Death row exoneree Shareef Cousin is teaming up with the ACLU of Louisiana and LA Repeal in an effort to persuade lawmakers to repeal the death penalty.
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Kevin Barnhart.”
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The Bryde’s (BROO-dus) whale in the Gulf of Mexico is now listed as an endangered species. Connor Ferrill has the story.
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The Violence Against Women Act re-authorization could be bogged down in the Senate after House Democrats passed a version that prohibiting gun ownership for those with misdemeanor convictions of domestic abuse or stalking. Matt Doyle has the story.
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Lawmakers will once again consider repealing Louisiana’s death penalty. The effort is being backed by the ACLU of Louisiana and LA Repeal. Shareef Cousin spent three years on death row in Louisiana for a crime that occurred in the 90s before having his name cleared. Cousin says his message for lawmakers is simple.
Cousin says he is just one of many who has been released from death row and says even all these years later, his time in prison still haunts him.
Cut 5 (10) “…mental health disorders.”
President of the ACLU of Louisiana Alanah Odoms Hebert believes the support for the repeal is becoming stronger.
Cut 6 (12) “…state for repeal.”
There are two bills filed for this legislative session that seek to repeal the death penalty, one by Baton Rouge Senator Dan Claitor and New Iberia Representative Terry Landry. Louisiana’s Attorney General Jeff Landry is expected to oppose any effort to get rid of the death penalty.
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Former Louisiana Congressman John Fleming is a month into his new job as the assistant secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. Fleming says because the U-S EDA serves areas impacted by disasters, as well as economically distressed communities, he can still serve the Bayou State…
Fleming served as a U.S. Representative for four terms in Louisiana’s 4th congressional district from January 2009 to January 2017.
Fleming says while groups like the Cajun Navy provide immediate relief to disaster areas his position at the EDA is focused on long term recovery…
Fleming says he’s excited about a relatively new provision in the law that can allow for private dollars to benefit distressed communities in Louisiana and the rest of the country. It’s known as Opportunity Zones. He says the process starts with federal funds, matched by local dollars and then can be multiplied by private investment…
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries’ service has listed the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s (BROO-dus) whale as endangered. NOAA estimates there are less than 100 Bryde’s whales in the Gulf but Marine Mammal Biologist Laura Engleby says the latest survey shows the population could be less than half of that…
Cut 10 (12) “…best case scenario.”
The whales are the only known resident baleen whales in the Gulf of Mexico.
Engleby says if the population continues to shrink it will be hard to track because of the size of the Gulf…
Engleby says the whales live in a restricted area of the gulf and the many human threats make it hard for the whale population to thrive…
Cut 12 (08) “…things like that.”
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D.C. lawmakers are tangling over the Violence Against Women Act as it heads to the Senate after clearing the House 263 to 158, on a mostly party line vote.
Congressman Garret Graves says he voted against the legislation because it included over 200 pages of proposals that were not vetted before the bill was voted on…
Republicans have presented an unaltered version of the bill for short-term renewal.
The NRA called for “No” votes on the bill because it would lower the threshold for banning gun ownership to those with misdemeanor convictions of domestic abuse or stalking, among other concerns. Current law only applies to felonies. Graves says he’s concerned that provision may have infringed on due process.
He did add that it’s a proposal worth considering though, given research that indicates a link between domestic abuse and gun violence.
But Sexual Trauma Awareness Response President Racheal Herbert says the lower legal requirements to ban gun ownership are vital, because it’s tough enough already to get any penalties for abusers.
The new, House passed version also allocates about a billion dollars in funding to a range of programs.
Louisiana’s five Republican Congressmen all voted against the re-authorization, and Herbert says it was a partisan decision that neglected the fact that similar legislation was found success in the Louisiana Legislature.
33 House Republicans voted for the bill’s passage.