Crime Newswire

CBS News
Va. kindergarten teacher and school nurse charged in murder-for-hire plot
CBS News
Nolen is charged with solicit to commit murder and Bennett is charged with conspiracy. Both work at Sontag Elementary School. Nolen is accused of paying $4,000 to an undercover state police agent who she believed was a hit man on Tuesday. She planned ...
Update: Bond Increased for School Nurse Linked to Murder PlotWSET

all 13 news articles »

So much for speaking up: Richmond police have fired a whistleblowing cop for claiming that two officers chatted about shooting and bombing President Obama while protecting him, Raw Story reports. The officer, who wasn't named, told WTVR last May that a supervisor had said to a police sharpshooter, "You’re down...

WHITTIER, Calif. -- An 11-year-old girl walking alone near a Southern California park was grabbed by a man and shoved into the back seat of... AP http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anna-almendrala/

Raw Story
Thousands riot in Bangladesh over writings of 'atheist bloggers'
Raw Story
DHAKA — Bangladesh police fired tear gas and rubber bullets Friday in fierce clashes with conservatists demanding the execution of bloggers they accused of blasphemy, killing one person and injuring around 100. Parts of central Dhaka turned into a ...

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A new report funded by the National Institute of Justice titled, "Measuring the Effect of Defense Counsel on Homicide Case Outcomes," examines the difference that a lawyer makes to the outcome of serious criminal cases in Philadelphia.

Since April 1993, every fifth murder case in Philadelphia is sequentially assigned at the preliminary arraignment to the city's Defender Association and the other four cases are assigned to appointed counsel.

The study showed that compared to private appointed counsel, public defenders make an enormous difference in the outcome of cases by reducing the murder conviction rate by 19%, the probability that their clients receive a life sentence by 62% and overall expected time served in prison by 24%.

To account for the discrepancy, the authors conducted interviews with judges, appointed lawyers and public defenders. They concluded that "conflicts of interest on the part of both the appointing judges and the appointed counsel, limited compensation, incentives created by that compensation and relative isolation" were to blame.

Though inadequate defense is a contributing cause of wrongful convictions, it's difficult to measure the scope and impact of the problem in these cases. For more information, click here.

Read Measuring the Effect of Defense Counsel on Homicide Case Outcomes.

Read the abstract for the study.

VANCOUVER - A convicted sex offender has been found guilty of criminal negligence causing the deaths of two teenaged girls who died of overdoses.Martin Tremblay... CP http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andree-lau/

The parents of missing girl Madeleine McCann won a court case against a retired lawyer who'd published letters alleging they were responsible for their daughter's... Michael McLaughlin http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-mclaughlin/

If Earlie Johnson was aroused to anger on Tuesday afternoon, he had a good reason: His porn collection was stolen from his home in Muskegon,... The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-moye/

Sex addiction doesn't cut Ohio corruption sentence
Philippine Star
AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- A former hospital executive sentenced to nine years in prison in a public corruption investigation in Cleveland has lost his bid for a shorter sentence based on his claim that he was a globe-trotting, out-of-control sex addict. U.S ...

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Boston Globe
Drinking game, spiked wine leads to attempted murder charge
USA TODAY
BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts man is fighting extradition to Scotland, where he is facing attempted murder charges for allegedly poisoning a fellow college student's wine. Alexander Hilton, of Princeton, Mass., appeared Thursday in federal court in ...
Mass. Student Facing Extradition for...ABC News

all 6 news articles »

A five-year-old boy was accidentally shot with his father's gun in New York City Friday, DNAinfo reports. The boy's father claimed responsibility for the shooting,... Christopher Mathias http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-mathias/

Police say Villanova University student Tyler Jones has admitted to using his smart phone to secretly record a woman disrobing in a bathroom in order... Tyler Kingkade http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tyler-kingkade/

What we see are a couple of actual predators, a larger number of people with bad boundaries and an even larger number of people who've been caught up in domestic issues, where sex was just a presenting issue. James Ishmael Ford http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-ishmael-ford/

Ultimate-Guitar.Com
Pussy Riot News: Happy Anniversary!
Huffington Post
The mission of Pussy Riot Vodka is to keep the Pussy Riot plight in our mind's eye and in our media's attention. Upon the arrest, the greatest artists in the world shouted their support for the Russian collective. You don't hear much anymore. Going to ...
Russian police detain Pussy Riot sympathizers in cathedralReuters
Pussy Riot's Yekaterina Samutsevich Has 'No Regrets' Over The Group's ProtestUltimate-Guitar.Com
A year on, Pussy Riot claim a victory in RussiaAhram Online
VentureBeat -Daily Local News
all 31 news articles »

According to the Atlantic Wire, an internal FBI report obtained by CNN shows that the FBI had to fire "numerous employees for things like sexting,... Samreen Hooda http://www.huffingtonpost.com/samreen-hooda/

Fresno Bee
Drew Peterson enters prison for murder sentence
MiamiHerald.com
JOLIET, Ill. -- Less than 24 hours after screaming out his innocence in court, Drew Peterson has been transferred from jail to an Illinois state prison to begin serving a 38-year term for murder. The Will County Sheriff's Office confirmed the former ...
Former police Sgt. Drew Peterson gets 38 years for ex-wife's murderCNN
Peterson Screams, Then Gets 38 Years For MurderNPR
Drew Peterson screams, gets prison in wife's deathFresno Bee
Newsday -TIME
all 213 news articles »Google News

Lexington Herald Leader
Drew Peterson Enters Prison for Murder Sentence
ABC News
Less than 24 hours after screaming out his innocence in court, Drew Peterson has been transferred from jail to an Illinois state prison to begin serving a 38-year term for murder. The Will County Sheriff's Office confirmed the former suburban Chicago ...
Former police Sgt. Drew Peterson gets 38 years for ex-wife's murderCNN
Peterson screams, then gets 38 years for murderLexington Herald Leader
Drew Peterson screams, gets prison in wife's deathFresno Bee
Newsday
all 218 news articles »

Arutz Sheva
Arabs Riots, Clash with Security Forces
Arutz Sheva
Thousands of Palestinian Authority Arabs continued to riot and clash with security forces on Friday, following prayer services at mosques in Judea and Samaria as well as on the Temple Mount. According to various reports, dozens of PA Arabs suffered ...
Police Stormed Temple Mount, Violence in Judea & SamariaThe Jewish Press

all 2 news articles »

Wall Street Journal- India (blog)
High Tide: From a Royal Problem to Fending off Haters
Wall Street Journal- India (blog)
A roundup of corruption-related news from Dow Jones and other sources. You can also receive a weekly newsletter version of Corruption Currents here. Bribery: Mike Lucas. Disgraced former Chinese leader Bo Xilai is refusing to cooperate with a ...

A Florida task force on Friday recommended that the state's controversial "stand your ground" law not be overturned.