NE Bill Abolishing
Death Penalty Approved: A bill
abolishing the death penalty was approved on Wednesday by Nebraska's
legislature with a 32 to 15 vote. The AP
reports that Governor Pete Ricketts promises to veto the bill, although there
may be enough votes in favor of the bill to possibly override a veto.
Parolee Found Guilty
of Investigator's Murder: Paroled
sex offender Randy Alana was convicted Wednesday of murder, second-degree
robbery, auto theft and grand theft for the 2013 killing of Sandra Coke, a
federal defense investigator from Oakland.
Henry K. Lee of SF Gate
reports that the jury deliberated for less than
three hours before finding Alana guilty.
Alana, who had previously dated the victim and was the father of her
teenage daughter, was out on parole and being tracked by authorities with a GPS
anklet in August 2013 when he strangled Coke and dumped her body in Vacaville,
because she called his parole agent.
Man Who Landed
Gyrocopter At Capitol Faces Nine Years:
The man who landed his one-man gyrocopter on the lawn of the U.S.
Capitol last month to protest campaign finance could face over nine years in
prison. Warner Todd Huston of Breitbart
reports that Douglas Hughes, a mail carrier from Florida, flew through
restricted airspace on April 15 before landing on the west lawn of the Capitol
building, and was arrested immediately.
He has been indicted on six charges by a federal grand jury, including
violation of national defense airspace and violation of aircraft registration
requirements.
Bill that Loosens
Execution Restrictions Passes House: A
North Carolina bill, which passed the House and is under consideration in the
Senate, would permit other medical professionals to oversee executions, not
just licensed physicians. The Daily Tar
Heel reports that House Bill 774 was created in response to physicians' growing
unwillingness since 2007 to participate in executions, when the North Carolina
Medical Board banned providers from giving lethal injections. Although the state Supreme Court ruled in
2009 that the board could not revoke physicians' licenses, physicians in the
state have still been hesitant. The bill
would extend execution participation to physician assistants,
registered nurses, nurse practitioners and emergency medical technicians, but a
licensed physician would still be required to pronounce an inmate dead.
Suspect Named In Quadruple Murder: Police
have identified a suspect in last week's quadruple homicide of a wealthy
couple, their 10-year-old son, and their housekeeper that occurred in one of
Washington D.C.'s poshest neighborhoods, just down the street from the Vice
President's residence. Fox News reports
that Daron Dylon Wint, a career criminal whose DNA was found on pizza crust
left at the crime scene, is believed to have held the family hostage on the
evening of May 13 while coordinating the delivery of $40,000 in cash, then killed
them and set their mansion ablaze before fleeing in the couple's Porsche, which
was also torched. Law enforcement believes
Wint is hiding out in Brooklyn and have expanded their manhunt.