The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/author/stephenh/)
Some Democrats said Beto O’Rourke’s call for confiscating assault rifles may have made things harder for gun control supporters as they negotiate with President Donald Trump on legislation to respond to mass shootings.
Some drug companies facing more than 2,000 lawsuits over their alleged roles in the opioid epidemic are demanding that the federal judge handling the case step aside, questioning his impartiality because he has urged both sides to settle the case.
“Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman was sentenced to 14 days in prison for paying $15,000 to rig her daughter’s SAT scores in the college admissions scandal that has ensnared dozens of wealthy and well-connected parents. Huffman, 56, was the first of 34 parents to be sentenced.
Critics blame a sweeping federal law on crime policy that was signed 25 years ago Friday for the nation’s persistent problem of mass incarceration. A new analysis says that overstates the case.
During Thursday’s Democratic debate, the presidential candidate renewed his call for a buyback of military-style assault weapons. That message was met with what O’Rourke called a “death threat” from one Texas lawmaker, who told O’Rourke, “My AR is ready for you.”
Sen. Harris didn’t challenge a moderator’s contention at Thursday’s Democratic presidential debate that her new criminal justice reform proposal contradicts some of her past positions while she was California Attorney General. But she said her initiatives on police bias training and drug treatment served as a “national model.”
Newly unsealed documents in a Cleveland case provide clues to one of the most enduring mysteries of the opioid epidemic: How were drug companies able to weaken the federal government’s enforcement at the height of the crisis? The industry commissioned a “Crisis Playbook” to burnish its image and blame the federal government for not doing enough to stop the epidemic.
Months after businesses asked local leaders for a “wholesale reform” of Seattle’s criminal justice system, officials announced a suite of programs aimed at addressing repeat offenders who cycle in and out of jail, often for petty crimes and misdemeanors, and who struggle with substance use and mental health.
The case of Sam Mandez helped change Colorado’s policy on solitary confinement. His sentence was reduced on Thursday from life with no parole to 30 years.
Patrick Crusius, 21, is being held without bond. He is accused of killing 22 people and wounding 25 more at a Walmart on Aug. 3 after posting a desire to kill as many Hispanics as possible.