Nation IN BRIEF : TENNESSEE : Judge Relents, Jails Rape Suspect

A judge in Chattanooga, Tenn., who released a rape suspect last week saying he should get a girlfriend, reconsidered and had the man jailed. Vincent Cousin was ordered held pending a March 9 hearing after dozens of people called to complain, Judge Doug Meyer said. Cousin was arrested on a rape charge in 1989 but was found innocent by reason of insanity. When he stopped taking medication and undergoing court-ordered counseling, Cousin was called dangerous by a mental health worker who wrote to Meyer urging that Cousin be locked up. Cousin was arrested Feb. 11. Prosecutors had asked Meyer to commit him to a mental institution, but the judge refused.