Nation briefs 6/25/06

Auction of Martin Luther King Jr. papers called off

ATLANTA -- A collection of Martin Luther King Jr.'s papers, manuscripts and books that was set for auction this week will instead be given to his alma mater, officials said. A group of Atlanta buhe King family for an undisclosed amount, Morehouse College president Walter Massey said Friday. The civil rights leader's handwritten documents and books were expected to sell for $15 million to $30 million at Sotheby's auction house in New York on June 30. Massey said the Atlanta coalition offered more than that. He said the historically black college near downtown Atlanta would acquire the collection, which historians have called one of the greatest American archives of the 20th century in private hands.

Recent deaths: Spelling, Ramsey, Marshall

• Prime-time television impresario Aaron Spelling produced a timeline of hits that captivated audiences spanning the "Mod Squad" counterculture to the Gen-X fans of "Beverly Hills 90210." Though he left an indelible stamp on American pop culture, he never won the critical acclaim he sought. Spelling died Friday at his Los Angeles mansion after suffering a stroke on June 18, according to his publicist. He was 83. One of the most prolific TV producers in history, Spelling generated numerous hits, including "Charlie's Angels," "Melrose Place," "Dynasty," "Love Boat," "Fantasy Island," "Burke's Law" and "Starsky and Hutch."

* Patsy Ramsey, who was thrust into the national spotlight by the unsolved 1996 slaying of her daughter, 6-year-old beauty pageant contestant JonBenet, died Saturday following a long battle with ovarian cancer, her lawyer said. She was 49. Ramsey died at her father's home in Roswell, Ga., with her husband, John, at her bedside. JonBenet was found beaten and strangled in the basement of the family's home in Boulder, Colo., on Dec. 26, 1996.

* E. Pierce Marshall, who feuded for years with former Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith over his father's oil fortune, has died. He was 67. Marshall died Tuesday in the Dallas area of an infection, the family said in a statement. Smith married Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II in 1994, when she was 26 and he was 89. He died the following year. Since then, E. Pierce Marshall had been locked in a legal battle over her entitlement to the estate.

Ex-cons don't want stigma of sex offender registry

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Fresh out of prison, Kerry Skora would much rather be known as a murderer than a sex offender. The law said otherwise. Skora, who served 15 years in prison for a murder he says he didn't commit, found out that because the victim was 16, he would have to register as a sex offender -- even though the crime didn't involve sex. "I was shocked," Skora said. The Illinois Legislature recently passed legislation that would create a unique registry for people who commit violent but nonsexual crimes against youth, allowing people like Skora to avoid the stigma of the sexual offender registry. Supporters see it as a matter of fairness for hundreds of people who were caught up in the rush to crack down on sex offenders. If signed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, it would become the nation's only registry solely for violent offenders against youth, experts say.

-- From wire reports