Guns
Gun-Rights Advocates Sue to Stop CA Assault-Weapon Ban
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The lawsuit filed in San Diego said “assault weapon” is “a politically-concocted pejorative term” for weapons lawfully used “in virtually every state.”
Forensics
NYC DNA Database Has More than 80K Genetic Profiles
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The New York Police Department has taken DNA samples from people convicted of crimes, as well as from people only arrested or questioned. The practice has exposed the Police Department to scrutiny over how the genetic material is collected and whether privacy rights are being violated.
Capital Punishment
Tennessee Electrocutes Convicted Murder
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Stephen West was convicted in 1986 of fatally stabbing a mother and her daughter, 15. A relative of the victims criticized the 33-year delay in concluding the case. West’s lawyers say he was mentally ill.
Capital Punishment
Court Halts TX Execution, Citing Intellectual Disability
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit sent the case of Dexter Johnson back to district court. Johnson argues that he is intellectually disabled and ineligible for the death penalty under Supreme Court precedent.
Immigration
Feds: MS Firms Knew Workers Were Undocumented
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Federal immigration officials say they have probable cause that all five companies operating poultry plants they raided in Mississippi last week violated immigration law by knowingly hiring undocumented immigrants. So far, no firm has been charged.
Immigration
Court: U.S. Must Give Necessities to Migrant Youth
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A federal appeals panel spells out what it means to hold detained youth at the border in “safe and sanitary” conditions. A Justice Department lawyer had suggested that the children didn’t need to be provided soap and toothbrushes.
Prisons
Departing AZ Prisons Chief Faulted on Failing Locks
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Locks failed for years at an Arizona prison and allowed for serious beatings of prisoners and guards, but Corrections Director Charles Ryan failed to appreciate the seriousness of the problem until he saw video of an assault that was broadcast on television, says a new report. Ryan has announced his retirement.
Mass Shootings
Dayton Shooter Had Drugs in System and ‘Obsession with Violence’
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Connor Betts had cocaine, alcohol and an antianxiety drug in his system when he opened fire on a crowded street in Dayton on Aug. 4, killing nine people, including his own sister. The police chief says Betts had a “history of obsession with violence.”
Sentencing
WA Court OK’s ‘Three Strikes’ Amid Justice’s ‘Discomfort’
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The Washington Supreme Court unanimously upheld the state’s “three strikes” sentencing law, even for people who commit their first strike as young adults. Concurring Justice Mary Yu described “growing discomfort” with the “routine practice” of issuing mandatory life sentences.
Policing
Amid Controversies, Fewer Apply For Policing Jobs
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“The occupation of policing is under a microscope,” says Chuck Wexler of the Police Executive Research Forum. “You don’t have to spend much time turning on the TV and seeing a video that makes the police look like they’re doing something wrong.”