SOMERVILLE, Tex. — Joshua Aaron Hall had been a resident of the Burleson County Jail for about a week when he requested a meeting with Gene Hermes, the sheriff’s investigator who had locked him up for violating probation. The stocky lawman arrived in the featureless interview room on the morning of Dec. 13, 2013, placed […]

This article was originally published on The Colombus Dispatch by Paul Butler on March 22, 2017. An estimated 100,000 dash-camera videos stored from Columbus Police Division traffic stops and call responses were deleted after an officer apparently made a few errant keystrokes, officials announced Tuesday. Police Chief Kim Jacobs called the deletion a “significant loss,” noting that all 2015

This article was originally published on The New York Times by Paul Butler on March 17, 2013. FIFTY years after the Supreme Court, in Gideon v. Wainwright, guaranteed legal representation to poor people charged with serious crimes, low-income criminal defendants, particularly black ones, are significantly worse off. Don’t blame public defenders, who are usually overwhelmed. The problem lies

This article was originally published on Huffington Post by David Lohr on March 15, 2017. When her husband took a nasty fall and Megan Starich had no other way to pay the bills, she turned to the very symbol of her love ― her wedding ring. “She cherishes her wedding ring, but she was willing to sacrifice it,” Lt.

This article was originally published on The Huffington Post by David Moye on March 15, 2017. A West Virginia man applying to be a police officer is now facing charges after allegedly admitting to sexual assault during the job interview. Tyler Ray Price of Nitro was arraigned Monday on charges of second-degree felony sexual assault. Official with the South

This article was originally published on The Huffington Post by Andy Campbell on March 11, 2017. A police department in Wilmington, North Carolina, is backtracking after one of its officers was captured on video telling a citizen ― falsely ― that he couldn’t record their interaction. It’s a sobering incident that raises broader questions about how much privacy a police

This article was originally published on the New York Times by Adam Liptak on March 6, 2017. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that courts must make an exception to the usual rule that jury deliberations are secret when evidence emerges that those discussions were marred by racial or ethnic bias. “Racial bias implicates unique historical, constitutional and institutional concerns,”

This article was originally published on GoErie on March 2, 2017. A second person wanted on criminal charges related to the discovery of a suspected methamphetamine lab at a Millcreek Township hotel on Saturday has turned himself in, according to township police. Brandon Adams, 33, was arraigned late Wednesday afternoon by Summit Township District Judge Brian McGowan

This article was originally published on The Huffington Post by Carla Herreria on March 2, 2017. One teen reportedly leapt to his death in Singapore after attempting a Snapchat stunt that went tragically wrong. Jonathan Chow, 17, jumped over a barrier and fell four floors at Singapore’s Orchard Central mall Friday, The Straits Times reported. Footage leaked from the mall’s closed-circuit

This article was originally published on The Huffington Post by David Moye on March 1, 2017. A former animal shelter employee in Shreveport, Louisiana, has been charged with crimes against nature after being accused of having sex with a dog. Celina Ann Cabrera, 24, was taken into custody Friday afternoon after officers received a report that a woman had