National Roundup

Nebraska
Omaha police investigating wrestling-move death as homicide
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police in Omaha are investigating the death of a man at the hands of another man who was using a wrestling move called a "half nelson" to subdue him.

Officers were called to a home near midtown Omaha on Friday for a report of assault, police said Wednesday in a news release. Arriving officers reported entering a bedroom with a damaged door and finding a 39-year-old man holding Calvin Strong, 42, face down in what the younger man called a half nelson. The wrestling move involves grabbing an opponent from behind and applying pressure to the opponent's neck with one hand.

The officers said Strong was unresponsive when they arrived and was taken to a hospital, where he died.

The younger man told police the altercation began when Strong kicked in his bedroom door and began assaulting him. Police said witnesses at the home backed up that account.

The death is being investigated as a homicde, but no charges have been brought.

Missouri
Court orders release of man convicted of 1996 killing
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of a man imprisoned in a 1996 killing, finding that prosecutors withheld crucial evidence.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports  that Chief Justice George Draper on Friday ordered that Lawrence Callanan be freed within 30 days unless prosecutors decide to retry him in the killing of John Schuh.

Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, who was elected in 2018, backed Callanan, writing that his "conviction rested entirely on circumstantial evidence" and "the testimony of a lone and uncorroborated witness."

That witness, Bell said, actually told the prosecutor who handled the case that she saw two cars leaving the scene of the crime. The prosecutor instructed her not to tell anybody about the second car, and he never disclosed the exculpatory evidence to the defense.

At the time of his conviction, Callanan was the 20-year-old son of two generations of union officials, who were suspected of having organized crime ties. Callanan blamed prosecutors for targeting him because of "events that took place before I was born."

A special master appointed by the Missouri Supreme Court, Judge Gael Wood, said the verdict was "not worthy of confidence," although he didn't determine that Callanan met the legal standard for proving his "actual innocence."

Missouri
Court rules that Chiefs don't owe $1M in back taxes
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court has found that the Kansas City Chiefs don't owe $1 million in back taxes on the decade-old Arrowhead Stadium renovation after all.

The Kansas City Star reports  that the court found Tuesday that the state's Administrative Hearing Commission erred last year when it ruled that the team should have paid sales taxes on a number of items bought during the $375 million upgrade.

Taxpayers paid $275 million of the total for things like expanded concourses and replacing basic stadium infrastructure. The Chiefs kicked in the rest.

The case stems from a 2014 audit in which the Missouri Department of Revenue challenged sales tax exemptions on $23 million in purchases.

The state auditor found that items such as leotards for cheerleaders and weight-lifting equipment didn't fall under the public purpose of fixing the stadium.

But the Chiefs contended that nearly all of the purchases the team funded were exempt from sales taxes because that money went into a common construction fund controlled by the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority.

South Dakota
State Supreme Court selects next chief justice
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota Supreme Court announced Tuesday that is has selected a new chief justice to oversee the state's court system.

The judges who sit on the state Supreme Court chose their colleague Justice Steven R. Jensen to take the state's top judicial job after Chief Justice David E. Gilbertson retires in January. Jensen has served on the Supreme Court since 2017 when he was appointed by former Gov. Dennis Daugaard, a Republican.

Jensen said in a statement, "We need no reminder today that we continue to face challenges ahead, but I am truly looking forward to serving the people of South Dakota as Chief Justice."

Gov. Kristi Noem congratulated Jensen on the appointment, while also saying that he had "some big shoes to fill" with the departure of Gilbertson, who has served 19 years as chief justice.

Colorado
State Supreme Court rules child abuse not applied in womb
DENVER, Colo. (AP) — The Colorado Supreme Court ruled anyone injuring an unborn baby cannot be prosecuted for child abuse.

The court's 4-3 ruling Monday is binding even if the infant is born and survives an in utero attack with lifelong injuries, The Denver Post reported.

The majority of justices found the state's child abuse law is unclear whether child abuse can occur in the womb. Because of the ambiguity, the court followed a last-resort approach obligating them to rule in favor of the defense.

Andre Jones, 38, was convicted of shooting his pregnant wife in the stomach in 2013, killing 32-year-old Lakeisha Jones and causing lasting injuries to her unborn daughter.

The court ruled Jones cannot be convicted of child abuse, even though the girl continues to suffer from neurological damage.

The court's ruling will likely stop the prosecution of suspects who injure unborn children on child abuse charges if the child survives the attack.

But the decision also leaves open the possibility that fetuses can be considered persons under Colorado law.

Lawmakers will need to clarify whether unborn babies should be protected under the state's child abuse statutes, said Aya Gruber, a University of Colorado Boulder law professor.