SF Battles Auto Break-In Epidemic: Auto glass businesses are booming in San Francisco, one of which is seeing an average of 12 motorists a day come in to replace windows broken by thieves. Paul Elias of the AP reports that with nearly 26,500 reported auto burglaries, San Francisco has become the city with the most "smash-and-grabs" per capita of any major city in the U.S. Heightening concerns is the fact that police say arrests are made in a mere 2% of reported cases. A "flashpoint in the debate" is Proposition 47, the voter-approved measure enacted in 2014 that reduced some crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, including theft. Three years before Prop. 47's implementation, in 2011, there were 10,369 reported burglaries; in 2014, that number nearly doubled to 19,871. Former Police Chief Greg Suhr, in a letter to all officers last month, pointed to repeat offenders as a driving force behind the surge. The city's police department says it needs more officers to effectively combat this increasing problem.
Judge Rules Against FL Death Penalty Law: A Florida circuit judge has ruled that the state's death penalty sentencing law is unconstitutional because it doesn't require the jury to be unanimous for capital punishment to be imposed, marking the second time in recent weeks that a circuit judge has ruled against the state's new law. Dara Kam of the Jacksonville Daily Record reports that Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Samantha Ward sided last week with convicted murderer Michael Keetley, agreeing with his lawyers that the new law "runs afoul" of the U.S. Supreme Court decision stemming from Hurst v. Florida. Under the state's new law, which was crafted last year after the Supreme Court ruled that the old one gave judges too much power, juries must find at least one aggravating factor to exist in order for a defendant to be eligible for the death penalty, and at least 10 jurors, rather than 12, must agree in order to render a death sentence. Prosecutors argue that finding an aggravating circumstance unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt is sufficient and in accordance with a previous Supreme Court decision, Ring v. Arizona. At some point, the Florida Supreme Court will make a decision on the issue.
Judge Rules Against FL Death Penalty Law: A Florida circuit judge has ruled that the state's death penalty sentencing law is unconstitutional because it doesn't require the jury to be unanimous for capital punishment to be imposed, marking the second time in recent weeks that a circuit judge has ruled against the state's new law. Dara Kam of the Jacksonville Daily Record reports that Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Samantha Ward sided last week with convicted murderer Michael Keetley, agreeing with his lawyers that the new law "runs afoul" of the U.S. Supreme Court decision stemming from Hurst v. Florida. Under the state's new law, which was crafted last year after the Supreme Court ruled that the old one gave judges too much power, juries must find at least one aggravating factor to exist in order for a defendant to be eligible for the death penalty, and at least 10 jurors, rather than 12, must agree in order to render a death sentence. Prosecutors argue that finding an aggravating circumstance unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt is sufficient and in accordance with a previous Supreme Court decision, Ring v. Arizona. At some point, the Florida Supreme Court will make a decision on the issue.
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