Bill Torpy

6 days ago | ajc.com | Bill Torpy

It’s been a month now and 56-year-old Mahendra Patel still sits in a Cobb County jail accused of trying to kidnap a toddler, while his lawyer says he was just trying to be a good Samaritan. It was a shocking accusation by a young mother: A stranger tried grabbing her 2-year-old son out of her arms as she shopped in a Walmart. It’s the kind of sensational case that fuels TV news. Especially with police feeding the fear.

1 week ago | ledger-enquirer.com | Bill Torpy

It's a topsy-turvy world: socially, politically and now businessly. So why not also legally? State lawmakers last month passed a "tort reform" bill that was Gov. Brian Kemp's plump, powdered baby of the legislative session. Kemp argued that "nuclear verdicts" are damaging the state's business community and driving up insurance rates. His premise is arguable. Insurers are still making plenty of money, but Team Kemp wasn't hot on adding limits to what insurers could charge.

1 week ago | ajc.com | Bill Torpy

Rep. Lucy McBath rang the opening bell for the Democratic race for governor in early March, when she said she was “exploring” a run for the job. By month’s end, she had unrung that bell, saying she was “suspending” her campaign because of her husband’s health. Into that vacuum stepped former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is preparing her own run for the Governor’s Mansion.

2 weeks ago | macon.com | Bill Torpy

It was the latest case of Stranger Danger - a man trying to snatch a toddler, this time from his mother's arms. And in a Walmart!The case last month ginned up immediate fear and outrage as these cases usually do. Mahendra Patel, 56, was arrested, jailed and charged with kidnapping. His sad-eyed mugshot was soon splashed all across TV and Internet screens. The ensuing comments online were unsurprisingly nasty. That Patel, a U.S. citizen, should be deported. That he won't make it in the jail population.

2 weeks ago | ajc.com | Bill Torpy

It was the latest case of Stranger Danger — a man trying to snatch a toddler, this time from his mother’s arms. And in a Walmart!The case last month ginned up immediate fear and outrage as these cases usually do. Mahendra Patel, 56, was arrested, jailed and charged with kidnapping. His sad-eyed mugshot was soon splashed all across TV and Internet screens. The ensuing comments online were unsurprisingly nasty. That Patel, a U.S. citizen, should be deported. That he won’t make it in the jail population.