Larynx

Richard H. Lerch, a retired attorney who made a successful return to the courtroom after having his larynx removed, died of complications from throat cancer Wednesday in his Baltimore home. He was 81. Born and raised in Baltimore, Mr. Lerch mastered esophageal speech after undergoing surgery for cancer of the larynx in 1981 - a skill that allowed him to continue his practice and help teach other throat cancer survivors to speak. Mr. Lerch's new voice was quieter, but those who worked with him - including the judges who ruled on his cases - said it did not affect his rhetorical expertise or his ability to win. "I think it sustained him, that he was able to have that continued professional confidence," said retired Baltimore Circuit Judge John Carroll Byrnes.

Dr. Haskins Kazunori "Chuck" Kashima, a noted Baltimore otolaryngologist who was a world leader in the treatment of laryngeal disease, died Thursday of complications from Alzheimer's disease at Heart Homes Assisted Living in Lutherville. He was 78. "Chuck had an international reputation in laryngeal matters and surgery. He was also an expert on the human papilloma virus and its effect on the larynx," said Dr. Charles W. Cummings, former chairman of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine's department of otolaryngology — head and neck surgery.

It was a standard 30-minute hospital procedure, but it grabbed the world's attention overnight. Doctors in Rome performed a tracheotomy yesterday on Pope John Paul II - making an incision in his neck below the larynx and inserting a tube that can provide oxygen to his lungs and help clear fluids or other obstructions from his airway. The 84-year-old pontiff reportedly was breathing with the help of a mechanical ventilator. A Vatican spokesman described yesterday's procedure as "elective" and said the surgery had had a "positive" outcome.

Annette Sherman DeRito, a former humanitarian aid worker in Africa, died Friday in her Olney home after a short battle with liver cancer. She was 55. Mrs. DeRito vowed to dedicate her life to the less fortunate, said a sister, Kate Miller of Short Hills, N.J. "She was appalled by the poverty and injustice," Mrs. Miller said. "She decided that that is what she was going to dedicate her life to." Annette Dilworth was born in Washington. Her father was a decorated World War II pilot, and her mother worked for the Treasury Department.

An article in yesterday's editions on the death of an inmate at the Harford County Detention Center should have said that the cause of William M. Ford's death was initially reported by jail officials as suicide by strangulation.+ The Sun regrets the errors.A Delaware man whose family alleges that he was raped and murdered last year in the Harford County Detention Center probably did not commit suicide as jail officials originally reported, according to three pathologists who reviewed the autopsy report.

A 41-year-old woman tried to hang herself in the Harford County Detention Center yesterday morning, the county Sheriff's Office reported.Terry Lucinda Hochaday of Port Deposit tied her shirt and underclothing to the bars of her cell between 3:15 a.m. and 3:25 a.m., the Sheriff's Office said.Ms. Hochaday had been moved from the booking area to an isolation cell at 3:15 a.m. because "of her disruptive behavior," said Cpl. Edward Hopkins of the criminal investigation division. Her suicide attempt was discovered 10 minutes later when officers performed a routine check, a police statement said.

Maryland has dropped from second to third place in the American Cancer Society's annual ranking of cancer death rates in the 50 states, a change that owes more to Louisiana's worsening toll than to major improvements here.The cancer mortality rate dropped by one death per 100,000 people -- a difference that is not considered statistically significant. In the meantime, Louisiana's rate grew by a slightly larger degree, giving that state the dubious distinction of ranking second to Delaware.

Annette Sherman DeRito, a former humanitarian aid worker in Africa, died Friday in her Olney home after a short battle with liver cancer. She was 55. Mrs. DeRito vowed to dedicate her life to the less fortunate, said a sister, Kate Miller of Short Hills, N.J. "She was appalled by the poverty and injustice," Mrs. Miller said. "She decided that that is what she was going to dedicate her life to." Annette Dilworth was born in Washington. Her father was a decorated World War II pilot, and her mother worked for the Treasury Department.

Months after the military began investigating detainee abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, the most visible result remains the criminal charges against seven low-ranking Army reserve soldiers despite evidence from Pentagon reports and courtroom testimony suggesting wider culpability. In other instances where people have been charged with detainee abuse, none of the cases have touched the highest-ranking officers connected to the scandal and none of the accused have faced the same bright-light scrutiny as the seven soldiers from the Western Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company.

The Harford County executive and the sheriff exchanged accusations yesterday over the handling of an investigation into the suspicious death of an inmate last year at the Detention Center.Sheriff Robert E. Comes, whose office has been harshly criticized for the way the investigation was conducted, called a 10 a.m. news conference to say that the Maryland attorney general should look into the way state, federal and other county officials have dealt with the case.County Executive Eileen M. Rehrmann held her own news conference an hour later to respond: "It's apparent the sheriff is attempting to move the focus away from the Detention Center, while he still seems to have some problems out there."

Richard H. Lerch, a retired attorney who made a successful return to the courtroom after having his larynx removed, died of complications from throat cancer Wednesday in his Baltimore home. He was 81. Born and raised in Baltimore, Mr. Lerch mastered esophageal speech after undergoing surgery for cancer of the larynx in 1981 - a skill that allowed him to continue his practice and help teach other throat cancer survivors to speak. Mr. Lerch's new voice was quieter, but those who worked with him - including the judges who ruled on his cases - said it did not affect his rhetorical expertise or his ability to win. "I think it sustained him, that he was able to have that continued professional confidence," said retired Baltimore Circuit Judge John Carroll Byrnes.

It was a standard 30-minute hospital procedure, but it grabbed the world's attention overnight. Doctors in Rome performed a tracheotomy yesterday on Pope John Paul II - making an incision in his neck below the larynx and inserting a tube that can provide oxygen to his lungs and help clear fluids or other obstructions from his airway. The 84-year-old pontiff reportedly was breathing with the help of a mechanical ventilator. A Vatican spokesman described yesterday's procedure as "elective" and said the surgery had had a "positive" outcome.

Months after the military began investigating detainee abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, the most visible result remains the criminal charges against seven low-ranking Army reserve soldiers despite evidence from Pentagon reports and courtroom testimony suggesting wider culpability. In other instances where people have been charged with detainee abuse, none of the cases have touched the highest-ranking officers connected to the scandal and none of the accused have faced the same bright-light scrutiny as the seven soldiers from the Western Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company.

Maryland has dropped from second to third place in the American Cancer Society's annual ranking of cancer death rates in the 50 states, a change that owes more to Louisiana's worsening toll than to major improvements here.The cancer mortality rate dropped by one death per 100,000 people -- a difference that is not considered statistically significant. In the meantime, Louisiana's rate grew by a slightly larger degree, giving that state the dubious distinction of ranking second to Delaware.

Hours before leaving office yesterday as president of the Harford County Council, Jeffrey D. Wilson issued a 19-page report in which he sharply criticized state and federal investigations into the suspicious death of county jail inmate William M. Ford and called for a re-examination of the case.Mr. Ford, of Wilmington, Del., died in the Harford Detention Center in March 1992 while he was serving a 30-day sentence for drunken driving.Jail officials originally said Mr. Ford strangled himself with a pillow case -- and a county grand jury agreed in a report issued earlier this year.

Hours before leaving office yesterday as president of the Harford County Council, Jeffrey D. Wilson issued a 19-page report in which he sharply criticized state and federal investigations into the suspicious death of county jail inmate William M. Ford and called for a re-examination of the case.Mr. Ford, of Wilmington, Del., died in the Harford Detention Center in March 1992 while he was serving a 30-day sentence for drunken driving.Jail officials originally said Mr. Ford strangled himself with a pillow case -- and a county grand jury agreed in a report issued earlier this year.

Hours before leaving office yesterday as president of the Harford County Council, Jeffrey D. Wilson issued a 19-page report in which he sharply criticized state and federal investigations into the suspicious death of county jail inmate William M. Ford and called for a re-examination of the case.Mr. Ford, of Wilmington, Del., died in the Harford Detention Center in March 1992 while he was serving a 30-day sentence for drunken driving.Jail officials originally said Mr. Ford strangled himself with a pillow case -- and a county grand jury agreed in a report issued earlier this year.

Hours before leaving office yesterday as president of the Harford County Council, Jeffrey D. Wilson issued a 19-page report in which he sharply criticized state and federal investigations into the suspicious death of county jail inmate William M. Ford and called for a re-examination of the case.Mr. Ford, of Wilmington, Del., died in the Harford Detention Center in March 1992 while he was serving a 30-day sentence for drunken driving.Jail officials originally said Mr. Ford strangled himself with a pillow case -- and a county grand jury agreed in a report issued earlier this year.

A 41-year-old woman tried to hang herself in the Harford County Detention Center yesterday morning, the county Sheriff's Office reported.Terry Lucinda Hochaday of Port Deposit tied her shirt and underclothing to the bars of her cell between 3:15 a.m. and 3:25 a.m., the Sheriff's Office said.Ms. Hochaday had been moved from the booking area to an isolation cell at 3:15 a.m. because "of her disruptive behavior," said Cpl. Edward Hopkins of the criminal investigation division. Her suicide attempt was discovered 10 minutes later when officers performed a routine check, a police statement said.