ACLU Sues Pittsburgh Police: The Wall Street Journal reports the ACLU filed a 42-page lawsuit today against the Pittsburgh Police Department, alleging that police wrongly arrested 25 people at an anti-police brutality protest after last year's Group of 20 protest. Referring to the incident as one of a "totalitarian regime," the ACLU's legal director likened the officers' conduct to incidents in Iran or Russia. The lawsuit seeks, among other things, damages for "emotional distress."
Low Security Expected for First Gitmo Detainee Trial: The NYPD has not requested federal financial assistance for security in the upcoming terrorism trial against Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, reports the Wall Street Journal. While city police claim there will be some additional behind-the-scene measures taken and federal officials plan to beef up security in and around the federal courthouse, there will be no street closures or extra officers assigned to the area. This stands in stark contrast to the $200 million a year NYPD requested for the proposed trial of Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who was at one point also set to be tried in the federal courthouse in NYC. While counterterrorism officials have deemed Ghailani as one of the most dangerous terrorists in U.S. custody, an NYPD spokesman attributed the discrepancy in security costs to the fact that Ghailani "does not nearly have as high a profile as Khalid Sheik Mohammed and does not require the same security measures."
Georgia Execution Delayed: The Georgia Supreme Court delayed tonight's scheduled execution of Brandon Rhode after he tried to kill himself in his cell. Rhode's attorneys brought a new competency challenge, claiming the attempted suicide clearly proves Rhode is mentally incompetent and cannot constitutionally be executed. Prison officials have re-scheduled the execution for this Friday. The AP has this story.
SCOTUS Won't Block Execution of Virginia Woman: The AP reports that in an order issued today, SCOTUS declined to halt the execution of Teresa Lewis, who is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Thursday. Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor voted to block the execution. Update: The order is here.
Low Security Expected for First Gitmo Detainee Trial: The NYPD has not requested federal financial assistance for security in the upcoming terrorism trial against Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, reports the Wall Street Journal. While city police claim there will be some additional behind-the-scene measures taken and federal officials plan to beef up security in and around the federal courthouse, there will be no street closures or extra officers assigned to the area. This stands in stark contrast to the $200 million a year NYPD requested for the proposed trial of Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who was at one point also set to be tried in the federal courthouse in NYC. While counterterrorism officials have deemed Ghailani as one of the most dangerous terrorists in U.S. custody, an NYPD spokesman attributed the discrepancy in security costs to the fact that Ghailani "does not nearly have as high a profile as Khalid Sheik Mohammed and does not require the same security measures."
Georgia Execution Delayed: The Georgia Supreme Court delayed tonight's scheduled execution of Brandon Rhode after he tried to kill himself in his cell. Rhode's attorneys brought a new competency challenge, claiming the attempted suicide clearly proves Rhode is mentally incompetent and cannot constitutionally be executed. Prison officials have re-scheduled the execution for this Friday. The AP has this story.
SCOTUS Won't Block Execution of Virginia Woman: The AP reports that in an order issued today, SCOTUS declined to halt the execution of Teresa Lewis, who is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Thursday. Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor voted to block the execution. Update: The order is here.
Leave a comment