The ACLU of Louisiana responds to the latest rather aggressive Crime Stoppers viral video by St. Landry Parish’s Captain Clay Higgins looking for wanted Gremlins Gang members. Emelie Gunn reports..:

CUT 1 (28)  “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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Harper Lee, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill A Mockingbird,” has died at the age of 89. Halen Doughty reports…

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The ACLU of Louisiana has responded to the latest Crime Stoppers video by St. Landry Parish’s Captain Clay Higgins that’s gone ridiculously viral. Higgins is looking for wanted members of the Gremlins Gang and says they each have a $2500 bounty on their head. ACLU of Louisiana Executive Director Marjorie Esman has a problem with that…:

CUT 3 (06)  “summary execution”

Higgins video had nearly 14 million views in just two days. Esman feels like all this does is exacerbate the problem of a public who feels cops are the bad guys….:

CUT 4 (09)  “what police officers do”

Esman says Higgins also shouldn’t be calling these suspects “heathens” which is a religious term that implies he knows something about their beliefs…:

CUT 5 (10)  “they’re committing crimes”

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Harper Lee, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill A Mockingbird,” has died at the age of 89. Head of Special Collections at LSU Jessica Lacher Feldman says Lee’s death is the end of an era. Feldman worked at the University of Alabama, where Lee spoke to students once a year. Feldman was Lee’s handler when she visited and says Lee’s novel resonated deeply with many people.

CUT 6 (10) “the world”

Feldman says Lee’s recently released book “Go Set A Watchman,” broke many publishers records. Feldman says Lee’s first novel was influential because Lee wrote about race and gender issues in a very real, but idealized, way.

CUT 7 (07) “the century”

There has been speculation as to whether Lee wrote any more books that were not published. Feldman says her death may bring more writings to light.

CUT 8 (08) “she’s written”

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A new poll from Invest in a Healthy Louisiana and Public Opinion Strategies finds increasing the tobacco tax is favored by seven out of 10 voters. Pollster Glen Bolger says the survey polled 500 likely Louisiana voters and many people are opposed to hikes in the state’s income, sales or property taxes, but favor an increase to the state’s tobacco tax…

CUT 9 (07)  “strongly favor”

The Invest in a Healthy Louisiana Coaltion is advocating a $1.25 per pack increase in the tobacco tax. So far, only a 22-cent increase has been discussed by the legislature. Bolger says the poll asked people about three different tax levels and found no statistical difference between the options.

cut 10 (09)  “73 percent”

Increasing the cigarette tax by $1.25 would raise more than $200 million a year for Louisiana. Bolger says the increase is popular across party lines…

Cut 11 (11) “percent support”

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Dozens of students marched to the state capitol in efforts to protest the proposed cuts to higher education to offset the massive budget deficit. A graduate of Nicholls State University and LSU, Peter Jenkins, attended the Save our Schools rally to make legislators pay attention and stop these drastic measures…

cut 12 (08) “focusing on”

Jenkins says they want the legislators to do what they need to do to save higher education. He says students are calling for three different things…

cut 13 (10)  “budget cuts”

Jenkins believes legislators understand the situation and don’t have ill-will toward the situation but are only trying to figure out how to solve the deficit. But he says it’s their job as students to be heard…

cut 14 (10)  “come out”

Students chanted at the steps of the Capitol in efforts to prevent future cuts to higher education…

cut 15 (11) “no future” 

Marketa Garner Walters, secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services, is concerned about a 15-million dollar hole in her budget. Halen Doughty reports…

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South Louisiana law enforcement are searching for fugitives from the Gremlins Criminal Gang and Michelle Southern says the search is receiving all kinds of attention because of a viral video….

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The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services tells legislators her department is in need of resources to care for the more than four-thousand children in foster care in Louisiana. Marketa Garner Walters spoke to the House of Appropriations about a 15-million dollar hole in the DCFS budget. Garner says there is a shortage of foster homes…

CUT 3 (09)  “a placement”

Walters says DCFS helps families in tough times. They deal with things like child abuse investigation, foster care and adoption, food stamps, child support enforcement and disability determinations. Garner says the process of finding a place to stay can be difficult on children from abusive homes.

CUT 4 (10)  “wanted there”

Walters says without sufficient funding, people will be laid off at the affected agencies and Louisiana could receive federal penalties for falling short of the national standards for these agencies…

CUT 5 (09)  “food stamp program”

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A federal judge officially rejected Former Saints safety Darren Sharper’s plea bargain in the case where he allegedly drugged and raped multiple women. Legal Analyst Chick Foret says Sharper is facing accusations in three other states and agreed to nine years in jail after pleading guilty in those jurisdictions. But Foret says US District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo believes nine years isn’t enough…

CUT 6 (10) “be convicted”

Judge Milazzo gave Sharper until March 3^rd to withdraw his guilty plea. Foret says Judge Milazzo said this morning, the original plea deal does not reflect the seriousness of the crime. He says the federal sentencing guidelines recommend a sentence of 15 to 20 years…

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Foret says Darren Sharper is in a bad position and the facts keep getting worse. He says Sharper only has three options…

CUT 8 (10) “sentence”

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South Louisiana law enforcement are actively searching for the seven remaining wanted fugitives of the Gremlins Criminal Gang and their search efforts have been boosted by the latest video message from the “Cajun John Wayne.” Captain Clay Higgins with St. Landry’s parish sheriff’s office says the gang is very active in Acadiana and Higgins called out the remaining fugitives in a viral internet video.

CUT 9 (05)  “like you”

The video filmed in front of the police station shows police officers and state leaders standing behind Higgins. It has received over 8 million views on St. Landry Parish’s Facebook page. He says police have arrested 10 Gremlins, and they have warrants for seven more. He says the officers are not afraid of these so-called thugs.

cut 10 (04)  “than you”

Higgins says all of them are armed and dangerous. Authorities say the Gremlins are responsible for violent crimes including murder, armed robbery, witness intimidation, burglary, drug trafficking, extortion, and brutal beatings.  Higgins asks the public to contact police with any information about these crimes of the whereabouts of the wanted fugitives.

Cut 11 (04) “our knees”

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A debate broke out at the state capitol over a tax credit that benefits working individuals with low incomes. Prairieville Representative Tony Bacala has legislation to do away with the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit, which he says will save the state about 50-million dollars a year

cut 12 (12) “through revenue increases”

But Democratic state representative Walt Leger says the Earned Income Tax Credit helps the working poor pay for daily life expenses

cut 13 (09)  “out of the year”

Leger says in parishes like East Carroll and Madison,  over 50-percent of the state’s tax filers receive the earned income tax credit. The New Orleans lawmaker is actually proposing to double the earned income tax credit, which would actually help the state and local economy

cut 14 (12)  “necessities of life”