Brown vs. Shurtleff
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff announced his office would be appealing the exoneration of Debra Brown, who spent 17 years in a Utah prison only to be freed in May by a 2nd District Judge who found her factually innocent of the murder of her former employer. Shurtleff warned against setting a “flawed precedent”—not the precedent of imprisoning innocent citizens, mind you, but the precedent of exoneration that would open a floodgate of appeals from inmates seeking a do-over. Representatives of the Rocky Mountain Innocence Center, which brought Brown’s appeal, are calling it a petty move, however, since they’ve filed only 10 petitions for such exoneration since 2008 and only Brown’s petition has been validated by a judge.
Don’t Tread on my Junk!
Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, is always willing to pick a fight—however hopeless—with the federal government on issues from guns to health care. But now the states’ rights representative is pushing for a bill that appeals to Utahns of all political stripes who are united in their dislike of the man with the rubber gloves at airport security. Wimmer is promoting legislation that would not allow Transportation Security Administration officials to conduct searches of citizens in Utah unless they have probable cause. It would also ban searches that touch a person’s genitals.
Mitt’s POTUS Announcement
In case you hadn’t heard, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney wants to run for president. If you didn’t get that impression from when he ran in 2008, or when he wrote a book and, in May, announced an exploratory committee, then you won’t want to miss his official June 2 announcement. In other words, he wants to run and will milk all the expectation out of officially throwing his hat into the ring that he possibly can, up until the point people stop giving a shit. Which, unfortunately, was months ago …
More by Eric S. Peterson
-
The Secret Sauce
How Utah lawmakers disclose—or don't disclose—conflicts of interest.
- Feb 14, 2024
-
Police departments in Salt Lake County spent almost $20 million on civil rights complaints in the past decade
The Co$t of Mi$conduct
- Oct 18, 2023
-
Women decry harassment and toxic culture at St. George auto dealership
Men at Work
- Oct 11, 2023
- More »
Latest in Hits & Misses
