All articles tagged with #criminal justice
Seven pro-Palestinian demonstrators were convicted on misdemeanor counts for blocking traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge during a Gaza-war protest, while a jury deadlocked on a felony conspiracy charge and a misdemeanor trespass charge, resulting in a mistrial on those counts. Sentencing is set for August 21, and the unresolved charges could lead to a retrial.
U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff sentenced director Carl Rinsch to prison for an $11 million fraud tied to Netflix’s unfinished show, after prosecutors said he diverted funds to personal accounts, made failed investments, and splurged on luxury items before the remaining money was put toward the production; Netflix declined to comment and Rinsch is set to report to prison in September.
On Real Time, Bill Maher criticized Darializa Avila Chevalier for dodging a direct yes/no on whether a murderer should go to jail, calling her 'patient zero' of the woke mind virus. Avila Chevalier, a Mamdani-backed candidate who won New York's 13th Congressional District Democratic primary, has an abolitionist platform and opposed deportations; The New York Times described her as supporting abolishing police, borders and prisons. She has also pledged to kneel during the oath of office.
Prosecutors have dropped the drug charges against Olympian skier Bode Miller, ending the case against the six-time Olympic medalist.
Twelve men were charged with felonies, including human trafficking of a person under 18, after an undercover operation in Homestead tied to FIFA World Cup events in Miami-Dade; detectives posed as a mother prostituting her two daughters online, and the suspects were arrested when they arrived at a hotel.
Texas Rangers arrested U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Christian Castro in Cameron County on the Texas–Mexico border after Minnesota prosecutors charged him with five counts, including second‑degree assault and filing a false police report, over a Jan. 14 Minneapolis immigration operation in which Castro allegedly lied about the events leading to a Venezuelan immigrant being shot; surveillance footage contradicted Castro’s account, and he now faces 3 to 7 years in prison if convicted. ICE had placed him on leave and criticized Minnesota’s prosecution as political, while the case ties federal immigration enforcement to a Texas arrest as the investigation continues.
A federal lawsuit accuses Houston County Jail in Alabama of ignoring a pregnant inmate’s labor for hours, leaving her to deliver with help from fellow inmates after guards and medical staff allegedly refused timely care; about 20 defendants are named, and advocates say the case highlights systemic gaps in pregnancy care for incarcerated women and broader concerns about cost-cutting over inmate health.
In a high-stakes North Carolina Senate race, Republicans accuse former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper of a 'complete failure' for overseeing a COVID-era agreement that released about 3,500 inmates in 2021, with data showing more than 560 of them were rearrested within two years. Cooper’s camp says the releases, which targeted nonviolent offenders under court-ordered pandemic relief, faced legal challenges and aimed to reduce overcrowding. Critics, including Michael Whatley and the NRSC, argue the policy endangered public safety and cite cases like braces for murder and other violent offenses as consequences. The piece frames the dispute as part of the broader crime and election battle in North Carolina, highlighting the tension between public safety and pandemic-era policies.
Former President Barack Obama, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, warns that politicizing the Justice Department and expanding presidential power threaten American governance, calls for an independent attorney general, discusses pardons, and cites the need to restore norms for the military ahead of the opening of the Obama Presidential Center.
A man opened fire at a Carrollton shopping plaza north of Dallas, killing two and injuring three; police say the incident followed a known business relationship and was not random. The 69-year-old suspect, Seung Han Ho, was arrested about four miles away at a grocery store, with the FBI and other federal agencies assisting in the investigation. Officials say the victims who were injured are in stable condition and law enforcement is continuing the investigation.
A 74-year-old Timonium attorney, Robert W. MacMeekin, was fatally shot by his son-in-law, Mark Thomas Ryan, after MacMeekin and his daughter sought a temporary protective order; Ryan, charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm, confessed to the shooting, saying he was angered by the protective order and by being kept from his children.
A 74-year-old Timonium attorney, Robert W. MacMeekin of Fine, Kelly & MacMeekin, was killed in a domestic-related shooting at his home in the Millgate neighborhood of Phoenix, Baltimore County. His son-in-law, 41-year-old Mark Thomas Ryan of Bel Air, has been charged with first-degree murder and the use of a firearm and is being held without bond; Ryan appeared in court, with a bail review and a preliminary hearing scheduled for this month.
Baltimore logged four homicides in April—the lowest monthly total since 1970—marking a broad drop in violence, with about 10% fewer killings and nonfatal shootings than a year earlier; officials credit cross-agency collaboration and evidence-based violence-intervention strategies, though city leaders emphasize that violence remains high and public perceptions may lag behind the statistics.
Texas death-row inmate James Broadnax was executed by lethal injection after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his final appeal tied to a cousin’s confession in the 2008 Garland double murder; the case also involved DNA evidence and allegations of racial bias during jury selection. Broadnax, who maintained his innocence in his final words, became Texas’s third execution of 2026, with further executions scheduled, including Edward Busby on May 14.
James Broadnax, 37, was executed by lethal injection in Texas after courts rejected appeals over the use of rap lyrics in his sentencing, questions about the racial makeup of the jury, and a new confession from his cousin in the double-murder case that helped prompt review. The case drew support from rappers and scholars who argued art should not drive punishment in capital cases.