Free Republic

EXCERPT: Investigators say Lee got into an argument with the victim over excessive loud noise outside of Lee's apartment. A witness told police Lee punched the victim, knocking him to the ground, and then shot him when he stood up. RIGHT BELOW this, I will post the companion story from the family of the victim in the Atlanta area. You will draw some obvious conclusions.

<p>Democrats in recent weeks weighed whether to abstain from involvement in House Republicans' new Benghazi investigative committee, labeling it an unnecessary probe into questions that have already been answered.</p> <p>The American people disagree.</p> <p>A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows a majority of Americans -- 51 percent -- approve of the new panel, while 42 percent disapprove.</p>

Few U.S. institutions resemble today's prison system. Most Americans have little-to-no exposure to this quiet behemoth which has quadrupled its population since the 1980's, but for those who are exposed, the effects are dramatic. The system is wrecking families, hurting individuals, and costing our nation billions of dollars. We've seen some promising developments in the last year, but more Americans need to open our eyes to the dangerous path we've been headed down and push for continued reforms. I've lived several years of my life in a small Midwest farming town that owes much of its continued existence to our...

The mainstream media is playing up the “tragedy” of Clayton Lockett’s “botched” execution.... This is Stephanie Neiman. Clayton Lockett murdered her over her truck. He laughed as he killed her.

A 30-year-old mother is lucky today after the quick-thinking of a stranger helped save her from a mugging. The mother of two who was dragged across a Texas shopping center parking lot this week, clinging to her purse while two suspects in a sedan tried to snatch it. That’s when the stranger, who was armed, stopped the would-be thieves and forced them to lie on the ground while they waited for the police to arrive. ( The stranger who helped the woman retrieve her purse, pointed a gun at the suspects while he made them lie on the ground, waiting...

Thanking you in advance for reading and helping our soldiers! Below is a beautiful email sent by Michael Behenna. He is finally home and thank you to all who helped him through calls you made and letters you wrote on his behalf. Michael is right, the fight is not over. We still have Sons locked up in Leavenworth who need our help. I had the good fortune to visit with Sgt Derrick Miller at Leavenworth this past weekend. I am astounded, after meeting this truly good man, that anyone in their right mind can justify keeping him locked away. I...

When Alice went through the looking glass, she found a world where things were completely the reverse of what they are in the real world. Of course, Lewis Carroll’s masterpiece was intended as a parody of the mendacious politicians of the day. Today we have something beyond parody, and that is the U.N. climate bureaucracy and its acolytes. Because the U.N. agencies are bureaucracies, it is perhaps understandable that they should seek at all times to increase their own power and control over the world’s people. But what is not understandable is when that quest turns into a campaign to...

The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday released a scathing report in response to a series of deadly police shootings that pointed to patterns of excessive force by the Albuquerque Police Department, serious constitutional violations and a lack of training and oversight of its officers. After more than a year of reviewing hundreds of cases handled by the Albuquerque police, the federal agency found that officers too frequently used deadly force on people "who posed a minimal threat" and used a higher level of force too often on those with mental illness.

Texas executed by lethal injection on Wednesday a Mexican citizen who was convicted of bludgeoning a man to death and repeatedly raping the man's wife. Ramiro Hernandez, 44, was pronounced dead at 6:28 p.m. CDT at the Texas state death chamber in Huntsville after receiving a dose of lethal drugs, the Texas Department o Texas executes Mexican national for murder and rapef Criminal Justice said. Hernandez was the sixth convict executed in Texas this year and the 16th in the United States.

If Betsey McCaughey is correct (and I bet she is, because she has not only read the entire ObamaCare bill, she has written a book about it), Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan publicly humiliated herself during the oral arguments on the Hobby Lobby case, revealing that she either did not read the law, or failed to comprehend it if she did so. Writing in the New York Sun, McCaughey lays out what is wrong with the Justice’s declaration about Obamacare: she asserted that the statute itself mandates provision of birth control. Not one word in the Affordable Care Act guarantees...

A man accused of causing a crash that killed a 22-year-old Miami Heat dancer in 2010 has been found guilty, but the verdict is being withheld while the court investigates allegations of juror misconduct.... At issue is whether the jury of six men made remarks about Careaga's gay lifestyle that could have influenced their decision...

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni will meet on Tuesday with representatives of the Almagor terror victims’ organization. The meeting comes ahead of the next scheduled release of terrorists as a “gesture” the Palestinian Authority (PA). Lt. Col. (ret.) Oren Tamam, brother of Moshe Tamam who was kidnapped and murdered by terrorists, said on Monday that the meeting was finally scheduled after months of repeated requests. “We're going with a broken heart and hopefully she will listen to us willingly,” said Tamam, adding, "The past few months have created among us a distrust in the justice system for which she is responsible,...

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) – The Florida Supreme Court dropped a bomb on the Florida Legislature Thursday morning when it ruled that a 2003 law limiting damages in wrongful death medical-malpractice lawsuits is unconstitutional. The 5-2 ruling said that a cap on “non-economic” damages violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Florida Constitution, according to the News Service of Florida. The Florida Legislature passed the law during a 2003 special session called by then Gov. Jeb Bush, who pushed for malpractice lawsuit changes in an attempt to lower malpractice insurance rates and keep doctors from limiting their practices or moving out of...

The Justice Department has begun a criminal investigation into the decade-long failure by General Motors to address deadly safety problems in its some of its cars before announcing a massive recall last month, according to a person briefed on the matter. The preliminary inquiry by federal prosecutors in New York is expected to center on whether G.M., the nation’s largest automaker, failed to comply with laws requiring timely disclosure of vehicle defects. The probe is the latest in a widening series of investigations of G.M.'s handling of faulty ignition switches in its Chevrolet Cobalt sedan and other cars that the...

“What do you see when you look at me?” Anne Arundel County Executive Laura Neuman asked the high school girls watching her on stage. “I know I’m old enough to be your mom or your grandma. What else do you see?” The girls, students at Archbishop Spalding High School, called out complements. One said she like her hair, another her sweater. None said they saw a victim of rape, the reason Neuman, 49, was standing on Spalding’s stage Feb. 27. For the next hour, she shared her story of rape and overcoming her fears with junior and senior girls. “A...

BLOOMFIELD, NJ (WABC) -- The tale of the police dashcam video has now helped clear a Bloomfield, New Jersey man who faced a multitude of criminal charges, including eluding police and assault. Investigative Reporter Sarah Wallace obtained the dashcam tapes, and has spoken exclusively with the 30-year old DJ who was looking at years in prison. It was quite a turnabout, all the criminal charges against Marcus Jeter have been dismissed, and two Bloomfield police officers have been indicted for falsifying reports, and one of them, for assault. A third pleaded guilty early on to tampering. It's all thanks to...

City Comptroller Scott Stringer on Wednesday criticized Mayor de Blasio for personally intervening when a politically connected preacher pal was busted by cops — saying “the mayor shouldn’t be involved in any way when someone gets arrested.”... “And I certainly believe the mayor and take the mayor’s word that this was certainly something that he was doing, not out of giving someone special treatment, but when you do make that call you do have to answer a lot of questions.” New York state Republican Chairman Ed Cox called on Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to investigate what he called de Blasio’s...

Justice Department lawyer Bradley Heard was in court today trying to stop Kansas from ensuring that only citizens register to vote. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, relying on a United States Supreme Court opinion of last year, asked the federal Election Assistance Commission to permit him to ensure that only noncitizens were registering to vote. The Election Assistance Commission said no, so Kris Kobach went to federal court. Enter Eric Holder’s Justice Department, as usual, opposing election integrity measures. Despite harping about resource concerns (which apparently means that the DOJ can do nothing about corrupted voter rolls), Holder found...

Former U.S. Army 1st Lt. Michael Behenna has won parole and will be released from Fort Leavenworth on March 14, his mother, Vicki Behenna, said Wednesday. Behenna, who was convicted of unpremeditated murder in a combat zone, learned early Wednesday morning and called his parents in Edmond, where he will return next month. “We go between tears and laughing,” Vicki Behenna told The Oklahoman. “I’m just so thankful. I’m just so very very thankful. It’s wonderful.”

BAGHDAD — A group of Sunni militants attending a suicide bombing training class at a camp north of Baghdad were killed on Monday when their commander unwittingly conducted a demonstration with a belt that was packed with explosives, army and police officials said. The militants belonged to a group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, which is fighting the Shiite-dominated army of the Iraqi government, mostly in Anbar Province. But they are also linked to bomb attacks elsewhere and other fighting that has thrown Iraq deeper into sectarian violence. Twenty-two ISIS members were killed, and...