Manson Follower Denied Parole: California Gov. Jerry Brown denied parole last week for a former Charles Manson follower convicted in the murder of two grocers nearly five decades ago. The LA Daily News reports that Leslie Van Houten, 66, was recommended for parole in April by a state parole board, but Brown rejected it on Friday, writing in his decision that "she currently poses an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison." Charles Manson and several of his followers have repeatedly been denied parole over the years, Van Houten included, this latest denial being her 20th. Van Houten was convicted of murder and conspiracy in the 1969 stabbing deaths of Leno La Bianca, 44, and his wife Rosemary, 38, with two fellow Manson family members. She was initially sentenced to death but was re-sentenced to life in prison without parole after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional in 1972.
Pending Illegal Immigration Cases at All-Time High: Pending cases in the U.S. immigration courts have reached an all-time high, with nearly 500,000 cases backlogged and in the hands of just 273 immigration lawyers. Paul Bedard of the Washington Examiner reports that Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse revealed that at the end of June, the backlog of pending immigration cases climbed to 496,704, up from 456,216 nine months ago and 408,037 two years ago. The staggering number of pending cases produces a ratio of 1,819 cases per judge. Currently, it takes almost two years -- 672 days -- for an immigration case to reach court. Illegal immigrants are allowed to remain in the country while awaiting their court dates, which several reports have shown they rarely make.
TX Sheriff Shot Dead at Home: A Texas sheriff's deputy was fatally shot in his backyard early Monday in what appears to be an attempted robbery. CBS reports that Travis County Sgt. Craig Hutchinson, a 36-year veteran, used his police radio at about 1:30 a.m. to report that people were in his backyard, and was discovered dead moments later by investigators. Multiple suspects are being sought, though no arrests have been made. Authorities say there is evidence indicative of an attempted robbery of Hutchinson's backyard shed, and doesn't look to be an ambush targeting him as a law enforcement officer as seen in the killing of Dallas and Baton Rouge officers earlier this month.
Pending Illegal Immigration Cases at All-Time High: Pending cases in the U.S. immigration courts have reached an all-time high, with nearly 500,000 cases backlogged and in the hands of just 273 immigration lawyers. Paul Bedard of the Washington Examiner reports that Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse revealed that at the end of June, the backlog of pending immigration cases climbed to 496,704, up from 456,216 nine months ago and 408,037 two years ago. The staggering number of pending cases produces a ratio of 1,819 cases per judge. Currently, it takes almost two years -- 672 days -- for an immigration case to reach court. Illegal immigrants are allowed to remain in the country while awaiting their court dates, which several reports have shown they rarely make.
TX Sheriff Shot Dead at Home: A Texas sheriff's deputy was fatally shot in his backyard early Monday in what appears to be an attempted robbery. CBS reports that Travis County Sgt. Craig Hutchinson, a 36-year veteran, used his police radio at about 1:30 a.m. to report that people were in his backyard, and was discovered dead moments later by investigators. Multiple suspects are being sought, though no arrests have been made. Authorities say there is evidence indicative of an attempted robbery of Hutchinson's backyard shed, and doesn't look to be an ambush targeting him as a law enforcement officer as seen in the killing of Dallas and Baton Rouge officers earlier this month.
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