"Highly Coerced" Statements Inadmissible at Guantanamo Commission: Osama bin Laden's former driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, received a significant victory in his trial when the judge ruled that prosecutors cannot use some of the defendant's statements, citing coercive conditions in Afghanistan. According to Jerry Markon's WA Post article, experts anticipate that several military trials of Guantanamo detainees will be affected by the decision.

ACLU Aids Felons Challenging Voter Restrictions: The ACLU is challenging an Alabama law that allows felons to vote if their convictions were not for "crimes of moral turpitude". However, the process for having voting rights restored is considered difficult and ambiguous by people petitioning to have their rights restored. According to Bob Johnson's AP story, more than 40 states have made it easier for convicted felons to get their rights restored.

LA Homicide Rate Down: After a disturbing spike in homicides earlier this year, the year-to-date total homicide rate is 2% lower than last year's. According to Andrew Blankstein's LA Times report, last year had the lowest homicide rate in four decades. While homicide is unpredictable and rates change frequently, law enforcement efforts have resulted in a continued decline in homicides over the last five years.

DNA Solves 26 Year Old Homicide: Gerald Abernathy, a habitual criminal, died in prison, while serving a life sentence for kidnapping and murder; the truth might have died with him. Thankfully, a police detective discovered an evidence box from the 1982 rape-murder of a 20-year-old woman. When the DNA was tested using recent technology, the results matched Abernathy, a fugitive at the time of the crime. Dan Morse has the story for the WA Post.

"Sanctuary" Shields Criminals, Endangers Community: San Francisco has been criticized for its policy of not notifying federal immigration authorities of juvenile offenders who are in the US illegally, allowing illegal immigrants with often violent records to remain in the community. Jaxon Van Derbeken's coverage for the SF Chronicle reveals Edwin Ramos, now held for three counts of murder, was sheltered by the city despite convictions for two violent felonies. Ramos's latest charges stem from a road rage incident where he gunned down a father and his two sons, all unarmed.