Judges to Rule on Inmate Release:  Three federal court judges met in San Francisco yesterday to consider whether to release of thousands of convicted felons from California prisons.  An Associated Press story by Don Thompson reports that the panel, appointed last year to consider lawsuits claiming that the state's prisons were providing an unconstitutional level of medical care, is leaning toward granting early releases of inmates.  

Death Sentence for Tennessee Killer:  A federal judge has sentenced Rejon Taylor to die for the 2003 kidnapping and murder of an Atlanta restaurant owner.  A story by Monica Mercer in today's Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that the victim, Guy Luck, had been the target of an identity theft scheme Taylor had carried on for at least a year.  When Taylor suspected that Luck had caught on to the scheme, he decided to kill him.  A federal jury unanimously recommended that Taylor face execution for the killing. 

High Court Lifts Stay of Execution: The U.S. Supreme Court has lifted the federal court stay on the execution Darold Ray Stenson, a Washington man sentenced to die for the 1993 murder of his wife and a business partner.  An Associated Press story reports that a brief statement by Justice John Paul Stevens, and joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, found that the stay by District Judge Lonny Suko was improperly granted.