Christopher Charles Lightsey cupped his hands around his mouth and screamed into the camera while he was muted on Zoom during his court hearing Friday in Kern County Superior Court where he petitioned to be resentenced as he currently serves life in prison for a 1993 murder. Before he was muted by Judge John Lua […]
May 8—The defense team for Corey Maples, convicted of capital murder for fatally shooting his two friends in Decatur in 1995, made its opening argument in the resentencing trial Tuesday afternoon after the prosecution called its last witness. “How has Stacy’s death impacted you and your family?” Alabama Assistant Attorney General Polly Kenny asked the […]
Apr. 15—A 47-year-old man who has been incarcerated his entire adult life for the killing of 22-year-old Felicia Reese could be released in two-and-a-half years after a judge’s ruling last week. Reese was six months away from her wedding when she was kidnapped Dec. 27, 1994, from the parking lot of the Sheraton-Spokane Hotel where […]
Jan. 22—OLYMPIA — Between 800 and 1,500 Washington residents are sitting behind bars, serving extra time for their juvenile records — offenses state law says should not add additional time onto sentences for crimes committed as adults. Of those incarcerated people, 422 are Indigenous, said state Rep. Chris Stearns, D-Auburn. Last year, the Legislature passed […]
Jury selection to begin in second resentencing trial for convicted killer Bessman Okafor Attorneys will begin selecting jurors Tuesday in an Orange County murderer’s resentencing trial. In 2015, Bessman Okafor was convicted of killing 19-year-old Alex Zaldivar three years earlier. Changes in state law reversed his initial death sentence, but now it’s back in play. […]
Man convicted of killing Orange County teen returns to court for resentencing trial A man convicted of killing a teenager is set to return to court Wednesday in Orange County ahead of another resentencing trial. Bessman Okafor was convicted of killing Alex Zalidvar. His death sentence was reversed because of a Florida Supreme Court decision. […]