Antigay Md. lawmaker indicted on theft charges
Baltimore’s WBAL-TV reports a Maryland state delegate was charged Sept. 23 with using campaign funds to pay for wedding expenses and for the salary of an employee at her law firm.
Tiffany Alston, 31, was indicted on charges of felony and misdemeanor theft, misappropriation by a fiduciary and election law offenses.
She signed on as a co-sponsor of a bill to give same-sex couples in Maryland the same legal rights as heterosexuals, but wound up voting against the bill in committee, saying she was having trouble balancing her personal views and pressure from constituents.
Prosecutors say Alston, a Prince George’s County Democrat who was elected in January and then played a role in the General Assembly’s debate over gay marriage, issued two checks totaling $3,560 from her campaign account to cover her wedding expenses.
Gay, trans inmates allege prison abuse
Lancaster Online reports guards at a state prison in western Pennsylvania sexually abused inmates, according to a lawsuit filed Sept. 22 by a former inmate.
The civil lawsuit was filed by an inmate at the State Correctional Institution-Pittsburgh who was identified only as John Doe. The inmate was at SCI Pittsburgh from March 2009 through July 2010 for a parole violation, according the complaint.
Some officers conspired to sexually, physically and mentally abuse inmates who were homosexual, transgender, or who were convicted of sexual crimes, according to the lawsuit.
A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections declined to comment.
Texas mayor faces recall over domestic benefits
The Houston Chronicle reports El Paso Mayor John Cook and two members of the City Council are facing a recall election for their role in overturning a voter-approved measure to terminate health benefits for gay and unmarried partners of city employees.
The city clerk on Sept. 22 certified 9,556 signatures, about 3,400 more than needed to prompt a May recall election for Cook. The mayor of the West Texas border city of more than 800,000 residents is challenging the recall in court.
Cook broke a 4-4 tie in June, voting to throw out an ordinance passed last November limiting health benefits to legal spouses and dependent children of city employees.
Retrial in gay teen killing poses challenges
The L.A. Times reports an Oct. 5 court hearing has been scheduled to discuss new charges in the retrial of a former middle-school student who shot a gay classmate.
Prosecutors said they are considering whether to again try Brandon McInerney as an adult for an incident that was tried as a premeditated murder and a hate crime, despite doubts by some jurors who deadlocked in the case.
The judge declared a mistrial on Sept. 2.
Legal experts believe charging McInerney as an adult made it harder for the prosecution to win a conviction.
McInerney, who was 14 at the time of the killing, would face up to life in prison if convicted as an adult. In the juvenile system, even convicted murderers are typically released at 25.
“We will consider the fact that this was a very significantly split jury. We will consider everything,” said chief assistant district attorney James Ellison.
— compiled by Larry Nichols