Latest news with #Dem-run
New York Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Trump's takeover of DC policing is entirely sensible and a win for the people of Washington
Washington, DC's political class may scream in fury at Team Trump's takeover of policing, but we suspect most district residents will be relieved: Regular people put public safety first. The city's politicians have failed to do that, and the feds have a duty to act when the nation's capital is unsafe. Even Democrats have been willing to stomp on DC's demands for 'home rule' when it comes to fighting crime: By a vote of 81-14 in 2023, for example, the Dem-run Senate joined with the GOP-run House to override the City Council's bid to reduce maximum penalties for violent crime, including carjackings — and President Joe Biden signed the measure into law. Advertisement Carjackings, for the record, are still triple the 2018 level, part of a grim wave of youth crime — yet city leaders have refused to get serious about stopping the violence. Nor did President Donald Trump rush to do this: He warned Mayor Muriel Bowser last year that action was on the table; she's had six months to turn things around — but several high-profile recent crimes, including last month's shooting death of 3-year-old Honesty Cheadle, showed she needs help. Indeed, as Trump noted, the US capital has more murders per capita than notorious Mexico City and Bogotá, Colombia. The homicide rate is six times New York City's. Advertisement To drive crime down, this intervention will bring in new resources, including hundreds of National Guard and broader deployment of the federal Park Police. Note, too: The feds share blame for DC's high crime: The US Attorney for the District of Columbia is responsible for all felony prosecutions in the city — but Biden appointees to the job refused to prosecute over half of local crimes. We hope neither the City Council nor Democrats (in Congress or neighboring Maryland and Virginia) try to sabotage this intervention. Everyone but the bad guys, and DC's citizens most of all, is a winner if it succeeds.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arizona executes Aaron Gunches, first execution in a Dem-run state since 2017
An Arizona man has been executed following his first-degree murder conviction in 2008. Aaron Gunches, 53, was pronounced dead following the administration of lethal injection at 10:33 a.m. MST Wednesday at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence. Gunches pleaded guilty to fatally shooting Ted Price, his girlfriend's ex-husband, in the desert outside the Phoenix suburb of Mesa in 2002. "The process went according to plan, without any incident at all," Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR) Deputy Director John Barcello said in a post-execution media conference. Barcello said Gunches did not put up "any sort of resistance." When the death row inmate was asked if he had any last words, Barcello said Gunches shook his head, "no." Arizona Death Row Inmate Wants To Be Executed Earlier Than The State Is Planning Gunches' final meal included a double western bacon cheeseburger with fries, a spicy gyro, a barbecue gyro, onion rings and baklava, Barcello said. He did not elect to have a spiritual advisor present with him during the execution process. Read On The Fox News App Gunches appealed his death sentencing in 2016, according to the ADCRR, but "the Supreme Court of the State of Arizona affirmed the conviction," a statement said. Killer Lori Vallow, 'Doomsday Mom,' Says Jesus Spoke To Her In Spiritual Vision, Showed Her Prison Release Gunches' execution is the first in the state in more than two years. He is the first person executed in a state with a Democrat serving as governor since Virginia did so in 2017, when Terry McAuliffe was in charge, according to The Associated Press. Gunches' execution had originally been scheduled for April 2023, but was called off after Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs ordered a review of the state's death penalty procedures. Late last year, Hobbs fired the retired judge she had appointed to conduct the review, and the state's corrections department announced changes in the team that lethally injects death row prisoners. "The Department is confident in both the quality and quantity of its pentobarbital supply," ADCRR said in a statement. "Appropriate testing occurred earlier this year, including a quantitative chemical analysis, which has been provided to Mr. Gunches, confirming a sufficient concentration of pentobarbital in the compounded solution. Additionally, sterility testing on the compounded pentobarbital was completed earlier this year, providing verification of the drug's beyond use date. The results of this testing have also been provided to Mr. Gunches," the statement said. Gunches is the second of four death row prisoners in the United States executed this week. Louisiana executed a man on Tuesday and two more executions are scheduled in Florida and Oklahoma on Thursday. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: Arizona executes Aaron Gunches, first execution in a Dem-run state since 2017
