Gang Member to be Executed in Texas: Michael Graczyk of the AP reports Texas death row inmate Martin Robles, 33, is set to be executed on Wednesday evening for a double slaying nine years ago in Corpus Christi. Before he was sentenced to death, Robles had been arrested more than a dozen times as a juvenile and was convicted of murder at the age of 17. Only a year after being released from his six-year sentence for the previous crime, Robles and a companion broke into the home of a rival gang member before dawn and shot to death two 19-year-old victims from no more than two and a half feet away.

Jury Recommends Death for Ohio Serial Killer: Michael Scott of The Cleveland Plain Dealer (OH) reports the jury recommended a sentence of death for convicted serial killer Anthony Sowell. Cuyahoga County Judge Dick Ambrose will sentence Sowell on Friday, and may accept the jury's recommendation or reduce the sentence to life in prison.

Budget Issues in Minnesota May Jeopardize Public Safety: In light the state's new budget, Minnesota counties will now have to pay a quarter of the costs for every sexual predator sent to the Minnesota Sex Offender Program, up from 10 percent. Lawmakers supporting the move say an increased financial responsibility might force prosecutors, who decide whether to seek court-ordered treatment for the offenders, to be more careful in selecting whom to send to the program. County prosecutors said they don't plan to ease up on sex offender commitment cases, despite the increased cost. "I'd hate to put a psychopath back out on the street and then justify how we did it because of monetary reasons, I'd probably have to go the other way and say, `No, we're going to have to spend the money,'" said Crow Wing County Attorney Don Ryan. Martiga Lohn of the AP has this story.