Crime
Extra Extra Monday: Nebraska releases prisoners early; Koch brothers hold secret summit; Missile defense system proves unreliable
$40-billion missile defense system proves unreliable | Los Angeles Times The Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, or GMD, was supposed to protect Americans against a chilling new threat from “rogue states” such as North Korea and Iran. But a decade after it was declared operational, and after $40 billion in spending, the missile shield cannot be relied…
Read MoreAsian slave labor producing prawns for supermarkets in US, UK
Slaves forced to work for no pay for years at a time under threat of extreme violence are being used in Asia in the production of seafood sold by major US, British and other European retailers, the Guardian can reveal. A six-month investigation has established that large numbers of men bought and sold like animals and held…
Read MoreLack of lawyers leaves Georgia teens fearing lifelong harm from minor cases
Hundreds of kids from poor families are pushed through the court system without legal counsel, according to The Guardian US. The Southern Center for Human Rights found that in 2012 more than 680 kids went through the Cordele, Georgia circuit courts for juvenile offenses. And while a very small number had a private lawyer, only…
Read MoreExperts: County supervisor’s charity use violated state, federal laws
San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn said he bought a charity decades ago for $25, called it the Basic Faith Foundation and used it to hold money from real estate deals. Horn said he gave the interest to Christian missionaries in Mexico and South America. inewsource dug into the Basic Faith Foundation and into Horn’s…
Read MoreStudents without legal representation jailed in Knox County, Tenn.
In Knox County, Tennessee some students are ending up in jail even though they haven’t committed any crimes. Federal and state laws are supposed to keep juveniles who have committed status offenses – like truancy or running away – out of jail. An investigation by the Center for Public Integrity has found evidence that Knox…
Read MoreFatally flawed: Truth gets buried under broken rules
“In a five-part series launched Saturday, the Charlotte Observer reveals that N.C. medical examiners routinely fail to follow crucial investigative steps, raising questions about the accuracy of thousands of death rulings. The living face the consequences. Widows can be cheated out of insurance money. Families may never learn why their loved ones died. Killers can…
Read MoreVirginia paroling violent, mentally ill patients
But what happened in Apartment 433 was more than just another murder. It was a window into today’s mental health care: a system as dysfunctional as the clients it serves. So gutted it has little power to put away even the most dangerous for any real length of time – and almost nowhere to keep…
Read MoreA star player accused, and a flawed rape investigation
Yet another university community has been accused of denying justice to a female sexual assault victim in order to protect a star male athlete. The New York Times today chronicled the shortcomings of an investigation by Tallahassee police into a reported sexual assault in which Florida State University quarterback Jameis Winston was the alleged assailant. Police failed…
Read MoreMemphis Police Department inconsistent with rape kit testing
Newly released Memphis police records show detectives secured DNA testing within weeks of the 2003 home-invasion rape of a girl, then 12, now suing the city over its massive backlog of untested rape kits. In a story last month exploring early missed opportunities to stop serial rapist Anthony Alliano, The Commercial Appeal reported 12-year-old Madison…
Read MoreEscape dilemma at Avalon
A Tulsa World investigation found that officials at Avalon Correction Center marked serious offenses such as escape attempts and substance-related offenses as minor misconducts, instead of X-level offenses. Avalon is a halfway house, which are among the lowest-security facilities for Department of Corrections inmates, where some inmates who committed nonviolence crimes finish the end of…
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