The US Supreme Court begins hearing a case today challenging the constitutionality of Oklahoma’s lethal injection procedure. Eric Gill reports…
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The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s office says one person is under arrest and they are looking for 10 others as part of a million dollar theft scam involving Comcast Cable customers. Michelle Southern reports…:
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A senate committee approves legislation that would give domestic abuse victims the ability to break a lease or get their abuser out of a home without penalty from their landlord. Scott Carwile has the story….
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The US Supreme Court begins hearing a case today challenging the constitutionality of Oklahoma’s lethal injection procedure. The case argues to end the use of midazolam as a sedative in Oklahoma’s lethal injection protocol. Loyola Law Professor Dane Ciolino says protocols changed when the makers of sodium thiopental and pentobarbital refused to sell to states that use it for corporal punishment…
cut 4 (08) “in the alternative”
Midazolam, which is also part of Louisiana’s lethal injection protocol, is an anti-anxiety drug that has no pain relieving properties and there are questions in its effectiveness as a sedative. This lawsuit was filed after four apparently botched executions that made national headlines last year. Ciolino says this case raises the issue of whether Midazolam does what states claim that it does…
The Supreme Court has ruled that a method of execution would violate the Constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment if it presents a substantial, intolerable risk of serious pain and there are less painful alternatives available. Ciolino says it will be interesting to see what the Supreme Court will do…
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The granddaughter of Saints owner Tom Benson made an appearance at the state capitol Tuesday. Rita Benson Leblanc spoke in support of the state’s film tax program. During testimony, LeBlanc identified herself as a former sports executive who said the film tax credit program helped New Orleans get the Super Bowl in 2013…:
LeBlanc says cities compete against each other and it’s paramount Louisiana differentiate itself when attracting major events. She says the state’s film tax program helps major events like the Super Bowl with their visual and media elements…:
Cut 8 (09) “networks themselves”
LeBlanc says remaining competitive in the film industry requires tax credits. She says it’s amazing that Louisiana is #1 in making movies and we should strive to stay that way…:(The bill was amended to put a $200 million dollar cap on the program and advanced out of committee without objection and now heads to the House floor. Other cap bills were also approved in committee.)
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The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s office says one person is under arrest and they are looking for 10 others as part of a million dollar theft scam involving Comcast Cable customers. Spokeswoman Cindy Chadwick says the scheme involved out of state cable contractors who would use real Comcast customers information to open up fake accounts in order to get commission
Cut 10 (09) “they would make a commission”
Chadwick says financial loss in commissions, equipment and services to Comcast and victims was well over $1.2 million dollars. She says one of the suspects worked for Comcast directly and had an agreement with the contractors that she would provide identities of legitimate customers:
Chadwick says the now former Comcast employee involved in this scheme is in jail and booked with 107 counts of identity theft and one count of criminal conspiracy. The information was used by the contractors to open 3,630 fake Comcast accounts in Caddo Parish. Chadwick says the victims in this case have seen their credit reports ruined by this scam because their social security numbers were tied to fake accounts that weren’t being paid…:
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A senate committee approves legislation that would allow a domestic abuse victim to immediately move out an apartment or rented home without facing a penalty for violating the lease. Baton Rouge Senator Sharon Weston Broome says her legislation also has a provision in cases where the victim doesn’t want to leave the home…
Cashuana Hill, executive director of the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Center, says this legislation is needed, because there are numerous cases where a domestic abuse victim is evicted from their home, because the apartment complex has a policy against domestic violence…
The legislation heads to the Senate floor, but the Apartment Association of Louisiana lobbied against the bill. Jennifer Ansardi says domestic violence cases are sometimes he-said versus she-said incidents and landlords are not trained to be a judge and jury
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Baton Rouge police say their detectives want to speak with former LSU Tiger La’el Collins about the shooting death of a pregnant woman in the capitol city. 29-year-old Brittney Mills was gunned down at her home last Friday. Corporal Don Coppola says Collins is not considered a suspect in her murder, but they know he had a relationship with the woman…
Coppola would not go any further about the type of relationship Collins and Mills had. He says as part of their investigation into Mills’ murder, they believe Collins may know why someone would want to shoot her…
Coppola says it will be a few days before they can talk to Collins, who is expected to be selected in the NFL’s first round on Thursday night….