The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • A1

icole Benjamin sat in the courtroom Aug.6, waiting for her case to be called at a sentence hearing. She represented Malenne Joseph, a Haitian woman convicted in June of vandalizing a new home. A contractor supposedly hired Malenne to paint the interior. And when he pay her, she retaliated by splashing paint on the walls and floors. Much to her own surprise, Benjamin was about to prove innocence.

And in the process she would reveal how a slipshod police investigation and callous criminal-justice system combined to imprison the innocent mother of two young children for three months. Akey piece of evidence against Malenne was her alleged confession to Orlando police Detective Jose Varela. The contractor had given Varela the phone number of the painter. He dialed it. And a woman he said was named to the crime.

Next to Benjamin on the courtroom bench that August day was an Orange County deputy sheriff. On a hunch, Benjamin asked him to check the phone number on his laptop. Pleaseturnto Defense had to do job of police MALENNE ARREST: SECOND IN A 3-PART SERIES Mike Thomas Sentinel columnist $1 Please recycle. Newsprint is a renewable resource. Orlando Sentinel Communications Company CentralFloridaEdition OrlandoSentinel.com mobile.OrlandoSentinel.com BUSINESS Flying to L.A.

or San Fran? OIA adds nonstop options. B5 HEALTH KEY DAILY End-of-life care costs rising, but hospice helps. A2 MATTHEW J. PALM Tigger adds bounce to Winnie- the-Pooh play. D3 Bone up on a few easy ways to turn your house into a haunted abode but one not too scary for your children to handle.

D1 Spin web of fright at home Front gets closer. Forecast, B10 8 A.M. 8 P.M. 4P.M. NOON INDEX E1 D6 B8 D5 A18 TV, D4 range County Sheriff Jerry Demings has reached an agreement with the U.S.

Department of Justice to tighten his policies on Taser stun guns, adding new safety and reporting rules for their use. The agreement became public Wednesday after a three-year investigation of Office Taser use, which has been blamed for injuries and deaths. is absolutely the right thing to Demings told the Orlando Sentinel. agencies and good deputies have a fear of Tasers are designed to subdue unruly or violent people by jolting them with electricity. Used as an alternative to conventional firearms, the handheld devices fire prongs connected to wires that transmit a stunning blow.

Demings said Tasers protect deputies, the public and suspects, and that his office has spent nearly $700,000 buying new ones duringthe past couple of years. The policy changes incorporate what a reasonable person would do when using the weapons, he said. AFTER 3-YEAR INVESTIGATION Feds, Orange sheriff agree to Taser rules By Susan Jacobson and Walter Pacheco ORLANDO SENTINEL SOURCE: Orange County Office Taser use by Orange County Office ORLANDO SENTINE to date 2001200220032004200520062007200820092010 231 571 523 461 411 370 335 397 294 Pleaseturnto a recent Monday morning inside Universal new Wizarding World of Harry Potter, riders waited 75minutes to board Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey as long lines formed outside each souvenir shop and alongside every butterbeer stand. But across the resort, at other new marquee attraction, the only people to be found were a pair of employees turning guests away before they could reach the ride queue. Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, the year-old roller coaster that towers 17 stories above Universal Studios Florida, has been dark for a month now, ever since Universal abruptly closed it amid warnings of a potential safety flaw.

In August 2009, guests go on a test run of Universal Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster. JOE SENTINEL FILE MYSTERY SWIRLS ON CLOSURE Pleaseturnto By Jason Garcia ORLANDO SENTINEL eaWorld Parks Entertainment unveiled new additions for two of its Florida theme parks Wednesday: a saltwater environment dubbed for Discovery Cove in Orlando, and a launch-style roller coaster called for Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. The Florida projects, along with a new drop tower and a water slide announced last month for the two Virginia theme parks, consti- tute the first wave of capital investment at Orlando-based SeaWorld Parks since it was acquired last fall by the private-equity giant Blackstone Group in a sale valued at about It also marks the first significant expansion of Discovery Cove, the 10-year-old boutique park that has carved a unique niche in theme- park industry. Thoughthe larger theme parks depend on huge volumes of visitors buying Additions at 2 other theme parks up ante By Jason Garcia ORLANDO SENTINEL Pleaseturnto I what appears to be an early skirmish in implementing the health-care overhaul, federal officials Wednesday urged states to push insurance companies to sell health policies for children about a month after many insurers stopped selling child-only policies. Saying the insurers had on a previous Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, sent a letter to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners outlining ways the federal government and some states are trying to encourage insurers to again offer child-only policies.

Such policies currently are unavailable in Florida. this is a small market and children currently insured by such policies will not be affected, the decision of some health-insurance companies to stop selling new policies for children is extremely Sebelius wrote. in the Affordable U.S. urges states: Push insurers to cover kids By Linda Shrieves ORLANDO SENTINEL orlandosentinel.com/health What can you expect during open enrollment? If you are an eligible senior, the state will help you navigate options and save on Medicare costs. ASFURNITURE.COM Compare 1599 WAS 1199 MERRICK 5-PIECE DUAL-RECLINING HOME THEATER GROUP Matching Storage Ottoman 199 Chocolate Also available in See In Store Circular.

Offer Expires Guaranteed Lowest Prices Or DOUBLE the DIFFERENCE. Our family of companies includes 130 stores throughout 19 eastern states. Call 1-866-274-6631 for more information and directions to a store close to home. 0 3 ,) 6 43 2 1 4 3 ASFURNITURE.COM Join us on and prices the current selling price of merchandise of like grade and quality sold by others in the ASF trade area, which is a national trade area that includes online retailers. As a result, advertised and prices may or may not necessarily be the prices at which such merchandise is sold by traditional retail outlets in the local area.

If you a similar item (with the same qualities, features and with the same services, being offered for less, within 30 days of purchase, ASF will gladly offer you a refund of twice the difference between the price and ours. See In Store Circular. Offer Expires Pleaseturnto Product: OS44Broadsheet PubDate: 10-14-2010 Zone: FLA Edition: ROP Page: User: estith Time: Color: CMYK.