a senior member of a scottish organised crime group has been given a life sentence for the murder of a dutch journalist five years ago. christopher hughes will have to serve a minimum of 25 years for his role in the shooting of crime blogger martin kok near amsterdam in 2016. the judge lady scott told hughes it had been a planned and ruthless execution. bbc scotland home affairs correspondent david cowan reports. martin kok. in life and in death, martin kok grabbed attention. he survived numerous attempts to kill him, until a scottish gangster set him up to be gunned down and his luck ran out. he was a double killer, a convicted murderer who started a new career as a crime blogger after leaving prison. his website exposed major criminals in the netherlands. martin kok named names, turning him into a celebrity with a target on his back. what was martin kok s attitude to the attempts on his life? he was always justjoking about the big chance he would be assassinated.
south side, historically one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in all of chicago. many people wouldn t walk alone here especially at night. we caught up with one woman who lives here. a crime blogger, to talk to her about what daily life is like here on the south side. sitting on the porch on sunday morning drinking coffee and seeing someone with a gun shooting or sitting on the porch at night after work listening to music and then hearing shots ring out. had a lot of anxiety. neighbors like that woman can breathe a sigh of relief. there has been a 43% drop in shootings here in this neighborhood in 2017 thanks to police. jon: is it what police are doing or what s the reason for the dropping in crime? there is a drop in murders and also a drop in shootings. there was 2700 shootings last year compared to 3400 shootings in 2016. police largely attribute that
the alleged crime documented their actions on social media. although the trial just began on wednesday, this case has already been tried in the court of public opinion with posts to twitter, youtube and instagram standing in evidence. there s also the supremesy of football in a struggling town where the high school team is in the spotlight. and then there s the question of consent. whether an incapacitated girl still maintains the capacity to be a willing participant in a sex act. the case was amplified by a crime blogger who collected and posted the tweets and then instagram photos of the defendants holding the accuser on the night of the alleged assault. a december new york times article caught the case of