Texas pardons board recommends stay of execution for inmate News
Texas pardons board recommends stay of execution for inmate

[JURIST] The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has recommend Gov. Rick Perry grant a reprieve of the execution of Frances Newton, scheduled later Wednesday, to further examine defense claims that she is innocent. With a 5-1 vote, the board took the rare step of recommending a stay of the execution, which Parry can choose to delay for up to 30 days. Newton’s attorneys have disputed her conviction for the 1987 murder of her husband and two children, citing possible mistakes made in analysis of ballistics evidence. If the stay is not granted, Newton would be the first black woman executed in Texas. The Houston Chronicle 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.