Milestones

By Melissa August, Kathryn Hoffman, Ellin Martens, Julie Rawe, Alex Smith, Sora Song, Heather Won Tesoriero, David Thigpen and Kadesha Thomas

DEATH SENTENCE OVERTURNED. Of retarded Texas rapist and murderer JOHNNY PAUL PENRY, 45; by a 6-3 Supreme Court vote; in Washington. Amid debate over pending Texas legislation that would ban executions of the mentally retarded, the court reversed Penry's sentence for the second time since 1989, finding fault with the instructions given his jury.

ARRESTED. CARLOS MENEM, 70, flamboyant reformist President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999; on charges of leading a conspiracy to smuggle 6,500 tons of arms to Croatia and Ecuador while in office; in Buenos Aires. The first elected Argentine President ever arrested, Menem is too old to go to jail; under Argentine law, suspects 70 or older are kept under house arrest.

SENTENCED. FOUR RWANDANS, including two Catholic nuns; to prison terms of 12 to 20 years; for their roles in the 1994 Hutu extermination of the Tutsi in Rwanda; in Brussels. The nuns turned over as many as 7,000 people seeking refuge in their convent to the Hutu militia.

JUDGMENT AWARDED. To RICHARD BOEKEN, 56, steadfast two-pack-a-day Marlboro smoker for 40 years, found to have lung cancer in 1999; more than $3 billion in damages from cigarette maker Philip Morris; in Los Angeles. Boeken's lawyer accused Philip Morris of pushing smoking as "cool" despite its addictiveness, which he measured by recounting that his client had quashed addictions to heroin and alcohol, but couldn't quit smoking.

DIED. JOHN HARTFORD, 63, quirky, sociable bluegrass banjo virtuoso, fiddler and guitarist, who penned the much recorded country song Gentle on My Mind, which won him two Grammy Awards and became a Top 40 hit for Glen Campbell; of cancer; in Nashville, Tenn. Beloved for spirited performances at bluegrass festivals and for throwing picking parties at his home, Hartford collaborated with the Byrds and Benny Martin but also recorded some 40 of his own albums, most recently appearing on the sound track for the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?

DIED. JOEY MAXIM, 79, light-heavyweight champion who defended his world title against Sugar Ray Robinson in 1952; of complications from a stroke; in West Palm Beach, Fla. Maxim faced Robinson on June 25 at Yankee Stadium in 103[degrees]F weather. Robinson, heralded as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all time, was well ahead with the judges but keeled over from the heat after the 13th round, giving Maxim a technical knockout.

DIED. ROSEMARY VEREY, 82, revered British garden designer and author, whose four-acre garden at Barnsley House in Gloucestershire draws 30,000 admirers yearly; in London. With her sophisticated sensibilities and keen eye for color, Verey was an inspiration to horticulturists the world over. She introduced to the U.S. such elements as the ornamental vegetable garden, and designed plantings for the likes of Prince Charles and Elton John.

DIED. ANTHONY QUINN, 86, vibrant, passionate force on stage and screen, remembered most for his Oscar-nominated turn as the fiery peasant in Zorba the Greek; in Boston. Quinn won two supporting Oscars (Viva Zapata! in 1952; Lust for Life in 1956) and played the sideshow strongman in Fellini's first international hit, La Strada (see Eulogy).