The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 1

The Newspaper Iowa Depends Upon D8SMoinesR8gister.com Price 50 Cents Friday, April 4, 2008 A final iglish only on voter forms Rep. Ring had sued; some worry about consequences What the law says U.S. Rep. Steve King sued Gov. Chet Culver and Secretary of State Michael Mauro last year, contending they were violating the state's English-language law by offering the state's voter registration forms in four languages other than English.

THE LAW: The English-language law, which King authored as a state senator, calls for all official government communications to be in English. Former Gov. Tom Vilsack signed the bill in 2002. PROVISION: Culver, backed by Attorney General Tom Miller, has pointed out that the English-language law included a provision that allows for "any language usage required by or necessary to secure the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, or the Constitution of the state of Iowa." before Election Day in 2006, when King demanded that Culver remove voting information in languages other than English from the Web site. The site offered information in Spanish, Laotian, Bosnian and Vietnamese.

Non-English voter forms were removed from the state's Web site late Thursday afternoon. By WILLIAM PETR0SKI and NIGEL DUARA REGISTER STAFF WRITERS A Polk County judge has ordered Iowa Secretary of State Michael Mauro to stop using languages other than English in the state's official voter registration forms. District Judge Douglas Staskal ruled in favor of U.S. Rep. Steve King, an Iowa Republican who sued state officials last year, contending they were violating the state's English-language law.

He brought the suit against Gov. Chet Culver, who previously served as secretary of state, and Mauro, contending they had placed illegal voting forms on the secretary of state's Web site. The dispute began shortly King, a former state senator, said the materials were illegal because under an English-language law authored by King and signed by Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack in 2002, all official government communications must be in English. Culver had said the English-language law included a See ENGLISH, Page 12A Deal ends Steman murder case Lawsuit: State is failing to educate students It seeks remedies such as the adoption of a statewide curriculum.

I II 1 By MEGAN HAWKINS and JENNIFER JACOBS REGISTER STAFF WRITER Iowa has failed to provide public school students with an adequate education as required by the state's constitution and code, a lawsuit filed in Polk County District Court late Thursday alleges. Three Iowa families filed the lawsuit against Gov. Chet Culver and Judy Jeffrey, Iowa Department of Education director. Des Moines businessman Marvin m. i.

mm" 1 mm mhmbI i JOHN GAPS lllTHE REGISTER Robert Johnston, 29, weeps Thursday at the Polk County Courthouse while facing charges of first-degree murder in the September 2006 death of Matthew Stegman. Johnston took a deal Thursday in which he pleaded guilty of second-degree murder and willful injury. He asked to be sentenced today, much earlier than usual in a murder case. He faces a minimum of 35 years in prison. The story so far Johnston crumbles in court, takes plea bargain for role in '06 killing Vi Williams Myers THE SLAYING: Matthew Stegman's murder in 2006 attracted national media who were drawn to its connection to witchcraft.

Prosecutors said several of those involved believed they had supernatural powers. Among them was Terry Williams, 23, who claimed he had a vision that Stegman planned to rape the 13-year-old daughter of a group member's girlfriend. THE CASE: Prosecutors said Williams' "vision" prompted the group to lure Stegman to the cemetery and kill him. Williams depended on a diminished mental capacity defense, which jurors rejected. Robert Johnston said in a jailhouse interview that he was not involved Stegman's shirtless body was found facedown near a mausoleum at Des Moines' Woodland Cemetery in September 2006.

Authorities said Johnston and four others had lured Stegman, 18, to Pomerantz, a PomerantZ past president of the Iowa Board of Regents, is financing the lawsuit. The families allege that state officials have allowed the quality of Iowa's education system to significantly slip, so much so that high school graduates are inadequately prepared for college or the workplace. "The quiet, ugly truth is that Iowa's educational system is but a shadow of its glorious past, and our leaders are whistling by its graveyard," the lawsuit says. Pomerantz said that over the past 30 years he has lobbied for Iowa's education system to change. It hasn't, so Pomerantz said he had no choice but to back the lawsuit that asks the state to adopt measures such as creating a statewide, mandatory curriculum to ensure equal opportunities for all students.

A national expert said similar court cases have taken up to 10 years to resolve, and in most cases the courts are broad in their directives and reluctant to dictate to legislatures or schools specific steps See LAWSUIT, Page 8A Stegman By GRANT SCHULTE REGISTER STAFF WRITER Robert Johnston moaned, covered his mouth and sobbed Thursday when he saw the photograph of a young man he helped kill. The 29-year-old Des Moines man broke down when prosecutors showed jurors a close-up of Matthew Stegman's bruised and blood-covered face. Stegman's mother, seated behind Johnston in the courtroom, closed her eyes. Minutes later after more than a year of legal wrangling Johnston abruptly ended his own first-degree murder trial and accepted a plea bargain that will keep him in prison for as long as 60 years. He then asked Judge Robert Hutchison to sentence him today, much sooner than usual in a murder case.

in the murder and that he punched Stegman in self-defense when he was attacked in Johnson Fisher the cemetery, where they kicked and beat him before he was stabbed to death. Prosecutors said several of those involved belonged to a group called "Hellstorm." Some of them reportedly believed they had supernatural powers. Johnston's case was the last of the five; three co-defendants had already accepted plea bargains. Terry Williams, 23, a self-professed mind See JOHNSTON, Page 6A the cemetery. He pleaded guilty Thursday of second-degree murder and willful injury.

State law requires him to serve at least 35 years for the murder charge. THE OTHERS: Williams was convicted of first-degree murder in July and sentenced to life in prison. Robert Myers, 25, also was sentenced to life but could be out in 30 years. Andrew Johnson, 23, pleaded guilty in February of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Sheri Fisher, 23, pleaded guilty in February of attempted murder and willful injury, and was sentenced to 35 years.

2008 Chevrolet Aveo Sedan LS $11,999 or yORK $165 Per Month' Mmmn EVOLUTION "lllln. Could scam artist and Iowan be the same man? A secret federal case has raised suspicions that Nicholas Palazzo, an Indianola karate teacher, and Michael A. Tessari, a convicted scam artist who bilked investors out of nearly $10 million more than a decade ago, are the same man. Federal agents have yet to say why they arrested Palazzo in February. Six central Iowans claim they have lost money.

One state official confirmed a fraud case is being investigated. Former New York Daily News columnist Jerry Capeci has said Tessari was released from prison early and given a new identity under the federal witness protection program after providing information to authorities about a Mafia associate. See article, Page 9A 2913 Jefteraon Street Indianola 1 515-961-8131 800-532-1462 Monday Thursday Friday 8-6 Saturday 8-5 holmeschevrolet.com 10 minutes south of Des Moines on Highway 6569 Si CHEVROLET I I OF INDIANOLA I MSRP $1 3 205 All rebates to dealer. 5.9 APR for 72 months witti tl down and with approd credit. Plus tttte and Ikense.

Stock "21 102. Empires 043008. See some o( Duffy's cartoons online: OesMoinesRegister.comduffy WEATHER FORECAST III II III Copyright 2008, Des Moines Register and Tribune Company A GANNETT NEWSPAPER FOR DELIVERY (877) 424-0225 DesMoinesRegister.comSubscribe INDEX Comics 5E Obituaries 6B-7B Sudoku 3E Crossword 4E Letters 10A TV listings 4E mmm High: 59 Low: 37 Partly to mostly sunny, .4 seasonably mild. Page 8B DAILY mo it- main? wrtnti ri'iflktti tfiik.