New CA Execution Method under Scrutiny:  As California begins to discuss its new execution method after years of debate and stagnation, death penalty opponents are lashing out at reforms they argue amounts to "human experimentation."  Howard Mintz of the San Jose Mercury News reports that back in November, state prison officials proposed a new lethal injection procedure, moving from a three-drug cocktail to just one lethal drug, and now the anti-death penalty crowd is arguing that the state is risking experimentation on its condemned inmates because two of the four drug options have never been used in executions.  Death penalty supporters, however, counter-argue that opposing groups, such as the ACLU, are putting up "invalid roadblocks" to executions in an effort to thwart them.  A public hearing will be heard Friday to air the new procedure and, at some point, a San Francisco federal judge is expected to consider its legality.

Parolee Arrested for Murder:  A Colorado parolee facing charges of murder was touted as a model of success by a state parole administrator just 16 days before the fatal stabbing of a homeless man.  Kirk Mitchell of the Denver Post reports that 44-year-old Calvin Johnson faces one count of first-degree murder in the New Year's Day death of 50-year-old Teodoro Leon III, who was stabbed 10 times in the head, face, torso and back.  A few weeks before the murder, on Dec. 16, deputy director of parole Alison Morgan discussed Johnson's success overcoming troubles linked to mental illness with the Joint Judiciary Committee, saying of his progress, "all of this is working, really very successfully."

Police and Sheriffs Team up in Chicago Gang Fight:  The Chicago Police Department and the Cook County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday that they are teaming up to combat gangs and remove illegal guns from the streets.  Jeremy Gorner of the Chicago Tribune reports that though the partnership is nothing new, it will be more coordinated than before, targeting gangs in some of the most violent districts in the city and aided by interim police Superintendent John Escalante and Sheriff Tom Dart.  The partnership is to continue through the end of January and will then shift focus to other police districts in February.  The city is off to a violent start this year; as of Tuesday, 190 people have been shot across the city, more than double than the year earlier, which saw only 78 shooting victims by this time.  Homicides have risen this year as well, with 29 so far compared with 16 the year prior.