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Raul Rodriguez sits in court in the beginning of his trial at Harris County Criminal Courthouse on Monday, June 25, 2012, in Houston. Relatives of Rodriguez, who claimed Texas' version of a stand-your-ground law allowed him to fatally shoot a neighbor after an argument about a noisy party, told jurors Monday he was not an abusive person and always stressed the importance of gun safety. He faces up to life in prison for the 2010 killing of Kelly Danaher. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Mayra Beltran)

Texas Man Gets 40 Years In Stand-Your-Ground Case

Archives for June 2012

Stowaways Suspected In Container Ship Docked In NJ

Dock workers rushed to unload stacked containers from a cargo ship that arrived in New Jersey from the Middle East on Wednesday after a Coast Guard inspection team heard knocking for about two hours that suggested stowaways might be inside one of the boxes. More than a dozen ambulances and law enforcement officials met the […]

Associated Press
By Associated Press
A ship named Ville D' Aquarius is docked at the Port Newark container terminal, Wednesday, June 27, 2012, in Newark, N.J. The Coast Guard suspects there are stowaways in a container that was loaded on a ship. Coast Guard spokesman Charles Rowe says the container was loaded aboard The Villa D'Aquarius in India. The manifest says the container was carrying machine parts to be unloaded in Norfolk, Va. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Dock workers rushed to unload stacked containers from a cargo ship that arrived in New Jersey from the Middle East on Wednesday after a Coast Guard inspection team heard knocking for about two hours that suggested stowaways might be inside one of the boxes. More than a dozen ambulances and law enforcement officials met the 850-foot Ville

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SYRIA: No to Intervention, No to Illusions

Fifteen months on, the short Syrian spring of 2011 has long since morphed into a harsh winter of discontent. Syria is close to full-scale civil war. If the conflict escalates further, it will have ramifications far outside the country itself. As former UN Secretary-General and current envoy of both the UN and the Arab League […]

Phyllis Bennis
By Phyllis Bennis
This citizen journalism image provided by Shaam News Network SNN and taken on Thursday, June 21, 2012, purports to show smoke from shelling rising up from buildings in the Khaldiyeh neighborhood of Homs province, central Syria. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network, SNN)

Fifteen months on, the short Syrian spring of 2011 has long since morphed into a harsh winter of discontent. Syria is close to full-scale civil war. If the conflict escalates further, it will have ramifications far outside the country itself. As former UN Secretary-General and current envoy of both the UN and the Arab League Kofi Annan put it,

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How Mitt Romney Followed Me Around The Internet

Last month, I was searching for a peppy Glee song on the music site Grooveshark, and up popped two ads for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. One invited me to “Learn More.” The other suggested that I “Donate.” Had Romney’s campaign decided that swing voters might frequent an Internet music site with copyright issues? Are Glee fans now a […]

Lois Beckett
By Lois Beckett
In this June 21, 2012 file photo, Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigns in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

Last month, I was searching for a peppy Glee song on the music site Grooveshark, and up popped two ads for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. One invited me to "Learn More." The other suggested that I "Donate." Had Romney's campaign decided that swing voters might frequent an Internet music site with copyright issues? Are Glee fans now a key

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Cities Still Taking Brunt Of Poor Economy: Stockton, Calif. Declares Bankruptcy

(MintPress) – As Stockton, Calif. readies itself to become the nation’s largest city to file for bankruptcy, its status as an outlier is limited in scope. Cities around the country have already launched bankruptcy and protection filings since the peak of the recession, from Rhode Island, to Pennsylvania and Alabama. Stockton, with a population of […]

Joey LeMay
By Joey LeMay
A commercial lot is available for rent Tuesday, June 26, 2012, in Stockton, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

(MintPress) – As Stockton, Calif. readies itself to become the nation’s largest city to file for bankruptcy, its status as an outlier is limited in scope. Cities around the country have already launched bankruptcy and protection filings since the peak of the recession, from Rhode Island, to Pennsylvania and Alabama. Stockton, with a population

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Poorly Maintained Facilities, Scorching Heat Lead To Deaths In Texas Prisons

(MintPress) – Inhumane prison conditions in Texas have led to two separate lawsuits against the state. The lack of proper air-conditioning and ventilation has led to the wrongful deaths of four inmates in the past year, with many others claiming conditions are unbearably hot. A pending lawsuit, first filed in 2008 claims that 54 prisoners […]

Martin Michaels
By Martin Michaels
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice Central Unit seal is painted on the wall at the entrance to the cell block Thursday, Aug. 11, 2011, in Sugar Land, Texas. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

(MintPress) – Inhumane prison conditions in Texas have led to two separate lawsuits against the state. The lack of proper air-conditioning and ventilation has led to the wrongful deaths of four inmates in the past year, with many others claiming conditions are unbearably hot. A pending lawsuit, first filed in 2008 claims that 54 prisoners were

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Supreme Court Ruling On Juveniles Gives Hope To More Than 2,000 Prisoners

(MintPress) – When the Supreme Court ruled June 25 that juveniles could not be issued automatic life sentences without the chance for parole, thousands of inmates were given hope that crimes committed as children would not keep them behind bars through their elderly years. The 5-4 High Court ruling was based on the argument that […]

Trisha Marczak
By Trisha Marczak
This Nov. 25, 2008 photo released by the Michigan Department of Corrections shows inmate Henry Hill. Hill has spent the last 32 years serving a mandatory life sentence for his connection to a killing at a park in Saginaw County when he was 16. Hill had a gun, but was never accused of firing the fatal shot. (AP Photo/Michigan Department of Corrections)

(MintPress) – When the Supreme Court ruled June 25 that juveniles could not be issued automatic life sentences without the chance for parole, thousands of inmates were given hope that crimes committed as children would not keep them behind bars through their elderly years. The 5-4 High Court ruling was based on the argument that a life sentence

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