felon

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Cops 'Laser-Focused' in Felon Manhunt in New Torture Case

Oregon cops are searching for Benjamin Obadiah Foster, suspected of holding woman captive

(Newser) - Police in southern Oregon were searching Thursday for a man accused of torturing a woman he held captive, less than two years after he was convicted in Nevada of keeping another woman in captivity for weeks before the victim managed to escape. Grants Pass Police Chief Warren Hensman said in...

Released Early, Felon Cut Out Woman's Heart, Cooked It: Cops

Lawrence Paul Anderson accused of killing 3 in Oklahoma, including 4-year-old girl

(Newser) - A repeat felon released early from prison in January has admitted to cutting out the heart of a neighbor before authorities say he killed the uncle and aunt he'd been staying with, along with that couple's 4-year-old granddaughter. Only the aunt survived. This comes from a request for...

Iowa's Controversial Voting Practice Comes to an End

Governor signs executive order restoring rights for felons

(Newser) - Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an executive order Wednesday granting convicted felons the right to vote after they complete their sentences, ending Iowa’s place as the only remaining state to broadly deny voting rights to felons, the AP reports. Reynolds, a Republican, fulfilled a promise she made in June...

NBA Superstar Raises Profile of Effort to Help Felons Vote

LeBron James' group donates $100K to help with Florida registration requirement

(Newser) - A group cofounded by LeBron James is adding $100,000 and its high profile to the effort to help Florida felons vote in the November election. More Than a Vote, which was started by the NBA superstar after the death of George Floyd, said the money will go toward paying...

Feds: He Said He Had the Virus, Caused 'Distress'

And made an Atlanta company lose $100K due to alleged false claim, per the FBI

(Newser) - A Fortune 500 company in Atlanta says it's out $100,000 because an ex-worker exploited the pandemic. Per a DOJ release , Santwon Antonio Davis, 34, is accused of defrauding the unnamed company by falsely claiming he had COVID-19 and fabricating medical records. The AP lays out the details of...

Va. Gov. Vows to Restore Voting Rights, Felon by Felon

Republicans say he's trying to help Clinton

(Newser) - It's safe to assume that there will be some serious hand cramping in Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s future. The Democratic governor vows to "expeditiously sign nearly 13,000 individual orders" to restore the voting rights of felons in his state, NPR reports. "And I will continue...

Felons Gain New Voting Rights in Maryland

They're free to vote upon release from prison

(Newser) - Approximately 40,000 felons will likely be able to vote in Maryland's presidential primary after the state's senate expanded voting rights to criminals still on parole or probation, Frontline reports. According to the Baltimore Sun , the vote on Tuesday overrode a veto from Maryland's governor. At issue...

Next for Dreamy Felon: Modeling Gig?

Jeremy Meeks has new Hollywood agent

(Newser) - Well, you knew this was coming: Jeremy Meeks, the dreamy criminal whose mugshot is making many people rethink their aversion to dating a felon, may have a future as a model. Hollywood talent agent Gina Rodriguez signed Meeks last week , and now numerous outlets including CBS Local say he's...

One Conviction Shouldn't Ruin Your Life

Two professors decry laws that punish criminals indefinitely

(Newser) - In 2010, the Chicago Public School system decided not to hire Darrell Langdon, a single father of two, as a boiler-room engineer. Why? Because it found out he'd once been convicted of possessing a half-gram of cocaine—in 1985. Such stories are common these days, both because a whopping...

iPhone App Tracks Sex Offenders
iPhone App Tracks Sex Offenders

iPhone App Tracks Sex Offenders

1 million users download program, but info isn't perfect

(Newser) - Concerned parents—or vigilantes—with an iPhone can download a new set of applications that track crime, list fugitives, or even pinpoint the locations of freed sex offenders. Using public records, developers have built programs like Offender Locator, which uses the phone's GPS to identify homes of nearby felons, complete...

Libby Deserves Bush Pardon
 Libby Deserves 
 Bush Pardon 
OPINION

Libby Deserves Bush Pardon

Conviction a 'miscarriage of justice,' writes Fred Barnes

(Newser) - “Simple justice” should compel President Bush to pardon Lewis “Scooter” Libby, writes Fred Barnes in the Weekly Standard. “Libby has either been punished far too severely for a very small offense,” writes Barnes “or he is an innocent man.” Libby was convicted of perjury...

Bush's Pardons Favor Gun Lovers
Bush's Pardons
Favor Gun Lovers

Bush's Pardons Favor Gun Lovers

President restores right to bear arms to convicted felons

(Newser) - Second Amendment enthusiasts seem to have a better-than-average chance of winning a presidential pardon as the Bush presidency nears its end, the Wall Street Journal reports. Of the 14 felons pardoned in the last week, seven are fans of hunting or shooting and five say they specifically mentioned their desire...

Advocates Work to Get Ex-Cons in Voting Booths

New laws make tens of thousands eligible to vote again

(Newser) - Grass-roots activists in states across the country are working to register an unusual bloc of potential voters: former felons. While nearly all states limit the right of convicted criminals to vote, most offer avenues back to the voting booth in varying degrees, the Washington Post reports. In the potential swing...

Armed Forces Enlist More Criminals
Armed Forces Enlist More Criminals

Armed Forces Enlist More Criminals

Trend may undermine 'military readiness,' lawmaker says

(Newser) - The US Army and Marines are signing up more felons in an effort to overcome flagging enlistment, the AP reports. The Army doubled its recruitment of felons last year and the Marines upped theirs from 208 to 350—including conscripts with sex crime and manslaughter convictions. The rise in felon...

Felon Became Top Exec for Wikipedia
Felon Became Top Exec for Wikipedia

Felon Became Top Exec for Wikipedia

Woman with long criminal record was COO for 6+ months

(Newser) -  Wikipedia had a convicted felon in one of its highest executive positions for over six months this year, The Register reports. Carolyn Bothwell Doran was on probation for a DUI that caused a death when she became the charitable foundation's chief operating officer in January, says the UK-based web...

File-sharing Felon Forced to Use Windows

Man must either ditch Linux or ditch his computer

(Newser) - An individual convicted of operating an illegal BitTorrent site shut down by the FBI will be forced to either make the switch from Linux to Windows or give up his computer altogether, ZDNet reports. Scott McCausland had previously been a user of the Ubuntu OS, a popular open-source Linux variant,...

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