Arizona
Student alleges she was sexually assaulted at fraternity house
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A sorority member at the University of Arizona has alleged she was sexually assaulted by two men at a fraternity house during a night of drinking in late August.
The student told the university’s police department that she consensually kissed one of the men at one point while at the Sigma Phi Epsilon house on Aug. 26 but doesn’t remember agreeing to sex, according to search warrant records posted Monday night by KOLD-TV in Tucson.
The sexual assault allegations surfaced two weeks after the university had suspended activities for its 21 fraternities amid reports of misconduct, including assault, hazing and drug- and alcohol-related behavior.
Suspensions on all but five fraternities have since been lifted after they had mandatory meetings with the dean of students.
In speaking with an investigator, the sorority member recalled consuming tequila, including sharing a cup of the beverage with friends; witnessing two men sexually assaulting her, even feeling one man’s breath on her face; awakening the next morning without pants and underwear on; and noticing a difficulty in swallowing, a possible sign of strangulation, according to the records.
Later that day, she reported the allegations to police and underwent a forensic exam at a hospital.
In a recorded call with the sorority member two days after the encounter, one of the men acknowledged he had sex with her, but he said she had agreed to it and denied that another man had sex with her. He said he had been drunk and “fuzzy” on what happened. He said people took video of the sorority member and him kissing in a bathroom, according to the records.
The Associated Press left email and phone messages with the university Tuesday seeking comment. Its police department said the investigation is ongoing and declined to say if any arrests had been made. The Pima County Attorney’s Office said the case hasn’t been referred to it for prosecution.
The university had put Sigma Phi Epsilon on probation from July until May of next year after a hazing complaint. Sigma Phi Epsilon isn’t among the five fraternities that are currently listed as suspended.
The national fraternity organization said they ordered members of the Arizona chapter to comply with any investigation.
“The Fraternity has suspended those involved while the investigation proceeds. Any member found responsible will be expelled from Sigma Phi Epsilon, and we will cooperate fully with law enforcement as it seeks accountability under the law,” read a statement from Brian Warren, chief executive officer of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
Alabama
Governor spares death row inmate, citing doubts about evidence
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday commuted the death sentence of a death-row inmate after a number of former public officials and the current district attorney raised doubts about his conviction.
The Republican governor said she was commuting Toforest Johnson’s death sentence to life in prison without parole. Johnson was convicted of the 1995 murder of Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff William Hardy. Johnson has long maintained he is innocent.
“When presented with Mr. Johnson’s case, I had concerns there was not enough direct evidence to carry out the most serious punishment, death,” Ivey said in a statement. “My decision is not a determination of innocence, but a recognition that the circumstances of this case justify commuting his death sentence to life imprisonment, without possibility of parole.”
Ivey has overseen 27 executions during her time as governor. She has commuted the death sentences of three death row inmates.
Hardy was shot twice in the head while working off-duty security at a hotel. Johnson has maintained he was on the other side of town at the time of the shooting.
Ty Alper, one of Johnson’s attorneys, said the fight to overturn the conviction will continue.
There has been a long-running legal effort to win a new trial in the case, which has garnered national attention and was the subject of a podcast. Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr, who was elected in
2018, has supported Johnson’s bid for a new trial. Carr wrote in a 2024 court filing that the “evidence in this case has unraveled over 20 years.”
Carr said in 2024 that credible alibi witnesses place Johnson elsewhere at the time of the crime. He said there are multiple reasons to doubt the key prosecution witness, a woman who “claimed she overheard Johnson confess to the murder on a three-way phone call on which she was eavesdropping.”
The key prosecution witness at Johnson’s 1998 trial testified that, while eavesdropping on a phone call, she heard a man she believed was Johnson admitting to the crime. She was paid $5,000 in 2001 for her testimony, and Johnson’s lawyers argue that the state withheld evidence of monetary motivation for the testimony.
A number of former judges and prosecutors have joined those seeking a new trial for Johnson amid questions about his conviction.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall in an Oct. 16 letter had urged Ivey to reject the clemency request and “respect the jury’s decision” and the decision of the courts reviewing the matter.
Florida
State Bar places employee on leave over social media posts to football player
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Bar said Tuesday it has placed an employee on administrative leave amid an investigation into online comments that were sent to a Miami football player after the Hurricanes beat Florida State last weekend.
Kade McLendon, who has worked at the Bar for about two years as a computer technician, was identified as the employee. An account from a person using McLendon’s name sent a number of messages to Miami’s Damon Wilson II after the Hurricanes’ 43-35 victory, including several racist and homophobic slurs.
Wilson, who is Black, shared a screenshot of the messages publicly Sunday, calling it a “glimpse into the life of a black student athlete.”
“The messages in question are not only ethically and morally reprehensible but also violate our internal social media policy for employees,” the Bar said in its statement.
It’s unclear why the private messages were sent to Wilson, who is in his first season at Miami after previously playing at Georgia and Missouri.
“That’s my brother and I embrace him,” Miami offensive lineman Ryan Rodriguez said Tuesday when asked about Wilson and the online comments. “It’s more than a game. That’s my brother.”
Miami, the No. 1-ranked team in the AP Top 25, next plays Saturday at home against Pittsburgh.
Student alleges she was sexually assaulted at fraternity house
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A sorority member at the University of Arizona has alleged she was sexually assaulted by two men at a fraternity house during a night of drinking in late August.
The student told the university’s police department that she consensually kissed one of the men at one point while at the Sigma Phi Epsilon house on Aug. 26 but doesn’t remember agreeing to sex, according to search warrant records posted Monday night by KOLD-TV in Tucson.
The sexual assault allegations surfaced two weeks after the university had suspended activities for its 21 fraternities amid reports of misconduct, including assault, hazing and drug- and alcohol-related behavior.
Suspensions on all but five fraternities have since been lifted after they had mandatory meetings with the dean of students.
In speaking with an investigator, the sorority member recalled consuming tequila, including sharing a cup of the beverage with friends; witnessing two men sexually assaulting her, even feeling one man’s breath on her face; awakening the next morning without pants and underwear on; and noticing a difficulty in swallowing, a possible sign of strangulation, according to the records.
Later that day, she reported the allegations to police and underwent a forensic exam at a hospital.
In a recorded call with the sorority member two days after the encounter, one of the men acknowledged he had sex with her, but he said she had agreed to it and denied that another man had sex with her. He said he had been drunk and “fuzzy” on what happened. He said people took video of the sorority member and him kissing in a bathroom, according to the records.
The Associated Press left email and phone messages with the university Tuesday seeking comment. Its police department said the investigation is ongoing and declined to say if any arrests had been made. The Pima County Attorney’s Office said the case hasn’t been referred to it for prosecution.
The university had put Sigma Phi Epsilon on probation from July until May of next year after a hazing complaint. Sigma Phi Epsilon isn’t among the five fraternities that are currently listed as suspended.
The national fraternity organization said they ordered members of the Arizona chapter to comply with any investigation.
“The Fraternity has suspended those involved while the investigation proceeds. Any member found responsible will be expelled from Sigma Phi Epsilon, and we will cooperate fully with law enforcement as it seeks accountability under the law,” read a statement from Brian Warren, chief executive officer of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
Alabama
Governor spares death row inmate, citing doubts about evidence
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday commuted the death sentence of a death-row inmate after a number of former public officials and the current district attorney raised doubts about his conviction.
The Republican governor said she was commuting Toforest Johnson’s death sentence to life in prison without parole. Johnson was convicted of the 1995 murder of Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff William Hardy. Johnson has long maintained he is innocent.
“When presented with Mr. Johnson’s case, I had concerns there was not enough direct evidence to carry out the most serious punishment, death,” Ivey said in a statement. “My decision is not a determination of innocence, but a recognition that the circumstances of this case justify commuting his death sentence to life imprisonment, without possibility of parole.”
Ivey has overseen 27 executions during her time as governor. She has commuted the death sentences of three death row inmates.
Hardy was shot twice in the head while working off-duty security at a hotel. Johnson has maintained he was on the other side of town at the time of the shooting.
Ty Alper, one of Johnson’s attorneys, said the fight to overturn the conviction will continue.
There has been a long-running legal effort to win a new trial in the case, which has garnered national attention and was the subject of a podcast. Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr, who was elected in
2018, has supported Johnson’s bid for a new trial. Carr wrote in a 2024 court filing that the “evidence in this case has unraveled over 20 years.”
Carr said in 2024 that credible alibi witnesses place Johnson elsewhere at the time of the crime. He said there are multiple reasons to doubt the key prosecution witness, a woman who “claimed she overheard Johnson confess to the murder on a three-way phone call on which she was eavesdropping.”
The key prosecution witness at Johnson’s 1998 trial testified that, while eavesdropping on a phone call, she heard a man she believed was Johnson admitting to the crime. She was paid $5,000 in 2001 for her testimony, and Johnson’s lawyers argue that the state withheld evidence of monetary motivation for the testimony.
A number of former judges and prosecutors have joined those seeking a new trial for Johnson amid questions about his conviction.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall in an Oct. 16 letter had urged Ivey to reject the clemency request and “respect the jury’s decision” and the decision of the courts reviewing the matter.
Florida
State Bar places employee on leave over social media posts to football player
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Bar said Tuesday it has placed an employee on administrative leave amid an investigation into online comments that were sent to a Miami football player after the Hurricanes beat Florida State last weekend.
Kade McLendon, who has worked at the Bar for about two years as a computer technician, was identified as the employee. An account from a person using McLendon’s name sent a number of messages to Miami’s Damon Wilson II after the Hurricanes’ 43-35 victory, including several racist and homophobic slurs.
Wilson, who is Black, shared a screenshot of the messages publicly Sunday, calling it a “glimpse into the life of a black student athlete.”
“The messages in question are not only ethically and morally reprehensible but also violate our internal social media policy for employees,” the Bar said in its statement.
It’s unclear why the private messages were sent to Wilson, who is in his first season at Miami after previously playing at Georgia and Missouri.
“That’s my brother and I embrace him,” Miami offensive lineman Ryan Rodriguez said Tuesday when asked about Wilson and the online comments. “It’s more than a game. That’s my brother.”
Miami, the No. 1-ranked team in the AP Top 25, next plays Saturday at home against Pittsburgh.
