14-Year-Old Tasered By Police in Allentown, Pennsylvania (Video)
Via the Guardian:
CCTV footage shows a police officer pushing a 14-year-old girl against a parked car and firing a taser at her groin. Shortly before the taser was fired the teenager is seen raising her hands in surrender. She received hospital treatment after the incident in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
First U.S. State Capital Ever To File for Bankruptcy: Harrisburg, PA
America (in this case, Pennsylvania), Fuck YA! AFP via Google reports:
Pennsylvania’s state capital Harrisburg has declared bankruptcy, according to a court filing seen on Wednesday, raising the specter of a string of local defaults across the United States.
The city — whose finances have been ravaged by the costs of upgrading a once-mothballed trash incinerator — filed late Tuesday to seek protection from creditors. The city reportedly owes around $310 million.
According to the Bankruptcy Court filing, Harrisburg has between one and 49 creditors. It also reported a roughly equal amount of assets and liabilities, in the range of $100-500 million.
The state of Pennsylvania had tried to force Harrisburg to sell off those assets in order to pay bondholders, but the city council reportedly voted by a margin of four to three on Tuesday to opt for bankruptcy. The result is a rare, but not unexpected, US municipal bankruptcy amid a faltering economy.
Restaurant Bans Children Under Six
Starting July 16, McDain’s, a Pittsburgh-area restaurant, will ban children under the age of 6 from its dining area. Restaurant owner Mike Vuick said the policy came in response to complaints he’d received from older customers about kids causing a ruckus. In an email to his clientele, Vuick wrote, “We feel that McDain’s is a not a place for young children … and many, many times they have disturbed other customers.” Via ABC News:
[Story continues at ABC News]
Pizzeria Owner Leaves Mice At Rival Shops
The Associated Press reports:
UPPER DARBY, Pa. – A pizzeria owner with mice problems he blamed on competitors tried to sabotage two rival shops by dumping mice in them Monday, authorities in suburban Philadelphia said…
11-Year-Old Boy Is The Youngest Person To Face A Life Sentence Without Parole
Jordan Brown poses for his school photo.
A Pennsylvanian boy, age 11, was arrested for shooting his father’s pregnant fianceé in her sleep. He is now this youngest person to face a life sentence without parole. The judge has been criticized for his decision to try the boy as an adult because he refused to plead guilty. Defense attorneys and human rights campaigners have argued that the judge’s decision violates the boy’s right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. The Raw Story reports:
Boy’s claim of innocence prompted judge to try him as adult
A Pennsylvania boy who was 11 years old when he allegedly shot and killed his father’s pregnant fiancee could find himself being the youngest person ever sentenced to life without parole.
Human rights campaigners have said the case shows the US’ justice system to be unusually harsh towards juvenile offenders, and argue that a life sentence for the boy could…
Why a Gruesome Pennsylvania Abortion Clinic Had Not Been Inspected for 17 Years
By Marian Wang at ProPublica:
While this week’s indictment involving a grisly abortion mill in Philadelphia has shocked many, the grand jury’s nearly 300-page report also contains a surprising and little-noted revelation: In the mid-1990s, the administration of Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge, a pro-choice Republican, ended regular inspections of abortion clinics—a policy that continued until just last year.
According to the grand jury report [PDF] released this week by Philadelphia prosecutors, Pennsylvania health officials deliberately chose not to enforce laws to ensure that abortion clinics provide the same level of care as other medical service providers…
ACLU Fights Against Jail Time For Swearing In Pennsylvania
For those who like to pepper their speech with profanity (and don’t we all from time to time?), you might want to steer clear of Pennsylvania until the ACLU makes it safe for you: they are suing the police in Pennsylvania for issuing tickets, which carry a jail sentence, to people for swearing. Story via Reuters:
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which filed the lawsuits earlier, argues that the right to use profanity is protected by the U.S. Constitution.
“Unfortunately, many police departments in the commonwealth do not seem to be getting the message that swearing is not a crime,” said Marieke Tuthill of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. “The courts have repeatedly found that profanity, unlike obscenity, is protected speech.”
Obscenity, under the Supreme Court’s definition, refers to speech that mainly appeals to the “prurient interest” in sex, according to the ACLU.
One lawsuit involves an unidentified woman in Luzerne County in northeast…
