Legislation aimed at eliminating the death penalty will once again be up for discussion by state lawmakers. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 1 (33) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”
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LSU fans trapped in Alabama will soon have the opportunity to show their school pride on with an official license plate. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”
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A man who torched three St. Landry Parish churches pleads guilty in federal and state court. Matt Doyle has more.
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Marrero Democrat Kyle Green introduces a House bill aimed at eliminating the death penalty and allows those previously sentenced to the death penalty to be resentenced to a life sentence without parole. Green believes there is an appetite from GOP lawmakers to save as much money as possible and abolishing the death penalty may do just that.
Cut 4 (11) “…it hasn’t reduced crime.”
District attorneys have historically been opposed to repealing the death penalty. Louisiana has not executed an inmate since 2010, with the inability to obtain drugs for a lethal injection being cited as the reason for the gap. Traditionally, Republicans lean in favor of preserving the death penalty, but Green believes executions do not fall in line with the state’s values.
Over the about the last 40 years, Green says around 150 people have been exonerated from death row, with 11 of them being from Louisiana.
Kyle Joekel, man found guilty of killing two St. John the Baptist Parish deputies in 2012 became the latest inmate to receive a death sentence. Green expects to have to counter arguments in favor of keeping the death penalty stemming from examples such as those killings.
Cut 6 (08) “…with those individuals.”
Last year, a bill to abolish the death penalty was struck down on the House floor.
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Alabama drivers will soon have the opportunity to have their own LSU license plate. Webster Parish native and vice president of the Birmingham LSU Alumni Chapter Kenny Haynes decided to launch a campaign to get an LSU tag after seeing other out of state schools have their own special plate design.
Cut 7 (10) “…LSU tag in Alabama.”
In Louisiana, a specialty tag design requires legislative approval, but in Alabama, the proposed design just needed 250 drivers to apply and prepay for the license plate. Haynes says they hit that goal.
Cut 8 (10) “…else after that.”
Haynes admits the initial design is modest on school spirit. In five years, the plate will come back up for approval and a redesign can be submitted. If over a thousand plates are in circulation, Haynes says they then can propose a full plate design.
Cut 9 (12) “…vanilla and plain.″
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Louisiana gets low marks from the American Lung Association’s 2020 report for it’s failure to properly fund anti-smoking programs and enact anti-smoking legislation.
State Director Ashley Lyerly says Louisiana maintains one of the highest smoking rates in the nation for both adults, and teens.
She notes that’s in part thanks to a 135 percent increase in the high school vaping rate over the last two years. 27.5 percent of Louisiana high schoolers now admit to vaping.
Lyerly says if the state is serious about kicking it’s smoking habit, it needs a substantial increase in taxes on cigarettes and vapes, and it needs to expand it’s use of smoke-free zones.
The report also notes Louisiana only utilizes three percent of the 450 million a year it generates in cigarette taxes and tobacco settlements to fund anti-smoking programs, far below what is recommended.
One spot of good news nationally is the new federal law banning the sale of nicotine products to those under 21, but locally the answer hasn’t been so clear…
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22-year-old Holden Matthews pleads guilty in federal and state court to burning down three historically black churches in St. Landry Parish, a hate crime that shocked the nation last spring.
The federal charges include using fire to commit a federal felony and violating the Church Arson Prevention Act. Former US Attorney Harry Rosenberg doesn’t expect he’ll be free any time soon.
Using fire to commit a federal felony carries a minimum ten-year sentence, and each of his three violations of the Church Arson Act carries up to a 20-year sentence.
Rosenberg says pleading out may have saved Matthews a few years, but it’s clear the authorities had overwhelming evidence against him. Plus, he had a very weak defense.
Matthews says it was an attempt to replicate similar actions taken by a black metal band in Sweden decades ago.
Matthews will be sentenced on May 22nd. Rosenberg does not expect the son of a St. Landry Parish deputy to receive any leniency.
Rosenberg says it’s likely any state charges he faces will be served concurrently with the federal charges.
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LSU basketball coach Will Wade is not discouraged, even though the Tigers are on a two-game losing streak heading into tonight’s game versus Missouri. Last week, LSU lost to previously winless Vanderbilt and failed to maintain a 14-point second-half lead and fell in overtime to Auburn on Saturday. Wade says blame him for the loss versus 11th ranked Auburn
Cut 16 (23) …really really well”
Wade says he should have called timeout at the end of regulation to get a better shot in the Auburn game. He says despite the recent losses, LSU remains a good basketball team…
Wade says he’ll feel good when junior guard Charles Manning Junior returns, possibly on Saturday, from a fractured foot that he suffered a month ago
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With 29 games left, the Pelicans are five games back of Memphis for the final spot in the Western Conference. New Orleans hosts Portland tonight. The Trail Blazers are also in the hunt for a playoff spot. Pels rookie Zion Williamson looks forward to tonight’s game versus Portland
The Trail Blazers have won seven of their last ten and during those ten games, Damien Lilliard is averaging close to 42 points per game. Williamson says Lilliard is an incredible player