California Prison News: The recent legislation to solve overcrowding and recidivism in prison passed last week, has been taking some serious criticism. An article in the Los Angeles Times by Jenifer Warren explains what the bill will not do and how much it will ultimately cost. Christian Science Monitor's Ben Arnoldy also has an article critical of the new law. An opinion article in the Sacramento Bee by Daniel Weintraub does however, say that although the legislation may not fix all of California's correctional problems (i.e. parole and sentencing), it is "a good start."

U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the case Scott v. Harris case, mentioned in this blog by Kent Scheidegger, is the first of its kind in the Supreme Court because video footage of the "Hollywood-style car chase" was used to reach a decision. An article in the New York Times by Linda Greenhouse, another article in the Washington Post by Robert Barnes and a piece by David Savage in the Los Angeles Times provide examples of how the print media reported the decision.

Los Angeles serial killer Chester Dwayne Turner was convicted Monday of murdering ten women and the 6-1/2 month old fetus of one of the victims according to this article by John Spano of the Los Angeles Times. Turner raped and strangled his victims between 1987 and 1998. DNA evidence from a 2002 rape conviction linked him to the victims. Check with us later to find out if Snoop Dogg and Mike Farrell launch a protest to oppose a death sentence in this case.

Death Penalty Opinion: Radio commentator Mark Davis of ABC radio explained why he supports the death penalty in this article. He relates how he became an advocate for the death penalty after witnessing an execution by the electric chair in Florida in 1984 when one of the victim's family members said, "Twenty years from now, as I continue to miss holidays, birthdays, every day with my father, I don't want to think of him eating cafeteria meals and reading novels in the exercise yard."

Death penalty investigator Kathleen Cullhane has pleaded guilty of "forgery and falsifying documents on behalf of four death row inmates," according to this article by Louis Sahagun of the Los Angeles Times. Cullhane filed false declarations on behalf of witnesses, jury members, police, and court interpreters seeking clemency for the condemned murderers. Her defense said her actions were in large part because of "her lifelong anti-death penalty beliefs."