Epstein survivor says a Maxwell pardon would be a ‘huge mistake'
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Fox News
41 minutes ago
- Fox News
Florida schedules execution for man who killed estranged wife's family, set house on fire
A Florida man convicted of killing his estranged wife's sister and parents before setting their house on fire 35 years ago will be put to death next month, which could extend the Sunshine State's record number of executions to 12. David Pittman, 63, is set to be executed on Sept. 17 under a death warrant signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday. Pittman was convicted in 1991 and sentenced to death on three counts of first-degree murder, as well as arson and grand theft, after the killings that were carried out the year before. Pittman and his wife, Marie, were going through a divorce when he went to the home of her parents, Clarence and Barbara Knowles, in May 1990 and stabbed them and their younger daughter, Bonnie, to death, according to officials. He then lit the Polk County home on fire and stole Bonnie Knowles' car before also setting the vehicle on fire, investigators said. A witness identified Pittman as the man running away from the burning car and a jailhouse informant testified that Pittman had admitted to the stabbing deaths of his wife's family. The Florida Supreme Court will hear an appeal seeking to block the execution, and an appeal will also likely be filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2022, the state Supreme Court denied Pittman's claim that he was intellectually disabled as well as allegations that his death sentence was illegal because he had not received an evidentiary hearing on his disability claim. Pittman is set to be the 12th person put to death in Florida this year, including Kayle Bates and Curtis Windom, who are scheduled for execution later this month. Florida has executed more people this year than any other state, with 9 after an execution in July. Texas and South Carolina are tied for the second-most with four each. Before this year, Florida's previous record for executions in a year since the death penalty was restored in 1976 was eight in 2014.
New York Times
44 minutes ago
- New York Times
Trump's Selective Stance on Justice: Redemption for Some, Scorn for Others
As President Trump made the case for militarizing the streets of Washington, he used pictures of 'homegrown terrorists' to illustrate his point that crime in the nation's capital was out of control. 'Look at these people here,' Mr. Trump said at a news conference last week, flipping through a handout from the White House containing five mug shots, all people of color. 'They will never be an asset to society,' he said. 'I don't care. I know we all want to say, 'Oh, they're going to be rehabbed.' They're not going to be rehabbed.' The declaration provided a window into the president's selective view of criminality and redemption. In his eyes, Capitol rioters, a triple murderer, two police officers involved in covering up the killing of a Black man, and an Israeli settler accused of extremist violence all deserve a second chance. But the people accused of crimes in Washington are irredeemable. Mr. Trump, himself a felon, has shown particular leniency to criminals he seems to identify with — people who are white or wealthy, or who he believes have been unfairly persecuted, or who rioted in his name on Jan. 6, 2021. The White House defends the president's actions, pointing to his criminal justice record from his first term, which included signing prison overhaul legislation aimed at rehabilitation and using his clemency powers to release many Black offenders who faced excessive punishments for nonviolent crimes. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
44 minutes ago
- New York Times
North Carolina Confederate Monument Goes Too Far, Lawsuit Says
The first time Sherryreed Robinson remembers noticing the words — 'IN APPRECIATION OF OUR FAITHFUL SLAVES' — etched on a Confederate monument in Columbia, N.C., she was a teenager performing with her high school band on the steps of the Tyrrell County courthouse. She remembers approaching the 23-foot Confederate soldier statue and focusing on those six words. For Ms. Robinson, a high school junior at the time, 'faithful' and 'slaves' did not feel right together. About three decades later, with the 123-year-old monument still overlooking the historic town's Main Street, she joined a federal lawsuit calling for the 'faithful slaves' inscription to be removed or covered. It is believed to be the only courthouse monument in the country to 'textually express' such a message, according to the lawsuit. 'I just remember thinking that slaves had to be so-called faithful or they would be punished or even worse,' Ms. Robinson, 50, said. 'As an adult, the words sitting on the grounds of a courthouse made me question whether Blacks could really receive justice there.' Earlier this year, a federal judge allowed a portion of the 2024 lawsuit to move forward. County officials have long contended that a state monument protection law restricts them from moving the statue or making changes to it. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
