Blogger Butchered in Bangladesh

The blogger butchered in Bangladesh on Thursday evening for frequently criticizing religious intolerance and Islamic extremism was a naturalized American citizen originally born in the country where he was crucified.

A heretofore unknown terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the brutal assault on Avijit Roy and his wife as the couple were about to sit down for tea at a crowded sidewalk cafe in Dhaka. 

The attackers who call themselves "Ansar Bangla 7" used cleavers and machetes to viciously hack their victims, then left the bloody utensils at the scene.

Roy's spouse, Rafida Ahmed, is also a blogger. She survived her wounds but remains seriously injured.

"This was not just an attack against a person," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki angrily told reporters in Washington, "but a cowardly assault on the universal principles enshrined in Bangladesh's constitution and the country's proud tradition of free intellectual and religious discourse."

In recent years Bangladeshis have seen similar ambushes on secular writers who lived or were visiting their country, giving rise to fears that Islamic militancy may now be spreading into that impoverished nation, too.

Following this latest act of terrorism the group Ansar Bangla 7 announced on Twitter that the blogger butchered in Bangladesh "was the target because of his crime against Islam," leaving little doubt that yet another Muslim extremist group has just been born.

Avijit Roy was 42-years-old when he was assassinated. Like other outspoken bloggers, he had been receiving death threats for years.

Eponymous Rox

Trial for Abigail Hernandez Kidnapping Suspect

The Abigail Hernandez kidnapping trial in New Hampshire is "on track" and scheduled to begin in January 2016:

The accused, "Crazy Nate" Kibby, 34, of Gorham New Hampshire, faces 205 assorted and sordid criminal counts related to his October 2013 abduction of the North Conway teen as she was walking home from school.

Those range from repeated sexual assaults on a minor to unlawful use of electronic restraints, and, once Kibby is convicted next year, he'll likely be imprisoned for life.

Ex con, Nathaniel Kibby, was identified by his victim from a police lineup just one week after she mysteriously returned to her North Conway residence in an underweight and traumatized condition. 

Kibby had brutally confined her for nine months on his rural property located a mere 30 miles from Hernandez's hometown. 

Read latest coverage of the Abigail Hernandez abduction with case updates on Crime Magazine.

Is the Sex Offender Registry a Hit List?

Rights activists claim that America's sex offender registry constitutes cruel and unusual punishment, and, in extreme cases, is even being used to track down convicted pedophiles to maim or murder:

Incidences of violence against registered sex offenders -- particularly child molesters -- are on the rise, experts warn; premeditated attacks on RSOs made easier since the sex offender registry is accessible  to anyone with internet and a grudge.

In fact, in some states registered pedophiles have been serially stalked and killed by vigilantes.

Are the civil liberties of those convicted of sex crimes being violated because the law now exclusively compels these particular ex cons to publish their names and current addresses online? And does it matter that a sex offender registry may be putting their lives in danger?

by Eponymous Rox