Criminal Justice
Atlanta man slashes portraits, smashes glass at Gold Dome
A flagpole-wielding man who went on a rampage on the state Capitol grounds late Monday night injured two state police officers, slashed the portraits of two former Georgia governors and smashed more than a dozen light fixtures in the historic building. Joshua Jordan Lemhouse, a 27-year-old Atlanta resident, was captured and taken to Grady Memorial […]
Book bans at Georgia jails, prisons focus of week’s reading advocacy
The Atlanta-area feminist bookstore Charis Books and More regularly sends books to Georgia inmates purchased by family members and friends. But over the last several months more of those books are being rejected, said Errol “E.R.” Anderson, executive director of Charis Circle, the nonprofit arm of the bookstore. “We think books are a lifeline for […]
State senators meet today to weigh easing felon voting constraints
A group of state senators will look at ways to restore the voting privileges of non-violent convicted felons when they are freed instead of waiting until parole and other sentencing terms are complete. State Sen. Harold Jones says he filed legislation this year to relax felon voting rights because thousands of Georgians are penalized for […]
ACLU argues in federal court state probationers violating rights of deaf
The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia argued in federal court in Atlanta Thursday that deaf probationers and parolees are mistreated by the Georgia department that supervises them. The ACLU is representing six deaf people in a federal case against the Georgia Department of Community Supervision playing out this week in the U.S. District Court […]
Ga. lawmakers split as U.S. House advances McBath ‘red flag’ bill
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Judiciary Committee committee advanced three gun safety bills on Tuesday despite unified Republican opposition. The committee voted along partisan lines to approve “red flag” legislation that seeks to limit access to firearms for those deemed a risk to themselves or others. The committee also voted to advance legislation that would […]
Senate seat belt study panel hears it’s tough to close back seat ‘loophole’
Georgia lawmakers studying new seat belt rules heard Wednesday that it could be a challenge to require passengers to buckle up in a vehicle’s back seat and questions remain about how well officers could enforce a new law. Some senators raised the enforcement question as they met with state public safety officials. The verdict: Seat […]
Rome still coping with mental health challenges years after hospital closed
Rome, GA – It took two years for Tereasa Lowry to lock down a new apartment in Rome after she lost her house in 2009 during the recession. She’s battled severe bouts of depression since before grade school, and without her family’s support while she sought public housing, Lowry is certain she would have wound […]
Speaker Ralston vows new Ga. Hemp law won’t lead to recreational weed
Jasper, GA – Some local agencies created a buzz recently when they said they would dismiss misdemeanor cases or no longer charge people for small amounts of pot, citing their inability to distinguish the difference between marijuana and now-legal hemp. House Speaker David Ralston has a message for them: Not so fast. The Blue Ridge […]
State lawmaker says funeral industry oversight is too lax
Rep. Rick Williams is part of a small group of Georgia lawmakers who informally call themselves the funeral home caucus and are known for their macabre quips on the House floor. As Williams has told his colleagues, he’ll be the last one to let them down. But the middle Georgia funeral home director isn’t joking […]
Poultry workers fled Gainesville plants last week amid rumors of ICE raids
Rumors of a roundup by federal immigration authorities at poultry plants in Gainesville late last week sent scores of workers fleeing their jobs and caused a brief panic in an already worried community, according to local Latino advocates. “Hundreds” of poultry-processing employees rushed from several plant sites where they worked after hearing Thursday morning that […]
Georgia’s proposed hate crimes legislation gets renewed push
Georgia lawmakers are renewing calls to pass a bill defining and setting punishments for hate crimes committed in the state, one of only five that do not have a hate crimes law on the books. Supporters of the bill, which stalled earlier this year in the Georgia Senate, say it’s past time for the state […]
Bookman: Insane approach to gun laws ripe for change
A black-clad man in full body armor, using an assault weapon equipped with a 100-round magazine, opened fire in a Dayton nightclub district and killed nine people, wounding another 17, in the 30 seconds before being gunned down himself by police. Another shooter, this one in El Paso, walked into a Walmart armed with an […]