New York Paralegal Blog

WASHINGTON– The Justice Department announced today that Dale Mardis, 57, was sentenced today to life in prison, with no possibility of parole, for the racially-motivated killing of Shelby County, Tenn., Code Enforcement Officer Mickey Wright.   Mardis was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Bernice Donald.     Mardis pleaded guilty on March 21, 2011, to the racially-motivated killing of Officer Wright. Last week, federal prosecutors and investigators discovered that Mardis murdered another man, Henry Ackerman, in the summer of 1998.   They confronted Mardis with the new information on July 1, 2011, and Mardis confessed to the second murder.     Judge Donald imposed the life sentence after Mardis dropped his objections to the sentencing recommendation and admitted that his killing of Wright was first-degree murder.   In addition to agreeing to the federal life sentence, Mardis also agreed to plead guilty to first-degree murder for ...

BISMARCK, N.D. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited North Central Farmers Elevator in Ipswich, S.D., with six willful violations for exposing workers to being engulfed by grain. Proposed penalties total $378,000. "It's fortunate that the North Central Farmers Elevator worker who was engulfed survived — because many don't. Grain entrapments are killing workers. Grain elevator owners and operators must implement well-known safety practices to prevent workers from being hurt or killed in a grain bin," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Dr. David Michaels.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced the indictment of MICHAEL KENNY, 42, for the March 10, 2011, killing of his wife at the hair salon where she worked, near Herald Square. KENNY is charged with Murder in the Second Degree, Aggravated Criminal Contempt, and Petit Larceny.[1] The indictment alleges that KENNY intentionally murdered his victim. “This defendant, now indicted for murder, is a violent predicate felon with a history of domestic violence incidents,” said District Attorney Vance. “Domestic violence is a criminal justice and public health crisis, and this case sadly underscores how quickly the relationship between abuser and victim can turn deadly. Prosecutors need better and stronger laws for dealing with domestic violence offenders, and victims need to know that there are ways to end the cycle of abuse and control. I would like to encourage all victims, especially those who are fearful of coming forward, to call our Office’s Domestic Violence H...