JUSTICE, TALK RADIO-STYLE

By JAMES COLLINS

The Russ & Bo Show, a talk-radio program broadcast in the evening over WTKS-FM in Orlando, Florida, usually concerns itself with "women and beer," as one of the hosts, Russ Rollins, puts it. But on Sept. 25, the show addressed the subject of child abuse, commemorating the death exactly 14 years earlier of Ursula Sunshine Assaid. When she was five years old, Ursula was tortured and killed by her mother's boyfriend, Donald McDougall. The murder still causes bitterness in Orlando, and on the anniversary, the Russ & Bo Show devoted five hours to it. Between phone calls, Rollins graphically described the suffering Ursula endured. Building to an emotional peak at 8:50, the time of her death, he then called for a moment of silence. As Rollins told TIME, "Dead air on a radio program is strong."

One of the people listening that night was Arba Earl Barr, 33, an inmate at the Avon Park Correctional Institution, the same prison in which McDougall was incarcerated. Barr was serving a 114-year sentence on assault and robbery charges. On Oct. 1, say police, Barr, McDougall and 200 other inmates were in the prison yard after dinner, when Barr took the steel post used in a game of horseshoes and beat McDougall to death with it. Prison officials say they had put McDougall under protective custody on the night of the Russ & Bo broadcast because inmates who had been listening told them that a caller had offered a $1,000 reward to anyone who killed McDougall. After five days in custody, McDougall insisted on being released. That evening he was murdered.

Did talk radio play a role in McDougall's death? The station says there was no mention of a bounty on the broadcast, but it will not release a tape. Whether or not a reward was offered, the show was highly charged and emotional, and it is certain that Barr was listening. His attorney, Rex Dimmig, said, "Barr advised me that he did in fact listen to at least portions of the radio show. It was on the radio in the dorm that he was in. There was conversation among the inmates about the radio show."

Russ and Bo are popular with prisoners around the region, and Barr may even have heard some calls they made to the show, speaking angrily about what should be done to McDougall. "We got calls from inmates that night," Rollins said. "They were describing what happens to child molesters in prison. They talked of a blanket party, where you throw a blanket over him and everybody beats the hell out of him. A certain prisoner said that should happen to [McDougall], and we were like, 'No, no, no. On to the next call.'"

McDougall and Susan Assaid prevented Ursula from eating or drinking for a week, and while Susan stood by, McDougall beat the girl and killed her. He was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to 34 years in prison; Susan served five years of a 15-year sentence for manslaughter. Twice since 1992, when the possibility has arisen that McDougall might be allowed to leave prison, Florida has tightened the rules governing the early release of convicts. Last week, however, the Florida Supreme Court overturned those changes. Police officials told TIME that as a result of this decision, McDougall would probably have been eligible for release last Friday.

Rollins denies responsibility for McDougall's death. "We're just people giving our opinions helping the public to be able to voice their opinion," he said. Even if the show was inflammatory, it's clear that some listeners approve. People continue to call and fax the station, Rollins said, offering reward money to Barr.

--By James Collins. Reported by Sarah Tippit/Orlando

With reporting by SARAH TIPPIT/ORLANDO