DEATH PENALTY-BIBLE
Religious leaders oppose DA who says Bible OKs death penalty
NEW ORLEANS (AP) β Religious leaders of several faiths say it was illegal for a Louisiana prosecutor to invoke the Bible when he called on a jury to impose the death penalty.
In a court filing on Monday, more than 100 religious leaders asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to throw out the death penalty imposed on a 27-year-old Shreveport man for smothering his 1-year-old son in 2012. They say Rodricus Crawford was wrongly sentenced to death by a Caddo Parish jury.
During the penalty phase of the trial against Crawford, District Attorney Dale Cox referred to passages where Jesus Christ talks of punishing people who harm children by putting a millstone around their necks and throwing them into the sea.
The religious leaders spoke out against Cox in front of the Louisiana Supreme Court building in New Orleans.
Their legal brief said Cox’s Bible references were both unconstitutional and a misuse of Scripture.
Sound:
279-v-34-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)–Religious leaders of several faiths say it was illegal for a Louisiana prosecutor to invoke the Bible when he called on a jury to impose the death penalty. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (19 Oct 2015)
< CONGRESS-CRIMINAL JUSTICE Obama administration backs bill to reduce prison time WASHINGTON (AP) β The Obama administration is signaling support for bipartisan Senate legislation that would reduce prison sentences for some nonviolent drug offenders. Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday that the bill is “a good step” toward striking a balance in sentencing such offenders. The legislation would allow judges to impose sentences that are less than federal mandatory minimums in some cases. It would eliminate mandatory life sentences for three-time, nonviolent drug offenders, reducing those minimum sentences to 25 years. Yates said the current system is costly, affects families and contributes to loss of confidence in the justice system. The legislation is supported by Justice Fellowship, the advocacy arm of the late Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship Ministries. Justice Fellowship Executive Director Craig DeRoche applauded the sentencing reforms and added that faith-based programs in prisons have helped change criminal behavior and reduce recidivism. Sound: 278-w-33-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates, and Craig DeRoche, executive director of Prison Fellowship Ministries’ Justice Fellowship)–The Obama administration is signaling support for bipartisan Senate legislation that would reduce prison sentences for some nonviolent drug offenders. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (19 Oct 2015) < 266-a-09-(Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates, at Senate Judiciary Committee hearing)-“striking that balance”-Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates says sentences for some non-violent drug offenders should be reduced. (19 Oct 2015) < 267-a-13-(Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates, at Senate Judiciary Committee hearing)-“our communities safe”-Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates says reducing sentences for some non-violent drug crimes would save money. (19 Oct 2015) < COACH-POSTGAME PRAYER Washington school district negotiating with praying coach BREMERTON, Wash. (AP) β A Seattle-area school district says it is negotiating with the football coach who continues to pray after games after district officials asked him to keep religion off the field. Bremerton High School assistant coach Joe Kennedy knelt as his players left the field Friday night and prayed. The Kitsap Sun reports that players from the other team and others joined him. The school district says in a statement issued Monday that Kennedy’s employment status is unchanged. School officials are reviewing the events of Friday night and are talking to the coach’s lawyers. District spokeswoman Patty Glaser says the goal is to arrive at an understanding with Kennedy that will respect the rights of all community members and follow the law. $1900 DELIVERY TIP Alaska church tips pizza delivery driver $1,900 ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) β Two weeks after a church congregation in Ohio tipped a pizza delivery driver $1,000, a church in Alaska has upped the stakes. Anchorage television station KTVA reports that Ken Felber has been a pizza delivery driver for 14 years. When he delivered a pizza to Chugach Covenant Church on Sunday, the pastor asked him what was his best-ever tip. When he replied $100, pastor Dan Krause asked him, “How does a tip of $1,900 sound?” Felber was very mindful of his surroundings and replied: “Oh, heck no!” He says it’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to him. Pastor Krause says this was an opportunity to do something small that would really have a big impact on somebody’s life. Felber has no plans to splurge since he needs new snow tires and has medical expenses. But he does plan to take his wife out for a good spaghetti dinner. Sound: 303-a-02-(Ken Felber, pizza deliverer who got $1900 tip from a church, in interview)-“happened to me”-Ken Felber, pizza deliverer who got $1900 tip from a church, says it caught him by surprise. COURTESY: KTVA ((Mandatory on-air credit)) (19 Oct 2015) < 304-a-08-(Ken Felber, pizza deliverer who got $1900 tip from a church, in interview)-“now I do”-Ken Felber, pizza deliverer who got $1900 tip from a church, says it’s given him faith. COURTESY: KTVA ((Mandatory on-air credit)) (19 Oct 2015) < 305-a-11-(The Reverend Dan Krause, pastor of Chugach Covenant Church, in interview)-“in somebody’s life”-The Reverend Dan Krause, pastor of Chugach Covenant Church, says his congregation pitched in to help someone who’s just getting by. COURTESY: KTVA ((Mandatory on-air credit)) (19 Oct 2015) < CHURCH FIRES-ST LOUIS 6 fires at St. Louis-area churches under investigation ST. LOUIS (AP) β Someone has been setting fire to predominantly black churches in the St. Louis area. Police are looking for suspects and a motive. St. Louis Fire Capt. Garon Mosby would not rule out the possibility of a hate crime directed at churches or at African-Americans. Since Oct. 8, fire has damaged six churches, all within a few miles of each other in north St. Louis city and county. In each case, the front doors were set on fire. Damage has ranged from a few hundred dollars at one church to the near destruction of another. Five of the churches are predominantly black and one is racially mixed. The fires add to racial angst in an area still reeling from a police shooting and unrest in Ferguson last year. Sound: 302-c-13-(Jim Salter, AP correspondent)-“since October 8th”-AP correspondent Jim Salter reports authorities want to find out who is responsible for fires at predominantly black churches in the St. Louis area. (19 Oct 2015) < 300-c-08-(Jim Salter, AP correspondent)-“set on fire”-AP correspondent Jim Salter reports authorities say fires have been set at several churches in St. Louis and its suburbs since October 8th. (19 Oct 2015) < 301-c-13-(Jim Salter, AP correspondent)-“a hate crime”-AP correspondent Jim Salter reports authorities are investigating several church fires in Missouri. (19 Oct 2015) < CHURCH KILLING Teen beaten in NY church is out of hospital, will testify NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. (AP) β A 17-year-old boy who was beaten inside his upstate New York church in an attack that killed his older brother has been released from the hospital and is expected to testify against two suspects in the case. New Hartford police say Christopher Leonard was released from the hospital over the weekend and is under the supervision of Oneida County Child Protective Services. Police say he and 19-year-old Lucas Leonard were beaten by their parents, sister and three other church members inside the Word of Life Christian Church on Oct. 11. Authorities believe the attack was prompted by the brothers’ desire to leave the church. All six have pleaded not guilty. Christopher Leonard is set to testify Wednesday at a hearing on assault charges against his sister and a man. VATICAN-FAMILIES Pope’s family synod: No changes, but everything has changed VATICAN CITY (AP) β Pope Francis’ global summit on family issues has been shaken up by his weekend speech calling for nothing less than a revolution in the concept of the Catholic Church itself. Francis told the assembled cardinals and bishops that the church is not a top-down organization with the pope in charge but rather an inverted pyramid where the pope is underneath and in service to the “holy faithful people of God.” He called for a “healthy decentralization” of authority from Rome to local bishops’ conferences, and said the papacy itself should be rethought, with the pope guiding the church but really just one bishop among many, one Catholic among many. The synod is not expected to endorse any changes to church doctrine on homosexuality or whether civilly remarried Catholics can receive Communion. But what Francis does with the synod’s final paper is up to him. He can publish it, ignore it or use it as a basis for a document of his own. BRITAIN-EXTREMISM Britain to seize passports of teens at risk of extremism LONDON (AP) β British Prime Minister David Cameron has unveiled new plans to combat extremism, expanding the government’s power to seize passports from young people at risk of traveling abroad to join groups like Islamic State. Cameron challenged Muslim communities to “own” the problem, arguing that those who reject extremism are the key to driving out radicals in schools, universities, local councils, charities and prisons. He defined the fight against Islamist extremism as one of the great struggles of the era. Muslim organizations rejected Cameron’s “One Nation” strategy, warning that it risked alienating Muslims and could be counter-productive. Human rights advocates expressed concern about the lack of detail in the proposals, particularly in regard to the definition of extremism. MIDEAST-CLASH OF NARRATIVES Clash of narratives drives events in Holy Land CAIRO (AP) β The clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in the Holy Land are not just physical; the two sides cannot agree on what they see, how they got there, who is to blame or where they should go. To many Israelis, the wave of knifings betrays a hatred of Jews by a Palestinian populace that is easily incited to violence by fanatics dreaming up conspiracy theories about Zionist plots to take over their sacred Jerusalem mosque. To Palestinians, the violent rage of lone-wolf attackers was inevitable after almost a half-century of Israeli occupation in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, after peace talks collapsed last year and after Israelis re-elected a prime minister who seems wedded to the status quo. Where Israelis see attackers killed in self-defense against what headlines call the “wave of terrorism,” Palestinians tend to see martyrs. INDIA-TOURISTS HARASSED Tourists harassed in India for man’s Hindu goddess tattoo BANGALORE, India (AP) β An Australian couple reports being harassed at a restaurant in India by people who objected to a tattoo of a Hindu goddess on the man’s leg. A crowd gathered around Matt Keith and his girlfriend while they were having lunch Saturday in the southern city of Bangalore, complaining that the tattoo on the man’s shin offended their religion. Keith said in a Facebook post that police took them to a police station where he was forced to write a letter of apology before they were allowed to leave. Police officer Sandeep Patil said Monday that an inquiry was ordered to investigate the incident and its handling by local police. India has seen a rise in incidents of religious intolerance over the past year, with Hindu nationalists trying to create a more Hindu-centric country. KASHMIR-BEEF DISPUTE Teen’s death in Indian Kashmir mob attack sets off protests SRINAGAR, India (AP) β A general strike and curfew has shut down Indian-controlled Kashmir following the death of a Muslim teenager who was attacked by a Hindu mob over rumors of cows being slaughtered. Hindus consider cows to be sacred, and slaughtering the animals is banned in most Indian states. Businesses, schools and shops were closed Monday to denounce the killing. State authorities canceled all university and college examinations on Monday fearing protests. Thousands of people who attended Zahid Rasool’s funeral in southern Kashmir shouted slogans demanding freedom from Indian rule. Police officer Danish Rana said nine people have been arrested in connection with Rasool’s death.
