West Virginia
Former officers sentenced to decades in prison for role in deadly inmate assault
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Two former West Virginia correctional officers were sentenced to decades in prison on Wednesday for their roles in an assault that resulted in the death of an inmate.
Mark Holdren, 41, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and Johnathan Walters, 33, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for the March 2022 attack in the Southern Regional Jail, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Quantez Burks, 37, was a pretrial detainee who died less than a day after he was booked into the jail in Beaver on a wanton endangerment charge, according to court documents.
When Burks tried to push past an officer to leave his housing unit, he was taken to an interview room where he was handcuffed and restrained while officers including Holdren and Walters assaulted him. Burks was struck in the head multiple times, kicked and pepper-sprayed, according to the Justice Department.
After the assault, Burks became unresponsive, so officers including Walters carried him to a different pod. Walters swung Burks’ head into a metal door to open it and the officers dropped his body onto a concrete cell floor. He was pronounced deceased a short time later by emergency medical personnel.
Along with their guilty pleas, Holdren and Walters admitted that the interview room where they took Burks had no surveillance cameras. They also knew that officers used this room and other “blind spots” in the jail to assault inmates accused of misconduct.
Holdren and Walters are two of six correctional officers who were indicted in this case. They include ex-jail supervisor Chad Lester who was sentenced in May to more than 17 years in federal prison for helping cover up the assault. Prior to the indictment of the six defendants, two other former correctional officers pleaded guilty to conspiring to use unreasonable force against Burks.
The state medical examiner’s office attributed Burks’ primary cause of death to natural causes, prompting his family to seek a private autopsy. The family’s attorney revealed at a news conference in late 2022 that the second autopsy found Burks had multiple areas of blunt force trauma on his body.
The case drew scrutiny to conditions and deaths at the jail, and in November 2023, West Virginia agreed to pay $4 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by inmates there. In recommending a default judgment in the lawsuit, a federal magistrate judge cited the intentional destruction of records in the case. That led to the firing of former Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation Executive Officer Brad Douglas and Homeland Security Chief Counsel Phil Sword.
Michigan
Judge rejects a challenge to ban on publicly funded abortions
DETROIT (AP) — A judge has rejected a challenge to Michigan’s longtime ban on taxpayer-funded abortions for low-income residents, saying a group that brought the lawsuit had no standing to file it.
Michigan voters in 2022 approved a sweeping constitutional amendment ensuring a right to abortion. But a ban on most taxpayer-funded abortions has been in place for decades, no matter which political party has controlled the Legislature or the governor’s office.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of YWCA Kalamazoo, which pays for abortions sought by women in southwestern Michigan. The group says more than 75% have incomes that would qualify them for state support if Medicaid-funded abortions were allowed.
Judge Brock Swartzle of the Michigan Court of Claims dismissed the lawsuit on July 3, saying YWCA Kalamazoo was the wrong party to bring a challenge.
“The YWCA is not an individual and it, as a nonprofit organization, does not have reproductive freedom,” the judge said in an 18-page opinion. “Further, the YWCA does not provide abortion care and is not directly affected by a law that denies funding for abortions.”
Michigan’s Medicaid program only pays for abortions to save a woman’s life or to end pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.
Abortion and related services are available through Medicaid in 17 states, according to the American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm Goodwin Procter, which both represent YWCA Kalamazoo.
Washington
Supreme Court keeps hold on immigration law aimed at people in the US illegally
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to allow Florida to enforce an immigration law making it a crime for people who are living in the U.S. illegally to enter the state.
The high court’s action will keep the law on hold while a legal challenge continues. The court did not explain its decision and no justice noted a dissent.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the legislation into law in February in support of Donald Trump’s push to crack down on illegal immigration, though many of the Republican’s president efforts have been mired in legal battles.
Florida’s law made it a misdemeanor for people to enter the state if they don’t have legal status. The measure is similar to a Texas law that also has been blocked by a federal appeals court.
Immigrants rights groups filed lawsuits on behalf of two unnamed, Florida-based immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, arguing that immigration is a federal issue beyond the power of the states. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s appeal to the Supreme Court said the state has a right to use the law to protect itself from the “irreparable harm” of illegal immigration.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams barred the enforcement of the new law in April. Uthmeier’s office then unsuccessfully petitioned the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to override that decision.
Wednesday’s order is the latest blow for Uthmeier in a months-long battle. In June, Williams found the DeSantis appointee to be in contempt for instructing officers to continue enforcing the new law despite the judge’s orders to stop enforcement.
Uthmeier, who DeSantis tapped for the position in February, has also been credited for championing a new state-run immigration detention facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” Environmental groups sued in June to block the facility from being built.
Florida
Man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump wants to represent himself
FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — A man charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last year at his Florida golf course told a federal judge Thursday he wants to fire his court-appointed lawyers and represent himself, saying he will be ready to defend himself before a trial jury this fall.
Ryan Routh made his request during a hearing in Fort Pierce before U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon.
When the judge asked Routh, 59, whether he wanted her to appoint new attorneys to defend him, Routh replied: “No. I will represent myself.”
Routh is scheduled to stand trial in September, a year after prosecutors say a Secret Service agent thwarted his attempt to shoot Trump as he played golf. Routh has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations.
Cannon closed the courtroom to reporters and the public for about an hour Thursday to discuss matters potentially involving attorney-client privilege. The public portion of the hearing resumed with Cannon questioning Routh for about 30 minutes on whether he understands the gravity of defending himself in a case where he could face life imprisonment if convicted.
“Do you understand that self-representation is almost always a bad idea?” the judge asked Routh.
“Yes, your honor,” replied Routh, who described the extent of his education as two years of college after earning his GED certificate.
Cannon also asked Routh if he understood the court’s rules of evidence and federal criminal procedure. He told her: “I have a book.”
Cannon did not rule during the hearing. She said she would issue a written order later.
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that criminal defendants have a right to represent themselves in court proceedings, as long as they can show a judge they are competent to waive their right to be defended by an attorney.
The judge told Routh she doesn’t intend to delay the Sept. 8 start date of his trial, even if she lets him represent himself. Routh told her that he understood and would be ready.
Prosecutors have said Routh methodically plotted to kill Trump for weeks before aiming a rifle through the shrubbery as Trump played golf on Sept. 15 at his West Palm Beach country club. A Secret Service agent spotted Routh before Trump came into view.
Routh allegedly aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot.
Law enforcement obtained help from a witness who prosecutors said informed officers that he saw a person fleeing. The witness was then flown in a police helicopter to a nearby interstate where Routh was arrested and the witnesses confirmed it was the person he had seen, prosecutors have said.
In addition to the federal charges, Routh also has pleaded not guilty to state charges of terrorism and attempted murder.
Utah
Judge schedules execution by firing squad for a man with dementia
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah judge on Wednesday set an execution date for a man with dementia who has been on death row for 37 years, even as his lawyers file appeals and argue his condition is worsening.
Ralph Leroy Menzies, 67, is set to be executed Sept. 5 for abducting and killing Utah mother of three Maurine Hunsaker in 1986.
When given a choice decades ago, Menzies selected a firing squad as his method of execution. He would become only the sixth
U.S. prisoner executed by firing squad since 1977.
Judge Matthew Bates signed the death warrant a month after he ruled Menzies “consistently and rationally” understands why he is facing execution despite recent cognitive decline. Attorneys for Menzies have petitioned the court for a reassessment, but Bates said Wednesday that the pending appeal was not a basis to stop him from setting a date.
Bates did, however, schedule a July 23 hearing to evaluate the new competency petition. Menzies’ attorneys say his dementia has gotten so severe that he uses a wheelchair, is dependent on oxygen and cannot understand his legal case.
The Utah Attorney General’s Office has “full confidence” in the judge’s decision, Assistant Attorney General Daniel Boyer said.
The U.S. Supreme Court has at times spared prisoners with dementia from execution, including an Alabama man in 2019 who had killed a police officer. If a defendant cannot understand why they are being put to death, the high court said, then an execution is not carrying out the retribution that society is seeking.
Hunsaker, 26, was abducted by Menzies from a convenience store where she worked in the Salt Lake City suburb of Kearns. She was later found strangled and her throat cut about 16 miles (25 kilometers) away at a picnic area in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
Menzies had Hunsaker’s wallet and several other belongings when he was jailed on unrelated matters. He was convicted of first-degree murder and other crimes in 1988.
Over nearly four decades, attorneys for Menzies filed multiple appeals that delayed his death sentence, which had been scheduled at least twice before it was pushed back. He and other Utah death row inmates sentenced before May 2004 were given a choice between firing squad and lethal injection. For inmates sentenced in the state after that date, lethal injection is the default method unless the drugs are unavailable.
Former officers sentenced to decades in prison for role in deadly inmate assault
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Two former West Virginia correctional officers were sentenced to decades in prison on Wednesday for their roles in an assault that resulted in the death of an inmate.
Mark Holdren, 41, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and Johnathan Walters, 33, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for the March 2022 attack in the Southern Regional Jail, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Quantez Burks, 37, was a pretrial detainee who died less than a day after he was booked into the jail in Beaver on a wanton endangerment charge, according to court documents.
When Burks tried to push past an officer to leave his housing unit, he was taken to an interview room where he was handcuffed and restrained while officers including Holdren and Walters assaulted him. Burks was struck in the head multiple times, kicked and pepper-sprayed, according to the Justice Department.
After the assault, Burks became unresponsive, so officers including Walters carried him to a different pod. Walters swung Burks’ head into a metal door to open it and the officers dropped his body onto a concrete cell floor. He was pronounced deceased a short time later by emergency medical personnel.
Along with their guilty pleas, Holdren and Walters admitted that the interview room where they took Burks had no surveillance cameras. They also knew that officers used this room and other “blind spots” in the jail to assault inmates accused of misconduct.
Holdren and Walters are two of six correctional officers who were indicted in this case. They include ex-jail supervisor Chad Lester who was sentenced in May to more than 17 years in federal prison for helping cover up the assault. Prior to the indictment of the six defendants, two other former correctional officers pleaded guilty to conspiring to use unreasonable force against Burks.
The state medical examiner’s office attributed Burks’ primary cause of death to natural causes, prompting his family to seek a private autopsy. The family’s attorney revealed at a news conference in late 2022 that the second autopsy found Burks had multiple areas of blunt force trauma on his body.
The case drew scrutiny to conditions and deaths at the jail, and in November 2023, West Virginia agreed to pay $4 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by inmates there. In recommending a default judgment in the lawsuit, a federal magistrate judge cited the intentional destruction of records in the case. That led to the firing of former Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation Executive Officer Brad Douglas and Homeland Security Chief Counsel Phil Sword.
Michigan
Judge rejects a challenge to ban on publicly funded abortions
DETROIT (AP) — A judge has rejected a challenge to Michigan’s longtime ban on taxpayer-funded abortions for low-income residents, saying a group that brought the lawsuit had no standing to file it.
Michigan voters in 2022 approved a sweeping constitutional amendment ensuring a right to abortion. But a ban on most taxpayer-funded abortions has been in place for decades, no matter which political party has controlled the Legislature or the governor’s office.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of YWCA Kalamazoo, which pays for abortions sought by women in southwestern Michigan. The group says more than 75% have incomes that would qualify them for state support if Medicaid-funded abortions were allowed.
Judge Brock Swartzle of the Michigan Court of Claims dismissed the lawsuit on July 3, saying YWCA Kalamazoo was the wrong party to bring a challenge.
“The YWCA is not an individual and it, as a nonprofit organization, does not have reproductive freedom,” the judge said in an 18-page opinion. “Further, the YWCA does not provide abortion care and is not directly affected by a law that denies funding for abortions.”
Michigan’s Medicaid program only pays for abortions to save a woman’s life or to end pregnancies resulting from rape or incest.
Abortion and related services are available through Medicaid in 17 states, according to the American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm Goodwin Procter, which both represent YWCA Kalamazoo.
Washington
Supreme Court keeps hold on immigration law aimed at people in the US illegally
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to allow Florida to enforce an immigration law making it a crime for people who are living in the U.S. illegally to enter the state.
The high court’s action will keep the law on hold while a legal challenge continues. The court did not explain its decision and no justice noted a dissent.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the legislation into law in February in support of Donald Trump’s push to crack down on illegal immigration, though many of the Republican’s president efforts have been mired in legal battles.
Florida’s law made it a misdemeanor for people to enter the state if they don’t have legal status. The measure is similar to a Texas law that also has been blocked by a federal appeals court.
Immigrants rights groups filed lawsuits on behalf of two unnamed, Florida-based immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, arguing that immigration is a federal issue beyond the power of the states. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s appeal to the Supreme Court said the state has a right to use the law to protect itself from the “irreparable harm” of illegal immigration.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams barred the enforcement of the new law in April. Uthmeier’s office then unsuccessfully petitioned the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to override that decision.
Wednesday’s order is the latest blow for Uthmeier in a months-long battle. In June, Williams found the DeSantis appointee to be in contempt for instructing officers to continue enforcing the new law despite the judge’s orders to stop enforcement.
Uthmeier, who DeSantis tapped for the position in February, has also been credited for championing a new state-run immigration detention facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” Environmental groups sued in June to block the facility from being built.
Florida
Man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump wants to represent himself
FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — A man charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump last year at his Florida golf course told a federal judge Thursday he wants to fire his court-appointed lawyers and represent himself, saying he will be ready to defend himself before a trial jury this fall.
Ryan Routh made his request during a hearing in Fort Pierce before U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon.
When the judge asked Routh, 59, whether he wanted her to appoint new attorneys to defend him, Routh replied: “No. I will represent myself.”
Routh is scheduled to stand trial in September, a year after prosecutors say a Secret Service agent thwarted his attempt to shoot Trump as he played golf. Routh has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations.
Cannon closed the courtroom to reporters and the public for about an hour Thursday to discuss matters potentially involving attorney-client privilege. The public portion of the hearing resumed with Cannon questioning Routh for about 30 minutes on whether he understands the gravity of defending himself in a case where he could face life imprisonment if convicted.
“Do you understand that self-representation is almost always a bad idea?” the judge asked Routh.
“Yes, your honor,” replied Routh, who described the extent of his education as two years of college after earning his GED certificate.
Cannon also asked Routh if he understood the court’s rules of evidence and federal criminal procedure. He told her: “I have a book.”
Cannon did not rule during the hearing. She said she would issue a written order later.
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that criminal defendants have a right to represent themselves in court proceedings, as long as they can show a judge they are competent to waive their right to be defended by an attorney.
The judge told Routh she doesn’t intend to delay the Sept. 8 start date of his trial, even if she lets him represent himself. Routh told her that he understood and would be ready.
Prosecutors have said Routh methodically plotted to kill Trump for weeks before aiming a rifle through the shrubbery as Trump played golf on Sept. 15 at his West Palm Beach country club. A Secret Service agent spotted Routh before Trump came into view.
Routh allegedly aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and flee without firing a shot.
Law enforcement obtained help from a witness who prosecutors said informed officers that he saw a person fleeing. The witness was then flown in a police helicopter to a nearby interstate where Routh was arrested and the witnesses confirmed it was the person he had seen, prosecutors have said.
In addition to the federal charges, Routh also has pleaded not guilty to state charges of terrorism and attempted murder.
Utah
Judge schedules execution by firing squad for a man with dementia
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah judge on Wednesday set an execution date for a man with dementia who has been on death row for 37 years, even as his lawyers file appeals and argue his condition is worsening.
Ralph Leroy Menzies, 67, is set to be executed Sept. 5 for abducting and killing Utah mother of three Maurine Hunsaker in 1986.
When given a choice decades ago, Menzies selected a firing squad as his method of execution. He would become only the sixth
U.S. prisoner executed by firing squad since 1977.
Judge Matthew Bates signed the death warrant a month after he ruled Menzies “consistently and rationally” understands why he is facing execution despite recent cognitive decline. Attorneys for Menzies have petitioned the court for a reassessment, but Bates said Wednesday that the pending appeal was not a basis to stop him from setting a date.
Bates did, however, schedule a July 23 hearing to evaluate the new competency petition. Menzies’ attorneys say his dementia has gotten so severe that he uses a wheelchair, is dependent on oxygen and cannot understand his legal case.
The Utah Attorney General’s Office has “full confidence” in the judge’s decision, Assistant Attorney General Daniel Boyer said.
The U.S. Supreme Court has at times spared prisoners with dementia from execution, including an Alabama man in 2019 who had killed a police officer. If a defendant cannot understand why they are being put to death, the high court said, then an execution is not carrying out the retribution that society is seeking.
Hunsaker, 26, was abducted by Menzies from a convenience store where she worked in the Salt Lake City suburb of Kearns. She was later found strangled and her throat cut about 16 miles (25 kilometers) away at a picnic area in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
Menzies had Hunsaker’s wallet and several other belongings when he was jailed on unrelated matters. He was convicted of first-degree murder and other crimes in 1988.
Over nearly four decades, attorneys for Menzies filed multiple appeals that delayed his death sentence, which had been scheduled at least twice before it was pushed back. He and other Utah death row inmates sentenced before May 2004 were given a choice between firing squad and lethal injection. For inmates sentenced in the state after that date, lethal injection is the default method unless the drugs are unavailable.
