James Holmes death penalty decision: ‘I want to watch him die’ say victims of Colorado theater shooting | Mail Online

The prosecutor’s decision today to seek the death penalty for Dark Knight ‘killer’ James Holmes has been applauded by victims and friends of victims who say they want to watch him die.

One friend of Holmes’ 12 victims even said he wants to watch the alleged killer die.

‘I don’t know if it’s painful. I want him dead. I just want to be there in the room when he dies,’ Bryan Beard told ABC outside the Colorado courthouse. ‘He took one of my friends from this Earth. Death equals death.’

Beard’s close friend Alex Sullivan was one of the 12 people killed in the shooting on July 20 last year. It was his 27th birthday.

via James Holmes death penalty decision: ‘I want to watch him die’ say victims of Colorado theater shooting | Mail Online.

Nelson, Georgia Family Protection Ordinance Approved, Would Make Gun Ownership Mandatory For Some

The city council in a small north Georgia town voted Monday night to make gun ownership mandatory – unless you object.

Council members in Nelson, a city of about 1,300 residents that’s located 50 miles north of Atlanta, voted unanimously to approve the Family Protection Ordinance. The measure requires every head of household to own a gun and ammunition to “provide for the emergency management of the city” and to “provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants.”

Not that every household must go out and purchase a firearm.

The ordinance exempts convicted felons and those who suffer from certain physical or mental disabilities, as well as anyone who objects to gun ownership. The ordinance also doesn’t include any penalty for those who don’t comply.

But backers said they wanted to make a statement about gun rights at a time when President Barack Obama and some states are pushing for more restrictions in the wake of the Connecticut elementary school massacre in December that left 20 children and six educators dead.

via Nelson, Georgia Family Protection Ordinance Approved, Would Make Gun Ownership Mandatory For Some.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment: The Shame of Three Strikes Laws | Politics News | Rolling Stone

On July 15th, 1995, in the quiet Southern California city of Whittier, a 33-year-old black man named Curtis Wilkerson got up from a booth at McDonald’s, walked into a nearby mall and, within the space of two hours, turned himself into the unluckiest man on Earth. “I was supposed to be waiting there while my girlfriend was at the beauty salon,” he says.

So he waited. And waited. After a while, he paged her. “She was like, ‘I need another hour,’” he says. “So I was like, ‘Baby, I’m going to the mall.’”

Having grown up with no father and a mother hooked on barbiturates, Wilkerson, who says he still boasts a Reggie Miller jumper, began to spend more time on the streets. After his mother died when he was 16, he fell in with a bad crowd, and in 1981 he served as a lookout in a series of robberies. He was quickly caught and sentenced to six years in prison. After he got out, he found work as a forklift operator, and distanced himself from his old life.

But that day in the mall, something came over him. He wandered from store to store, bought a few things, still shaking his head about his girlfriend’s hair appointment. After a while, he drifted into a department store called Mervyn’s. Your typical chain store, full of mannequins and dress racks; they’re out of business today. Suddenly, a pair of socks caught his eye. He grabbed them and slipped them into a shopping bag.

via Cruel and Unusual Punishment: The Shame of Three Strikes Laws | Politics News | Rolling Stone.

Highlights from the Supreme Court’s Prop 8 Arguments – tapestry

Highlights from the Supreme Court’s Prop 8 Arguments – tapestry.

This is an interesting interactive news device / gizmo which gives details of the progress of otherwise of Californian Prop 8.

Rockland Jury Convicts Man of Cocaine Possession on Thruway – Nyack-Piermont, NY Patch

A Brooklyn man who was accused of having cocaine and marijuana in a car stopped by State Police on the New York State Thruway in Clarkstown in 2012 has been found guilty of drug possession charges.

Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said a Rockland County jury deliberated for 10 days and convicted Genghis Khan, 23, of 1008 St. Marks Ave., Brookly, of second-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony, and unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation.

via Rockland Jury Convicts Man of Cocaine Possession on Thruway – Nyack-Piermont, NY Patch.

Supreme Court DOMA Case: Justices Question Whether They Can Even Decide Dispute

WASHINGTON — A majority of Supreme Court justices on Wednesday morning appeared skeptical of the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage for federal purposes as between a man and a woman. Whether the justices believe they have the power to make any decision in this case, however, remained murky.

It was the second day in a row that the high court heard arguments dealing with same-sex marriage. At issue Wednesday in United States v. Windsor was whether it was constitutional for the U.S. government to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages that had been recognized by the states.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, who said Tuesday that the children of same-sex couples “want their parents to have full recognition and legal status,” seemed troubled by the fact that DOMA refuses to recognize even those same-sex unions that are already recognized by states.

via Supreme Court DOMA Case: Justices Question Whether They Can Even Decide Dispute.

The Law and Order Database: All 20 Seasons | Overthinking It

At Overthinking It, Law & Order is analyzed by two separate yet equally important groups: the people who watch the show and send in the data, and the people who build the spreadsheets. These are their findings…

via The Law and Order Database: All 20 Seasons | Overthinking It.

Zut alors! Famous French cars may be banned from Paris | Reuters

Some of the most famous cars in French motoring history would be banned from Paris under a law intended to hit gas-guzzlers, but which is being criticised as a blow to the poor and classic car fans.

The proposal to ban pre-1997 cars from the city centre is the brainchild of Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe, who was behind the popular Velib’ bike-rental scheme but has been accused of turning the city of lights into a playground for the rich.

via Zut alors! Famous French cars may be banned from Paris | Reuters.

Wisconsin Collective Bargaining Law Struck Down By County Judge

A Wisconsin judge on Friday struck down nearly all of the state law championed by Gov. Scott Walker that effectively ended collective bargaining rights for most public workers.

Walker’s administration immediately vowed to appeal, while unions, which have vigorously fought the law, declared victory. But what the ruling meant for existing public contracts was murky: Unions claimed the ruling meant they could negotiate again, but Walker could seek to keep the law in effect while the legal drama plays out.

The law, a crowning achievement for Walker that made him a national conservative star, took away nearly all collective bargaining rights from most workers and has been in effect for more than a year.

Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas ruled that the law violates both the state and U.S. Constitution and is null and void.

In his 27-page ruling, the judge said sections of the law “single out and encumber the rights of those employees who choose union membership and representation solely because of that association and therefore infringe upon the rights of free speech and association guaranteed by both the Wisconsin and United States Constitutions.”

Colas also said the law violates the equal protection clause by creating separate classes of workers who are treated differently and unequally.

via Wisconsin Collective Bargaining Law Struck Down By County Judge.

Twitter releases Occupy protester’s tweets to NY judge: Why it caved on users’ privacy.

Twitter surprised and impressed civil liberties groups this summer by taking a stand on behalf of an Occupy Wall Street protester’s privacy. Ordered by the judge in a New York criminal case to dredge up and hand over deleted tweets from activist Malcolm Harris (@destructuremal), Twitter fought back and appealed, arguing its users own their own Twitter data. Groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU joined the fight on Twitter’s side.

The government, though, played dirty. Judge Matthew Sciarrino, Jr. this week told Twitter on Tuesday that if it didn’t fork over Harris’ data within three days, it would face contempt of court and a stiff fine. That’s not the dirty part. As Sciarrino noted, “I can’t put Twitter or the little blue bird in jail, so the only way to punish is monetarily.” The dirty part is that Sciarrino claimed that, in order to determine the appropriate fine, he would need Twitter’s financial records from the past two quarters. That’s anathema for a private startup clawing to keep its competitive edge, as Sciarrino surely knows.

The company’s response was predictable. “They’re going to tweet like canaries,” the New York Post reported this morning. Indeed, Reuters reports that the company asked the judge “pretty please” one last time in court on Friday, then gave up the goods. Harris’ records will remain under seal pending another appeal from his own lawyers next week.

via Twitter releases Occupy protester’s tweets to NY judge: Why it caved on users’ privacy..