Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 113

-24 Ialley 3 Mostly sunny fight anain? nlsis family' 4 rd vacation i from hell HIGH 106 LOW 81 Page B6 siraiglit v. Itt AEMMA FiriAL Ecinorj 500 Copyntfit 1997, The Anrena Republic yilill 113 Siiake-up at F77) Big Mac Mi lilac L3 1 vO til! Oietpill i dangers EPUMIC Phoenix, Arizona ww w.acc ntral.com Thursday, July 10, 1997 I08th year, No. 53 1 T1T hoflfou LLlm Tim Willy in, jazz out atKOAZ Woman, death-row husband die in possible escape effort 7 Rebecca Withem Thornton "She didn't -have anybody except that guy in prison," one of her landlords said. By Charlie Van Dyke Special for The Republic Goodbye Jacuzzi jazz, hello turbo tonk! Tim and Willy are shining up their boots to head back to Phoenix this fall with plans to tell Kenny to get outta town by sundown. The popular country-music disc jockeys Tim Hattrick and Willy D.

Loon will be the morning team on KOAZ-FM (103.5) when the contemporary jazz station known as the Oasis goes country in September. Plans for the station's new format were made public on Thursday, when the owners of two Valley firms, Owens Broadcasting and MAC America, announced that they intend to form a new multimillion dollar company, OwensMAC Radio, LLC. OwensMAC would own and operate the Oasis and light rock station KEZ (KESZ-FM 99.9). 'The Oasis has been unsuccessful in getting close to KYOT-FM (95.5), or the Coyote, which leads comfortably in the contemporary jazz format. Please see TIM, Page A2 By Jim Walsh, Susie Steckner and Victoria Harker The Arizona Republic FLORENCE They were longdistance pen pals, she a caring, reclusive woman from Washington state, he a death-row inmate in an Arizona prison.

Their correspondence blossomed into romance. Determined to "brighten his future," she decided to move to this small town. In January, they were married. On Wednesday, they were dead. Floyd Bennett Thornton Jr.

and Rebecca Withem Thornton died Wednesday morning in a hail of gunfire in a prison field, victims of what officials believe might have been a bizarre and botched escape attempt. Floyd Thornton, 36, a two-time killer, was shot as he and other inmates toiled in a vegetable garden. It was unclear exactly who shot the inmate, but it may have been his wife. She had parked her car outside the fence and then began shooting toward the inmates. Gunfire from corrections officers may have also killed Floyd Thornton.

Rebecca Thornton, 38, first fired.a semi-automatic AK-47 rifle. She then switched to a .45 Magnum revolver as her husband approached her. "When the one prisoner ran up to the fence, she bolted out of that car," said Wilma Cowan, who lives across the street from the field. "The next thing I know, he was laying dead." Corrections officers then shot Rebecca Thornton. The couple fell dead on opposite sides of the fence, about 10 feet from each other.

They had last seen each other on June 8, their only visit since being married. Please see SHOOTOUT, Page A2 Y'1 Tim KoorsThe Arizona Republic Investigators look over the body of Rebecca Withem Thornton after she was shot to death Wednesday in Florence by Arizona State Prison guards. SHOOTOUT 111 FLORENCE At approximately 8 a.m. Wednesday, Rebecca Withem Thornton drove up to the perimeter fence at the Arizona State Prison at Florence and opened fire. Guards then shot her to death.

Her husband, Floyd Bennett Thornton also died. Inmate's life marked by violence, abuse FYI New ratings Violence Sexual content Crude language Suggestive dialogue TV chiefs add teeth to ratings uu Apartments I Phoenix Apache hw. Rebecca Withem Thornton I Junction II n.f.F'Ir. shot dead by guards Main 0. -J Uum storeH Bntrance "7, to prison I I FlorenceVr buiteHoad i F- Junction Jf blue Cw-t J.

10 miles VS. Msr I I A- AJ iT7m toFlorenceriM8p Ml Phoenix 1 1 EMap I I fh Arizona I J- STATE o) Area where I n-n- PRIS0N I Floyd Bennett Thornton Jr. II was shot f'l I PRISON GROUNDS 287 1mile I I '-J Florence (79 Canal By William Hermann, Keith J. Allen and Susie Steckner The Arizona Republic Floyd Bennett Thornton Jr. spent his last years within the grim confines of Arizona State Prison's death row.

He spent his last moments Wednesday lying wounded in the dirt of a prison field. The first years of his life were not much better. Thornton was born in Oregon to a mother and father who were both mentally ill and abused drugs, according to court documents. His father was in and out of jails and prisons. The report says, "Both boys routinely were thrown out into the snow after being bathed." Once, it adds, one of the parents put Floyd into the oven and only a neighbor's intervention prevented the little boy from being roasted alive.

When Thornton was 5 years old, he and his brother were removed from their home and sent to separate foster homes. Thornton never saw his Please see INMATE'S, Page A2 Floyd Bennett Thornton The slain inmate and his younger brother "were savagely and routinely abused by their parents," court documents state. Source: Staff research The Arizona Republic Governor threatened bank suit Valley's hotels, resorts top prestigous survey MONTINI: Sad commentary on a mother and son. Bl. 1 By Jeannine Aversa Associated Press WASHINGTON Most of the TV industry agreed in principle late Wednesday to strengthen its 6-month-old program ratings by adding new on-screen symbols to flag violence, sex and potentially offensive language, key lawmakers said.

"We're going to sign it tomorrow, but it's done tonight," said Rep. Billy Tauzin, who has been helping to nudge the deal along. Industry sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a formal agreement "wasn't com- pletely done" but that an accord would be signed today. Within the TV industry, however, there was one major holdout. NBC, the top-rated broadcast network, has decided not to join CBS, ABC, Fox and virtually every cable TV network in the agreement.

1 Helping to remove one of the biggest stumbling blocks to a deal, Please see TV, Page A 17 lIlSiDE Clinton fig attacks plan on poiicing ftJ6 niCOtine Comics Dear Abby C4 PageA6 Dr. Donohue C4 Editorial B4 Healthy LivingHLI -1 Concessions, debt cuts demanded, memo says By Jerry Kammer and Pat Flannery The Arizona Republic Five months after taking office, Gov. Fife Symington demanded concessions from a lender by threatening legal action and warning that "he would cease to be cooperative and fight, if backed into a corner," according to a memo revealed at his trial Wednesday. The confidential Valley National Bank memorandum summarized an Aug. 1, 1991, meeting that Symington had with three officials at the bank, which was trying to collect more than $1.5 million on three loans.

It was the second time in the nine-week-long trial that Symington's position as governor was raised as an issue in his talks with his lenders. Last month, Citicorp Real Estate Inc. executive David Feingold testified that although company officials knew by 1991 that Symington was broke, they decided against foreclosing on a $10.5 million loan in part because they feared that antagonizing the governor could harm their business in Arizona. Outside the courthouse at the end of the day Please see SYMINGTON, Page AN THE TRIAL FYI Where we rate Hotel ratings by city 1. PhoeniScottsdale.

2. San Antonio. 3. San Diego. 4.

Seattle. 5. Palm Springs, Calif. 6. MiamiMiami Beach.

7. San Francisco. 8. Honolulu. 9.

Los Angeles. 10. Orlando. Resort ratings by state 1. Hawaii.

2. California. 3. Arizona. 4.

Florida. 5. Nevada. 6. New York.

Source: Zagat Survey of U.S. Hotels, Resorts and Spas. By Ken Western The Arizona Republic When it comes to hotels, no city boasts a more glittering collection than greater Phoenix. And the area's resorts aren't bad, either. That's the consensus of more than 12,000 experienced travelers and travel professionals who participated in the latest Zagat Survey of Hotels, Resorts and Spas, which was released Wednesday.

The national survey, which is conducted every two years and is the basis of a guide book, reinforces the Phoenix area's reputation as a five-star destination that offers world-class accommodations along with plenty of sunshine, first-class service and championship golf courses. The 528-page guidebook ranks Phoe-nixScottsdale as the top hotel destination among 32 cities, whether you're traveling on business or vacationing. The rating was based on an evaluation of rooms, service, dining and public facilities by travelers who spend one of every 10 nights in a hotel room. The Valley finished ahead of such premier vacation spots as San Antonio, San Diego, Please see SURVEY, Page A10 Judge stands firm on materiality riding Life CI midstream. "The government's arguments to the contrary notwithstanding, the court finds it would severely prejudice defendant Symington to change the law that has guided this case for the last nine weeks," Strand wrote.

"Had defendant been sure at the beginning of the case that materi- Please see JUDGE, Page AN started in May, had been asked recently by federal prosecutors to revisit the issue in light of a new 9th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion in a different bank-fraud case. Strand, after reviewing the matter and hearing from both sides, decided Wednesday that the appellate case is not quite on point. Further, the judge said he was not. inclined to change the rules of the trial in By Pat Flannery The Arizona Republic U.S. District Judge Roger Strand has decided to remain firm in requiring prosecutors to prove that Gov.

Fife Symington's reputedly false financial statements were "material" to banks' lending decisions. Strand, who initially ruled on the subject before Symington's trial Montini Obituaries Out There Prayer Puzzles Sports Television Weather Bl OT6 OT1 A2 C4, OT5 Dl C5.6 B6 DAILY I- 1.