Milestones Nov. 25, 2002

STEPPING DOWN. SHERRON WATKINS, 43, Enron vice president who blew the whistle on the company’s accounting problems before it collapsed; to start a consulting company focused on corporate-compliance issues; in Houston.

PLEADED GUILTY. ALEX KING, 13, and DEREK KING, 14, Florida brothers convicted of the second-degree murder of their father last year; to arson and third-degree murder, after their original conviction was overturned by a judge last month; in Miami. Shelving the multi-decade sentences the boys would have faced, lawyers agreed on seven years in a prison for young offenders for Alex, eight for Derek.

EXECUTED. MIR AIMAL KASI, 38, Pakistani extremist convicted of the 1993 murders of two CIA employees near its headquarters in McLean, Va., in a move that sparked fear among some U.S. officials of terrorist reprisals; by lethal injection; in Jarratt, Va. He went to death chanting, “There is no god but Allah.”

DIED. BILLY GUY, 66, earthy baritone for the Coasters, the 1950s vocal quartet best known for novelty songs like Yakety Yak and Charlie Brown; of cardiovascular disease; in Las Vegas. Guy, above right, was lead singer on the group’s 1957 hit Searchin’.

DIED. ROLAND HANNA, 70, delicate, ceaselessly versatile jazz pianist; of a viral infection of the heart; in Hackensack, N.J. The Detroit native, who was knighted by the Liberian government and went by the title “Sir,” studied classical piano before joining Benny Goodman’s band in 1958. He went on to work with such diverse musicians as Charles Mingus, Sarah Vaughan and Coleman Hawkins.

DIED. EDDIE BRACKEN, 87, New York City-born comedian and actor who played, with hilarious but heartbreaking pungency, the perfect small-town sap in two classic 1944 Preston Sturges comedies, The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek and Hail the Conquering Hero; in Montclair, N.J. His 70-year show-biz career included a Tony-nominated stint opposite Carol Channing in Broadway’s Hello, Dolly!; a recurring guest role on TV’s The Golden Girls; and appearances in the films National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) and Rookie of the Year (1993).