All Law & Courts
Supreme Court: IQ score alone can't decide who faces execution in FloridaThe US Supreme Court rules that Florida's IQ cutoff is too rigid and creates an unacceptable risk that an intellectually disabled inmate would be executed. The ruling sets a new death-row standard for Florida and eight other states.
Hacker who turned on 'Anonymous' to get reduced sentenceLulzSec hacker Hector Xavier Monsegur faced many years in federal prison. But in return for helping bring down other “Anonymous” hackers, prosecutors want to set him free after just seven months served.
FocusDallas targets wrongful convictions, and revolution starts to spreadThe Conviction Integrity Unit formed in Dallas to correct wrongful convictions has become a national model that is slowly changing prosecutors' willingness to reopen the books nationwide.
Tennessee moves to bring back the electric chairTennessee is reinstating the electric chair as a death penalty option, because lethal injection to execute condemned felons increasingly is being challenged on legal and ethical grounds.
US Supreme Court stays execution of Missouri inmateRussell Bucklaw, convicted of murder and rape, was granted a stay of execution late Wednesday by the US Supreme Court. His lawyers plan to argue before an appellate court that a rare health condition should exempt Bucklaw from the death penalty.
Why Pennsylvania’s GOP governor is relenting on gay marriageGov. Tom Corbett (R) now says he will not appeal Tuesday's ruling striking down Pennsylvania's anti-gay marriage laws. He cites legal reasoning, but his tough reelection battle probably played a role.
Federal court halts execution, citing inmate's rare medical conditionA federal court has stopped a Missouri execution, suggesting that the inmate could suffer extreme pain. It is the second execution halted by a federal court this month.
New York heroin seizures mark surging epidemic, new suburban usersNew York and federal agents are seizing more heroin in New York than in 20 years, as the city's role as a hub of Northeast distribution expands and as more young people take up the drug.
A US judge invalidates a gay marriage ban, this time in PennsylvaniaA federal judge on Tuesday struck down Pennsylvania's ban on gay marriage, a day after a different judge ruled likewise in Oregon. That makes eight US judges in six months whose decisions went the same way, versus none who upheld a state ban.
Lethal injection: Missouri inmate facing execution challenges source of drugsMissouri's planned execution of a convicted murderer would be the first in the US since a botched lethal injection in Oklahoma. The inmate is challenging the state's refusal to disclose the source of the drugs it will use.
US judge strikes down Oregon gay marriage ban as state refuses to defend itIn striking down Oregon's Measure 36, District Judge Michael McShane became the 7th federal judge in recent months to rule that bans on gay marriage discriminate against same-sex couples.
International bust targets BlackShades malware. Is your computer safe now?The BlackShades 'RAT' made taking over a computer so easy 'even a caveman could do it,' says FBI investigator. Ninety-seven people in 16 countries have been arrested in the cyber-crime crackdown.
US indicts five in China's secret 'Unit 61398' for cyber-spying on US firmsMonday's indictment is the first the US has filed against a 'state actor' for economic cyber-theft, says Attorney General Eric Holder, citing need for 'aggressive response.' No one is expecting a trial, though, so why do it?
Supreme Court vacates police-immunity ruling in suit over multiple TaseringThe Supreme Court ordered the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit to reexamine a case involving a suit against a police officer for repeatedly Tasering a handcuffed arrestee who was lying on the ground.
Sixty years after Brown v. Board of Education, what progress on race?In many ways, America has moved steadily toward racial integration since the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case. But persistent problems remain involving remnants of segregation.
Utah may bring back firing squad: Perhaps more humane after all?Execution by lethal injection has included botched procedures and questions about availability of certain drugs used to kill convicted prisoners. As a result, some in Utah, and other states, want to reinstate death by firing squad.
Texas execution halted, court says Texas hid crucial evidenceThe execution of Robert Campbell was halted by a federal appeals court after evidence emerged that Texas had withheld tests scores that suggest Mr. Campbell is mentally handicapped.
New York rethinks marijuana prosecutions of low-level offendersNew York City, one of the most aggressive prosecutors of marijuana offenses in the US, is rethinking the practice, with an eye to avoid stigmatizing young black and Latino men.
Medicare fraud: Feds charge 90-plus people for $260 million in false claimsSix US cities, including Miami, were featured in the crackdown. With the continued ramping up of Obamacare, enforcement of laws that prevent Medicare and other health-care fraud will become increasingly important.
- As Texas execution looms, defense says state withheld low IQ scores
Texas is preparing to put a man to death Tuesday in what would be the first US execution since Oklahoma bungled one April 29. The defense is asking for a stay over questions about state secrecy.
