Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, age 14, died Friday of her injuries from last week's Marysville, WA shooting. She is the fourth teen to die as a result of the incident. Jaylen's cousin Andrew Fryberg remains in critical condition. His other cousin, Nate Hatch, is doing better.

A tribal service was held Thursday for Jaylen Fryberg. More than 1,000 people attended. His (former) girlfriend, Shilene, has posted her first tweet since the shooting:

Update: After this was posted, the media announced that Gia Soriano passed away at 9:30 pm Sunday evening. R.I.P. Gia.

Orignal Post:

The school shooting in Marysville, Washington is a very sad and somewhat confusing story. Jaylen Fryberg’s motive remains mysterious. (Note: This is a very long post.)

The few media outlets which have attempted to decipher the relationships between Jaylen and his cousins and friends, provide conflicting information. What we know is that two teenagers are dead: Jaylen and Zoe. Four more, Gia, Shaylee and Jaylen’s two cousins, Andrew and Nate, remain in the hospital. Gia, Shaylee and Andrew are in critical condition. Nate is in serious condition, but conscious and communicating. He was shot in the jaw and tweeted a few hours ago that this is the worst pain he has felt in his life. (Added: He has also tweeted he forgives Jaylen.) [More...]

The jury is in its fourth day of deliberations in the trial of Robel Phillipos, the friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev charged with two counts of making a false statement to federal officials in a terror investigation. Count One pertains to his statements to authorities on April 20, 2013, and Count 2 relates to statements made on April 25, 2013.

One of the reasons it may be taking so long: The jury must be unanimous as to any particular false statement he made. While there are only two counts, there are two allegedly false statements in the first count and seven in the second count. The jury has to discuss and arrive at a consensus on each. [More....]

I haven't been following the Michael Brown case lately, but I am interested in the issue of law enforcement leaks that favor Officer Wilson at a time when the grand jury is considering whether to charge him.

The spokesman for the St. Louis prosecutor ’s office, Ed Magee, blows off the leaks with:

“There’s really nothing to investigate,” Magee said Wednesday. “We don’t have control over anybody leaking anything. All we can control is people in our office and the grand jury, and it’s not coming from us or the grand jury.”

He blames federal officials because his office has been sharing information with the Department of Justice and the articles with the leaked information refer to the sources as "officials briefed on the investigation." [More...]

Update: The judge sentenced Oscar to five years in prison on the culpable homicide charge and imposed a three year suspended sentence on the firearm count. The sentences will run concurrently. He was taken into custody. Neither side indicated they were going to appeal, and there was no mention of bail pending appeal or a delay to put his affairs in order. Oscar sat by himself throughout the sentencing, and did not display any emotion at the sentence. I didn't see any interaction between Oscar and his lawyer during the proceeding or after.

A summary of the judge's reasoning is below (from my notes this time, not tweets.)[More...]

Closing arguments are over in the Oscar Pistorius case. The judge is expected to rule Tuesday. Prosecutors asked for 10 years. The defense asks for house arrest and community service. From the defense closing:

Roux said there was also "no conscious unlawfulness" from Pistorius. He described Pistorius' suffering, both emotional and financial, since the Feb. 14, 2013 shooting.
"He's lost everything," Roux said of Pistorius, once an inspirational figure who became the first amputee to run at the Olympics in 2012. "He was an icon in the eyes of South Africans."

...."He's not only broke, but he's broken. There is nothing left of this man," Roux said. He said that Pistorius "hasn't even the money to pay for legal expenses. He has nothing left."

Oscar Pistorius' lawyers presented more witnesses today, including his manager.

The prosecutor, Gerry Nel, was his usually bombastic self. He has a real attitude, and it has not been lost on the judge in this trial.

Mr Nel described Mr Maringa's suggestions as "shockingly inappropriate", adding that they would amount to "no sentence". He questioned whether Mr Maringa understood the gravity of Pistorius's crime.

Even if she decides to give Oscar some jail time, I highly doubt she will give as anywhere close to what the prosecutor is asking for. . [More...]

Oscar Pistorius's sentencing hearing began today. It's expected to take three days. The defense says it will call four witnesses. The prosecutor says he will call at least one witness.

The defense will likely focus on Oscar's mental condition, physical disability, contribution to society and professional achievements.

The first witness is Dr Lore Hartzenberg, Oscar's psychologist. She testified Oscar is now a broken man who has lost everything -- his moral and professional reputation and career. She says he is he’s respectful, caring and well-mannered.

South Africa's prisons are notoriously unsanitary and overcrowded. The disabled are at a considerable disadvantage because of a lack of adequate medical services. Inmate on inmate violence is rampant.

Hopefully, the judge will resist public pressure and and impose an alternative sentence. Oscar was acquitted of murder. The judge ruled he did not intend to kill Reeva. He's suffered enough for his negligence. [More...]

Some things I missed while focusing on ISIS the past few weeks: DOJ filed a huge Superseding Indictment against El Chapo (Joaquin Guzman Loera) and Ismael Zambada Garcia in a 2009 case in the Eastern District of New York. You can read it here. The two Sinaloa chiefs are now charged more than 20 murders of police officials and members of the Carillo Fuentes, Arellano-Felix and Zetas cartels; more than 170 drug counts ranging from 2003 to 2014, involving 465,000 kilograms of Cocaine, importation, drug offenses involving pot, heroin and meth, money laundering, use of firearms during the crimes and attempted murder. The Government is seeking to forfeit $14 billion in profits.

Why is the Government loading up on El Chapo, who remains in custody in Mexico and is unlikely to be extradited anytime soon? Or Zambada-Garcia who also has other pending indictments, in Illinois and the District of Colombia? It's not seeking the death penalty(Mexico won't extradite anyone where the death penalty is on the table and the last page of the indictment says no death penalty is sought). [More...]

Real Housewives of New Jersey co-star Teresa Giudiuce was sentenced to 15 months in prison yesterday, while her husband Joe received a 41 month sentence, in a federal fraud case. The Indictment included 41 counts of bank fraud, loan application fraud, bankruptcy fraud, and mail and wire fraud. Joe was also charged with tax offenses. Teresa pleaded guilty to four counts and Joe to five.

While I've never seen their TV show, I think the case has some interesting elements worth discussing.

Oklahoma will seek the death penalty will be filed against Oklahoma beheading suspect Alton Nolan. The grounds:

[DA Greg] Mashburn said he will allege the victim’s death was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel. He said he also will allege Nolen is a continuing threat to society, Nolen put more than one person at great risk of death and Nolen has been previously convicted of a felony involving violence against a person.

Nolan is being held without bond. He has not yet been appointed counsel and at his arraignment yesterday, asked for a Muslim attorney. The Judge said the public defender will be appointed, and he did not know if the PD's office had any Muslim attorneys.

Nolan reportedly confessed to the beheading, which happened the day he was fired from the food processing plant. Police say he was fired after a co-worker complained to Human Resources he didn't like white people. The co-worker was the second worker he attacked, who lived. Nolan had worked for the food processing plant since January, 2013.

Jersey Shore's Mike "the Situation" Sorrentino and his brother have been indicted for tax fraud. They pleaded not guilty today. The Indictment is here.

The U.S. Attorney's office in New Jersey must not like reality TV. Teresa Giudice (Real Housewives of New Jersey) and her husband Joe are scheduled to be sentenced on October 2. The 41 original charges related to bankruptcy fraud and obstruction were pared down in a plea deal. Her guidelines are 21 to 27 months, but her lawyer is requesting probation. Her husband is likely to get more, but still under 5 years. And they owe creditors $13.5 million. [More....]