A swingers convention in New Orleans held last month is making national headlines as s super spreader event. Brooke Thorington has more.
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Today the US Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that argues all Louisiana prisoners serving time on a non-unanimous jury verdict deserve a retrial. Matt Doyle has the story.
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A swingers and alternative lifestyle convention held in New Orleans last month produced 41 positive COVID-19 cases according to organizers. The annual Naughty Nawlins had 250 attendees. Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s spokesperson, Beau Tidwell, says he’s heard all the jokes, but the event has serious consequences.
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Event organizer Bob Hannaford says they incorporated COVID guidelines including testing and admits they neglected to social distance. Hannaford says most of the cases were asymptomatic or very mild, but one had to be hospitalized.
Tidwell says he would not wish the virus on anyone…
Tidwell says the convention was not a permitted event and they did meet with organizers prior to the convention and discussed safety protocols.
The event, originally scheduled for July, normally attracts 2,000 attendees.
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The US Supreme Court heard arguments today in a case involving a Louisiana man that could result in retrials for prisoners serving time on non-unanimous verdicts.
Attorney Andre Belanger argued an earlier ruling that deemed non-unanimous jury verdicts unconstitutional should be retroactive.
Belanger represents Thedrick Edwards, who is serving a life sentence in Angola on multiple non-unanimous convictions related to a 2006 crime spree in Baton Rouge.
Louisiana Solicitor General Liz Murrill argued against giving Edwards and other non-unanimously convicted inmates retrials.
Murrill said that in Edwards’ case his crimes are severe, had an eye witness, and included armed robbery, kidnapping, and rape. She also said Edwards ultimately confessed to committing the crimes.
An estimated 1,500 Louisiana inmates are behind bars right now due to non-unanimous convictions. Murrill said giving them all retrials would be a burden.
But Belanger countered…
In 2018 Louisiana voters approved a constitutional amendment requiring unanimous verdicts. That law took effect in 2019 but was not retroactive.
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A homicide suspect out of Ohio was killed during a shootout with federal authorities at a motel in Pineville. 47-year-old James Edward Hawley, who also went by the alias of Ahmad Ben David, was wanted for the murder of 69-year-old Norma Matko and the disappearance of her 45-year-old daughter. FBI special agent John Fortunado
An FBI agent was wounded during the exchange of gunfire. The missing woman. 45-year-old Thoue Nichole Bronowski was found alive in the apartment.
Fortunado says they knew Hawley was armed and dangerous based on the online photos he posted of himself with firearms
Authorities say Bronowski was kidnapped last Wednesday and they believe her disappearance is linked to her mother’s death. Fortunado credits the work of the FBI office in New Orleans in helping to locate Hawley…
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Entergy Louisiana is reportedly on track to produce enough power from solar plants to fuel 60,000 homes within the next three years. Entergy Louisiana Director of Resource Planning Jonathan Bourge says that started with a solar plant in West Baton Rouge Parish.
Six of Entergy’s either constructed or planned sites are clustered in southeast Louisiana. Bourge says the area is just right for solar farming.
Entergy has issued a proposal to construct a solar energy farm in Morehouse Parish. If approved it would be the only site outside of southeast Louisiana in the state.
Windfarms and hydroplants are gaining in popularity in other parts of the country but Bourge says in Louisiana solar is the focus for renewable energy.