Dale Helmig: America’s Most Wanted to Feature Innocence Case

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Kenny Hulsof Dale Helmig
(Former Congressman and state proseuctor Kenny Hulsof and Dale Helmig)

Don’t miss America’s Most Wanted on Fox this Saturday Night. Instead of trying to find a murderer, this time the show is trying to free one.

“America’s Most Wanted,” scheduled for broadcast at 8 p.m. Saturday on KQFX-TV (Fox 38), will devote an hour to the investigation and trial of Helmig, now 53, who in 1996 was convicted of murdering his mother. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The show is designed to capture bad people and put them away,” said producer Dave Bolton. “This case jumped to our attention because it looked like a huge miscarriage of justice because the bad guy who did the crime was still out there and the innocent guy was put in prison for a crime he did not commit.”

Helmig was convicted of killing his mother. The evidence against him, all circumstantial, was beyond thin. His conviction was overturned in a federal habeas petition (opinion here), but the state appealed. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated Dale’s conviction and the Supreme Court denied cert. He remains in prison today, having served 12 years of a sentence to life without parole. Continue reading →

Bachelorette Episode #2: Spoilers, From 20 to 16

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Jillian - Red Flower

(Updates below): Jillian will go from 20 bachelors to 16 tonight.

After the 20 cocktail-party survivors settle into their “animal house,” one accompanies Jillian to Hollywood’s House of Blues, where they’re serenaded by Martina McBride. Another dines with Jillian in a bank vault. Group dates include a trip to Venice Beach, where guys play basketball with the Harlem Globetrotters; and a pool party, followed by a race across L.A. Come elimination time there’s a new wrinkle: The men vote on whom they’d like to see go, and after Jillian weighs in 16 are left.

Here’s my guess as to who is eliminated (in bold):

Brad, 27, financial advisor from Chicago, IL.
Brian, 32, IT consultant from Atlanta, GA.
David, 27, trucking contractor from Dayton, OH.
Ed, 29, technology consultant from Chicago, IL.
Jake, 31, commercial pilot from Dallas, TX.
Jesse, 27, wine maker from Carmel Valley, CA.
Juan, 35, general contractor from Santa Monica, CA.
Julien, 34, restauranteur from San Diego, CA.
Kiptyn, 31, business developer from Encinitas, CA.
Mark, 26, pizza entrepreneur from Denver, CO.
Mathue, 26, personal trainer from Wichita, KS.
Michael, 25, break dance instructor from Astoria, NY.
Mike, 28, baseball camp owner from New York, NY.
Reid, 30, realtor from Philadelphia, PA.
Robby, 25, bartender from Spring, TX.
Sasha, 27, oil and gas consultant from Tiki Island, TX.
Simon, 26, soccer coach from Bradford, England
Tanner F., 28, sales representative from Derby, KS/Denver.
Tanner P., 30, financial analyst from Dallas, TX.
Wes, 32, musician from Austin, TX.

Who to keep your eye on? Mike, Kip and Reid, for sure. Maybe Jesse. Wes the country singer makes it to a home town date but gets cut then. There’s lots of talk he just went on the show for publicity to further his career.

I think the final two will be Kip and Reid, but I’m not completely sure yet. Continue reading →

Upset on American Idol: Kris Allen Wins

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Adam Lambert and Kris Allen

It’s official. Kris Allen wins American Idol. His first comment: “Adam deserves it.” He sounds almost bummed. Adam is smiling and very congratulatory. Congratulations, Kris. To Adam: You’ll still be the biggest star of the show.

Final thought: Homophobic Christians took over the American Idol ballotbox, just like they’re trying to do in real life. Sorry, but I think it’s a plausible explanation. Also, 100 million votes but the lowest ratings ever for last night’s finale. Who’s voting besides the viewers and why? The Washington Post says you can expect these questions to be batted around the water cooler tomorrow.

****

The two-hour finale has just begun. I thought it was just the pre-teen, text-message obsessed crowd that might create an upset on American Idol tonight, resulting in Kris Allen beating Adam Lambert. But, there may be a religious factor and he may pick up a big chunk of the Danny Gokey vote:

[Kris] Allen is a married college student and has worked as a church worship leader. Gokey, a widower, is a church music director.

To Kris’ credit,

Allen said Monday that he hoped the outcome isn’t decided by “having the Christian vote.” “I hope it has to do with your talent and the performance that you give and the package that you have. It’s not about religion and all that kind of stuff,” he said.

In any event, it’s going to be a close one.

Lots of performances: Lionel Richie, Carlos Santana, Cindi Lauper, Queen Latifah, Black Eyed Peas, Keith Urban, the reigning American Idol David Cook and season 4 winner Carrie Underwood.

Even the New York Times is live-blogging the finale. I’ll be watching and updating below. Continue reading →

DWTS Finale: Shawn Johnson Wins

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[10:00 pm MT: See updates below, Congrats to Shawn Johnson and Mark!]

The winner will be chosen tonight on Dancing With the Stars. My vote: Melissa and then Gilles. Who I think will win: Gilles, but I’m not counting Shawn out because she has been terrific the past few weeks, especially last night. Gilles is really hot, but too often his dancing seems to be more about Cheryl than him. Len pointed it out last night, but I’ve been thinking that for a while.

Melissa is the best dancer of the three, by far I think. Shawn has the gymnast thing going which may make her appear better than she really is. Go Mel!

My pal Jesse Csincsak, former Bachelorette winner, is looking to be on the next season of Dancing With the Stars. I'd think he'd be terrific. As a professional snowboarder, he's certainly got the athletic skills and balance and coordination. Plus, he really looks good (and even better in person than on camera.) So I hope you'll take a few minutes and go sign the petition to help get him on the show. (You can even sign and click the box not to have your name displayed.)

Updates on tonight’s show below: Continue reading →

American Idol: Adam and Kris’ Final Face-Off

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Adam Lambert
Chris Allen

Adam Lambert and Kris Allen sing three final songs tonight. The winner will be chosen tomorrow.

Adam should win, but with the pre-teen, text-message obsessed crowd going for Kris, nothing is for certain.

I’ll update as the show progresses or after it.

Update: Adam blasts it out of the park with Sam Cook’s “A Change is Gonna Come.” He was just amazing. And all four judges lapped it up. While they also loved Kris’ first song, they weren’t anywhere near as blown away as they were by Adam. But, when Paula says, “No matter what happens tonight…” you can tell they too can’t predict the teeny bopper vote. Continue reading →

“24” Season Finale

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Kiefer Sutherland

I won’t be watching the finale of “24” until after The Bachelorette.” But I’m already thinking about it. I’ll update after I’ve watched it.

Update: The finale was great. I think one of the things I like best about the show is how un-Hollywood in appearance so many of the characters are. The casting is just great.

Of all the finales I’ve seen this week, this was the only one without an annoying “cliffhanger.” You know Jack is going to survive through the stem cell transplant from his daughter and you know what decision the FBI agent makes. And they cleared up the “why” behind Tony Almeida’s working for both sides. And finally, Olivia got her due. She was one of the most unpleasant characters to watch. Continue reading →