Former Durham Bull Wander Franco was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor in the Dominican Republic this week. This ESPN story reports that he received a suspended sentence, while “[t]he mother of the [14 year old] victim . . . was convicted of sexually trafficking her daughter and sentenced to 10 years in prison after prosecutors proved she sought financial gains from Franco and laundered money.” Franco was a star for the Bulls and quickly moved up to the major league level. He had just signed an 11-year, $182 million contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays when he was arrested. Whether he will be able to resume his baseball career is not clear. He may have difficulty obtaining a visa to enter the United States, and Major League Baseball may take action against him as well. Additionally, he is still facing charges in his home country connected to the alleged unlawful possession of a firearm. Keep reading for more news.
Diddy’s sex trafficking trial nears a conclusion. As the Washington Post explains in this article, yesterday “[p]rosecutors [contend] that Combs used his massive wealth and power — along with threats, violence, blackmail and a close circle of conspirators — to repeatedly sexually abuse two former girlfriends. Those women, singer [Cassie] Ventura and a single mother who used the alias Jane in court to protect her privacy, have testified that their years-long relationships with Combs devolved into an endless series of drug-fueled ‘freak-off’ parties, where Combs allegedly forced or coerced them to have sex with other men while he watched.” Combs and the defense team contend that the sexual activity was consensual, and cross-examination has focused on text messages the women sent to Combs, some of which apparently expressed enthusiasm for the “freak-offs.” The defense closing is today.
Ninth Circuit strikes down California’s one per month limit on gun purchases. Reason has the full story here, but in brief, a three-judge panel ruled that “California’s law is facially unconstitutional because possession of multiple firearms and the ability to acquire firearms through purchase without meaningful constraints are protected by the Second Amendment.” The panel consisted of two Trump appointees and a Biden appointee. In one of those weird small-world moments, the Biden appointee is a guy I played pickup basketball with a few times back in a college.
The end of “mass incarceration”? Stanford Professor Keith Humphreys thinks so. In this article in The Atlantic, he argues: “After peaking at just more than 1.6 million Americans in 2009, the prison population was just more than 1.2 million at the end of 2023 (the most recent year for which data are available), and is on track to fall to about 600,000—a total decline of roughly 60 percent.” The basic argument is that our large prison population today is the result of our harsh sentencing laws 20 years ago, and that our prison population in the future will be much smaller as a result of recent sentencing reforms.
Top federal prison administrator spent years in federal prison. The Marshall project has this interesting piece noting that “[e]arlier this month, Josh J. Smith, who served five years in the federal prison system on drug charges, was tapped to be deputy director at the agency that had locked him up.” After he left prison, Smith started a construction company, sold it for millions, and became active in policy reform and re-entry. Although he has since been pardoned by President Trump, some prison staffers quoted in the story believe that a former felon and inmate is not an appropriate choice to help lead the agency. Others think his experience is a plus.
Cell phone ban in public schools close to becoming law. H959 has passed both chambers of the General Assembly and is on its way to Governor Stein. The key provision in the bill states: “The governing body of a public school unit shall establish a wireless communication policy. At a minimum, except as permitted [in certain emergency circumstances or in connection with a student’s IEP] the policy shall prohibit students from using, displaying, or having a wireless communication device turned on during instructional time.” Admittedly, there are no criminal penalties in the bill, but if the Governor signs it, your kids may be telling you that it violates the Eighth Amendment.
Man gets trapped in cell while visiting abandoned prison. It sounds like the beginning of a horror movie, but fortunately no chainsaws were involved. Corrections One has this article reporting that a “19-year-old visiting an abandoned prison to take photos needed rescuing when he ‘became trapped in a cell’ at the former New York correctional center.” First responders arrived at the former Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill just after midnight and “helped him out” before arresting him for trespassing.
Have a good weekend and stay clear of abandoned prisons.
