OH High Court Overturns Murderer's Death Sentence:  The Ohio Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, overturned the death sentence of a man convicted of brutally beating his neighbor to death in 1998.  WCPO reports that in their opinion, the justices mainly cited mitigating factors in the case of murderer Rayshawn Johnson, including his childhood, drug addiction and developmental issues, writing that such factors outweighed any aggravating circumstances against him.  The justices added that Johnson's attorneys did not adequately investigate his background and present it to the jury.  The case has been sent back to Hamilton County court for re-sentencing.

HHS Running Out of Beds for Illegal Youths:  The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has warned Congress that it is getting close to running out of beds to house the large number of unaccompanied alien children crossing into the U.S. from south of the border.  Paul Bedard of the Washington Examiner reports that HHS confirms that 5,200 immigrants arrived in November, up 269 percent over last November and more than twice the 2014 surge.  HHS' Office of Refugee Resettlement, responsible for housing the youths with the Administration for Children and Families, has approximately 6,600 children in its care and a bed capacity of 8,400.

Boston Bomber's Lawyers Argue for New Trial:  Lawyers for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are arguing before a judge Tuesday for a new trial to be granted.  The AP reports that in a motion related to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling handed down after Tsarnaev's trial in June centering on the legal definition of a "crime of violence," Tsarnaev's defense team argues that the high court's ruling puts 15 of his convictions in jeopardy because the court struck down part of the definition as "constitutionally vague."  The attorneys claim that this ruling requires those 15 counts to be thrown out and that a new trial should be granted because "the jury's imposition of the death penalty on other counts likely was influenced by the 15 counts related to crimes of violence."  Additionally, they argue Tsarnaev deserves a trial in a different location due to intense media coverage in the greater Boston area that could have contributed to a lack of impartiality by the jurors.  Tsarnaev and his brother detonated twin bombs placed near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 2013, killing three and injuring over 260.  He was convicted of 30 federal charges and sentenced to death.

Kent on KCRW's "Which Way, L.A.?"  CJLF Legal Director Kent Scheidegger was a featured guest on KCRW Monday to discuss the admissibility of confessions of teenagers and, in a few cases, children.  The discussion focuses on the case of a 10-year-old boy who spontaneously told the police he killed his father before any questioning began.  The segment can be heard here.