Two weeks until release
Jones, the youngest murder convict in the U.S history will be released in two weeks from a Florida prison after an eighteen-year sentence. He and his 13-year old sister were responsible for the murder of their father’s girlfriend. Jones has became an ordained minister in prison. He will remain on probation for the rest of his life.
Seeks sanctions against Constand
Cosby files legal documents seeking court sanctions against Andrea Constand for her alleged breach of their confidentiality agreement. The filing says Constand’s request to open the entire Cosby settlement is an “obvious attempt to smear” the performer and says she should be sanctioned for leaking the nearly 1,000-page deposition transcript to the New York Times. Cosby’s filing also says that the deposition excerpts so far unsealed by the judge contain no testimony that he engaged in any non-consensual sex or gave anyone Quaaludes without their knowledge or consent.
Reading the media accounts, one would conclude that Defendant has admitted to rape. And yet Defendant admitted to nothing more than being one of the many people who introduced Quaaludes into their consensual sex life in the 1970s.
Must hand over NY user info
A state appeals court says Facebook cannot challenge search warrants used by New York prosecutors in 2013 to get information from the site on hundreds of users suspected of Social Security fraud, including police officers and firefighters who allegedly feigned illness in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The court rules the warrants can only be challenged by the individual defendants. Prosecutors said Facebook pages showed public employees who claimed to be disabled riding jet skis, playing golf and participating in martial arts events. Prosecutors have secured nearly $25 million from people who were targets in the probe. DA spokesperson:
In many cases, evidence on their Facebook accounts directly contradicted the lies the defendants told to the Social Security Administration.
Facebook is considering an appeal.
Pleads not guilty
Sentsov pleads not guilty to terrorism charges relating to giving gifts of food to Ukrainian troops in Crimea, and attending anti-Crimea annexation protests. The Russian government says he is an affiliate of the Ukrainian activist group, Right Sector. The charges carry a penalty of life imprisonment, but prosecutors have offered Sentsov a 20-year term. Sentsov says he was tortured and does not consider the Russian court a court at all.
Eyewitness video
An eye witness shares a YouTube video showing Bland as she is roughly removed from her car, handcuffed on the ground and arrested on suspicion of assaulting a public servant, a felony charge.
Pleads not guilty
Webb pleads not guilty to federal racketeering and bribery charges in connection with a massive corruption scandal. He surrenders his passports and is released on $10 million bond. He will be confined to a home in New York and subject to electronic monitoring.
Charged with war crimes
Habre is charged with numerous war crimes that resulted in the deaths of 40,000 people. This is the first time he is before a court for crimes that span a period of twenty years. Victim:
I want to look him in the face and ask him why I was kept rotting in jail for three years, why my friends were tortured and killed.
Guilty verdict
The jury find Holmes guilty in 165 charges in the deaths of 12 people at the Aurora theater. In closing statements the prosecution argues against Holmes’ insanity defense:
That is logical. That is rational, and that is anything — anything — but psychotic. That guy was sane beyond a reasonable doubt, and he needs to be held accountable for what he did.
The jury deliberates for 13 hours over two days before rejecting pleas from defense lawyers that Holmes had a severe mental illness and was not legally responsible for his actions. As Judge Samour reads the 165 counts against Holmes, the defendant stands silently between his lawyers, staring straight ahead, with his hands tucked into his pants.
Holmes’ family speak of bias against their son.
We do not know how many victims of the theater shooting would like to see our son killed. But we are aware of people’s sentiments. We have read postings on the Internet that have likened him to a monster. He is not a monster. He is a human being gripped by a severe mental illness.
The district attorney in suburban Arapahoe County is seeking the death penalty, and the jury will begin weighing the toll and nature of Mr. Holmes’s actions to decide whether to send him to prison for life or to Colorado’s death row.Smour
Arrested in Miami
Tomic is asked three times by security guards to turn down loud music in his penthouse suite at Miami at the W South Beach Hotel. He refuses to obey and they call the police. He refuses to leave the room and resists arrest. He spends the night in a jail cell and pays $2000 bail to get out.
It was definitely my fault
Guards took 18 minutes to respond
Mexican authorities reveal it took 18 minutes for guards to respond after surveillance cameras sounded the alarm that Guzman was no longer in his cell, giving Guzman a good head start on his escape. Prosecutors are investigating whether the prison’s protocols were properly followed and are holding 22 prison officials for questioning.
Found guilty
Holmes is found guilty for his actions in the 2012 shooting which killed 12 people and injured 70. A jury deliberates for 13 hours over two days before rejecting pleas from defense lawyers that Holmes had a severe mental illness and was not legally responsible for his actions. As Judge Samour reads the 165 counts against Holmes, the defendant stands silently between his lawyers, staring straight ahead, with his hands tucked into his pants.
The district attorney in suburban Arapahoe County is seeking the death penalty, and the jury will begin weighing the toll and nature of Mr. Holmes’s actions to decide whether to send him to prison for life or to Colorado’s death row.
Illegal pet import charges
Heard is charged with two counts of charges of illegally importing her pet dogs, Pistol and Boo, into Australia, and one count of producing a false document according to the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions. Australia has strict quarantine regulations to prevent diseases such as rabies. Bringing pets into the country involves applying for a permit and quarantine on arrival of at least 10 days. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of 102,000 Australian dollars ($75,000). The false document charge carries a penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine of AU$10,200 ($7500). Agriculture Minister Joyce:
If we start letting movie stars — even though they’ve been the sexiest man alive twice — to come into our nation (with pets), then why don’t we just break the laws for everybody? It’s time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States…The law is the same for everybody. There is no preferential treatment here. You come into our nation, you have to abide biosecurity protocols
Heard is due to appear in court September 7.
Investigation shut down
The Wisconsin Supreme Court orders a special state prosecutor to shut down an investigation into Walker’s political fundraising and permanently destroy all the evidence it has collected:
To be clear, this conclusion ends the…investigation because the special prosecutor’s legal theory is unsupported in either reason or law.
Found guilty
Groening is convicted of being an accessory to the murder of 300,000 people in Auschwitz. He is sentenced to four years in jail, beyond the three year sentence sought by the prosecution. World Jewish Congress President Lauder:
Mr Groening was only a small cog in the Nazi death machine, but without the actions of people like him, the mass murder of millions of Jews and others would not have been possible.
Arrested
Ciccolo is arrested on gun charges after buying two pistols and two rifles from an undercover FBI confidential informant. A search of his apartment reveals possible bomb-making equipment including a pressure cooker, a variety of chemicals, an alarm clock, along with “attack planning papers” and “jihad” paperwork. An FBI affidavit says Ciccolo initially planned to travel to “another state” and used a pressure cooker bomb “to conduct terrorist attacks on civilians, members of the U.S. military and law enforcement personnel.” The FBI says the attack location was later changed to a town with a state university and would be concentrated on “college dorms and cafeteria, to include executions of students, which would be broadcast live via the internet.” Ciccolo says he was “inspired” by the Marathon bombing and the use of pressure cooker bombs, and tells the FBI undercover operative, “Allahu Akbar!!! I got the pressure cooker today.” He also said he is, “not afraid to die for the cause,” and that he characterized America as ”Satan” and “disgusting.”FBI:
This is a very bad person arrested before he could do very bad things
FBI agents say Ciccolo used the name Abu Ali al-Amriki and neighbors said he was a recent convert to Islam. He is being held at the Wyatt federal lockup in Rhode Island. According to the FBI, Ciccolo attempted to stab a nurse in the head with a pen during a routine screening, “leaving a hole in the nurse’s skin.”
Grants clemency to drug offenders
President Obama grants clemency to 46 men and women who have spent years and faced decades in prison for non-violent, drug offenses.
Their punishments didn’t fit the crime, and if they had been sentenced under today’s laws, almost all of them would have served their time. I believe…America is a nation of second chances. And I believe these folks deserve a second chance.
Family settles for $5.9 million
Officials say the family of Garner accepts settlement for $5.9 million with New York City. NYC Comptroller Stringer:
Following a judicious review of the claim and facts of this case, my office was able to reach a settlement with the estate of Eric Garner that is in the best interests of all parties. We are all familiar with the events that lead to the death of Eric Garner and the extraordinary impact his passing has had on our City and our nation. It forced us to examine the state of race relations, and the relationship between our police force and the people they serve. [The settlement] acknowledges the tragic nature of Mr. Garner’s death while balancing my office’s fiscal responsibility to the City.
Stringer also says the settlement does not mean New York City accepts liability.
Files for bankruptcy
50 Cent files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (docs) in Hartford, Connecticut reporting assets and liabilities between $10-$50 million. Lawyers:
This filing for personal bankruptcy protection permits [him] to continue his involvement with various business interests and continue his work as an entertainer, while he pursues an orderly reorganization of his financial affairs.
Reaches deal with creditors
Greece reaches a preliminary bailout agreement with its European creditors. The terms of the agreement include sales tax increases, reforms to pensions, and making the labor market more flexible. The country will have to open up competition to industries that have long been protected, such as the energy sector. These and other terms of the agreement will have to be passed into law by Wednesday as a first step to receive 85 billion euros in bailout loans.
Released
Israeli authorities releases Adnan, n often-detained member of Islamic Jihad, after he spent more than 11 months in jail. He is turned over at a West Bank checkpoint before being taken to Jenin Hospital for medical tests.