Legislation to make general criminal song lyrics inadmissible in court advances from House Criminal Justice. Brooke Thorington explains.
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
Five people are dead after four separate shootings in the span of four hours across New Orleans last night. Police the first shooting occurred in the Lower Garden District around 7 pm where a man had been shot several times and pronounced dead. An hour later two men with gunshot wounds were found in the Lower Ninth Ward – one died from his injuries. A teenage male was also found shot dead in New Orleans East and one person was pronounced deceased near Louisa. The investigations are ongoing.
House Criminal Justice Committee passed legislation to make simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling a crime of violence. Kenner Representative Debbie Villio says victims of burglary feel violated and unsafe after the act has taken place.
Cut 4 (07) “…anger and frustration.”
Villio says burglary deserves stronger punishment because she has been a victim of burglary. Meghan Garvey, with the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, says an offense cannot be considered a “violent crime” if violence has not occurred.
Villio says the perpetrator that entered her home stole her handgun and left a kitchen knife on her bed after. The committee advanced Villio’s HB 65 to the House floor.