States have been struggling with a shortage of lethal drugs to use in execution after companies refused to supply products for the purpose of killing the condemned. This has led one state to move back toward firing squads and electric chairs. Missouri however has moved to directly confront the industry ban on drug sales for execution by going into the business itself. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster proposed that the state “establish a state-operated, DEA-licensed laboratory to produce the execution chemicals in our state.” That would conceivably allow Missouri not only to supply its own execution drugs but to even supply other states.
Category: Society
We have previously discussed how some insanity defense cases raise actions that are identical to those of religious figures in the Bible. What is considered a divine act in the Bible remains a heinous act in the criminal code. That is the paradox involved in the case of Kimberly Lucas, 40, who killed her former partner’s two-year-old daughter after listening to a sermon of Metropolitan Community Church Pastor Lea Brown on Genesis 22 where God asks Abraham to kill his son Isaac.
We have previously discussed our concerns over the seemingly exponential increase in “no knock” raids in the country where police give no warning before raiding a home. (here and here and here and here and here). A tragedy in Atlanta will only increase those concerns for many. Atlanta police say that they purchased drugs at a home and returned with a no-knock warrant late at 3 a.m. to arrest Wanis Thometheva, 30. They burst into the home and threw a stun grenade which landed next to the head of a 19-month-old sleeping in his crib and exploded. The baby is in serious condition and is in a medically induced coma. The pictures of the baby are too disturbing to post. The police found no drugs or weapons or even the man they were seeking to arrest in the raid. Update: Police have declared that the state officials have concluded that no further investigation is warranted into the raid or the use of the grenade.
Broward Circuit Judge Lynn Rosenthal (left) has been arrested for DUI after she not only alleged struck a car while driving drunk but it turned out to be a cruiser of the Broward County Sheriff’s Department. She is the third such judge in the county to be arrested. Last November, yet another Broward judge, Cynthia Imperato, was busted for DUI. Broward County Circuit Judge, Gisele Pollack (right) was arrested two weeks ago. Pollack’s case however raises an interesting issue. She has objected to a suspension under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and asked that she be placed on paid leave to overcome a “disease.” For the county citizens, the line of hammered (gaveled?) judges does not exactly instill faith in the court system.
Continue reading “Benched: Third Broward County Judge Arrested For DUI”
We previously discussed how terribly confused Hillary Clinton appeared in discussing National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden. She just could not understand why he would not have trusted the government to deal with any problems or why he would not come back to the United States. Now, Secretary of State John Kerry is offering his own brand of macho advice to the kid: “man up and come back to the United States.” Sure leaders have called for him to be tried as a traitor and either incarcerated for life or executed. Sure, he is not guaranteed to see all of the evidence used against him or even be guaranteed a federal trial as opposed to a military tribunal. However, Kerry appears ready to give him an “attaboy” on his way to solitary confinement under Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) that cut off virtually any contact with the outside world.
Continue reading “Kerry To Snowden: “Man Up and Come Back to the United States.””
There is an interesting controversy out of Wasatch County, Utah where students were surprised when they received their yearbooks and found themselves wearing outfits that they never saw before. The Wasatch High School had altered photos of girls who had too much skin showing, though what was viewed as inappropriate by the local school officials is rather surprising.
Continue reading “Utah High School Under Fire For Airbrushing Yearbook Pictures To Cover Up Girls”
We have previously discussed the crackdown on pornography studios over the failure to use condoms in their filmmaking. I have previously expressed concern over such mandates as curtailing free speech principles while accepting that the public health rationale could well prevail in a court challenge. Now the California Assembly has approved a state law to require condom use in pornographic films produced in the state. It is the first such state law and could be subject to a challenge under the First Amendment. This is Democratic state Rep. Isadore Hall’s third attempt to pass such legislation.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in Hall v. Florida, an important (though little followed) case involving the standard for intellectual disability. Florida state law imposes a bright-line threshold test in cases of alleged incapacity. If the person has an IQ of 70 or above, the court will not consider such a disability claim. It is an approach that has been widely ridiculed by experts and now, in a 5-4 decision, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy has ruled that such a rule violated the Eighth Amendment and runs counter to recognized scientific standards. My Supreme Court class reviewed Hall and reached the same conclusion, though the vote was almost unanimous. The class voted 13-1 to reverse lower court. The class however got it wrong on the prediction. In a close 8-6 vote, the class predicted that the Supreme Court would affirm.
We have previously covered the “pink slime” controversy and claims by the industry that the term is defamatory toward a beef product that it prefers to call “lean finely textured beef.” Now, the Supreme Court of South Dakota has cleared the way for a trial of ABC and and several correspondents for the network, including Diane Sawyer, over its coverage of the controversy in a case that threatens the right of the free press as well as free speech.
We have been following the continuing abuse of citizens who are detained or arrested for filming police in public. (For prior columns, click here and here). Despite consistent rulings upholding the right of citizens to film police in public, these abuses continue. One of the more recent cases comes from Concord New Hampshire where Carla Gericke was arrested for trying to videotape the police at a March 24, 2010, traffic stop of a friend. She sued that the charge of wiretapping violated her constitutional rights and, in a major rule, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that she was entitled to a jury trial and was not barred by qualified immunity. The case is Gericke v. Begin, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 9623.
The courthouse in Lahore Pakistan was the scene of a shocking act of religious violence, even by the standards of the Middle East. The family of a pregnant woman stoned her to death in front of the courthouse in Lahore, Pakistan after she married a man against their wishes. This “honor killing” occurred when Farzana Parveen, 25, showed up to contest the abduction case filed by her family against her husband. The father had filed the case on the ground that their marriage was not approved by him and therefore was a case of abduction.
Jessie White finally has her sheep skin. White, 99, was supposed to receive her degree in stenography and bookkeeping in 1939, but she lacked the $5 fee for her transcript. As a result, she never received the diploma until Alan Stehle, the president of Beal College in Bangor, learned of her fate and ponied up the money to release the diploma.
Continue reading “Ninety-Nine-Year-Old Maine Woman Receives Her Diploma After 75 Years”
The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that, after once being banned from classrooms, Scientology is back in California classroom spreading its controversial theories on drug use. The program is run by Narconon, an organization that was created by the Church and founded on the theories of L. Ron Hubbard. Narconon offers the lessons for free, but experts say that the theories are not only unfounded but directly connected to the religious organization that some accused of being a cult or criminal enterprise. Scientology has long objected to what it views as discrimination directed against it while ignoring mainstream religions. It also insists that Narconon is a successful and independent and secular organization.
Best wishes to all on this Memorial Day. It is a sobering holiday as we continue to lose men and women abroad in countries like Afghanistan. The cost to these heroes and their families is a debt that we can never fully repay. However, as we enjoy the time with our families, it is a day that reminds us of what they have given to us in their service to this country.
Continue reading “Happy Memorial Day”