Colorado movie theater shooter James Holmes has been sentenced to 12 life terms plus 3,378 years in prison. He did not receive the death penalty due to the vote of a single holdout juror. CNN’s stories about the sentencing hearing are here and here; the statements from the surviving victims and the families of the deceased are difficult to read. In other news: Federal charges against prison guards linked to kidnapping of prosecutor’s father. Two former North Carolina correctional officers have been charged in federal court with bringing cell phones, drugs, money, and other contraband into Polk Correctional Institute for inmates. The conduct came to light in connection with the investigation into the kidnapping of the father of Wake County prosecutor Colleen Janssen. Polk inmate Kevin Melton has been accused of masterminding the kidnapping, apparently communicating with the outside world through smuggled cell phones. This News and Observer story has the details, though it is unclear from the story whether the officers in question provided the specific phone or phones allegedly used by Melton. Drones, drones, everywhere? The General Assembly has passed a new law that may clear the path for expanded law enforcement use of drones. Approval from the State Chief Information Officer is still required but several other hurdles have been lowered or cleared away. S.L. 2015-232. State supreme court denies LEXIS free access to AOC database. The North Carolina Supreme court recently ruled on LEXIS’s public records request seeking a copy of the ACIS criminal record database maintained [...]
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