1. Woman indicted on fetal homicide law

• Alabama caught the nation’s attention again yesterday after Marshae Jones was indicted with charges of manslaughter when she was shot in the stomach while being five months pregnant which resulted in her loosing the pregnancy.
• But an Alabama prosecutor hasn’t decided yet if they will actually prosecute Jones.
• Ebony Jemison, the girl who shot Jones was not indicted after a police investigation determined Jones started the fight and Jemison fired in self-defense.
• The indictment stated Jones did “intentionally cause the death” of “Unborn Baby Jones by initiating a fight knowing she was five months pregnant.”
• The office of District Attorney Lynneice O. Washington said there has been no decision on whether to pursue the case against Jones. Washington’s office said in a statement they “feel sympathy for all the families involved, including Mrs. Jones, who lost her unborn child.”
• You can read more about the case HERE and what other women’s rights groups had to say from AL.com’s Abbey Crain HERE.

2. Call the AL Midwife

• The newly-formed Alabama State Board of Midwifery issued their first licenses this year and now there are nine licensed certified professional midwives, which is nine more than the state had for over 40 years.
• Prior to a 2017 law change that created the board and licensing rules, the only type of midwives who were allowed to practice in the state were certified nurse midwives, who are registered nurses that work in hospitals alongside obstetricians.
• Currently, 33 other states have recognized CPMs and allow them to practice midwifery, but there are still restrictions on what midwives can do in Alabama.
• Midwives want to be able to practice within the full scope of their training and abilities but still feel like they can’t do that in Alabama.
• Those who opposed the original 2017 licensing law still say they have issues with midwives being allowed to practice in the state. Sen. Larry Stutts, who is an obstetrician himself, says mothers are at risk when they deliver outside a hospital.
• The Medical Association of Alabama, was also against the law and thinks that the new regulations the state midwifery board has put in place go beyond the parameters of that law.
• You can read my full write up about the state of midwives in Alabama HERE.

3. AL’s Gerrymandering Case

• The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling yesterday on rejecting partisan gerrymandering claims in North Carolina and Maryland will effectively end similar federal lawsuits in several states. But it isn’t likely to stop other cases challenging congressional or state legislative districts on different grounds or in different venues.
• The high court’s 5-4 majority ruling said federal courts have no role in trying to resolve what it described as “political questions” — specifically, whether voters’ rights are infringed when politicians of one party manipulate district lines to make it easier for them to win elections.
• While shutting the door to political gerrymandering claims in federal court, the Supreme Court nonetheless affirmed its authority to consider racial gerrymandering lawsuits.
• One of those states that still has a case pending is from Alabama and deals with racial gerrymandering
• A trial is scheduled for Nov. 4 on a federal lawsuit alleging the U.S. House maps approved in 2011 by the state’s Republican-led Legislature and GOP governor illegally limit the voting influence of black residents.
• The lawsuit filed by eight African American voters and the Alabama Black Legislative Caucus is backed by a national Democratic redistricting group.
• A judge ruled in March that if the districts are eventually ruled unconstitutional, the state cannot be forced to redraw them for the 2020 elections because the plaintiffs waited too long before filing their lawsuit in 2018.
• Read more about the pending cases HERE.

4. Documents released over execution procedure

• Newly unsealed Alabama Supreme Court filings in an Alabama death penalty case show the continuing disagreement between inmate attorneys and the state over the effectiveness of the sedative midazolam in shielding prisoners from pain during lethal injections.
• The portions of the court filings, which were previously blacked out, detail the views of medical experts testifying on behalf of death row inmate Christopher Lee Price, who was executed last month, and for the state of Alabama.
• The arguments are similar to those made in previous court fights in Alabama and elsewhere over the use of the drug in executions.
• The documents were made public in their entirety after justices on Monday granted a request from NPR and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press to make the court filings public without having portions blacked out.
• Price had unsuccessfully sought a stay from the high court as he argued that the state’s lethal injection process is unconstitutionally painful. Price was executed last month after justices said the execution could proceed.
• You can read more about the court documents HERE.

5. AP News Briefs.

• A woman who accused Roy Moore of having an inappropriate relationship with her while she was a teenager and he was in his 30s is asking a judge to resolve Moore’s defamation lawsuit against her as he begins his campaign for U.S. Senate.
• Lawyers for Debbie Wesson Gibson filed a motion this week saying Moore’s lawsuit is frivolous and should be dismissed.
• They said they believe Moore will use it as a “political prop” in his campaign.
• After losing the 2017 Senate race amid misconduct allegations, Moore sued Gibson and others who said Moore pursued romantic and sexual relationships with them when they were teens and he was in his 30s.

• A Connecticut-based electrical and electronic product manufacturer is closing two plants resulting in the loss of nearly 200 jobs.
• The Hartford Courant reports that Hubbell Inc. will shut down plants in Newtown and Bethel by the end of the year as it shifts work to factories in other parts of the country.
• Work at the Newtown facility will move to Puerto Rico and work in Bethel is transferring to Alabama.
• The company says in a statement that this decision is part of “an ongoing operational efficiency initiative.”
• About 140 employees will lose their jobs in Newtown. Hubbell said it will continue to retain more than 650 jobs in the state and maintain its Shelton headquarters.
• The company posted revenue of $4.5 billion in 2018.

• The Alabama man made famous recently after denying feeding methamphetamines to his so-called “attack squirrel” he considered a pet has been arrested.
• The Limestone County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter that 35-year-old Mickey Paulk was caught Thursday night following a chase in which he rammed an investigator’s vehicle.
• Authorities had been seeking Paulk on multiple felony warrants unrelated to the squirrel named “Deeznutz,” made infamous after police said they were warned about a meth-fueled, trained attack squirrel.
• Paulk told The Associated Press last week that he was working on a plan for turning himself in to authorities. But authorities said he was booked into the Lauderdale County Jail after fleeing a motel on a stolen motorcycle.

Headlines.

ALABAMA DAILY NEWS – Midwives Can Now Practice in Alabama but Still Face Obstacles

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