Arizona Passes Nation's Toughest Law on Illegal Immigrants: Nicholas Riccardi of the Los Angeles Times reports on Arizona lawmakers' approval of the nation's toughest measure against illegal immigrants. The measure, which passed in the state House of Representatives yesterday, makes it a crime to be an illegal immigrant in Arizona and allows police to exercise their own discretion to determine whether someone is in the United States legally. The state Senate passed a similar bill earlier this year. The bill's author, state Sen. Russell Pearce, said the law simply "takes the handcuffs off of law enforcement and lets them do their job." The bill prevents any government agency from creating any policy that would prevent enforcement of immigration laws and allows citizens to sue if they believe a law enforcement agency is failing to enforce the law. If officers have a "reasonable suspicion" that someone is an illegal immigrant, the new law requires law enforcement to determine that person's immigration status "when practicable."
Arkansas Man Issued Another Stay of Execution: Katherina-Marie Yancy and Max Siegle of www.todaysthv.com reported on Arkansas murderer on Don Davis' stay of execution. The stay was granted by the state Supreme Court just hours before Davis' scheduled execution on Monday night, making it his second stay of execution in three years, this time to allow the courts to evaluate his claim against the Arkansas Method of Execution Act. Davis' attorneys argue that the act gives excessive power to the Department of Corrections for lethal injection procedures and the authority to change them at any time. Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said "it's ludicrous to believe that the Department of Corrections may at the last minute change their execution protocols." Although the act has yet to be tested in court, McDaniel contends there are clear guidelines for lethal injections: "What kind of drugs can be used, what kind of equipment can be utilized, the very procedures of when and how." There's no date for when another execution date will be set for Davis. For now, the case returns to Pulaski County Circuit Court.
"Meth Psychosis Cited in Killings; Defendant's Words Cast Doubt": According to a Sacramento Bee article by Andy Furillo, defense attorneys for Aaron Dunn face a major obstacle in their effort to avert the death penalty for their 33-year-old client......his own words. Four years ago, Dunn went on a methamphetamine-laced shooting rampage killing two men in Elk Grove. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case; however, defense lawyers say the onset of a meth-psychosis makes it only a second-degree murder case, not eligible for the death penalty. On Monday, sheriff investigators at the jail intercepted a letter in which Dunn wrote to his brother, saying that he hopes the judge who is presiding over the case "drowns." Dunn's lawyers also have to contend with testimony that their client admitted two days after the shootings that "I knew what I was doing that night." The defendant's words cast doubt in the defense's key witness, a psychiatrist, who testified that Dunn was "paranoid," "delusional," and even "nuts" the night of his shooting rampage. The defendant himself suggested that he was clear-headed during the spree. Defense lawyers were unsuccessful in excluding the defendant's incriminating statements from trial.
Arkansas Man Issued Another Stay of Execution: Katherina-Marie Yancy and Max Siegle of www.todaysthv.com reported on Arkansas murderer on Don Davis' stay of execution. The stay was granted by the state Supreme Court just hours before Davis' scheduled execution on Monday night, making it his second stay of execution in three years, this time to allow the courts to evaluate his claim against the Arkansas Method of Execution Act. Davis' attorneys argue that the act gives excessive power to the Department of Corrections for lethal injection procedures and the authority to change them at any time. Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said "it's ludicrous to believe that the Department of Corrections may at the last minute change their execution protocols." Although the act has yet to be tested in court, McDaniel contends there are clear guidelines for lethal injections: "What kind of drugs can be used, what kind of equipment can be utilized, the very procedures of when and how." There's no date for when another execution date will be set for Davis. For now, the case returns to Pulaski County Circuit Court.
"Meth Psychosis Cited in Killings; Defendant's Words Cast Doubt": According to a Sacramento Bee article by Andy Furillo, defense attorneys for Aaron Dunn face a major obstacle in their effort to avert the death penalty for their 33-year-old client......his own words. Four years ago, Dunn went on a methamphetamine-laced shooting rampage killing two men in Elk Grove. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case; however, defense lawyers say the onset of a meth-psychosis makes it only a second-degree murder case, not eligible for the death penalty. On Monday, sheriff investigators at the jail intercepted a letter in which Dunn wrote to his brother, saying that he hopes the judge who is presiding over the case "drowns." Dunn's lawyers also have to contend with testimony that their client admitted two days after the shootings that "I knew what I was doing that night." The defendant's words cast doubt in the defense's key witness, a psychiatrist, who testified that Dunn was "paranoid," "delusional," and even "nuts" the night of his shooting rampage. The defendant himself suggested that he was clear-headed during the spree. Defense lawyers were unsuccessful in excluding the defendant's incriminating statements from trial.
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