POLITICAL MOJO FROM DAVID CORN, KEVIN DRUM, AND THE NEWS TEAM
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TOP STORY
By AJ Vicens
After St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch announced Monday that Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted for killing Michael Brown, the county released a collection of documents from the grand jury proceedings. Among them were hundreds of photos from the investigation, depicting everything from the crime scene to Wilson at the hospital after the shooting. Here are just a few. (All photos provided by the St. Louis County Prosecutor's Office.) [READ MORE]
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IN OTHER NEWS
By Stephanie Mencimer
When Scott Panetti represented himself in a Texas capital murder case in 1995, wearing a purple cowboy suit and calling himself "Sarge," he called as a witness a veterinarian who once lived across the street from him. Panetti questioned the vet about the time he euthanized Little Blue, Panetti's old dog. The episode had nothing to do with the case. Other witnesses Panetti tried to call to the stand: John F. Kennedy and Jesus.
Trial transcripts, medical records, and expert witness testimony have documented that Panetti suffers from severe schizophrenia. He believes Texas is going to execute him to stop him from preaching the gospel—not because he shaved his head, donned camo fatigues, and shot and killed his in-laws in 1992. The Supreme Court has declared that executing the mentally ill violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, but several Texas and federal courts—including the US Supreme Court—have reviewed Panetti's case, and each one has ruled that the state can proceed with his lethal injection. Now, with Panetti's execution scheduled for December 3, the only thing that might save him is a national campaign being mounted by conservatives, including former Texas Republican congressman and libertarian icon Ron Paul. [READ MORE]
THIS WEEK'S NEWS ROUNDUP
As the holiday season began for Americans this week, tensions in Ferguson, Missouri over the killing of unarmed teen Michael Brown took center stage. A federal grand jury chose not to indict the officer who shot him, leading to a tidal wave of protests across the country. Testimony and evidence from the case were released to the public shortly after the decision was made, revealing details from officer Darren Wilson's description of events. He described Mike Brown as a "demon" and "Hulk Hogan," though Wilson is in fact not much smaller in size than Brown was.
In a separate case, Texas evangelicals are trying to rescue a mentally ill inmate from being executed. In Ohio, an extreme "secret executions" bill could pass.
And, as Thanksgiving and Black Friday grow nearer, some lawmakers are fighting to separate the two and keep Thanksgiving safe from greedy retailers who are creeping in on family time. [READ MORE]
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