AL Man Faces Execution:  A condemned Alabama murderer is set to be executed by lethal injection Thursday evening, marking the first time the state has put a prisoner to death in more than two years.  Kim Chandler of the AP reports that attorneys for 43-year-old Christopher Eugene Brooks unsuccessfully argued Wednesday to halt the execution, claiming further court review of the state's execution protocol was needed before being used for the first time.  However, lawyers for the state countered that the new drug combination, which changed two of the three drugs in the procedure, is "virtually identical" to the one Florida has used several times without incident and argued that Brooks was simply attempting to delay his execution.  Brooks was convicted in 1993 for the rape and murder of 23-year-old Jo Deann Campbell, who was found bludgeoned and sexually assaulted under her bed after Brooks had spent the night at her house.  

San Fernando Valley Homicides Spike:  Police data indicates that homicides in Southern California's San Fernando Valley surpassed Los Angeles increases.  Brenda Gazzar of the L.A. Daily News reports that while homicides citywide in Los Angeles increased about 9 percent over last year and 13 percent over two years ago, the Valley, which is located north of the Los Angeles Basin, saw a spike of 14 percent in 2015 over the previous year and a staggering 46 percent over 2013.  Believed to be contributing to the concerning surge is increased homelessness, lower costs for heroin and methamphetamine, and the implementation of Prop. 47, a ballot measure passed in November 2014 which downgraded several crimes such as drug possession and minor theft from felonies to misdemeanors.

CO Bill Aims to Reduce Number of Juror Votes in Death Penalty Cases:  Colorado lawmakers have introduced new legislation that could make it easier for juries to sentence a defendant to death.  Marshall Zelinger of the Denver Channel reports that the bill, called SB 64, would remove the unanimous voting requirement for death sentences, changing the standard to just nine out of 12 jurors voting for the death penalty for it to be enforced.  The legislation follows last year's high-profile trial of Aurora theater shooter James Eagan Holmes, who was found guilty on multiple counts of murder but skirted the death penalty when jurors could not reach a unanimous decision, with nine jurors "firm," two "on the fence" and one "absolute no," according to one of the jurors.  "For one person to be able to decide for everyone, it's kind of ridiculous," added the juror.  Of the 31 states that impose capital punishment, Alabama, Florida and Delaware are the only states that do not require a unanimous jury decision.

Barstow Police Need More Resources:  A city councilman in Barstow, Calif., says that the city needs additional resources to combat the "alarming" increase in crime brought on by soft-on-crime legislation enacted in the state in recent years.  Mike Lamb of Desert Dispatch reports that Councilman Richard Harpole spoke during Tuesday's Council meeting, stating that crime in Barstow, located about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles, is up "in every single category in part one crimes" and blames the spike on AB 109 and Prop. 47.  He emphasized that the increase in crime is "not a reflection of our Police Department" but rather, recent legislation implemented that simply slaps criminals on the wrist and sends them on their way.  Harpole suggests adding two more investigators to the police department that are specially trained to focus on career criminals in order to "build the type of cases that will require prison time."