European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 12, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Many Fords hazardous group says Washington a More than 5 million 1965 to 1986-Model Ford cars have dangerously designed fuel systems that have already caused More than 200 deaths in fiery rear end crashes a group founded by trial lawyers contended saturday. The year old Institute for injury reduction at a news conference urged Ford to recall and fix the cars. The organization s president Benjamin Kelley said alterations would Cost about $50 per car. Ford s Washington office did not immediately return a Telephone Call seeking comment. Kelley said the hazardous design has been the subject of several lawsuits. David e. Perry a lawyer from Corpus Christi Texas said that if Ford fails to act the National Highway traffic safety administration or Congress should Stepin to Force a recall. The defect he said is caused by a de sign that has the fuel tank filler pipe Rig idly attached to the vehicles Quarter panels causing a tendency for it to be pulled Loose from the Gas tank in a rear end collision. This causes Gas and highly combustible Vapours to escape and be easily ignited by Sparks and heat generate Din a crash Perry said. He said the danger can be avoided by lengthening the pipe attaching it to the fuel tank and providing a breakaway device so it will detach from the outside panel. Trial lawyers Are sick of seeing the human pain and misery that Ford motor co. Is causing by its continuing refusal to warn car owners about this serious defect and to recall and repair it Perry said. He said the Cost of the repairs would amount to about 1 percent of Stockhold ers equity in the company. I can t believe that the stockholders would object to that kind of investment in protecting their fellow human beings from such Barbaric treatment the Law yer said. Perry said Ford has acknowledged in court documents that 221 people have died in crashes involving fuel tank fires in Ford made cars and the Institute believes that admitted number is Low. He said that in Many of the crashes the Only serious injuries to passenger were their Burns. When a crash is not severe enough to cause Impact injuries to people inside the car it is inexcusable that its fuel sys tem should not be Able to withstand the same crash without rupturing losing fuel and catching fire Perry said. The Institute said the system was in stalled in full size Fords Mercury and lincolns built Between 1965 and 1985 in some full size 1986 Fords and Mer cures in 1974-79 Lincoln Mark in and Mark v models and in some thunderbird cougars pintos bobcats mus tangs capris Fairmont zephyrs and Granadas built Between 1970 and 1981. The Institute which describes itself As a non profit research and educational 9r a animation concerned with reducing injuries resulting from product defects Esti mated that 5 million of the cars Are still on the Road. Sunday february 12, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 3 ground the flu tag is Ken George with pen in hand a group of West germans in kaisers Lau every year at Ramstein a. The petition drive was conducted Tern made a Point saturday end the air show that is held by members of the social democratic party. Jury urges execution of Man convicted of murdering 14 members of his family Clarksville Ark. A a jury found a Man guilty of capital murder Friday in the shooting and strangulation deaths of 14 family members and recommended that he be sentenced to die. Johnson county circuit judge John s. Patterson accepted the recommendation and set an execution Day of March 16 for r. Gene Simmons after Simmons told the judge that he knew of no reason Why he should not be immediately sentenced. Simmons who already faces the death penalty in two other slayings did t Visi Bly react to the verdict or the sentence but several people in the courtroom applauded. Jurors deliberated More than four hours before reaching a verdict. Three hours later they announced a sentencing recommendation. They could have recommended life imprisonment with no parole. Prosecuting attorney John Bynum told the jury that Simmons deserved the death penalty because he killed some of the victims to avoid arrest before he completed his plan to kill them All. Eye for Eye tooth for tooth life for life " Bynum told the jury. That s where we Are now in this Case. That s old and ancient and hard. But that is what we Are Down to in this  defense attorney Robert e. Irwin said Simmons did not kill to escape Detec Tion. His motive was not to avoid arrest but to satisfy a base primeval and vile human passion Irwin said in asking the jury to recommend life imprisonment. And then we can say a jury stood staunch against an onslaught of  Simmons 48, has already been sentenced to die for the slayings of two peo ple during a 40-minute shooting rampage dec. 28, 1987, in Russellville. After his arrest authorities searching his Home near Dover found the bodies of Sim Mons wife his seven children two of the children s spouses and four grand children. They had been All been shot or strangled. As the jury deliberated Irwin said he had received Simmons permission to Appeal if he was convicted. Simmons had waived Appeal on his earlier conviction. In his closing statement defense attorney John c. Harris said there was no evidence that placed Simmons at his Home at the time of the deaths and no evidence that he personally fired the gun he gave police when he was arrested. Harris told the jury that the state was asking the jury to convict Simmons on the basis of circumstantial evidence. Bynum said that the evidence though circumstantial was Strong including Evi Dence that Simmons was driving his dead son s car when arrested owned the gun and had it in his Possession. He also said that the bodies were found at his House and that the burial of seven bodies and the hiding of two others showed that this was not the work of some  during the trial Friday Simmons struck Bynum in front of the jury Send ing spectators shrieking and ducking be Neath their seats. Law enforcement officers posted around the courtroom immediately swarmed Over Simmons subdued him and whisked him out a Side door. After a recess Simmons was brought Back in Handcuffs and the state completed its Case Early in the afternoon. The defense did not Call any witnesses. I m All right said Bynum who was hit on the Chin As the attorneys and defendant huddled in conference at the judge s Bench. He just got me  Patterson who had immediately or dered the startled jurors removed from the courtroom brought them Back before declaring a recess. I want you to set aside what happened in the courtroom just now said Patterson. This trial has gone on five Days. We want to finish it if we can. You need to disregard the incident that happened Here  in testimony before the morning disruption firearms expert Burwin Monroe of the state crime lab in Little Rock Testi fied that a .22-caliber revolver Simmons handed Over when he was arrested fired the bullets that killed several family  Lviv us Umic was. Uni 10 u Aracsi Nous a a m Younai r members. . Navy aids tests on Tijuana prostitutes revealed san Diego up the . Foj Cliency syndrome or. Vicente Lopez officials have been communicating Back to see How a tons in the Nuhim e Navy concerned about the risk of aids to sailors visiting Tijuana last year tested hundreds of prostitutes for the deadly virus a researcher said Friday. The aids tests conducted quietly with the cooperation of mexican health officials in the Border town coincided with a . Government shipment to Mexico of 800,000 condoms to help pre vent the spread of acquired immune de Ficie Crocher said. The unprecedented . Involvement in mexican health screening and Preven Tion efforts was met with mixed re actions South of the Border said Lopez Rocher whose findings were reported thursday at a University of California Irvine conference on .-Mexico relations. At the top Levels mexican and . Official and Forth about the problem of aids. At lower Levels some mexicans say we can solve our own problems " said Lopez Rocher research director at the to Chicalo Center for University stud ies in Ensenada Mexico. But last year we did t have the aids test and the Navy offered its assistance. Its sailors visit Tijuana every weekend. It was beneficial to both sides to see How extensive the problem was along the  Only 1 percent of the prostitutes most of whom worked in bars frequented by sailors tested positive for the aids virus said Lopez Rocher. Many of those women were intravenous drug users so we can t be sure that sexual Intercourse was a significant fac Tor in their contraction of the disease he added