In Pennsylvania, people can be convicted of felony-murder if they participate in a felony such as robbery or kidnapping that results in death.
Mayor Eric Papenfuse proposed a new community policing division to increase cooperation with residents. Opponents said the city should prioritize other services and the police department should provide more data on arrests and complaints before getting more money.
At a vigil outside York County Prison on Thursday evening, leaders from several groups spoke and played testimony from people who had been detained – or had loved ones detained – in the building across the parking lot.
Bucks County is launching an experimental program aimed at keeping people with mental illness out of the criminal justice system.
Much of the analysis in Tuesday’s report focuses on 430 cases in which the most serious offense was a misdemeanor. Between May and June, the study found, 44 percent of misdemeanor defendants in Allegheny County were Black, even though just 13 percent of the county’s population is Black.
The judge last month dismissed the charges against 44-year-old Roderick Johnson, saying his initial trials were unfair and trying him again for the same crimes would violate federal double jeopardy laws, the Reading Eagle reported.
