WASHINGTON
Inmate granted new hearing
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a new court hearing for a black Texas prison inmate whose death sentence may have been tainted by references to race. Lawyers for inmate Duane Buck said the result of the court’s 6-2 decision is that he must either be given a sentence of life in prison or a new sentencing hearing. Buck claimed his rights were violated when jurors were told by a defense expert witness that Buck was more likely to be dangerous in the future because he is black. In Texas death penalty trials, one of the “special issues” jurors must consider when deciding punishment is whether the defendant they’ve convicted would be a future danger.
MORRISTOWN, N.J.
Anorexic woman dies
An anorexic and bulimic woman who petitioned a court to refuse force-feeding has died three months after a judge granted her request. Her lawyer, Edward D’Alessandro Jr., said Wednesday that the 30-year-old identified as Ashley G. died Monday at Morristown Medical Center’s palliative care unit. Ashley weighed 69 pounds and had been a patient at a psychiatric hospital for two years when she told the court that she did not want food or water.
COLUMBUS, Ga.
Man dies trying to flee police
The Georgia State Patrol says a man fleeing a traffic stop was struck and killed by a sheriff who wasn’t part of any police pursuit. Harris County Sheriff Mike Jolley and his wife were returning home from an outing Saturday when the sheriff’s pickup hit Demetris Dalton after he jumped a wall into the northbound lanes of Interstate 185 in Columbus. Sgt. Daryl Irvin of the Georgia State Patrol said Dalton fled when a trooper tried to stop him for speeding, then crashed his car and fled on foot.
ATLANTA
Two face off to lead DNC
Just days before Democratic activists pick a new party chair, the contest to head the Democratic National Committee remains fluid, as national leaders grapple with how to turn an outpouring of liberal protest against President Donald Trump into political gains. A tight race between former Labor Secretary Tom Perez and Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota marks the first heavily contested battle to run the organization in recent history, a reflection of a party struggling to find the best path forward after years of state and national losses.
Compiled from wire reports