Nation IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Teen-Ager Testifies in Burning of Black

A teen-ager initially charged in the New Year’s Day torching of a black tourist testified that he and two fellow white laborers yelled “Die, nigger, die!” as they left the man burning in a field. “We’d all been drinking--everybody was acting like it was a big game,” said 18-year-old Jeffery Pellett, who testified against his friends as part of a plea bargain. Day laborers Mark Kohut and Charles Rourk sat quietly in the West Palm Beach courtroom as Pellett described how what was planned as a robbery left Christopher Wilson of New York City with burns over nearly 40% of his body. But under cross-examination, Pellett--who has given four versions of what he saw--acknowledged he would lie to the judge and jury to protect himself, even if it hurt somebody else.