NY bill to reinstate death penalty defeated News
NY bill to reinstate death penalty defeated

[JURIST] Following up on a story reported yesterday in JURIST's Paper Chase, the New York State Assembly Codes Committee [official website] Tuesday defeated a bill to reinstate New York's death penalty by a vote of 11-7. The legislation, supported by Governor George Pataki [official website], is now effectively defeated for this year. The vote came after five days of public testimony on the flaws and inefficiencies in the death penalty. "New Yorkers have expressed today what the rest of us across the country are continuing to learn – that our nation's death penalty system is broken," said Shari Silberstein, Co-Director of the Quixote Center [official website], a national organization supporting a moratorium on executions while questions of fairness are studied and addressed. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Montgomery started racially-integrated bus service after boycott

On December 21, 1956, buses in Montgomery, Alabama, started racially integrated service following federal court rulings ending on-board segregation. Bus boycott leaders Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy were among the first riders under the new scheme. Learn about the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Stalin born

On December 21, 1879, Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia. In 1922, he became leader of the USSR until his death in 1953. During his time as Soviet dictator, Stalin industrialized his country, which he then led to become one of the world's two superpowers after WWII. Through his infamous purges, show trials and nationwide famines, Stalin also became responsible for millions of deaths.