The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/crime-and-justice-news/)
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Three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejects officers’ lawsuit, affirms city policy that when necessary, officers shall only use “objectively reasonable force, proportional to the threat or urgency of the situation.”
Coaltiion of state officials issued subpoenas to major manufacturers “to uncover whether or not there was deception involved, if manufacturers misled doctors and patients about the efficacy and addictive power of these drugs,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
An analysis by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers found that the average American’s life expectancy grew overall from 2000 to 2015, but that the astounding rise in opioid-related deaths shaved 2.5 months off this improvement.
The Georgia Tech police officer who shot and killed a student was on duty for one year and had not received crisis intervention training, which provides officers insight on those suffering behavioral health issues.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra alleges that the Trump administration has failed to comply with federal and state environmental laws, is relying on federal statutes that don’t authorize the proposed projects and violated the U.S. Constitution’s separation-of-powers doctrine.
Many states have taken steps this year to shield children from abuse and neglect, including adding caseworkers, tightening reporting requirements and expanding the definition of “abuse.” Some states and cities are pouring more money into child protection agencies. In Texas, where the foster care system was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge in 2015, legislators allocated $4 billion this year, up 17 percent, to shore up the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services, including hiring more caseworkers.
The death of Kenneka Jenkins, whose body was found in a hotel freezer, is the target of protesters, who are dubious that police are telling the truth about the case. Black people’s trust in the police has been declining, particularly in the Chicago area.
Kenneth Gleason of Baton Rouge, who is white, is charged with killing two men in cases that may have been racially motivated. He will be charged under a Louisiana law that allows for the death penalty for serial killers.
Critics say the state needs to look for options rather than pour money into more prison beds. They are especially concerned about a plan to put general-population prisoners in Centennial Correctional Facility-South, a prison designed for solitary confinement, whose construction has been called a boondoggle.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denies Dylann Roof’s effort to remove the appellate lawyers in his death penalty appeal because the attorneys “are my political and biological enemies.”