National Roundup

North Carolina
State to stop shackling pregnant inmates in labor
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s prison system will no longer shackle pregnant inmates to their hospital beds while they are giving birth.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reports the change comes in response to a complaint about two women whose names were not released.

Prisons director Kenneth Lassiter signed the new policy Monday, preventing the use of leg or waist restraints on pregnant inmates and removing wrist restraints once the inmate is in labor, unless she’s clearly a threat to herself or others or poses an immediate risk of escape.

The policy does allow handcuffs while a pregnant inmate is being transported, however.

Last year, 81 inmates gave birth while imprisoned in North Carolina.

Washington
Retired justice urges repeal of 2nd Amendment
WASHINGTON (AP) — Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is calling for the repeal of the Second Amendment to allow for significant gun control legislation.

The 97-year-old Stevens says in an essay on The New York Times website that repeal would weaken the National Rifle Association’s ability to “block constructive gun control legislation.”

Stevens was on the losing end of a 2008 ruling in which the high court held that the Second Amendment gives individuals the right to own a gun for self-defense. He had previously called for changing the Second Amendment to permit gun control.

Stevens says the decision in that case, District of Columbia v. Heller, “has provided the N.R.A. with a propaganda weapon of immense power.” Stevens retired from the court in 2010, after more than 35 years.


Washington
Dems protest decision to add citizenship box to 2020 census
WASHINGTON (AP) — The 2020 U.S. Census will include a question about citizenship status, a move that brought swift condemnation from Democrats, who said it would intimidate immigrants and discourage them from responding.

The population count taken every 10 years is more than an academic exercise. It’s required by the Constitution and used to determine the number of seats each state has in the House as well as how federal funds are distributed to local communities. It helps communities determine where to build everything from schools and grocery stores to hospitals.

A coalition of state attorneys general urged the department last month to not add such a question, saying it could lower participation among immigrants and cause a population undercount.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the state will sue the Trump administration over its decision.

“We’re prepared to do what we must to protect California from a deficient Census,” he said. “Including a citizenship question on the 2020 census is not just a bad idea — it is illegal.”

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that adding such a question “will inject fear and distrust into vulnerable communities and cause traditionally undercounted communities to be even further under-represented, financially excluded and left behind.”

The Commerce Department said in a press release Monday that citizenship data will help the Justice Department enforce the Voting Rights Act, which protects minority voting rights. It said that between 1820 and 1950, almost every decennial census asked a question on citizenship in some form.

Census counts are taken by mail and by workers walking neighborhoods. The Census Bureau says that the 2010 census drew a massive response, with about 74 percent of the households mailing in forms and the remaining households counted by workers in neighborhoods.


Georgia
Former guard gets prison for punching inmate, false reports
ATLANTA (AP) — A former federal prison guard in Atlanta has been sentenced for using excessive force against an inmate and then trying to cover up the crime.

Court records show 44-year-old Gregory McLeod of East Point was sentenced Monday to serve a year and eight months in federal prison.

McLeod was a lieutenant and supervisor at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta. Federal prosecutors said in a news release that McLeod strip-searched an inmate in his office in front of three other guards. When the inmate complained the search was taking too long, prosecutors said, McLeod punched the inmate in the face.

When he pleaded guilty in November, McLeod admitted to using excessive force in violation of the inmate’s constitutional rights and obstructing the investigation by writing two false reports about the incident.

Ohio
Grand jury won’t indict 2 police officers who shot black man
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Two police officers who shot and killed a black man in Ohio’s capital city last summer won’t face criminal charges.

The Columbus Dispatch reports a Franklin County jury has declined to indict officers Samuel James and Marc Johnson. Authorities say they shot 30-year-old Kareem Ali Nadir Jones on July 7, 2017, in Columbus. He died of his wounds three days later.

Police say Jones can be seen on body camera video reaching for a gun in his waistband before he was shot. His sister said she thinks Jones was trying to toss the gun.

The grand jury reached its decision Friday. Police will conduct an internal review to determine whether the officers followed department policy.

Jones’ family has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the city and the officers.

Connecticut
Police find burglar sleeping inside home
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Police say they caught a suspected burglar snoozing inside a Connecticut home.

Officers responded to the break-in around 7 a.m. Sunday in New Haven. The homeowner wasn’t inside at the time, but she watched the suspect through a surveillance system.

Police say they found the 27-year-old suspect sleeping on the living room sofa.

He has been charged with third-degree burglary and first-degree criminal trespass.