Laura Sullivan

Older Suspect Described As Controlling, Manipulative

Laura Sullivan — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 00:34:00 +0000

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Big cheers in Watertown, Massachusetts, tonight and this tweet from the Boston Police Department, captured with three exclamation points, the hunt is over, the search is done, the terror is over, and justice has won, suspect in custody. We've been gathering a lot of information all day on the bombing suspects' backgrounds.

Without Reviews, Inmates Can Get Lost In U.S. Prison System

Laura Sullivan — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 08:09:00 +0000

Every year 10 million people funnel in and out of America's jails and prisons. And every year some of them get lost. Recently there have been two high-profile cases of such inmates — one who got out years too early, and one who stayed years too long. Both had disastrous consequences.

In January, Evan Ebel walked out of a Colorado prison four years too early. Two months later, he allegedly rang the doorbell of Tom Clements, the head of the Colorado Department of Corrections, shot him in the chest and killed him.

Tribal Coalition Report Finds South Dakota 'Willfully' Violated Child Welfare Law

Laura Sullivan — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 23:24:00 +0000

South Dakota's foster care system "systematically violated the spirit and the letter" of a law meant to protect Native American children, a coalition of tribal directors from the state's nine Sioux tribes said in a report released Thursday night.

Fans Save Luke Skywalker's Tunisia Home

Laura Sullivan — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 17:50:00 +0000

Mark Dermul is a serious Star Wars fan. He was just 7 years old in 1977 when the original movie hit the theaters. As soon as the huge Star Destroyer flew across the opening scene, he was hooked.

"It hasn't left me," he says. At 42, Dermul now guides tours throughout North Africa, visiting sites that were featured in the blockbuster films.

On one 2010 trip back to planet Tatooine — OK, Tunisia — he and his tour group noticed that Luke Skywalker's boyhood home was decaying.

50 Years Later, Mystery Of Alcatraz Escape Endures

Laura Sullivan — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:35:00 +0000

Fifty years ago three men set out into the frigid waters of the San Francisco Bay in a raft made out of raincoats. It was one of the most daring prison escapes in U.S.

50 Years Later, Mystery Of Alcatraz Escape Endures

Laura Sullivan — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 09:53:00 +0000

The legend of the escape from Alcatraz has always held that Frank Morris and Clarence and John Anglin would return for the 50th anniversary of their famed 1962 prison breakout. Tuesday was that anniversary. And while the men, who would now be in their 80s, haven't been heard from in half a century, family members went to the island for the first time to wait — along with U.S. Marshals — just in case.

Return To Alcatraz: Will A Legend End After 50 Years?

Laura Sullivan — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 10:02:00 +0000

Fifty years ago, three men set out into the frigid waters of the San Francisco Bay in a raft made out of raincoats. It was one of the most daring prison escapes in U.S.

Unlikely Advocates For Teen Killers: Victims' Families

Laura Sullivan — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 20:11:00 +0000

The Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the fate of 2,500 offenders who were sentenced as teenagers to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Seventy-nine of them were 13 or 14 when they committed their crimes.

Many prosecutors and family members of victims spoke out about the need to keep the sentences in place.

But in a small building cafeteria, just a few blocks from the Supreme Court, a different group of family members quietly came together.

ICE Opens Immigrant Detention Center In Rural Texas

Laura Sullivan — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 04:01:00 +0000

Just off the side of the road in rural southern Texas is a large beige building that looks a lot like a prison. Fences and tall walls mark the outside. Inside, the doors slam and people sit in control booths at the end of long concrete hallways.

But just a little farther into the facility, the door opens to a courtyard in the center of the complex, and there, things begin to change. There's a soccer field, a pavilion and a gymnasium. There's also a walk-up pharmacy and commissary.

Death Sentences Drop To Historic Lows

Laura Sullivan — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:01:00 +0000

Death sentences dropped dramatically this year, marking the first time in more than three decades that judges and juries sent fewer than 100 people to death row, according to a new report from the Death Penalty Information Center.

Just 78 offenders were handed capital sentences, and only 43 inmates were executed — almost half as many as 10 years ago.

American Reaction

Just three months ago, in early September, the Republican presidential debate made headlines when the audience erupted into applause when moderator Brian Williams noted Texas had executed 234 people in rece