Missouri's top House Republican called Wednesday for a number of changes to how traffic violations are handled in the state's courts — proposals prompted by concerns raised after the fatal police shooting in Ferguson last August.
Read More »Obama signs order creating new cyber sanctions program
President Barack Obama on Wednesday authorized a new U.S. government approach to deterring cyberattacks: financial sanctions against malicious overseas hackers and companies that knowingly benefit from the fruits of cyberespionage.
Read More »Obama commutes sentences of 22 people in federal prison
President Barack Obama on Tuesday shortened the prison sentences of nearly two dozen drug convicts, including eight serving life in prison.
Read More »Missouri high court rules against man claiming anxiety hurt trial
The Missouri Supreme Court dismissed claims Tuesday that a man's anxiety and panic attacks led to an unfair trial in which he was convicted and sentenced to death for killing an older couple during a break-in.
Tagged with: Missouri Supreme Court
Read More »Pharmacist group says members shouldn’t aid in executions
In a move that could heighten the hurdles faced by states attempting to execute prisoners, a leading association for U.S. pharmacists has officially discouraged its members from providing drugs for use in lethal injections.
Read More »5 arrested in protest inside Supreme Court
Protesters disrupted Supreme Court proceedings on Wednesday for the second time this year with shouted criticism of the court's previous rulings on campaign finance.
Read More »Health providers’ stand could invite other execution methods
With the American Pharmacists Association taking a stance this week, the medical community is now united in its opposition to playing any role in capital punishment killings, which could prompt death penalty states to return to previously shunned methods.
Tagged with: death penalty execution
Read More »Religious freedom laws not used against gays in the past
Religious freedom laws like the one causing an uproar in Indiana have never been successfully used to defend discrimination against gays — and have rarely been used at all, legal experts say.
Tagged with: Religious Freedom
Read More »GOP deals with party split at Legislature midpoint
Armed with greater numbers of Republicans than ever before in the House, Missouri's Legislature still is struggling to find consensus on high-profile legislation as lawmakers returned for the second half of the session on Monday.
Read More »4 journalists arrested during Ferguson protests sue police
Four journalists arrested during last summer's Ferguson protests over the shooting death of Michael Brown filed a federal lawsuit Monday against St. Louis County police and 20 of its officers, accusing them of violating the reporters' civil rights and unjustifiably detaining them.
Read More »High court to hear Kansas plea to reinstate death sentences
The nation's highest court agreed Monday to hear Kansas' appeal seeking to reinstate death sentences for two brothers convicted of robbing and forcing four people engage in sex acts before being shot to death naked in a Wichita soccer field in 2000.
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