National Roundup

Oregon
Inmates sue over COVID-19 response
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A group of inmates concerned about contracting COVID-19 filed a lawsuit Monday against Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and the leaders at the Department of Corrections.

The civil rights lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court by the Oregon Justice Resource Center on behalf of the inmates, alleges the DOC has not taken the necessary steps to slow the spread of the virus inside its 14 institutions where more than 14,000 inmates live, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.

The suit asks a judge to mandate a social distance of 6 feet or more between inmates in all of the DOC’s facilities. If that can’t be accomplished, the lawsuits ask that a three-judge panel review cases and reduce the number of prisoners in DOC’s facilities so it is possible.

So far in Oregon, three inmates at the Santiam Correctional Institution in Salem have tested positive for the virus, the agency said Monday. A total of five DOC staff members have also tested positive. Two work at the Santiam prison and three work at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem.

The inmates named in the lawsuit have asthma and other respiratory ailments, some are HIV positive, others are elderly.

Last week, DOC Director Collette Peters told OPB in an interview her agency was doing everything they can to keep people safe but acknowledged the challenges of social distancing in a prison.

“We have been working around the clock to prepare ourselves for stopping the spread of COVID-19 in our institutions,” Peters said.

The lawsuit acknowledges DOC has taken some measures but argues they’re not enough. The lawsuit says older adults and those with underlying medical issues face serious illness or death.

Iowa
Judge grants inmate’s request for DNA test in 1976 murder
FORT MADISON, Iowa (AP) — A judge has ordered DNA testing on a hat left at the scene of a fatal 1976 shooting that an Iowa inmate hopes will prove he has been wrongly imprisoned for decades.

Judge John Wright ordered the orange hunting cap shipped to a Virginia laboratory for testing that could show whether Gentric Hicks or someone else was responsible for the killing at a Fort Madison motel.

Scientists will seek to extract genetic material from inside the cap to create a DNA profile that could be compared to Hicks. Results from the Bode Cellmark laboratory could be available in coming months.
Iowa has never had an inmate exonerated by DNA evidence.

Hicks, 73, is serving life for the May 1976 slaying of 28-year-old Jerry Foster at the Hill Crest Motel, which was owned by Foster’s parents.

A man robbing the motel shot and killed Foster and fled on foot, leaving behind the cap.

An accomplice initially implicated Hicks’ half brother as the shooter. Hours later, the man changed his story and said Hicks was responsible.

The Midwest Innocence Project and the state’s wrongful conviction unit are representing Hicks, who is an inmate at the Anamosa State Penitentiary. Lee County prosecutors didn’t oppose their request for DNA testing.

Wyoming
Court upholds murder dismissal in test of self-defense law
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — The Wyoming Supreme Court has upheld the dismissal of a murder case that became a test of the state’s expanded self-defense law.

The Casper Star-Tribune reported the court on Monday sided with Jason T. John, who was accused of fatally shooting Wesley Willow nine times with an AR-15 rifle during a confrontation at John’s trailer home in August 2018.

A judge dismissed the case after John’s attorney argued that he was protected from prosecution by a law instituted by Wyo­m­ing legislators about a month before the killing that exempts a person from a duty to retreat.

Prosecutors appealed that ruling, saying John wasn’t entitled to a dismissal hearing and asked the Supreme Court to determine what criteria courts can use to dismiss cases under the new law.

The high court ruled that the lower judge didn’t apply the proper standards in making her ruling, but that John was immune under the new rules, anyway.

Louisiana
Sheriff: Man kills kidnapped woman after escape attempt
LAPLACE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana man turned himself in Monday after police said he kidnapped a woman and later fatally shot her in the head when she escaped, authorities said.

Corrie Wallace, 37, was charged Monday with first-degree murder in the death of 25-year-old Ja’Riel Sam, news outlets reported.

St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre said Sam and Wallace were acquaintances and Wallace went to Sam’s apartment early Sunday morning.

“Something went very wrong inside of her apartment,” Tregre said.

At some point, Wallace argued with Sam and later put her in the trunk of her own car and drove off, leaving her 4-year-old in the home alone, Tregre said.

Sam managed to open the trunk of the car and jump from the vehicle, Tregre said. She suffered road rash on her knees, legs and elbows but still attempted to run away from Wallace, Tregre said.

But Wallace also jumped out of the still-moving car and caught up to Sam, later shooting her in the head, Tregre said. The car crashed into a guard rail and Wallace left the scene, Tregre said.

Deputies responded to a car crash around 3:30 a.m. Sunday and found Sam’s body.

Tregre said deputies returned to Sam’s home and found her son laying in her bed traumatized.

“He heard his mama screaming,” Tregre said.

Deputies also discovered someone poured large amounts of bleach all over the home. Deputies identified Wallace as a suspect using crime cameras and other surveillance footage.

It’s unclear whether Wallace had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.