Juveniles tried and convicted as adults must be given a shot at parole, the US Supreme Court ruled today on a case out of Baton Rouge. Jeff Palermo reports…:
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The state Fire Marshal’s Office says a family of four is on life support following a Sunday fire in West Monroe. Eric Gill reports…
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34-year-old Technical Sergeant Zechariah Casagranda has been identified as the Barksdale Air Force Base airman who was fatally stabbed over the weekend in Bossier City. Bossier City Police say Casagranda was stabbed during an incident involving two groups of men outside a night club. Spokesperson Mark Natale says the incident began when the airman and suspect bumped into each other on the dance floor, but became physical when the club closed…
CUT 3 (10) “stabbed the victim”
21-year-old Benjamin William Shaw of Killeen, Texas has been arrested in connection with Casagranda’s death. Natale says it doesn’t appear that a woman was involved, but alcohol was a contributing factor…
Casagranda died at a local hospital shortly after the incident. Natale says Shaw is charged with second degree murder…
CUT 5 (08) “incarcerated up there”
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Juveniles tried and convicted as adults must be given a shot at parole, the US Supreme Court ruled today on a case out of Baton Rouge. When Henry Montgomery was 17, he killed an East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s deputy and has been at Angola since the 1963 murder. Loyola law professor Dane Ciolino says the high court has consistently limited states’ ability to impose harsh sentences on juveniles…:
Montgomery, now 69, believes his rehabilitation in prison should make him eligible for parole. The Louisiana Supreme Court rejected his claim, but the decision is now reversed. Ciolino says the Montgomery vs Louisiana case will now be sent back to the state and likely go before a parole board hearing..:
The Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that because children have a heightened capacity for change, states can not automatically sentence them to life in prison. It has also ruled out capital punishment for juveniles. Ciolino says juvenile offenders serving life who are now adults have the opportunity to argue they have been reformed…:
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The state Fire Marshal’s Office says a family of four is on life support following a Sunday fire in West Monroe. Deputy Chief Brant Thompson says 26-year-old Jeremiah Owojori (oh-wa-jor-ee), his 24-year-old pregnant wife Ashley, and their two sons, aged 5-years and 7-months are in very critical condition, clinging to life. Thompson says they believe the fire started in the attic…
He says it’s believed faulty wiring of three electrical junction boxes in the attic led to the blaze. Thompson says the family was unable to escape the fire on their own…
The fire broke out in a older home that was converted into a duplex. The family in the other unit was able to escape unharmed. The investigation into the fire is ongoing. Thompson says there were no working smoke alarms in the duplex…
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Although the state faces a $750 million mid-year budget deficit, state employees in four departments are getting raises that former Governor Bobby Jindal approved just before leaving office. LaPolitics-dot-com publisher Jeremy Alford says these pay hikes really add up…
He says these pay raises add up to at least $19 million for the remainder of this fiscal year and next fiscal year. The state is liable for the raises, which have already gone into effect. Alford says these pay hikes are not good news for the Edwards administration…
cut 13 (10) “next fiscal year”
Raises were granted in the Department of Transportation, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Department of Environmental Quality, and the Coastal Protection Restoration Authority. Alford says the governor is determined to get to the bottom of this issue…
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