you sure as hell don't drive them at night if you can avoid it.
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Ultimately, the biggest mistake Kim made was to leave the car.
True... However: he already had waited a couple of days before he decided to go an seek help. And that point in time he probably assumed that no help would come, and that he had to get some himself!
He wasn't stuck off the road or buried in a snow drift, and the car wasn't in any immediate danger.
No immediate danger, yes. However, given the time they had already waited they were in danger of running out of food.
It would have been cold, but with a car full of people to generate body-heat it would have been tolerable. NEVER leave your car in a situation like that unless you are in imminent danger (IE: car fire, car sinking in a lake, avalanche about to bury you, Etc.) Your car is a big shiny chunk of painted metal and glass, MUCH easier to pick out in the snow than your tiny little human body.
That, and you can run the engine for brief periods to keep warm,
They did, un
Re:Compass first, GPS second; always. (Score:5, Informative)
This works in the Northern Hemisphere.
Take the watch off your wrist and hold it horizontally.
Point the hour hand at the sun.
Halfway between that and 12 is South.
It's not accurate to one degree, but for getting un-lost, it's close enough.
--
BMO
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Bears?
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I have had extensive training with GPS (civilian and military) and three different types of compasses (normal, prismatic, digital) plus how to read all of them in relation to a map. Based on this I think your implication that it has anything to do with the equipment or the user is wrong or at least side stepping the issue.
The biggest problem with a GPS is that it is prone to failure from all of the
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But you can also look at history and find examples where staying put would have meant certain death. For instance, the surviving passengers of Uruguayan Flight 571 (known from the book and movie "Alive") only made it because two of the victims hiked out of the mountains. They had been given up for dead.
Re:We had covered this story... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:We had covered this story... (Score:5, Insightful)
Regarding Reiser, as much as it pains me, I think I have accepted that unless they can really clear him of the picture painted by the circumstantial evidence, he's up shit creek. If he did kill her, then he deserves it. A lot of arrogant geeks seem to think they are godlike and that they can get away with anything. It's possible that he fits that standard mold to a T. If he didn't do it, then his side had damn well better find proof because that's what it's going to take at this point. The speedy trial thing actually has me worried. While it's something that I believe everyone should be guaranteed, I also know that it's possible that with the right lawyer he could get away with murder on a technicality. That would not be right, but it's not like it hasn't happened before. Crimes of passion can be quite ugly and I think they do throw the perpetrators mentally out of whack for life. If he did do it, he's certainly got internal demons that will follow him for all the days of his life. Sadly, based on his biography, I'd say he seems to be a perfect fit for the type of arrogant geek who thinks they can get away with anything as long as they plan it well enough. That kind of geek needs to be knocked down the entire set of ladder rungs and then have their face ground into the dirt and through the other side of the planet. Maybe then their overinflated egos will be right sized to a humble enough level. Note that I feel I can say this because I AM a geek and I do believe I have limitations which I happily accept.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:We had covered this story... (Score:5, Interesting)
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Although the cop will still be held responsible for his/her actions, the evidence is admissable, and for all intents and purposes, the 4th ammendment is null and void. How this didn't generate more attention when it happened is beyond my comprehension.
Re:We had covered this story... (Score:5, Informative)
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Obviously if you believe in due process, then clearly you support O.J. Simpson.
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Re:We had covered this story... (Score:5, Funny)
More HAD please !!!
(and more cowbell)
Give him a laptop and let him work (Score:5, Interesting)
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Yes , people should never get emotional when perhaps someone they love has been murdered. What fools. And punishment? Pah , who needs it, thats just so middle ages. Peace and love man... Yes , rehabilitation is where its at as the triumpant success of this liberal policy over the last few decades has shown
What is it with certain people that they somehow think punishment is beneath us? Why do they cling to this pathetic "reh
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The one thing you didn't mock (Score:3, Insightful)
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Yes
"you belong behind bars or in a psychiatric ward."
In your irrelevant opinion.
(Almost) Everyone. (Score:3, Interesting)
That doesn't mean they're bad people. On the contrary, some of the nicest and most well-balanced people I know, would have zero compunction at all in blowing you away, if you in any way threatened or harmed their families. For that matter, neither would I; my obligation to protect my loved ones is far stronger than my obligation to not harm another huma
Re:Give him a laptop and let him work (Score:5, Informative)
I'm perfectly content with punishment, but come on:
The United States has the most people in prison of any country in the world--including China, Russia, and the third-world countries we like to lambaste as having no respect for law.
The rate of people in US prisons--737 per 100,000--is the highest in the world. It is roughly seven times the average rate in other western countries of the world.
I'm fairly certain our numbers with regard to some countries (China, etc) are not wholly accurate, but there's obviously an issue here, particularly as we compare our rates to other western nations.
In the face of numbers like that, it's incredibly hard to support your contention that we've had some "liberal policy" of justice for "decades." (Article here [theage.com.au] with these facts; you can find it from any number of other sources as well. I'm pretty sure I read it on Yahoo News from the AP a few days ago.)
The US has always been conservative on the issue of justice. Punishments are getting harsher, not more lenient. We still execute people--and I'm not interested in debating whether that is right or wrong, merely pointing it out as a difference between us and most other western countries, and it's hard to deny that executions are the harshest form of justice short of torture, which isn't really justice at all.
Re:Give him a laptop and let him work (Score:5, Insightful)
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Selective enforcement of laws that makes everyone a criminal is a sure road to oppression.
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Would you put a robber to prison for 20 years and punish him as much as possible for the whole time, and when he's served his time just throw him to the street? That'll make the robber adapt really well to society... Just think for yourself: Twenty year
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If they can be rehabilitated while they're being punished then fine , do it. But I get tired of listening to people who seem to think rehabilitation is all thats needed and to hell with the feelings of the victims and their families.
Re:Give him a laptop and let him work (Score:5, Insightful)
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The right wingers seem to mention the liberal policy all the time but I'd like to ask which liberal policy are they refering to? we seem to be locking more people up all the time and it isn't doing any good.
Maybe if there was a real liberal policy inplace you would see the difference.
Purpose of Prison (Score:2)
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This has nothing to do with rehabilitation. Where did you see that word in my post or are you just trolling...?
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No wonder there's so much crime when prison is practically a holiday camp.
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Or, should I start my own filesystem now, to ensure a cushier sentence should I ever kill anyone in future?
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Let's look at the two choices here:
1. You can spend your tax dollars and have him sit around, eat, sleep and exercise.
OR
2. You can spend your tax dollars and have a great journaling file system that you can use and nobody will come asking you to pay up royaltie
Re:Give him a laptop and let him work (Score:5, Funny)
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The butterfly effect (Score:5, Funny)
See, there's no reason to fear abandonment of the Reiser FS if this dude gets locked up.
Think about his kids (Score:5, Informative)
I don't know about the rest of the Slashdotters here, but I have 3 kids. Hans has 2, who are in Protective Services right now (not a great place for the kids to be).
Key point about the kids from TFA:
(emphasis added)Re:Think about his kids (Score:5, Funny)
I am the manager of bill and exchange at the foreign remittance department BANK OF AFRICA .
In my department we discovered an abandoned bank account you can use for your purpose. We won't charge you anything - in fact we will double your donations.
You should contact me immediately as soon as you receive this letter for further clearifications.
Yours faithfully,
DR AMIRI BABO
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A relitive of mine has reciently passed away leaving a fortune of $1,000,000.
I need a way to transfer the funds to an account in the US. Could you please provide me with the details of the account you mention so that I can complete the transfer. When I'm done I will leave 40% of the money transfered in the account.
Mr A Nigreian.
Free Hans (Score:5, Informative)
http://cbs5.com/topstories/local_story_256204954.
Hans Reiser, on the other hand, is a linux developer.
Guess which one the cops arrested and which one isn't even a suspect?
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Re:Free Hans (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Free Hans (Score:4, Insightful)
And Hans is allegedly a murderer, what's your point?
+1 Informative on the MQR standard (Score:2)
Thanks for the link; I had not heard any of that. While some of the points are hearsay, the pattern does make it look like the boyfriend should be considered at least as much of a suspect as Reiser.
--MarkusQ
Re:+1 Informative on the MQR standard (Score:5, Informative)
I'm sure the police would have looked at her current love interest, and apparently they didn't find cause to suspect him as much as Reiser.
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Re:Free Hans (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm going with "The one who all the evidence points to", namely Hans.
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Re:Free Hans (Score:4, Insightful)
Nina's boyfriend Sean Sturgeon allegedly practices BDSM
Assuming that's true, exactly how does practicing BDSM mean you're a likely murder suspect?
raped Nina, made death threats against Hans
Both hearsay arguments made by Hans. I'd like to see some kind of evidence for this other than an ex-husbands allegations.
engages in "death yoga"
I didn't know what this was until I read the article, but apparently it's just slowing down your heart rate. How does that have anything to do with someone being a likely murder suspect? Oh it does have the word "death" in it, so it must somehow involve actually killing people. Are people who listen to "death metal" also potential murder suspects?
cheated with a married woman,
This is probbably at least likely (since the two were together before her death). But what does it have to do with him being a murder suspect?
and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from Hans Reiser:
Another allegation by Reiser which we have no other real evidence for. But even if true, why is that a motive for him to murder Nina?
Hans Reiser, on the other hand, is a linux developer.
Ahh.. well obviously if he does anything I personally like and approve of he can't be a murder suspect.
Guess which one the cops arrested and which one isn't even a suspect?
Maybe the one who Nina Reiser had a temporary restraining order against him in 2004 for allegedly pushing her? A restraining order is really easy to get and isn't proof that Hans was violent. But it at least shows she was afraid of him. I don't know if Hans did it, the other guy did it, or neither. But the facts that we have point more toward Hans at the moment. Casting suspicion on someone who you have really no evidence to suspect is simply dishonest.
Re:Free Hans (Score:5, Informative)
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police said (Score:5, Funny)
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I lost a simulation of a black hole - globular cluster collision that I'd spent weeks on because my FS was reiser. It got deleted because I was jet lagged and typed in the wrong rm command, then I couldn't find anything to undelete on reiserfs. I haven't used it since.
Now I use ext2, with fat32 for long term storage, because there are readily available undelete tools for those file systems.
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You could also use a trash of some sort: Use
Also featured on ELER (Score:2)
mmmm tasteless....
Scott Peterson is laughing (Score:2)
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Has she been found yet? (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, I do agree, we need a "tasteless" tag.
Why I think Nina Reiser is dead (Score:2)
Re:Why I think Nina Reiser is dead (Score:4, Insightful)
That's ALL women.
Re:Why I think Nina Reiser is dead (Score:4, Funny)
Replacement for ReiserFS Announced!!! (Score:3, Funny)
my theory (Score:2)
Nina's whereabouts (Score:3, Interesting)
Nina Reiser's 2001 Honda Odyssey minivan, with groceries inside, was found Sept. 9 in the city's Thornhill neighborhood. Neighbors first spotted the parked minivan Sept. 5, the day she was supposed to pick up her children at school, police said."
The minivan was 'spotted' Sept 5th? But 'found' on Sept 9th? Groceries inside? When did the reciept show the groceries were purchased? Before she dropped the kids off or after? If it was after, something is fishy. Grocery store surveilance cameras?
Hmmmmmm.
Just my two cents worth.
i can see it now... (Score:3, Funny)
Nina got $8,000 a month in alimony (Score:4, Interesting)
According to this article [nbc11.com], Hans Reiser had to pay $8,000 in alimony a month to Nina. Nina was getting $96,000 a year for not working!
I don't condone any killing, legal or not, but if she had indeed cheated on him before their divorce and then got that kind of money, it's easy to see how the feeling of having been so completely beaten by someone he loved could have made him desperate.
Something seems broken with California's alimony law.
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This one [cbs5.com] mentions that he was sued for not paying child support. I'm guessing a significant portion of that $8k was child support, not actual alimony. I feel strongly that if you willfully create a life, you should be held responsible for it/them, and it shouldn't take a court order to make it happen.
Although I do think alimony is comple
Re:his wife (Score:5, Funny)
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The difference being that instead of the internet theres only a T1 to Micrsofts source repository and they have us working on bug fixes for Vista and Office.
No OSS
No Porn
No WoW!!!!!!
The horror!!!!!
Re:Plenty of time to write code (Score:5, Funny)
Gods, that'd be even worse!
Re:Plenty of time to write code (Score:5, Funny)
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Son: Now that you mention it, I may have.
Police: Did they tell you you stay in the basement?
Son: Now that you mention it, they may have.
Police: Good. Now what else can you tell us without us influencing your answers in any way?
Police: (to themselves) we better not mention anything about Sean Sturgeon else we might have to investigate a person we have not already decided did it
news article [cbs5.com]: