With California Inmates Expected to Give Birth to More Than 300 Babies This Year, Officials Are Preparing to Open the State's First Prison Nursery Juanita Massie can recall her baby's kicks inside her belly, how her water broke, how hard she strained in labor as the contractions intensified. But her most vivid memory is humiliation -- she was shackled to a bedrail. And the sensation of cuddling her newborn was fleeting, because the baby was whisked away by a social worker -- and Massie was transported back to her 8-foot-by-12-foot prison cell. [continues 1608 words]
This is the extraordinary saga of one jury that, after the judge said, "Case closed," simply refused to be excused -- or to excuse the judicial system. To the contrary, many of the federal jurors who in February convicted Oakland pot guru Ed Rosenthal of felony marijuana cultivation are devoting about as much time and effort to the case now as they did during the trial. They're campaigning for a "Truth in Trials" law which would change how juries in drug cases operate. [continues 929 words]
How John Ashcroft's Religion Shapes His Public Service Of all the Bible stories John Ashcroft knows by heart, none mirrors his own life like the Old Testament melodrama of Daniel. As a Hebrew captive exiled to Babylon, Daniel worked his way into the palace and was promoted to a high-ranking administrative position. The powers-that-be saw him as smart and politically ambitious, but also as a sanctimonious prig. His religious rectitude invited ridicule, as when he refused to "defile" himself by partaking of the rich food and wine of royalty because his God favored a vegetable-and-water diet. [continues 3111 words]
Sharp differences on gun control, abortion, tobacco, marijuana divide 7F Stirling, Lockyer The fall contest for state attorney general -- California's top lawyer -- will be a showdown between two politicos with dramatic differences on gun control, medical marijuana, abortion, tobacco liability and even the essence of the job itself. Republican nominee Dave Stirling of Walnut Grove, whose biggest claim to fame is that of lightning-rod deputy to outgoing Attorney General Dan Lungren, has been a private lawyer, legislator and judge. Popular with party activists but not with California prosecutors, Stirling plans to seize the job's bully pulpit to extol "family values." [continues 589 words]
