UNIONTOWN, Pa. — A baseball coach accused of offering an 8-year-old money to bean an autistic teammate so he couldn't play was convicted Thursday of two lesser charges against him, and evaded more serious charges.

A jury convicted 29-year-old Mark R. Downs Jr. of corruption of minors and criminal solicitation to commit simple assault, Fayette County authorities said.

Downs was acquitted of criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault, and jurors said they were deadlocked on a charge of reckless endangerment. The judge declared a mistrial on the endangerment charge.

Authorities said Downs offered to pay one of his players $25 to hit a 9-year-old autistic teammate with a ball while warming up before a June 2005 playoff game.

The verdict means the jury believed that Downs asked his player to hurt his teammate, but that the jury did not feel that the autistic boy — who suffered bruises and an infected ear — suffered "serious bodily injury," District Attorney Nancy Vernon said. Aggravated assault and reckless endangerment both require authorities to prove that serious bodily injury occurred or was intended to occur.

"Certainly, the bruising on the ear fortunately did not amount to serious bodily injury," Vernon said. "That's what (the verdict) boiled down to. It vindicates the fact the little boys, the jury believed they were telling the truth."

Downs took the stand and denied offering to pay Keith Reese Jr. to hurt Harry Bowers, his mildly autistic and mildly retarded teammate.

Earlier in the trial, Reese testified about Downs' offer, saying he purposely threw a ball that hit Bowers in the groin, then threw another ball that hit him in the ear on Downs' instructions. Bowers also testified about being hit by the balls Reese threw during pregame warmups.

Reese's father, Keith Sr., testified that Downs acknowledged after the game that he did something "ignorant" and confessed to the deed. When Downs called the elder Reese a liar during his testimony Wednesday, Reese shouted back "You're a liar," prompting the judge to restore order.

Jury forewoman Michele Lynn, a 28-year-old medical office manager, said the jury believed that Downs told his player to harm his teammate, but they didn't believe his injuries were serious enough to warrant the aggravated assault and reckless endangerment charges.

"I myself didn't believe he caused any serious bodily harm," Lynn said.

The jury didn't believe Downs, in part, because doing so would have required them to believe that all the prosecution witnesses, including the two boys, were lying.

"His whole demeanor was flat, he was inexpressive," Lynn said of Downs. "That led me to believe he was not telling the truth. He would corrupt any young children's morals."

Downs, the boys, and their families left the courtroom without commenting, but Downs' attorney, Thomas Shaffer, promised to appeal.

Shaffer said he believes Judge Ralph Warman erred by not letting him call a witness who would have testified that Reese's stepmother called the whole incident "a misunderstanding."

"In reality, the truth did not come out," Shaffer said.

The maximum sentence for the Downs' crimes is five years in prison, but under Pennsylvania sentencing guidelines he likely faces only probation when he's sentenced Oct. 12 because he is not known to have a criminal record. Vernon said she will not argue for a particular sentence, leaving the matter entirely to the judge's discretion.

"This is a serious breach of sportsmanlike conduct," Vernon said.



SOURCE

autistic kids are annoying as hell! all that rocking and spitting...unless they can play the piano really really well. like this fellow....

Autistic man's MBE splits the art world
Independent, The (London), Jan 4, 2006 by Terry Kirby
For most artists, being appointed an MBE in the New Year Honours List would be a moment, at the very least, of pleasure at being officially applauded by the establishment.

But in the case of Stephen Wiltshire, the moment was somewhat anticlimactic. 'I don't think it really made much impression on him, probably because we interrupted him in the middle of watching the television," his older sister, Annette, disclosed. 'The rest of us in the family were, of course, ecstatic."

That is because Wiltshire, 31, suffers from autism, an inability to interact with the outside world by conventional means. But that has not stopped him from becoming one of the country's most successful, but paradoxically least well-known, artists. Significantly, his citation reads: 'For services to art' " there is no mention of his disability. And despite his nonchalance at the award, he will be going to Buckingham Palace to receive his gong accompanied, by his mother, Geneva, and other members of his family, who have cared for him all his life.

As an autistic savant, he is one of the 10 per cent of autism sufferers who also have extraordinary abilities, such as powers of memory, mathematical calculation or musical and artistic talents. Wiltshire's speciality is intricate and fantastically detailed drawings of buildings and cityscapes, which has earned him a large following, packed out exhibitions and led to bestselling books. His prints sell for several hundred pounds each via his website.

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Yet his success has provoked a debate within the art world that mirrors that over the artist Jack Vettriano as to whether his work really qualifies as 'art', or is simply a stylised copying.

Dr Oliver Sacks, the renowned psychologist, summed up the issue when he described Wiltshire in his 1995 book, An Anthropologist on Mars: 'I thought how unlike a Xerox machine he was. His pictures in no sense resembled copies or photographs, something mechanical and impersonal " there were always additions, subtractions, revisions, and, of course, Stephen's unmistakable style ... Stephen's drawings were individual constructions, but could they be seen, in a deeper sense, as creations?"

And now, some have used his award as a stick with which to beat contemporary British artists such as Damien Hirst. 'At last," said the Daily Mail yesterday, 'an artist [underlined] who deserves an honour."

Karen Wright, editor of Modern Painters magazine, said it was wrong to adopt either view. 'I wish people would not use him as a means to justify criticism of Damien Hirst and others. There is room enough for everyone and his is a voice that will be heard by those who perhaps do not wish to hear that of Hirst. But that doesn't mean they both cannot exist."

She said she believed Wiltshire was a better artist than Vettriano. 'I think it is very interesting. There is definitely a voice there, a talent which stands on its own, irrespective of his disability,' she said.

It was particularly interesting, she added, that during his period at the City and Guilds Art School in south London, where he has been a student for the past four years, he had retained his own style, rather than be tempted by others.

Wiltshire's life now, which recently included a trip to Hong Kong on a private commission, is a far cry from his earlier years. Born into a family of West Indian origin in north London, he spent his childhood locked in his own private world, unable to communicate with others. His condition became worse after the death of his father when he was just three years old.

Despite the success, his life remains constrained. 'While he is very independent and sociable, he still needs to have the reassurance that one of his family is around,' said his sister.

He is not just a remarkable artist. A piano player for 10 years, Wiltshire also has a pitch-perfect voice and sings everything from opera to Elvis. His sister said: 'He surprises us all the time over the way he is developing. When people ask me what Stephen can do next, all I say is 'watch this space'."

Copyright 2006 Independent Newspapers UK Limited

actually he is an artist not a piano player...i dont know if you read the article or not.

if you will forgive me for posting this fantastic Youtube of this crazed genius at work i will be forever grateful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8YXZTlwTAU

Definately overdoing it with the Youtubes ...definately

A coach is paid to lead his team to victory. Removing the feeble and defective from the team is central to his job. Traditionally, this is accomplished through try-outs, but whatever works will do.

If there's an opening on the bench between Ty Cobb and Billy Martin in Hell, this guy just reserved the seat.