VA to Keep Execution Drug Suppliers Secret: Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring signed off late Tuesday on the legality of Gov. Terry McAuliffe's plan to keep the identities of pharmacies that supply the state with execution drugs secret. Laura Vozzella of the Washington Post reports that Herring's legal opinion came just over a week after McAuliffe amended a bill that would have made the electric chair the state's default execution method in the event that lethal injection drugs are unavailable. His amendment scraps that approach, instead allowing the state to specially order the drugs from compounding pharmacies, "whose identities would be kept secret to shield them from political pressure." Herring, a democrat, only passed judgment on the plan's legality and did not weigh in on its merits. The General Assembly is scheduled to take up the proposal during its annual veto session on Wednesday.
OH High Court Upholds Death Sentence: The Ohio Supreme Court upheld the death sentence Wednesday of a man who fatally shot a convenience store clerk during a robbery nearly eight years ago. Jim Provance of the Toledo Blade reports that 30-year-old Anthony Belton argued that he should have been allowed to have a jury determine his sentence, claiming a violation of his Sixth Amendment rights. The high court rejected the argument with a 6-1 vote because Belton pleaded no contest to the charges against him and "Ohio law does not permit a jury to sentence a capital defendant if the defendant has elected to enter a plea of guilty or no contest to capital charges." Belton was convicted of one count of aggravated murder and two counts of aggravated robbery in the fatal shooting of 34-year-old Matthew Dugan during an August 2008 gas station holdup. He still has several federal appeals he may pursue. Ohio has not carried out an execution since Jan. 2014 due to court and gubernatorial moratoriums, though the current moratorium will expire at the end of this year.
Border Patrol Agents Assaulted with Rocks: U.S. Border Patrol agents patrolling the Arizona desert Tuesday were assaulted by a group of marijuana smugglers who threw rocks at them when they began closing in. Bob Price of Breitbart reports that agents had been tracking the smugglers through the desert and were assaulted with the rocks as they approached the group, prompting the agents to fire their weapons, though no injuries were reported. The assailant and one other suspect were taken into custody and multiple bundles of marijuana were seized. There have been extensive reports about the use of rocks to seriously injure Border Patrol agents, which are often baseball-sized or larger.
OH High Court Upholds Death Sentence: The Ohio Supreme Court upheld the death sentence Wednesday of a man who fatally shot a convenience store clerk during a robbery nearly eight years ago. Jim Provance of the Toledo Blade reports that 30-year-old Anthony Belton argued that he should have been allowed to have a jury determine his sentence, claiming a violation of his Sixth Amendment rights. The high court rejected the argument with a 6-1 vote because Belton pleaded no contest to the charges against him and "Ohio law does not permit a jury to sentence a capital defendant if the defendant has elected to enter a plea of guilty or no contest to capital charges." Belton was convicted of one count of aggravated murder and two counts of aggravated robbery in the fatal shooting of 34-year-old Matthew Dugan during an August 2008 gas station holdup. He still has several federal appeals he may pursue. Ohio has not carried out an execution since Jan. 2014 due to court and gubernatorial moratoriums, though the current moratorium will expire at the end of this year.
Border Patrol Agents Assaulted with Rocks: U.S. Border Patrol agents patrolling the Arizona desert Tuesday were assaulted by a group of marijuana smugglers who threw rocks at them when they began closing in. Bob Price of Breitbart reports that agents had been tracking the smugglers through the desert and were assaulted with the rocks as they approached the group, prompting the agents to fire their weapons, though no injuries were reported. The assailant and one other suspect were taken into custody and multiple bundles of marijuana were seized. There have been extensive reports about the use of rocks to seriously injure Border Patrol agents, which are often baseball-sized or larger.
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