Oklahoma
Federal inmate transferred to Oklahoma to be put to death
Federal prison officials transferred an inmate to Oklahoma custody so that he can be executed for a 1999 killing, following through on President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive order to more actively support the death penalty.
George John Hanson, 60, was moved from a federal prison in Louisiana to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma, over the weekend, Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokeswoman Kay Thompson confirmed Monday.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond sought Hanson’s transfer earlier this year, and Trump’s new Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered his transfer last month. Drummond said his office is expected to request an execution date for Hanson later this year.
Hanson’s attorneys in the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Oklahoma sought to prevent his transfer from federal custody. They also have argued that Hanson should not be executed because he is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the killing occurred on the Cherokee Nation Reservation, and neither tribe supports Hanson’s execution.
Hanson was sentenced to death in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, after he was convicted of carjacking, kidnapping and killing Mary Bowles after he and an accomplice kidnapped the woman from a Tulsa shopping mall.
Hanson, whose name in Oklahoma court records is listed as John Fitzgerald Hanson, had been serving a life sentence in federal prison in Louisiana for several federal convictions, including being a career criminal, that predate his state death sentence.
Washington
CIA to offer tips on ‘creative problem solving’ at SXSW festival
WASHINGTON (AP) — The CIA is headed to the South By Southwest festival to share tips on finding innovative solutions to complex challenges.
America’s preeminent spy agency will deliver a presentation Sunday on creative problem solving at the annual SXSW music festival and tech conference held in Austin, Texas, the CIA announced Monday.
The typically tight-lipped agency said a CIA historian and one of the agency’s public affairs officers will deliver the talk, entitled “Mission Possible: The Spies’ Guide to Creative Problem Solving.”
Sunday’s presentation from the CIA comes during the first weekend of the event, which brings together thousands of artists, technology experts, business leaders and entrepreneurs.
The agency said its tips on creative problem solving are designed to be helpful to anyone, even if their particular challenges don’t include running covert surveillance, organizing clandestine meetups or sniffing out double agents.
“Come learn how creative problem-solving has helped resolve complex challenges we’ve faced in protecting national security, and how you can apply creative thinking to your own seemingly impossible missions,” the agency wrote in a social media post promoting the talk.
This month’s presentation comes at a tumultuous time for America’s intelligence community. The agency recently offered buyout offers to employees as part of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts to shrink and reshape the federal government.
Trump has long criticized America’s intelligence agencies, and his CIA director, John Ratcliffe, has promised big changes, claiming the agency has strayed from its original focus on human-collected intelligence.
Ratcliffe is a former congressman and one-time director of national intelligence.
Virginia
Governor grants clemency to a fired police sergeant who shot and killed an unarmed man
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has granted clemency to a former police sergeant who shot and killed an unarmed man accused of stealing sunglasses.
Wesley Shifflett, 36, was sentenced to three years in prison on Friday after he was convicted of recklessly handling a firearm during the Feb. 22, 2023, shooting of Timothy McCree Johnson. The jury acquitted him of involuntary manslaughter.
Youngkin’s executive action late Sunday means Shifflett will serve no further time behind bars, but his felony conviction will remain.
“I am convinced that the court’s sentence of incarceration is unjust and violates the cornerstone of our justice system — that similarly situated individuals receive proportionate sentences,” Youngkin, a Republican, said Sunday. In his statement, Youngkin referred to sentencing guidelines recommending no incarceration for Shifflett that were put forward by a probation and parole officer, which is a routine practice in felony criminal sentencings.
Steve Descano, the Democratic commonwealth’s attorney for Fairfax County whose office prosecuted the case, said in a statement that he was outraged by the governor’s decision.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that Shifflett, then a sergeant with Fairfax County police, acted recklessly when he shot and killed Johnson after a short foot chase outside Tysons Corner Center.
Shifflett and his team at the police department received a report from security guards that Johnson had stolen sunglasses from a Nordstrom department store.
After identifying Johnson, Shifflett and another officer chased him into a densely wooded area near the mall, where Shifflett fired twice at the man.
Shifflett testified that he shot Johnson, who was 37 years old, in self-defense after he saw Johnson reach into his waistband after falling.
The dimly lit bodycam video played during his trial shows Shifflett yelling “Get on the ground,” and then firing two shots at Johnson two seconds later. After the shots were fired, Shifflett immediately shouted, “Stop reaching,” and told other officers that he saw Johnson putting his hand in his waistband. During the trial, Shifflett testified that his “motor functions were operating more quickly than I could verbalize.”
Body-camera video from officers that night showed people gathered around Johnson while he cried, “Hurry.”
Soon after, Johnson can be heard saying, “I’m not reaching for nothing. I don’t have nothing.”
The legal battle leading to Shifflett’s clemency came with twists and turns. Following the shooting, the police department fired Shifflett. Initially, a grand jury declined to indict him, but Descano’s office received court approval for a special grand jury to reinvestigate. The second panel indicted Shifflett last October.
After his conviction, Shifflett’s attorneys filed a motion for Bellows to set aside the verdict. In a January court memo, Bellows denied Shifflett’s request, writing that there was “sufficient evidence in the record for the jury to find the defendant guilty of this offense.”
Federal inmate transferred to Oklahoma to be put to death
Federal prison officials transferred an inmate to Oklahoma custody so that he can be executed for a 1999 killing, following through on President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive order to more actively support the death penalty.
George John Hanson, 60, was moved from a federal prison in Louisiana to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma, over the weekend, Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokeswoman Kay Thompson confirmed Monday.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond sought Hanson’s transfer earlier this year, and Trump’s new Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered his transfer last month. Drummond said his office is expected to request an execution date for Hanson later this year.
Hanson’s attorneys in the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Oklahoma sought to prevent his transfer from federal custody. They also have argued that Hanson should not be executed because he is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the killing occurred on the Cherokee Nation Reservation, and neither tribe supports Hanson’s execution.
Hanson was sentenced to death in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, after he was convicted of carjacking, kidnapping and killing Mary Bowles after he and an accomplice kidnapped the woman from a Tulsa shopping mall.
Hanson, whose name in Oklahoma court records is listed as John Fitzgerald Hanson, had been serving a life sentence in federal prison in Louisiana for several federal convictions, including being a career criminal, that predate his state death sentence.
Washington
CIA to offer tips on ‘creative problem solving’ at SXSW festival
WASHINGTON (AP) — The CIA is headed to the South By Southwest festival to share tips on finding innovative solutions to complex challenges.
America’s preeminent spy agency will deliver a presentation Sunday on creative problem solving at the annual SXSW music festival and tech conference held in Austin, Texas, the CIA announced Monday.
The typically tight-lipped agency said a CIA historian and one of the agency’s public affairs officers will deliver the talk, entitled “Mission Possible: The Spies’ Guide to Creative Problem Solving.”
Sunday’s presentation from the CIA comes during the first weekend of the event, which brings together thousands of artists, technology experts, business leaders and entrepreneurs.
The agency said its tips on creative problem solving are designed to be helpful to anyone, even if their particular challenges don’t include running covert surveillance, organizing clandestine meetups or sniffing out double agents.
“Come learn how creative problem-solving has helped resolve complex challenges we’ve faced in protecting national security, and how you can apply creative thinking to your own seemingly impossible missions,” the agency wrote in a social media post promoting the talk.
This month’s presentation comes at a tumultuous time for America’s intelligence community. The agency recently offered buyout offers to employees as part of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts to shrink and reshape the federal government.
Trump has long criticized America’s intelligence agencies, and his CIA director, John Ratcliffe, has promised big changes, claiming the agency has strayed from its original focus on human-collected intelligence.
Ratcliffe is a former congressman and one-time director of national intelligence.
Virginia
Governor grants clemency to a fired police sergeant who shot and killed an unarmed man
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has granted clemency to a former police sergeant who shot and killed an unarmed man accused of stealing sunglasses.
Wesley Shifflett, 36, was sentenced to three years in prison on Friday after he was convicted of recklessly handling a firearm during the Feb. 22, 2023, shooting of Timothy McCree Johnson. The jury acquitted him of involuntary manslaughter.
Youngkin’s executive action late Sunday means Shifflett will serve no further time behind bars, but his felony conviction will remain.
“I am convinced that the court’s sentence of incarceration is unjust and violates the cornerstone of our justice system — that similarly situated individuals receive proportionate sentences,” Youngkin, a Republican, said Sunday. In his statement, Youngkin referred to sentencing guidelines recommending no incarceration for Shifflett that were put forward by a probation and parole officer, which is a routine practice in felony criminal sentencings.
Steve Descano, the Democratic commonwealth’s attorney for Fairfax County whose office prosecuted the case, said in a statement that he was outraged by the governor’s decision.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that Shifflett, then a sergeant with Fairfax County police, acted recklessly when he shot and killed Johnson after a short foot chase outside Tysons Corner Center.
Shifflett and his team at the police department received a report from security guards that Johnson had stolen sunglasses from a Nordstrom department store.
After identifying Johnson, Shifflett and another officer chased him into a densely wooded area near the mall, where Shifflett fired twice at the man.
Shifflett testified that he shot Johnson, who was 37 years old, in self-defense after he saw Johnson reach into his waistband after falling.
The dimly lit bodycam video played during his trial shows Shifflett yelling “Get on the ground,” and then firing two shots at Johnson two seconds later. After the shots were fired, Shifflett immediately shouted, “Stop reaching,” and told other officers that he saw Johnson putting his hand in his waistband. During the trial, Shifflett testified that his “motor functions were operating more quickly than I could verbalize.”
Body-camera video from officers that night showed people gathered around Johnson while he cried, “Hurry.”
Soon after, Johnson can be heard saying, “I’m not reaching for nothing. I don’t have nothing.”
The legal battle leading to Shifflett’s clemency came with twists and turns. Following the shooting, the police department fired Shifflett. Initially, a grand jury declined to indict him, but Descano’s office received court approval for a special grand jury to reinvestigate. The second panel indicted Shifflett last October.
After his conviction, Shifflett’s attorneys filed a motion for Bellows to set aside the verdict. In a January court memo, Bellows denied Shifflett’s request, writing that there was “sufficient evidence in the record for the jury to find the defendant guilty of this offense.”
